Your subreddit for all things System Of A Down and side projects involving the band members Serj Tankian, Daron Malakian, Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan.
A place for the community and law enforcement to visit, discuss and interact.
I swear, my wallet's a black hole, swallowing every cent I never made. Bills stack like a burger I've only dreamed of, pickle-less, with a side of curiosity.
The suits on TV sell me dreams, limited edition failure, gourmet debt. I once tried to pay rent with Monopoly money; the landlord laughed so hard he forgot my name.
My bank's on speed dial because it misses me, those mini overdrafts are my love letters. I sweat coins, bleed nickels, the pigeons downtown appreciate my generosity.
Friday night's a ghost town, credit card’s a magician's trick, vanishing act in my greasy hand. Even my piggy bank's now on strike, smashing ideas of Paris trips and caviar.
But still, I stroll the aisles of wealth, laughing like a millionaire of nothing. Because being broke ain't bad, baby, when losing is the best joke life's ever played.
Hey there all :D I apologize In advance if there is something that doesn't fit the rules. Please let me know and I'll adjust or delete from my post or my post accordingly. Please tell me if this even belongs here, I'm just spooked, and don't know who to ask or where to go with this.
Long Post Warning
I just woke up from a dream where I got cursed in it. I'm thinking it's a warning,maybe form the universe and my soul, and I want to make sure what I'm up against here. It's a dream about making a ritual targeting me.
I'm describing the dream. I told every detail I that I can remember, as details in dreams can mean a lot, and that maybe, this can be traced to some kind of a ritual I'm unaware of:
I was in a different house from where I live right now, living with my parents. They were planning a trip, packing stuff over the course of a couple of days, and didn't tell em anything. At the day they left, I woke up and saw my last ex standing in front of me, but I was like in a closet, seeing her in a different room in a different house.
She looked at me at like a surprise shock, also somewhat happy about it. We had an exchange of words which I do not remember, just that it felt very obvious she did something REALLY bad, and now laughing in my face and hiding it. Like she executed a malicious, villainous plan. She talked in a similar manner in our exchange. I then I woke up, sitting in a wooden chair in what was my room in the dream. There was an old metal bucket (not rusted, but just faded metal without shine), that had in it every icky thing imaginable, from worms and flees and parasites to molds and all sorts of stuff. I then tried my best to get out fo that room, brushing off anything that tried to burrow into my skinn. There were these kinds of buckets all over the house. In my parent's room, one of the coat closets, what was supposed to be my sister's room, very strategically placed. I then started to have a really bad feeling that things just won't go right, like I sometimes get. Like a steady burden of that feeling. Since that feeling, when I tried to caly parents, my gf or sister for help, the phones' network won't work every time I placed a call. Then, it went completely blacknwhen I still tried to make a call. Like it's bricked (non-functionin completely), and then turned back on immediately when I stopped trying (let go of the intention to call). It ehn tried to go down the stairs, the phone somehow fell between the stairs (floating, ascending stairs), rolled in the gap, then fell and broke it's screen (with a case on!). When I picked it up, it looked like a hammer went on it. The glass was broken shut. I then tried to go to the kitchen, spreading glass everywhere, but I wasn't injured. I tried to find tools to clean the house after tossing these bucket, not only nothing in cupboards and drawers, they were completely missing! Like my parents took them along with the contents or something. I had the question if they might have moved and kept me there, but there were valuable items in the house still remaining, so it wasn't that (my parents would never move without valuables). Then, I knew I needed to find her, or my current gf, or a friend of theirs that I knew in the dream previously and fell out fo touch with, that I felt was somehow connected to it. I knew they (the ex and this friend, and maybe more people) schemed something which I don't know the magnitude of it's negativity and darkness. I then went to visit my sister to warn her. She was just getting ready to see an employer for a job interview, and just when the employer went out of her office so summon my sister in, I just arrived, asking to speak urgently. My sister agreed, but then she got pull by someone along the way in finding a private room to discuss, and this friend (he's not someone I know irl) went next to me, glaring at me with a malicious grin and rage. I then started chasing him. He got into an elevator and called someone on his phone. The more I got away from the elevator, the door kept open. The more I ran towards him, they got more shut. Then I ran down the stairs, which was only made out of laundry dry lines (where you put up your laundry) instead of stairs, and some lines were even missing. I held a grocery store with I think milk or butter and a carton of 6 eggs. I almost fell a few stories to the ground on one of these missing stairs, and, barely managing to grab to the rail, obviously breaking at least one egg, as I saw it broken and leaking from the carton. I then felt completely exhausted, also drained by this curse, like it's meant so I'll delay in climbing back up and then continue moving down JUST enough (or even a lot) for him to get away, no matter what I would do. I just knew I gotta get down to ground floor and catch him, but was completely out of energy, took a while to even pull myself out of grabbing the rail and climbing back up in order to not fall a few stories to the floor. I heard him talking on his phone the whole way, probably with an accomplice to this scheme, even though he wasn't near me. I then woke up I think. It was like everything went south.
Idk if it's my ex that did something like that in the past, if my gf did it and sending me after the ex as projection, or who to trust about this at all.
For context: I'll add that I'm a channeler on several senses, including auditory intuition and clairvoyance (visions). Usually the visions come at day time, but I do take notice to my dreams as well. Me and my gf are both channelers, she does this for a living reading oracle cards and tarot, among other things. We also dealt with spells before, knowing my ex did put a spell on me in the past (love spell), and that we used an established expert to do a cleanse ceremony and protection from my ex, which had an expiry date I think, a long time ago. Things did get better after that ceremony, and still. Also, I've dealt with having an energetic parasite around that time being cleansed In a black candle cleaning ceremony. My gf also got a lot of times that she has an evil eye on her, even in daily messages. I also know there was (or still is) a blockage on my wealth and of living indepently.
With this context, idk if my gf did it, or my ex, or what's going on. Only I had the feeling in my dream that my ex did it, and wondered about my gf if she did it, or is in on it. I also got energetic parasite from my ex once, and in general very susceptible to energies as an empath.
Questions: 1. What can this be? Could the dream be real in some way and a warning? Or it's just a scare from my mind? 2. Do you recognize anything from this? Is it something that can be real? 3. What should I do?
Apologies for such a long post, I don't know what's relevant as important details from this, considering even one detail can mean a lot in a dream.
If you read through it, I thank you deeply, as I feel lost with it and completely spooked, and not knowing who to trust right now.
First Previous Wiki Penny gazed at the quartet of Elders. They were all wearing the merchandise she remembered from the last Judgment, which was exceedingly awkward. Mainly because they were wearing shirts with her face on them. But it was also oddly endearing, in a way. Until now, she hadn't seen too many Elders that were on her side.
Elders that weren't just Kashaunta or the familiar faces she already knew, like Spentha or Rho and Sai, actually showing appreciation of her, felt odd. Even if these ones went a little too far in it.
"You're even more beautiful in person, Liberator," one said.
"Uh, thanks. I appreciate that. I'm glad that you all like me. Rho and Sai told me that you all are interested in something I can give you?"
"Yeah. Maybe a short interview? We won't be like that airhead reporter. We'll ask the good questions."
"Yep, we will."
"Right then," Penny said. "Well, I'm glad to meet you."
"Thank you. Now that we're here, we'd like to know how you plan on taking care of the gang leaders."
"Well, presumably by imprisoning them. I don't think they deserve to die, even if others do. I'll leave that decision up to Justicar and his various judges in the criminal system."
Penny didn't like having to lie blatantly. She wanted to kill the slavers quite brutally, but doing that was a bad idea right now. Saying it also was a bad idea, for a similar reason. And Justicar's system was worryingly preferential to Elders, from what she'd looked up after the meeting with Pundacrawla.
"Aren't you worried that the Judges won't give proper justice?"
"I trust Justicar to do everything that is necessary."
Another lie. Justicar would do whatever he could to maintain his image. Hopefully, that wouldn't be at the cost of the Alliance's very existence.
"Got it. By the way, what's it like being human? Walking on only two legs. It seems kind of unstable. Do you fall a lot?"
A genuine curiosity from them was another breath of fresh air. It was the kind of question a quadruped would definitely ask, which put her more at ease about the nature of what they were trying to do. Even more than their evident support of her, with all the merch they were wearing. Penny felt a smile crack at the corners of her lips, unbidden.
"Not really. We can use our arms to steady ourselves pretty well. Obviously it's not as easy to balance on our two legs as it is with your four, but it's still good enough. In fact, the sprinters in the Olympics use all four limbs, since running as fast as possible also requires pumping our arms. As for what it's like to be human, it's hard to describe. For many of us, it will feel colder or warmer than Sprilnav would feel in the same temperatures, due to thinner skin. Our eyesight is more frontal than yours, given our lack of snouts, so our blindspots are a lot bigger. Our feet require shoes for rough ground, and we heal slower than you by around 20%. We can't really clack our jaws to the scale that you can, though we can make them meet."
Penny bared her teeth, showing as she opened and closed her mouth. It was nice to be able to talk about things like this.
"The Olympics?" one of them asked.
"It's a competition about athletics," Penny said. "Running, jumping, throwing, diving, swimming, skiing, snowboarding, and a lot of sports. There's specific divisions, too. Like how there's a 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, 400 meter dash, and even an 800 meter dash for those with high levels of psychic energy. Though really, psychic energy and genetic editing have been messing with the events for a while now. And there's a Winter, Summer, and Space Olympics, each with different sorts of events. They move from city to city, though the Space Olympics are pretty much always on either Luna, Ceres, or Mercury. There's a lot more information out there on various events, but it's an old cultural practice revered by the entire species. Even more so since Phoebe's increased the prize pools for everyone."
"How does your species handle space in general? I know that you guys did things way differently before First Contact."
"We did. Mining companies kept tight control on all asteroid mining, while nations controlled planets like Earth and Mars and large planetary bodies like Luna. Supposedly, a few people planned for a cloud city on Venus, but we couldn't risk having such a vulnerable population because they'd have to rely on giant balloons to survive. That would probably be the least secure way to live, given the existence of rogue organizations and all that.
As for spaceships, most of them since we really colonized Luna come equipped with spacesuit bays, zero gravity water and food packs, oxygen tanks, emergency seats, specialized anti-micrometeorite hulls, and radiation shielding. A lot of the older military ships also were equipped with big radiators until World War Three, when it all became masses of drone warfare, with the big ships kept mainly for cargo and lanes where mass drone control was impossible.
Once the Vinarii came and we got shields, we started building big again. After all, it provided a huge number of jobs, and in the post-war economies, especially with VIs in place, a lot of people needed work. But we still go and do asteroid and moon mining, star lifting, and energy gathering. We built an orbital ring around Mercury, the closest planet to Sol, to help with all of that. It doubles as a production hub, too. Now, it's all in more systems and with a lot more friends."
"Speaking of aliens, what theory does your people have on why so many creatures resemble one another? Our jaws are adapted for hard shelled creatures, and we're told that many planets have oddly similar variations of those."
"Crabs."
She guessed what they were getting at.
It is odd, isn't it? Nilnacrawla observed.
Perhaps that is another one of the Source's whims, Penny thought.
Maybe. A few of the Elders made exclamations of shock.
"You even have a word for them that directly translates!"
Penny chuckled. "Yeah, carcinization is a bit of a meme in the science community. But I've heard the most mainstream theories since the First Contact are that the Source itself is uncreative. It has a certain template of creatures which it largely doesn't alter, though it can take in inputs from beings close to it, perhaps even influencing them."
"Influencing them?"
"Yes. Modern depictions of wendigoes, folkloric creatures from North America, a continent on Earth, are shockingly similar to the Knowers in appearance. The internet depictions of them in particular like to emphasize canine qualities, and often show them with skulls visible directly, and with dark brown or black fur. Recent depictions, as in the past 300 years, differ from their original appearances quite significantly, with the canine characteristics in particular being enhanced.
We have sorted through all known images of these creatures and found roughly 80% similarity with the Knowers and tens of thousands of images that are literally exactly the same as Knowers. The ones we searched all came before World War Three, far before even the First Contact with the Vinarii, much less the Knowers who were entirely underground at the time due to the radiation of their home star. We believe that the Source managed to influence this facet of human culture with the actual existence of a real creature.
Other examples exist, like how the Trikkec look very similar to Komodo Dragons, Vinarii look very similar to insects known as a mantis, and the Acuarfar look exactly like insects known as wasps with the single exception of their furry snouts and green instead of yellow markings. The Sprilnav species itself shares high amounts of similarity with a fictional species known as Elites in early 2000s culture, particularly with your jaws, though you all have red skin instead of grey or brown.
The Junyli, Dreedeen, and the wanderers are the main species without high amounts of appearance in our cultures at some point. This correlates with the idea of the Source being the influencer, as their predecessors all were used to fight it. Many species of the galaxy look like parts of our culture or Earth's creatures. The proximity of these examples makes this far more suspicious than if they were across the galaxy.
But since they existed first, the only answer must be that the Source brought the influence to us first and planted the ideas in our heads. As for the ones which look like Earth creatures, all of them are old enough evolutionary branches that copying from them to Earth makes more sense. Though the references centering around the early 2000s is quite odd, it is also roughly when the internet came into wide existence, so it is also possible the Source gave the ideas a push so they would propagate, for an unknown reason. Like if it seeded the ideas that propagated across the early global network Humanity used."
"Hmm. Fascinating. We've seen evidence of the 'seeding' process among some historical nations near the galactic region of Earth before. So the Source re-uses and alters depictions of life and also life itself?"
"Maybe," Penny said. "Unless the Source is more directly tied to life than we think. There's a conceptual Death, but no conceptual Life. Isn't that odd?"
"Conceptual Life died in the Source war."
How did that really work, though? Penny asked Nilnacrawla.
Imagine a conceptual being. A few of the Progenitors, as well as Narvravarana, went up to try to harvest its power. It refused, and Narvravarana used its unique abilities to try and force the deal. Why was your civilization like this? Excess and greed, partly. But we couldn't really do much more expansion. Vertical expansion also had its limits if we wanted to remain relevant for the remaining lifespan of the universe. So Narvravarana, along with a few of the greatest rulers and leaders of Sprilnav society, started looking to other dimensional planes. They figured it was best not to let the problem get too much worse. Or at least, that is what they say. I believe it was to harvest more resources to use against our surrounding enemies. You didn't have any allies? Penny asked.
At that time, all the powers of the universe were enemies. All the allies eventually merged through millions of years of normalization. We happened to get on the universal stage the earliest, so other civilizations we encountered had little choice but to surrender their independence. Some fought, others didn't, but the outcome was the same. That seems terrible. It was, though the other universal civilizations were no better. Some of them just exterminated all alien life they found that couldn't fight back. In that sense, the pre-war Sprilnav civilization was one of the greatest, and that's why I fought for them. Obviously, I'm biased in that regard, though. Thanks for telling me, father. No problem, Penny. She refocused back on the conversation at hand.
"But a thing cannot be alive if it dies. The concept of life doesn't work that way. So maybe the Source just... took in the concept of life? Or absorbed it into whatever psychic energy really is, considering that it's responsible for all of our existence?"
"That's so crazy it might actually be true," one of the Elders said. "You're incredible, Penny."
"Uh, thanks. You're all pretty great too." Her eyes drifted to the images of herself on their clothing. She couldn't really help it.
"I have a question for you."
"Yes?"
"Do you know what I'm fighting for?"
"I assume since you're asking it here, you don't just want a one word answer," an Elder said. "I would say yes, and for the liberation of the Sprilnav from the stain of slavery. Though going deeper into your history, you have also fought for other species, either in wars or just generally moving around. It does look aimless, mostly, since the galaxy's so big. But I'm sure you've got a way through that."
"In some way. Part of why I'm here isn't just about my people. It was at first, I admit that. But as I have lived here, on Justicar, for days and weeks, I've seen you less as alien. It makes it easier for sympathy and easier to break out of simple mindsets. So far, there are many problems, but there are distinct pieces. The first is that many people want to uphold slavery. I'm not sure why, but they do. It isn't profitable, and it isn't moral. Robots are cheaper in every way, and don't need food or water.
That means it's illogical or emotional. So I could try and solve the problem with violence alone, but it won't be addressing the cause, only the symptoms. I need to get to the heart of the matter. And I think it has to do with Elders' memories and the gradual woes they have accumulated going through life. I don't want to tear that away or drug them into believing they're fine. I want to find a way to outlet that productively. The second part I have identified is scale. The galaxy is enormous, and your species is incredibly numerous. I could fight planet by planet for the rest of my life, and liberation would still be difficult.
That also means I'd need a better way of doing things. Maybe an economic or political incentive. Emotional reasons will not work permanently, nor will logic, since we are in this situation. I have found several ways to address this. Sadly, since the gangs are likely monitoring this feed, I can't just outright say my strategy. All I can ask you all to do is to believe. Believe that I have a solution, and that I and those who stand with me are working on it. Believe in me because I believe in you."
None of the Elders questioned or ridiculed her words. Most of it was because they were fans of her. But one of them, an Elder named Rahautiti, had a distinct glint in his eye. Their gazes met only momentarily, but Penny could tell he knew.
And so she appeared in the mindscape, even as they concluded the interview, which would be the first of many. It was a ploy to just talk about human culture and ideals a bit more, to get it out there. Because the hivemind's theory was correct.
In the universe, ideas had power. That power could be weaponized against those who previously stood to gain. The first part of it was the image: Nova as an unbeatable bastion. Lecalicus as the Beast, a monster capable of star-crushing rage. Twilight as... whatever she did. Penny wasn't really familiar with the Progenitor's image too much, and the various names, like the Silent Night or the Smiling Darkness, were just so unbelievably edgy she cringed every time she recalled them.
But Rahautiti understood so she moved her mindscape avatar to see him.
"Hello again, Penny. I am no threat."
"I know. I'm glad that your group is led by someone as capable as you, as well as the other groups you dabble within."
"Who discovered it?"
"Phoebe. You met with Ezeonwha, and the android wanted to ensure you weren't a way for Yasihaut to kill him."
"Yeah. We did get approached about that, actually. We're supposed to kill Ezeonwha when you walk into the Judgment hall. Of course, we won't do this, and she won't be able to retaliate against us easily while there."
"Thank you for your honesty, Elder," Penny said. "It seems I'm in your debt."
"Nonsense. 2,839. That is the number of children I have had. 2,626. That is the number of children of mine which were enslaved. The remaining 213 died in unrelated incidents, with nearly half of those involving slavers killing them. I remember all of their names, and all of their faces, Penny. I want all the slavers in this universe dead."
"I cannot achieve that."
"You cannot," Rahautiti agreed. "Not with my help or even that of Kashaunta and Lecalicus. And certainly not right now. I have not lived this long to be incapable of compromise or patchwork solutions. You show great promise. I understand your aversion to killing and the circumstantial reason why you are not doing so now. I will not grow upset if you do not resume killing when the Judgment ends. Nor do I harbor a grudge against you for the speeding space entity you left outside the room to avoid uncomfortable publicity. You are incredibly young.
A sliver of a life. But you are strong, and you are mature. That sliver of your lifespan already outshines all I could do with a trillion more years, Penny. You are right in that this isn't something you can punch your way through. Trauma is part of why slavery still exists, despite it being a wholly unjust reason for the Elders to make such a sport of it. I am sure you know the story of the war, with a great hero in your head and Kashaunta at your side. My line of work is what I started to help you. Every thought about you being the Liberator, every eye that glances on you freeing slaves, helps you to gather conceptual energy. My talent happens to be great enough to sense the Pact of Blades you have, as well. If you want, I can teach you how to hide the mark on your soul and your mind."
"I would like that, yes," Penny said. "And thank you for being so reasonable. I will ask Kashaunta to protect you from what consequences come for refusing the offer on Ezeonwha."
"There are going to be attacks on him, you know. Him and your ship."
Penny felt an odd feeling in her soul. Cardi's power flared around him, and she squinted at the sky. She just barely saw a sliver of a tentacle. Most would have mistaken it for a normal speeding space entity. But here? On Justicar, with Exile obviously not being the cause?
Only one being would cause that. Fate.
Given the subject of their conversation, it was obvious what was going on.
Penny tapped Rahautiti's jaw, adding a thin mark of conceptual power so she could easily find him again. She focused on the conceptual mark she'd left on Ezeonwha. A twinge of conceptual energy came from it. It was accompanied by various impressions, like fear, pain, and acceptance.
"I have to go," Penny said. "I will be back later. Displace."
She appeared next to the 102nd Visitor Welcome Office but not next to Ezeonwha. It was carnage everywhere she looked.
"Champion!" an unknown Elder yelled. "I am Elder Na-"
Her rising fury surged, and it took all she had not to dismember him. The distant thought of the Judgment stayed her hands, though only just.
Penny's fist collided with the Elder's jaw at twice the speed of sound. A piece of his jaws flew free. Bone fragments hit the ground behind him. Hundreds of soldiers fired on her, and she slammed them to the ground with pure will. Penny tore their guns away and sent them each to pummel the Elder in front of her with as much brutality as she could. His powerful armor wasn't as capable of defense against physical attacks as it was against her psychic energy, and so he fell.
"You... cannot save him," the Elder spat. Fields of psychic suppression fell upon her, reducing her power.
"Manipulation through Determination," Penny growled. "De-"
No! Nilnacrawla said.
Do not kill him! Not yet! "What goes up will go down." Air hardened around the Elder and accelerated rapidly.
The Elder smashed into the shield five miles above with a speed just slow enough that he wouldn't die. He fell from it and then hit it again at a more modest speed. He'd bounce on that until the Guides came to get him.
But Penny had another target. One she had to save instead of attack.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
High Judge Tassidonia awoke to the sound of explosions. He grabbed his swords, his main gun, and the personal shield he reserved for only the most dire occasions. The sky was erupting in war all around him, and buildings were already falling nearby. The spires of skyscrapers rained down upon the entrances to the Underground, crushing thousands of fleeing Sprilnav under their wide impacts.
His implant identified members of the gangs nearby, making their way to his home.
"Retribution Cycle!" Tassidonia cried. A hidden door opened, and he boarded a small hovercraft that sported a high amount of defensive and offensive technology, a gift from Justicar for dealing with all that he had related to the Judgment. Only this time, he wouldn't be on the next one. But already, the destruction was spreading.
Micro-missiles rained upon friend and foe alike. Several detonated against the layered shields. The mounted turrets on the side of his hoverbike shot lasers into the enemies his implant identified.
"Elder Tassidonia!" an Elder cried nearby. "For the crime of defying the will of-"
Tassidonia called his fury to bear. He rammed his mind into the enemy Elder, disorienting her. She reeled, about to attack, when a thick laser smashed into her chest. It pushed her against the wall, and Tassidonia kept the pressure up until her body melted. He listened to her screams impassively, occasionally sending blasts from his gun at the gangs when their members started to stray too close.
The thick red beam did its work within twenty pulses. His swords began to float beside him, keeping pace as he sped away from his home. The entire apartment complex shuddered and began to lean, its foundation being destroyed by some effect below. Tassidonia abandoned it with only minor regret. He'd known this moment would come. Everything he needed was already with him.
He linked into the Guide network, directing squadrons to attack the breaches he'd identified. Orbital strikes fell upon them in quick succession. Thick beams of light pierced through the lower planetary shields from orbital platforms, their guns honing in on Justicar's enemies. Tassidonia's implant was linked to the grid as well. So when he eyed buildings occupied with too many gang members, orbital strikes fell on them a few pulses later.
Fire and plasma rained all around him. Explosions and smoke blossomed all around him. More missiles fell from his hovercraft. A fighter ship appeared beside him, its simple stealth revealing itself to his eyes. Tassidonia waited for the pilot chamber to open, and his craft stowed itself behind him when he got in. It was fully equipped, so soon, Tassidonia was in full control of a weapon of war.
His first order of business was detecting the gangs' most fortified areas. He peppered those bases in shield-weakening mines, followed by bunker-buster missiles. Several anti-air turrets hit him, but his shields prevented them from taking him down. He dropped three high-end Butcher Androids into the fray of the largest battles.
One of the adjacent fighter wings in the separate shield sector dropped a nuke. At that moment, Tassidonia made a decision.
Whatever insanity was going on right now wasn't worth staying here on his own. He turned his ship upward, narrowly avoiding nearly fifty missiles shot from another gang fortress, which was really just the lower floors of a supermarket. Thick slabs of concrete were being set up by androids and slaves from the Underground. All he could do was watch from above and attempt to mark those that might be a problem.
Justicar's Grand Fleet was moving in, though only the carriers and their escorts were doing anything of any scale. The armies were mobilizing, and it seemed that war had finally broken out. Justicar, while isolated due to the Judgment, would have to win a war that threatened to topple his rule entirely.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Ezeonwha woke when the walls around him shuddered.
An earthquake? Groggily, he activated the lights in the room. Phoebe's android was charging in the wall. Her limbs swayed with the motion. The walls shuddered again, and the lights went out. Thin, tiny cracks spread in the walls, increasing his worry factors massively. His implant notified him that this wasn't a dream. Distant screams reached his ears, and he went to the window.
Hordes of Sprilnav were running on the ground, tripping over each other to escape. He heard the thump of footsteps approaching from outside. The android activated, standing up.
"Move away from the doo-"
An explosion tossed him across the room. A Sprilnav carrying some sort of mouth weapon faded into view for a moment, smoke recalibrating the stealth field. And then he was gone. Phoebe smashed into the Sprilnav, her fists pummeling the assassin faster than Ezeonwha could comprehend.
Phoebe's arms turned into swords, and she stabbed the Sprilnav at least fifty times in a single pulse. She turned to grab him, but before she reached him, a second explosion sent him flying out of the now-shattered window.
The massive skyscraper loomed large, and he saw the ground beneath it ripple. Dull thumps sounded from below, and large, circular caverns opened beneath the 102nd Visitor Welcome Office. The whole building started to list forward, and Ezeonwha frantically activated his emergency personal shield as he started falling faster and faster. A bullet hit the shield. And then a second one. Gunshots echoed out in the distance, and he saw other Sprilnav falling from broken windows in the falling skyscraper. Gunfire erupted on the streets as Guides engaged a growing army of attackers bubbling up from basements of shops and businesses.
He saw spurts of blood exit the Sprilnav nearest him, bullets tearing holes through the woman's body. Piercing screams surrounded him, a terrible chorus that reminded him of the worst wars he'd fought in. But here, his training could do nothing. She was already dead, and he knew that he was the target of this whole attack. His eyes watered, and Ezeonwha felt so powerless. So useless.
A Corrector emerged from the side of the tilting skyscraper, eyes fixed on Ezeonwha. Then he looked down. Somehow, Ezeonwha knew when the orders had been sent. He knew that it was Astipra in the distance, a jetpack on his shoulders burning a thick flame beneath him.
Astipra looked back at the building and flew toward it. Ezeonwha felt the wind rushing past the shield as pressure. Astipra, far above, vaporized falling chunks of the skyscraper with blasts from his arm cannons. He pressed back against the skyscraper, the jetpack going into overdrive. The metal bent inward, and the groaning and twisting structure continued its fall. Blasts of light from Astipra again vaporized the set of falling chunks.
"Penny," he said. It was almost a prayer, really. His desperate mind was scrambling for whatever it could get. "Please, save me!"
He didn't know if she could hear him. Logically, it was impossible. And in a battle such as this, unlikely as well. Rippling explosions erupted across the facade of the falling skyscraper as rockets struck it. More explosions bloomed as lasers from distant police vehicles, Guides, and Astipra destroyed more of the fast-flying missiles and rockets. They pounded on the world around him, a horde of madness threatening to break his brain. He could feel the wind and gravity equalize as he reached terminal velocity.
And all he could see was the world descending into war around him. The 102nd Visitor Welcome Office continued to slump and lean against Astipra's best efforts. More bullets hit Ezeonwha's personal shield, and peppered the Guides moving over to save him. Air ambulances were shot from the sky. Even small fighter crafts were shot down by powerful ground lasers. EMPs thumped, disabling all the higher functions of his implant before he could think to use it.
A much larger explosion bloomed out, and Ezeonwha followed the rocket's trail to an Elder on the ground, standing in the wreckage surrounding a sudden tunnel opening. The Elder stared at him in glee, and he lined up another shot. Two Guides fell upon the Elder, who flew up using a jetpack to cut them in half with his sword. A hard light hologram lifted a large gun, pointing at Ezeonwha as he fell.
His eyes widened. Ezeonwha did everything he could. He angled his legs and arms. He pushed at the air. He even hefted the meager psychic energy he had, struggling with all his soul to escape the death he could feel was coming to him.
Guides swarmed beyond the shield appearing, while gang soldiers died by the hundreds to carpet bombing. Personal shields sprang up to block the explosions, and the Elder had survived. A thick red laser cut one of the fighters in half from the smoke. Above him, the collapsing facade of the skyscraper consumed Astipra entirely, though large gouts of plasma and thick explosions emerged from within. He could survive if it fell upon him, but Ezonwha could not.
Penny materialized far below, closer to the field of battle. A sweeping wave of gang members began disappearing. A bullet smashed into her head and her stomach, detonating in bright explosions. A personal shield flared and disappeared. Missiles and lasers slammed into Penny by the thousands as psychic energy gathered. A constant roll of words fell from her tongue, but without his implant, they were not translated.
Missiles crumbled into dust. Lasers impacted raw space in front of Penny before bending down and back to their origins, destroying automated turrets. Bullets still hit Penny and the Guides by the thousands, firing too quickly and densely for her to entirely block. But the large ordnance from the gangs continued to work against them.
Penny looked around, confusion evident on her face. But amidst the thousands of wounded and dead Sprilnav falling from the broken windows, Ezeonwha was hidden too well.
Shattering glass could be constantly heard, and he could feel the distant screams in his soul. A bullet smashed into his personal shield again, disabling it. A pulse later, he lost feeling in his legs.
He tried to reach out to her mind, but the war in the mindscape was equally intense. Too many Elders and Guides battling it out along with various suppression artifacts made it all impossible. He could sense Penny's influence, but couldn't directly reach her.
He let out a breath, knowing it to be the final one.
I'm sorry, Penny, Ezeonwha thought.
I wish you luck in the Judgment, and I am sorry I caused this to happen to you. Penny finally appeared in front of him, eyes wide-
Blood erupted. A searing pain in his head told him his implant had just shorted out. And in the mindscape, he saw a mental attack heading for him, its brutal power evident. He closed his eyes.
Pretty new to this sub but have been viewing everyone have fun rip packs and haven’t bought any Pokémon cards for years and decided to open a few packs ! I got these guys out of a Regieleki V crown zenith collection.
Thank you ahead of time, I don’t know anything about treadmills but this would be used mostly by two adults inside the house
About a month ago I got a call from my fiance that he found mold in the walls of our house. In that time he has repaired one section of the house, but he still has 3/4 walls to go. It is hard on his body and very expensive. We are using my moms credit card because that is our only option. He bought chickens earlier this year, not anticipating the mold issue. Right around the time the mold popped up the chickens needed to get their outside area ready because they needed to get out of the house. The noise and smell was horrible. They are outside now, but not protected from the weather. The dogs ate one of his prized roosters yesterday. An $80 rooster he said. Toula is pregnant and about to give birth any day now.
He tried to be nice and book us a stay cation in phoenix but he didn't talk to me first about dates. He booked it for this Saturday, when our dog is about to go into labor at any moment. So my mom, my son and I are going. It is a non-refundable booking.
I also found out 2 weeks ago that I am pregnant. My last birth was traumatic and the pregnancy was really hard. I have so much anxiety about it.
School is over for my 5 year old son, but he still has OT and ST 2-3 times a week. He is addicted to the tablet and barely plays with his toys anymore. We are trying to figure out an app with a time limit on it.
We started potty training this weekend. But he is currently in a pull up because his dad is outside working and can't remember to come in and remind him to pee all the time.
He refuses a hair cut and his hair is wild. He hates washing it and it hasn't been washed in at least a week.
I'm somehow -$485 on bills. I don't know how. I had to buy a few things not on budget, but not $300 worth. I'm trying to sell my son's old electric bike that he doesn't use, because I somehow spent the $150 his dad gave me, that was meant for tractor parts. So his tractor is stuck until I sell that.
There is a trash can in the backyard that is stuck back there until the tractor is up and running. So paying for 2 for months and only able to use 1.
All of our canned goods are on the porch because of the home repairs. He can only do so much each day and he is extremely overwhelmed.
I can't afford to buy medical marijuana anymore and I am pregnant, so what I have currently will be the last. I took it out of my budget for the next year. It will really help financially, but I am worried about myself. Mentally and appetite wise. The last time I took a break was 5 years ago this time. I have had so much anxiety with everything going on and I can't use any prescription medications to treat it.
It is all just too much.
I just started playing live poker recently (about a month ago) in SoCal (not Las Vegas, a bit south of there at a smaller cardroom) and the hilarity of each session just seems to increase. If I'm not winning, I'm at the very least entertained and am interested in hearing some of the funniest stories other people have here.
This afternoon I headed to the cardroom and sat down, and the game was about as splashy as a 2/3 game gets. People are just open shoving 50bb here and there and calling down with bottom pairs. They slowly phase out, but one of the big winners of the table was absolutely fleecing the gamblers while gambling himself. He kept saying things like "See? Poker is all luck!" at least once or twice an orbit. I was enjoying it a lot more than his victims, but after he won another stack and was sitting solidly at around 400BB, he started asking the dealer every hand if he needed to look at his cards. The dealer at first responded, "No sir, you do not." This gave the guy whatever weird ass affirmation he was looking for and would blindly bet out $50 preflop. After doing this a few times, the dealer just exasperatedly would just shake his head and kept looking around (which I assume he was hoping for a dealer change and was getting tired of this guy's shit).
Eventually the guy takes a small hit after another small hit after going all-in against short stacks and is whittled down to about 200BB. Then a hand comes up where the table gets it all-in 3 ways, involving our strong ego hero, who wins the hand with a single pair. As the stack gets pushed to him, he stands up and takes multiple fucking pictures of all the chips laying in front of him like it was some Playboy photoshoot. I swear to God this guy was trying to get every angle he could like it was the sexiest thing he ever saw. What came next, was exactly what you would expect. He managed to throw close to 500BB away with his spewy play. After it was all gone, the dealer just looks at him and asks him loudly if he is going to rebuy. He responds by saying very loudly, "I would, but I left my wallet at home." This probably was not the case as his seat was checked on for player rewards using his casino rewards card, and I went to smoke afterwards and saw him get in a car, unless he just drives like he plays poker and hopes no one needs his DL. All in all, it was very amusing, but I'm sure it was just a drop in the bucket compared to more veteran players so I would love to hear the funniest situations you guys have gotten into.
On the 14th of April, I signed up for a Spocket free trial. I have screenshots of the sign up pages that clearly state 'Try it for free' for all the plans, monthly or yearly. So I proceeded to sign up, with each page still clearly stating that I am signing up for a 14-day trial. Throughout the sign up, I enter my Amex gold card details on the payment page and just continue through until I have an account fully set up - I didn't think much of it at the time.
A couple of days past, after I've signed up, and I was just generally checking in on my Amex banking app. This is where I saw a charge for £250 from Spocket that is dated on the 14th. It appears they have charged since the very first day of sign up for a full year. Maybe a day or so later, another charge for £320 comes through also.
On the 18th I wrote Spocket an email telling them that they've charged me twice for a full year membership when I only signed up for a 14 day trial. They didn't seem to care, only replying that their manager would be in touch.
I tried raising a dispute with Amex for both charges, providing them with all the screenshots and emails to Spocket support as evidence, but they were not helpful - informing me that the card I used is only a charge card, not a credit card, so it doesn't offer the same Section 75 protections. Amex also said that because Spocket sent their Ts&Cs saying that they do not refund yearly memberships, they have to abide by that. Amex seem to be ignoring the fact that I signed up to a free trial.
Since reporting Spocket to Amex for the dispute I wasn't able to log into my Spocket account for a few days after the dispute outcome. When I was able to sign into Spocket yesterday, my account shows as a free plan with hardly any benefits, but I've been charged a full year of premium membership, and I'm now stuck.
What else can I do to try to get this money back? I think Spocket is a Canadian company, but I'm in England.
I am a 25 year old male and I did something in my teens, which destroyed my mental health to the point where I would contemplate suicide.
I am well aware and have this basic principle drilled into my skull, which is that if you have done something horrible and disgraceful, you no longer have the rights and privilege to express any kind of emotions or explain the reasons as to why something happened. In fact the only emotions you can express is regret and remorse all so that it can serve to lessen the pain of the people who have been hurt. If you were to express or explain anything that is irrelevant in service to others such as your own point of view which led you to that point, then people will throw rocks at you and look at you with disgust. In other words all you can do is either take on full responsibility in silence even if it crushes you flat and live with your head low for the rest of your life in shame never to reach any form of happy experiences or continue the destructive path reminiscent to hell itself like a wild animal screeching and wailing as you do more harm to both yourself and others, until someone is robbed of everything or receives death as punishment. At that point the abyss has shown its terrifying face to you and all you can do is look at it in silence as every piece of you crumbles bit by bit straight into the ground.
I stole a bit over £20,000 in the span of 6 years from my own mother.
It started one day when she showed off how much she has saved in cash, as she would spread the money on the kitchen table and tell me to count it all, since she was either too low on energy or couldn't be bothered.
It made me wonder why is it that she isn't keeping most of her money in the bank, and instead in a wallet that would be placed inside the drawer next to her bed or underneath her mattress. I thought to myself, how easy it would be to take little from it in a way that would not be noticed, but I was too naïve as that would only work in short term. I went ahead of myself and did it long term, which fucked me up and strained our relationship.
I used it mostly on Gacha games and some of it on Euro Millions lottery tickets. In the end I was not only bad at the gacha games, but I did not win anything substantial from the lottery tickets.
It basically went from my mother's hard earned money to my gullible mind with intrusive thoughts to someone else's bank account. In return my mother lost that money, because of me and I received temporary cheap dopamine. Even if I wanted to sell the gacha game accounts, It is pretty much impossible, since it is not a physical object and nobody will pay that much for a gacha game account that is not part of the more played gacha games. Alternatively it would've been better if it was trading cards, since those can be sold for quite a lot and you won't have to deal with scammers who pose as buyers.
I was also a NEET for 4 years, which it does not paint a good image on myself. I did at least cook, wash the dishes, do laundry, clean the floors and help with carrying groceries.
However, one day things pretty much blew up and we got in a very serious argument/confrontation. Which resulted in me being told that I will become homeless and I have to figure things out for myself. Then I decided to go back to my father who was a complete POS due to him sexually assaulting and abusing both of us, which really crushed me, as my mother has always placed me under parental alienation. I said to myself that at this point I might as well jump off a high place, since I am screwed either way.
Option 1 - Homelessness and never getting better
Option 2 - Jumping off a high place
Option 3 - Staying with my father whose existence is like Voldemort to me
I chose option 3 and lived on egg shells for half an year until I decided to lie myself out of there.
My mother proposed a deal which is to go live separately in a house next to my grandparent's house. In return I have to give a few hundred every month, maintain the cleanliness of the house, help my grandparents with anything and give free labour on weekends to my uncle. As well as save money to finish a building behind my grandparent's house.
One year later after the deal, I am here...
I was supposed to go through a Formal Autism Diagnostic Assessment in the UK through the NHS, as my GP thought it would be a good idea to get checked, but that was thrown out of the window the moment I had to go back to my home country.
I couldn't even finish my education as I was way too stupid for a bachelor's diploma. A degree is completely out of my league.
At least now I know that I am even a bigger POS than my father and no matter what I do it will never be enough. I am screwed either way and this is not even the whole picture.
I have no real life friends or online friends and don't even see the point of relationships.
I was diagnosed with ADHD and despite that nobody cares. In fact I was told by my mother to not take the prescribed Stimulants as that would ruin me.
...
...
I have almost decided that I will run away from everything and end it in Japan. It will probably hurt people and cause a lot of heartache and headache to many people, but I don't see any feasible solid solution to my problems.
We took a flight to Punta Cana and got three seats plus one, so he took the single and I sat with our two toddlers for the first 2.5 hours while he sat alone. I settled in with them, got them situated with headphones and diaper bag under the seat. I fed them snacks, played games, did coloring, and generally kept them calm to not disrupt other passengers. After halfway through one of my daughters was asking for dad so I went up the few several rows to ask him to switch. At first he just tried to go back to his seat and prolong the inevitable (not switch at the halfway point as promised).
Soon after my daughter wanted her dad so we switched. I sat down and saw his backpack and some snack packages trashed in the seat back pocket. i just closed my eyes and slept. At the end of the flight I waited in my seat til he walked down with the kids and as he walked toward he said “did you check the seat pocket?” And I said “yeah”. I saw a bunch of his trash so assumed nothing was there and didn’t check every pocket. I gave him a quick answer without really thinking bc it is a stressful thing getting off a flight with kids.
We all walked off and then got into a taxi, and while we rode to the hotel he realized he didn’t have his wallet. He asked me if ihad it, and checked every bag. He said “I asked you if you checked the seatback pocket and you said ‘yes’, why would you say that?!” He kept harping on me not going through the pockets and I knew he was about to blame it all on me.
The whole car ride I stood strong saying that it wasn’t my wallet, he is a grown man, it is his responsibility to remember and how was I supposed to know? His bag was next to me so I assumed his wallet was in there (imo an adult protects their belongings and puts things like wallets and cash into personal bags, not searback pockets). He added on there was about $800 cash in his wallet, great.
I suggested we ask the taxi to go back but he wouldn’t do it. He kept blaming me bc he asked me to check the seat and since I said “yes” I am to blame. My stance is you are responsible for your own shit and when you put something as important as a wallet in a seatback pocket you should remember to grab it. And when you ask someone “did you check the seatback pocket?” It is a lot different than saying “I left my wallet in the seatback pocket did you grab it?” Don’t blame others for your stupid actions.
So AITAH? I have been doing back and forth bc he did ask me jf I checked and I thought I did but I quickly realized I didn’t look in every pocket. At the same time I feel he is a grown man and should remember something as important as placing a wallet in a public place and be responsible for retrieving it. Whether he asks me to get it or himself, he should be responsible. Remembering in the taxi means he has no idea so blaming it on me is not fair.