Yes, hot news today and I think Trump got sideswiped. But later I decided to go back and take a look at the 2020 presidential debates (the first one is here, the second here).
A couple of random observations. First is the issue of age. Trump did well and used his standard "throw the lies against the wall and see what sticks" technique. It worked until Biden told him to "shut up, man."
But compare Trump's performance in this debate with any stump speech given in a 2424 rally. The difference in speech patterns and coherence is striking. Biden always looks his age but a comparison between any Biden speech today and his performance in the 2020 debate isn't nearly as wide as Trump's.
A word on Biden's body language. He walks like a man who has back problems...and I know all too well what that's like. When speaking at a lecturn it's not unusual to keep one hand on it. However, Biden's left handed grip on the lecturn gets tighter and tighter as the debate goes on. I guess some of this is just bottled up anger at having to debate DJT but to me it looks like the position any back pain sufferer will take as time standing up (longer=more painful) increases.
The most telling parts of the debate was the first and last ten minutes or so. During the first ten minutes, Biden went through a litany of things Trump promised (defund the ACA etc). Trump brought up the cost of insulin which he said "was cheaper than water to make". I'll bet that Biden will bring this up on the premise that Trump promises but Biden delivers. Same with infrastructure and a host of lies that Trump used while running and in office.
The last ten minutes was particularly interesting. A lot of the discussion was centered around if each candidate would ask their supporters to stay peaceful if they lost. This is the now famous Trump quote where he tells the Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by." It's worth a 2nd watch.
A word to Biden's debate team. Please ditch "Ah, c'mon man" and "look, here's the deal" if you have to taze Biden if he uses either phrase. If you use those phrases used as a drinking game during the 2020 debate your liver wouldn't make it through the first hour. And it gets worse as the debate goes on. It's a real tell that gives away how tired Biden gets. Trump just gets more and more red in the face which even seems to go through the bronzer.
Would be interested in hearing from any other political nerds watching this debate given the events following the election. J20

My friends are all slipping away one by one. The only people I have left are parasites just using me for money or a para-social relationship or they have too many problems of there own to deal with. I have no idea how tf I’ll ever make any real genuine connections with people that are fun and also treat me with, well any amount of respect. I can’t keep doing this forever. I’m about to turn 25 and I just can’t cope any harder. Life is actually chill a bit now, but this is just a fleeting moment. It’s funny because I felt so good just a moment ago but now I feel sad laying everything out like this. Yet I guess it’s a lil more liberating because I really am slowly starting to live my life trying to maximize pleasure for myself while minimizing pain. I still also kinda for shits and giggles attempt to through myself into actually caring yet any effort I make just hits a brick wall. I’ve changed my mind set and attitude to a point I can make lil changes into my life to try and improve it, yet I keep hitting road blocks, some I just uncover more of when I do care. If I did care it would just keep opening up more and more of how much I feel I am missing out on life. If I don’t care, then it’s all meaningless and why stick around when the pain gets too unbearable. Oh, and there’s the never ending looming reality that our world is slowly getting worse and we have little in our power to stop it. I just can’t be ignorant to what’s going on, especially when it’s slowly starting to hit me more and more. At the moment all that stops me is pain. So my life is sustained on the hope I can find a painless way of ending it. My life isn’t deep enough into anyone else’s it will even be noticed. And ultimately, who am I to think it would after a few generations. The pain is getting harder and harder to fight through. Now is the summer time and the winter depression has lifted, yet the aging depression has settled in with a vengence. What the hell am I doing with my life? Younger me would be ashamed, yet not surprised if you slapped him with the reality. It’s so useless. Yet there is humor in seeing jsut how fucked the world can get, yet eventually the pain of the seriousness shall set in, and it will be time to say good bye 👋🏻

Cigarettes and rebellion have always gone hand-in-hand, and in an age of cigarette packet-sized health warnings, now more than ever, smoking a fag says: 'I do not give a fuck.' But if Brandon Flowers is hoping to strike a seditious pose by sparking up at the start of the interview, it's not going according to plan. The Killers' frontman is on all fours rooting through the junk that carpets the anteroom at the band's rehearsal space. "Has anyone seen my lighter?" he asks, rocking back on his heels. The question hangs in the air while Brandon cocks his head, waiting for an answer like a meerkat listening for a predator. Twenty-five years old and with a delicate bone structure, there's something almost dainty about him. Receiving no response, he returns to his search. "Oh, Jeez," he sighs. "I had it just a minute ago."
It's a scene that emphatically does not suggest a rebel without a cause. The mess isn't helping. The Killers' HQ - an industrial unit sandwiched between a construction supplier and the offices of a housing development just off Dean Martin Drive in West Las Vegas - is ankle-deep in designer clothing. A Dior Homme suit lies crumpled by the door; there's a pile of shoes topped like a sundae by a pair of Marc Jacobs trainers; and anyone wishing to enter the shoebox room the band use as an office must negotiate a mountain of discarded jeans. Many items are identifiable as coming from the wardrobe of Hot Fuss, The Killers' hugely successful 2004 debut album - triple platinum in the UK with two weeks at Number One and five million sold worldwide. Look! There are the shirts, ties and suit jackets they wore when they thrilled Glastonbury 2005 with indie rock anthems Mr Brightside and Somebody Told Me. That was the crowning moment of a two-and-a-half year tour that finally concluded in October of last year. It seems that after playing that final date in Miami, they returned to Vegas and shrugged off their image onto the floor of this bland white box.
Now a fine layer of dust covers the dead clothes. The Killers have no further use for white tuxedos on their second album, Sam's Town. Today, Brandon wears a black polo shirt, black pin-stripe waistcoat, black jeans and black boots. Where there used to be a layer of foundation, there is now a beard - an untrimmed beard at that. Dave Keuning (30, guitar), Mark Stoermer (29, bass) and Ronnie Vannucci (29, drums) all echo Brandon's black ensemble. Ronnie has added Aviator shades and a handlebar moustache for a dash of motorcycle cop, Dave's frizzy bubble of hair gives him a Marc Bolan-ish air, and there's something very teenage about Mark's scuffed Vans.
Short of walking around wearing sandwich boards saying, "Our new record is a bit heavier than the last one," The Killers couldn't hope to communicate that message more effectively. And they have gained some musical girth on Sam's Town. The pop hooks that made Hot Fuss so irresistible survive intact - see the ringing guitar riffs on first single When You Were Young - but there's a newfound punchiness, coupled with an epic sweep. The minor-to-major uplifts on Bones are fabulously dramatic, the coda to Why Do I Keep Counting? thrillingly intense. Comparisons to Bruce Springsteen have been made. If they overstate the case a little, they are at leaset qualitatively accurate. The Killers are back and this time it's serious - they've got the bootlace ties to prove it.
"Hey, it says here that Springsteen's headlining Glastonbury next year," shouts Ronnie, who's flicking through the NME. He nods sagely at the page without looking up.
"Really?" asks Dave, nicknamed Crazy Dave on account of his alledgedly volatile nature.
"The Boss is headlining one night, we're playing second on the bill the next night and Kylie's headlining the Sunday," says Brandon, charging like a bull through Michael Eavis' as-yet-unannounced line-up with what subsequently proves to be a characteristic gaucheness.
But that lighter is proving elusive. This being America, none of the people hurrying to-and-fro prepping the world for the release of Sam's Town smokes. Manager Robert Reynolds - Bobby Rey to the band - barks into his mobile, booking his band onto eye-wateringly demanding tours. "We're going to make a lot of money," he cackles to himself before switching calls to make a series of stern pronouncements on legal matters. Dave, Mark and Ronnie disappear for a jam session. Artwork is approved, B-sides are decided on and schedules are hammered out.
"I can't find it," Brandon says, finally. But he's not going to be denied the opportunity to underline The Killers reinvention with a puff of smoke. "Let's go to the gas station. I'll have to buy one. It's too busy to talk here anyway."
+
Brandon's black (of course) Volkswagen Touraeg four-wheel drive is barrelling down West Flamingo Road into town. "I was a bell boy there," he says, pointing out of the driver's window at the stucco facade of the Gold Coast casino. "I was working there when we were signed."
Coming from Las Vegas, it is perhaps inevitable that casinos play a big part in The Killers' story; not only is Sam's Town named after one, it was recorded in one, too.
The band began writing songs while on the road with Hot Fuss, turning up early for soundchecks to run through new ideas. On a trip home to Vegas, George Maloof, a hotelier known for cultivating famous friends, invited them to record the album in the new studio he'd built at The Palms, his flagship hotel-cum-gambling den. When the tour finished in October 2005, they returned to Vegas and spent five month finessing the songs they'd sketched out on the road. Then, in February, they decampled to the third floor studio at The Palms and recorded Sam's Town over 11 weeks.
Producer Flood (U2, Depeche Mode) encouraged them to experiment. They overdubbed, fiddled with synthesizers and played with new equipment. It took them five weeks to get the backing vocals right. The band sang the harmonies, then double-tracked them four times. The end result recalls Queen wondering, "Is this is the real life? Is this just fantasy?" When Ronnie, a trained classical percussionist, brought some kettledrums down, eyebrows were raised; but the fabulously bombastic coda on Why Do I Keep Counting? vindicates his indulgence.
"That's kind of the Ben Hur of the album," he says. He's not wrong. Sam's Town is a record on an epic scale. "Yeah, it has drama," he continues. "But, at the same time, I think it's a little more exposed than Hot Fuss. It's a little more naked. Last time it was about a lot of fictional things." By "fictional", Ronnie means that Hot Fuss wore its predominantly British influences for all to see. Brandon's taste in music is rabidly Anglophile - he constantly references The Smiths, The Cure and Joy Division - and it showed. By contrast, Sam's Town is an unequivocally American record. The lyrical imagery is pure American dream - cars, girls, wide-open spaces and escaping to a better life. "We're burning down the highway skyline/On the back of a hurricane that started turning/When you were young," sings Brandon on When You Were Young. That's the basis of the Springsteen comparisons then, though the lack of pathos more closely recalls another blue-collar rocker from New Jersey - Jon Bon Jovi.
The phrase "this town" recurs throughout the album, and it's always receding into the distance as The Killers escape to a new life. "This town was made for passing through/I never did get along with everybody else," sings Brandon on This River Is Wild. On Read My Mind he "never really gave up on breaking out of this two-star town", while on the title track he offers something of an explanation: "Nobody ever had a dream round here."
"With the first record, there was this feeling that there was this world out there that we didn't know," says Mark later in the day. Before The Killers, he studied philosophy: now he's their quiet one. "We wanted to get out and away from this and be somewhere else. We hadn't had a lot of experience - hadn't travelled much - then we were gone for three years. We didn't sit down and say that we wanted to make a record about how we're glad to be home, but that's what happened naturally."
It's not an angsty record. The Killers have already escaped with Hot Fuss, and, having done so, they view the experience fondly now they're back. There's a mistiness to Brandon's eyes as he explains how the album got it's name.
"Sam's Town is a casino on the edge of Vegas," he says. "I grew up in Henderson, which is out on the way to the Hoover Dam. My mom and dad lived in a trailer park, and my dad used to hitchhike up and down Boulder Highway, which is the only way you could get to Vegas. Sam's Town was the first thing you saw on your way in to town. So, when you're driving down Boulder Highway from Henderson, I always thought you finally knew you were getting somewhere when you saw Sam's Town. It was kind of like a beacon."
"It's not a completely American album," contines Brandon. "We still have our English influence, but we're also from the Wild West. Somehow we've managed to unify all that on this album. it's just such a perfect resemblence of what we are."
At the petrol station, Brandon rummages through the glove box looking for change to buy a lighter. "This is a great album," he says, pointing at Highway Companion, the latest from iconic American rocker Tom Petty. "I've always been a big fan of his. He's such a great American artist."
Yes, Brandon: we get the point.
+
When Brandon finally lights his cigarette, he smokes it awkwardly, like a child mimicking something he's seen the grown-ups doing. However, when he cheerfully admits that, "I feel the same mentally as I did when I was 12," it's not a knowing nod to the fact that he sometimes behaves like a loveably precocious child, but a reference to an unusually comprehensive grounding in pop music at an early age.
When Brandon sings about "this town", he doesn't mean Las Vegas. He means Nephi, Utah or Henderson, Nevada, where he spent his childhood. His parents are Mormon and he is the youngest of six children. "I was a surprise," he says. "I've got a 42-year-old sister." If he was issues about his "surprise" status, he chooses to gloss over them. "It turned out perfect because my brother was a teenager when I was a kid," he says. "He would bring home things like Rattle And Hum by U2 and I would watch it. I remember he bought Live In Dallas by Morrissey. It was always him watching these things, or his door was shut and you'd hear The Head On The Door by The Cure blasting through the house and rattling the walls."
The Killers were formed when Brandon answered an advert Dave had placed in a local paper in late 2002. Dave cited Oasis as a big influence; Brandon had seen them play recently and responded; and, as Dave has said in previous interviews: "He was the only person to reply to my ad who wasn't a complete freak." However, the band was born in Brandon's brothers bedroom.
"His room was like a shrine," enthuses Brandon. "It was a holy place. I wish I could show you a picture of it. It was covered in posters. There'd be a big picture of Elvis wearing a bow tie that just said 'The Smiths' [the artwork for The Smiths 1987 single Shoplifters Of The World Unite]. You had The Cure wearing face paint [the artwork to The Cure's 1985 single In Between Days] - all that kind of stuff. I remember Morrissey being on the cover of the NME, with the halo [from 1985] - stuff like that. You just wanted to know about these people 'cause they were so cool. My brother seemed like such a cool person. But he was a teenager, so he wasn't going to be that nice to me, a kid."
Brandon was fascinated by his brother's collection of music, magazines and posters, but he was denied access to them - officially, at least. "I would sneak in," he says. "I knew he'd be angry if he found out, but I would go in as soon as he left the house." For a long time Brandon was too scared to actually play anything. "That didn't come 'til later. I just used to go in there because I liked it. Then I got to the point where I'd actually take a tape out and put it in. It took more guts to do that."
It was a life-changing moment. "I was ten and the first song I played was Sing Your Life by Morrissey. I remember dancing about to it."
The lyrics to Sing Your Life include the lines, "Sing your life/Just walk right up to the microphone/And name all the things that you love/All the things that you loathe." It's intriguing to wonder what Morrissey makes of the neophyte he inspired with these lines.
Eventually, Brandon inherited his brother's tape collection. "It was around the same time CDs started coming out in a big way. He started buying CDs and gave me his tapes. And that was it: it took off from there. I got a hundred of the best albums - all the New Order, all the Morrissey, all The Smiths, The Beatles. I started buying posters. I went to see The Cure in concert. It was just kind of a continuation of my brother. And it was nice because, though my parents were strict, they were already used to it from him. There was no, 'My dad doesn't understand me,' or any of that kind of stuff. My mum likes The Smiths."
Brandon was 13 and his favourite band was late-'70s/early-'80s American new wavers The Cars, and particularly their jaw-droppingly catchy 1979 single Just What I Needed.
"I wouldn't exist without that song," he says. "That was the one. I remember driving around with my mum when I was 13, and we're living in Nephi - a really small town - and I felt so cool when I put that song on. Like: 'I have something that none of these kids I'm going to middle school with tomorrow have.' That excitement is what music's about, isn't it? That's why I understand the mentality of people that don't like us because we've sold so many records. I used to like it when no one else knew about a band. So I get that - I do."
+
Brandon's first band was called Blush Response. It was never going to work out. Not because he refused to move to Los Angeles with them, but because he is utterly - comically - shameless. He's given to making outrageously boastful statements like: "It's not like the '60s, '70s and '80s now. There are only a few bands around that are really good, that just do it. I mean, there's what, five or six of us?"
For the record, in Brandon's estimation, those bands are Franz Ferdinand, Razorlight, The Strokes, The White Stripes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and, of course, The Killers.
"I don't want people to think I'm lumping myself with other people just to make us sound cool," he says. Really? It sort of sounds like you are. But he just steamrolls through it. "Yeah, but you know what I mean," he says, grinning at his own cheekiness. He's so disgracefully forward you can't help but laugh along with him - Oh you are awful, Brandon! But joking aside, The Killers are the most commercially successful of all the bands he mentions.
Later, back at the rehearsal space, the band run through Sam's Town at deafening volume in preparation for the forthcoming tour - first the US, then the world. The infectious, almost contagious, chorus of When You Were Young sounds fabulous, as do the U2-like guitars and Twin Peaks synths of Read My Mind. Meanwhile, Smile Like You Mean It and Somebody Told Me benefit from the newfound harder edge.
They somewhat heavy-handedly underline the new direction by playing Paranoid by Black Sabbath and Get It On by T Rex. That's the thing: The Killers are not a subtle band. Their songs are like a wet kiss from a girl who's a bit too drunk. They are big and brash, and not everyone loves them for it. Mr Brightside and Somebody Told Me might go down as well at hip nightclubs as they do on the festival circuit, but the DJs play them with the same guilty look they wear when playing a pop record.
"I hate that," says Brandon. "Like writing a song you can hum somehow cheapens it? It makes me think of this quote by Morrissey. Everybody knows how he read Oscar Wilde, Keats and Yates when he was growing up and that he wanted to be a writer. He was talking to this journalist who asked why he hadn't become a writer, and Morrissey said: 'What I do is more powerful than what you do because I can write down these words and you get it to a melody. How can you beat that?' I'm of the same opinion. I don't understand why a good melody that's memorable is a bad thing."
Being dismissed as pop particular aggrieves Ronnie. "When we first came out we got compared to Duran Duran all the time. Jesus Christ! We got a keyboard player now all of a sudden he's Nick Rhodes! Come on!"
"The people who criticise us for being too poppy don't get it," agrees Mark. "I think that's the problem with a lot of rock music. People are afraid to write a song any more. Either that or they can't. And that attitude hurts music in general. The best bands ever have all written great songs. You can still do it and do it intelligently and it can be original. This isn't a studio creation with a producer writing these songs for us. We're not Avril Lavigne, or something like that. We're a real band writing real songs, just like a punk band would do, except that we write pop songs."
You get the impression that The Killers knack for showboating pop hooks that border on vulgar is inextricably tied up with the brazen side of Brandon's personality. But while his ebullient charisma, not to mention the songs themselves, mitigates his outrageousness, there is a less attractive side to his ego. He has a combative streak. He can't resist taking pot shots at emo bands, notably Fall Out Boy, whith whom The Killers share an A&R man.
Has he heard how many emo kids it takes to change a light bulb? "No." None. They just sit in the dark and cry. It's a full 30 seconds before he stops laughing. When he does he admits: "Yeah, we've had problems with other bands. You know, when you walk in the room it's like..." He whistles the theme to The Good, The Bad And The Ugly. "We're like gangs."
And while the other members of the band are diplomatic on the subject of Brandon, you don't have to read too deeply between the lines to conclude that there have been internal issues, too.
"Some people will think Brandon's the big genius," says Dave, visibly bridling. "There are songs, such as Why Do I Keep Counting?, where he's written every note. But there are others, like When You Were Young, that were more of a collaboration - like Mr Brightside, where I had some of the music and Brandon came up with the lyrics. We always have arguments about who wrote what. The truth is that we all help in that process."
When asked how success affected them, Ronnie says: "There were certain things that needed adjusting. When you're on tour for two years, people can get a little needy. It doesn't help that you're surrounded by yes men and everybody's working for you. At times we've had to say, 'Who do you think you are?' to people. No one wears the trousers, but some people would like to. I think if it wasn't for the people in the band kicking each other in the ass... Let's just say there was some ass-kickin'."
It doesn't take a genius to work out whose ass needed kicking most often.
+
It's the following day and The Killers are back at their rehearsal space. The topic of discussion is what to wear in the video for Bones, the second single. It's a big deal: the director is Tim Burton. "I feel like Frank Sinatra when I sing it," announces Brandon. "With maybe a little bit of Morrissey and a little bit of Elvis, too."
Of course he does. But if securing the services of Tim Burton tells you one thing, it's that The Killers are about to get even bigger, perhaps even make the leap to the same level as Coldplay et al. Already stars, they are about to become superstars. Brandon can hardly wait.
"Do you know that Rolling Stone didn't want to put us on the cover last time," he says indignantly. "They didn't think we were stars. We sold five million albums! What more do they want from a band?"
Whatever was required, Brandon would be happy to do most things. "I'll do stuff that some people don't want to do, 'cause I want people to hear the music," he says. However, even he has limits. "The Rolling Stone thing made the record label think: 'What can we do to make them stars?' If I go on vacation with my wife, do they have to send somebody to be there to take pictures of me? Is that how you become a star? I don't want that. I walked down the red carpet one time and I realised I don't like it. But you don't have to walk down the red carpet for people to hear your music. We do still have some of that indie blood running through our veins."
He heads off at a tangent: "When you walk around Liverpool, you think of The Beatles, or you go to Manchester and you think of The Smiths or Oasis. I want you to come to Las Vegas and think of Sam's Town. And I think we've started to capture that, which is a truer version of The Killers, 'cause that's where we're from."
He pauses.
"I used to live across the street from Sam's Town. Maybe it'll be like our Abbey Road where people go to take pictures."
Is that what he'd like?
"I wouldn't mind it," he says, desperately hoping it will come true.
He puts a cigarette between his lips, looks down at his trouser pockets and pats them in search of the lighter he bought yesterday.
"Hey, I don't suppose you've got one?"

DC Next presents:

I AM BATMAN

In True Crime
Issue Sixteen: Dark Hair And Face Paint
Written by ClaraEclair
Edited by PredaPlant & DeadIslandMan1
 
<< < Previous Issue Next Issue > Coming Next Month
 
 
Gotham University’s winter term was coming to an end, and that meant the resident varsity football team was finishing out their season — on home turf, no less. The Nighthawks were on a winning streak and were looking to finish off the season with a championship. The entire team felt the energy coursing through them as the stadium filled and crowd chants grew.
There were always major league scouts within the crowds at these types of games, especially for teams as impressive as the Nighthawks had been. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that some of the players on the varsity team would be making it to the national league. The coach, as hard as he could be on his team, felt nothing but warm pride in his heart and mind.
Zack Howard, the captain of the Nighthawks, looked over the 120 yard field from the player entrance, listening to the roaring crowd chanting for the Nighthawks — even fans of the Princeton Tigers felt the pull toward cheering on the Gotham University team. Just as much as his coach, he felt pride in being able to carry his team this far. He hoped to give the best game he’d ever played, to be noticed by big league coaches and scouts.
“Zack!” He heard his coach shout from behind him, no doubt trying to shift his attention back to the locker room and preparations for the game ahead. Zack exhaled deeply and turned around to see Coach Fremlin approaching with a light jog, holding something in his hand. “Delivery for ya,” he said, handing the envelope to the captain. “Some girl said to give it to you, said there’s somethin’ special inside.” With a smirk, Fremlin clapped Zack’s shoulder before turning back toward the locker room.
Zack’s mind flooded with possibilities and fantasies about what could’ve been in the envelope. Something special could have been anything, and it excited him as he ripped it open. His expression quickly shifted, however, as he pulled a handwritten note out of the envelope, scribbled in nearly illegible handwriting.
”Zack Howard,” it read. He opened it, his brow furrowed, and watched as an instant print photograph fell out of the fold and onto the ground. One piece of clear tape had been shoddily applied to the corner and had clearly lost its adhesion. Leaning down, Zack picked up the photo and squinted, trying to make out the subject.
It took a few moments, but the longer he stared at the photo, the more it dawned on him what was depicted in it. Instantly, upon realising what he saw, he rushed back to the locker room and forced himself through his teammates to Coach Fremlin, who was dragging out his playbook. He grabbed the coach by the shoulder, twisted him around to face him directly, and planted the photo firmly on his chest.
“What the fuck is this?” he demanded. Confused, Fremlin chuckled nervously as he tried to grasp the small photo on his chest, not able to see the subject but only the fury in Zack’s face. The room fell totally silent as the entire team watched the coach and their captain with bated breaths.
“What do you mean?” asked Fremlin, turning the image over and squinting at it, trying to make out the details. Just as fast as Zack had initially made out the details, Fremlin’s face dropped at the realisation. “Holy God, Zack, I–”
“What the hell is this?!” Zack demanded once more, resisting the urge to grab his coach by the collar and push him against the wall. “Who gave this to you?”
“I– I don’t know, it was some girl,” Fremlin stuttered, fumbling over himself. “She was short, had black hair, face paint…”
“What’s it say on the back?” asked Tim Teslow, the team’s best running back, pointing toward the image and the messy scrawls on the back of it. Zack snapped it back out of Fremlin’s hands as the coach sat down, head in his hands.
“Section 204, Row 8, seat 9,” Zack read the note aloud. “I’m going to go see what this is,” he said through clenched teeth.
“Dude, that’s across the stadium,” said Cutter Karznowski, the wide receiver that had only joined at the start of the season. “The game’s starting in a few minutes.”
“I don’t care,” Zack snapped back. “I’m going.”
 
 
Good evening, Gothamites, I hope you enjoyed that last one — Barcode by Self-Sacrificial. It’s always been a personal favourite of mine, straight to the point with the best beats and deepest riffs.
In the same spirit, I’ll get straight to the point of why today’s a big day for me — you’ve all known this was coming but I never quite said what it was. When I started this show a little over a year ago, I wanted to look at the dirt of the world. I wanted to bring you my favourite music while trying to figure out my favourite events in this city.
I’ve talked about all the legends, I’ve talked about Joker, Mister Freeze, and so many others. I’ve talked about new shooters like Man-Bat and Professor Pyg. I’ve even, unfortunately, shed some light on the unoriginal copycat hacks that have started popping up in recent years. It’s all been out of love, though. Love for the mind of those who would commit these atrocities, appreciation for what they are and what they represent.
There’s a reason why they are what they are, and it’s always been a goal of mine to love and appreciate what they put into the world. It’s all about the chaos.
But, today, I won’t be talking about that. Today, I’ll be talking about football. Before you all start booing me, it’s my special day and it’s my show, so I get final say. Specifically, it’s the big championship game for the Gotham University Nighthawks. I went to school with these guys, I feel… an obligation.
I’m excited to see how the game will turn out. I get the nagging feeling that their winning streak might come to an end.
 
 
Section 204 in the Gotham Knights stadium, on the north side of Tricorner Island, the southernmost landmass of Gotham, was filled to the brim with spectators and fans. All were cheering as they waited and watched the Gotham University Nighthawks enter the field below, while Zack spent his time searching the section for a small woman with black hair and face paint.
Despite the difficulty of sifting through the crowded seats, he couldn’t find a woman matching that description. He looked back down at the photograph’s note and read it again, making sure he was in the right spot. The location remained the same: Section 204, row 8, seat 9.
People called out his name, but he was quick to shrug them off. He was too focused on finding the woman who’d sent him the photograph. Even asking those who’d been sitting within section 204 had proved fruitless, with no one being able to say anything about the described woman.
Angry and dejected, Zack turned back toward the steps between sections to head back down to the field when something caught his eye as he moved.
“Sir!” He called out, angling his head toward a man two rows above him, pointing beneath his seat. “Sir, what’s that under your seat?” There was some sort of flashing light taped to the bottom of the seat, slowly pulsing between purple and green.
The man looked confused, leaning forward to take a look at what Zack had pointed at, eyes widening the moment he saw the wiring that he sat atop. A complex series of wires and lights traced their way around each seat in the section, though neither he nor Zack could see what, exactly, the wires were attached to.
“I don’t–”
The man could only shout out those few words before a loud explosion rocked the stadium, blasts running down the portion of the stadium from rows 12 to 4. Dozens of seats were annihilated as smoke, fire, and green gas erupted. Cries of pain and fear replaced the cheers of the spectators.
Blood tainted the intact seats while the smoke rose into the air, infiltrating the sky of southern Gotham, visible from all along the city’s coast. What fell across the stadium, permeating nearly every seat on the west side of the stadium, making its way into the halls that traced the inner workings of the building, was a thick green gas, forcing its way into the lungs of the men and women who were running for their lives, trampling each other.
Those closest to the explosion felt intense convulsions in their abdomens and spasms in their faces, involuntarily forced to bear wicked grins while their shattering breaths overtook the screams of terror in the form of wicked laughter.
Amidst the chaos, the charred photo that Zack once held fell slowly and gracefully, slightly charred, ignorant of the horror that it had been subject to. Slightly charred, it landed a few sections away from the explosions, trampled upon by infected spectators who had no idea what was being done to them.
 
 
A Few Minutes Earlier…
James Gordon’s office at the Gotham City Police Department headquarters was quiet as he sat at his desk, resting his elbows on its surface with his hands clasped, opposite Astrid Arkham, the frail-seeming daughter of Jeremiah Arkham. She had requested a meeting with him, and he had assumed it was for an update into Batman’s investigation into her father.
“Gotham City needs something new,” she began, catching him by surprise. His eyes widened slightly, then his brow furrowed. “We’ve been in this… this state of insanity for decades now, and it is only getting worse. This city is no longer livable, Commissioner.” He resisted the urge to groan. The only difference in Gotham City as it was and the Gotham City of before was that the murders had become spectacle.
When supervillains pushed out mobsters and gangsters, there was a shift in crime, but the results remained the same. Salvatore Maroni and Carmine Falcone knew how to keep their business quiet to the public unless they were in active war. Those were the good old days, now.
“Insane, maniacal supervillains,” she continued. “They rule the streets whenever they so choose. The police cannot deal with them, not under you. You rely on the Batman,” there was venom in her voice as she spoke the name, “and she sweeps up the problems while bringing deranged cultists and assassins into this city. She’s the heir of a small personal army with untold technology and she runs free. The Joker Riots, the assassin siege, Simon Hurt, all because the Batman has infested this town with these misguided thoughts of the supernatural, supposedly haunting our city.” Gordon remained silent.
“Essen’s incentives are now failing,” she said, watching Gordon closely for a reaction. If he gave one, she couldn’t see it. “How many companies that were enticed by her incentives have moved headquarters out of Gotham? They pay nothing in taxes, they have Essen licking their boots, and it’s still not enough. Despite all that’s happened, we haven’t been through hell yet, Commissioner. We’ve only arrived at the gates.”
“If I may, Miss Arkham,” said Gordon, leaning back in his chair, scanning the young woman up and down. “What’s your point?” He understood what she was saying, and he feared she was right, but he didn’t like the conclusion she was bringing forth.
“You are antiquated, Commissioner,” she replied, her face straight. “Obsolete. Your methods don’t work anymore, the law you uphold is no longer effective. Besides that, you are getting old. I can see the fatigue in your face, the bags under your eyes, your paleness. You’re not the detective you used to be.” Astrid leaned forward in her seat, putting her weight on her cane. “Gotham needs something new.”
Gordon’s phone rang, and for a brief moment he was thankful for the reprieve — but only for a moment.
 
 
I’d say I feel bad for the people at the Nighthawks game, but, if I’m totally honest, they had it coming. It’s about time everything caught up to them.
While we all ruminate on what’s happening at the game right now, let’s listen to some good music. This is Confetti by Viscera.
 
 
Batman had listened to as many notes as she could about a green gas that made anyone who inhaled it laugh uncontrollably. It typically led to suffocation through the inability to control the diaphragm, but this time it didn’t, and it confused the Dark Knight. A familiar sight, an attack that resulted in eery laughter, and yet it wasn’t what the city had seen before. None of the victims that hadn’t been in the initial blast had died, though medical care for each of them was necessary.
As much as she cursed herself for being late, not able to save anyone as the events unfolded, she knew that she needed to take control as fast as possible. She, along with every person in the city, dreaded what this attack meant. The name of a particular clown lingered on everyone’s tongues, though no one dared invoke his name.
Batman wasn’t so sure, and she hoped that her gut feeling was right. Most of the bodies that were recoverable had been extracted from the blast zone, over a dozen dead and dozens more injured. Blood and soot equally covered the destroyed seats, and even more on the concrete below.
One thing caught Batman’s eye amidst the mess, two sections away from the initial blast. A small instant print photograph, half burnt, laid on the ground, covered in dirty boot prints. She picked it up and looked it over, squinting as she studied the subject.
It was a blonde woman, head down with wet hair covering her face. Almost lost in the details was a small trail of blood behind the hair, mixing with trailing makeup. Batman frowned as she flipped the image over, seeing the note for a specific seat in the section of the stadium that had been blown to bits.
She approached the seat and kneeled, ducking down to see under the seat. It was one of few that remained intact after the explosions. Zack Howard’s Final Stop was scratched into the bottom of the seat, and at the sight of it, Batman signalled to Oracle to scan the engraving. She couldn’t identify the woman in the photograph, but she could see clearly enough that the attack was targeted at a specific person.
Another killer, she thought to herself, fearing what it could mean for the city. Pyg almost tore the richest members of the city’s economy apart, and they were ready to throw their own to the wolves. Now, there’d been a deadly gas attack at a football game — one that had been sponsored by many of Gotham’s elite.
The idea that the Clown Prince of Crime had returned was already making its way through the city — Batman knew she would have to exert control over everything she could to keep it from tearing itself apart at the seams. She was more than prepared to do so.
“It doesn’t look good,” she said to Oracle.
“Yeah,” she said, her voice distant. “I hope it’s just another copycat, they’re much easier to deal with.”
“I don’t know,” Batman replied, looking back at the photograph. “Something’s different.”

TD;LR My fiance threw me into a wall on valentines after he hit my dog in the head with a remote
My (22f) fiance (23m) from January to Feb of this year was doing an emt class to get his certification. He’s got A.D.D and mild learning disabilities so learning for him is much more difficult than the normal person. Well he was super stressed the entire class and I helped him every day even though I was taking 8 college classes to get my Bachelors of nursing degree. I was so stressed with my school on top of him begging me to help him study and on top of watching his father with dementia Monday- Thursday from 7am-2pm (because my classes were from 3-7 and 5 of my 8 classes are online) on top of working at the hospital from 7am-7pm Friday Saturday and Sunday. On top of having gastric sleeve surgery on December 5th of 2023, and my mental health was awful after surgery during the liquid / soft food diet fazes. So when my fiance started emt school I was already stressed to the max with everything and I really needed him during that time of my life because I was so depressed and needed someone to talk too. I don’t have a good family life so I moved out a year ago so all I have is my fiance. So for a month straight I had been so excited about Valentine’s Day because it was the only day I could fully see my fiance without anything else stressing us out. I won’t lie I have been a little moody towards him because he spent all day everyday studying and never spoke to me unless it was “can you help me study” “please I need your help I’m not smart enough to learn this alone” so I constantly begged for him to take a break to be with me so Valentine’s Day for me was a big deal. So for a month straight I was asking “what are we doing for Valentine’s Day? I’m so excited” and he would tell me “I promise I have something big and special for you that day and we will have a stress free romantic day together” well I was so excited about it I went off and spent 70 dollars on a dress and shoes for our date. Well come the day off I was patiently waiting for him to come home from his emt class so I could start to get ready, but he walks in and walks straight to the couch, opens up his laptop (well it was actually my laptop that I used for school so you can really see where my school was pushed back and I accommodated for him) and didn’t say a word to me. And I asked him what we were doing and he said “oh I forgot to tell you I’ve got to study for my test so we can’t do Valentine’s Day sorry” I was so devastated so I was rude when I shouldn’t have been and I said “thanks for disappointing you, you have done nothing but disappoint me and abandon me for 2 months straight when I’ve needed you but I’m always there when you need me” and I ran out of the house and returned my dress and shoes and got my money back. Well I felt guilty and I went and bought him some chocolate covered strawberries and went back to his house and apologized to him. Well for a little back story I moved into his parents house so I live with him and his mom and dad and his parents are assholes. Well when I apologized to him he didn’t seem to care so I walked away, well we just recently got a puppy and she was whining after me and at the time she couldn’t jump down out of the chair to run after me so she started to whine. Well my fiancé hit her in the head with a remote to get her to be quieter like a ass hole, so I took the laptop out of his lap to get him to look at me when I was telling him how messed up that was and he grabbed me by the arm and threw me into the wall and started cussing me out telling me to get tf out of his house and how all I do is fuss and that he was done with me. He continuously threw me into walls and shook me while cussing me out and he woke up his parents. They came down the hall way freaking out that he was screaming and told him to stop. Well I looked at my fiancé and told him he was crazy for putting his hands on me and his mama has the audacity to look at me and tell me I was the crazy one for expecting him to have free time to take me out for Valentine’s Day and my fiancé let her talk to me all kinds of ways without giving a dern. Well I went to go pack my shit and leave and he came and pulled me outside and told me I wasn’t going anywhere and then he apologized and told me I was nothing but a b*tch and if I wasn’t so selfish he wouldn’t had put his hands on me. (This may be a good point to make that he doesn’t freaking work I work and provide for him) well we got okay but I was triggered by his actions because I was physically abused by my father growing up and for him to know that and do that to me really messed with me. Well the next day he comes to me and tells me that his mother said “you shouldn’t put your hands on her because she can get the police involved and ruin your life “ not because he shouldn’t put his hands on his partner of 8 years ya know . Whatever she’s a butthole!!!! My question is how can I get over that experience? How do I let go of the hurt I feel? It was 3 months ago, shouldn’t I be over it by now?

First Previous
Peering down into the now exposed cavern, I wondered what was in there and consequently how I would even get down there. Ordering my marauder to back up a bit so that they would not fall though or anything of the sort, I began floating back up to the surface before blipping over to the factory and more specifically the modification station. Flipping through the menu screen, I quickly whipped up a modification to my crabs so that they would have a searchlight sitting on their claw arm so that they would not have such a hard time seeing the mines. Drifting back over to the mining outpost, I began ordering for the on site construction crew to begin constructing the new lights onto a few volunteers. As they began the process of constructing the modifications for my crabs, I began gathering up a few flight capable drones from the factory since I doubt that my hounds and ants would have a very good time climbing down a eighty plus degree slope down to the bottom.
Perhaps I should have a few of the hornets have some of the searchlights as well. Certainly couldn’t hurt to have some extra lights. Thankfully at the factory there was a much more sizable spider drone presence so my hornets were equipped with the searchlights quickly enough and were able to reach the mining outpost just about when my crabs got theirs as well. Ordering my drones to begin venturing down into the mineshaft, I was finally able to properly see down in the mines although I suppose I had not turelly needed to. I wonder if this would help the rest of my drones ability to mine out ores. The lack of light surely hasn’t stopped them so I guess they probably can see better down here that I could. As we ventured through the mineshaft, I took the time to look around and found that the tunnels which had been carved out looked to have many small patches missing, presumably where they had found valuable ores and the like. Before long we reached the opening to the cavern which looked to be somewhat expanded by the marauders sub drone harvesters.
Ordering my newly equipped crabs to use their search lights in order to light up the cavern a little bit, I was able to quickly enough make out the forms of what had to be organic life which was rather surprising. Squinting my eyes, I was able to see the vague forms of large fungus-like shapes covering the entirety of the rather large cavern like a warping forest which seemed to be perfectly fine with growing on every available surface. Looking over to my hornets and vultures who had volunteered to take a look, I ordered them, along with the harvesters from the marauder, to begin flying down and begin looking around the area. Switching my perspective over to one of my hornets equipped with the searchlights, I watched as they began to descend down to the bottom of the cavern and where the dozens and dozens of tree sized mushrooms and fungus sprouted out from the ground and created a canopy of sorts.
As we descended, I was able to see that every available spot on the surface of the floor was absolutely covered in moss and fungus which had taken root in whatever rocky soil which they could find. As we continued to look around the cavern, one of my hornets seemed to have managed to spot some sort of constructs near the far end of the cavern and soon enough the hornet which I was watching through linked up with the rest of my force as they moved towards the buildings. As they approached the structures, I was able to make out the general shape of the buildings which looked to be rather squat with the occasional second floor which I took as a sign that they were either rather small or there was more underground. With the help of the searchlights, I was also able to see that the constructs seemed to be absolutely infested with the fungus and moss along with a large amount of other dark growths which stretched out from the insides of the building.
Huh, maybe this is where all the fungus had come from. Perhaps it’s a research building that’s focused on botany or something. Floating down to ground level with the rest of my drones, I ordered one of my hornets to open the doors leading into the building proper which they promptly did so by firing their spike launcher into the joints of the door which caused it to be blown off its hinges. A bit overkill but hey, I’m not complaining. Sending a couple drones into the breach to make sure that there were not any hostile contacts in the building, I made sure to have the rest of my drones on high alert for any signs of activity as something about this place was making my nerves stand on end. Upon the confirmation of no hostile contacts present, I ordered the rest of my drones to enter the building as well, minus a couple of hornets I decided to leave guarding the entrance while the rest of us began making our way through the maze of corridors.
Entering into the building, I saw that the place looked to be just as abandoned as all the other buildings in the city, however this place seemed to not even be touched by ferals and the like looking for shelter. Sure everything looked to be messed up but I could not see a single trace of activity in the rooms as we moved through the corridors methodically, keeping our spike launchers at the ready at all times. Entering a research room of some sort, I saw a large amount of glass containers which looked to have at one point helped strange plants and funguses although most of which had died long ago whenever this place was abandoned to its fate. I guess this helps confirm that this place was some sort of research building focused on plants and stuff. As we continued to make our way throughout the building, my drones and I found more and more of the black tendrils which covered the ground and were familiar in some way, however I could not place my finger on it.
Eventually after looking through a handful more rooms filled to the brim with plant specimens, my drones and I encountered a stairwell leading both down into the underground and upwards to the second floor. I made note that the downwards stairwell had a larger than usual amount of the black tendrils which snaked out from the stairwell before infesting the rest of the building. Deciding that I did not wish to go down there, I sent about half of my force down while I and the rest of my drones went up the stairs and checked out the second floor where there were noticeably less tendrils. As my hornets clambered up the stairs, noticeably avoiding the black vine like tendrils whenever possible, I noticed that there seemed to be some artificial light coming from above which was strange, I would have assumed that all the power had been disabled for these ruins.
Moving closer to the source of the light, we eventually entered what looked to be a control room with a large amount of screens and control panels, most of which were entirely deactivated and in some cases destroyed outright. All except for one which seemed to be a simple control panel with a large amount of lights associated with various sections of the compound like the power generators and various research rooms. Looking around, I eventually found a key stating which faintly blinking meant what and quickly began transcribing each of the dim lights which were still finding enough power to give off a noticeable glow. First to gain my attention was the power generators which were flashing a red light stating that they were completely down, however looking at the auxiliary power systems, they were glowing a faint yellow which stated that they were still at least partially functioning. Guess that explains where this thing is pulling the power from, the pitance that it is.
Continuing down the line of blinking lights, I see that most if not all of the systems making up the building and a few of the other, much smaller, buildings surrounding this one seemed to be more or less non-functional which should be expected given that this place had been abandoned for at least a couple decades. As I reached a few lights noted as containment units and found that most were deactivated or destroyed, I received a few messages from my drones I had sent downwards stating that they had found something that I should probably have a look at. Slipping out of the hornet I was currently in and transferring over to one of the hornets down stairs before coming face to face with what they had found. Floating around, suspended by some sort of force field was a disgustingly large bulbous black clump of flesh with faint blue marks and bulbs dotting around its body. Why in the seven hells does this place have a rot specimen? Sigh, I guess this explains where all the power which the still functioning generators is being pumped into. At least it hadn’t gotten out of its containment, that would make this ten times wors- … waaait a minute.
Looking down to the ground where the black tendrils snaked across the floor leading to two other containment units which were worryingly not activated and had two, thankfully smaller, iterations of the rot simply laying there, as if hibernating. Shit! Alright maybe if we back up slowly they won’t notice our presence. It was then the two rot clumps and their many tendrils began pulsating before marks and bulbs on their body began to glow a faint blue and some began to move. Alright, change of plans. Everyone RUN! My drones were quick to obey as they powered on their wings and bolted for the stairwell as the tendrils began writhing as if searching for my drones. One even lurched out and grabbed one of my hornets as they attempted to escape the building, dragging the poor drone to the ground and more tendrils moved in to help keep down my struggling troops who fought valiantly which thankfully diverted tendrils which were dangerously close to my other drones to quickly flew up the stairs and out of the building.
A few tendrils attempted to stop our escape however my hornets quickly fired their launchers and pinned those to the walls of the building and my harvester sub drones proved to be rather effective as they cut right through the rot tendrils that got close. Taking to the skies as quickly as they could, I could see that the rest of my drones seemed to have managed to get out unmolested by the rot tendrils which were definitely not as numerous as the ones underground and they were now covering the rest of my drones retreat as they fired their launchers and cut down any tendrils which got close. Linking up with the rest of my drones, my various hornets quickly turned their own spike launchers to bare against the tendrils, managing to land a few shots before I ordered them to fall back as one of the rot tendrils lashed out and nearly swatted another one of my hornets out of the sky which I decided was too close for comfort.
Turning around as we flew back to the mines and the rest of my drones, I watched as the far side of the cavern where the facility was began to pulse blue as the rot emerged from its slumber and began moving through the fungus forest. I have no idea how the rot works but given that they’re fleshy, I suspect that letting them feast off of the mushrooms is probably going to bite me in the ass later. Slipping out of the hornets as the flew back to the outpost, I began scrambling to assemble as many fire beetles as I could from all of my territories as they had been proven to be one of my best anti-rot drones meaning they would be instrumental in fending off those things from escaping the cavern. As it would turn out, I was rather lacking in the fire beetle department as I could only assemble about a dozen of them which means that I would have to wait a bit before I could start deploying them en masse.
Deciding to make the process as quick as possible, I began ordering for the construction of fire beetles from every available small drone works in my territory but it would still take a while for them to all fabricate and be transported over here, especially from places like the warehouse outpost and the newer outposts near the front lines. While I waited, I continued to watch as the rot began infesting the cavern with reckless abandon and from where my crab was standing, I could see as one after another the large fungus trees toppled over to be consumed by the rot. As the fungal forest was being consumed by the now fully awakened rot, I began wondering whether or not they would be able to use their newly acquired food supplies to create more of the damned tendrils or even more rot clusters. At least there’s only two, maybe three, of them down there. Hopefully my fire beetles will be able to burn the forest down before the rot gets a chance to eat all of it.
Speaking of which, my drones, a few of the suicidal drones had arrived from the factory and were already making their way down the mine shaft over to my position. Once they arrived, I gestured to a few of my hornets who quickly picked up the four fire beetles before flying down to the base of the cavern before placing the fire beetles amidst the fungal forest which they promptly began burning down to the ground. Hopefully they would be able to burn down at least half of the mushroom tree before the rot could eat it or to my beetles for that matter. Watching as the cavern began to glow a bright reddish orange, I decided to check up on the rest of my territory as I waited for more of my beetles to finish being fabricated and transported over to the mining outpost. Deciding to check on my forces in Ping’s territory first, I drifted over to the outpost that my forces had helped Ping take back which was now returning to what I was guessing was its full capacity.
Checking up on my drones which I had managed to rescue from enemy territory, I found that most had been repaired back to functionality and were now going about their duties which mostly revolved around helping out Pings drones with the various patrols or, if my spiders deemed them unfit, working to assist with the movement of supplies around the outpost along with some light salvaging. A fair amount of my veteran drones had been sent back to whatever force I had taken the form, mostly the force at Churn’s front line with the occasional drone working in sudo retirement which garrison or mine work afforded them. After all, they were likely needed more at Churn's front line where active fighting was still occurring on a regular basis rather than in Ping’s territory where the corrupted AI was being pushed back as Ping got their feet under themselves as they began pumping out drones and defenses.
Checking up on the outpost which Churn had lent me, I found that the enemy force had begun moving back into the now destroyed production hub however not in any significant numbers as the outpost was likely deemed to be not worth the effort of putting a large garrison there. The forces present were likely only there to inform them if I was making moves to attack more of their territory so that they could make the proper adjustments. Thankfully this newly established enemy garrison could not stop my stealth hounds as they occasionally sent back a member or two of their number to inform me of what was going on in enemy territory. In Coopers stead, one of the next most senior drone which happened to be an ant had been receiving the most recent of reports from the stealth hounds which mostly consisted with random enemy movements and caravans which did not really affect me given that I was not willing to start sending out my force to being taking the fight to the next enemy stronghold, at least not while my forces in Ping were still criminally understaffed and my resource stocks were at a minimum.
Perhaps once things stabilize and more resources become available I will begin tasking my force with attacking however until then I was content to sit around on the defense. The thought of constructing more stealth hounds until I could start having them raid caravans briefly flittered across my mind but I quickly cut that off and stored it in my head for later use once the whole situation with the rot back in the mines is resolved. Speaking of which, as I finished reading through reports and stamping away thoughts of pressing the attack while my supply lines were strained, I received the message stating that the first batch of fire beetles were now finished construction and were beginning to be collected by the subway system and would soon be delivered to the mining outpost. Good, the longer I wait, the more dangerous those things will probably become. Hopefully my beetles will be able to handle whatever they encounter down there.
Floating back over to the mining outpost and down to the cavern entrance, I could see that the initial four fire beetles had done a good job at burning down what they could as I was able to easily see that well over half of the forest had been light ablaze as the fungal trees caught fire and whatever moisture the mushrooms had were quickly evaporated. Regardless, the rot still continued to feast upon the biomass that they could get their tendrils on and from where I was watching I could easily see that nearly a quarter of the fungal forest had been completely taken over and infested with rot puss as the area where the rot had infected began glowing blue as their residue began to take place and fester. Hopefully the fires will also be able to burn some of the rot along with the mushroom trees before the rest of my beetles arrive and with some luck take down whatever is left. But for now I watched the flames as they spread and burned down everything in its path.
Next
Sorry it’s late, I had to GM a bit of DnD which took priority over finishing up and posting this.

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I'm St from the heart of quo Texas where the streets are hot and the pressure is
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Relentless watch the truth is hidden behind the o fields Eagle foot shell
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won't let expose a clown de with County a place where life ain't easy industry
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trying to profit off can need but in no car are he's the voice for the oppressed
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fighting for the truth won't let him
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[Music]
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die the streets of Cl where the blood runs thck do we count yeah that's where
0:58
I spit 1990s interal murders made it deep it's instrumental about exposed secrets you
1:05
can't keep in the Heart of Texas where the violence was RA gang wars drug deals
1:11
Bodies Hit The Floor Caroll a small town but with big reputation a vicious cycle
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of crime and Desperation late nights gun fight silence through the air shots Fire
1:23
Dream Shad people living in despair the streets were hot but the city was cold
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in a place were loyalty is bought me soul
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[Music]
2:11
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water SK but now it's different yeah things have
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2:29
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2:35
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people are stinking blood desperation man it's a what we're thinking executive
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managers they don't give a damn they watching the money pile up while we're stuck in the jam
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[Music]
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[Music]
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W we're stuck in the jail Stu in
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[Music]
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that expose the truth Ino Texas where the sh move sh got casing big snacks but
4:08
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while we mour the falling they were making the BET planning the schemes in the shadows they creep exploting the
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tragedy while we weap Shadow shock it's time to wake up now sh the lie on these
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the EXs let the secrets [Music]
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5:09
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hot but the city was cold in a place where loyalty is bought and sold
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[Music]
5:56
[Music]
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we yo listen up and new players but what you going to do
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you think you're hot messing with the part of Christ well let me tell you it's time to pay the price and go for sh you
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think it's all about the cash but the truth is that your crisis it's going to smash your facilitating L one other
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people they suffering crying why is sitting in your steeple but a lose a crisis we can't ignore ego forell ain't
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what it was before Ina are you listening to this
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song time to step up right your W right listen to the song song time to
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step up right your walls time to step up what you
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want time to step up what you want
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time to step up you WR time to step up what you
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want time to step up what you want your you go waste on the suffer words
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you still the same I'm P the T World Ain no you listening trouble F I'm so like
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the I let Dem let them over me say enough that boy and it's don't [ __ ] the
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night time to step up what your wall
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tellas step up right your wall tellas step up right your
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ball new may you think you got it all but let me tell you something it's time
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for you falling in the try the truth but we won't stay quiet we're coming for you
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e of shell history full of dirty deals and now you ding the cops out as it feel
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you but we won't be s s back down Expos to corruption till you're running out of
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town you think you're so slick with your fancy smile but we see right through you
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won't last a while Hing persons like a m Le for your game well we're here fight
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back we won't play your game
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[Music]
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[Music]
9:20
[Music] yo listen up I got a story to tell about
9:26
a shady mayor and me go his name but don't let that smile for you he's
9:31
playing games pimping out the truth trying to hide the shame he's got ties to the big guns those in the local
9:38
governments using their power cover up the evidence but I won't stay silent I won't be silence going to expose their
9:45
lies going to bring the violence oh this
9:53
the keep up from the truth we know what you've done and we're coming for you
10:01
no more high no more lies it's time for justice
10:09
it's our Battle Cry [Music]
10:46
yo [Music]
11:15
there a new mayor in town yeah car his name but let me tell you about the truth
11:20
it's not all in his f e baby dipping the kids schools into a circus it's time to
11:27
lift the lids they talk about progress but it's all a facade behind closed
11:33
doors and play we CR slood car so you're the face but who's pulling the strings
11:40
evil for Scot grip spreading chaos with wings evil for drama I what to say
11:46
playing with the future playing with our lives but we won't back down no we won't
11:53
Retreat Expos the truth rise up and take our seat
11:59
[Music]
12:07
mayor Goa you claim to be the Savior but your ties Run Deep and they ain't in our
12:13
favor eag for Shell with the dirty dealing Human Rights Campaign the true
12:19
is concealing the true intentions
12:24
concealing [Applause] Paul singer the puet master in Disguise
12:31
pulling streams behind closed doors telling lies murder R the shadow Rec crew the hand stained with blood and it
12:38
ain't nothing new Q we Arizon We Won't Back Down expose the
12:46
corruption T down the crown we fight for justice We Fight For
12:53
Truth No More hiding coming for you
13:47
murdering May is the eagle foot shell execu play God to fail huging surprise
13:55
sitting under that Bell kidnapping as the force it's time to un the turny
14:02
secrets they can no longer hide in the innocent feeding off the pride e go for
14:08
you can't run and you can't hide we're here to expose you it's time to collide
14:16
they call themselves leaders but then they left it bar covering up the pr with
14:21
FY hats innocent never getting Justice it's time
14:27
to rise up and EXP their dark
14:33
darkness and expose their Darkness
14:39
[Music]
15:05
murdering e for Shell Executives play got B to fail hard across in and under
15:13
that fail kidnapping for burs it's time to unil the dir Secrets they can no
15:20
longer hide expl in the innoc be eat off the pride e for you can't run if you
15:27
can't hide we're here to expose [Music]
15:40
you it's time to collide they say de with counties got
15:48
secrets to spell covering up crimes yeah they got the skill H to Mur
15:55
kidnap it still f thanks to [Applause] [Music]
16:02
you oh thanks to you offici here it made me sick
16:09
pretending to but to just a bunch of trips e for sale with money's but that
16:14
cost the hard against county corruption it's time to expose to
16:21
secrets that no way go we won't stay Sil won let shine in
16:29
on the Justice World
16:35
[Music]
16:45
[Music]
16:57
Wide County a it's time to expose dark secrets that
17:04
nobody knows we won't say Sil W
17:10
sh on me Justice worldwide
17:15
[Music]
17:28
[Music] corruption running deep in a place
17:34
called quo they cover up the crimes but we got to let them know hundreds of lives lost and it ain't no joke in a
17:42
lock of murders kidnappings Force birth in a choke Eagle for Shell get bad with
17:47
the government they think they're slick don't we see through the lament money talks but Justice we command no more
17:54
hide the truth time to make a stand shatter Trust won't be silenced anymore
18:01
suppos the jum is that da ignore the power of the people we won't be deny
18:07
Together We rise justce this on our side
18:15
[Music]
18:36
[Music]
18:44
Street evil food sh with the evil who resides submer the city turn cold
18:51
kidnapp is and for bir for stories Untold fear in the air suffocating the
18:57
town general of made it hard where the devil's been Crown but I
19:03
will stay silent I won't let it slide going to speak up for
19:09
justice W an evil subside fresh and freedom teing at the
19:16
Seas sh every scar you're night let our voices be
19:24
heard and this the time this right we'll
19:31
fight let our voices be H against the
19:37
dark we fight with
19:44
[Applause]
20:00
Burning Bridges I'm spitting on fire call him now the new mayor man you're a liar Eagle forell selling dreams to the
20:08
masses but I see through the smoke exposing your ashes D County J you think you're a man
20:16
but your secrets the even right through the sand sex trafficking a cover up so
20:23
of seen I'm coming for youa the machine pick you up Untouchable
20:29
hiding in the shadows but I'm shining the light exposing your battles manipulating power for your own personal
20:37
game but I W let you prosper I won't play your game
20:46
[Music]
21:01
I won't let you prosper I will play your game I W let you
21:09
prosper I won play your
21:15
game bring s think it's slick but I see through your gang and your dirty
21:21
tricks qu go watch the story working with e for sh chasing that Glory e
21:29
sh a money laundering thre taking innocent people just for H you think
21:35
you're untouchable but I will back down I'll expose your lies all the
21:41
crown corruption unleashed the truth will
21:46
rise no more hide behind your disguise Carol won't be
21:52
fooled no more in the dark we'll fight for justice leave them
22:01
[Music]
22:26
here's a little story got a man named Randy claiming to be the save you king of the city but let me tell you he's
22:32
just a big phone working with e forel ain't that funny he talk about progress but it's just a facade using our
22:39
resources like it's all B can see through your lives Randy it's clear you're selling on water making us live
22:45
in fear you say you're helping but who do you think you're fooling you're ly in your pockets while the people are losing
22:51
eego for Shell the money ler in front but we won't back down we'll fight to the hunt
22:58
m [Music]
23:11
[Music]
23:37
listen up I got something to say about a man Nam Randy the mayor of
23:44
dis working with e for sh making money on a side but they HDE
23:52
behind the Press where the truth loves to hide they
23:59
claim to be for the people but it's all
24:06
a using the power they have leaving others betray organized
24:17
violence targeting a weak they thrive on chaos the Havoc the se but I won't be
24:27
Sil I won't be afraid I'll shine the light on the
24:34
darkness games they play Ready Running Out of
24:43
Time the people of forget
24:48
your where corruption grow the new faceing child but who
24:54
really knows they say he's a mayor but I see through the facade playing dir games with life insurance
25:00
checks is just frud the eagle foot shell gang lurking in the shadows MERS of
25:06
informance exposing their dirty battles crippling the people for their personal
25:12
gain ry's involved deep in the greed and pain Showdown it's time to take a stand
25:19
Expos the corruption running through the land no more victims no more Lots lost
25:25
in vain together we fight in just this will
25:32
[Music]
25:42
reclaim I'm BR the new mayor down but I got to call him out it's time to break
25:47
it down for finding all those dirty crops under to B up the murders this just a matter of time talk about
25:54
progress go where the truth playing dirty politics out in the proof for money flen binding your sight while
26:00
innocent lives are taken left in a this night power struggles corruption lurking
26:06
in the dark but I won't back down I'll ignite that spark exposed the lies bring Justice to this game won't let R say for
26:15
car to shame
26:31
the [Music]
26:48
[ __ ] what [ __ ]
26:54
[Music]
27:08
girl new you think you got it all but let me tell you something it's time for
27:13
you to fall pipping into local governments trying to hide the truth but we won't stay quiet we're coming for you
27:21
eag for sh's history full of dirty deals and now you pimping the cops how does it
27:27
feel but we won't be silent We Won't Back Down Expos the corruption till
27:33
you're running out of town you think you're so slick with your fancy smile
27:39
but we see right through you you won't last a while camping persons like commodities for your game who we're here
27:47
to fight back we won't play again
27:57
[Music]
28:03
yo listen up I got a story to tell about a shady mayor Emy GZA is his name but
28:11
don't let that smile for you he's playing games pimping out the truth trying to hide the shame he's got ties
28:18
to the big guns those inter local governments using the power to cover up the evidence but I won't stay silent I
28:26
won't be silence going to expose the lies going to bring the violence oh Mr
28:33
Mayor you can't run from the truth we know what you done and we're coming for
28:38
you no more hiding no more Li time for justice it's our Battle Cry
28:47
[Music] [Applause] [Music]
28:58
no more lies it's time for justice it's all battle
29:07
[Music]
29:13
C A do in town yeah Gaza is his name but
29:18
let me tell you about the truth it's not all in his Fame Eagle foot shell baby pipping the kids turn the schools into a
29:25
circus it's time to lift the lids they talk about progress but it's all the facade behind closed doors they're
29:33
playing with cars for Goda you the face but who's pulling the strings Eagle
29:38
foot's got a GP spreading chaos with wings Eagle foot drama or what a sight
29:44
playing with the future playing with our lives but we won't back down no we won't
29:49
Retreat expose the truth R up and take our seat
29:59
[Music]
30:14
you play to be se but your ti R deep and in a favor you
30:20
go for sh with your Dy dealing human rights care the true inen coning s the
30:27
pet mastering disguise Bo strs behind closed doors to lies murdering the
30:33
shadow we crew a handstain with blood and it ain't nothing new all
30:40
right we all for you down the crown we fight for
30:46
justice We Fight For Truth No More hiding coming for you
30:58
[Music] we're coming from
31:04
[Music]
31:11
you we're coming for you [Music]
31:28
murder and L it's the eagle for sh Executives playing God but they're B to
31:33
fail hundreds of chist under the fail kidnappings and for births it's not no
31:39
unveil they Dirty Secrets they can no longer High exploting the innocent
31:45
feeding off their pride Eco foot shell you can't run and you can't hide where
31:50
here to expose you it's time to [Music]
31:55
collide they call them so leaders but they're nothing but rats covering up
32:02
their crimes with fancy hats innocent lives lost never getting
32:07
Justice it's time to rise up and expose their Darkness
32:13
[Music]
32:44
[Applause]
32:49
they say deal with c's got Secrets is Spill covering up crimes yeah they got
32:55
the skill hunting to murders kidnapping too Force burst heading up thanks to you
33:01
let officials sh you make me sick pretending to serve but you just a bunch of Tricks Eagle for sh the money's
33:09
rolling in but at one cost the H begins county
33:15
corruption it's time to expose the dark secr and nobody knows we all stay side
33:22
Hess side shine a light on Me In Justice worldwide
33:32
[Music]
33:43
county corruption it's time to expose the dark secrets that nobody knows we
33:50
won't stay silent won't let it SL Shining Light on me and Justice
33:56
worldwide [Music]
34:17
corruption running deep in a place called quel they cover up the crimes but we got to let them know HS of lives lost
34:24
and it ain't no joke and a lock of murderers kidnapping force birs in a CH EV for CH and bear with the government
34:31
they think they slick but we see through lament money toss the Justice we demand
34:37
no more hid in the truth time to make a stand TR we won't be S anymore exps the
34:45
darkness that they ignore the power of the people he won't be denied Together
34:50
We rise just I'm
35:06
[Music] Blood on the streets where the darkness
35:12
resides eag for sh where the evil resides hun to murders the city's turn
35:18
cold kidnapping and force birth the stories Untold the fear in the air suffocating the town caring hot with the
35:25
devil's being Crown but I won't stay silent I won't let it
35:30
slide CU wake up for justice won't let evil
35:35
subside FR free heart when the devil's been Crown but I won't stay silent I
35:44
won't let it go to speak up for justice won't let
35:52
evil Freedom the SE we sh
35:58
Tre hunting on every SK [Music]
36:05
up let voices be heard against the darkness we'll fight with every
36:12
[Music]
36:20
word with everyone
36:27
[Music]
36:33
[Music]
36:41
Yoo Burning Bridges I'm spit out fire calling out a new mail man you a li you
36:46
for the shell selling dreams to the masses but I see through the smoke exposing your ashes you we County you
36:53
you think you're the man but you secr they seeping right through the stand sex traffic the cover up so SC I'm coming
36:59
for you you Mil cars through the must did you think you're untouchable hiding in the shadow for I'm Shing the light
37:06
exposing your battles manula power for your own personal game but I won't let you prosper I won't play your game
37:20
[Music]
37:25
[Music]
37:36
you think you're untouchable hiding in the shadows but I'm shining the light exposing your battles manipulate power
37:42
for your own personal game but I w't let you prosper I won't play your game
37:49
[Music]
38:09
you think you slick but I see through your gameing your dirty tricks mayor of
38:14
t r but what's the story working with eagle for chasing that
38:19
Glory Eagle for sh a money loer in front taking innocent
38:26
people just for a hunt you think her touch him but when I go back down I'll expose youres I we the
38:34
crown corruption unleash the truth will rise no more hiding behind your
38:40
disguise ker will be fo no more in the dark we'll fight for justice leave a
38:48
mark
38:53
[Music]
39:01
[Music] the truth will rise no more I behind
39:09
your disguise sh will be full no more in the dark we'll fight for justice leave a
39:30
here's a little Story by man named Randy claiming to be the Savior the king of the city but let me tell you he's just a
39:35
big phony working with e ain't that funny talks about progress but it's just a facade using our resources like it's
39:42
all a big com we see your lies Ry it's clear you're selling our water making us live in fear you say you're helping but
39:49
who do you think you're fooling you're l in your pockets while the people are losing e for Shell the money longer in
39:56
front but we will back back down we'll fight till the hunt we'll fight till the hunt
40:10
[Music]
40:17
[Music]
40:24
[Music] car listen up I got something to say
40:32
about a man Nam Randy the May of dismay working with eagleford SH making
40:41
money on the side but they hide behind the Press where the truth L to hide they
40:47
claim to be for the people but it's all assur using the power they have leaving
40:54
all this betray organized silence targeting the we they thr on the chaos Havoc they
41:03
see but I won't be silence I won't be
41:08
afraid I'll shine a light on the darkness the games they have play Randy
41:15
says you're running out of time the people of claro won't forget your cry
41:26
[Music]
41:55
hello [Music]
42:00
listen up I got something to say about a man Nam Randy the mayor of
42:08
dis working with eagle for sh making money on the side but they
42:15
hide behind the Press where the truth flows to hide
42:27
quo ofup and grows Randy saes the new face in town but who really knows they
42:34
say he's a man but I see through the facade playing dirty games with life insurance checks it's just fraud the
42:41
eagle foot shell G looking in the shadows Whispers of informance exposing
42:46
their dirty battles cripping the people for the personal gain R de deep and
42:53
greed and pain kro show down
42:58
it's time to take a stand expose the corruption running through the L no more
43:06
Victor no more lives lost in P together we're fight and for C
43:16
[Music] oh we no fight
43:23
Lo together we'll fight and Justice will [Music]
43:38
quo where corruption grow ready stands the new face and tell but who really
43:44
knows they say he's a mayor but I see through the facade playing dirty games with life insurance checks it's just fr
43:53
[Music]
44:03
for chill [Music]
44:15
G Here Comes Randy s the new mayor in town but I got to call him out it's time
44:23
to break it down for finding all those dirty crimes hundreds of interal murders
44:30
is it just a matter of time they talk about progress but
44:36
where's the truth playing dirty politics hi in the Pro needle for money Floy fing
44:43
your sight while innocent lives are taking left and Endless Night power
44:48
struggles corruption looking in the dark but I won't back down I'll ignite that
44:56
SP is H lies bring Justice to this game
45:01
won't let Brey s fck you Ro to sh
45:08
[Music]
45:50
yeah listen up em guards this is for you yeah knew made
45:57
off qu but what you going to do you think you're hot messing with the
46:03
B crisis but let me tell you it's time to pay the
46:10
prices evil for Shell you think it's all about the gash but the truth is it's a crisis that's going to smash you're
46:17
facilitating maintaining but what about the people they're suffering crying why
46:23
you sitting in your SE w w
46:31
[Music]
46:36
[Music]
46:48
[Music]
47:00
a crisis we can't [Applause] ignore e shell and what is
47:12
[Music]
47:21
[Applause] [Music]
47:29
are you listen to this song time to
47:35
[Music]
47:41
[Applause] [Music]
47:49
step when a flood R high at 98 the water reached the sky but now it's different
47:55
yeah things are ch change executive manages they running game in the heart
48:01
of we County where shell is Grand Eagle foot shell they got the upper hand they
48:07
drilling they SP same old story pling The FL taking all the glory The Voice
48:15
flowing but the people are sing for the desperation man the say what we're faking executive managers they don't
48:22
give a damn they watching the money P while we stuck in the [Music]
48:41
yo listen up about to expose the truth in Carol Texas what a shelling sex move
48:47
e for sh got him cashing in big Stacks but let me tell you about that dirty little X 911 2001 they will never forget
48:56
we want the fall they were making the better gling the stames in the shadows that creep sporting the tragedy while we
49:04
we sh while we win sh Shar is time to wake up now shine the light on these dos
49:12
we walk back down them to the r County we demand the truth expose the XX let
49:19
the secrets loose
49:24
[Music]
49:51
about to expose the truth in quo Texas where the shell execs move EV for Shell got cashing and big Stacks but let me
49:58
tell you about dirty little a 91121 a day will never forget while we mour the
50:04
fall and they were making it platines in the shadows they creep explo the tragedy
50:10
while we sh to wake up now shine the light on the STS we W back down fromo to
50:19
the W County we demand the truth expose the exx let the secrets loose
50:28
[Music]
50:35
[Music] SP from the hard quo Texas where the
50:43
streets are hot and the pressure is Relentless but the truth is hidden behind the oil fields Eagle for Shell
50:50
yeah they're the ones who yield they claim they bringing JS but it's s star behind closed doors they
50:58
FR man they want to take down but I won't let them going to expose the
51:06
clowns do with County a place where life ain't easy industry trying to profit off
51:12
the needy but emaza he's the voice for the oppress fighting for the truth won't
51:18
let him digress [Music]

So, this is going to be long because context is important. Me and my ex started dating almost 3 years ago and after 2 years and 8 months in the relationship we broke up. During this, we had no problems for over a year and a half and then had some communication issues some of it catalysed by her controlling parents. They were straight up racist after they found out that I was not of the same nationality as them, and without even meeting m, they insinuated to not be in the relationship subliminally or keep her options open.
For context, they are Asian parents who were non-confrontational her whole life and a lot of that showed in her character, She never ever wanted to communicate through a problem, always hung up, always got mad when I brought something up that needed talking about. Her parents are the type to immediately tell her to read the bible if they see her distressed without offering any solace. They don't like when she cried and stuff like that.
I loved her a lot. I went above and beyond for her as per her own confession, no one else had done before. For the first year, I was appreciated for always communicating and just always being straight up with everything. The best way to describe how I was as a bf is that I had boundaries but I respected those same boundaries myself and also I was VERY VERY reassuring of the security of our relationship and I went above and beyond AS MUCH as I could and I really mean that. I was very loving, all I asked was to be reassured as well.
For most of our relationship we were long distance, as we started our relationship in person and I had to go to Uni in another country. I would visit twice a year for a month at a time during which I hung out with her all the time (4-5 times a week). And even in long distance, I structured my schedule and she did as well for the most part to make sure we spent 4 hours + every single day talking and we GENUINELY enjoyed each other's company a lot. For the duration of our relationship we spoke for hours every single day. Chemistry wise, it was undeniable.
Fast forward, So then after my last visit, I noticed she was distant, constantly expressing some sort of negative feelings towards me. I could tell she was distancing and I dealt with that even with support because I asked her why she was feeling a bit distant, she kept saying 'idk' and so I just offered support as she was having exam stress at the time too. To this day I don't know why she distanced. And then finally as she was bringing up stuff that 'she wished could be different' which were all out of my control, I asked her to call it and break up if she valued these things that much, which could be solved all with time, mind you. One was the distance, which weirdly wasn't a problem before and if anything I only had 1 year of uni left. It felt like she was trying to throw reasons like a dart to a wall to see what sticks. And at this point, if we broke up, it would be cordial.
About a month later, we finally broke up while I was back abroad studying, after a fight where she threatened to break up with me and I got sick of her expressing this feeling of not giving a shit about me or us so I said something I shouldn't have and that was it. She called it.
This was all to build up the fact that now she is actively chasing guys 2-3 months later after I regrettably checked her socials (the ones I haven't been blocked on) one way or another I come across it (definitely because I go looking) - Making playlists for a guy subtitled with 'Don't know how else I can make it more obvious' after she blocked me on spotify and this one guy followed her on there. She later changed that playlist name to 'Maybe someday' and then made the playlist private or deleted it. Recently, she tweeted on her public rant page that no one followed other than me when I was with her, after she blocked me on there as well but I had notifs on so I guess it bugged and I could still see it. The tweet read 'I just...want to be appreciated. I JUST WANT TO BE APPRECIATED!!!! I'm so hilarious, why doesn't anyone wanna date me'. She has also never been single for more than 8 months or so since she started dating, has had two exes before me.
Bottomline is, if she came back I would NEVER get back with her. I feel disgusted that I dated a girl like her. I feel like I was lied to about who I was dating - a funny, loving, religious god-fearing woman who had her priorities straight. I feel very very confused that she's like this now and so soon. We did everything together even after our distance, she wouldn't even be able to go to sleep without me being there for her. And now, she pretends I never existed. I know it's normal for her to pretend that I don't exist now, but to pretend I NEVER existed and we never went through what we did? That blows my mind. I know I have to accept it. How do I deal with not having the self control to keep checking some of her socials and stuff or How do I build self control. Like just how do I go about this breakup because another massive detail is that I am studying abroad in a place where it is genuinely impossible to make good quality friends (Berlin, no hate just that the people here are not my type of people) so I am alone with my thoughts a lot. I am trying to get close to God but I keep thinking about all of the stuff that has happened. I don't have the friends back home that would help me just distract myself. And I don't think dating or talking to girls is the answer either? I have hobbies but that doesn't help much I guess. How do I stop thinking about her and deal with this?

So this is just one of the many MANY issues I’ve had with mg landlord but this is my biggest issue.
My landlord came to do maintinence un announced with no notice. The bathtub was rusted and he came to fix it even though I put in this work request back in November when I moved in and the lease is up next month. How did he fix it? He came while I was at work today and proceeded to spray bathtub glaze which fumed up the entire apartment.
I got back home from work today 9 hours later and opened my door to a WALL of toxic fumes that immediately gave me a headache. No windows cracked. No AC going. No ventilation what so ever.
MY DOGS WERE IN THE 600 SQUARE FOOT UNIT FOR NINE HOURS WITH TOXIC FUMES!!!!
I go into my house and I see my dogs passed out and foaming at the mouth. I called poison control on the way to the emergency hospital. $3k in vet bills later and my dogs now have life long lung issues.
My landlord couldn’t care less. He’s taking no responsibility and says that in the lease and per our Ohio state laws, he is legally allowed to fix things without notice if its to keep things “up to code”
is what he did legal? Can I sue and win? I cannot afford a lawyer so can I represent myself?
Other issues to note with this landlord: -ignored plumbing issues - termite and rat infestation ignored -mold issues ignored -lied about a laundry room being available -has rented out a portion of my yard to someone go store things. Said person has direct access to my bedroom window through the AC unit. I’m a woman who lives alone and a random man has access to my window.

Aenar, Astaraxes, and Naerys had departed on Valyria’s Pride three days past, their retinue of guards and servants alongside them. Leaving Summerhall near empty with only Laena, the man, and Rhaenys herself remaining, their evenings were hardly boring, however quiet the palace was.
As Rhaenys dressed herself for flight, putting on her gloves, she called out into the open sky,

“Meraxes, māzigon naejot issa!”

She could only hope the she-dragon heard the call, or more accurately felt the call. She did not need to speak with her always, some of the magic the ancient Valyrians had employed still flourished, the link between a rider and her dragon something that did not require a physical component.
As Rhaenys turned around to embrace the man, before placing a kiss on his lips, holding it until she was interrupted by the sound of leather in the sky. My sister.
Her head spun from the man’s lips and onto the silver in the skies before she touched down. The thud and subsequent dust sent into the air, surrounding the three in the courtyard. Rhaenys began to walk towards Meraxes before saying, “Ao sagon jurnegēre gevie tubī!” She placed her hand on Meraxes lowered snout before petting it, “It's going to be a long flight, but we're going to be nearer Balerion then. We have that to look forward to.”
Meraxes’ head perked up, before she laid down, ready for Rhaenys and Laena to mount her. “There’s just something else I must do and then we can leave,” Rhaenys said before turning back to the man.
“You are to keep this palace in good order, and I know you will, but I figured I should mention it. Can’t hurt can it?” she said with a smile.
“Of course I will, I’ll be going over the tables for a majority of the time, send a raven if it goes long, I will be rather lonely without both of my women here.”
Laena rolled her eyes at the statement, walking over to Meraxes and mounting her. Rhaenys’ smile intensified, “we’re a bit old for these jokes no? Not like I’d stop you from making them, but we are a bit old are we not?” As she spoke, Rhaenys pulled a vial from her belt and removed the stopper, before pouring the contents into the cup the man held.
Inside it was dreamwine, and the vial had contained poppy that had now mixed in with the dreamwine. “Any for you Laena?” Rhaenys asked, taking the cup in her own hand. Upon seeing the shaking head Rhaenys drank, and deep, before placing the cup back in the man’s hand. She leaned over and stood on her toes, planting a kiss on his lips, leaving him with a few last words, “take care of yourself. And no matter what, if I am dead you serve Aenar. He will need you.”
As the man nodded, Rhaenys walked to Meraxes and mounted her, sitting behind Laena. “A long day of travel and then we will be there. Aenar’s throne is within our grasp.”
“Sōvegon," she whispered as Meraxes stood, the power in her steps nearly shaking the ground below her, gaining speed before her wings struck the air. Once, twice, and they were airborne. The lurch as Meraxes found her stream of air pulled Rhaenys back, as Laena’s back touched her own chest. “Careful now, I’m the one that’s dreamdrunk, not you.”
Rhaenys pulled Laena’s hood to the side as the woman looked behind, Rhaenys pulling down the mask of her hood before planting her lips on Laena’s, her hands which held onto the reins of Meraxes wrapped themselves around the reins, before landing on Laena’s waist, pulling her in closer, and closer still as their lips locked. Their hoods were less secure but with little wind, but that did not much matter to the Queen, her mind slowly succumbing to the dreamwine and poppy mixture.
Her head swam more and more with each moment, before she let her lips separate from Laena’s, barely able to hold onto the reins she shoved them into her belt before managing, “Dārys tegorīr, Merakses,” as she drifted off to a gentle sleep.
As she came to, she could smell the difference in the air. The sun was no longer rising but almost gone, hidden by the horizon until it rose again the following day. Below she could see in the distance the candlelight of King's Landing, thousands of them lighting up the small spot on Blackwater Bay.
Here was where she, Aegon, and Visenya had first touched Westerosi soil to begin their conquest, leaving thousands dead and thousands of years of tradition dead in their wake. They had done what none had for hundreds of years, bend an entire people to their will purely by dragonfire. It was once again the Andals who faced the wrath of the Valyrians, bent to their servitude, though this time it was not slavery, that was a sentiment of a different world, they were quasi-equals now.
As Meraxes flew above the Red Keep, high in the air above the capital, Rhaenys leaned down closer to the head of her sister in arms.

“Ivestragī zirȳ gīmigon iksi kesīr!”

Searing white light along with a roar that woke any unlucky enough to have gone to bed early began above the city, Rhaenys making her presence known.
“That's sure to make you unpopular today,” Laena said as she watched the flame, her eyes closed due to the light.
Rhaenys’ own face was much different, a child-like smile shining from ear to ear. The white hot flames were bright even on the sunniest of days, pure moonlight on the darkest of night. “I don’t care, I have a cause again, they shall remember the old me or die for it. I may no longer be young, but there were three conquerors, and only one of us never forgot what that meant.”
“Tegun, Merakses,” Rhaenys uttered, pointing Meraxes in the direction of the Red Keep, a freshly built new castle for the Targaryen power to impress those who looked up at it. Atop Aegon’s Hill, they built a keep for all to admire. Atop Rhaenys’ Hill, they built a pit for the dragon who had come to conquer Westeros. Atop Visenya’s Hill, they built… a monument to false gods.
Meraxes’ claws gripped the red bricks of the Red Keep as she landed, a few falling down the hill. Rhaenys slid down her wings and waited for Laena to do the same, where Rhaenys waited holding her hand out so that she might grab it, the same as a knight might do with a lady. Beneath the mask of her hood, she smiled before looking at one of the guards, taking the mask and hood off, and letting Laena pull her hair out from the hood.
Rhaenys brushed past the guard as Meraxes leered at the man, she preferred lamb but crownlander would do just fine. As Rhaenys walked down the stairs descending from the walls, she looked to one of the captains, “it seems a few of the bricks off the wall came loose, you might want to look into that. We wouldn’t want the Red Keep to be vulnerable,” as a sinister smile appeared on her face.
“Laena, I’m a bit tired after all of that I believe, maybe I should find myself a seat,” she said, walking up to the throne room, the Iron Throne looming over them. She stood for a moment, looking at the metal monstrosity as images of the Field of Fire displayed themselves in her mind, a good day if still distasteful. The smell of burnt flesh was never quite as fun as seeing the swirling of flame on an open field, and yet one couldn’t have one without the other.
“Place a pillow on the throne, I’ve a sore arse after this travel, send a message that I will arrive at the hunt on the morrow,” Rhaenys let out to one of the servants in the throne room, desolate except for a few guards and servants.
As the man disappeared and reappeared, placing the pillow in its place, before bowing to Rhaenys, she shouted out, “LEAVE! All of you! I need a moment in the memory of my brother.”
As the sound of feet across the stone grew quieter Rhaenys approached the throne, Laena a few steps behind her, before looking up at the throne. She took each step carefully as she ascended, before taking her seat and looking out across the room.
“Come, join me, you’re tired as well after this entire day.”
Each sword was a man, and there were enough swords to make this monstrosity. What they had done would be remembered by the Westerosi for all time, regardless of the dynasty that sat at the top of them all. As Laena sat in her lap she cut her hand ever slightly, the blood disappearing into the creation, almost as if the throne had drunk it. Though she winced, Rhaenys did not notice, too lost in thought, her eyes fixated on a point and yet seeing nothing.
You gave me a son who would have been your heir, yet they took you from me. I may fill my bed with others and fill my belly with wine, but the only one who has ever filled my heart was you, she thought. A tear fell onto Laena’s dress as Rhaenys seemed to be in a world of her own.

Hi. I (24f) am finally coming to the realization my mom is not a good person. I should’ve faced the facts a long time ago but I kept holding on to the hope my mom would change. I am 4 months pregnant and already know I don’t want him to ever feel the way I have felt. I’m trying to distant myself but it’s hard for several reasons. 1) my sister doesn’t see any wrong in my mom. And if I go no contact I’m afraid I’ll never see my sister again. 2) my mom has slowly worked herself into my husbands family. She’s added the on Facebook and became close friends with his sister. And many other reasons I don’t know how to explain in one post. I don’t want to lose my sister as she is my very best friend and I’m scared if I go no contact she’ll still find ways in through my husband’s family.. but I know I can not raise my son in the fear and pain I grew up in. Never knowing why my mom was mad at me, when she was going to threaten suicide/ hurting us and herself, having to call paramedics to help her after oding, being told I’m worthless and was a mistake. I cannot do that to my kid.
If anybody has any advice I would appreciate it. Thank you

I'm literally new to this, and I don't know who to ask for clarification about it all, so I'll preface my questions with my back story.
I have been diagnosed ADHD, BPD, probably have autism (but the consulting psychiatrist refused to assess it), and most notably, a congenital heart condition called Wolff-Parkinson-White. I have a delta wave, and from what I've understood, a long Qt. This puts me at a contraindication to stimulants (on the surface). I have poor quality of life, and do not work. My husband is primary carer of our 16m old. I am on JS payments. My current GP is resisting assisting me with centrelink for capacity assessments, and med certs, resisting prescribing me other things, keeps pushing me into uncomfortable (and irrelevant) conversations that affect my mental health, and keep pushing me to work, when I keep getting fired because I'm take, take days of, have had other medical issues etc. So I'm really stuck.
I don't know how much of this is relevant, but the diagnosing psychiatrist prescribed Intuniv, and I was just reading up on nps.org.au about Guanfacine and got to the PBS section. It states that a contraindication to stimulants means it will be PBS, but if I consulted regularly with a psychiatrist, and it was decided to trial me on both intuniv and stimulants, would I lose PBS on one/ both? I literally can't afford to pay full cost for medication, it's not in the budget, and with the federal budget release, it turns out I'll be able to afford it even less. Does anyone have experience with Intuniv, PBS, then a stim/ both on PBS? Does anyone understand the PBS rules enough to explain what the I+stim prescription would look like, in regards to PBS, or using PBS on I, then switching over to a stim and getting that on PBS alone?
I really hope I'm within the rules here, but I don't have Facebook, so I can't go and ask these questions in those communities with less restrictions, and I have no idea whom to ask in the interim because the consulting psychiatrist is expensive to see again (and reviews indicate he's an ass), my GP is a goat (stubborn and set in his opinions), and I'm regional, so access to support is almost nil. I'm not looking for opinions on my situation. Just advice on where I can get answers, or experience with my possibly nuanced situation.
Please help, or point me in the direction to get help. I'm freaking lost, and I can't financially afford blunders.
Thank you ❤️

Get comfy, this will a long ride. I (41f) am the middle of three daughters, ‘Shannon’ (43) and ‘Carrie’ (27) and well mom, we’ll call her ‘Brenda’.
I consider myself the quintessential “middle child”, constantly forgotten, not taken seriously and outright ignored. I got my sister’s hand-me-downs growing up, and don’t dare I ask for anything and actually get it, meanwhile, Carrie was given everything. In high school, Shannon got a tailored dress for prom, I got one off the rack. Shannon got a brand new Focus, I got a 1990 Cougar. Years later, Shannon wanted a newer car, so mom upgraded her to an Explorer. When my car fell apart at the seams, I went out and purchased an Accord. I will admit, mom did co-sign for me because I was only 19, but I was given hell for her doing so.
Shannon dropped out of college after an earthquake hit the area, then she moved in with her boyfriend at the time. I was living at home with mom, working and going to college. My paychecks every two weeks were going to mom to take care of my car note and insurance, all the while mom was paying Shannon’s car note, insurance, giving her money for bills AND Shannon had one of mom’s credit cards “for emergencies”.
While I was working and in college, I was expected to help with Carrie, who was in elementary. I would drop whatever I was doing to pick her up from school, take her to tutoring, cook dinner and help with homework. Mom was an administrative assistant for a private firm, she worked 7am-7pm. One night leaving college, I was involved in a serious accident on the way home, my car was totaled. I eventually was able to get another car from my settlement money, this time I didn’t need a co-signer. Around this same time, I was dropped from college because my grades suffered being spread so thin. I continued working full time, still giving mom money for our bills.
I eventually made the decision to enlist in the Air Force, this decision caught my entire family off guard. Most of the comments I received didn’t surprise me, most thought I wouldn’t succeed. The ones that were supportive, congratulated my decision. I prepared myself to leave home; I made an agreement with mom I would send money for my car note, with the understanding that when the time comes, I will come back for it. Well, that time came and I was met with hostility. Mom decided she wasn’t going to give my car back, it was hers, she “was making the payments”. By this time, mom had moved to Vegas with Carrie, unfortunately developed a gambling problem and I felt helpless since I was so far away.
We’ll fast forward a bit, Shannon is now living in Tennessee. I was medically discharged from the Air Force and after talks with Shannon, I went to live with her. We both worked and shared the bills, I got to reconnect with our older sister from our father’s side (we’ll call her Veronica), everything seemed great. Until… Mom called saying that my car is about to get repossessed, that helpless feeling came back. I ask mom for the information for the finance company, reach out to them, made a payment to stop the repossession, then called her back to let her know she’s caught up. Months go by, Shannon comes home early from work, only to say she was fired for a physical altercation with a coworker. Shannon goes on to say, this is the perfect time to work on her music career. I began working double shifts to cover the bills, all while Shannon is going to the studio. Mom calls one night frantic and furious, the car was repossessed and she was on the bus going to work. This causes a huge blow up between the three of us, because mom and Shannon believe I called and had the car voluntarily repossessed (I did not). Shannon bursts into my room cursing/screaming over how I wronged mom, she grabs me by a leg and drags me out of our apartment and outside into the cold. Veronica picks me up, and I go to stay with her until I got my own place. Things begin to level out, forgive and forget and I start communicating with mom again.
After some time, I found out I was pregnant with my first child and make the decision to move to Vegas with mom. During this time I get to see first hand how badly her gambling habit truly is. I would watch her cash her checks, then immediately push money in a machine and loses it in minutes, this goes on for some time. I eventually have my son and months later start working. I save up to buy myself a car, as well as save up for his first birthday party. I was so excited, planning to go all out! That is until one day I get a call at work from my aunt who lived in our building, she’s noticed my mom coming and going frantically. I didn’t have a bank account at the time, and was keeping my money in a safe hidden in my room… well she found it! When I got home, my room was disheveled and money was gone, all but a few hundred. I took what was left, found a one bed one bath for my son and I and left mom’s apartment.
Enough back story! I’ll bring you to the present! We’re now living in Vegas; I purchased a home in 2015, Carrie moved to Arizona for college, mom, Shannon, Shannon’s 3rd baby daddy (Paul) and 4 kids had a rental home across town. Last summer, they all get evicted. Yes, it was for nonpayment, yes they ALL were gamblers. I allow everyone but Paul to come stay with me, this was not well received. Shannon eventually leaves with her kids, to stay with our cousin Candace, who allowed Paul to be there too. Mom eventually is sent to live with Carrie, because we kept bumping heads. I’ll save you the guess work, Candace gets tired of them being there (rent free) and tells them to leave. Shannon blames ME for Candace putting them out, and gives me an ear full on Mother’s Day. Shannon tells me I’m a heartless b***h, she wishes we weren’t related and karma will eat me alive. I called mom to tell her what has transpired, her reaction was “why can’t we all just get along”. I lose it! She was so flippant and dismissive! No comment about Shannon living rent free in someone else’s home, or the uncalled for and hurtful words to me. So I told mom I needed some space and time, I won’t reach out to her and please don’t reach out to me, then I ended the call.
AITAH?

Since it's all but confirmed that Godzilla 3 is going to be coming out, probably the biggest question swirling around the community is who Godzilla's next opponent will be. The MV has fanned out in many different directions, getting away from the mythical aspect of the titans displayed in KOTM and leaning more into hard sci-fi with the Wingard installments. I think because of this, Hedorah meets the requirements of every box needed to be checked to fulfill the role as next MV villain. Here's why.
1) Getting away from the Hollow-Earth
The first thing we need to have is an understanding of the MV villains of the past. There is a common denominator among a lot of them.
MUTOs (ancient threat from Hollow Earth)
Skullcrawlers (hidden threat from SI)
Ghidorah (ancient threat from space but was on Earth already)
MechaGodzilla (man-made)
Skar King (ancient threat from Hollow Earth)
Shimo (ancient threat from Hollow Earth)
The Hollow Earth, as a concept, lends itself to an infinite amount of "ancient" or "undiscovered" titans to be used for upcoming villains. Especially with the line regarding "we've only explored 5% of the hollow earth" from GxK. Even Ghidorah, who did originate from space, was yet another "ancient threat" found in cave paintings as they were on the Earth previously. It's very clear that due to the abundance of this trope in the MV, we need to move away from ancient and buried threats and introduce a villain that Godzilla has never seen before. This will give Godzilla a chance to undergo character development, as being ridiculously old and the alpha titan, we haven't really seen him fight anything he doesn't already know almost everything about. He knew about the MUTOs, he knew about Ghidorah, he sealed away Skar and the ancient apes, fought a whole war against Kongs, and there are cave paintings of him fighting Shimo already. We NEED an alien threat to not only get away from the Hollow Earth, but to also show the possibility of more growth and adaptation for this Godzilla, from both a character and power standpoint as well.
Plus, it's pretty clear that the Hollow Earth is going to be Kong's domain moving forward, so having Godzlla fight ANOTHER "undiscovered" threat from there makes no sense with the universe they're setting up.
2) But why Hedorah?
Now that we've established the need for our villain to be alien in origin, most people would probably rather see SpaceGodzilla or Gigan if given the option. I'm going to get to why they shouldn't be in contention later, but let's talk about what Hedorah is and what he represents as a perfect antithesis of Legendary Godzilla.
Hedorah is a being of pure pollution, of toxic gas and sulfur. It's questionable as to whether he even contains the capacity for pure malice, as all of his fights in his own movie are technically self-defense. The issue is that his very existence, what he breathes out and what he thrives on, is a danger to all life on this planet. He's not an evil figure in the Destoroyah/SpaceGodzilla sense, he is just fighting to survive like any stray organism would. It's just that his survival is a death sentence for everyone else. This is the first point in his favor as to why he makes sense to me. He is a very "grounded" creature for a walking pollution monster. Gigan and SpaceGodzilla have distinct designs, origins, and personalities which, even after the bombastic personality shown by Skar King (who is still an ape very closely tied to humans) would be a very hard sell to modern western audiences. A giant chicken cyborg assassin from space? A flying space-faring version of Godzilla? Even King Ghidorah, who was represented as a highly intelligent alien seeking to dominate and destroy, is a far easier sell than either of those two. Especially with Wingard supposedly wanting to make the series gritty again, I think Hedorah just works because he is an invasive organism and nothing more. He just happens to be VERY dangerous
The other big reason he works is a narrative one: he is the absolute antithesis and foil to Godzilla and every other titan. The titans in the monsterverse are regarded as the guardians of nature, who heal habitats with their very presence and radiation and some who fight with their lives to preserve the balance of nature and their ecosystems. Hedorah is the worst possible thing these titans could encounter. A pure destroyer, not just of cities and towns, but of the very environment itself which they cherish so much. A death sentence for the reason for being for every titan. This would also help center Godzilla back into his role as the adjudicator of the will of nature. The last 2 films have shown Godzilla exclusively in "alpha titan" mode, slaying and fighting titans nonstop to retain his throne and even causing small debates among the fandom as to whether or not he's the good guy anymore. Hedorah as a foil would firmly center Godzilla's character back to where we started him as in the MonsterVerse, with him being a deity-like protector of ecosystems and nature itself, which can indeed also include humans. I'm sorry, but, back to our other aliens, I don't think that him defending earth from a Gigan or SpaceG invasion as earth's "alpha" again really hits these hard narrative beats to fix the parts of Godzilla's character that Wingard has discarded.
It's also no secret that Yoshimitsu Banno, the creator of Hedorah and his biggest fan, is almost the sole reason that the Godzilla trademark was brought back to America and why the MonsterVerse even exists. You can look it up if you're unfamiliar, but I think it would be necessary and emotional tribute to the late, great, Banno to see his feature monster, literally the reason the trademark is even here, to be brought to life by the MonsterVerse
3) The cool factor
Hedorah is also just cool as fuck. Multiple forms, nigh-unkillable, some truly insane abilities, all of this being even especially able to be brought to life vividly with new CGI technology. We could see some truly insane, even eldritch-looking forms for Hedorah with some good creativity behind it. It would also make for gnarly moments and good fights, as seeing Godzilla get his skin burned down to bone (like he did in the Showa era) would be rad as fuck for Legendary Goji, and knowing that pure brute force just doesn't work against Hedorah opens up so many avenues for human cooperation, and more development for Godzilla as we finally see how he reacts and analyzes a situation that he can't just beat or breath his why out of.
4) The negatives
Probably the two biggest negatives for this happening are a) having to buy the rights from Toho and b) Hedorah has low name recognition outside of Kaiju fans.
While I can't argue with the first one really, I will say that they still decided to pay up for Mothra at the last minute, meaning it might not be too much of an issue for them. I also don't think that the low name recog would be too bad. Godzilla is a VERY HOT IP at the moment, with Minus One and New Empire being smash hits financially, I think that the next solo Godzilla movie would put tons of butts in seats no matter what. But that's an opinion and not based on too much fact, so you're free to disagree. It's not like SpaceGodzilla and Gigan are that much more well-known to "casuals" than Hedorah. I would say that they managed to fill seats with entirely new monsters in Shimo and Skar, but Kong also played a role.
5) That's it
I mainly had this on my mind at work and saved my thoughts for later. Let me know if you agree or disagree. I am "biased" as a big fan of Hedorah, true.
But I think it all lines up. Being from space, being anti-nature by definition, being an incredibly powerful threat, and its status as a tribute to Banno, I think it just works!

Note: You've got questions? I've got answers: An Introduction To The Book That Is Me : ASMRScriptHaven (reddit.com)
Note: All my other stuff: Masterlist for edgiscript : ASMRScriptHaven (reddit.com)
Part 2: [FF4M] Mafia Dog - Part 2 of 7 [Listener Recovery - Physical Therapy] [Naming One Speaker Mommy] [Getting The Listener To Blush] [Naming Listener Puppy] : ASMRScriptHaven (reddit.com)
Note: I said in part 1 that I don't expect anyone to do this series. Partly because of the fact that there are 2 speakers throughout. But partly because of chapters like this with explosions or other non-conducive-to-ASMR sounds. If you decide to do this series, it might help to keep the sfx muffled by treating the explosion as being pretty far away.

Part 3

(General car sounds as Carissa is driving with Ronnie.)
Carissa: Ronnie, what’s the ETA on those new firearms?
(Pause.)
Good. I want them prepped and ready by tomorrow morning. What about the ammunition?
(Pause.)
Don’t worry about it. It’s only a small hiccup. I’ll get Kent to push it through channels. Fortunately, we haven’t had any dustups or problems in a while so we still have plenty on hand if something goes wrong, but I want everyone training on the new weapons ASAP, so we’ll use much of our ammo pretty quickly.
(Pause.)
Yes, I said everyone.
(Pause.)
Of course, not Puppy. You know what I meant.
(Pause.)
What was that? Did you just say, “Yes, Mommy?”
(Pause.)
Ok, Ronnie, right or left?
(Pause.)
You heard me. Right or left? I want to know which testicle you’re ok with losing the next time you call me that.
(Pause.)
That’s what I thought. There’s the gym where Jane is working out with Puppy. Just pull up next to Jane’s car.
(Car comes to a stop.)
Stay in the car.
(Car door opens then closes.)
Ronnie, what did I tell you?
(Pause.)
I don’t care if you want to stretch your legs. I don’t feel like dealing with you hassling Puppy right now.
(Pause.)
Fine, you can come in, but play nice.
(Carissa and Ronnie enter the gym. Possible general gymnasium sounds such as weight-lifting equipment being used.)
There they are, at one of the punching bags.
Jane: (From a short distance.) Puppy, look. It’s Mom.
Carissa: Hey there, guys. How goes the… WHOA!
Jane: (Amused.) Wow. That is quite the hug.
Carissa: (Laughs.) Yeah, Puppy. It has been a few days. I’ve missed you too. How have your workouts with Jane been coming?
(Pause.)
That’s great to hear. You’re still my good boy, after all.
Jane: Puppy’s doing phenomenally. He’s already benching over two hundred.
(Pause.)
Yeah, yeah, Ronnie, we all know how much you can lift.
(Pause.)
Shut the hell up, Ronnie.
(Pause.)
Well, maybe if we starved and beat you daily for six months, you wouldn’t be so…
Carissa: Jane! Stop.
Jane: Asshole.
Carissa: Jane! Let it go.
(Pause.)
Ronnie, she’s right. Shut the hell up. Jane, I need to speak with you.
Jane: Can it wait? I was just about to run Puppy around the track to finish our session.
Carissa: It’s important. Puppy, I’m sorry. Do you mind circling the track on your own for a few minutes?
(Pause.)
What? Ronnie? You’ll run with him?
(Seriously, as if she’s really telling him to behave.) Are you sure?
(Pause.)
Well, it’s ok with me if it’s ok with Puppy.
Jane: Oh, Puppy would love that. Go ahead, boy. Go with Ronnie. Show him what you’ve got.
(Puppy and Ronnie walk away.)
Jane: Ok, Carissa, they’re gone. What’s up?
Carissa: Jane, how are you and Puppy doing?
Jane: Fantastic. He’s really come a long way. I think we just need to work on his endurance before…
Carissa: No, no, no, Jane. What I mean is how are you two doing… together? You and Puppy? Any… shall we say, interests there?
Jane: Carissa?
Carissa: Come on, Jane. Don’t “Carissa” me. I know you think he’s cute and I’ve seen the smiles he gives you as well. Have you two been… playing any one-on-one games.
Jane: I don’t think that’s any of your business.
Carissa: Typically, I’d agree. But come on, Jane, you understand the nature of our business and our organization. The longer he stays with us, the greater a liability he is.
Jane: Yeah, I know. But…
Carissa: No, buts. Kent wanted him gone already. Francine knows him and knows she can get what she wants out of him. The longer he’s with us, the more dangerous he is to us.
Jane: Damn, Carissa. I thought you had a heart.
Carissa: You know I love Puppy to death, but at some point we both know we’re going to have to let him go. Hanging on to him for too long puts him at risk too. You know that.
And the longer we keep him around the more difficult it will be on him when we do finally have to say goodbye. We need to set him up with someone or some people who will care for him and watch over him. We can still visit from time to time, but getting him away from us will protect the poor guy.
And… I couldn’t live with myself if he ever got hurt again.
Jane: Oh. Sorry for doubting you, Carissa. Boy, you really are his mom, aren’t you?
Carissa: It’s going to be tough to say goodbye, but I do want what’s best for Puppy.
Jane: Yeah, I know. But…
Carissa: But what? Jane? What are you thinking? What’s with that devilish look in your eye?
Jane: Carissa, what if Puppy stayed with us? For good. As a permanent member of our organization?
Carissa: Jane…
Jane: I know, I know, but hear me out. Everybody in the group loves him and he loves us. He’s loyal to a fault. You know as well as I do that he’d never betray us or give any of us up.
Carissa: If Francine got ahold of him again…
Jane: First of all, never gonna happen. We won’t let it happen. I won’t let it happen.
Second of all, in a worst-case scenario where it did, I honestly don’t think Puppy would give us up for anything.
Carissa: But you know what we do. Ok, let’s say I agree and he wouldn’t give us up. He’d still be dead or worse. We’d be putting him at risk if we kept him with us.
Jane: Yes, we would, but we’re all at risk. We chose to be here. What if Puppy chose too.
Carissa: You’ve already talked about this with him, haven’t you?
Jane: I’ve never given him any specifics. You know I would never do that, Carissa. But, yes, Puppy actually brought it up first. Carissa, he really wants to stay with us. He really does see you as his mom, and he loves you for that.
Carissa: And what does he see you as?
Jane: Oh… well… um…
Carissa: More importantly, how do you feel about him.
Jane: I… I don’t know. I mean, he is super cute, and he’s adorably sweet. And I admit it, I’ve always had a thing for the guy who needs help. I guess… yeah, I kind of like him. I mean, come on, what’s not to like? He’s just a super good guy.
Carissa: Jane, he’s damaged. Are you sure you’re not just feeling sorry for him.
Jane: Maybe, sure. But who’s not damaged? And I’m not saying I want to get married tomorrow. I’m just saying, that… yeah, maybe it is a relationship I want to consider.
Carissa: What about the physical aspect of what we do? We’d be asking a lot of Puppy.
Jane: Oh, my God, Carissa. He can more than handle it. Watch. I’ve been waiting for this.
Carissa: Watch what.
Jane: Look. Ronnie’s been jogging around the track with Puppy, but, as I knew he would, Ronnie’s been slowly picking up the pace. I knew Ronnie’s arrogance would get the better of him. He’s trying to show Puppy up. But watch.
(Pause.)
Carissa: Puppy’s kicking his ass.
Jane: Right? And he’s not at a hundred percent yet. I’m telling you, once Puppy’s at full strength, he could…
(Interrupted by a small explosion and a crash nearby.)
Carissa: What the? Puppy? Ronnie? Damn it! I don’t see either of them in the smoke.
Jane: I think the explosion caused part of that wall to collapse. Puppy was ahead of it when it happened, but Ronnie… Oh my God. Ronnie is trapped underneath the rubble.
Carissa: The ceiling’s losing its integrity. Puppy, there you are. Come here. Get away from the wreckage.
Jane: Puppy! No! What are you doing? Don’t run towards it. The ceiling’s about to fall.
Carissa: Look. He’s lifting that piece of cement so Ronnie can get out.
(Sound of more crumbling.)
Carissa: Oh, thank God. They both made it out.
Puppy, come here. Let me hold you. Good boy. Yes, you’re my brave good boy. You saved Ronnie’s life. That was amazing.
Jane: Ronnie’s gonna be ok. Maybe a concussion, but no wounds I can see.
Carissa: Damn it. This has got to be Francine. It was a targeted attack. Only question is was she after Ronnie, or Puppy?
Jane: You think Puppy might have some information Francine’s afraid of?
Carissa: I don’t know, but it’s worth looking into.
Jane: I’m gonna get Ronnie back to Suzanne. You’ll be ok, Ronnie. Just got the wind knocked out of you.
(Pause.)
What’s that?
(Pause.)
Puppy, Ronnie… is saying thank you for saving his life.
Carissa: What’s that, Puppy?
(Pause.)
Yes, you can go with them and make sure Ronnie’s ok. You be his guard dog. Ok?
(Pause.)
Good boy, Puppy. Jane, you’ve got them both. I’ll stay here and make sure no one else was hurt. Maybe I can find out something more about the blast.
Jane: Stay safe, Carissa.
Carissa: You too. Now go.
(Pause.)
Ok, bomb, talk to me. Show me what you’ve got.
Part 4 coming.

My parents are both in their late 70s and live in England with my brother (35M). I (34F) live in a somewhat remote part of Canada with my husband (33M) and toddler (1M).
We have lived in Canada for 8 years and in that time my parents have never visited, citing their poor health and not being willing to find someone to look after their dog.
My husband and I met in Canada and he met them for the first time when I was pregnant in 2022, we flew there and stayed with them for about a week. It wasn't a great visit.
I would consider my parents and brother long time alcoholics, as they drink every day to excess and go to bed drunk. It really upsets me to see them drunk and their conversation is often discriminatory or racist in some way.
My husband finds this extremely disturbing, of course. I am also very shocked by it as I don't remember them behaving like this before I moved to Canada. They complain about immigration, 'illegals', and people abusing the benefits system. I recently found out that they are apart of some hate groups on Facebook.
They do not seem to be aware at all that their views are racist, hurtful, and wrong. When we visited, my husband was not able to sit through a meal without having to leave the conversation. I'm surprised we stayed as long as we did, he's a good husband.
Now that we have a baby I seriously have to think about my relationship with my family. I do not want to expose him to their views or drunk behaviour. I don't want them holding him after they've had a drink.
They want us to visit to they can meet their grandson and have even offered to pay for our flights, which is very generous. My husband is very against the idea, and rightly so. I feel very conflicted as I do love my parents and they want them to have a relationship with their grandson but not if they behave the way they did on our last visit.
We have talked about having an intervention where we set the rules of the visit. No alcohol or racist talk otherwise we will just get up and leave. But I don't trust them not to jokingly say something to try and call our bluff and respect our wishes, especially my brother.
TL;DR: My parents often have racist and discriminatory conversations. They have offered to pay for us to fly from Canada and visit them in England so they can meet their grandson. How can myself, my baby and my husband have a positive relationship with my parents when they go against all of the ethical values we hold so closely?
Any comments are greatly appreciated, thank you.

My living situation is something equivocal to a telenovela. I live with my ex, and two other roommates. One of them is MIA because I called her out on not showering for WEEKS on end, making a mess everywhere, making the house smell bad, sleeping on the couch and making that also reek of BO. She has left dirty underwear on the couch and the list goes on, but thankfully she is gone.
My ex is now my best friend and we get along really well now. I am seeing someone else and he is totally cool with it - they get along really well and it’s really cool.
My MAIN issue for this post is this roommate who is a COMPLETE thorn in my side. My ex and I are both at Witt’s end with him. He lies about EVERYTHING. He lies about things that don’t matter at all. He lies so often that they don’t match up with the lies he has told other people. He is always about himself and is beyond selfish. His cat needed surgery and the first thing he did when he walked into the pet ER after seeing the initial quote was “I cannot afford that, let’s take him and go home” this was after hours of me literally nurturing this poor kitten as much as I could. The veterinary staff was explaining to him all of the financial options and that there are resources out there to help cover costs. He kept cutting the staff off with his nonsense. Eventually my ex and I had to convince him to fill out an application for discounted services. The application was estimated to take about 45 minutes and all he did the entire time was sigh and complain about how “hard it was” and “he is stressed” which was beyond irritating. Moreover, the kitten got surgery and is doing very well now! I ended up doing most of the medication administration and aftercare. Which I only did because it was an animal in need and I am not a monster.
His sister got a major surgery - he didn’t check in on her. He did, however, call her and ask for a ride the day after her procedure. Their brother flew in from across the country to assist in the care of their sister and he hadn’t made an effort to see him for over a month.
He eats all the food. Literally all of it. Anything that I get for food I have to hide in my room because otherwise he’ll get too stoned and eat it all. He also expects me or another roommate to cook for him. He doesn’t directly say it, but insinuates it with his words.
He has sexually assaulted myself and another roommate while he was extremely intoxicated and claims to have no recollection of it. He is very creepy with girls and says things that are very disturbing. He says borderline homophobic, racist and misogynistic comments regularly. I also am starting to believe that he may be a bit of a pædophile with some of his comments about the age of consent being lowered.
He thinks he has his family to support him.
I have been in contact with his siblings and mother. Yes, I am his roommate and I acquired the numbers of his family from them. They reached out to me and provided me their information when we first moved in together - which I should have seen that red flag immediately. He has sexually assaulted his sister’s partner in front of the entire family because he was too drunk with the premise of “you really want a man and I look like my sister, so you want me” so, clearly he cannot stay with them. His brother has had it with him and loves him from a distance - so to speak. Their mother moved into a 55+ community to ensure that he can’t stay with her. She is a mom and well, loves her son, but is also fed up. He has done some VERY questionable acts in the past. Things including taking medication from seniors in a senior living facility and selling them / taking them to get high, drinking and driving regularly - to the point where he got in a car accident (which the story about that changed like 5x as well) without car insurance and had to pay for it all out of pocket just to get drunk a few days after getting his car repaired and drove home. He has also struggled with addiction most of his life. Normally I would be understanding of that, however, he takes no accountability nor does he even think that anything is wrong - he’ll acknowledge his addictions, but sees nothing wrong with it. He can’t deal with life sober at all.
He lies about everything. It’s so often that it’s hard to tell reality from fable. We try and find nice things about him, but honestly with how consistently he lies and does questionable acts it is very difficult to oversee all of that.
I could go on and on about how this guy lives and drives me up a wall.
Our lease is up in a few months. I am very much so aware of the fact that he has nowhere to go. OH! He also got an eviction notice from a previous landlord shortly after we got approved for our current apartment. That basically solidifies the fact that he has nowhere to go.
I need roommates to fill the spaces. He also has kittens that I am actually fearful for their future care because of his blatant negligence for life. He makes money to pay rent, but is an absolute nightmare.
I am in a pickle.
SOS lol 🤦🏼‍♂️

All names have been changed to protect everyone’s info. When this happened I was 21.
Long one so buckle up! So I (21f at the time) met this girl we’ll call Amy. I met Amy volunteering at a library where she just ordered people on what to do, despite only being a volunteer herself, not a librarian. Anyway… only after 7 months of knowing her she dates this guy, (we’ll call him Ben) and gets engaged within two months because she was pregnant. I kid you not, she married this guy 3 months after meeting him. I thought that was a questionable choice, but was not confrontational.
When my then fiancé and I went on a double date with Amy and Ben, Ben was nice. My fiancé loved hanging out with him due to similarities in hobbies. After dinner in bed, my fiancé is on his computer and trying to add Ben on Facebook. After searching his name up and trying nicknames and full names, we find a FRICKIN ARTICLE about how this dude slly a*ted women. I was shocked and sent the link to my Amy, worried for her. She replies with “Don’t worry, I know! He’s a changed man!! I can’t have my baby with no daddy!” Literally that, with some other stuff. Keep in mind he was only charged 2 years ago with barely any punishment. (It didn’t say exactly on the article) I, decided to leave it at that but told Amy that if she needs me, she can text or call anytime and I can help.
Fast forward to when Amy becomes a bridezilla…
Amy asks me to be her MOH! Not a BM, (not baby mamas auntie charlotte 🤭) a MOH!! And my fiancé was asked to be a best man. I accepted because Amy and I were pretty close. As soon as I accept, Amy clicks a switch. She informed me as a MOH I should be paying for the catering, BM dresses, and HER dress. As well as the Air BNB for a resort area in Hawaii! I told her that I would be willing to pay for catering and the BM dress, as well as mine (my fiancé and I were pretty well off, he said it would fine to do so.) just the total of those things would have been almost 3,000 dollars. (1,500 for dresses and 1,500 for food) she tells me that she needs help because she’s pregnant and can’t work. Amy was 2 months pregnant and worked part time at a desk. I tell her I’m sorry, but 10k quite a bit. She huffs and puffs but gets over it.
ONE DAY before the wedding we are rehearsing. It’s going well, until Amy tells me I need to change the menu for food and the BM dresses. I was shocked and asked why to which she said the menu we had now was not trendy enough and she liked a new color for the dresses. I inform her that I can’t make that happen with adjustments with the dresses and we already had the food in a freezer. Amy gets LIVID. Saying how she’s done soo much for me by being my friend and she can’t afford to change the menu. Like okay then don’t do it girl. Her fiancé took her home. I got a text from her saying how she sooo pregnant (as in 2-3 months) and she just gets cranky sometimes. More like delusional (not even delulu).
Day of the wedding comes and I see the cream white BM dresses an olive/baby poop green.I was shocked and asked Amy what happened. She said she dyed them the color she wanted them! I was surprised but didn’t bother her about it because it was her wedding. 20 minutes later, she asks if I can do her and her BMs makeup. I asked where the makeup artist was and she said she cancelled them to save herself some money. I told her I don’t do very good make up and I only do simple make up and she’s like oh OK sure do it good though. So I do 5 full faces of makeup including mine. By the time that’s done I’m exhausted mentally and we have 2 hours until the ceremony. I go to find Amy’s dress and can’t so I ask her where it is. This MF tells me I was to buy it!! I tell her I bought mine and the BMs dresses. Amy starts freaking out and lashing out on me. I tell her to calm down and I can get a white party dress if mine (looks like it could be for a wedding) and it will still look great in her. She goes “Ooh nice I don’t have to charge anyone for me renting a dress” and I’m like gurl.
Ceremony comes without too much trouble… until.
I have this teenage cousin (15-16f) of Amy who tells me Ben has been trying to get him and her alone. This poor girl we’ll call Carla was having a panic attack so my fiancé (he’s a psychologist) calms her down quickly and has her explain the situation to Amy hoping Amy will know what to do. What does Amy decide to do? To tell Carla she is a liar and Ben is too perfect to want a DISGUSTING LITTLE GIRL LIKE HER. This is when I had enough and tell Amy that that was horrible of her and I will be leaving with Carla and her accompanying people. Amy scoffs at me and just goes back to the crowd to look like the perfect wife and person in front of everyone.
I eventually was able to completely cut off ties with Amy and her family. Ben is now in jail or was and Amy now has a drug addiction (probably from the help of Ben) with her parents raising her kid to keep him safe.
That is my tea. (Sorry it’s so long and if there are spelling mistakes)

I really don’t know why I’m writing this. Part of me wants to be told I’m overreacting I guess
My childhood and 20s were rough, but I have managed to claw my way to some kind of normal life. After burning out and getting fired from a hospitality job, I decided to make a career change, take a 2 years off and pursue my masters - finishing at the height of Covid.
I did really well in my program, enjoyed the research, and was encouraged to continue for a doctorate thru the same school that was only supposed to add an extra 2 years to my studies. I was struggling to find a job and dealing with some family issues back home so I thought it was a great idea. I figured I would try to find a full time job in my field in the meantime and could always finish my doctorate later in life if needed. The summer before I started, I started dating my bf at this time.
Unfortunately, due to some setbacks with my school (not on my part ) things are taking longer than expected to finish the program. I’m okay with this, despite everything, I enjoy my work and feel like I’m finally thriving in life. At the beginning of my program I was working a somewhat full time job unrelated to my field and found it difficult to manage everything. I decided instead to pursue internships that allowed for flexibility in my studying, would bring in some finances as needed while helping me gain needed experience in the field. I have been fully transparent with him about everything and he has repeatedly said he was supportive of my decisions. Since then, I have been surviving financially on a combo of student loans (taking out the bare minimum required to pay for school + little more to help cover emergencies), internship paychecks, and a meager stipend (good for 2 years and is enough to cover my portion of rent).
My boyfriend however, finds himself constantly getting worked up every so often over how my life is going. We find ourselves having the same argument every few weeks and I’m exhausted trying to navigate things with him. He feels that my school is stringing me along for whatever reason and they’ll only push my expected graduation further down the road. (He’s right that they are annoying at times but things like my advisor’s spouse suddenly dying can’t be helped). We are both in our early 30s but he seems to feel that I am wasting my time doing my studies and internships. I just completed an internship at a very prestigious organization and returned to finish up what I hope will be the last year of my doctorate. At the same time I started this internship, I received another internship offer at another prestigious organization that was due to start when the first one ended. However, I’m unable to start until they finish a working clearance for me that was delayed due to a mix up in my paper work. The offer is still on the table and they are flexible with my start date once I receive my clearance. I took this as a sign to focus on school and try to get as much done as possible before this new internship starts and hopefully be on my way to graduation and a new job by the end of the year.
In the meantime, I’ve been applying for full time positions, acting as if this internship won’t work out, but I’ve been picky in the positions I’m applying to for my own sanity and because this internship is literally my dream position and I’m remaining optimistic that things will fall into place and they’ll keep me on. I’m still being realistic and planning for every possible outcome!
My boyfriend finds himself constantly getting worked up over this. He works a well paying full time job and despite me not making as much as him, we have been able to enjoy ourselves pretty well over the two years or so vacation and gift wise. We split everything 50/50, with myself (I feel) contributing more to household expenses because I am home more and want to ensure things are nice and well taken care of. I’ve never complained because I really don’t care, in the end, I’m able to save money because we live together and I would be spending the same amount on everything even if I was single. I’m also extremely cautious with my finances and make sure to budget well so that I can afford all my necessities/bills, add some money to my savings, and have a little extra left over to enjoy life when I can. I have only mentioned once how I wish we could contribute proportionally based on our “incomes” or at least he would be willing to accommodate when we go out to eat or whatever. (he really enjoys food and will try everything on the menu. I mentioned it’s difficult for me to pay sometimes because I don’t always budget that high for restaurant outings.) This of course started a huge argument and him nearly accusing me of asking him to pay entirely for my expenses at all times… I felt like I was losing my mind.
I understand it’s frustrating for him to be living a little bit less well off than he expects. He wants a bigger apartment and to start a family. I tell him I’m not holding him back from having these things. Im not holding him hostage, my life will not fall apart if we break up. It will be difficult of course but I can always return back to my family until I get back on my feet. I have told him I’m more than willing to find a part time job if it makes him feel better, but he has repeatedly told me I need to focus on my career. But! For whatever reason, he doesn’t see internships as work… which is confusing and! He is adamant that he won’t support me unless we’re married, but he feels he can’t marry me until I’m more “stable”. That’s fine with me, I understand from his perspective he’s got some family issues and finds himself supporting his mom in her older age. I honestly think he has a fear I’ll end up like his mother.
I love him deeply but this is my life right now and it’s not like I don’t want these things too. I do, I think about them daily and it pushes me to keep working even when things feel impossible. I told him us living together was great because I’m able to save money and get a head start on life before my new career takes off. But he feels like I’m not taking life seriously and that one day I’m just gonna decide to drop out and either (a) do nothing with my life and expect him to pay for everything or (b) change my mind about my career “again” and keep going to school. It almost feels like he doesn’t believe I’m in school for good reason. I could NEVER bring myself to do either of those things, I’ve struggled enough and I’ve watched women in my family rely on men and I REFUSE to let that happen to me. In his culture it’s unheard of to change your career field and it’s even weirder that someone in their 30s is doing internships. Pursuing a PhD is also weird to him because in his field it’s only if you want to become a professor, in my field, academia is an option but also a lot of jobs often require a PhD! For the most part it’s not crazy for people in my field to have done multiple internships before their first job.
Explaining this every month is tiring and our argument today I found myself speechless for the first time. I’m so done fighting with him about this and I want to leave but I just don’t want to feel like I’m overreacting in what is probably just a season in our relationship. I also feel it’s unfair that I would have to uproot my entire life if we were to break up. He is incredibly loving and supportive otherwise. During our arguments it’s like he comes back to his senses halfway thru and suddenly realizes he was being unfair and we make up and go back to normal. It’s just these random bouts were he gets too in his head and starts overthinking and it’s hard to bring him back to where we were before in that moment.
I feel like I’m going crazy and talking to a brick wall when we get into our arguments. And now that I’ve typed everything out I know I probably sound crazy. If I were a friend of mine I would’ve told me to dump him a long time ago.

I would like to start off by saying yes, I am aware I am an idiot a lot of the time, but this has to be one of the stupidest things I've done. Recently, Childish Gambino released his new album, and with it, he released his upcoming world tour. Me (17M) and my (17F) girlfriend love Childish Gambino, so we were both super excited about this upcoming news. However, reality set in that we both don't really have the money for it, so we were a bit disappointed, or at least I pretended to be. Little did she know I have a secret money stash, specifically made for moments like these when one of my favorite artists may make a surprise visit to my city. So I signed up for the presale and listened to his music to improve my chances, and the night before the presale went live, I was able to get the link. This was great. I had roughly 300 dollars that I could use to get both of us some seats. The problem was that the presale went live during one of my classes. My school is pretty strict when it comes to phone use, so I was risking getting into some big shit at the school if I got caught, especially because I am very active in the school and am well known by staff on a first name basis.
To get around getting in trouble in school, I told my mom that it was saved on her computer with the link and password to the website so she would be able to get in and buy them for me in case I couldn't during class. GREAT, all set and done, ready to rock and roll. BTW, Childish Gambino I love you, but respectfully, WHY MAKE PRESALE ON A RANDOM WENSDAY AT 12 PM? Anyways, I got to school and did my normal school day stuff. When 11:55 rolled around, I went to the website on my computer and logged in. In the moment, I realized I could email my mom instead of texting her. So I used that to ask if she also got in and give me a heads-up about how much the tickets were. She was slow at responding, which is understandable given the circumstances. She let me know she was able to grab two tickets for $295, and she was about to pay but I told her I just got in, so I'd do it.
I got in and realized I had a timer on my screen. They were hurrying me to make a selection. I clicked and clicked and sanged the tickets for 99 bucks each, not bad. It was after I paid that my girl friend asked me what was wrong, as she saw the sheer look of horror on my face.
She looked at my screen, which I had kind of hidden from her, but she was able to take a peek while I was in this dark space. I had bought tickets to OAKLAHOMA.
My dear redditors, just to let you know, I DO NOT LIVE ANYWHERE NEAR FUCKING OAKLAHOMA.
So my girlfriend sees this, and she's stunned because she realized this was supposed to be her present because the concert is like 2 days later, but she also sees I bought the wrong tickets, so she isn't mad at me, but she's sad because: 1. I bought the wrong tickets, wasting money; 2. she messed up her birthday gift; 3. she saw I was sad and empathized with me. I definitely thought I should have just let my mom buy the tickets instead of wanting to pick them out and get them myself. So yeah, I just wasted 255 bucks. I'm trying to resell them and only lose 75, but still.
TL;DR: I wanted presale tickets for childish gambino of my girlfriend's birthday, and I bought tickets for the wrong music venue running her birthday present and me for the whole 255 bucks.

When I say super people, I don’t mean, “this guy is strong enough to lift a car or can run 100mph.” I mean like Professor X, Atom Eve from Invincible, Firestarter from Stephen king novel, Gene Gray, Beast, Martian Manhunter… etc. Could society accept actual super people? In real life we’re prejudice, racially biased, highly opinionated, susceptible to misinformation/disinformation, we support politicians and policies that goes against our best interests because of fear, ignorance and misguided sense of right and wrong. Hell, slavery still exists in certain parts of the world, cures and life changing technologies and treatments are being kept hidden because money and power; there’s certain places in the world where you don’t want to be a woman and a person can still be racially profiled and denied basic civil liberties.
My point is, if we still live in this type of world, how the hell are we going to be able to accept super people? Interracial dating and marriage is still a big deal with a lot of families. Can you imagine somebody’s daughter bringing home The Beast from X-men. For those who don’t know, Beast looks like a big blue furry werewolf… in glasses.
Don’t get me started with Professor X. He can control minds. He can make a bodybuilder believe they’ve become a 10 year old school girl or he can just turn your brain off? In the comics, Prof X is a great person and humanitarian, but the fear mongering and misinformation/disinformation would eat him alive in the real world. And all it takes is one bad super person or one good person having a really bad day to ruin it for the whole.
In the movies and tv shows, the writers don’t delve into this powerful themes and conflicts. I’m curious, can we really as a society ever accept super people? I want to believe. All I see is it devolving into a war