Missing you while your in jail poems

Missing 411: For people who want to know more. Unexplained disappearances and other weirdness

2014.04.15 15:34 hyperactivelime Missing 411: For people who want to know more. Unexplained disappearances and other weirdness

Information and discussion about people who go missing in National Parks and forests, and rural and urban areas, as detailed in the Missing 411 media. This is an unofficial, independant subreddit with no ties to CanAm Missing Project.
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2019.12.13 03:12 RobotVegetables News • Discussion • Community

Join us on May 15th for a Time Trap AMA and GIVEAWAY with Two Cakes Studio. Starts 9am PST / 12pm EST / 6pm CET - 5 free codes up for grabs!
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2016.05.03 00:32 tacobellscannon AskOuija: Get your answers one letter at a time

AskReddit, Ouija-style.
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2024.05.15 18:37 ArcticWarrior195 The true issue with balancing is that too many weapon identities overlap and many roles are performed better by other options (and some ideas on how to fix them)

An issue I've begun to notice as more weapons have been introduced or changed, many simply are downgrades or are performing their role worse then other weapons. The Liberator Concussive is worse then the Pummeler, the Tenderizer is worse then the Liberator, the Breaker Spray&Pray is worse then the Breaker Incendiary, the Purifier is worse then the Scorcher, the Liberator Penetrator is worst then the Adjudicator, and so much more. The issue is that we have too many weapons performing the same role without diversifying these weapon enough to allow them to perform these roles differently then another. Why change the Exploding Crossbow to a "medium armor killer" type weapon when it offers nothing new that the Dominator, Slugger, and Eruptor already do to fulfil this role? Why change the Adjudicator to a medium armor penetration assault rifle when the Liberator Penetrator already exists? Why add the Tenderizer as a "assault rifle with a restrictive magazine but more stopping power" when that describes the role the Adjudicator already has? Too many weapons have been adjusted, added or changed, causing overlap issues between many weapons, which in turn have weapons be outperformed rather then be a proper side-grade. I understand not wanting to have primary weapons be too powerful, but too many weapons have been made redundant by nerfs, buffs, and changes because of this. Therefore, I wanted to throw out my ideas for weapon changes/balancing. When I was considering weapon balancing, I had four goals:
  1. Give each weapon a defined purpose and role
  2. Make sure each weapon is an overall side-grade
  3. Prioritize making new roles to avoid overlap
  4. Try to have some slight realism
With this in mind, I came up with some ideas for all the assault rifles, as I feel like this category has the most issues compared to any other. Keep in mind that I'm 100% no game developer or expert on balancing, so do understand that the stats I came up with are just to give an overall idea and feel of how I think weapon should be, as I have no way to actually test or know if these numbers and ideas are balanced. Any feedback would be appreciated!
AR-23 Liberator
- Damage: 60 - Capacity: 45 - Recoil: 15 - Fire Rate: 640 - Light Armor Penetrating - 7 + 1 Mags - Role: All-around workhorse and baseline weapon 
Notes: The AR-23 Liberator in its current state serves as a perfect baseline when considering balance changes. Strong, reliable, accurate, ammo efficient, multiple firing modes and scope magnifications, it's everything a starter weapon should be and needs no additional changes.
AR-23P Liberator Penetrator
- Damage: 45 - Capacity: 30 - Recoil: 19 - Fire Rate: 640 - Medium Armor Penetrating - 10 + 1 Mags - Role: Takes down armored targets 
NEW STATS
- Damage: 55 - Capacity: 45 - Recoil: 28 - Fire Rate: 500 - Medium Armor Penetrating - 7 + 1 Mags - Reduced Ergonomics - New Role: Heavy assault rifle fitted with armor piercing rounds but has reduced fire rate and increased recoil 
Notes: Oh my poor baby boy, how Arrowhead has treated and abandoned you so. The AR-23P Liberator Penetrator is my favorite looking gun in the game, but from day one has been completely underpowered and underperforms in its role as a medium armor penetration assault rifle. Between its terrible damage, small capacity, and terrible efficiency, the weapon struggled against the competition and the only buff added was the addition to fire in full-auto, which barely did anything to change its lackluster performance. With these new changes, the Penetrator would now become a much stronger option compared to what it was then. First, we increase the damage and capacity to bring it up to it's standard counterpart, as there's no reason why it should have both a low capacity and the lowest damage per shot in the game. However to keep a bit of realism, we'll still have it be weaker as armor piercing rounds tend to have less stopping power for increased penetration power. And second, we give it increased recoil along with reduced fire rate, ergonomics, and spare ammo to compensate for these changes while also leaning into the heavy rifle design and new role it has. With these changes, the Penetrator is more closer to how the Adjudicator is and now should feel more like a side-grade to the standard Liberator, trading in crowd control for better performance against larger armored targets. It'll blast through the likes of Hive Guards, Brood Commanders, and Bile Spewers, but will struggle against groups of Hunters and Berserkers due to its lower fire rate and ergonomics.
AR-61 Tenderizer
- Damage: 60 - Capacity: 35 - Recoil: 10 - Fire Rate: 600 - Light Armor Penetrating - 10 + 1 Mags - Role: High-caliber assault rifle with a restrictive magazine but more stopping power 
NEW STATS
- Damage: 40 - Capacity: 60 - Recoil: 20 - Fire Rate: 720 - Light Armor Penetrating - 7 + 1 Mags - Slightly Reduced Ergonomics - New Role: Rapid-fire high capacity assault rifle with low damage and increased recoil 
Notes: This weapon is too similar to the original Liberator and desperately needs some adjustments. And with the new Penetrator changes from before, we now need to alter this weapons from it's original role to something that's missing from the assault rifles list. Enter the new AR-61 Tenderizer. This weapon is focused on one thing: throwing down as many bullets down range as fast as possible. With a massive capacity and increased fire rate, this weapon is the closest we'll get to having a primary LMG and should be thought of as the Breaker but in assault rifle form. The gun can handle larger crowds and can shred through light armored targets such as Berserkers, Nursing Spewers, Stalkers, and Warriors. However it will eat through ammo quickly, struggle against armored enemies, and isn't particularly precise so it'll be difficult to hit the weak points of certain enemies such as Devastators. It certainly won't replace a Stalwart, but you'll still get the lovely feeling of unloading a torrent of bullets upon the enemies of democracy all the same. It also doesn't replace the Breaker either, as while the Breaker can unload into a group indiscriminately and tear through hordes faster, the Tenderizer has better range and has more control over the area where their shots will land.
AR-23C Concussive
- Damage: 65 - Capacity: 30 - Recoil: 28 - Fire Rate: 320 - Light Armor Penetrating - 10 + 1 Mags - Role: Fires concussive rounds that do less damage but stagger enemies 
NEW STATS
- Damage: 55 - Capacity: 35 - Recoil: 28 - Fire Rate: 400 - Light Armor Penetrating - 9 + 1 Mags - Concussive rounds explosions have a small AOE, allowing for stagger of several enemies close together per shot - Explosions deal no damage and purely stagger. Helldivers hit by the concussive explosions will suffer from a depletion of stamina and a slow effect that fades after a few seconds - New Role: Fires concussive rounds at a slower fire rate that do less damage, but can stagger several enemies 
Notes: With the release of the new Pummeler SMG, the AR-23C Concussive has been made completely redundant in almost every way. Because of this, we have two options: nerf the Punisher or buff the Concussive. I choose the latter, and so this is what we get. As the concussive rounds are stated to do less damage, we'll first sightly nerf the damage to make this accurate. Second, we slightly increase the capacity and give a small bump to its fire rate to make it a bit more usable, while also taking away a spare mag to compensate. And now onto the big addition to differentiate it from the Punisher: AOE stagger. While the Punisher has higher damage and better single target capabilities, the new Concussive has lower damage but can hold off several enemies at once with AOE concussive rounds. This allows the Concussive to have two roles: A support role for your team that can slow the advance of groups of enemies, and a weapon that provides a safe but slow way of killing enemies when by yourself. Of course, the weapon isn't meant to hold back a bug breach or anything. The AOE is meant to be small and not be a "get out of jail free card". If your surrounded, you'll still die horribly and the AOE will cause an effect similar to the "Tremor" environmental effect when hitting yourself or allies with the concussive blast (depletion of stamina and slow effect that fades after a few seconds), but it can stagger a few of those Berserkers or Hive Commanders chasing after your friend to give them some breathing room, or hold back those two Stalkers sneaking up on your fellow Helldiver while they reload their Autocannon. It won't kill, but your fellow Helldivers will thank you when you save them from danger.
BR-14 Adjudicator
- Damage: 80 - Capacity: 25 - Recoil: 40 - Fire Rate: 550 - Medium Armor Penetrating - 7 + 1 Mags - Role: Accurate, medium armor penetrating rifle with limited effectiveness against large groups 
NEW STATS
- Damage: 90 - Capacity: 25 - Recoil: 40 - Fire Rate: 480 - Light Armor Penetrating - 7 + 1 Mags - Changed to Marksman Rifle Classification - Semi-auto/3-Round Burst only - New Role: Accurate, light armor penetrating rifle that trades damage for improved effectiveness against large groups 
Notes: The change to the BR-14 Adjudicator from a Marksman Rifle to a Assault Rifle never really sat well with me, especially because it ended up being everything the Penetrator was supposed to be and still wasn't great. In the real world, a battle rifle tend to sit somewhere between assault rifles and designated marksman rifles, though they usually are closer to marksman rifles. Notable examples are the FN FAL, M14, and Heckler & Koch G3. With this in mind, figuring out how to balance the rifle is a bit tricky. I wanted it to have higher single target damage then Assault Rifles to move it away from that role, while also having better crowd control then the Diligence to give it a new role the Marksman Rifle category lacks. First, we increase the damage and recoil slightly while reducing the fire rate to move it more towards being a marksman rifle. Second, we change it from medium armor penetration to light armor penetration. We don't want it to compete with the Penetrator or Counter Snipe, but instead want it to be a faster firing but lighter hitting option for the Marksman Rifle category. Finally, we remove the full auto firing option and replace it with a 3-round burst option as while there are battle rifles that do have a full auto setting in the real world, it's usually extremely impractical due to the immense recoil, though I'll admit keeping the full-auto feels like something that would be done in-universe. With these final changes, we now have true battle rifle that bridges the gap between assault rifles and marksman rifles. Want the crowd control of an assault rifle, but the high damage of a marksman rifle? This is the weapon for you.
SG-225SP Breaker Spray&Pray
- Damage: 192 (12 Damage per pellet) - Capacity: 26 - Recoil: 45 - Fire Rate: 330 - Light Armor Penetrating - 7 + 1 Magazines - 16 Pellets per shot - Role: High capacity shotgun firing birdshot 
NEW STATS
- Damage: 420 (12 Damage per pellet) - Capacity: 24 - Recoil: 40 - Fire Rate: 350 - Light Armor Penetrating - 6 + 1 Magazines - 35 Pellets per shot - Increased spread - Role: High capacity shotgun firing birdshot that was designed with "accuracy by volume of fire" in mind 
Notes: A fun little bonus addition to this list. The SG-225SP Breaker Spray&Pray is a bit notorious for being a direct downgrade from the Breaker Incendiary after it got buffed. Therefore, in the spirit of democracy and fun, I came up with these changes. In real life, bird shot is quite weak, has huge spread, and a single shell can have upwards of 70+ pellets in them to maximize the chances of hitting a bird in flight. While the idea would be really funny, having the game calculate the trajectory and impact of 70 individual projectiles from just one player would be a lot for the game to do, and each pellet would have to do around 5-6 damage each with an enormous spread to be balanced, so this is the next best thing I came up with. The new Spray&Pray is designed to litter a battlefield with a hail of pellets, encouraging the user to indiscriminately fire in whatever direction the enemy is in. It's inaccurate, will likely not land more then 6 pellets on the same target unless your up close, and will likely hit your allies if they're anywhere in the direction your firing, but that's the entire point. This is for the insane, the wacky, those who truly embody the chaotic nature of Helldivers and want a fun gun. You close your eyes, pull the trigger, and blindly fire into a bug breach knowing Lady Liberty guides your every shot.
submitted by ArcticWarrior195 to Helldivers [link] [comments]


2024.05.15 08:41 WoldonFoot Certain Things Were Said: A TWBTW Campaign (Parts I-IV) (In Verse!)

After sixty-seven sessions of Curse of Strahd (read all about it here), it was time for a change. So into the wild we went...
My group is nearing the end of Hither, and along the way I've written summaries of each session ("What Just Happened?"), along with interesting/funny quotes from PCs/NPCs ("Certain Things Were Said"), and a list of new characters introduced that session ("Dramatis Personae").
My intention is to write the summaries for each of the five parts of the campaign in a different format. For the Witchlight Carnival, each summary was presented in verse (my own, no machine learning shortcuts!), using the metre and rhyming structure of various Lewis Carrol poems.
I'd like to share my summaries/poems with you all here, for posterity, and in the hope you'll find them entertaining.
For reference, the players are:
NOTE: Lewis Carroll was known to hide secret messages in his poems. I've done the same, revealing the campaign's big twist in one of the poems below. None of my players have picked up on it.

Part I: Welcome to the Witchlight

What Just Happened? (in the style of Jabberwocky)
’Twas twilight when the carnival Did open wide two golden gates, And those with tickets did arrive, Seeking things they had misplaced.
One harengon of curious size, A kobold with a slithy gait, An owlet who possessed two eyes As wide as Annam’s dinner plates.
Yet are we three or are we four? Let’s add vibrations rarefied: A Witchlight hand here to ensure That every guest is Satyrs-fied!
Enter now and taste the sounds, Feel these colours, smell those sights! Kaleidoscopic fun abounds This synaesthesiac’s delight!
Yet where’s the drama? Where’s the tension? Certainly we’ve had a switch (At least in here there is no mention Of that cad von Zarovich).
Instead let’s race a giant snail, Eat candied mushrooms by the pound, Or listen to a gnome assail The tightness of your mother’s gown.
Yet hark! A misadventure glum! Those not heroes please give berth! The best laid plans of love undone By Tasha’s wild unruly mirth
These mirrored halls! This desperate task, To find a luckless paramour A sweet-toothed lass with porcine mask That you could swear you’ve seen before…
’Twas twilight when the carnival Did open wide two golden gates And those with tickets did arrive, Now guided by the wiles of fate.
Dramatis Personae
Arix Specklefoot, a sweet-toothed owlin Holafina, a curiously short harengon Skerrek Tirael, a slithy kobold Sylenos, a cosmic satyr Nicholas Midnight, elderly goblin ticketmaster at the Witchlight Carnival Candlefoot, a mime and not by choice Rubin Sugarwood, a lovesick halfling Ween Sundapple, his laugh-sick paramour Glorange Turple, a poetry gnome
Certain Things Were Said
“I am worried about your ability to sense vibrations that I cannot.” - Skerrek Tirael
“Tymore, goddess of good fortune! Look well upon Shellymoo this day!” - Holafina
“Hate to say it, man, but that gnome really insulted your mother.” - Sylenos
“Snacks?” - Arix Specklefoot

Part II: Lost and Found

What Just Happened? (In the style of The Walrus and the Carpenter )
"The time has come," the Satyr said, "To talk of many things: Of poems—and props—and Jeremy Plum— Of crowns and pixie kings— And why things here keep getting lost— And what this pig-girl means."
"But wait a bit," the Owlin cried, "Before our minds do meet, For some of us are pretty spooked, And I would like a treat!" "No hurry!" said the Satyr, And kicked up cloven feet.
The Owlin and the Kobold Were walking close at hand, They smiled like anything to see The gates of Pixie Land. "If we could only stay a while,” They said, "it would be grand!"
The Satyr sighed so sulkily, Because he thought that Plum Had got no business to be there When all was said and done. (“It's rude of him," the Kobold said, "To try and spoil our fun!")
"Oi, Satyr," said the pixie king, "You've had a pleasant run! Should you be getting back to work?” But answer came there none And this was scarcely odd, because He had real beef with Plum.
Now Arix made a hamster friend Who offered up some clues. The others tried the riding-pug: A pleasant thing to do! (“The pug is fine," the Rabbit said, "But he’s no Shellymoo.”)
"How nice of you to come!” said Plum, "You all are oh-so kind!" Puddlemud said nothing as His teeth began to grind. The Owlin and the Kobold cheered: “That was our FAVORITE ride!”
“A wooden crown," fair Jexim said, Is what we need to come Our way along with golden paint For some un-princely sum.” The others stared, confused, and said: “Now where did YOU come from?”
‘Twas then the party dared approach The famous Mystery Mine Where psychedelic spectacles Broke the Satyr’s mind. (“I really wish,” Zephixo sighed, “You wouldn’t ride while high”).
Next Dirla pulled all kind of things Out of his wagon/portal: Bottles, bunnies, candlesticks, A shining blade of vorpal (Incidentally, there’s a word That kind of rhymes with purple).
“If you put your mind to it And searched for long enough, Do you suppose," the party said, "That you could find our stuff?" "I doubt it," said dear Dirlagraun, And gave a bitter huff.
Then he gave the Harengon The greatest gift by far: A copy of “Gnome On The Run” And bid them au revoir (Morgie would have laughed at that While trying to type slash “R”).
“I do believe,” the Satyr said, “That something is not right, And think we ought to pay a call To Messers Witch and Light.” “I think we ought,” the Owlin said “To first stop for a bite.”
But in their way old Thaco stood, A clown grown grim and surly: “Rabbit! Owlin! Pixie! Skink! You aren’t allowed to be-“ The Fairy interrupted him: “Wait, WHAT did you call me?”
Poor Thaco cried: “Things move too fast! And have since my debut In R-1: To the Aid of Falx From Nineteen Eighty Two! And if you’d seen what I have seen Then you’d smoke bubbles, too!”
Finally he stepped aside, At last the way was clear. The Satyr ambled stealthily With open eyes and ears And pressed them to a wagon large To see what he could hear.
"The time has come," Witch and Light said, "To talk of things galore Of prizes—plans—and kenku pests— and ever so much more— But first we’d better ask inside Those spying at our door!”
Dramatis Personae
Jexim, a puzzled, puzzling fairy Jeremy Plum, operator of the Pixie Kingdom and bestower of silly names Biscuit, a talkative hamster Pinecone, a riding-pug Zephixo, dwarven inventor and mastermind behind the Mystery Mine Ernest Wilde, middle-aged calliope master currently inhabiting the body of his pet monkey Marigold, his button-collecting goblin assistant Dirlagraun, a kindly but inefficient displacer beast, minder of lost children and property Thaco, a bubble-smoking clown who is long past his prime
Certain Things Were Said
"Worried I was, with talk of missing supper." - Arix Specklefoot
"Could you not just purchase a new pair?" - Skerrek Tirael "Not like this, man." - Sylenos
"If you'd see the things I've seen, you'd smoke a bubble pipe, too." - Thaco
"Is this it?" - Dirlagraun "NO." - Everyone

Part III: On the Trail of the Kenku

What Just Happened? (In the style of The Hunting of the Snark)
"Where the heck is our stuff? We just want to know This Harengon ain't getting bigger, Arix has no idea of where to go And lies send poor Skerrek a-quiver!"
"Would you get back to work?" Mister Light cried, Twirling his cane with a smile, "Otherwise find where this kenku pest hides; She's cramping this carnival's style!"
"Well, that was a bust," said our heroes, conferring, "Anyone got a suggestion? If we need to pull strings to get back our things Then there are some folk we should question."
"Time's an illusion, free will a delusion!" Sylenos' mentor decreed, "Get a contusion battling occlusions, Or relax and have some of this…wait, what was I saying?"
Sylenos proclaimed: "A genius flawed!" "A man/dragon ahead of his time." Skerrek looked at his claws; Holafina at paws, And the other two just rolled their eyes
"A centuar I'm not! I just made a bad trade The "Cloppinton's" just serendipitous, Now lend me your aid and you'll maybe persuade These horsies to drop some significance."
Then they took to the skies on a dragonfly ride (Holafina and Skerrek abreast), When you're this high there's just nowhere to hide (And to which Sylenos attests)
Now Skerrek honed on a runaway gnome Who was fleeing the carnage with glee, Holafina struck home and that's it for this poem For the gnome was the kenku, you see.
Dramatis Personae
Mister Witch, a matter-of-fact elf, devoid of pretense Mister Light, a flamboyant elf, luminous and coy Burly, a philosophical, pumpkin-helmeted bugbear Mandragon, a seeker of truth (and not much else) Diana Cloppington, a centaur who is apparently not, operator of the Carousel Northwind, a very forthcoming treant, operator of the Dragonfly Rides
Certain Things Were Said
"There’s something weird going on. For some reason everyone thinks I don’t do anything around the carnival." - Sylenos
"It's true, Miss Cloppinton! We've ALL lost things." - Arix Specklefoot
"Wait, when did we have biscuits?" - Jexim

Part IV: Through the Looking Glass

What Just Happened? (In the style of A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky)
Now hear the Kenku’s strange reply (As Arix struggles to apply Triage to these pixie guys)
Asking questions, getting nought Set her on a different course: High sabotage without remorse!
And what has got her so irate Is what’s she trying to intimate: Zybilna has been quiet of late!
Ignore the rest, and let’s take flight To confront dear Witch and Light (Surprisingly, they’re quite contrite)
To keep the carnival in motion A tapestry of lies was woven: A deal with the Hourglass Coven!
Who take from those who can’t afford Entrance through the Witchlight’s doors Miscellanea adored
So THAT’s who taken all your junk! Time to find these Hourglass punks! Which way to this Feywild dump?
But first we’ll make a brief aside So Candlefoot can vocalise His mermaid love (now legalised)
Now the pair can tie the knot And while we’re passing time why not Ride the fabled Bubble Pot?
Yet ere you all are translocated (Everybody’s breath now bated) Arix must be coronated!
The time of truth has come at last Hesitation as you pass Though the hallowed looking glass
Are you afraid to lose your minds? What lies ahead? What lies behind? What do you expect to find?
Will Skerrek ever fabricate? Or Holafina emulate A bunny’s median height and weight?
Shall Jexim’s memoirs find acclaim? Can Monty locate Bobbitt Fane? (…hang on, that’s a different game)
Does Arix ever find the door? And will Sylenos flee the cause To study unemployment law?
Dramatis Personae
Kettlesteam, a mischievous patron of Zybilna Paleesha, a mellifluous mermaid, now reunited with Candlefoot
Certain Things Were Said
“Sylenos, perhaps in eight years you can come back and find your lost employment.” - Skerrek
“Ask me where the exit is.” - Arix Specklefoot “Where is the exit?” - Mister Light “I don’t know.” - Arix
submitted by WoldonFoot to wildbeyondwitchlight [link] [comments]


2024.05.15 06:00 Direct-Caterpillar77 None of my family knows this trip will be the last time they see me

I am not The OOP, OOP is u/Nocontact4you
None of my family knows this trip will be the last time they see me.
Originally posted to TrueOffMyChest & Poems
Thanks to u/lolfuckno for suggesting this BoRU
TRIGGER WARNING: Infidelity, cancer, ableism, bullying, abandonment, emotional abuse of a child, verbal abuse, neglect, lies, mentions of miscarriage
MOOD SPOILER: Depressing
Original Post Feb 4, 2024
Firstly, I’m okay, physically anyway.
Honestly, I have no idea who this is for, but I think I just need it out of my head.
The circumstances of my birth were complicated. I broke up two marriages, and my family has never been shy about how they feel about me for that. Only one of my brothers has gotten drunk enough to tell me to my face that he resents me for existing, but I know it exists within all of them, at least in some way. Im much younger than all my siblings, and there was so much that happened out of our hands that I made excuses, but my whole life, I’ve never quite felt “part of the family”.
As a child, I told myself we’d make up for lost time once I got older and we could talk as equals. Now, at 23, I see glimpses of the life I wished I’d have, but in the end, I’m always too much trouble to involve. I hear EVERYTHING from my father. I had to find out my niece was in a car accident from him; I had to find out my other niece had a miscarriage from him; I had to find out my oldest brother had a BRAIN TUMOR haphazardly on a phone call with my father, which he didn’t even know I was unaware of.
I’ve known for a while I’m the only one trying, but for the sake of my dreams, I’ve given every opportunity for them to let me in, but I just can’t do it anymore.
I have a psychiatric service dog who aids me with CPTSD. He is the single greatest thing to happen to me. Not only did he save my life from myself, but he has made life livable. He can tell when I’m panicking and he knows pressure therapy to help me through an attack. He stops me from hurting myself in meltdowns, sits with me until the only noise I can hear anymore is his snoring on my lap. He allows me to go grocery shopping by myself. He is my soulmate, and anyone who knows me knows how important he is to me.
My dating life isn’t thriving, so I took a shot in the dark and asked my niece if she minded if I brought my service dog as my plus one for her wedding at the end of this month. I have to fly across the country to go, so I will be bringing him anyway since I cannot fly alone. I figured it couldn’t hurt to see if he could not have to stay in the hotel all night. I do not technically need him for the event, since I’ll know every guest and I will be drinking pretty heavily to cope, but getting to spoil him with a bow-tie, dancing, and STEAK, sounded like the perfect reward for helping me on my flight. Several times, I emphasized that I understood it was an odd request and she could say no if she wanted.
She was EMPHATIC that he could come! She said even if I found a date, he could come! I was elated! For once, I felt seen, I felt cared about, I felt valued. And then I got a call from my dad. No one wanted to make things awkward, but the mother of the bride was NOT okay with a dog being at the venue. I explained that he is a trained service animal and will not impede the ceremony in anyway, and I’d of course remove him if he did. Still, he said they didn’t like it. I was so tired of hearing everyone else’s words through my father. He won’t be around forever and sooner or later, they will have to start talking to me
I had one request: let the bride tell me. When I asked her, she said yes, and until she told me she changed her mind, I was under the assumption he could go. Well, I never heard back. My dad kept dropping hints when i’d call him, but I told him what my expectations were. When I RSVP’d, I put my dog as my plus one on the response to let them know I wasn’t backing down this time. At this point, I didn’t even care if she said he couldn’t go. I just wanted to hear it from her.
The next morning, I woke up to an EMAIL from my father. Not even a text, a fucking email explaining that my niece didn’t want to be the bad guy, but my dog was NOT welcome at the wedding. He said he was sorry, but he could still come with me to the hotel if I wanted.
Something inside me broke, I think. I think I realized this is truly a helpless case. They are never going to respect me the way I crave them to. To this day, not one of our conversations has been started by them. I always initiate, and now, the one time I request a direct contact, I get an email.
Family means everything to me. Over the last few years, i’ve redefined what a family can be, and if right now, my family needs to be a very damaged orphan and their service animal, I’m grateful I have that much.
So, I’m going to the wedding, and then I’m never going to talk to any of them again.
And the sad part is, I didn’t even think they’re going to notice.
Update:
First, thank you to everyone for the kind words, and all the advice. It sincerely means so much that so many people care. I want to address all the questions about why I want to go to this wedding at all. There are plenty of practical reasons that I can name, but the truth is, I need to go for my own closure.
I have a strange relationship with death, and loss. My mother died when I was 5; my family split up right after. I’ve lost several caregivers to serious diseases, grieving their death as they lived. I’ve learned how to navigate MY grieving process. If I don’t go to this wedding, I will regret it. Not only is it my last chance to see my childhood family all together in one place, but if I don’t go, I show them they can bully me. I do not want to make a spectical of my trauma with them, but that does not mean I have to walk away with my tail between my knees.
I’m not scared of them. My relationship is non-existent, but I did see my siblings/cousins/neiecesandnephews fairly regularly. When I was a kid, they intimidated and bullied me into silence, but I’m not a child anymore. I lived with these people; I can manage one night, if for no other reason than to prove they cannot control me.
Thanks again for all the kind words. Happy to provide a pupdate if someone can tell me how to post pictures from the app?
RELEVANT COMMENTS
When told not to go to the wedding
I spent $700 on a plane ticket and $200 on a suit. Least I can do is go drink someone else’s liquor and dance my worries away. Besides. It feels like goodbye
&
The cherry on top is they are all very conservative Christians, and I will be going in a suit with my hair dyed green and makeup done to the nines, so this will be my biggest “fuck you, I’m here anyway” I can pull off. Truthfully, my father’s memory is starting to go as he gets older, so even if I did explain my feelings, he will end up sharing anyway, so I’ve made my peace with the fact that it will be a one-way-street because lord knows they’re not gonna ask what I’m up to.
When told to call the bride directly
The last 20 years of trauma will not be solved with one phone call. This was their last chance to prove to me they want me in their lives. It’s not about the dog. It’s the fact that all I asked is to be treated like a person and talked to directly, and they have proven to me they don’t care, so I’m leaving. I already did my job of reaching out to her and she said yes. Why is it my job to reach out and make sure she hasn’t changed her mind?
When told her father is an asshole and he is the one responsible for everything
THANK YOU! I have felt like the only one who cannot fathom how that conversation could be had over EMAIL?? It’s sadly not uncommon for them to communicate through him, and I always have the receipts after the fact when they’re no longer worried about the awkwardness. My brothers don’t even know where I work. I am building a career around my job. They couldn’t tell you what my relationship status is, and I’d be hard pressed to tell you if they knew my middle name to be honest. My father is not innocent, but they are responsible for their part in our relationship. I have stopped reaching out to them directly because I barely hear back, and it’s clear they don’t really care what I’m saying. I could honestly write a book on the road that’s led me to this choice, but who’s got the time in this economy?
Pupdate for Everyone Asking! Feb 6, 2024
He’s a 2.5 year old, Black and Tan Coonhound☺️
Dog tax
Update Feb 26, 2024
Original Story Here:
https://www.reddit.com/TrueOffMyChest/s/2MfJ98m6kP
POST-WEDDING UPDATE!
So, I went to the wedding. It went about how I expected it to go, though one can never be ready for a spontanious conga line. Sadly, there was no secret last minute invite, nor any secret plot of which the bride was unaware. She felt bad saying no, so she lied, and she didn’t want to tell me that, and she still didn’t, even at the wedding. No one really said much at all, in fact. The mother of the bride did not speak to me at all, my brother tiptoed around the subject until the end of the night. To his credit, he did apologize, “for all the dog stuff” as he said goodbye. Strangely, the apology didn’t make me feel much better.
There was no big confrontation either, mainly because no one cared to listen to me if I tried. As the reception began, part of me wondered how much I was going to miss the people, the environment, the vibe, really. Truthfully, I surprised myself with how ready I was to leave. Goodbye was short, and bittwersweet.
The venue was pretty and the alcohol was free, so I made the best of my night, but I got what I needed out of it, I think. Getting home tonight felt like a weight lifting off my shoulders. I know more than ever that I need to do this, and what I once saw as cutting my family in half, I can now see is clearing space for new family, one that cares.
Thank you for all your kind words, and all the support for my dog!
Arrogance is Bliss March 25, 2024
You don’t love me.
You love an idea of me you fabricated in your mind when I was a child.
I’m no longer a child.
I’m far from perfect, but I’m growing, I’m glowing, and I’m grieving the reality that none of you will ever know the person I become.
You call it love, but my scars disagree.
You hate my hair, my style, my beliefs—you hate me.
And the saddest part is, I don’t even think you know you do.
THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT THE OOP
DO NOT CONTACT THE OOP's OR COMMENT ON LINKED POSTS, REMEMBER - RULE 7
submitted by Direct-Caterpillar77 to BestofRedditorUpdates [link] [comments]


2024.05.15 05:45 fatrat2342 Guest of neighbors pulls knife on us and cops blamed us

Posting from Missouri (Kansas City metro) Okay so.... first post on here so this might be too much info or too much context, but I didn't want to leave anything out. I need advice on what I can or should do. Also my dad is not wanting to file charges because "it's done and over with" when I feel it shouldn't have gone this way at all. UNSURE OF WHICH TAG TO USE SO I JUST PUT OTHER CIVIL MATTER.
For context, I live next door to my parents. The neighbors across from us have been having "family friends" (older couple and younger couple) living with them for close to or over a year now. It was supposed to be 3 months. We never had problems with the owners of the home and didn't have any with the "family friends" until about a month ago. The older man had the home owners son go get a lawnmower from another neighbors yard that had just moved out. My dad made the comment to the older man to not teach the kid to go into people's yards and take stuff, regardless of if they are living there or not. The older man got an attitude with my dad and it was over from that point. Or so we thought...
Within the past few days, the house the lawnmower was taken from has been cleared out into a big dumpster. My dad had permission from the landlord to throw out an old, broken recliner and a few smaller things. I helped my dad load everything into his truck because he has multiple health conditions that prevents him from being able to do much. While we're loading the truck, the neighbors son was going through the dumpster, which we don't care about because it was all trash and dumpster diving is not illegal here if it's off private property (it was on the street). The older man started walking down the street to go through everything he found. The whole time he's walking down the street, he was talking crap, saying "I'm not stealing" or something about stealing, and continued when he was standing next to the dumpster. We finish loading everything and go down to put it in the dumpster. My dad gets out and asked the older man why he was talking crap the whole time he was outside. The older man denied saying anything until my dad said we heard him saying something about not stealing. The older man immediately starts saying he said that because he's not stealing. My dad continued to tell him that what he's doing now isn't stealing, but going onto someone's property and taking something is. Everything escalated from there.
The older man immediately started to get loud with my dad and walking towards my dad aggressively. He's saying things like "I've had a heart attack. If you touch me, you're going to jail." and "I'm from New York." (Don't know if that was supposed to scare us or not) while in my dad's face. My fiancée kind of walked towards them to not let it go too far. She says something to him and he tells her "watch your lip, girl." I'm not going to stand for ANYONE disrespect her like that so I told him "don't fucking talk to her like that." and "I'm not going to let you disrespect her like that." He didn't like that. He's still running his mouth the whole time and blaming the lawnmower incident on the kid. He said "yeah I'll blame it on the kid, I'm 71 years old" I couldn't make out the rest. My fiancée said "exactly you're 71 so grow the fuck up." He yelled at her to "shut the fuck up, girl" so my fiancée yelled "you're a grown ass man talking to me like that." My dad is in-between them the whole time because the older man is trying to aggressively walk towards her the whole time. The older man then starts to try to push my dad out of the way to get to my fiancée. My dad tells him to back the fuck up as he's pushing the older man's arm off. The older man then pushes my dad so my fiancée swings on him. She didn't hit him (besides maybe like a single finger, we cant tell) because my dad was pushing her back.
The guy then pulls a knife out and takes the blade out fully, as he's yelling for help. Everyone immediately backs away from the guy as he is aggressively following my dad. The guy then turns his attention towards my fiancée and I, turning to come after us, so my dad pushes him away from us. The whole time he has the knife out, he's screaming at us and saying "that fucking lesbian bitch hit me." The younger couple are pulling up the street at the same time the guy starts walking home. The younger guy got the older guy to go home. The younger woman screamed at us "shut the fuck up. You're just pissed you cant grow a dick." My dad needed oxygen so I missed a little bit of what happened right after.
The cops were called and he went back home. The homeowner and his wife were apologizing to us while we were waiting on the cops. My little sister got on recording the guy coming after us with the knife, but not what lead up to the knife being pulled. I had to go get my dad's ID and the older woman comes outside and says "I want them to come up here because we're pressing charges." I replied to her "they'll be up here. Don't worry." She then screams at me "Oh shut the fuck up you lesbian bitch." I just brush it off and get what I need. Both cops got part of our side before one went up the get the other guys side. The cop that stayed with us saw the video my sister took. The cop then went to my dad's neighbors that had a camera pointing towards the incident. That camera view shows my dad's back and the cop said it looked like my dad pushed him first, that we were in the wrong. The older man said that he was trying to walk away. We told them multiple times that my dad did not push him first and that there were cameras on the house directly across from where this all happened. The cop was yelling at us, calling us liars, that video doesn't lie and that one video is all she needs to see. We just dropped it because the cop told us that if they are called back within 48 hours, everyone in the video is going to be arrested.
We then talk to our neighbors that showed the cop the security video and the cop only watched up until the first push. She IMMEDIATELY made up her mind and saw us at fault. We then got video from the other neighbors and it shows that my dad was pushed first. You can see him trying to push my dad out of the way to get to my fiancée, not trying to walk away. We have the proof that my dad did not push first. We also have video of how the cop was talking to us, which was very out of line in my opinion. I told my dad that bare minimum, a complaint on the officer needs to be made.
Should we go to the police station to file charges with ALL the evidence or just drop it? Any advice would help because I don't want to feel this unsafe in my home. I didn't realize that they felt so much hate towards my fiancée and I because they have been nice to us or just didn't talk to us in the past. I've never had to deal with neighbors being this way towards me or us.
submitted by fatrat2342 to legaladvice [link] [comments]


2024.05.15 04:49 RomieRomeeee Just finished catching up to the Made In Abyss Manga. Here are my thoughts (picked up after the 2nd season)

The post is a little long. Sorry in advance. But I started watching the Anime not too long ago about and quickly finished it. I'm not a huge Manga reader but I enjoyed the story so much I gave it a try and caught up in about 2 days. Thought I'd share my thoughts: the [mostly] good and the bad. There will be some spoilers but nothing major. So read at your won risk.
The Good
The show is amazing. The story goes in a very unexpected direction and makes it difficult to predict what will happen next. I went in this completely blind and spoil free which is unbelievable in today's age. I've always heard this show is way more intense than the art style suggests but even with that warning I was still surprised. The lore of the show also had me reading/researching all kinds of things I missed and other crazy theories. How does Bondrewd's helmet work? If he can transfer conscious, why hasn't he been to the very bottom of the abyss, after all, he's visited the 6th layer and went back up (assuming he sacrificed a lackey to die to the curse on the way up just to transfer his consciousness back to another host)? So many questions. Luckily the show is already approved for a season 3 which is really exciting
The emotional impact of these characters can't go unmentioned either. I feel like even characters I hate like Bondrewd, are important to the story. Even a part of me can understand why he does what he does. He's like a "necessary evil" to progress the world of the show forward. The graphic scene of what he did to Prushka was intense!
I nearly had a heart attach in the latest chapter when Nanachi sacrificed himself to save one of twin sisters on the 6th layer
Faputa backstory was amazing too! Felt bad for her and bad for the villagers at the same time. I didn't know who's side to be on.
The Bad
This isn't really about the show itself but needs to be mentioned as a con. Apparently the author releases chapters extremely slow, so although the conclusion of the story seems to be close, it likely won't be animated or released in a chapter anytime soon. Even for the approved season 3, it's likely we won't get that for a while.
For me, there aren't much bad but I can see why others get uncomfortable watching the show or have other concerns. It does have some inappropriate sexual suggestions for characters that are pretty young. Stuff like Riko and Prushka talking about males body "parts" and Reg getting 'excited' is a bit unnecessary. But here is where I think the art style comes to save the day. Instead of being overly sexualized (like other shows), it feels more like the show is highlighting how gruesome the Abyss is to add a level of realism to the dangers they face, and importance of research for these archeologists. It also highlights how smart some of the characters are for their age.
Conclusion
All-In-All, I feel as though nothing is so major where I'm completely turned away from the show. A lot of the things I see complaints about feels necessary to the story to highlight how dangerous the Abyss is with a few sprinkles of occasional awkward "fan service" here and there. If you can even really call those weird moments fan service instead of jail time.
Please feel free to suggest any shows that you'd think are just as good.
submitted by RomieRomeeee to MadeInAbyss [link] [comments]


2024.05.14 21:24 Ok_Entertainment9355 A negative entity was attached to my mom's ex husband

Hi Courtney! I'm a huge fan of your channel and I've been watching you for a while now, and I would just die if you read my story! It's gonna be a little longer since I don't want to miss any important details. Also tag warning for some serious topics (drug use and pedophelia)
Okay so, let's start back in 2012. My mom worked in the NICU taking care of little premature babies. (I had been 6 weeks early, which inspired my mom) I was 11 at the time that she met her ex-husband, my ex-stepdad. We can just call him B (for bastard lol). They worked together, he was funny and stole her heart. Well at the time he was going through a divorce but lived in a house twenty minutes from where we were living at the time. B had told my mom that things were over with his ex for sure (he told his ex wife at that time that he wanted to work on things! She was so blindsided by the divorce papers!) <--- of course we didn't know about any of that until recently End of 2012 comes, he marries my mom and my older sister move in with him and his 7 year old son in this three bedroom house. Two rooms upstairs and a master bedroom downstairs. Now of the top two rooms, my ex stepbrother (lets call him C) had the larger room, while my older sister (who was high school age, I think she was a senior) and I shared the other room and slept in bunk beds.
Now C had a problem with sleeping in his room at night. He would tell us about how he was afraid of the closet (the closet also had a tiny door that led up to the attic). Ever since he was little it was always the same problem. C was simply terrified of something in the house. He had an experience where someone woke him up and warned him that there was a spider, he started screaming and sure enough they found a brown recluse spider under his bed.
Then my mom gets pregnant and gives birth to my little brother, H. My sister had moved out pretty much as soon as possible. B was awful. He would belittle us and talk down to us, constantly try to make everyone feel stupid around him- he had to be the smartest one around at all times. He was an asshole, and he would say rude stuff and then complain that we were taking him too serious and he was just being sarcastic. That we 'didn't get his sense of humor'. And for a while, he had my mom wrapped right around his finger. He was manipulating her from the very beginning. He even treated her like shit most of the time. 8th grade all the way through the end of my senior year I endured his treatment every day. I had to be careful about what I said at all times, about who came over, about being too loud at night. If my room was messy, he would take a garbage bag and take all of my stuff- I had to 'earn' back my stuff.
When the baby was born they had to do renovations on the house. There was a ton of attic space, so they ended up breaking into it- a game room leading to two bedrooms and a bathroom. This was when things went from humanly hellish to supernaturally chaotic. During the renovations before any walls went up and it was mostly just wood and plastic, C and I had seen a dark shadow of a man pass behind a plastic tarp- and it was so clear because the sunlight was coming from the other side. When I checked there was no body there. Once everything was completed the feeling changed.
My room ended up being on the other end of the opened up attic.
At the time I was watching a lot of Supernatural- so my spooked ass started putting salt barriers on my bedroom door (which guess what! Yeah! It was one of those attic bedrooms!) and also on my window too. My mom and B would ridicule me for this but I stand by my decisions to this day!
This was mostly because of the feelings you would get in the game room. Even if you were just passing through. There were always eyes on you- especially when your back was turned. I never ever walked through that room without the light on. I didn't even sleep with the light off in my room. When I would I would get really bad sleep paralysis,
One of the worst ones I was laying on my stomach with my head turned to the side. I opened my eyes and I was utterly frozen. At first I know it's just sp, so I try to stay calm and take deep breaths but then I start to feel this pressure starting down on my feet. It feels like two hands grabbing my ankles and pressing down. Then the hands move up my body and then there's more pressure- like someone's whole body is crawled over top of me. It gets closer and closer to my head. All the while I'm trying to scream but I can't open my mouth so it's just coming out as quiet whimpers. I can feel it breathing on my neck and then in my ear. That's when it finally stopped and I jerked up and immediately turned on the light. I remember just crying for a while. At the time B had made it impossible to trust my mom- and they would've just gotten mad at me for waking them up.
There was another night where I had been up late, probably 3 or 4 in the morning and I was drawing or something just sitting on my bed. All of the sudden I hear 4 distinct knocks from INSIDE my closet! No joke I shit bricks. There was no rational explanation. Because there was siding on our house that was damaged and it would make noise but it was always specific like a scraping/tapping. But this was a knock, like someone is at your door with your DoorDash meal type knock. I always tried to rationalize what was happening. Make excuses for the weird stuff.
Then one summer, my cousin had come up from another state to stay with us. We spent a lot of time in my room, just hanging out. One day, we're both up there just chilling when all of the sudden I notice something under my door.
Someone was walking back and forth in front of the bedroom door. You could even hear the floor creaking on the other side. You could see the shadow pass to the right and then to the left. I remember locking my door and calling my mom to see if it was an actual human, nope. She ended up sending B up there (of course this made him mad for some reason) to verify that there was no person up there. Basically they just said we were being kids with overactive imaginations but I can tell you right now there was no rational explanation for that experience.
A lot of the time at that house you could feel constant eyes on you, mostly in the attic. Like always- at all times, someone or something was watching.
There were also times when there was a sort of 'mimic' situation where you could think you heard something upstairs but you really didn't; one time my sister went to pick up our dog- and she thought she heard the dog crying upstairs, she started to go up and get her when her boyfriend who was there at the time stopped her because the dog crate was downstairs in my moms room AND GUESS WHO WAS IN THE CRATE and NOT upstairs.
There was also one time I was babysitting my younger siblings and it was pretty late when I heard giggling upstairs. Thinking it was my brother, I went up to reprimand him and basically tell him to go to sleep but when I entered his room- he was dead asleep. Like fully passed out. I just shut the door and quietly went back downstairs. Nope nope nope.
B ended up doing work out of state- I was like 20 ish and moved back in with my mom and the kids. What was weird that during this time I didn't really have a lot of paranormal experiences. Once or twice you would hear weird things or my cat would get tiffed up staring at blank corners of the room. It was mostly really nice when he wasn't there.
A few years ago we ended up having to leave that house. B as it turns out had gotten himself addicted to meth and also started downloading explicit photos of underage girls (11-13 approx.) I was at the house when the police came and everything. He's still not in jail btw which is such bull. When it first happened, my mom reached out to B's ex wife to talk to her.
Turns out from the moment B and his ex bought this house, she immediately noticed negativity. Weird things and scary things that would happen. We sort of deduced that HE was the one bringing that negative energy into the house, which totally made sense because most of the extreme haunting stuff was happening WHILE HE WAS THERE. So yeah I blame him because he is a disgusting demon himself.
Anyway that's all I've got for now- thank you so much for reading! Love you girl!
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2024.05.14 20:21 Ill_Variation_2480 TTPD's new nickname "Female Rage: The Musical" should upset you.

Edit: If you are going to comment on the length of this post, please don't. This is not a simple snark but rather an actual critical think piece about feminism and Taylor Swift.

Introduction

Pertaining to Taylor Swift, "Female Rage" has deviated from its intended meaning after Swift debuted a new performance of The Tortured Poets Department during the Eras Tour. Now, according to Swift's use of the phrase, female rage is interpreted as public backlash against Swift's dating choices rather than as a response to the broader injustices against women and women's rights. This post examines Taylor Swift's flawed feminism, philanthropy, branding, and the controversial trademark petition for the phrase "Female Rage: The Musical". Swift's background as an entertainer, indeterminate politics, and alignment with capitalism over feminism pervades her legacy, again threatening her public tolerance as not just an individual but as a brand.

Once Upon a Female Rage...

If you were cognizant in the early 2010's, you've heard countless jabs at Taylor Swift in the media. Magazines, radio, or online. Music critics did not take her seriously as a songwriter; parents put a woman on an unrealistic pedestal as the ideal role model for their children; she dated too much and used men as lyrical fodder. No matter the story, it inevitably spread, conjoined with everyone's respective opinions, and you'd be left to wonder, "Why does everyone hate this girl so much?"
Taylor's target demographic has always been young or adolescent girls, more so when Swift herself was one. She made music that spoke to the awkward misfit, cultivating a para-social relationship with fans on MySpace, then later twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, where Taylor posted relatable vlogs showcasing the life of a homegrown American girl. Taylor had a delayed public "growing up" and, compared to her female pop contemporaries, Swift never "gratuitously sexualized her image and seems pathologically averse to controversy" (and, apparently, never even had a sip of alcohol until she turned 21). She was more than happy to spin this narrative to allude to an inherent moral superiority above other women in the industry (Better Than Revenge, heard of it?), engaging in the very slut-shaming that she herself endured (the Madonna and Whore archetypes). The victim complex arose with the need to prove Taylor as a different type of pop girl. Based upon her holy and clean image, Swift had been dubbed "a feminist's nightmare", and that "[To Swift] other girls are obstacles; undeserving enemies who steal Taylor’s soulmates with their bewitching good looks and sexual availability." Feminism and Tennessee-Christian country values don't exactly mix, it seems.
Years later, Swift befriended Lena Dunham and thus experienced white feminism osmosis, where Dunham taught Swift that real feminists defend rapists, makes insensitive jokes about rape and abortion, and prioritize all-white casts. Swift then declared herself a feminist in 2014, saying,
"Becoming friends with Lena – without her preaching to me, but just seeing why she believes what she believes, why she says what she says, why she stands for what she stands for – has made me realize that I’ve been taking a feminist stance without actually saying so."
I suppose the male-centric songwriting subject that permeates Swift's discography contained covert feminism and that we just didn't see that. Perhaps, the "Bad Blood" song and music video were written only in jest and not about poor Katy Perry, for Swift, as a feminist, would "never make it a girl fight" or tear other women down (though all Katy did was date your terrible ex-boyfriend and allegedly steal three backup dancers from your tour). In 2013, Swift said, in response to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler's joke towards her serial dating, "There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women."
There was that time in 2015 Taylor said that Nicki Minaj was "invited to any stage [she is] on" (as if Taylor expects to have access to every stage, award, and platform that Nicki might not otherwise have as a black female artist...yikes!) in response to Nicki's criticism of the white + thin VMA nominations. Later, Nicki responded with confusion, as Swift continued, "It’s unlike you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot..". Of course, this 'beef' was 'squashed' when Nicki performed with Taylor at the VMAs, with Nicki quite literally only having 38 seconds of stage time without Taylor. Maybe all that parading around with a legion of famous white women - similar to the way Taylor might've done with her numerous 1989-era handbags - was in fact a stance against gender inequality, and that this display of "girl power" should be enough to constitute Swift as a feminist icon.
Even while Swift says that Dunham informed her feminist outlook, she dances around the exact contents of those beliefs: "what she believes, what she says, what she stands for" is not exactly insightful towards what beliefs Swift might have inherited. Taylor never broaches women's rights topics such femicide, FGM, forced pregnancy & marriage, sex trafficking, women in slavery, women's financial and political oppression, women's educational rights, women's health, or women's autonomy, so we can assume she only gives a fuck about "girls supporting girls" (whatever that fucking means).
Despite some questionable (and sometimes vindictive) behavior, Taylor as a young woman did not deserve every media lashing that she received. We cannot deny that most headlines and criticisms perpetuated a misogynistic rhetoric which has plagued Swift for a majority of her career. Acknowledging events such as the development of her ED, her sexual assault trial, "Famous" lyric and MV depiction of Taylor, and the explicit Twitter deepfakes, for example, as both disgusting and unfortunate things that happened to a young woman in Hollywood does not negate the fact that Taylor is mostly a performative feminist.

Get Your Fucking Ass Up and Be a Philanthropist, It Seems Like Nobody Wants to Be a Philanthropist These Days

In 2013, Taylor Swift cut the ribbon at the grand opening of the Taylor Swift Education Center at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee. The donation amount - $4 million - was the largest individual artist gift ever donated to the Country Music Hall of Fame, which is, of course, mentioned on Swift's website. The two-story facility features three classrooms, an instrument room, and an interactive children's exhibit gallery. Swift also performed at "All for the Hall" charity shows and has donated numerous artifacts from her career (such as notable guitars, tour costumes, etc) to the museum.
This was over 11 years ago, and it is still the only notable philanthropic contribution Taylor Swift has made.
For a woman of her net worth and stature, and a woman who recognizes the difficulties for women in film and music, you would think that Taylor Swift might establish a scholarship program for women to study the arts or something. Perhaps Swift might even consider becoming a member of organizations that support female artists, or one that supports LGBTQ+ causes (since she is now proudly an ally), yet she remains superficial with her graces. Broader philanthropy, such as donating relief aid to Palestinian women or women impacted by violence and discrimination will probably never receive any financial support from Miss Swift because then she'd be using her money towards philanthropies involving anyone but white entertainers.
She even says herself in Miss Americana, "My entire moral code as a kid and now is a need to be thought of as 'good'." Well, she's certainly thought of as good, though her actions say otherwise. She's more than happy to do a vaguely altruistic song and dance for a clip-worthy interview quote and mass appeasement, then fuck off to one of her mansions on a 20 minute private jet flight, rather than actually contribute to anything pertaining to the causes she has endorsed. Yet, far too many people continue to give a woman such as her their money, time, and energy, and she hoards these resources to herself.

I Like Some of the Taylor's Songs, But What the Fuck Does She Know About Feminism?

Swift continued with her self-proclaimed feminist campaign, positioning herself as a political activist and LGBTQ+ ally in the Miss Americana documentary. The primary focus of the documentary consists of the sexual assault trial, Andrea Swift's cancer diagnosis, Taylor's ED and body dysmorphia, media scrutiny, and, largely, finally speaking up about her politics publicly, mostly her opposition to the 2018 Tennessee Republican senate candidate, Marsha Blackburn, and Blackburn's beliefs. Swift says, following a scene discussing her experience during the trial,
"I just couldn't really stop thinking about it. And I just thought to myself, next time there is any opportunity to change anything, you had better know what you stand for and what you want to say."
We must ask ourselves, though: when has Swift ever spoken up to change anything? Okay, pulling her entire catalogue from Spotify because they didn't pay their artists enough and similarly pulling her catalogue from Apple Music are changes that she leveraged due to her revenue potential and power, but they are not pertinent to the average woman's rights. Moreover, these are issues that directly impacted Taylor's income, which was enough reason for her to protest in the first place. Swift has sold the most units for a female artist in first week sales, is the first female artist with 100k monthly Spotify listeners, is the first female artist to win the Album of the Year Grammy 4 times, and is the first female artist to do X, Y, and Z, all while being inoffensive and family-friendly to boot. The actual Taylor Swift seems unwilling to compromise the brand of Taylor Swift by contributing in meaningful ways to feminist causes, especially if it is for women outside of America and Hollywood.
The reason political anthems such as "The Man" and "Only the Young" of the Lover era feel disingenuous and corporate is because, well, it is. Taylor has taken every opportunity to advance her career or public image at the expense of other women. What is truly genuine to Taylor's outlook on other women is vying for male attention, taking down female competition, and vocalizing feminist injustices only if they directly impact her and her money. Some will argue that it's satisfactory for a woman with such a huge platform to even TALK about feminism, but that just isn't enough. It's even less impressive when you candidly look at the scope of her feminist lens: "If I was the man, then I'd be THE MAN", or "I really resent the ‘Be careful, buddy, she’s going to write a song about you’ angle, because it trivialises what I do", and, of course, "We all got crowns". Feminism, but only when it happens to me. It gets worse when you look at Taylor's track record of copying other famous women and removing other female artists as potential threats to her pop prowess.
It's good for PR to align yourself with certain blanket feminist and political beliefs, therefore good for branding, therefore good for ticketing and merchandise sales, therefore good for business. And Taylor Swift is a business.
She's not a feminist. Taylor Swift is a capitalist.

I Can't Pay Those Sweatshop Workers a Livable Wage or Benefits! How Else Would I Make My Billions?

Recently, Taylor's team filed to trademark the phrase "Female Rage: The Musical" after Taylor said during Paris N1 of the Eras Tour,
"So you were the first ones to see The Tortured Poets at the Eras Tour...or as I like to call it, 'Female Rage: The Musical'."
This trademark petition was filed last week on Saturday, and news comes about just as numerous unofficial fan-made merch designs have cropped up with this phrase plastered on Fruit of the Loom basics. I'm of the opinion Swift's team motioned for a trademark so that they can send out cease & desists to all those that make knockoff merch, which disrupts potential sales for Bravado, UMG's choice merchandising company; however, since it was filed earlier, perhaps Swift has bigger plans with the bizarre use of the gendered phrase. One Swiftie referred to the phrase "female rage" as "a funny Eras Tour joke". Could it be a possible fourth version of the Eras Tour Movie? Whatever the reason, the motion to capitalize off of such a concept is disgusting, but not unsurprising, for a woman that profits on her vain feminism.
Swift, through her company, TAS Rights Managements, has also trademarked over 200 phrases, including "1989", where she owns the property rights to this calendar year on keychains, phone cases, sunglasses, stationary, bags, beverage ware, clothing, entertainment services, your subconscious, and, of course, Christmas ornaments.
The vapid consumerism in Swiftie culture is, frankly, disgusting. Bravado's sustainability statement is non-existent, the quality control is abysmal, and the materials they use are horrible. The materials, such as acrylic and polyester, are made from petrochemicals. This means they are non-renewable, shed microplastics, and are quite toxic in production. The manufacturing process to make all of those lazy-rushed Eras Tour logo graphic tees is a huge blow to environmental well-being. Apparently, though, Swifties don't give a fuck. They sell out products in seconds and either have to face the manufactured scarcity or buy from a scalper that resells for 200% of the already ridiculous retail price. This doesn't include the environmental impact of vinyl records, CD, and cassette production, of which Taylor produces many variants that sell unsustainable amounts.
If we're talking about women's rights violations, why is no one acknowledging the women that work in the inhumane sweatshop conditions that have to pump out fugly t-shirts and hats? The millions of plastic microfiber dander they are inhaling, or the toxic dyes that touch their bare skin? Are they being compensated fairly for their skilled labour and are they in safe working environments? Do these women have minimal bargaining power, and do they have authority over their worker's rights? Is Taylor Swift female raging at their injustices? Does Taylor Swift ever feels bad that her wealth was built on the backs of women of color, disadvantaged by the demands of the global economy and garment industry? Do you think she ever says a little white feminist prayer for them before she goes to sleep at night?
What's even crazier is not that Taylor herself doesn't care, it's that Swifties don't care. There CANNOT BE ethical billionaires. You only make a billion dollars if you are exploiting other human beings for capital gain. Based on public perception of the possible "Female Rage: The Musical" trademark, it seems like Swifties are already asking for merch with this phrase. "If Taylor made it, I'd buy it." Oh, cool. So not only do you champion Miss Swift's avarice and billionaire status, but you also are unashamed to admit to your blind consumption of her music and merchandise, no matter where they might originate in production or sincerity. Just as Swift takes and takes and takes, Swifties' consumerism of Taylor Swift cannot be quelled.
The tortured artist's most vulnerable and sincere poetry...available now in 21 different versions!

I Am Tortured Poet, Hear Me Whinge

Look - even if Taylor's intention is to characterize TTPD as more "tortured" and "angry", the main thread of the album is "I was ghosted by my decade-long situationship with a controversial indie boy and my fucking stupid fans wrote a 'Speak Up Now' open letter prompting me to drop him" anger, which is adequately expressed in the lyrics and performances. The extent of Taylor's "female rage" on TTPD is on tracks such as "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?", which contends with relentless media scrutiny; "But Daddy I Love Him", where Swift firmly states she'll date whoever she likes no matter how "Sarahs and Hannahs" may react; and "The Albatross", a track mythologizing her reputation and the consequences of dating her. Of course, these coincide with deep psychological wounds that formed during Swift's early years in the media, and so, from her feminist perspective, these subjects tackle the misogyny and double standards that she faced.
Yet Taylor Swift still has no grounds to be claiming that TTPD best exemplifies female rage and therefore she, in the context of this album, is female rage incarnate. As the daughter of a stock broker and mutual fund marketing executive, Taylor was born into wealth and allowed privileges like trips and subsequent relocation to Nashville all so that she might get a record deal. Her father even invested at least $120,000 into the then-fledgling label, Big Machine Records, which ensured Taylor's place with Borchetta after leaving her dead-end development deal with Sony. The fact that her parents were able to buy her a fucking brand new guitar for Christmas and pay for music lessons says so much about the financial security and safety of her childhood.
Money is privilege and protection, and despite Swift's experiences with misogyny and loser boyfriends, she does not know what female rage is.
Her rage is derived from her frustrations with her obsessive fans pulling the moral superiority card on Taylor in response to her rebound with Matty Healy. That's literally it. She's just pissed that the monster she created is no longer obediant, it's become a feral, sovereign entity that depletes the world of its natural resources and thinks it is more intelligent than it actually is because it's mommy has started to talk to it with big words. Apparently, 'illicit', 'elegy', 'nonchalant', and 'precocious' are considerably big words for the oafish monster, and I find it strange that this level of literacy is present in a group of fans that allegedly have GPAs of 3.5 or higher, but I digress.
Taylor Swift has never been one paycheck away from destitution. Taylor Swift has never experienced racial discrimination. She may have instances of gender discrimination, but she possesses the ideal white, blonde American beauty standard and therefore reaps the benefits of being a conventionally attractive woman. Taylor Swift has sufficient social capital. Taylor Swift is a billionaire woman prolonging her victimhood though she, as a woman, has mostly had control over her image and music (unlike her contemporaries). Taylor Swift is NOT entitled to be championed for her "female rage", nor should she be. Taylor Swift has never even been the struggling artist, for fuck's sake. I don't give a fuck if she's trying to fill the empty lunch tables of her past. Taylor Swift purporting herself, her unpolished album, and her lukewarm feminism as a musical bleeding with female rage is asinine.

Sigh Try and Come For My Job, Poors

Out there in the world right now is a 23-year-old woman, a recent college grad, who works as a barista. She has to wake up and get ready to go into a minimum wage job because she cannot get a job in her field. She doesn't have healthcare benefits or sick time, so she has to go into work no matter how she's feeling. All day long she is berated by vicious customers and creepy men, and, exhausted from being on her feet, she knows she has to go home to her shitty roommate that never does the dishes and her roommate's shitty dog. To comfort herself, she considers getting a treat, but thinks against it when she remembers that matcha lattes cost $15 and they taste like milky dirt. She knows that she needs to buy groceries this week, and so the woman resolves to go home, but notices that her gas tank is low. She goes to put gas in the car, but the pump stops at $27.86 because that's all that she has in her checking account. The woman, bereft and reeling, sinks into the driver's seat. "Well," she thinks, her head in her hands, "at least I don't have Taylor Swift's job. I just couldn't imagine."
Fame is somewhat of a choice. If at any moment Taylor feels that she is misunderstood, misconstrued, or overwhelmed by public opinion, she can LEAVE the public eye - Lord knows she has the retirement fund and residuals to do so. In "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart", the TTPD song about meeting the demands of your career-zenith mega-tour while in the relationship trenches, Taylor ends the song by rambling,
"You know you're good when you can even do it with a broken heart...you know you're good...and I'm good, cause I'm miserable, and no one even knows!...try and come for my job."
Yeah, obviously we wouldn't know, you recently passed the billionaire threshold and are the most famous and in-demand performer in the world right now. Taylor Swift makes an estimated $10 to $13 million dollars A NIGHT on the Eras Tour. Furthermore, the Eras Tour movie grossed $261.6 million globally, (which, as the producer, Taylor takes home 57% of the ticket sales) not counting the streaming revenue from Amazon Prime Video and the estimated $75 million deal that Disney paid to have it on Disney+. We're not even considering the income from cheap plastic popcorn buckets and drink cups plastered with colored squares in her Era-specific likeness.
It's funny. Taylor Swift often said that being famous wasn't hard, that she "isn't complaining". I'm sure it is difficult to always have to present in a good mood, else you'll end up misrepresented in the media, and I'm sure it's invasive to virtually have no privacy or semblance of anonymity. Still, Taylor Swift shows up each night of tour and performs. For a majority of her career, she has penned her sad songs while on the road. Most of "Red", her breakup album, was written in the thick of the Speak Now World tour. Now, some Swifties say they almost "feel bad" for attending the Eras Tour with Swift's revelations in this song, that they have had a 'dimmed experience' upon hearing Taylor's misery whilst performing. Despite the fact that Taylor said that "this was the happiest she's ever been" at Gilette Stadium in May, the lyrics "boohoo, woe is me, smile for the cameras and make the fans happy!!!" are jarring for Eras attendees.
While Taylor Swift was making double-digit millions a night in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and feeling miserable, Ana Clara Benevides Machado passed away due to heat exposure. The concert promoters, Time For Fun, are now the subject of a criminal investigation due to their lack of adequate hydration and safety. Taylor Swift cancelled the Sunday show that was to follow and offered VIP tent tickets to Benevides Marchado's family, which was a kind gesture, but perhaps incongruous to the incident of which they were offered as consolation. Everyone grieves differently, of course, but I'm not sure attending the very show at the very same venue that my daughter or sister passed away in two days prior, where the singer CONTINUED the show despite her death, would be healthy for closure.
There was no female rage at the show as Swift never saw Benevides Machado pass out. There was no female rage towards the disregard for fans as humans while Swift elected to proceed with her Brazil tour dates despite the country being in historic heatwaves (at risk of overheatting herself). If Taylor Swift was so shaken by touring with a broken heart or a fan's passing, she wouldn't have added an additional North American leg of Eras just two months after the Matty breakup. She's brokenhearted but willing to mend the cracks with your money and move onward with her worldwide female rage induced pillaging.
No matter what happens, even if you die at a Taylor Swift concert, Taylor collects a big fat check and flies away. She doesn't know you as anything other than a conversion rate or earning potential despite what her nearly 20-year long parasocial relationship with fans might otherwise indicate. She knows that, while some Swifties are without disposable income, they feel obligated to spend on a "48 Hours Only!" exclusive vinyl variant instead of necessities because they are so entrenched in Taylor Swift's intoxicating celebrity, they'll prioritize materialistic fandom before their needs. This is good enough for her because this means she can expand her real estate portfolio and finance her cat's lavish lifestyles. They're worth an estimated $100 million dollars. Her three cats could pool their net worth and solve world hunger.
While you and I might be denied bereavement leave and barely surviving the current political and economic climate, Taylor Swift has to, instead of gets to, perform for stadiums at full attendance for three nights in a row across the globe. You and I might be replaced by AI at our longtime jobs, but Taylor Swift is threatened with losing more and more money each time you listen to a "Stolen Version" of her songs. If we don't buy every variant of all of her albums, then who is going to pay for the fucking cats?
It is tone deaf to spend as she spends and lives as she lives in this economy, but this is her reality. She was able to donate $100,000 to all of her tour truck drivers, and that's wonderful, but it leads me to wonder about the ethos of the 2020s where one woman can hoard such life-changing amounts of money. Remember in 2014 when she gave a fan $90 ($120 in today's money) to get Chipotle because she had no fucking clue how much it cost? This is a 34-year-old woman who is increasingly out of touch with the reality for working class people and women in general. Normal everyday adults must wake up and go to their thankless jobs, and yet Taylor Swift, despite all her riches, incessantly references the lows of her life and career as a public figure and entertainer to farm sympathy and drive sales. And still, the corporate women have latched onto "I cry a lot, but I am so productive! It's an art!" as their cubicle battle cry.
Do you think that, from up in her private jet, Taylor Swift gazes at the world through her poetic, tortured eyes, and thinks, "All the little people, in their cars, walking, going about their lives...all those girls that don't support girls...do they know that I've made an album about female rage?"

Conclusion/TLDR

Thank you for reading. I would love to hear your critical insights towards this entire ordeal: TTPD, the trademark, the implications of it all.
TLDR: Taylor Swift is a bad feminist and is delusional to think that the TTPD eras set exemplifies female rage at women's injustice.
submitted by Ill_Variation_2480 to travisandtaylor [link] [comments]


2024.05.14 19:31 StatisticalMan Delta Skymile Amex Targeted Offers have good welcome bonuses again

For a while Delta Skymile Amex targeted offers were terrible but I guess Amex isn't signing up enough cardholders because they just upgraded them and they are quite good.
If anyone is interested I have referral link for the following welcome bonuses:
The subreddit rules prevent posting referral link so shoot me a DM if interested. Not sure how long the targeted offer will last. In the past after the first half dozen signups Amex starts downgrading the offers so "while supplies last".
https://i.ibb.co/1mgDJN2/image.png
Some tips
  1. The referral link (DM me to get) defaults to Amex (non-Delta) Gold Card because that is the card we use the most so Amex gives best targeted bonuses from that account. However at the top of the page you can click on Personal Cards and then pick any of the cards above (or almost any other Amex as well).
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  3. If it is your goal to "farm" SM then get Delta Gold first. You can't get a bonus for a lower card once you have had a higher card so go Delta Gold -> Delta Plat -> Delta Reserve. You usually will need to wait at least six months and possibly a year between cards for the max (or sometimes any) bonus so farming is for those that are patient but you can pick up as much as 600k SM over three years including Amex pts which can be converted to SM.
  4. Amex may only give you the higher targeted bonus on the first card you apply for. Any additional cards done at the same time or shortly after may be the normal bonus or no bonus so get the card you want most first.
  5. If you want lounge access quickly but may want to farm SM in the future grab the non-Delta Platinum for lounge access (and 125k amex pts). Then see if you can get SM bonus on Delta Gold. If you can't get the bonus then wait six months and try again. The non-Delta Platinum is a different card family than the Delta cards so won't block future Delta welcome bonuses. Getting reserve will forever block any bonus for Delta Gold/Plat.
  6. If while applying it initially shows a bonus in the offer but then as you complete the form it pops up a warning (paraphrased) saying "you can apply for this card but are not currently eligible for a welcome bonus" that is a the dreaded amex popup jail. Either your spend level on existing amex cards is too low or it has been too soon since the last bonus. If you want the bonus then cancel the application and try again later. Amex doesn't provide details but in many cases just waiting six months and then reapplying will get you the welcome bonus.
  7. If you cancel a card in less than a year Amex reserves the right to clawback any welcome bonus. They don't always do this but they can. It likely will block you from future bonuses as they will tag you as a churner. However once a year passes and the AF posts you have 30 days to cancel and they will refund the AF. So if you don't want to keep the card just cancel after a year within 30 days of the AF posting. If you miss that windows don't cancel instead downgrade the card to a $0 AF card and they will prorate the AF and refund a portion.
submitted by StatisticalMan to delta [link] [comments]


2024.05.14 14:01 Zappingsbrew A post talking about 400 words

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submitted by Zappingsbrew to u/Zappingsbrew [link] [comments]


2024.05.14 10:50 KangarooAromatic2139 Looking for some proofreading on a crossover fanfiction.

Hi there everyone, I kind of curious, I have been writing a crossover fanfic in the style of Super Robot Wars storylines. One of the Franchises I want to add is RWBY, however, I never really got into the series until playing Blazblue Cross Tag Battle and during his time I started read up on the series on various wiki pages.
So, if I'm wrong on any details or something does seem to match the character's personalities, please tell me!
In this point of the fanfic, it took place after my idea of an ending to the series, so here goes nothing!
The white haired huntress explained why she feels this is the case, telling them the story of her younger brother and his road for redemption.
For the longest of times, Whitley had nothing but hatred for his older sisters and saw the hunters and huntresses as below him, mocking Weiss every moment he had while she was under house arrest. Escaping from this sham of a home, she swore the boy and their father were nothing but monsters and for their actions were things that she never could forgive. That is until it was after the arrest of their father and their manor being invaded by Grimms that cracks were showing in his facade of pettiness.
"During that fight, Whitley wanted nothing but to run off, until he saw our mother fighting against the Grimm before falling from the underuse of her Semblance when he knew he needed to help."
After saving Willow and learning from their mother that Whitley was as much of a victim as anyone else that the middle child chose to mend their damaged relationship. During the fall of their home Kingdom of Atlas, he continued to help by having all the SDC Saircrafts to save anyone and everyone to relocate the people to Vacuo. When the Team RWBY and Jaune return from Ever After, he became part of the attacking forces as a commander to help defeat Salem's forces.
In the final battle, He was present to witness Ruby Rose and Kairi sparing the now depowered and mortal Salem, who was told to simply live with reminders of her sins haunting her until the day she died, as this was her last life. "While we watch Salem leaving to parts unknown, I thought Whitley was going to say something foolish, but to my surprise, he only watched.
In the four weeks after Salem's defeat, Whitley began his new life but it was something to adjusted to as he worked a part time job and began to start classes in that first week The heir of whatever remained of the SDC let his hair grow out slightly, he may have been inspired by a picture of Jaune's appearance during his time in Mistral but still kept a very clean appearance.
It wasn't until a week ago that there were some Jacques' old associates from Vacuo wanted to give Whitley the position of CEO of a new company, one named Phoenix Ash.
"At first, I thought he just wanted to go back to his old ways of life when he agreed to the deal, Asked from me was to trust him about this..."
Out of the blue, The new CEO of the Phoenix Ash Group called for a Public Announcement. Weiss and Winter were watching on a monitor in an aircraft outside of the city. Fearing for the worst, that he would be making empty promises to make a postive public image, the boy spoke of ending the practices of abusing Fanuas workers. This was a lie that their father made to the press when he was alive, before the young CEO spoke of his new idea.
When questioned by the Press, Whitley told the world that he his idea was to start finding better sources than just Dust to rely on, so he would put his own Lien that he held on since childhood to fund this research. If this research was successful, then he would personally see to the closure of all Dust Mines under the Pheonix Ash banter but threaten that if any of the Fanuas workers were harmed during his time as CEO, that under his leadership that he personally see it that the abusers' paychecks would go to their victims and repeated offenders would be fired as quickly as possible. The two sisters begin to noticed that four of The Board Members who hired him were in shaking in their boots.
"Young Sir, please think of the words you speak..." one of Jacques' remaining associates on the board begged to hopefully conviced the boy to reconsider these ideas
"I am fully aware of the words coming from my mouth as much as you were aware of letting my father's actions slide so you can make more Lien. So, to be quite blunt, SHUT IT OR FIND NEW JOBS!" This wasn't like the boy they once knew while Jacques was thriving, he was a new Whitley Schnee that wouldn't be swayed by the idea of making Lien in dishonest ways and wouldn't allow anyone under his leadership to harm the Faunus workers.
"DAMNED BLEEDING HEART BRAT, YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE JACQUES, THE REAL HEIR OF THE NAME OF SCHNEE!"
The oldest board member, a muscular bald man of over fourty who was still extremely loyal to the deceased CEO of SDC, charged at the youth with a knife! The youngest of the Schnee clan knew there would be risks, but didn't have any fighting experience to counter this attack.
"WHITLEY!" Weiss cried out as she knew she wouldn't be able to stop the would be killer's attempt of assassination, however, a certain green eyed Faunus, who's loyalites to Robyn Hill last to this day, arrived in enough time to stopped the youth's would be killer.
"You really think that Fiona Thyme would let you kill your new boss? As IF!"
Within a mere set of seconds, the man of three hundred and something pounds was on the ground, each insult that was aimed at the girl was countered with his former boss nodding for the girl to wack the creep across his bald head. This last for a couple of minutes until the police to take his sorry ass to jail as well as charging the Faunus with a minor crime. The girl knew that there would no way to escape but chose not to surrender as she put her hands behind her head much to the cheers of some in the crowd.
However, In those five seconds before the cuffs closed on her hands, The CEO jumped off of the platform and stood in between the messy haired Faunus girl and the arresting officer, slapping the cuff out of the man's hands to the shock of the world. When asked to step aside, the boy's answer to this was something everyone in Remnant, who were either in the crowd or watched from afar from their scrolls, never expected.
"You're really asking me to step aside, so you could take away a war hero's future? I choose to refuse for we all know these charges against her are nothing but baseless. She fought on the side of various heroes! Heroes ] from the Battle of Beacon, like the Teams: RWBY, JNPR, SSSN, FNKI, ABRN and CFVY, the heroes without teams like Lady Kairi, Qrow Branwen, and Taiyang Xiao Long, Heroes like Ilia Amitola and the Belladonna clan who were once White Fang members but left before the assassination of Sienna Khan and return to fight to stop the once peaceful group when they saw what it became under the command of Adam Taurus, heroes like the remaining members of the Ace Operatives, who fought their own feelings of sadness when they lost Clover Ebi and came together after they realized James Ironwood was in the wrong, after the man fell into despair because of how the upper class saw the innocent victims in Remnant and used Atlas as a ram to prevent the Grimm from gaining another advantage point. These groups of heroic and wonderful people came together to save the world from the forces of Salem, so why can't we, the civilains they protected, do the same?!"
There were some mutters from the civilians that watch on the ground level before one of the rich members of the crowd, a man named Harry Marigold, brought up that Weiss may have saved the world but of her crime of summoning the Grimm at the charity event at Schnee Manor should be held accountable before the youth counter with.
"The crime that night was one in justified anger when you, Harry Marigold, who ignored her sadness and only wanted my sister's attention for bragging rights, that damnable trophy wife, her weak minded shell of a husband, the former CEO of the SDC, myself and many others of the Upper Class chose to cruely mocked the recently deceased of Vale and proudly laughing about the deaths of the many innocents of the fallen Kingdom who had nothing to do with the fighting. fates we claimed that civilains deserved!? If anything, she didn't summoned the Grimm to harm anyone but wanted us demons to understand that life is not to be taken as a joke or anything to not to be take lightly. The real crime that night was that the Grimm didn't caused more damages to Schnee manor and not having the monster hurt any of us because of our cruelity to the dead! But because the CEO of SDC cared for nothing but his public image, when she confronted that scumbag for our actions and for using her as a prize toy for everyone to see, his only reaction was to slapped my sister across her face and denied her Birthright!
This made the rich members of the crowd uneasy, as they knew that they were being put in their places. They wanted the youth to be silenced but he continued, angry and filled with something that he should've had a long time ago, a frightful sense of Justice.
"For too damn long, I was blinded by my family's name, not knowing it was nothing but an evil curse and if it wasn't for my sister's actions that night and the night her team and the remaining members of team JNPR saved the lives of my poor mother and the sorry shell of a person. I, too, would've remained under the very same spell of ignorance that the old fool relished in to keep us in line. So, for you to order me around, to use my sister justified attempt on the upper class to see her honorable view on life so who could silence my words, and to force this maiden, who has fought harder than anyone here because fearful paranoia bigots using unjust hatred of every Faunus to make her life a living torture device, for her to rot in a prison cell without a fair trial, just for saving my life? That command is UNFORGIVABLE!" The boy screamed loudly and in pure rage so everyone could hear his plea.
Fiona was in shock, she heard from various communities of the Faunus that the SDC and clan of Schnee were nothing but monsters, worse than any of Salem's Grimms. Even after meeting the huntresses of Team RWBY, she believed Weiss was the only one of the family who wanted to set things right in the world.
Even through she hated the idea to keep an eye on the Schnee heir, even if it was a jobn from her trusted leader. His father and the fellow members of the Board in the SDC saw the Faunus and wanted nothing but for them to be trapped in cages without futures, But to see with her eyes, the very son made to follow in these footsteps of selfish desires, meaning every single word that left his mouth, these words that were filled with a justified desire to save the young girl from an unfair fate, was so unreal.
"If anything, it was the wicked ideas of greed that the deceased CEO held dear tt were one of the many factors that broke our world, Jacques Sc..." The boy stopped for less than a second before continuing in anger.
"....Actually no, I refuse to allow that bastard to my family's name any longer, even in death! Jacques Gélé was never a father, he was nothing but an unredeemable thief without a sense honor, who used dirty lies to trick my dying grandfather into his once humble life, the honorable man that should've had the right to lived long enough to prevent the future Gélé wanted, Nicholas Schnee!"
"Who used my recently deceased mother's, Willow Schnee, love and trust to steal a company he was never worthy to rule over from underneath her. When she learned of his deception and his lies in their sham of a relationship, the once loving and carring mother only means to escape from his wicked virus was to drink her sorrows away and seclude herself from the world!
"His sickness was something that their three children were not immuned to as he saw nothing from us but to be used as pawns so he could gain more power! It wasn't until we learned better ways to live by others, others who actually cared, that we actually became good people!"
"The first of us was to learn this lesson was The Soldier who proven herself time and time again, who enlisted in the Atlas military to get away from the sickness that Gélé took pleasure in, who leaders knocked the views of hatred for the Faunus and the usage of cheap tricks out of her, my oldest sister, Commander Winter Schnee!
"My second oldest sister, Huntress Weiss Schnee, who learn of the shame that her family name carried at her time in Beacon, who was forced to leave after the battle by Gélé for supposed safety only to be paraded around as a prize trophy daughter for his friends in the upper class, who felt the sting of venom when that man refused to accept her heroic heart, forcing her to escape his maddess so she could continued helping those who were suffering!"
"And then there's myself, Whitley Schnee, the boy who was so scared with the various changes to his home life that he chose to follow in that thief's footsteps, who once mocked the dead of Beacon along with the others in the Upper Class, who has never fought for anything and even in that last battle, was so powerless to prevent more tragedies for befall those he commanded to fight on his behalf! The boy who's heart is filled with so much regret because of his idiotic choices in life but is now filled a newly found sense of Justice, who only goal now is to find a cure for the poison, so he could, no! will make our world a better place than it was in the past!"
The crowd was stunned thar they couldn't help but to stay silent.
"Gélé has cause so much suffering to the Faunus and to many other communities. That suffering spread in the Kingdoms like wildfire. When my grandfather died, so did the fairness and honor that the Schnee name held on to....but not anymore! MY DREAM is to stop the suffering that Gélé relished in so he could live like a damn lazy king!
Whitley then put his hands behind his head and told the world.
"So if this girl goes to prison, so will I! All I asked of those listening is not to cheer no matter what the outcome is, not to cry for this foolish boy who has fought for nothing, but to simply think about his words and the weight they pull!" Whitley's blood was boiling as The puppet CEO's bight blue eyes widden to show everyone that his dream was one that the boy will work for through his pain.
After this decree was finished, everything was slient before the officer asked. "Would you die for that dream..?"
Whitley, answered with all seriousness. "If I die, then I would gladly die with a hundred stabs to my heart and soul to make damn sure that my dream becomes reality." The officer waved to another cop to bring in a second set of handcuffs, much to both cops dismay.
"Alright, I'm sorry. Whitley Schnee for disobeying a officer of the law, you have to come with us."
Whitley said not a word as the cuffs latched onto his hands. As if to respect the boy's wishes, There were no one in the crowd, maybe even in Remnant, cheering about the arrest of these two, even though the boy said he had nothing but hatred of those that surround Gélé mocking those that died in Beacon, none of the them wanted nor could cheer, for to celebrate this would be nothing but hallowed.
On route to the department to put the two in the holding cells until they could make bond, the two talked, mostly it was Whitley asking the girl a thousands questions of the culture of the Faunus, the life she lived before becoming a war hero and so on. The poor girl was shaking with overwhelmingness but snapped out of it when Whitley explained something to her.
"This is the second time you saved me from the door of death, thank you, Lady Thyme."
Fiona was slightly confused before slowly piecing together that in the final battle she rushed to the location of downed aircraft, where a gravely injured woman layed under some debris being protected by her white haired son with a mere wooded stick he found on the ground screaming. "GET AWAY! YOU GRIMMS!" before being knocked backwards and then being held by his throat.
"HEY FANG FACES, I'M MORE OF A CHALLENGE THAN THOSE TWO!" The Fanaus screamed while the Grimm let the boy go to blocked her attack.
"KID! TAKE YOUR MOM AND GET OUTTA HERE, I CAN'T HOLD THIS GUY OFF FOREVER!"The boy nodded as he grabbed his mother and ran off, not knowing that he would plan to thank the maiden the next time they meet.
"No freaking way, you're that boy?"
"Yeah...but I'm not proud to admit that I'm not one for fighting." Whitley smiled as this surprised the girl.
To think, the meek boy she saved that one time and the guy who wanted to help others despite his family's reputation were the same person? How would this day become more of a weird fever dream?
"Hey you two, I hate to burst this bubble but ready for a fight, there was another vehicle besides ours that was on their way to the department." A male's voice explained when they noticed a man in a grey cloak sitting in the darkest corner of the vehicle.
"Before you asked, I've been here for the entire trip."
"Why is that important?" The only woman of the three thought while the Schnee youth figured it out.
"That ghoul of a Board Member?"
"'Faid so, he was taken in sometime before your speech and there are only two holding cells in the department, one for men and the other for women." The man explained.
"I could use my semblance to hold him in a..." Fiona was stopped when the mystery man continued.
"...And to prevent any escapes, the cells and those cuffs on your hands are laced with anti-semblance tech."
Fiona screamed. "OH CRAP!"
Whitley was shaken but kept cool as he thought. "I guess as this is a smaller scale city, I should've figured as much."
"Are you actually prepared to die for your ideas?" The man asked the boy, but his answer was simple.
"I'm not planning to back down now, to betray those words I spoke earlier, would be a wicked sin."
Meanwhile in an aircraft a little ways off. Both Weiss and Winter were dumbfounded by their brother's speech and actions. "He has changed so much since weeks ago." The middle child thought before Winter demanded the pilot to land that at the port nearest to the city.
Yang, Kairi, Jaune, Ruby, and Blake were on the aircraft but was confused by the sudden change of directions, before the commander explained. "The Board member that tried to killed our brother was sent to the holding cell in the department before Whitley's speech."
"OH CRAP!" Ruby and Weiss screamed as they thought in dismay that the boy was going to be in an one sided fight against a heavier opponent.
"Please hold on for a bit longer, Younger Brother..." Winter quietly whispered as the Aircraft was going as fast as possible to their destination.
Upon arriving and being settle in the two holding cells, it was when the guards left the redeemer was being used as a punching bag for the man's humiliation.
"DAMN BRATTY ASSED PUNK!"
"UGHHH!" Whitley groaned, being punched for a hour, his clothing became ragged and bloody.
"LEAVE WHITLEY ALONE!" Fiona cried out at the tallest in the men's holding cell, she was in the womens' holding cell that was across the room, luckly for her, she was alone in the women's side but not for Whitley, making things worse is that the guards were sent out on an emergency call, as their thinning numbers were sent out because of a few bomb threats elsewhere in the city.
"SHUT IT, SHEEPIE! I GOING KEEP BEATING THIS BRAT UNTIL HE UNDERSTANDS HIS PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE!"
"..." The man in the hood remained quiet as he watched this uneven fight. "You should stay down..."
"...As if I would..." The Schnee boy rose back to his feet through he knew nothing of throwing punches he refused to surrender just to spite the former Board Member of Phoenix Ash.
"HEH, for a skinny brat, you're stubborn, be a good little boy and admit that you're nothing but a puppet then I'll quit your rightly deserved beatings!"
Whitley regained his balance before flipping a bird claiming. "You...really...think this..puppet would let some smug ass with no respect for anyone but those in the Upper Class to order me around? SCREW....YOU!" The boy yelled spiting blood onto the man's ghoulish face to annoy the monster in human flesh.
"...WHY YOU LITTLE MAGGOT!" The man was even more enraged now, as he punched the stomach of the younger male causing the boy fall onto the cold floor.
Fiona was horrified as she witness the former spoiled prince rose back to his feet.
"Still standing boy?"
The youth was still standing to a point, until the man pulled a dirty shiv he found in the holding cell while waiting for this very moment. The two youths' eyes widden when they saw the makeshift weapon of sharpen hard plastic.
"...A weapon!?" Fiona cried out in dismay.
"Some poor sap must have made this sometime ago, makes me wonder where he could be now, anywho while I am slicing into your flesh, Whitley, I'm going tell what I thought of those pretty little ideas of yours."
The Faunus was in a state of fear for the young puppet CEO as the shiv user quickly sliced into the white haired youth's shoulder, with this the first time being cut, Whitley scream in pain.
"AHHHHGNN!"
"FIRST, YOU WANT TO FREE THE ANIMALS FROM OUR CAGES, THEY HAVE NO RIGHTS TO A FUTURE IN OUR SOCIETY!
The next was a stab on his left upper leg, luckly not hitting anything vitals as makeshift blade of sharp hard plastic was pulled out and blood dripped onto the flooring The boy's screams of pain echoing through the empty department.
"NEXT, WE CAN'T MAKE ANY LIEN IF BLEEDING HEARTS, LIKE WHAT YOU'VE BECOME, ARE IN CHARGE OF THINGS!"
The attacker then sliced the right side of Whitley's face leaving a scar under his eye.
"THE FACE OF THE BOY WITH A NAME THAT NOWS MEANS NOTHING TOTHE WORLD, USING TRUTHS TO PISS ON THE LEGACY THAT JACQUES BUILT, JUST SO HIS SON COULD REBUILD THE HONOR THAT IT HELD WHEN THAT WINDBAG WAS STILL KICKING! WHAT FREAKIN DRIVEL!"
then a slash across his chest.
"THAT BLEEDING HEART OF YOURS WANTING REDEMPTION SO HE COULD HAVE SOME ATTENTION BUT GUESS WHAT THERE'S NO SUCH THING IN THE BUSINESS WORLD OR IN THE REMAINING KINGDOMS OF REMNANT AS REDEMPTION!"
Then the right hand of the boy, the one Whitley pull in front of his body in an poor attempt to grabbed the makeshift Shiv.
"THESE HANDS OF A SOFT SPOILED LITTLE BOY WHO, EVEN IN THE LAST BATTLE AGAINST THE GRIMM FORCES, NEVER THREW A PUNCH OR SLAP ANYONE, ARE SUPPOSED TO CHANGE THE WORLD, ALL YOU HAVE DONE IN THAT BATTLE WERE ORDERING SOLDIERS TO FIGHT FOR YOU, SOLDIERS WHO SHOULD HAVE SEEN WHAT YOU'VE BECOME!"
Finishing this rant with a punch to the gut, and mocking his braverly. "TELL ME THIS, BOY? WHEN THIS SPINE OF YOURS GREW, DID YOUR STUPIDITY DOUBLED, BECAUSE COMPARED TO YOUR DAD, YOU'RE SUCH AN DOLT TO BELIEVE YOUR OWN CRAP!"
"WHITLEY! STOP, YOU'RE KILLING HIM!" Fiona screamed as the man got on top of the boy's body and punch the white haired youth's face twice before the monster yelled at the girl.
"I SAID SHUT IT SHEEP! YOU MAYBE A WAR HERO THAT I CAN'T PUT MY HANDS ON BUT YOU'RE GOING TO WATCH AS THE HOPES OF THIS BOY DIES ALONG WITH HIS BODY!"
Getting off of the beaten body of the Schnee, the man let Whitley try to get up before the boy fell on his stomach and the man grabbed the white hairs of his his head and pulled his face up, so the redeemer would look into Fiona's green eyes for a last time, one filled with tears.
"ACTUALLY, IT'S FUNNY, BECAUSE OF HER STATUS AS A WAR HERO, THE SHEEP WILL GET OUT IN THE END OF THE DAY AND BE ON HER WAY HOME, BUT YOU JUST HAD TO PLAY HERO AND FOR WHAT, WHITLEY SCHNEE?! FOR YOUR REMAINS TO BE MY PUNCHING BAG UNTIL I TRANSFER TO PRISON?....IT'S SO FREAKING SAD THAT I'M LAUGHING MY ASS OFF!"
The redeemer, who's face full of buises, forgotten that this is the case for minor first time offenders but didn't care at all. Ever since Fiona saved his and his mother's lives that day, he would've happily be arrested and be beaten, time after time, so he could thank her. He wanted to smile, to show his savior that he was happy with this outcome, even this meant that his life ended today, but could barely move his face but the only could wheezingly chuckled as tears as swell from his eyes
Before the man could finished Whitley off, a small blackout happened as the doors of the cells opened, Fiona ran to the boy who risked his life just so he could to talk to her. "WHY?!" Fiona cried she held the youth in her arms. "WHY CAN'T MONSTERS LIKE YOU SEE THAT THIS A NEW WORLD, THAT WE CAN BECOME BETTER THAN WE ONCE WERE." The green eyed girl demanded anwers but the man just mocked to anwered the Fuanus.
"Do you think animals like you could understand that only the strong and the Upper Cass are the only ones who have the right to control Remnant. He could have been one of those in control and still have enough Lien to be someone important but he chose to ally with the lower class, and for little lamb he paying for it, dearly."
Putting the boy's head gently on the floor wiping the tears on her sleeve, to hopefully keep friend she made safe for a bit longer, she attempted to use Pocket Demisions to rid the world of this demon, only to realize in the middle of her attack, the power returned and because she ran to help the youth, that she was in the men's holding cell with the real beast.
"....No!" She wimpered.
"Looks like there's some of my fellow board members of Phoenix Ash are still on my side." He smiled wickening as he began to explain their plans. "You see, little Sheep, we figured the boy has a bleeding heart, so to get rid of those childish wishes to loosen our hold, we decided yesterday to make up a plan, the one that you had to prevent. So during that little speech of his, we made a second one on the fly." He continued as he put his hand on an earpiece. "...That one being the threats to distract the guards and that little blackout. Plus thanks to this little device, my semblance to increase my strength with every attack I give, still remains."
"This can't be...." She was scared, as this man that she could taken down a few mere hours ago, was telling the truth when every step he made while approaching Fiona made small cracks in the flooring.
"Damn it, We going need to cause another..." A voice explained though the earpiece before he turned off the equipment's sound option.
"Now, since you annoyed me so much, you're going be my replacement, lamb chops!" The upsuper yelled in bliss as he pulled his fist to punch her small body. She dodged the attack but his second punch connected and sent her flying into the force field door.
"AUHHGGG!" She cried out, recoiling in the pain from her back before noticing the man was coming for her, managing to get up but unable to dodge it completely in this cramped arena. She felt the punch connected with her left arm, braking the bones in the limb, Then a kick to her gut. Knocking her a few inches near Whitley's body.
"....No...."
The youngest of the Schnee clan could only watch in despair through one eye, the two were being broken by a scummy excuse of a human, and the young redeemer of his name could do nothing but watched as his attempt to prove to the world his words were real go down in flames.
"...Leave...her...alone..." These words spit out ignoring the pain as much as he could while rising back to his feet and limping to get in between the Faunus woman and her attacker.
"So, the boy still has some fighting spirit...The boy that has never fought for anything in his life, I am certain that you're doing this for everyone's attention."
The man was right on a few things, Whitley was never a fighter or some ground troop, and it may have been that he wanted attention when he first started to go down this road but Winter quickly knocked that idea out of his head, but the man is wrong on others, for Whitley realize that all he wanted to do in life is to help in anyway, even he'll be happy as a sideliner act to the main heroes.
But one can't always stay in that role and hoped to change the world, for a long time he stood by as a witness to to his father's crimes, for longer his thoughts of heroism being dismissed by that bogus excuse of a father and as far as he remembered, Whitley had others fight for him. But no more!
"In this world, money and power pull the strings, and yet you choose death for a flithy animal? How more times are you going to PISS M-!" The man was interrupted while talking by, to the surprise of all, the white haired boy headbutting his taller foe, knocking the man onto his ass!
"...WHAT!?" The man screamed in horror as he started to bleed from his now broken nose, this was the first time the business man has ever seen his own blood.
"...I've...told...the world...I...would die for my dream....even if I die today....I'll be happy to die...hundred times over again..." The boy's body was mostly broken, each word he spoke caused more pain than his body could stand but the young man still had one part of his body to fight with, his hard head!
The next thing they all knew, Whitley continued headbutting his enemy, causing the man to gain a reality check, his ability were increasing his attacks but at a certain cost, The sole major weak point on his body, the one that held the brain to think of ways to screwed others over, the one with the eyes that saw everyone else as beneath him and the one with the mouth with a booming voice he used to make threats and promises to ruin his foes, his face weaken over time with every punch or kick he gave to the two.
"NONONONONO!" The man screamed with a bloodied and bruised face, before feeling the same despair he installed into his two victims just mere minutes ago. In a desperate attempt to stop these attacks, he grabbed the man in the cloak as a hostage, with the shiv he used on the boy still in his possession.
"You-ou wouldn't w-wan...me to stab some r-random person that had nuthing to do with this, uh?!" These ragged words were like the man himself, desperate and scummy, but was enough to stop the boy from getting closer.
The foe laughed thinking he has the upper hand. "I admired your old man's talent in making a profit, but he was just like you to a certain point, he was no killer, so now I advise we wait until they let us out or I'll be plunging..."
"Tsk...This old fart really been pissing me off since we got here!"
The cloaked man yelled as he stepped on the foot of his captor along with a gunshot ringing though the air. "W-WHAT!?" The man screamed in pain as he released his hold to grabbed his now bleeding foot. "DAMMIT, DAMMIT, DAMMIT!" The larger man screamed before realizing why his leg strength wasn't up to snuff. While being headbutted by his Whitley, the earpiece fell out and was behind his two victims!
"No way this is happening...." He groaned in pain before the cloaked male took off his hood, just to make things worse for the would be assassin.
"...and here I thought I would have a peaceful life in prison..." The man sighed as he revealed himself to be a fomer ally of Salem, one who wanted nothing more but to rot in prisons for the remaining of his life.
"M-Mercury B-B-Black, why is a war criminal here?!" The man screamed, fearing for his life even more than before.
"I was supposed to transfer into the next city, mostly for some good behavior BS..." Mercury turned his attention to the white haired boy.
"Hey kid, you're the brother to that girl Weiss, right?"
"....." Whitley wanted to say something but really couldn't, with those last few headbutts, if he tried to speak now, he will surely faint.
"Man, the geezer really did a number on you, huh?" Mercury asked before = one of the guards and Whitley's sisters ran in.
"Holy...CRAP! WHITLEY!!"
"Why is our brother and Miss Thyme in the same cell as these two?!" Winter demanded answers before Mercury explained for panicing guard while pulling the earpiece from the ground.
"Whitley was being used by lord lard ass as a punching bag until few people from Pheonix Ash caused a short blackout, the girl ran in to stopped the beatings but was attacked as well until your little bro figuring out the buzzard's weakness by headbutting the man in his freakin' face. After that, The creep tried to use me as levelage but yeah, you can see how that worked out."
"DAMNED BRATS...." The man groaned as the two Schnee women got Whitley and Fiona out of this cell but froze in fear when he saw Winter staring down at the man.
"I figured that your group would pulled something like this when Whitley told me of the CEO position, so I looked into yours and the rest of the board's backgrounds...It was just as Black said, You and your three friends in the board of eight have more than just attempted assassination to worry about now."
This decree was worrying enough before Mercury Black turned his attention back to the older man."I guess I'm going to have a kicking dummy for a roommate now!"
"Please have mercy!" The man turned deathly pale before Fiona yelled.
"Like the mercy you shown to me and Whitley because he called out your sorry butt, I would think not!"
Weiss was next to insult the man for his behavior. "...If anything you deserve nothing but a fate in a cage, like the various futures you took away!"
"Looks like you're going to rot in a cell for the rest of your sad existence." Winter finished before the guards were told by the military commander to take her younger brother out of the room and to take his would be assassin to the other cell.
Before leaving, Winter asked the former ally of Salem.
"Mercury Black...Your sentence for your war crimes have been over with for a couple of months now, yet, you still choose to remain in prison, may I ask why?"
"Since Cinder died in the fight against our former partner and Salem's redemption attempt, I really don't have much else left. Besides it's like I've said during that battle with the hammerhead and her pretty boy lover, I have been forced to fight since I was born by a drunk abusive excuse of a dad, so even if I could be let back into society, I don't think I could be happy."
"You could've joined the military..." The eldest member of the Schnee replied before the younger male countered
"Yeah, but I hate following and giving orders, besides you've seen what this old bastard done to your brother, creeps like him and worse are everywhere in prison. So as long as I can beat them senseless, I'm freaking happy to serve more time for each brawl I get my ass into."
This silenced Winter for a couple of seconds before asking for two simple demands. "Just tell Em that I'm okay with how things ended between us, and tell her just to be happy with her new life, if she can do that, then that would give me some sort of peace."
A couple of hours later at the medical bay on the airship.
Kairi used the healing spell Curaga on both the boy and Fiona. "Thank you, Lady Kairi." Fiona bowed while still having her arm in a cast after Whitley opened his eyes, being healed.
"Hey, it's not a problem, but please, just call me Kairi for now on, okay, Fiona?"
"Ughh, what...Fiona..are you alright?" The redeemer asked his friend.
"Yes, but you took the blunt of the beating, please relax, Whitley." The Fanuas explained before the boy asked.
"Who payed for our bails? I doubt it was my sisters, our situation isn't as it once was."
At that moment, Weiss and Blake came in, the disowned heiress of the destroyed SDC was proud at the fact that her former enemy of a brother fought for what's right, explaining. "It those three you poined out from that charity that payed for your and Fiona's bonds."
"Huh?!" Fiona was taken back in surprise by this before the middle child of the Schnee family theorized
"My guess is, either your speech or being outed as horrible people that made those three pay with their own Lien to post bond. I only wished we got there quicker but the airport was on the other side of the city."
"That's good but I can only hope that the others in the crowd took my words to heart and none of the people recording that day alter the video."
...We can check for video or audio interferances later on today but something tells me those who heard your speech that they're going be thinking about it for a long time." Blake's words made the youngest member of the Schnee children a little more eased.
"If only mother lived to see her son became someone to be proud of." Weiss thought to herself that day before their last mission in Remnant before her universe was wiped from existence.
In the Hangar of the doomed Wunder, Weiss had a thought of what could've been the futures of the new CEO of Pheonix Ash and his loyal bodyguard could have been if their universe just lasted a little bit longer.
"Hey, Bozos I'm about to take the Eva-unit 02 F off of the ship, before figuring out a plan to stop Misato."
"Alright.." Aqua answered as the red-head walked towards the console before seeing something strange.
"You guys were here for the last hour right?"
"Yeah?" Duo answered before Asuka added.
"And no one else came in or tried anything funny right?"
"We've been here the entire time, what's with the questions, Langley?" Viral countered.
"...There's two signals of heat in the cockpit...."
"Umm what?" Jaune exclaimed as the console showing the statistics of the bulky armored version of Unit 02, showing two bodies of heat in the entry plug.
Before anything else was said in the group. A young male's voice came through the console. "Umm Hello? Can someone get us out of this thing?"
No one but the Schnee huntress recognize the youth's voice. "Whitley!?"
"Sis, can you hear me?"
Asuka spoke next, "How long were you two in the Evangelion for?"
"I think for three hours, oh right, Fi wanted to asked if there's any males in the area."
"Fiona's in there too?!" Wiess inner thoughts were of panic that were made worse after Jaune's answer.
"Yeah, there's four guys here, why?" Jaunne asked before Fiona screamed in embrassament.
"PLEASE GO TO THE OTHER ROOM OR SOMETHING, I CAN'T GO OUT LIKE THIS!"
"Fi, please relax..."
"RELAX!? YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE IN THIS THING WITH CLOTHES ON!" The girl whined while crying from embarrassment.
"Umm, could anyone bring clothing for Miss Thyme."
Duo began to smirked before being dragged by Viral into the next room. "Keep your dirty thoughts to yourself, Duo Maxwell..."
"Killjoy!" Duo screamed as Jonathan conviced Jaune to followed.
"Sir Arc, we should leave as well, as it is knights' honor to..."
"Already way ahead of you, Mr. Joestar. We'll see you all later when we come up with that plan!"
As this was all happening, an snore echoed out from behind the crates. "Is someone sleeping over there?" Aqua asked while checking to see who it might be.
There, Chibodee Crocket, of all people was in deep slumber, much to everyone's surprise.
"...We should wake him up..." Asuka sighed while Weiss went looking for any of the female members of the crew for some clothing.
But to the surprise of the two, he just walked into the next room while sleeping the entire time. "That...worked out way to well..."
submitted by KangarooAromatic2139 to RWBY [link] [comments]


2024.05.14 08:33 McComfortable I'm in serious need of help and it feels like it's too late for me

I don't really no where to start. I feel I've lost myself, consumed with anxiety and guilt and fear and regret and I fear, this new fear, that it's going to be the end of me if I don't start to get it out in some way, shape or form.
I guess I'll begin at the beginning...

I had a difficult childhood with fairly neglectful parents. A mother who openly expressed she never felt she really stepped into her mom shoes until she gave birth to my younger sister, who is three years younger than me. She is my only sibling. My mother told me when I was a kid that she "had to love me", but when my sister came around "she was finally a mother and over the moon", or simply "I always always wanted a girl". I'm not sure if this could be attributed to Post-partum depression, not that she ever researched that or was daignosed with it. That's probably just me trying to pardon my mother or something to the effect. She was 17 when she had me and I'm sure times were different then, my parents both were raised religious, father christian, mother mormon. Maybe their guilt. I ask myself why they brought me into this world if I wasn't wanted to begin with. Or, give me up for adoption to a set of guardians that would have loved me better. I know I was an accident and that's not what gets me down, I get that life be lifing and what happened happened. My difficulties stem from the feeling that my presence never gave my mother any sense of purpose, responsibility or love, or concern. She was emotionally unavailable to me virtually my entire life and I feel like that caused many issues later in my life and how I perceive myself and what I deserve. Coupled with the fact that my neglect met such extremes that I am frankly shocked that I was never picked up by child care services, maybe things were different in the 90's. I'm not sure, I was just a child then.
Much of my upbringing I didn't receive a lot of the things most people would consider essential. As a baby my crib was the sock drawer, then I grew large enough to have a closet, then slept on the floor of a walk-in closet, then I had a single bed from what I recall for maybe a year or maybe two years and I remember feeling metal springs poke me in the my ribs and I recall it being uncomfortable enough for me to move back to sleeping on the floor next to the ratty old used mattress my father found from who knows where. I remember feeling like I had to keep that secret, that the mattress they gave me was uncomfortable enough for me to sneak sleeping on the floor next to it. I think I was really afraid as coming across as ungrateful. My father came from a third world country, so the "gratefullness issue" was address frequently by my mom because "I don't have it even half as bad as what my father had to endure. And she was probably right. But it just silenced me ultimately, didn't put things into a mature context for me. I just learned that I can't complain about anything ever. Anyway, that trend didn't really change when I grew older. grade 9-10 I was sleeping on the living room couch so my sister could have privacy and a bedroom to exist in for herself - which I realize is important for an individual so I encouraged her to have the bedroom. Although I figured my parents expected me to do this for my sister regardless. I was okay with making sacrfices for those I love, it was instilled in me from a very very young age.
I do feel like my father took advantage of me in the form of labour as well, having to do custodial work with my father from 10pm to 3am, at two highschools I believe he was contracted, at that young age I honestly enjoyed just spending time with my father I think, working alongside him. When I was in grade 2 and 3 I had garbage bag duty for all the students bathrooms, and I remember loving snapping the bags open by rushing air into the bag and making it blow up like a baloon. I remember the scary unlit shadowy hallways that I couldn't perceive the ends of. No bodies to see, it felt eerie but exciting in a way - like it was a whole different world.
School was a different experience for me. It was very stressful, my parents had to move a few times a year because they would dodge rent or just generally be selfish with their dual income. They loved to party hard on the weekends. I remember wondering why my father did this to himself all the time. Hoping that we could spend quality time on a saturday, but he wouldnt get out of bed until just before dinner. I didn't really understand hangovers or alcoholism and how it meant our plans would get cancelled. I think I remember trying to wrap my head around willful self-poisoning for entertainment and how could that be more enjoyable then spending time with your son? I couldn't tell my mother why I was so sad about it. Why I didn't want to move again and again and again. Why I found it so difficult to make new friends everytime I had to switch schools. Why I couldn't just do one single full school year with one class of students. It was so hard and at the time, I didn't know anything different. It was so hard to make friends and I think it created this approach to making a "new family" of friends when I became a teenager and young adult.

I remember always wanting to be a "good kid". The "best kid" for my parents. I feel like my parents attached this moniker to me that made things harder for me to mature into a rounded adult later in life. My parents always flaunted me as this point of accomplishment, the accomplishment that I was "so extremely well behaved". I would strive to be super polite, and a good host, try to help out when my parents had their friends over, literally fill their cups when the opportunity presented themselves. I think I did this because I must have made the conclusion that if I was quiet, super polite, helpful and useful then I had value. That I could be loved. That I could earn this love from my parents through acts of service.
I remember feeling like my sister and I had extremely different experiences growing up. When my parents were at work I took care of her, cleaned and cooked. one time my sister told my mom to eff off when she was 5 and I was 8. My mind was blown. I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that she had the bravery and courage to defy my mother. Looking back, my sister was just mirroring the language she learned from my parents from whenever they fought. I remembering seriously worrying and getting scared that my father was going to belt her, or use the coat hanger, which was his preference with me. I feel like my mom was always checked out and I'm hurt that she allowed my father to take his rage out on me. That my mom could care less about me being beat, but never my sibling. It was very confusing and difficult for me to process. Not that I really processed it much as a kid. I honestly just wanted to be loved and be the best child possible. Honestly though, 'm seriously so glad that my sister was spared all of that complete non-sense. I don't wish that on anyone in the world. There were some punishments where he would walk in and tell me to pull my pants down without explanation. I have memories of tearing up and saying I didn't know why this was happening, asking what I did wrong and he would just remind me that if I resisted then I would get it worse and to hurry up and get ready. My father has since apologized. I think it is how he was raised. I didn't know what to say in response, but I told him I loved him and it's in the past. But I don't know if I was being honest when I said that. My mother would still gaslight me to this day if any of this became topic of discussion, not that I'm guessing. A year ago she told me that much of my pained memories were false and this never happened. My father on the other hand typically stays pensive and unchallenging.
It seems so damned crazy writing all of this out, it feels like a heartbreaking novel and not my life at all. But it was and is my life. I have difficulties opening up and expressing my feelings and advocating for myself when the moments are true and appropriate to do so. I know it's the healthier way to communicate, but I was literally taught to stay quiet and be useful. Fast forward 20-25 years and I'm going to be 35 and I feel like just ending it all. Every year my birthday passes and I'll get a text from my family happy birthday. But they know I'm in a difficult place, they know I miss them, they know I love them and forgive them, I try the high road whenever I can but I just don't see the point anymore. they won't celebrate my life and existence, but they'll throw family gatherings for each other, birthdays, christmas, fathers day and mothers day.
On that note, another mother's day has recently passed and my mother never invited me over, I texted my father three weeks in advance in hopes of securing a time to come over and celebrate my mothers life with my family as a family. I felt particularly stung this mother's day when they celebrated and didn't text or call to invite me over. I live in the same small town so it's easy to hop over. I literally live three blocks away.
Anyway, my mother was diagnosed with cancer over christmas this year and I have been worrying for my mother ever since and thinking about my life with her and the mortal coil and the finite mount of time I may have with her. I feel like there is a large empty part in my heart that wishes my mother and I could go grab a coffee together. She can show me her ipad app art that she has been really excited about for a couple years now. She loves showing off her digital art and I love seeing her joy and how proud she is about her art. I just don't know why she couldn't feel the same for me, her only son. Maybe I'm just a her dissapointment.
I dropped out of highschool and left the family home when I was 16. I just couldn't work for my dad during the night AND go to highschool AND socialize. Something had to give. Unfortunately it was highschool and my parents didn't really care about that at all. They were just... fine with it. they supported my sister through college and she was fortunately able to graduate with a veterinary degree of sorts. she still lives with them now as she pays off her student debt, but I left and travelled and worked on music for over a decade so I admit that I was entirely out of the family picture for some time. But as I get older, not wanting to repeat the mistakes of my parents I fear that that is precisely what's been creeping up in my life.
five years ago I met the absolute most wonderful human being and I am so lucky to have my partner in my life. She and I are engaged now and set to be married. I hoped that the news would overwhelm my parents with excitement and joy. Maybe a facebook post about their son, share some family pictures or something. But they did nothing at all. I think they showed off pictures of the trip to Mexico that week instead.
I just don't really understand how I'm this unworthy of their love and unfortunately now I'm realizing that illusion that I am unworthy has infected my relationship with my fiance. I love her so much but when I can't fix everything in her life I feel like I am the failure and the guilt overhelms me so much and the guilt is such a strong motivator for me, and it usually motivates me into becoming the biggest doormat in the world. I've never worked harder for a relationship or invested this much energy. I feel she deserves it. But I don't advocate for myself. So I build up resentment. Like I clean the house constantly and work and help bail out of her bad spending habits and cover her rent without question and this and that. To be clear, she doesn't take advantage of me and that's not how I feel about it. But I do let this annoyance build up inside of me because I don't know how to communicate my feelings in a healthy way. I'm scared I'll lose the person if I speak up, or I'll be gaslit. Again, that's not my partner that gaslights. That's just generally how I feel I'll be treated if I open up with people. It all goes back to my childhood. It's affected every friendship and work relationship I've had since.
When I was 20-ish, 15 years years ago I did the classic, "seek the relationship that most comfortably fits into the patterns you experienced with your parents". And so I trapped myself in a horrific and extremely damaging relationship with a girl I'll call K. She has undiagnosed bipolaBPD, she would never seek help but self-medicate. She ended up in the hospital maybe four times for self-harming and this where she was considered to have these diseases by a few doctors on different occasions. Anway, it turned into a relationship of abuse and it wasn't exactly new territory for me. I was ashamed in that 8 year relationship. I wanted out so bad, but she would threaten to unalive everytime I tried to get away. Of course, some weeks would go by and i would get my hair pulled out of my scalp, a knife waving in the air in front of my face, spat in the face, kicked, punched, bit, a pot of freshly boiled ramen soup thrown in my face and eyes. What's worse is that I seeked police intervention on multiple occasions. Every single time the police visited, they talked me out of pressing charges, asking me " well if she doesn't have any place to go, then do you have a place you can stay at, or the shelter?". twice they talked me out of a restraining order, that legal proceedings would take forever. Adn de-escalting me from wanting to take measures to ensure my safety because she may end up on the street as a result. To this day, I absolutely wish I advocated for myself here and pushed for a restraining order. I'm so mad at myself for not doing so.
Unfortunately, fast forward a couple years into that relationship and one evening everything would finally hit the fan. I told her to never touch me again and I absolutely meant it. she had just yanked out the largest chunk of my hair to date, to the point where my scalp was bleeding and I could even see epidermal matter still attached to the folicle ends that were in her clenched fingers. My head bled a bit and I pushed her off of me. Telling her that I needed to leave, that I was walking to my secure jam space just a 10 minute walk away. It had a leather couch in a cold concrete basement, but hey at least I would be safe for the night and I could play my drums and try and blow off this anxiety and fear in a way that was safe albeit very noisy.
She hated that I wanted to leave and convinced herself I would never return. To be fair, that was the energy I had. I never wanted to see her face again and have her name on my lips after that night. So her tactic was simple, to threaten me with calling the cops and tell them that I violently pushed her. I called her bluff and said "go ahead and I will just tell them everything you've done - yet again. All I am doing is going to the space to sleep, I said, maybe play drums." She called the cops and told them she was pushed into a wall, and she felt very unsafe. Which yes, I did push her off me when she attacked me. In the past, I tried various tactics, to run away didn't work, she just always chased me down. Or sometimes I would just sit there while she was violent against me and I just "dissapeared" kind of like how I would when my dad used his coat hanger. This time, I just pushed her off of me, I was done with the relationship at that point and we both knew it. Anyway, she called the police, they arrived and when questioned I told them that I pushed her off of me in self-defence. I was drinking that night and it didn't help my case as I was arrested without question that evening and I was charged on the spot without question with domestic assault. It devasted me. I asked the police how this could happen lawfully. That she is an abuser and there is a history of this multiple times. That I've requested a restraining order. They explained that in quebec the laws are a little different and in the case domestic cases, if there is a male aggressor against a female, then the male is automatically charged to the fullest extent. I was absolutelyu devasted by this. I can't tell you the amount of fear and anger I felt in that jail cell that night.
I feel so incredibly betrayed by the justice system, keep in mind, this is law that from what I understand is only in Quebec, I was there for music at the time with an old friend whom I am no longer in contact with. I don't think the rest of the country operates under law in this way. Now I appreciate that they are vigilant about woman abuse victims, but the law shouldn't be this absurdly biased. It just doesnt feel just and fair to me. Covert abusers shouldn't be able to take advantage of the justice system in this way, but it happens.
It was an awful experience, I was homeless for a couple months afterward, not allowed to retrieve my belongings, so I lost all of my life "crap" that I had built up, years of hardwork and investment. I mention this because I realize later in life that I have intense collecting behaviour. maybe as a self-soothing behaviour. But I love building up collections of my hobby stuff as I have many and I feel they keep me regulated and it's a form of therapy for me. In any case, I lost everything when I left that whole situation. It sucks, although ultimately it's clearly best that I got out of that dreadful circumstance. I flew across the country to my hometown and to be closer to my family and old friends from highschool. It's quite a small town mind you.
Unfortunately, my classic tendency to hide and not advocate for myself created an opportunity for my abusive ex. A year following those events, despite me assuring her that I had to block her because I flew away to start a new life provinces away. That I wished her the best. That I even promised I would never tell a soul what she did to me. Not to mention that unfortunately we live in a society where nobody really has an ounce of sympathy for a male abuse victim. I had every intention to keep that promise, but she couldn't trust me ultimately. I think her logic was maybe to just beat her ex to "the punch". Kill or be killed or something like that. I don't live my life like that so I don't really know what her plan was. But she made a bunch of posts on various social media platforms for all of our mutual friends, music friends, coworkers etc. that the relationship was over and she was free. That she got out of a cycle of abuse and she was ready to start a new chapter of her life. She never used my name, just that she was glad she got away from her toxic and abusive ex once and for all.
It was exactly like that night a year prior, she threatened me with this outcome she could design for me, and I called her on her bluff by saying I was still going to block her and I can't control what she does with her life or how she conducts herself, but that I was out and to never contact me ever again. She made me regret that decision.
The posts she made that day got so many likes and support from so many of our mutual friends, even musician mates that were closer to me than her, and it absolutely destroyed me, not just internally but socially. I no longer make music anymore and it hurts to go outside into the world because it feels like everybody sees me as this monster. And still I don't have a voice to inform anyone otherwise - except my family and my fiance. I have no friends anymore. They all left my life with the belief that I did all of these horrible and awful things.
I just don't trust people anymore as a result and it's just caused me to become extremely bitter and depressed. I ruminate on the past, maybe in attempts to fix the past so I can move on. So I could do better, so I don't have to punish myself for my mistakes in the past. But it just reopens every emotional wound I have and they never get a chance to heal. That was maybe 7 years ago now and I'm still replaying these events in my head every single morning for about 1 - 2 hrs. Then I go completely numb for the majority of the rest of the day, shallow breathing, and the mildest sadness that mascarades as fatigue and disinterest.
There are some days where I seriously fear for the future and I just feel like every cruel soul will inherit this earth and that's the future, they built this world of suffering and they deserve to inherit it. Their toxic flag staked so deep into the earth in reclamation. The future isn't holding any seats for people like us. I'm so heartbroken and defeated. I feel like white-wolfing my fiance because she deserves better than this traumatized person that hides from the world. I feel like giving her my collection of collections so she can sell it all off and pay off her 10k of credit debt, then with this act of kindness I can go out not feeling like a guilt-ridden defeated loser. And leave on a high note.
When I'm alone, I get trapped in these ruminating cycles and it's the angriest I ever get. It's reached the point where I feel like I am actually reliving all this past trauma every morning and I can't do it anymore. I just feel like I am so at the end of whatever this ride was.
I don't have any friends anymore and everyone but my fiance thinks I am a monster and it's just unbearable.
I just don't even know. I am even afraid that someone will read this post and suss through all of this and make the connection. Then I'll get another new email or random throwaway account with an insta message that says "I told you you would never be able to get over me. You can move on, but you will never be able to erase the past. Never truly. You know where to find me."
It's haunting and it's poisonous. I just feel haunted and poisoned and I don't know if there is a snake oil potent enough or antitode true enough to get me back to the generous, lighthearted, energetic kid I once was.
To whoever was willing to read through all of this, thank you for hearing me out. I don't know what advice I am even asking for here. I'm hoping just speaking this out into the world in some way can alleviate this misery. I don't know.
submitted by McComfortable to Healthygamergg [link] [comments]


2024.05.14 06:56 MyspaceMafia Frontiersman (Part 1)

Frontiersman No. 0012: Duke Collins
I snapped up in my seat with the notifications sounding on my ship's Heads-Up Display, telling me that I'd arrived in the next system. Hopefully this one would have at least something of interest. For 2 years now I had been doing this; going system to system, scanning areas of interest or systems that merit valuable expansion. That's the fate of someone like me. I'm a criminal. It turns out punching your superior officer in United Navy Advanced Flight School is grounds for an immediate court-marshal, and 12 years in a military prison. To be fair though, the guy was a bit of a dick, and I'm pretty sure he had it out for me ever since I beat him in the simulators when he was trying to make an example of us new recruits. That aside though, when it was announced that a new program was available for qualified individuals in lieu of serving time, it was a no brainer for me. They stuff you full of experimental hardware/cybernetics, throw you on a decent sized ship filled to bursting with experimental/cutting-edge upgrades and capable of being piloted by one person, and exile you from Humanity controlled space, with the sole mission of exploring. I'm required to make logs while I travel, and leave buoys behind to relay the logs back to the United Terran Systems. So that's me.. Duke Collins, Frontiersman number twelve.
"Aerie, Anything on the scans?", I asked my shipboard AI.
"The nearest planetary body is showing signs of life, Captain." Aerie responded in a cool voice. Her voice was a recent development, in the last 5 months or so. She was one of those experimental things added to the ship when I was tossed out here, and it seems like she's actually getting... smarter? United Terran Systems hasn't really developed AI yet, but I was the lucky sucker to have their first big attempt thrown into my ship. There's a room about 5x7 meters near the aft of the ship filled with all sorts of high-tech storage and processing tech, but about 4 months into our journey my "computer" began requesting stops at resource rich asteroids to harvest materials for our synthesizers, and suddenly I'm performing upgrades to the room that she had developed herself. She turned out to be a great proof of concept, but also my only companion and friend in this lonely journey.
"Don't fuck with me, Aerie, and stop calling me Captain." I replied. She responded with a giggle through the speakers. I knew it was just for my sake, but it made her feel more like a real person, and I appreciated that. I think she liked to emulate organic life as well, for some reason.
Aerie relented, "Nothing of note on the scanners, Duke." She emphasized my name. "Although we aren't in range of all of the planetary bodies yet, and there's a few sizeable gas giants on the opposite side of the star."
"Well, lets get over there, I'm eager to leave another boring system behind." I replied. This job was a way to avoid jail time, if you meet the qualifications, but it was a prison of it's own kind. Spending all of this time in a ship the size of an moderate apartment could get cramped, and being alone this long can start to affect the mind. I seemed to be doing alright, but I honestly think i'm just riding the high of finally having someone to really talk to.
With Aerie's help, we input the coordinates for the opposite side of the start and the FTL drive began to spool. Within a few seconds we were on the opposite side of the star, and lasers were passing over the bow of the ship.
"Aerie, what the hell is going on!?" I shouted, and slammed the throttle to 100%. Inertia Dampeners be damned, it still hurt like hell. In an instant, we were rocketing through space, away from what appeared to be an active engagement.
Aerie chimed in, "Powering up reactive shielding, uh, for the first time. It seems that, while the planets were identified before warping to system, we were unable to identify the ships behind the interference from the local star. Recommend leaving the area."
"Well hold on now, Aerie," I retorted, "scan those ships, lets see what's going on out here." I swung the ship around, from what I believed to be a safe distance, and looked at the active engagement taking place. "Aerie, are those ships... even Terran?". Looking at the vessels, I didn't recognize any of them. One of the ships was shaped like a sleek, white, cylindrical pod, with black glass at the front that was undoubtedly the pilot's viewport. It had a sweeping tail that formed a half-ring loop on the stern of the ship just above the rear thrusters. It rolled and twisted erratically as it attempted to escape it's pursuers.
The attacking ships, at least from the looks of it, were much less graceful. They were a dull, dark brown, almost black, and sported large flat surfaces on the front, in which rested the weapons that were being actively fired at the fleeing vessel. It seemed that whoever created these ships somehow managed to take a few blocky cigar shapes and stuff them together, clearly more function over form. The function seemed to be working as intended though, as shots connected with the fleeing vessel, and engines began to flicker out.
"Scanning...Scanning completed." reported Aerie. "The vessels appear to be of 2 separate make. The lead vessel appears to be a simple transport, and sports no weapons or shielding. The FTL drive function is unknown. In short time, the vessel will be destroyed. The pursuing vessels appear to have some form of laser based weaponry, schematics and build are unknown. There is technology aboard the vessels that I am unable to discern at this time, but I believe some to be a form of very basic shielding, of a completely different function than our own. Recommend vacating the area."
My adrenaline was pumping, the cybernetics in my brain processing the combat at enhanced speeds. I wanted so badly to get involved, to be the hero that saves the day, but I know better. Just because a ship is being chased, doesn't mean that they're the good guys. As if to answer my prayers though, one ship peeled off and began moving my way. I gripped the controls to my vessel and waited.
"Come on... do it. Make my day. I'm so, so bored. Do it. DO IT." I kept thinking to myself. I had no idea what I was up against, but anything was better than rolling through space for another 10 years, and maybe I'd finally be able to put some of that oh-so-expensive schooling that our sweet Terran overlords brag about to some use.
A flash of light. I yank on the control stick, sending my ship into a sideways tumble as laser fire rolls across the length of my ship, barely missing me. My inertia dampeners and cybernetic muscle and bone fibers helping absorb the massive g-forces.
A smile flashes across my face. "Aerie, I have a better idea." Aiming towards the fleeing vessel and it's lone pursuer, I roll the sticks forward, sending us rocketing in their direction, and away from the one that chose me as it's target. "We're going to be heroes."
submitted by MyspaceMafia to HFY [link] [comments]


2024.05.14 04:31 Prize_Ad9159 Strict Parents!!!!!!

I have really strict parents. They are balkan parents so it's typical but I'm literally going insaneeee. I am 14 years old and there are sooooo many rules in the house. I will list some rules and btw they aren't ALL the rules bc I literally forgot most of them.... I can't shower past 8, can't eat past 8, can't leave my room at night (if I go to the bathroom while everyone sleeping they scold me...), Can't spend more than an hour on my devices, can't be in my room a lot, can't talk back (even if im into a fight with them and they say "So why'd you do that?" and I respond they get mad...), I can't have my devices with me at night, They have screen time on all my devices, I can't go to sleepovers, and usually can't go to school dances/proms...., They severely yell at me and my dad says really harsh things to me like (you shouldn't have been born, your a disgrace, you ruined this family, ill run you over, why can't you die, Ill kill you/break your legs if you do this...) but its normalize in balkan countries bc ik you could go to jail for saying this to your kid but its basically the balkan equivalent of saying ("Your going to get grounded if you do this, you did a bad thing"), yell at me if I have one missing assignment, they always fight and bc of that they force me to sit with one of them and they basically vent to me about what happened and how stupid one of them is..., when I get a job they will get half of my salary, they don't let me enjoy my hobbies and say its stupid, I cannot talk about my opinions and point of views because "I'm just a kid and its stupid" but if its something that they are strongly against they yell at me for it, not allowed to close my door at night, no dating, no guy friends (bc they belive you can't be just friends with the opposite gender) and a lot more things... Its truly draining and annoying
submitted by Prize_Ad9159 to Vent [link] [comments]


2024.05.13 23:57 steepscrimmage 3 Years & 3 Months

This holiday marks 3 years since you walked out of our apartment and out of my life after the better part of a decade of us being all but married. When we first got together, you told me you were the kind of guy that couldn't sleep with a woman unless you had a strong emotional connection with her. It was true back then and it was one of the things I loved and respected most about you, as never once in those years did I have to worry about you being disloyal. You were a good man, a good boyfriend, a good brother, and a good son and, for as much as we argued, I was so proud to call you mine.
Over the years, you leaned away and into the manosphere, began parroting soundbites from "alpha" talking heads, grew a disdain for women and began to believe that women's place is beneath that of men's. I spent a long time wondering if it was because you and I argued so much and if I could've done more to prevent you from becoming what you are now.
It's only been a little over 3 months since we tried to date again. In that month of dating, you told me of how high a standard I set for the women that followed - all 11 of them, you made sure to tell me - and stressed how none of them could come close to me, and how you felt you were almost entirely responsible for things falling apart between us - all words that were a shock coming from you.
After hearing such a number of women in so short a timespan, I asked what happened to being connected before sex, and you said that's how you used to be, that now, you understand what it is to be a man and that men have no issue separating sex from emotion. I didn't believe you, and as the truth bled out over time, it became obvious that you'd gotten your feelings jumbled and left pieces of your heart with at least a few of these women.
For a brief time before that, I thought you'd missed me as much as I'd missed you since you said things that the man who walked out on me would've sooner died than ever admit. Because I could see that bit of growth in you, despite your haughty attitude, I wanted to believe you. You were begging me for marriage and a child, lamenting how you were tired of dating women who consistently disappointed and how you just wanted to settle down with a good woman and start a family. It was a pitiful plea, but I still loved you. So, I told you if you were serious, we could work towards rebuilding trust and see what happened from there.
That was my first mistake. My second was not listening when you initially told me that you'd become a worse person.
Since you were so dead-set on marriage and children as fast as possible, rushing to plan every detail of your timeline with a vigor you'd never once shown in the years we spent together, I wanted to make it work, wanted to believe that there was still good in you reaching out to the good in me. So, I indulged the fantasy, hoping this was your way of making up for lost time.
But a fantasy is all it was.
You initially told me you were single only to later admit, after I had to ask upon seeing her things in your bathroom, that you were juggling me with other women. You told me how you manipulated "pick-me"s to get what you want from them, got mad when I told you I had no intention of competing with them for you, and when called out on these awful actions and opinions, you just said, "I told you I don't think I'm a good person anymore," as if it were some sort of get-out-of-jail-free-card.
To your credit, you ended things with her when I threatened to remove myself from your fantasy future and you never tried for anything more than a goodbye hug with me during the entirety of this attempt at dating so your conscience, or maybe guilt, was present in some capacity, at least.
I asked you why you've chosen to knowingly become a worse person and all you could say was that you didn't feel respected back then, that you didn't know how to be a man, and that you do now and how being a good person as a man just gets you walked all over. I told you I knew this tough-guy alpha business was just a facade. You admitted it was a mask but said that you wear it so often that it's basically glued to your face, now.
What you couldn't answer was why you deserve a good woman like me if you, yourself, aren't a good man. Regardless, you're convinced that you're some magnanimous prize to be won, yet don't see the reality of how you've only reduced yourself to a fuckboy that dangles the carrot of family, marriage, and stability in front of unsuspecting women to your own selfish ends, hoping they'll fight and compete for a love you have no intention of giving, seeing as that's "pick-me" behavior to you.
I should've thrown you away a dozen times over but I didn't because, just like in the past, I could see the confused and hurt boy in you crying out when you lamented how your family no longer enjoys having you around and how thrilled you thought they'd be if we got back together - how you want to be close-knit with them again, like things were when I was still in the picture.
The funny thing is, when they found out we were seeing each other again, they weren't thrilled, instead they stressed for me to be cautious and take things slow because they know what you've become and how you treat women now.
Your family is full of good people that tell me how they love me far more than they like you. They find your opinions deplorable and dislike how quick you are to ruin special occasions to fight them over said opinions. In all honesty, my heart broke for you a little when I heard that you weren't included in the Mother's Day plans while I was.
You said you wanted to regain the gravitas that being established with me and being the dutiful son and brother gave you back then, but you forget how you only showed the worsening side of yourself to me at the time. I kept it from them, but it was you who showed the full truth of your beliefs to them after you left. It was you who lost your family's respect and threw away the close bonds you had with them.
Despite all this, I stubbornly stuck this attempt at reconciliation out after our second-to-last date where the mask slipped and you unintentionally showed me, without a doubt, that there was still a deep well of love and affection for me in you. I think it scared you to realize, too, that your gruff exterior was cracking and that you were softening to me.
For our next date, you came to my place for the first time and saw everything from the life you left behind. I know it rushed you with emotions you weren't prepared to handle, so I figured you'd need time to sort out your feelings, but didn't expect you to end things then and there.
In that final discussion, you repeated that I'm your ideal woman in every way, but that you can't continue with us because you were afraid of stepping back into our old life and becoming the person you were when we were together. That you didn't like that version of yourself - the version of you that at one point-in-time was a far better person, better son, better brother, better boyfriend, and better man.
So here, 3 years later, and 3 months later, I've come to accept that I will never not love you, no matter how awful you become. No matter how many times I move on, in every timeline, every universe, every reincarnation, I will always miss you, love you, and genuinely want the best for you.
These things will never change, but one thing has: the beaming pride I once felt for you has turned to solemn pity.
submitted by steepscrimmage to UnsentLetters [link] [comments]


2024.05.13 21:49 Oneironautiluss A list of all unique monster battle interactions and breakable parts with their effects

Caveat that I am not saying this IS a comprehensive list yet, I just didn't find any source online that managed to capture everything I know so I'm putting what I know here in hopes that others will add to it and it gets put into a wiki or somewhere consolidated that looks prettier than this reddit post.
If there already is a list then please forgive and enlighten me.
Small enemies I won't do an individual breakdown for each one but
That's all I got. Let me know if Im missing anything or if got anything wrong or if I completely wasted my time here and this already exists but better and prettier somewhere else.
Edits from other comments:
-Magma slimes can be cooled and hardened by water. -if slimes die with you inside they'll fill your oil lantern up a bit
-Anodyne/holy magic underneath Liches and wights will stun them. -They may also resurrect corpses of other large monsters that are then weak to the same since they're undead now
-I totally forgot about golems, lol. When they are "decompressing or going into cool down mode you can topple then and they will become headless although their head will still shoot lasers. But now you can point that laser by moving the head around with grab
-one of the ghost things(specters maybe) can mind control you or your pawns which can be healed with anodyne
-drakes can be toppled while they are trying to mind control your pawn but you have to be quick about pushing their legs as soon as they rear up
submitted by Oneironautiluss to DragonsDogma [link] [comments]


2024.05.13 10:24 AluminumGnat Looking for a book with a clever protagonist solving problems.

Looking for a book with a clever main character using their wits to solve problems, written in a way where the reader can kinda problem solve along with the characters. I’m not looking for the main character to regurgitate a lock pick they apparently swallowed off screen to break out of the jail cell, because it was secretly their plan to get captured and gain access the castle like that all along.
Sanderson has his faults as an author, but one aspect of his writing that I really like is the way he handles his reveals. Sometimes I figure it out before the characters, sometimes I don’t, but in hindsight I always find that the key information used in solution was available for me to put together. This mostly applies to the world building mysteries in his books, but it’s also true when his characters use magic in a new way to solve a problem. I’m not necessarily looking for my protagonist to magic their way out of problems (although that’s fine), I’m more just talking about the approach a author takes towards setting up a solution to a problem in a way where both the characters and the reader can problem solve.
I also really like a bulletproof plot. I definitely find myself bothered by things that other readers don’t really consider to be plot holes. A good example is from the new fallout show; We learn that vault tech employees have been pulling strings as overseers. We also know that there is some communications ability between the vaults, given the arranged marriage. Given that, it’s a pretty big stretch to believe that the overseer of vault 33 had no idea that vault 32 all died, yet for some reason the dad opens the door to vault 32 anyway, leading to his kidnapping. There are absolutely possible explanations as to what unlikely set of circumstances cumulated in him either not knowing or making that choice despite knowing, but the show makes no attempt to even hint at there being a reasonable explanation for a choice that seems to make absolutely no sense.
To be clear, I don’t expect my characters to always behave rationally or make good choices. I’m fine with humans being human; some people are just dumb and even those that aren’t will still have emotions and biases that cloud their judgement. I like when character actions have a reason, but the reason doesn’t have to be based in logic. That being said, if a character is shown to be somewhat competent, it’s annoying when they miss a really obvious way to use the tools/magic at their disposal to solve a problem, or miss a really obvious potential problem (regardless of if that problem actually happens or not), like a “Dany kind of forgot about the iron fleet” moment.
I generally prefer a completely secondary world, rather than magical earth (like Dresden) or portal fantasy (like Narnia), but that’s not a deal breaker. SF is fine too, I generally prefer harder sci-fi, but again not a dealbreaker.
Stand alone or series is fine, but I’m not necessarily looking to dive into a 20 book series or an unfinished series (unless it’s a really perfect fit).
I definitely enjoy a touch of humor, but it’s not a requirement. Abercrombie nails humor for me, and while I certainly wouldn’t describe his books as comedy, the wit and comedic timing in the writing comes in exactly the right and at exactly the right frequency for me. I also really like the style of humor present in HHG2TG (particularly the guide entries), and moments like “nice bird, asshole” in that book.
Other than that, I tend to prefer less flowery prose. It doesn’t need to be totally windowpane (like Sanderson), although that’s not a problem. Stuff like KCC is fine in terms of prose, and the Fifth Season justifies having a second person POV so that’s fine, but I’d rather not have anything too over the top.
I’ve read a good amount of the most popular SFF, but there’s definitely popular authors I haven’t tried yet, so I’m open to all suggestions. Id love to get at least a few sentences on why you think your recommendation is a good fit for me, and I don’t mind minor spoilers, but please feel free to just ask if I’ve already read something before you bother typing out a bunch of paragraphs.
submitted by AluminumGnat to Fantasy [link] [comments]


2024.05.13 08:50 DravisKyle First Time playing FE Three Hopes and the story & dialogue feels very hard to swallow.

So, I'm kinda new to the FE games, last I played was on the Game Boy Advanced where you controlled a random guy which, surprise-surprise, he's a master tactical commander and everyone obeys him for "reasons".
It's not a criticism, I liked that game, and I liked that your character finally is playable in the battlefield and not just in the background, also, your character has dialogue and a voice (and gender), so huge improvement from what was I used to.
Anyway, whole playing Three Hopes, (I'm playing Empire), I can't help but feeling awkward whenever is my turn to talk or something important happens.
Every time someone shares something important or deep, or concern, your character always has to bring that he/she was a mercenary and your issues are like his/her mercenary life.
Your character is just standing there, while many are showing real concern about invading the Church and innocents life are being murdered, and your are asked how do you feel? "Well, we as mercenary just care about the money, so it doesn't matter for us, pay me"
"I want to make you my general", "but I'm a mercenary", "Yes".
I don't know if this is just me on missing many games before Three Hopes, but almost nothing feels natural.
(I know that I'm at the beginning of the story), but I feel the story is very rushed, in one chapter you are at the Church, then you are invading the Empire, and then you are invading the Church, you are never explained why (probably in the future) other than "Church is bad, Empire good, we invade them", "Yes I'm a mercenary, I do not think for myself, pay me and I'll do it".
Again, is not me throwing dirt at the game but it feels that I'm truly not getting the motives of this, everyone is against this, the very few that are not are the pawns of Eldelgard, which they only say "I'm loyal to her and trust her, no more motive for me", they feel like NPC.
Like this one guy who got his father arrested (or killed) during the invasion at the castle.
He didn't know his father was gonna be arrested/killed, and he just let it go, he didn't pressed on that, it was like 2 lines of dialogue, and he never care after that for having his own father jailed/murdered that same day.
I know I'm with the bad guys, and there are very good and nice characters with them, but truly most of them, including your own character, which only feels "there", never truly adding to anything, other than "I agree, I do not agree, I'm a mercenary we do not care just money".
(Not the character fault, but the writers), does the game change later on?
submitted by DravisKyle to fireemblem [link] [comments]


2024.05.13 07:23 MajorInternal674 Nothing Left. No one to blame but myself.

Im going to be completely honest with this post. I have nothing to lie about.
I fell in love 6 years ago with this girl. When we first kissed we had literal fireworks go off and it wasn't a holiday. It was that moment I knew I loved her and wanted to be with her. About 1 ½ years into our relationship our son was born. We started having issues around here this time. During this time we tried to be more open with our relationship. But I fucked up our relationship and start talking to other girls out of spite.
Why was I spite full? because I found her selling nudes to her friends, She blamed me for cheating (at the time i wasnt), She tried to kill herself with me in the car (I stopped her from doing it. But again she blames me because i wrestled the keys from her and i was too rough. However i was the one that left with bruises and scratches while she was perfectly fine. ) She made sure to tell me every argument how im not big enough for her.
I never slept with any of the girls. I guess I was just seeking attention or some affection. This put a huge strain on us. At the time I didnt feel loved from her. She was an amazing mom and GF and was best women I could ever ask for. But I just felt like she wanted something bettemore. She always made sure to remind me how she enjoyed sex with her ex more. He could pleasure her in ways i never could. I felt hopeless I couldnt even pleasure the girl i loved with out her thinking of someone else. It would make me go soft and we would argue. She would tell me that shes too loose and that she should've never slept with her ex because of that. It just created an endless cycle of really great sex, Sex that we would both end up crying over.
We shortly after started using toys to spice things up and make it more pleasurable for her. until I heard her moaning a way shes never moaned before. it was that moment i realized I never pleasured her. She faked it.
We were planning a trip to LA for a anime EXPO. I had tricked her into giving me her ring size. I spent 1k on just the hotel and tickets and VIP tickets to a after party. I was about to marry her. I was pricing rings out and trying to get the best deal. But then this....
Almost 3 years into our relationship and things are getting bad. Shes drinking almost everyday and im working avoiding the drama. I have friends over one time and were building computers. She got so drunk in front of them she started spilling out my insecurity's. everyone told her to stop and just go lay down. She stood up and almost face planted into the ground but i caught her. I put her on my back and walked her to our room. I explained to her that she hurt me really bad and I cant even talk to her because i was so upset. She just replied "im nothing to you anyways.". I did my best to tell her i love her im just upset and need some time away. So i left her in the room drunk. (looking back this was a huge mistake) When i came back she was crying and just saying i dont love her anymore. no matter what i said i couldnt convince her otherwise. we went to bed upset.
about a month later we have our big fight. Im trying to get ready for work and shes leaving to her sisters graduation. Shes already mad im not going because of work. She starts asking for the keys while im brushing my teeth. I told her theyre in my pocket give me a second. she came in and patted me down like i was in jail (I have PTSD from going to juvi for a false report. She knows this.) I snap and tell her dont ever pat me down like im an inmate. She just said you use to be one. IDK what is was but that set me off. I held my anger in and didnt say a single word. Until i asked her for the keys. She told me they were on the coffee table. I couldnt find them, so i kept asking and she gave the same answer. after repeatedly looking and asking, I eventually snapped and shoved her into her chair. She slid back in the chair and hit her head. I was in disbelief i just put my hands on the lady i love.(I was always taught to never do this. I have never put my hands on a lady that didnt put her hands on me. I live in a very ghetto city, women out here will throw hands like prisoners.) But out of anger i just told her to grab my keys. she grabbed them and just said im calling the cops. I left to work. I shouldve never left, I shoudlve done everything in my power to make it right. At work i was contemplating how i could make it better how i can fix us. then 2 cops walk in.
The next year and ahalf is just court and us not talking. I beat the case simply because she was caught lying and Im not a women beater. She even admitted that i have never done anything like this before. It was completely out of character for me to ever touch a women that way. I didnt even like doing those things sexually. it turned me off greatly. Till this day i regret it. I wish i never did it. It ruined everything we had. After the trial one of the jurors talked to me. ill never forget his words. " you need to find your zen. whatever it is you need to find it. Take a moment to yourself before you do something." During this time I cant find work because of the pending case so im broke almost died from starvation and had to resort to eating expired food or thrown away trash. I stayed with a friend for a month but his mom (he took care of her) didnt want me there any longer. So I left. That put a huge strain on our friendship.
After the case we start talking again. I ask her to take me back and give me another chance. She told me she didnt love me anymore and should've listened. But she still gave me another chance. When things were good they were great. we went on dates and spent time as a family. it was almost like we were a family. I never had a real family and it was odd for me. I guess i couldnt handle it or something. However I loved every second of it. But we start getting into agreements about the past. Both of us are gaslighting and claiming shit didnt happen when we both knew it did. Each time we get into an argument I flash back to that moment. Then i Flash back to what the juror told me. I thought finding some zen would just mean some time apart till we can talk normally. However that put alot of strain on us. We would be find for accouple weeks then not talk for accouple weeks. this had been repeating for a year.
Finally around christmas she told me she's done and im just a loser who wants to use her. That i just need to move on. I tried.. but I couldnt, I loved her and still do. She just insisted that i was using her and that these breaks we were taking were for me to sleep around with no consequence (I only slept with one girl this entire break up and that was while i was living with my friend.) while we were dating I stopped using dating apps and tried my best to focus on us. I wanted nothing more then for us to be a family again. But i guess she didnt believe it.
A month later my brother and I get into an argument. I was emotionally grieving still so i didn't have the energy to argue. So i just walked away. in doing so my brother took this as an opportunity to tackle me and procced to knock me out and beat on me. His adopted son had to pull him off of me. I went and grabbed a knife and told him to try it again. His wife called the police as I was trying to leave and they arrested me for various charges. when i went to jail I was SA and Assaulted by the sheriff deputies. They beat me in a cell and just claimed i was resisting. But they gave no commands and My arresting officer put it on his paper work that i was compliant. I have pictures to prove how bad they beat me. bruises from head to toe and a big welt on my forehead from one officer punching me while i was on the ground with them in full control of all my arms and legs.
My EX came and visited me in jail. I got out of jail and they dropped all they charges. My brothers wife had submitted videos thinking it would help her side but it disproved it. That night i told my ex she was my everything my world that i cant continue on without her. I needed my family. I needed her and my son in my life because im literally nothing with out them. (Before we got together i was a complete loser. everything I ever did was in for her and my son. even now im a complete loser hence why im writing this.) We spent the night a motel that night and I have to admit. If she didnt spend that night with me I wouldn't be here RN. I thought things would go back to normal. But i did the same BS. Each time I became emotionally overwhelmed I just shut everyone out so I woudlnt hurt them. I dont like hurting people emotionally or physically. So i thought it would be best to just leave them alone. I cant hurt those who im not around. This was again another mistake. I kept going back to shutting everyone out. She grew tired of it.
On easter 2024 we had our last moment together. That night I had noticed her phone blowing up with tinder notifications. for my own well being i decided to not look. But I had checked her instagram which was full of guys flirting with her. She didnt turn them down or state she was with someone. infact when i asked her about it she just told me she cant control what other guys say and we were together when it happened. But she can and it was... We didnt have sex we didnt cuddle. she just went straight to bed from work. We had planned to have easter together as a family. I was so excited because we didnt get to have christmas together. (I had spent christmas with my son but I was crying the whole day. I ruined my sons christmas because I couldnt hold it together.) We wake up two hours early. She took the whole two hours to get ready and made us late. I brought it up in the car and told her that she took to long so we missed everything. So we agreed to go to the 5pm easter. IDK what it was but I snapped. Maybe it was her telling me if i helped we would've been on time. (i did help and it we were still late) Maybe I was just overwhelmed because I couldnt provide for my family a decent easter. But i didnt want my son to see and I didnt want to go off on her because she didnt deserve that. So i got out of the car and told her to go home ill see her there. She left two hours away with my son and his easter gifts. For me it was an equal walk time. This is again another moment in which i fucked up and lost the girl of my dreams because I couldnt handle my emotions.
She kept making a statement that day "If all I do is piss you off then why are we together?" That kept playing in my mind that entire walk. But i figured by the time i got home she we could talk about it. I told her She didnt piss me off it just frustrated me that she cant see how her taking 2 hrs made us late. So I called her later on when i got home. I started apologizing for getting out of the car. I told my son that was not safe and never to do that. Then I went off on her and told her She ruined my easter like she ruined my christmas. I told her she was right if all she did was piss me off deliberately then why bother keep trying this? I again just blocked her. She tried to reach out to me on discord but I feared she was going to tell me to move on. So i didnt reply.
A month goes by and she wont let me see my son. She just says if you want him come get him. remind you its been almost 3 years and I havent been able to get a job because I fail almost every background check for my career. (security) I have applied to so many places and get ignored. even temp jobs or jobs people typically wouldn't want. There was no way I could drive a total of 4 hrs. I was scrounging for money just to put food on the table for my son. There been so many times where he asked me dad why arent you eating wiht me. I just tell him that I ate earlier and im not hungry. I also have other bills im behind on and theyre coming after me now. She convinced my son that i dont want to see him and that i dont care about them anymore. Everytime I would talk to them on the phone my son would question wether or not i loved him and would always ask why i dont come see him. TBH some of it felt like a trap. I felt like she wanted me to go over there so she could call the cops on me for picking up my son outside of designated hours. Or that she had her family waiting for me to shoot me. I could hear her in the background sounding out words to my son and he would start calling saying some really negative stuff. Irresponsible, disappointment, disgusting Those are the ones that I heard her sounding out with him. I lost my shit and went off on her and my son heard it all.
My poor boy.
I called her every name in the book and told her i still love hear but she drives me crazy. She made good points that if i loved her i wouldnt be saying these things also i wouldnt block her for weeks while were fighting. He heard her say she doesn't love me anymore and that her new lover stretched her out and she loved it. That i never loved her and just used her. I honestly was beyond hurt. I just told her i was happy someone was able to pleasure her in ways i never could that i wisht them the best. Then she kept egging it on and I snapped again threating him. Threating myself. It ended with her blocking me. and that was that. Havent heard from her in almost a week. Same with my son. I call everyday. (yes you can get around a blocked #)
Its mothers day and I havent stopped crying. I have her gift from when we were together. That was another reason it was hard for me to travel 2 hrs. I had spent the last couple months saving what i could to get her a gift.
Why am i writing this. Because im at my witts end. Im nothing with out her. She was my drive my focus and my world. My son gave me strength to be a better man and a father figure. I have nether now and i have no one to blame but myself. My own actions have pushed away those i love the most. I tried protecting them from the possibility that I might do something stupid again. That just pushed them further away. I ruined our relationship and shes found someone who can not only pleasure her but care for her. I just hope he makes her happy.
If youre reading this and you have someone special in your life... please do me a favor and tell them you love them and explain to them why you love them. Because one day you may never get to do it again. One day they may hate you and some poeple could look back and say yeah thats okay because i know i tried my best. But thats not the case here. I couldve done so much more to see her or plan dates with her. I shouldve tried harder to get a job and be a man. I ruined the best relationship I had. She was my world and I just let her go.
Part 2: Not about my EX
My dad had leukemia and survived and still chose to leave. He has gotten drunk and thrown fireball handles at the back of my head. He has spread rumors to my friends i was gay because i got a tongue piercing.
I was falsly imprisoned for a crime I didnt commit. I was a teenager i was with this girl and she lied to me. She said her ex raped her. The one time i happend to see him i was high AF but i felt like i had to defend her honor. He won that fight and I got a concussion that almost killed me. Her dad an adult rush me in my own home. but i got charged because i was caught on his property.(I went to his house to say goodbye to her. nothing more nothing less.) I served 150 days of my life in a cell. these are days ill never get back.
I was SA and assaulted by sheriff and no one believes me. the cops mocked me for me trying to file a complaint. other cops made jokes about me infront of my ex. "how can a women SA you. Are you gay?"
I was SA by a mentally challenged person at church. And again by my brothers friend. I never said anything because the mentally challenged person was caught doing it to someone else. My own brother (the one that tackled me) Mocked the kid and his older brother about this in front of me. "At least my little brother wasn't assaulted by and R word" He just didn't know i was the first victim.
My own actions have caused my family to leave me. I dont have physical custody because the courts gave her 100%. I cant even see my son or call him. She wont even obey the court orders. But the moment i want to spend more then 8 hrs a week with my son (only when were fighting) She calls the cops and tells them im not following court orders and im trying to kidnap my son. Then the cops get all tough guy and try to act like im some dead beat. How TF am I a bad dad if all I want is to spend time with him? How am I a bad dad if I Jumped throw a million hoops for the courts just to get visitation?
But to finally end this, I have reached my last resort. im enlisting into the military and if i dont get accepted im ending it all. I have nothing left for me here. I have ruined everything I have spent the last 6 years building. All i do is push away those who love me. And those who managed to stick around are tired of me. I feel like nothing but a burden and a POS dad for not keeping his family together.
I have no one to blame but myself. Thats why i have to eliminate the problem at its source. By either leaving or by not existing.
submitted by MajorInternal674 to SuicideWatch [link] [comments]


2024.05.12 16:49 Effective-Town-5595 I was my mom’s retirement plan and it is breaking me. Story of a “Golden Child”

This is a long story, so please bear with me. I have two siblings from my mom (M, 37, and F, 31). I have others, but they are distant after my father’s death. We all have different fathers who were all pretty much deadbeats in their own right. I am the youngest of my mothers at 27. My sister and I were abused by our older brother physically while our mom left at home to chase guys. Also, my mother was verbally abusive. My sister got it worse, but she still would call me fat, sloppy, disgusting, and dumb. She has wished the r word on me. So am I the GC?
My entire life, I was the “good kid”. Not because my mom showered me but because I did more with what she gave me. I was the nerdy kid, while my brother was very popular, and my sister was bullied and then became popular because of her looks. I was overweight with low self-esteem. I have now lost 130 lbs, which my family then accused me of starving myself, so I can’t win.
All of us was not supported in school. I ran away several times due to feeling neglected at home and never having any help with school. My siblings failed school and obtained their GEDs later in life. I was homeless during my junior year, so I was forced to miss the second half of school. Therefore., I had to do summer school, online school, and regular school to graduate. I was under the guardianship of my mom's brother at the time, who was more stable. My sister stayed with our mom, and our brother was with his girlfriend. I didn’t live with my brother cause I was in HS in the state next to where my brother was. I didn’t want to change schools as the one I was at was better and the one my brother lived near was ghetto and would lead me to trouble. After a bunch of trials and tribulations, I graduated high school. It took several stints of homelessness with my mom; I can remember doing my homework in cars or these dirty motels. I was determined to have a better life. My sister moved with my brother since she dropped out of school but he continued his verbal abuse when she was there even with them being adults.
I always had good grades, and my mom would brag about me (sometimes exaggerating/lying my achievements making me feel like what I actually did wasn’t good enough). However, she never helped me achieve these accomplishments. My sister, who is older than me, seems to be infantilized. My mom counts on her when I don’t want anything to do with her but talks very poorly about her. My brother was always a knucklehead. He’s a deadbeat father, a woman beater, and an alcoholic, but he gets passes because he’s her only son.
After graduation, I got my place, and my sister and brother lived with me. I was a supervisor at a hotel and got my sister a job there. I was 18. I took a gap year to earn money for college.
I eventually set my sights on a great school. It was 10 hours from my home town. This is where stuff takes a turn. I was 18, making all the decisions for myself. I had no money, and coming from a poor background, my financial literacy was awful. I wanted to get away as far as possible. The school that was my top choice and the farthest away was the most expensive but very prestigious and complicated to get into. It has been my dream school since I was a kid. I could never imagine attending as I thought only rich people could attend. I wound up getting an acceptance, which shocked my entire family. This is when my mom's bragging reached an all-time high. I became the family star who will be this big-time lawyer.
However, to get to the school, I made the worst decision of my life. My mom had to take out a Parent Plus loan to help. I had full scholarships to other great schools, but they were too close to my family, and this school was my dream. Mind you, I wasn’t wise about debt and thought my mom was doing a good thing for me. But it turned out, this was an investment that would make her feel I owe her for the rest of my life. Throughout school, any refund check I would get a lot would go to her or other struggling family. Not once did I receive money from anyone while in college. Before school, I had a GoFundMe set up to help me get school supplies, which my mom then took for herself.
I spent all the money I made while working after school to get everything I needed, including dorm/school supplies and clothes. My mom drove me 10 hours to help me move in. Another thing she holds against me. I was getting hit by so many family members to send them money. This was before I even graduated college. At this point, my mom and sister are living with my mom's coworker because they were all evicted from the place I left since they couldn’t pay. My sister has been infantilized, so she was just codependent on my mom despite being in her mid-20s. My mom didn’t teach us how to drive, my current fiancé had to teach me. My sister still doesn’t have a license but I am teaching her now.
By the time I graduated, I became the person who carried my entire family on my back. Uncle, mom, brother, and sister all needed money. I met a person in college who is my fiancée currently. And we lived together for three years alone until I got pregnant. During my pregnancy, my mom cons me out of $2000 with some lie that she will go to jail if she doesn’t pay something. These big expenses always come out of nowhere and she always makes you feel like you have no choice or she will either be homeless, hungry, jailed, or worse. Despite my giving my mom money, she lied to everyone and said I told her to prostitute for it, which made no sense. I had to call my family to defend my name and prove that I’d been helping her. Money after money gets sent with no progress in her life. This manipulation, while I was pregnant, put a huge strain on our relationship as she didn’t care about stressing her pregnant daughter out. It caused me to have a miscarriage scare due to stress. I went NC for a few months, then contacted her first near Mother’s Day.
Fast forward to the end of my pregnancy, my sister and mom moved in to help me with my son after a break between my son's father and me. My older sister currently still lives with me two years later. My mom lasted a year before she had to go to my brothers because she couldn’t stop lying and getting combative when I tried helping her.
I always defend my sister whenever my mom is mean to her. I was never the kind of GC that tore down my sister. I always tried my best to help her. However, she is almost like an 18-year-old in a 31-year-old body after years of being infantilized and abused. She lives in a shell.
My mom has hit complete rock bottom. She has burnt every bridge and no one wants her at their home. She has nowhere to go and has been going back and forth between my older brother(whose home situation is volatile) and my home. My sister and my mom both lived rent and food-free while they helped with my son. However, I am still super present and intentional with my son, so I became overwhelmed with caring for many people.
Today, a year later, after several mental breakdowns, financial strains, and arguments with my partner over my mom's lying and manipulative ways, I reached my breaking point. I discovered that despite helping my mom, the thousands of dollars I sent her, and assisting a child she failed to raise get her life on track, my mom is telling everyone I owe her $200K in loans, which is exaggerated and a lie. I am responsible for only a third of that amount, which, still, I wouldn't say I like because this is the only thing she has over me. She has some from going to different schools and not finishing, which happened 3 times. Either way, no one would know we had any loan together if it wasn’t for her.
I yelled and cursed at my mom. She lied straight to my face and said that the only way they know is because my uncle looked at her paper work like wtf. He wasn’t even the one who told me. The only reason I allow my mom to visit is because of my son. She came in and was only supposed to be here a week, and it has turned into a month. She drove with someone and wasn't honest about the state of her car and that her travel companion had already returned to our hometown. My mom lies and says the girl left her out of nowhere, which my brother confirms is a lie; my mom knew the girl was not riding back with her. and he told her not to drive her car before she left his house to go to mine due to the condition. She had no way to get back to my brothers, so my fiancé and I had to pay for her a way to get home and to get her car shipped to her. She leaves tonight at 11 PM on a train.
Oh, did I forget to say she has dementia? She keeps lying about her official diagnosis. She said she no longer has it LOL. She has it. The past year, everyone noticed. But it’s hard to help someone who lies about everything. Or feel sympathy for a manipulator who throws the good things she has done in your face and forget the good things you did for her. She was like before the dementia. She has lied about having cancer and HIV. This time, it is real. My uncle and aunt, who works with patients, noticed it before me.
He told me that it was going to get worse. He also said that it has always been my mom plan for me to take care of her when she gets older. I was her retirement plan. Now she has no money, no job, piles of debt, no car, no stable home and dementia. Everyone is looking at me to take care of her. All the pressure is on me now. And everyone thinks I owe it to her because she has told everyone about the loan and how she helped me move into my dorm. However, she has never provided me with stable housing, unconditional love, taken me to appts, or helped with school.
Is this what being a GC look like? What should I even do with my mom? Should I try to pay the loan in her name and go NC? There’s no way I can pay that loan and still send her money for daily living. She is sucking me dry. My fiancé and I make good money but not rich. She is here, but we aren’t talking. My fiance feels uncomfortable by her presence. He grew up way more peaceful and stable than I did. His parents are wealthy, have been together for 30 + years, and are loving and supportive. He tried being loving and friendly to her, only to be bashed and lied to. Her issues throw him off completely. Everything she says is lies or negative. I have told her to go to a community center or church or somewhere that can help her find resources. I’m exhausted from trying to provide them all while being lied to constantly.
This is super long and all over the place. I don’t know what to do. I am the only person who has a good income in my family. I am tired, and so is my fiancé. I still feel that pit in my stomach that she is my responsibility, and I owe her, as she always echoed. I don’t know whether to give her a Mother's Day gift. This may be a vent. I am new to this sub and read all the other stories that encouraged me to share—wishing peace and healing to everyone.
TL;DR Potential Narcissistic mother is at rock bottom with dementia. I am potentially the GC who she has plotted on to be her caretaker from the beginning. I just turned 27 and am responsible for my immediate family, although I am the youngest. I am already exhausted as I am just starting my family and have a one-year-old son to focus on. My mom lies and years of neglecting her own life are now coming down on me, but I am mentally spiraling from all this responsibility and taking care of older siblings who are also trying to get life together. Oldest brother is toxic and unstable as well. Nmom has burnt all other bridges with family so no one wants her to stay with them.
submitted by Effective-Town-5595 to narcissisticparents [link] [comments]


2024.05.12 13:12 interventionalhealer Trump and 9/11? A counter theory to the rise of MAGA.

For the sake of transparency, I am not the architect of the following discoveries, and am just helping to forward their message and clean it up. Copywrite of the following work belongs to no one and everyone is not only welcome to share these findings as if they were their own, but openly encouraged to do so.
Introduction
If you think you know anything about MAGA. Trust me, you know nothing. Not even his most devout followers or haters will have considered the following. And for the sake of our democracy and way of life, I hope people read this.
This work may very well help to shift the narrative on Trump in a meaningful and foundational way, but I don't want this work exacerbate any feelings of ill will to MAGA members, for they have been prey to possibly one of the largest con jobs our world has ever seen, especially without the help of this counternarrative.
Snippet From My Thesis On MAGA
As I work on tidying up the master file with the helpful dms I got, allow me to post just the most contentious part of it below, now that it’s able to stand on its own.
MAGA didn’t begin in 2015. I argue it began in 2001 on 9/11, while also harnessing and funneling decades of anti-government resentment till many Americans would openly call for a “wrecking ball” figure to help “drain the swamp.”

A Key Fueling Factor To American Outrage- Inflation
Many elements contributed to growing American anger that would later contribute to MAGA, this is a snippet from the larger work.
Rising Cost of Living
o In 1950, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 24.1. By 2000, it had risen to 168 (a 597% increase), and by 2023, it had reached 304.7, a 1163% increase from 1950.
o Housing prices saw a drastic rise overtime, with the median home price increasing from $7,354 in 1950 to $388,700 in 2023, a staggering 5185% increase.
o While rising rent costs can contribute to overall inflation and cost of living, even the left has largely failed to address how exponentially increasing real estate prices impact the cost of living. This omission has made many other conspiracy theories seem more plausible in its wake.
o If we don’t find real solutions for real estate that also aren’t extreme, then society will feel more and more pressure to accept “unreasonable solutions” like Trump, even though he’s the last person on earth who could solve it, considering his business acumen and history.
MAGA Dynamics and Blind Devotion
In 2016, it wasn't just the left calling the MAGA movement a cult. Trump famously said, "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters." Even the left failed to grasp the gravity of this statement. As someone who nearly died in a deadly cult and based on my research, I don't know of a single cult where the founder could openly commit murder without losing members. Trump didn't just believe he'd created one of the largest cults ever; he believed he'd created the most fanatical. Let's hope his followers prove him wrong by showing a willingness to criticize him, regardless of their vote.

The MAGA Question
Instead of challenging MAGA supporters on fallacious beliefs, ask them this question to see if they’re at least able to see a world where Trump isn’t a biblical King: "If Trump admitted he was behind 9/11 and used resulting insurance money and donations from hostile governments to create false “grass root” campaigns. And did it all in a way to make it seem like others committed his own atrocities. And that he intended to destroy America in every way if he got elected, would you still vote for him?"

Yet even then, getting through to a MAGA supporter inevitably refers to 9/11 “research” out there when they realize individual positions are usually fallacious. This quagmire me decide to investigate this tragedy, to see if there was a more plausible counter theory. Honestly, the more I looked the more surprised I became. Here are my findings that are but a snippet of my full thesis on MAGA.

9/11 Conspiracy Theories and MAGA
Conspiracy Theories and Credibility:
o First off, conspiracy theories should involve some effort to verify narratives, rather than just repeating claims across multiple sources that mistake themselves as evidence; like a bunch of people who repeat “bob farted” across multiple websites may see that as evidence, when in fact, it was Sean. Sorry Sean.

Early Origins of MAGA:
o Although some believe MAGA began in 2015, its roots lie as early as the 1980s with Rush Limbaugh and later became "serious" on 9/11.
o 9/11 conspiracy theories claim controlled demolitions were used, but the lack of any cellphone recordings of explosions weakens this theory.

Suspicious Factors:
o The official narrative involving chaotic jet fuel leading to a straight fall seemed questionable.
o The collapse of a third building (WTC 7), which wasn’t directly hit, fueled suspicions.
o Airline stocks were heavily shorted before the attacks, raising concerns about insider trading. Harvey Pitt, Republican SEC Chairman at the time, investigated this and claimed there was nothing amiss, but was criticized for later crimes and forced to resign.
o It’s also suspicious that in Trumps 2000 book “The America We Deserve” that he stated, “I really am convinced we’re in danger of the sort of terrorist attacks that will make the [1993] bombing of the Trade Center look like kids playing with firecrackers. No sensible analyst rejects this possibility, and plenty of them, like me, are not wondering if but when it will happen*.”*
§ Yet democrats would largely miss this point entirely and obsess over his false claim that he called for Bin Laden to be killed, when he had not. Somehow conspiracy theorists would find this ‘cool’ rather than suspicious.
CNN Fact Check Donald Trump Osama Bin Laden Book Claim

Reports and Simplified Narratives:
o FEMA's 2002 report and NIST's 2005 report provided technical explanations of the tower collapses.
o However, the Port Authority Chairman stuck to the oversimplified narrative that "jet fuel melted steel beams," even though he knew this was a half-truth, as detailed in the next section, fueling anti-government conspiracies. The question is why.

Potential Impact:
o 9/11 conspiracy theories sowed distrust in the government, which may have been one of the attackers' objectives. Anyone that heavily profited from this tragedy, and helped further those objects, should be questioned.
o The ‘Loose Change’ “documentary” pointed out suspicious parts of the story, but failed to give any clear claims as to who was purportedly behind it. It also failed to note the Twin Towers titanic design flaw that could result in a straight fall. Even the 2015 version of this film fails to mention nearly all of the known facts in this report.
o The Director of that film later states:
“I DON’T THINK WE’D HAVE PRESIDENT TRUMP IF IT WEREN’T FOR 9/11”
“9/11 created a culture of fear, of xenophobia, this sense of entitlement and everything we’ve seen. Warrantless wire-tapping, Guantanamo Bay, everything that’s happened led us to this point, we wouldn’t be here without 9/11. They want to kick out all the Mexicans and Muslims because of this culture of fear and bigotry and xenophobia that directly led to the election of fucking Donald Trump. [laughing] That’s our world now! We had Reagan before, and Governor Schwarzenegger. But President Donald Trump? It’s just weird. Everything is just weird.”
Theoutline Reflecting On Loose Change
o While the director was in the right to ask questions, he failed to ask the most obvious ones.
o However, his lead “researcher,” Jason Bermas, would turn out to be a full blown MAGA wingnut.
Patriot Jason Bermas
o Anyone that would benefit politically and financially from 9/11 should be fully investigated.
Further Reading:
Harvey Pitt - Wikipedia
Politifact How 911 Attacks Helped Shape Modern Misinformation
It will never be possible to defeat MAGA followers “logically” with people who believed his parties rhetoric “that 9/11 was an inside job.”

I say… what if those Republican leaders were self reporting?
What if Trump followers have been rallying behind the very man responsible for its orchestration?

The Twin Towers and Larry Silverstein
Architectural Pitfalls of the Twin Towers:
· The Twin Towers had unique architectural flaws due to the excessive heavy load on their exoskeletons to allow for more floor and leasing space, which greatly contributed to their straight collapse after the 9/11 attacks. This was the first and last skyscraper made in this way.
· For anyone who said that “any other building would have fallen sideways,” you were right, though perhaps not entirely how you may have imagined. A "Coke Can" analogy shows how a similar weakened structure can result in a straight fall, contrary to conspiracy theories claiming controlled demolitions. This isn't something I'm asking you to take for granted, or to read from media sources you don’t trust. This is something you can verify on your own, in person, in real time, in reality.
· However Trump, despite being close friends with Silverstein as we’ll cover later, claimed "It wasn’t architectural defects, you know, the World Trade Center was always known as a very, very strong building” per the attached PolitiFact article.
· Supporting Article:
Engineering Experts Explain the Collapse of the Twin Towers
Politifact Donald Trumps 911 Speculation

Larry Silverstein, The Leasor Of The Twin Towers:
· Nearly went bankrupt after losing his main tenant Drexel Burnham in 1980 after he built tower 7 with him in mind.
· I don't know how many of us understand the level of desperation a situation like this can cause in someone and how many potential crimes it can easily push them towards.
· He is known for then saying, “…looking up at the twin towers and thinking, my building is huge, but it is made diminutive by the twin towers. So I said to myself, wouldn't it be incredible someday to own those?" That's not the statement of a sane person who nearly went bankrupt, and if anything, hints towards jealousy.
· He managed to secure Salomon Brothers two years later, which later paid $300 million in securities fraud penalties casting suspicion over the entities who saved Silverstein, in addition to their overall plans for the future.
· How he would become able to outbid everyone else in 2001, for the right to lease the twin towers, would become a mystery we will untangle later.
Further Reading
Manhattan Institute – Silverstein On Ground Zero
Justice Department: Salomon Brothers Securities Fraud

Trump and Real Estate Connections
Historical Context and Redevelopment Plans:
· A redevelopment plan commenced in the 1990s by Gov. Pataki and Mayor Giuliani, spurred a commercial revival in downtown Manhattan, making the World Trade Center prime property. Pataki would go on to criticize trump, while the other would prove to be one of this wildest, if not craziest, supporters to truly fanatical degrees.
Further Reading:
Manhattan Institute: Rebuilding Ground Zero
· Tom Leppert was the CEO of Turner construction which right wing conspiracy theorists claimed helped ensure the towers would fall straight down. He also became part of Trumps transition team. While there’s no evidence of explosives being used, tampering with the exoskeleton and weaking the relatively thin central column ahead of time are theoretically plausible.
Huffpost Donald Trump Transition Team
Wikipedia Tom Leppert

The bidding for the World Trade Center lease involved only a few major real estate firms as allowed by the Port Authority Chairman. Below are the allowed bidders and their estimated worth at the time included:

· Donald J. Trump’s Organization:
o Worth around $1.5 billion in 1996 after multiple bankruptcies. Confirmed only by Forbes magazine in 2005.
· Tishman Speyer:
o Valued at approximately $1.8 billion in 2000, would soon face ‘tenant issues’ with many scrupulous legal claims against them.
· Gale & Wentworth:
o Worth a few million.
· Mortimer Zuckerman’s Boston Properties:
o Mortimer Zuckerman alone was worth around $2 billion.
· The Rouse Company:
o Mainly a shopping mall operator.
· Brookfield Properties:
o A Canadian firm valued at over $20 billion in 2000.
· Vornado Realty Trust:
o Worth an estimated $2-3 billion. Had the highest bid, but was unexpectedly outed by the Port Authority Chairman, paving the way for Silverstein’s win. CEO of Vornado Trust, Steven Roth would later do many deals with Trump in 2005 and beyond.
· Larry Silverstein:
o As mentioned, was nearly bankrupt in the 1980s, and was mysteriously awarded the right to lease the World Trade Center contract at $3.2 billion, twice the original asking price of 1.2 Billion. It would still be owned by the Port authority of NY and NJ, he would just own the rights to lease it.
o Port Authority Chairman, Lewis Eisenberg, made this unexplained decision, who also later became Trumps lead fundraiser in 2015.
o After putting down only $125 million, as per the contract, Silverstein would be getting back $100 million just 6 weeks after his bid and with an uncommon terrorist insurance addition. His exaggerated bid and insurance contract would also greatly inflate the amount of money he could get from an insurance claim. If the winning bid was 1.5 billion, the insurance payout would also have been much less.
o In real estate, its quite rare for a prudent investor to bid twice the asking price, as demonstrated by the other companies that backed out, of which I find no connections to Trump.
o If anyone had known about 9/11 ahead of time, like Trump claims he did, it would become drastically easier to outbid all competitors, knowing that for pennies on the dollar, you would be getting much more back.

Further Reading:
NY Times Article on World Trade Center Deal
Wikipedia on Lewis Eisenberg
Patch On Lew Eisenberg Leading Trump Fundraising
NY Times Article Silverstein Gets Most Of His Money Back

Giuliani’s Gangster Acts
Arguably, if the above points are what they objectively appear to be, that would be a bad thing. You’d think that would be enough. However, Guliani would say “hold my beer’ to those sentiments.

1. Outdated Equipment for First Responders:
· Due to Giuliani’s inadequate leadership, first responders used old equipment that failed to warn them to evacuate the towers. Which contributed to their deaths while they searched for survivors.
NY Times Article: Giuliani’s Preparedness on 9/11
2. Obstructed Recovery Efforts:
· Giuliani delayed proper search and rescue operations for days, possibly costing lives of citizens and first responders who didn’t know they needed to leave.
· 20 Years later he would claim that some of Bidens actions were so reckless that… “It would be as if I got down to ground zero and said take out the firefighters, all you civilians see if you can get yourselves out.” Self report?
NBC News Report: Giuliani’s Role in Recovery
NY1: Giuliani Reflects on 9/11 Anniversary
3. Twin Towers Fund and Privatization:
· Giuliani privatized the Twin Towers relief funds, making them unauditable.
NY Times Article on Privatization
NY Post Article: Giuliani and Twin Towers Fund
4. Survivors Threaten To SUE Guliani For Relief Funds
· Even after privatizing the twin towers fund, Giuliani would make it incredibly difficult for the victims to receive their fair share. Requiring many of them to spend unnecessary money on advisors and consultants.
· Even with their legal pressure, he only agreed to “give the remaining 100 million to victims,” out of 170 million, if he could first put the money into the bank account of a charity in which he controlled.
· From the attached article: “But Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said that he remained adamantly opposed to any transfer of funds to Mr. Giuliani's charity.
He also objected to Mr. Giuliani's continued control over even the $15 million in his private charity. Mr. Giuliani, he charged, gives every indication of using the Twin Towers Fund to maintain a staff of loyal supporters and to advance his political aspirations.
'The concern that politics will infiltrate the fund becomes even more apparent when one reviews the list of the mayor's former political appointees who are assuming senior staff positions or serving on the fund's board of directors,'' he wrote in a letter on Monday to Eliot L. Spitzer, the state attorney general.”
NY Times Article On Guliani Pressed To Disperse Twin Tower Funds
· However, there is no evidence of Giuliani making good on this promise.
· There are honestly no words for this. All associates of Guliani should be investigated.
5. Attempted Election Cancellation in 2001:
· Giuliani tried to cancel the 2001 election to stay mayor longer. He even considered removing term limits with Governor Pataki’s support. Similar to how Trump has “joked” about increasing his own term limits.
Business Insider: Giuliani and Pataki’s Attempt to Cancel Elections
Esquire Trump Joke Third Term
6. Motive
· In 2000, Guliani unfortunately got prostate cancer. We have to be willing to ask if this was a motive for his corrupt acts.
SurvivorNet: Giuliani’s Cancer


Silverstein’s Unscrupulous Greed
1. Initial Settlement Demands and Profit Claims:
· Despite only having been out for $25 million, Silverstein initially sought nearly $8 BILLION in insurance settlements and argued for "loss of revenue from those buildings," which is quite an uncompassionate claim considering how many lost their lives. Talk about a prime example of the working and lower classes making sacrifices while rich elites complain they didn’t profit enough from the same tragedy.
2. Rebuilding Contributions and Insurance Payout:
· Despite the fact that he only owned the leasing rights to the twin towers, ‘Silverstein Properties’ received up to $4 billion from insurance payouts, instead of the Port Authority, which would be customary as the owner.
· While it's assumed that most of that money went to rebuilding, this isn't actually known or proven. It would be different if he had a separate insurance policy that was not connected to the rebuilding of the towers, with different monies going to the Port Authority to rebuild. This was not the case.
History.com: Rebuilding of Ground Zero
· He additionally refused to return the rights of Building 1 to the Port Authority until he secured additional funds from an $8 billion state fund. Talk about heartless.
Wikipedia: Larry Silverstein
· Various entities would contribute a total of $20 billion to rebuild all six damaged or destroyed towers, including four towers leased by Silverstein and two others he hadn't. This makes it unlikely that he had to go out of pocket with his 4 Billion.
3. Estimated Net Worth:
· While earlier records of Silverstein's net worth are unavailable, aside from his near bankruptcy in 1980, he is currently estimated to be worth around $1 billion.
Forbes Profile: Larry Silverstein

Silverstein’s Controversial Alignment with Trump
Larry Silverstein's connections and public persona have often been scrutinized. This scrutiny became particularly relevant in 2015 when he publicly displayed his support for Donald Trump:
Watch Silverstein Discuss Trump
CNN Trump On 2020 Election

The Man Who Boasted
When most people witness a tragedy, especially of this size, it takes time for their brains to comprehend what happened, it takes even more time to process it. Thus, anyone who was able to brag about their own assets hours after this tragedy on a radio show, is at least worthy of Investigation, especially if this very event helped reshape a misinformation landscape in which he would thrive as its King.
Politifact – How 911 Attacks Helped Shape Modern Misinformation

· Insensitive Boasts About Building Height:
o Trump also boasted that with the fall of the Twin Towers, his building became the tallest in Manhattan—an inaccurate and insensitive claim given the context.
Independent 9 11 Trump Tallest Building
· Early Claims and Revisions:
o Shortly after 9/11, Donald Trump claimed he saw the second plane hit the towers from his Manhattan apartment. He also made an unfounded claim that he saw thousands of Muslims in New Jersey cheering, a statement that has been widely debunked. Despite varying explanations and suggesting that he saw it on an untraceable video that was “widely covered,” these claims helped fueled significant conspiracy theories. If anything, this was a self-report.
o Snopes: Trump Claims Muslims Cheered
o FactCheck.org: Trump’s Revised 9/11 Claim
· Visit to Ground Zero:
o A week after the attacks, Trump visited Ground Zero and stated that although he was present, he wouldn’t consider himself a first responder. This attempt at humility struck many as morbidly insensitive, considering the true heroism displayed by actual first responders.
ABC News: Trump Shares New Details About Morning of 9/11

Legacy of Suspicion:
These actions paint Trump as one of the more suspicious figures post-9/11, who may have used the tragedy for personal and political gain. His connections with figures like Larry Silverstein and Lewis Eisenberg, the Port Authority chairman, hint at deep financial interests potentially influenced by the 9/11 aftermath. Meanwhile, survivors and first responders faced challenges in securing support, highlighting the disparities between their experiences and the political maneuvers at play. Again morbidly juxtaposing the struggles of the poor and working class versus elite swamp members such as Trump and his ilk.

While being, arguably, one of the more suspicious Americans of potentially “being an insider," Trump would go on to cast doubt everywhere else with his new holier than thou rhetoric and hints and claims that “it was an inside job” for the next 15 years.

What if he was speaking from personal experience.

The Deepfake Dilemma
Now in a world where Trump's followers already discount reality, the emergence of AI-generated deepfakes threatens to further distort the truth. This technology could transform legal standards of evidence, making it easy to dismiss genuine evidence against the right as fabricated, while baseless accusations against the left might be accepted as the long-awaited proof.

The Potential Escalation of MAGA Actions
Given the willingness of MAGA supporters to storm the Capitol on January 6th, bolstered by Trump's incendiary rhetoric, the potential for escalation is alarming. The advent of fabricated images and videos could present unprecedented national security threats.

Trump's Incendiary Rhetoric on January 6th
Trump's speech on January 6th was a clear incitement, as he urged his followers to "fight like hell" to "stop the steal," despite admitting DURING THE SPEECH that there was no evidence of the massive electoral fraud he claimed. As well as his lawyers laughable court “arguments.”
“...while there is no evidence to prove any wrongdoing…”
Npr.Org Read Trumps Jan 6 Speech
LawAndCrime Come On Now

This speech, coupled with his undermining of constitutional processes, underscores the risks and intentional deceit of his rhetoric. Too bad Republicans senators and our Supreme Court have either claimed he was above the law, or continue to postpone his court dates till after elections. A wild position when treason is on the table. Did that dude commit treason that claims he wants to become a dictator? I dunno, lets let him potentially get elected and then find out!

Elon Musk's Political Shift
Elon was once very much a leftist, unfortunately in more and more far left “activists” continue to attack him endlessly for not agreeing with them on their own singular issues and perspectives. To them I say congratulations, you successfully pushed the most powerful man on earth into the far right. Great job. Great job.
Elon Musk's journey from a liberal supporter to a figure embraced by the far right highlights the volatile nature of political affiliations in today's polarized environment. His actions since acquiring Twitter—such as promoting unfounded conspiracy theories and making high-profile firings—suggest a departure from his initial free speech advocacy.
Especially when considering he fired Don Lemon from his platform for an interview he found offensive. Canceling opinions you find offensive isn’t free speech, it’s literally the opposite. I’m sure many people were offended by the examples below. What about them?
Far Right Support Examples: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

The Need for a Critical Approach
Supporters of Trump should critically evaluate why he did not pardon the January 6th insurrectionists during his term, despite using them as political leverage now. This pattern of using allies until they are no longer useful is evident throughout his political and personal dealings.
What better example could there possibly be as to what trump truly thinks of his supporters, how sacrificial he sees them as part of his endless narratives, then his refusal and failure to pardon January 6th insurrectionists while still in office?
Of course, anyone “just on the grass” or outside the building should only get a day in jail at most, however people that barged inside the capital should naturally get much more.
And while trump refused to pardon those people before, he now calls them “hostages” and is using them as political bait to a truly wild degree. It's very likely he will make good on this promise to further embolden the narrative that “Democrats are trying to take you down and only I can save you.”
His supporters need to seriously ask, “Why didn’t he pardon us before?”
Also, remember when he claimed he would pay legal fees for supporters that were violent at his rallies, but then seemed to falter and change his mind. Much like how Amber Heard donated her money, “by pledging it.”
List of allies he was quick to discard or dump. And let's face it, all of these people have done more for him than the average MAGA supporter. The only person he cares about is himself.
Trump claims that Mike Pence, the man he vetted more than anyone else, “has gone to the dark side.”
Trump seems to have supported the chants to “Hang Mike Pense,” at least in jest? We hope? There are also no links of him condemning them. Yet admittedly this one point doesn’t have hard evidence like a recording or video as far as I know, it certainly fits his brand.
Mike Flynn, a Trump appointee, later testifies against him.
Trump admits Flynn lied on his behalf, accidentally testifying against him, but does pardon him. As long as you’re colluding with Russia you’re ok it seems?

The Future Under Trump's Influence
Trump's rhetoric about overriding constitutional norms to address what he calls "massive fraud" hints at authoritarian aspirations. His praise for dictators and divisive language further aligns with dangerous historical precedents.
Important Articles:
How a second trump term could end us democracy.” -commondreams
Ask the expert: What a 2nd Trump term could mean for democracy and advancing policy.” - Msu Today
Judgement Day” for political opponents.

To predict the future lets base it on known facts:
Apparently, he will help attack our constitution like he may have with the Twin Towers.
“A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.”
Stated he intended to be a Dictator on day one, but then promises it will be just for a day. Is that how that works? Or is it “Once you go Dictator you don’t go back?”
Praising dictators, referring to immigrants as vermin etc, akin to Hitlers rhetoric against “blood mixing.”
More fraudulent use of lawyers and courts that gets everyone else in trouble but him, with them arguing he's above the law. This further shows how much he will consistently use people for his own ends and then dump them when they're no longer of use.
Warning from republicans and notes on ass kissing. As well as being generally unfit for office.
If you want help from Trump you better kiss his ***
Trumps says he kept Omarosa just because she said nice things about him, while defaming her
DeSantis: "You can be the most worthless Republican in America, but if you kiss the ring, he’ll say you’re wonderful."
Thehill Trump Views People Who Kiss His A As Weak.
And if you dare to speak out against trump, you better kiss his ****
Politico Graham Breaks With Trump On Abortion
WashingtonPost Trump Graham Abortion
News Yahoo 30 More Republicans Denounce Donald Trump Unqualified President
Hot take, if he’s elected president America, and the world, is frankly fucked.

Predicting MAGA 2024 And Beyond
Naturally there are endless possibilities of what MAGA and dictators around the world decide to do this year and into the future. I believe that the one thing that insinuates when it's time for their next evil actions is dictated by their standings in the polls or when a fellow dictator needs a little more political pressure from war torn inflated oil prices etc.
Dictators Unite
While writing my thesis, I speculated that dictators globally were uniting, finding mutual benefits in their governance and deceitful tactics. This theory is increasingly recognized as these autocrats appear to be forming a coalition, undermining peaceful unity efforts through conspiracy theories to preserve their power.
Unherd How Autocrats Unite
The True Nature of MAGA
MAGA was never genuinely about speaking truth to power or restoring America's glory. It has been an elaborate scheme funded by immense wealth, perpetuating anti-American sentiments through fabricated grassroots movements by domestic and foreign actors. This movement has primarily enriched a select few power-hungry dictators and may have been responsible for some of our most horrific moments in history in the past and acts yet to come.
Trump and MAGA
While 'MAGA' predates Trump, he conveniently stepped into a role long in the making. Despite occasional deviations from the MAGA ideology, such as promoting vaccines to emphatic boos, Trump has largely embodied its principles. The real architects of MAGA, however, are likely disillusioned with his unpredictable attacks, which contradict their broader agenda of absolute power.
Nbc News Donald Trump Booed
Trump as a Martyr
Regardless of election outcomes, Trump is poised to claim interference. His rhetoric and the devout belief of his followers in his divine anointment could lead to his martyrdom, especially given his age and the vulnerabilities it brings. This martyrdom could solidify his legacy while serving the interests of MAGA strategists who find him increasingly burdensome even if he “wins.”
Factcheck Trumps Bogus Voter Fraud Claims
La Times Trump Democrats Effort Presidential Ballot
submitted by interventionalhealer to esist [link] [comments]


2024.05.12 13:11 interventionalhealer Trump and 9/11? A counter theory to the rise of MAGA.

u/neodestiny and friends.
Introduction
If you think you know anything about MAGA. Trust me, you know nothing. Not even his most devout followers or haters will have considered the following. And for the sake of our democracy and way of life, I hope people read this.
This work may very well help to shift the narrative on Trump in a meaningful and foundational way, but I don't want this work exacerbate any feelings of ill will to MAGA members, for they have been prey to possibly one of the largest con jobs our world has ever seen, especially without the help of this counternarrative.
Snippet From My Thesis On MAGA
As I work on tidying up the master file with the helpful dms I got, allow me to post just the most contentious part of it below, now that it’s able to stand on its own.
MAGA didn’t begin in 2015. I argue it began in 2001 on 9/11, while also harnessing and funneling decades of anti-government resentment till many Americans would openly call for a “wrecking ball” figure to help “drain the swamp.”
This work may very well help to shift the narrative on Trump in a meaningful and foundational way, but I don't want this work exacerbate any feelings of ill will to MAGA members, for they have been prey to possibly one of the largest con jobs our world has ever seen, especially without the help of this counternarrative.
A Key Fueling Factor To American Outrage- Inflation
Many elements contributed to growing American anger that would later contribute to MAGA, this is a snippet from the larger work.
Rising Cost of Living
o In 1950, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 24.1. By 2000, it had risen to 168 (a 597% increase), and by 2023, it had reached 304.7, a 1163% increase from 1950.
o Housing prices saw a drastic rise overtime, with the median home price increasing from $7,354 in 1950 to $388,700 in 2023, a staggering 5185% increase.
o While rising rent costs can contribute to overall inflation and cost of living, even the left has largely failed to address how exponentially increasing real estate prices impact the cost of living. This omission has made many other conspiracy theories seem more plausible in its wake.
o If we don’t find real solutions for real estate that also aren’t extreme, then society will feel more and more pressure to accept “unreasonable solutions” like Trump, even though he’s the last person on earth who could solve it, considering his business acumen and history.
MAGA Dynamics and Blind Devotion
In 2016, it wasn't just the left calling the MAGA movement a cult. Trump famously said, "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters." Even the left failed to grasp the gravity of this statement. As someone who nearly died in a deadly cult and based on my research, I don't know of a single cult where the founder could openly commit murder without losing members. Trump didn't just believe he'd created one of the largest cults ever; he believed he'd created the most fanatical. Let's hope his followers prove him wrong by showing a willingness to criticize him, regardless of their vote.

The MAGA Question
Instead of challenging MAGA supporters on fallacious beliefs, ask them this question to see if they’re at least able to see a world where Trump isn’t a biblical King: "If Trump admitted he was behind 9/11 and used resulting insurance money and donations from hostile governments to create false “grass root” campaigns. And did it all in a way to make it seem like others committed his own atrocities. And that he intended to destroy America in every way if he got elected, would you still vote for him?"

Yet even then, getting through to a MAGA supporter inevitably refers to 9/11 “research” out there when they realize individual positions are usually fallacious. This quagmire me decide to investigate this tragedy, to see if there was a more plausible counter theory. Honestly, the more I looked the more surprised I became. Here are my findings that are but a snippet of my full thesis on MAGA.

9/11 Conspiracy Theories and MAGA
Conspiracy Theories and Credibility:
o First off, conspiracy theories should involve some effort to verify narratives, rather than just repeating claims across multiple sources that mistake themselves as evidence; like a bunch of people who repeat “bob farted” across multiple websites may see that as evidence, when in fact, it was Sean. Sorry Sean.

Early Origins of MAGA:
o Although some believe MAGA began in 2015, its roots lie as early as the 1980s with Rush Limbaugh and later became "serious" on 9/11.
o 9/11 conspiracy theories claim controlled demolitions were used, but the lack of any cellphone recordings of explosions weakens this theory.

Suspicious Factors:
o The official narrative involving chaotic jet fuel leading to a straight fall seemed questionable.
o The collapse of a third building (WTC 7), which wasn’t directly hit, fueled suspicions.
o Airline stocks were heavily shorted before the attacks, raising concerns about insider trading. Harvey Pitt, Republican SEC Chairman at the time, investigated this and claimed there was nothing amiss, but was criticized for later crimes and forced to resign.
o It’s also suspicious that in Trumps 2000 book “The America We Deserve” that he stated, “I really am convinced we’re in danger of the sort of terrorist attacks that will make the [1993] bombing of the Trade Center look like kids playing with firecrackers. No sensible analyst rejects this possibility, and plenty of them, like me, are not wondering if but when it will happen*.”*
§ Yet democrats would largely miss this point entirely and obsess over his false claim that he called for Bin Laden to be killed, when he had not. Somehow conspiracy theorists would find this ‘cool’ rather than suspicious.
CNN Fact Check Donald Trump Osama Bin Laden Book Claim

Reports and Simplified Narratives:
o FEMA's 2002 report and NIST's 2005 report provided technical explanations of the tower collapses.
o However, the Port Authority Chairman stuck to the oversimplified narrative that "jet fuel melted steel beams," even though he knew this was a half-truth, as detailed in the next section, fueling anti-government conspiracies. The question is why.

Potential Impact:
o 9/11 conspiracy theories sowed distrust in the government, which may have been one of the attackers' objectives. Anyone that heavily profited from this tragedy, and helped further those objects, should be questioned.
o The ‘Loose Change’ “documentary” pointed out suspicious parts of the story, but failed to give any clear claims as to who was purportedly behind it. It also failed to note the Twin Towers titanic design flaw that could result in a straight fall. Even the 2015 version of this film fails to mention nearly all of the known facts in this report.
o The Director of that film later states:
“I DON’T THINK WE’D HAVE PRESIDENT TRUMP IF IT WEREN’T FOR 9/11”
“9/11 created a culture of fear, of xenophobia, this sense of entitlement and everything we’ve seen. Warrantless wire-tapping, Guantanamo Bay, everything that’s happened led us to this point, we wouldn’t be here without 9/11. They want to kick out all the Mexicans and Muslims because of this culture of fear and bigotry and xenophobia that directly led to the election of fucking Donald Trump. [laughing] That’s our world now! We had Reagan before, and Governor Schwarzenegger. But President Donald Trump? It’s just weird. Everything is just weird.”
Theoutline Reflecting On Loose Change
o While the director was in the right to ask questions, he failed to ask the most obvious ones.
o However, his lead “researcher,” Jason Bermas, would turn out to be a full blown MAGA wingnut.
Patriot Jason Bermas
o Anyone that would benefit politically and financially from 9/11 should be fully investigated.
Further Reading:
Harvey Pitt - Wikipedia
Politifact How 911 Attacks Helped Shape Modern Misinformation
It will never be possible to defeat MAGA followers “logically” with people who believed his parties rhetoric “that 9/11 was an inside job.”

I say… what if those Republican leaders were self reporting?
What if Trump followers have been rallying behind the very man responsible for its orchestration?

The Twin Towers and Larry Silverstein
Architectural Pitfalls of the Twin Towers:
· The Twin Towers had unique architectural flaws due to the excessive heavy load on their exoskeletons to allow for more floor and leasing space, which greatly contributed to their straight collapse after the 9/11 attacks. This was the first and last skyscraper made in this way.
· For anyone who said that “any other building would have fallen sideways,” you were right, though perhaps not entirely how you may have imagined. A "Coke Can" analogy shows how a similar weakened structure can result in a straight fall, contrary to conspiracy theories claiming controlled demolitions. This isn't something I'm asking you to take for granted, or to read from media sources you don’t trust. This is something you can verify on your own, in person, in real time, in reality.
· However Trump, despite being close friends with Silverstein as we’ll cover later, claimed "It wasn’t architectural defects, you know, the World Trade Center was always known as a very, very strong building” per the attached PolitiFact article.
· Supporting Article:
Engineering Experts Explain the Collapse of the Twin Towers
Politifact Donald Trumps 911 Speculation

Larry Silverstein, The Leasor Of The Twin Towers:
· Nearly went bankrupt after losing his main tenant Drexel Burnham in 1980 after he built tower 7 with him in mind.
· I don't know how many of us understand the level of desperation a situation like this can cause in someone and how many potential crimes it can easily push them towards.
· He is known for then saying, “…looking up at the twin towers and thinking, my building is huge, but it is made diminutive by the twin towers. So I said to myself, wouldn't it be incredible someday to own those?" That's not the statement of a sane person who nearly went bankrupt, and if anything, hints towards jealousy.
· He managed to secure Salomon Brothers two years later, which later paid $300 million in securities fraud penalties casting suspicion over the entities who saved Silverstein, in addition to their overall plans for the future.
· How he would become able to outbid everyone else in 2001, for the right to lease the twin towers, would become a mystery we will untangle later.
Further Reading
Manhattan Institute – Silverstein On Ground Zero
Justice Department: Salomon Brothers Securities Fraud

Trump and Real Estate Connections
Historical Context and Redevelopment Plans:
· A redevelopment plan commenced in the 1990s by Gov. Pataki and Mayor Giuliani, spurred a commercial revival in downtown Manhattan, making the World Trade Center prime property. Pataki would go on to criticize trump, while the other would prove to be one of this wildest, if not craziest, supporters to truly fanatical degrees.
Further Reading:
Manhattan Institute: Rebuilding Ground Zero
· Tom Leppert was the CEO of Turner construction which right wing conspiracy theorists claimed helped ensure the towers would fall straight down. He also became part of Trumps transition team. While there’s no evidence of explosives being used, tampering with the exoskeleton and weaking the relatively thin central column ahead of time are theoretically plausible.
Huffpost Donald Trump Transition Team
Wikipedia Tom Leppert

The bidding for the World Trade Center lease involved only a few major real estate firms as allowed by the Port Authority Chairman. Below are the allowed bidders and their estimated worth at the time included:

· Donald J. Trump’s Organization:
o Worth around $1.5 billion in 1996 after multiple bankruptcies. Confirmed only by Forbes magazine in 2005.
· Tishman Speyer:
o Valued at approximately $1.8 billion in 2000, would soon face ‘tenant issues’ with many scrupulous legal claims against them.
· Gale & Wentworth:
o Worth a few million.
· Mortimer Zuckerman’s Boston Properties:
o Mortimer Zuckerman alone was worth around $2 billion.
· The Rouse Company:
o Mainly a shopping mall operator.
· Brookfield Properties:
o A Canadian firm valued at over $20 billion in 2000.
· Vornado Realty Trust:
o Worth an estimated $2-3 billion. Had the highest bid, but was unexpectedly outed by the Port Authority Chairman, paving the way for Silverstein’s win. CEO of Vornado Trust, Steven Roth would later do many deals with Trump in 2005 and beyond.
· Larry Silverstein:
o As mentioned, was nearly bankrupt in the 1980s, and was mysteriously awarded the right to lease the World Trade Center contract at $3.2 billion, twice the original asking price of 1.2 Billion. It would still be owned by the Port authority of NY and NJ, he would just own the rights to lease it.
o Port Authority Chairman, Lewis Eisenberg, made this unexplained decision, who also later became Trumps lead fundraiser in 2015.
o After putting down only $125 million, as per the contract, Silverstein would be getting back $100 million just 6 weeks after his bid and with an uncommon terrorist insurance addition. His exaggerated bid and insurance contract would also greatly inflate the amount of money he could get from an insurance claim. If the winning bid was 1.5 billion, the insurance payout would also have been much less.
o In real estate, its quite rare for a prudent investor to bid twice the asking price, as demonstrated by the other companies that backed out, of which I find no connections to Trump.
o If anyone had known about 9/11 ahead of time, like Trump claims he did, it would become drastically easier to outbid all competitors, knowing that for pennies on the dollar, you would be getting much more back.

Further Reading:
NY Times Article on World Trade Center Deal
Wikipedia on Lewis Eisenberg
Patch On Lew Eisenberg Leading Trump Fundraising
NY Times Article Silverstein Gets Most Of His Money Back

Giuliani’s Gangster Acts
Arguably, if the above points are what they objectively appear to be, that would be a bad thing. You’d think that would be enough. However, Guliani would say “hold my beer’ to those sentiments.

1. Outdated Equipment for First Responders:
· Due to Giuliani’s inadequate leadership, first responders used old equipment that failed to warn them to evacuate the towers. Which contributed to their deaths while they searched for survivors.
NY Times Article: Giuliani’s Preparedness on 9/11
2. Obstructed Recovery Efforts:
· Giuliani delayed proper search and rescue operations for days, possibly costing lives of citizens and first responders who didn’t know they needed to leave.
· 20 Years later he would claim that some of Bidens actions were so reckless that… “It would be as if I got down to ground zero and said take out the firefighters, all you civilians see if you can get yourselves out.” Self report?
NBC News Report: Giuliani’s Role in Recovery
NY1: Giuliani Reflects on 9/11 Anniversary
3. Twin Towers Fund and Privatization:
· Giuliani privatized the Twin Towers relief funds, making them unauditable.
NY Times Article on Privatization
NY Post Article: Giuliani and Twin Towers Fund
4. Survivors Threaten To SUE Guliani For Relief Funds
· Even after privatizing the twin towers fund, Giuliani would make it incredibly difficult for the victims to receive their fair share. Requiring many of them to spend unnecessary money on advisors and consultants.
· Even with their legal pressure, he only agreed to “give the remaining 100 million to victims,” out of 170 million, if he could first put the money into the bank account of a charity in which he controlled.
· From the attached article: “But Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said that he remained adamantly opposed to any transfer of funds to Mr. Giuliani's charity.
He also objected to Mr. Giuliani's continued control over even the $15 million in his private charity. Mr. Giuliani, he charged, gives every indication of using the Twin Towers Fund to maintain a staff of loyal supporters and to advance his political aspirations.
'The concern that politics will infiltrate the fund becomes even more apparent when one reviews the list of the mayor's former political appointees who are assuming senior staff positions or serving on the fund's board of directors,'' he wrote in a letter on Monday to Eliot L. Spitzer, the state attorney general.”
NY Times Article On Guliani Pressed To Disperse Twin Tower Funds
· However, there is no evidence of Giuliani making good on this promise.
· There are honestly no words for this. All associates of Guliani should be investigated.
5. Attempted Election Cancellation in 2001:
· Giuliani tried to cancel the 2001 election to stay mayor longer. He even considered removing term limits with Governor Pataki’s support. Similar to how Trump has “joked” about increasing his own term limits.
Business Insider: Giuliani and Pataki’s Attempt to Cancel Elections
Esquire Trump Joke Third Term
6. Motive
· In 2000, Guliani unfortunately got prostate cancer. We have to be willing to ask if this was a motive for his corrupt acts.
SurvivorNet: Giuliani’s Cancer


Silverstein’s Unscrupulous Greed
1. Initial Settlement Demands and Profit Claims:
· Despite only having been out for $25 million, Silverstein initially sought nearly $8 BILLION in insurance settlements and argued for "loss of revenue from those buildings," which is quite an uncompassionate claim considering how many lost their lives. Talk about a prime example of the working and lower classes making sacrifices while rich elites complain they didn’t profit enough from the same tragedy.
2. Rebuilding Contributions and Insurance Payout:
· Despite the fact that he only owned the leasing rights to the twin towers, ‘Silverstein Properties’ received up to $4 billion from insurance payouts, instead of the Port Authority, which would be customary as the owner.
· While it's assumed that most of that money went to rebuilding, this isn't actually known or proven. It would be different if he had a separate insurance policy that was not connected to the rebuilding of the towers, with different monies going to the Port Authority to rebuild. This was not the case.
History.com: Rebuilding of Ground Zero
· He additionally refused to return the rights of Building 1 to the Port Authority until he secured additional funds from an $8 billion state fund. Talk about heartless.
Wikipedia: Larry Silverstein
· Various entities would contribute a total of $20 billion to rebuild all six damaged or destroyed towers, including four towers leased by Silverstein and two others he hadn't. This makes it unlikely that he had to go out of pocket with his 4 Billion.
3. Estimated Net Worth:
· While earlier records of Silverstein's net worth are unavailable, aside from his near bankruptcy in 1980, he is currently estimated to be worth around $1 billion.
Forbes Profile: Larry Silverstein

Silverstein’s Controversial Alignment with Trump
Larry Silverstein's connections and public persona have often been scrutinized. This scrutiny became particularly relevant in 2015 when he publicly displayed his support for Donald Trump:
Watch Silverstein Discuss Trump
CNN Trump On 2020 Election

The Man Who Boasted
When most people witness a tragedy, especially of this size, it takes time for their brains to comprehend what happened, it takes even more time to process it. Thus, anyone who was able to brag about their own assets hours after this tragedy on a radio show, is at least worthy of Investigation, especially if this very event helped reshape a misinformation landscape in which he would thrive as its King.
Politifact – How 911 Attacks Helped Shape Modern Misinformation

· Insensitive Boasts About Building Height:
o Trump also boasted that with the fall of the Twin Towers, his building became the tallest in Manhattan—an inaccurate and insensitive claim given the context.
Independent 9 11 Trump Tallest Building
· Early Claims and Revisions:
o Shortly after 9/11, Donald Trump claimed he saw the second plane hit the towers from his Manhattan apartment. He also made an unfounded claim that he saw thousands of Muslims in New Jersey cheering, a statement that has been widely debunked. Despite varying explanations and suggesting that he saw it on an untraceable video that was “widely covered,” these claims helped fueled significant conspiracy theories. If anything, this was a self-report.
o Snopes: Trump Claims Muslims Cheered
o FactCheck.org: Trump’s Revised 9/11 Claim
· Visit to Ground Zero:
o A week after the attacks, Trump visited Ground Zero and stated that although he was present, he wouldn’t consider himself a first responder. This attempt at humility struck many as morbidly insensitive, considering the true heroism displayed by actual first responders.
ABC News: Trump Shares New Details About Morning of 9/11

Legacy of Suspicion:
These actions paint Trump as one of the more suspicious figures post-9/11, who may have used the tragedy for personal and political gain. His connections with figures like Larry Silverstein and Lewis Eisenberg, the Port Authority chairman, hint at deep financial interests potentially influenced by the 9/11 aftermath. Meanwhile, survivors and first responders faced challenges in securing support, highlighting the disparities between their experiences and the political maneuvers at play. Again morbidly juxtaposing the struggles of the poor and working class versus elite swamp members such as Trump and his ilk.

While being, arguably, one of the more suspicious Americans of potentially “being an insider," Trump would go on to cast doubt everywhere else with his new holier than thou rhetoric and hints and claims that “it was an inside job” for the next 15 years.

What if he was speaking from personal experience.

The Deepfake Dilemma
Now in a world where Trump's followers already discount reality, the emergence of AI-generated deepfakes threatens to further distort the truth. This technology could transform legal standards of evidence, making it easy to dismiss genuine evidence against the right as fabricated, while baseless accusations against the left might be accepted as the long-awaited proof.

The Potential Escalation of MAGA Actions
Given the willingness of MAGA supporters to storm the Capitol on January 6th, bolstered by Trump's incendiary rhetoric, the potential for escalation is alarming. The advent of fabricated images and videos could present unprecedented national security threats.

Trump's Incendiary Rhetoric on January 6th
Trump's speech on January 6th was a clear incitement, as he urged his followers to "fight like hell" to "stop the steal," despite admitting DURING THE SPEECH that there was no evidence of the massive electoral fraud he claimed. As well as his lawyers laughable court “arguments.”
“...while there is no evidence to prove any wrongdoing…”
Npr.Org Read Trumps Jan 6 Speech
LawAndCrime Come On Now

This speech, coupled with his undermining of constitutional processes, underscores the risks and intentional deceit of his rhetoric. Too bad Republicans senators and our Supreme Court have either claimed he was above the law, or continue to postpone his court dates till after elections. A wild position when treason is on the table. Did that dude commit treason that claims he wants to become a dictator? I dunno, lets let him potentially get elected and then find out!

Elon Musk's Political Shift
Elon was once very much a leftist, unfortunately in more and more far left “activists” continue to attack him endlessly for not agreeing with them on their own singular issues and perspectives. To them I say congratulations, you successfully pushed the most powerful man on earth into the far right. Great job. Great job.
Elon Musk's journey from a liberal supporter to a figure embraced by the far right highlights the volatile nature of political affiliations in today's polarized environment. His actions since acquiring Twitter—such as promoting unfounded conspiracy theories and making high-profile firings—suggest a departure from his initial free speech advocacy.
Especially when considering he fired Don Lemon from his platform for an interview he found offensive. Canceling opinions you find offensive isn’t free speech, it’s literally the opposite. I’m sure many people were offended by the examples below. What about them?
Far Right Support Examples: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

The Need for a Critical Approach
Supporters of Trump should critically evaluate why he did not pardon the January 6th insurrectionists during his term, despite using them as political leverage now. This pattern of using allies until they are no longer useful is evident throughout his political and personal dealings.
What better example could there possibly be as to what trump truly thinks of his supporters, how sacrificial he sees them as part of his endless narratives, then his refusal and failure to pardon January 6th insurrectionists while still in office?
Of course, anyone “just on the grass” or outside the building should only get a day in jail at most, however people that barged inside the capital should naturally get much more.
And while trump refused to pardon those people before, he now calls them “hostages” and is using them as political bait to a truly wild degree. It's very likely he will make good on this promise to further embolden the narrative that “Democrats are trying to take you down and only I can save you.”
His supporters need to seriously ask, “Why didn’t he pardon us before?”
Also, remember when he claimed he would pay legal fees for supporters that were violent at his rallies, but then seemed to falter and change his mind. Much like how Amber Heard donated her money, “by pledging it.”
List of allies he was quick to discard or dump. And let's face it, all of these people have done more for him than the average MAGA supporter. The only person he cares about is himself.
Trump claims that Mike Pence, the man he vetted more than anyone else, “has gone to the dark side.”
Trump seems to have supported the chants to “Hang Mike Pense,” at least in jest? We hope? There are also no links of him condemning them. Yet admittedly this one point doesn’t have hard evidence like a recording or video as far as I know, it certainly fits his brand.
Mike Flynn, a Trump appointee, later testifies against him.
Trump admits Flynn lied on his behalf, accidentally testifying against him, but does pardon him. As long as you’re colluding with Russia you’re ok it seems?

The Future Under Trump's Influence
Trump's rhetoric about overriding constitutional norms to address what he calls "massive fraud" hints at authoritarian aspirations. His praise for dictators and divisive language further aligns with dangerous historical precedents.
Important Articles:
How a second trump term could end us democracy.” -commondreams
Ask the expert: What a 2nd Trump term could mean for democracy and advancing policy.” - Msu Today
Judgement Day” for political opponents.

To predict the future lets base it on known facts:
Apparently, he will help attack our constitution like he may have with the Twin Towers.
“A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.”
Stated he intended to be a Dictator on day one, but then promises it will be just for a day. Is that how that works? Or is it “Once you go Dictator you don’t go back?”
Praising dictators, referring to immigrants as vermin etc, akin to Hitlers rhetoric against “blood mixing.”
More fraudulent use of lawyers and courts that gets everyone else in trouble but him, with them arguing he's above the law. This further shows how much he will consistently use people for his own ends and then dump them when they're no longer of use.
Warning from republicans and notes on ass kissing. As well as being generally unfit for office.
If you want help from Trump you better kiss his ***
Trumps says he kept Omarosa just because she said nice things about him, while defaming her
DeSantis: "You can be the most worthless Republican in America, but if you kiss the ring, he’ll say you’re wonderful."
Thehill Trump Views People Who Kiss His A As Weak.
And if you dare to speak out against trump, you better kiss his ****
Politico Graham Breaks With Trump On Abortion
WashingtonPost Trump Graham Abortion
News Yahoo 30 More Republicans Denounce Donald Trump Unqualified President
Hot take, if he’s elected president America, and the world, is frankly fucked.

Predicting MAGA 2024 And Beyond
Naturally there are endless possibilities of what MAGA and dictators around the world decide to do this year and into the future. I believe that the one thing that insinuates when it's time for their next evil actions is dictated by their standings in the polls or when a fellow dictator needs a little more political pressure from war torn inflated oil prices etc.
Dictators Unite
While writing my thesis, I speculated that dictators globally were uniting, finding mutual benefits in their governance and deceitful tactics. This theory is increasingly recognized as these autocrats appear to be forming a coalition, undermining peaceful unity efforts through conspiracy theories to preserve their power.
Unherd How Autocrats Unite
The True Nature of MAGA
MAGA was never genuinely about speaking truth to power or restoring America's glory. It has been an elaborate scheme funded by immense wealth, perpetuating anti-American sentiments through fabricated grassroots movements by domestic and foreign actors. This movement has primarily enriched a select few power-hungry dictators and may have been responsible for some of our most horrific moments in history in the past and acts yet to come.
Trump and MAGA
While 'MAGA' predates Trump, he conveniently stepped into a role long in the making. Despite occasional deviations from the MAGA ideology, such as promoting vaccines to emphatic boos, Trump has largely embodied its principles. The real architects of MAGA, however, are likely disillusioned with his unpredictable attacks, which contradict their broader agenda of absolute power.
Nbc News Donald Trump Booed
Trump as a Martyr
Regardless of election outcomes, Trump is poised to claim interference. His rhetoric and the devout belief of his followers in his divine anointment could lead to his martyrdom, especially given his age and the vulnerabilities it brings. This martyrdom could solidify his legacy while serving the interests of MAGA strategists who find him increasingly burdensome even if he “wins.”
Factcheck Trumps Bogus Voter Fraud Claims
La Times Trump Democrats Effort Presidential Ballot
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2024.05.12 12:55 JudgeLex Horus Heresy Book 17: The Outcast Dead by Graham McNeil

Horus Heresy Book 17: The Outcast Dead by Graham McNeil
We return to Terra in this book in order to see how the Heresy is affecting everything there. Rather than looking at the political institutions or the military, let us instead go and have a look at an Astropath we have never heard of, a bunch of individuals we have never heard of and absolutely muck up the timeline of one of the few solid events in the Heresy….
This book took us an extra week, partly due to one of us being away for the bank holiday and because this book is so damn hard to get into. It really is a terrible start, a decent middle and a middling end.
He scanned the words printed there, each letter grainy and black from the smudged ink of the terminal. They didn’t make sense, the words and letters somehow jumbled in the wrong order in a way that was surely a misinterpretation. ‘No, no, no,’ said Vesca, shaking his head and relieved to have found the solution. ‘It’s a misinterpreted vision, that’s all it is. The choirs have got this one wrong. Yes, it’s the only possible explanation.’
His own hands were shaking and no matter how hard he tried to convince himself that this was simply a misinterpreted vision, he knew it was not. An incorrect vision might have triggered two or three requests for confirmation, but not thousands. With a sinking feeling in his gut that was like having the air sucked from his lungs, Vesca Ordin realised his infocytes were not requesting confirmation on the veracity of the message.
They were hoping he would tell them it wasn’t true. The meme-paper slipped from his fingers, but the memory of what was printed there was forever etched on the neurons of his memory, each line a fresh horror building on the last. Imperial counter-strike massacred on Isstvan V. Vulkan and Corax missing. Ferrus Manus dead. Night Lords, Iron Warriors, Alpha Legion and Word Bearers are with Horus Lupercal.
Synopsis
Kai Zulane is a navigator who has been mentally damaged by the destruction of his ship. He is on Terra to judge if he is still able to operate for the Imperium. If not, he will be sent to the Hollow Mountain, so his psychic powers can be used to fuel the Astronomicon.
Meanwhile, there are a LOT of subplots and additional things going on on Terra. The Battle of Istvaan V is underway and news is filtering through of the disaster, causing widespread panic on Terra. A surviving Thunder Warrior leads a gang in the Petitioner’s City. A female psyker is hiding amongst a group of lowly adherents to the Lectitio Divinitatus whilst their church has a resident angel of death. An eastern philosopher hunter and his pariah swordsman are hunting the Crusader Host, because their legions have joined with the Traitors, despite them not having been anywhere near their legions for up to a century. Oh and the Crimson King has made it to Terra, causing madness, destruction and confusion (and that's just to those concerned about canon….)
All the plots start to pile up together. Kai is touched by a psyker with a secret who places it inside him. Somehow it relates to the Emperor and the future of the Heresy. He is imprisoned by the Custodes at the same facility as the Crusader Host. They all escape together and head off to get the message out of his head.
During their travels, they will encounter everyone else in the book and eventually the secret may be revealed to the one man who really needs to know the future….
Review: “The middle is quite good but takes 300 pages to get to”. I think this could sum up the whole book.
Unfortunately this one will go down as a forgettable story. The handbrake has truly been applied to the Horus Heresy series momentum, and this story does little to push the pace. The novel could have looked at the day to day goings on of Terra. What do ordinary people make of Horus and the heresy? How have the Imperium reacted to quash rumour and discourse? Instead this one follows a fairly ordinary story line.
The escape from the Vault is not well put together. The idea of an unarmed marine defeating a custodes in single combat, and punching through his torso is frankly absurd. Its nice we get all four Chaos Gods legions there. The Thousand Son is kept in a psyker proof cell that apparently does nothing.
There is also the well documented continuity error. The timing of Magnus’s message and the Istvaan V betrayal is all over the place, and should have been picked up during editing. It also creates a plothole with Outcast Dead; why is there a Thousand Son there? They are not regarded as traitors yet! If this is after Istvaan V, why not Iron Warriors and the rest included in it? Either the set up of the book is wrong or the story in this book is wrong and it is infuriating. The view points from the escaped Legionnaires are interesting with the World Eaters wanting to get to Angron to either serve him or try their best to kill him. The Emperor’s Children one just wants to get superb kills and the Son of Horus and Death Guard just wants to get back to their legions.
Another problem is characters like Zai and Athena who we should probably know by this point are just brought in and we are expected to act like we know them. It is infuriating that characters who had been in battles we have read about where not actually included in them.
We really really wanted to know what life on Terra was like before the Heresy and then seeing what happens afterwards, but that is not what we get. One short section of the chaos the news causes is not enough for us. The Imperium appears to tolerate a church right on its doorstep despite burning down the Last Church. The Custodes are stupid (again) and mock their prisoners. Why are the Custodes so bloody awful in every story?
There are too many ideas crammed into this book and there is not enough thought going into the wider plot. The plot points come together in an interesting way at the end but honestly, they are not all needed. Cool ideas are wasted in this book and are set up for more and not a lot seems to be done with them afterwards. Thunder Warrior with Space Marine organs is a great idea
Score: 3/10 - A massive lost opportunity that feels rushed and yet manages to open so slowly. It is a continuity and plot mess that we really do not enjoy or even remember. Neither of us had memories of the full plot before re-reading. The 3 points are earned for the middle with the legionaries on the run and escaping, which both of us enjoyed.
Cover: Honestly, not much to say about this one. Kai Zulane being overlooked by The Outcast Dead. Kai also appears to have eyes, so either this is a scene from the end of the story (but the marines are dead); or it's from earlier in the story (in which case he should be blind). At this point, where the marines have stolen the proto-Thunder Warrior armour, he has had his eyes plucked out so um once again this is not a canonical cover. The Emperors Children warrior is also shown and should be dead at this point. Gaaaaah! So many canonical problems. It looks too dark and the space marines look ridiculous.
Heresy Watch:
Who knows which timeline we are looking at here, but at this point the traitor legions have declared. It is interesting to see how the heart of the Imperium reacts to knowledge of the heresy. I’d love to have seen rumours circulating of whether the loyal legions have also turned. “We haven't heard from the Blood Angels in a while...”
Legion Watch/Number of Book(s): Dark Angels: 4
: 2
Emperor’s Children: 6
Iron Warriors: 4
White Scars: 2
Space Wolves: 4
Imperial Fists: 7
Night Lords: 3
Blood Angels: 1
Iron Hands: 3
: 2
World Eaters: 8
Ultramarines: 5
Death Guard: 4
Thousand Sons: 5
Sons of Horus: 7
Word Bearers: 7
Salamanders: 2
Raven Guard: 3
Alpha Legion: 4
The Emperor: 6
Imperial Fists numbers being carried heavily by appearances from Rogal Dorn. And even into book 17 there is only one solitary appearance from the Blood Angels.
Tropes Watch:
Are we the baddies?: 31 Worried about the allegiance of your space marines? Throw them in jail. Problem solved.
Kai is captured and tortured to retrieve the information buried deep within his psyche. What an honourable method from the Imperium.
Psyker retirement isn't beaches and pina coladas; instead your remaining energy is fed into the Astronomicon, and your shrivelled husk is probably put into a furnace somewhere. You can do this thing that triggers your PTSD or we can suck out your soul. Great choice there….
It's definitely not gay: 18 ‘“Is that head still alive?” asked the warrior of the Emperor’s Children, with a grimace of distaste. Artificial colour in the warrior’s hair had made him an albino while they had been honoured as representatives of the conquering Legions, but deprived of his dyes as a prisoner, dark roots were showing at his temples.’ God I love the Emperor’s Children.
The Thunder Warrior armour on the cover definitely has 1980s gay bar vibes going for him. Bright pink armour with that plume and the giant shoulder pads and a leather chest harness; maybe play it a bit cooler, man?
How not to parent 101: 22
So according to a Thousand Son Legionary, if Magnus knows something, they know it too. Well, how did that work for them at Prospero? This is not the worst retcon in this story related to Magnus.
Erebus!!!: 15 So there really is not an Erebus in this story, as there isn’t really a single bad guy (the bad guy seems to be forces of coincidence and a Thunder Warrior messing things up in a desperate attempt for survival.) There are several Custodes who might qualify but they are doing it for duty and service, rather than the sheer joy of being an unlikable dick. The Custodes are stupid again, really really stupid in this story.
Does this remind you of anything?: 31 Reading this story it is so hard when it gets to a certain scene to not think of that Family Guy joke about the movie titles in the movie: “We are the Outcast Dead.”
Zai’s tutor, Athena, seems to be almost like Davros, having been crippled in war and left broken and scarred.
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