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2024.05.29 04:49 blurryturtle 2024 Roland Garros Men's Round Two Wednesday Matches
To get this up early, I’m splitting the two days of round 2. Here’s Wednesday’s ATP. The WTA Wednesday matches will go up around 12:30AM EST.
Muller will hang in rallies longer and is a good bit better than Fils on clay, but he doesn’t have this level of win on his resume yet. Arnaldi’s register is very high and I mostly only see him losing to players who hit bigger. I expect him to have to work harder and longer than he did against Fils, but this should go to Arnaldi in 3-4.
Hubert’s serve can get him to the finish line against pretty much anyone as well, so Nakashima will have to lock in and try to wear Hurkacz down. It may sound silly, but Isner used to struggle more against the guys that couldn’t ace him. Putting the serve return in is great, but if the other player is a solid baseliner, it means you’re playing 6-8 shot rallies over and over. This can take the legs away from a big server, and Nakashima fits this bill. While I’m bullish on Nakashima here, I think it’s more likely that this will be close enough that anyone can win, and whoever plays the big points better will. A server like Hurkacz in tiebreakers is pretty efficient, and playing a servebot in a 5th is a really tough ask if they’re serving first. Honestly, I saw this match in the draw and thought Nakashima was 50/50, so I’m sticking with it. Nakashima in 5.
Wawrinka has been losing to a lot of players right around Kotov’s level recently (Martinez in 2, ARV in 3, Borges in 3) so it’s tempting but tricky to declare him a winner. Tennis-wise, my brain won’t let me see Kotov winning. Pavel serves well and hits big, and for a guy who appears out of shape he wins a lot of marathon matches and has good power late in the game. 5 sets with Norrie isn’t going to help him here, and if Wawrinka can get up 2-0 or 2-1 it could easily be goodnight just because he can then open up. Norrie is a tough out, but on clay his shots don’t really clear the court. Wawrinka is almost a clay specialist at this point in his career, and he serves a lot bigger than Cam also.
This is wide open, and if I could skip a match, it’d be this one. Wawrinka in 4 or Kotov in 5. Stan needs to win quickly, but his recent results don’t make it realistic. You can point to him smoking Murray, but Murray is really a gimme these days on clay.
submitted by blurryturtle to tennis [link] [comments]
Rublev vs Martinez :
For a good chunk of his career, Rublev has made quick work of matches like this. When he’s the bigger hitter and his opponent doesn’t have a huge serve, he’s supposed to thrive. Lately though, Andrey hasn’t been automatic in these spots. He’s always had a temper, but it’s been on display following his errors lately and it has given his opponents belief. Taro Daniel won a set, and Martinez is at least as good as him. 5 sets with Tirante doesn’t indicate he’s ready to upset Rublev, but I would expect the bulk of this to be fairly competitive. Rublev in 4.Muller vs Arnadli :
Muller scored a comfortable victory against Luca Nardi in the opening round, and he will continue to battle the Italian federation in round two against Matteo Arnaldi. Arnaldi had a fairly easy time with Arthur Fils, despite getting broken 6 times. Fils is a solid player with all the attributes to be a top player on clay, but he has no patience. He’s extremely willing to go for broke from any position, and when the rally stretches long he tries to hit the big shot as soon as it appears. As a fan, I want to see big shots, but to win on clay you need to play a more conservative approach. Arnaldi is way more stable from the baseline than Fils, but bailing out of rallies early isn’t the right plan because it means Arnaldi doesn’t really feel like he has to do anything special to win.Muller will hang in rallies longer and is a good bit better than Fils on clay, but he doesn’t have this level of win on his resume yet. Arnaldi’s register is very high and I mostly only see him losing to players who hit bigger. I expect him to have to work harder and longer than he did against Fils, but this should go to Arnaldi in 3-4.
Sonego vs Zhang :
Immense power. A huge forehand. Inconsistent results. A cannon of a serve but a slightly subpar backhand. Which player am I describing? This is a matchup that is very close. Humbert fell apart against Koepfer last week in Lyon and his slump continued, allowing Sonego to get a much-needed win. Zhang had a great draw and took advantage of it, besting Vukic in 4. The big difference I see in these two players is the speed. Sonego is a bit quicker around the court and that might allow him to win a few extra points. Given they both have the ability to protect their service games I would expect a tiebreaker or two, and at least 4 sets. I’m a big Zhang fan but he hasn’t been as good on clay as he was in the Challenger grind, so Sonego in 4-5.Altmaier vs Tsitsipas :
Tsitsipas was clinical in beating Fucsovics in round one. He’s back with Badosa, he’s a dark horse to win this event, and he’s playing great tennis. Having that focus is big for a player who’s struggled for confidence, and Altmaier is a player he can probably beat. Daniel has always been capable on clay, and he has some amazing clashes with big name players like Sinner in the past, but lately I haven’t loved his level. Beating an inactive Djere was honestly good, but I think Tsitsipas is fresh and will be hitting the ball bigger the entire match here. Altmaier moves the ball well but he will very likely get worn down as this progresses. Tsitsipas in 4.Shelton vs Nishikori :
Nishikori pulling up and beating one of the better qualifiers was impressive, but I guess if we’re being honest Diallo isn’t automatic yet. He has a bright future, but big hitters can often be undone by a slick defender and Nishikori has all the experience in the world. I think this will be fun because Shelton is a lefty. Attacking Nishikori’s backhand will get him punished up the line and cross-court, because Kei has one of the best backhands the tour has ever seen. The downside is Kei just played a five setter so he might be a bit tired, and he’s not serving well enough to score easy points. Shelton’s team hopefully has told him to take his forehand inside out and down the line as often as possible. Shelton in 4.Auger-Alliassime vs Squire :
Gutsy performance in round one from Squire. Even in the fifth set tiebreak he was still hitting his backhand down the line for effect, and while he double faulted in a few crucial moments he served effectively the entire match. I’m not sure how his game will fare against Felix. FAA is inconsistent but he’s had a good month and he does everything a little bigger than Squire here. Felix in 3-4.Korda vs Kwon :
Korda winning in straight sets is honestly surprising the way it feels like his season is going. Checking his history though he’s been winning his fair share of matches, it’s just watching his losses that makes me feel he’s struggling. More surprising is Kwon winning in straights. Ruusuvuori continues to struggle on clay and Kwon returning from a layoff to black him is a great result for him. His insistence on pushing the pace and hitting to the open court will bother Korda a bit, but he’s a bit out of his weight class here. Korda’s serving is good enough to get him through here, but Kwon winning in straights means expecting him to just lose in straights is pretty unreasonable. Korda in 4-5. The problem here is Korda is supposed to win this in straights, but Kwon is supposed to lose round one so he’s at a level beyond what we’re estimating him at when we say Korda in 3.De Jong vs Alcaraz :
Jesper De Jong won the best match of his career in round one, getting past Jack Draper and setting up a matchup against the current tournament favorite. It almost has to be the end of the road, but De Jong will give us our first look at how Alcaraz is playing. Carlos was immaculate in round one, losing only 4 games, but Wolf is just not good on clay, and is having one of his worst runs ever on tour. Alcaraz in 3 is likely again because De Jong doesn’t have the hugest serve, but this will be much more competitive than the Wolf match. Alcaraz in 3-4.Hurkacz vs Nakashima :
Considering Mochizuki took Hurkacz to 5, Nakashima has to like his chances here. Mochigoat is one of the fun players to watch on tour and his volleys at net are unreal, but Hurkacz is supposed to win that match in a safe manner. Now he’s playing Nakashima who won against Moreno De Alboran in a solid performance, and has been grinding clay events the entire year, using them almost exclusively to earn his way back into the top 100. Hurkacz won’t necessarily struggle as much in this one; it’s fairly common on tour for players to squeak through a strugglebus performance and feel like they’re freerolling in the next round. You already should have been out, so you play with no pressure and your best tennis comes out.Hubert’s serve can get him to the finish line against pretty much anyone as well, so Nakashima will have to lock in and try to wear Hurkacz down. It may sound silly, but Isner used to struggle more against the guys that couldn’t ace him. Putting the serve return in is great, but if the other player is a solid baseliner, it means you’re playing 6-8 shot rallies over and over. This can take the legs away from a big server, and Nakashima fits this bill. While I’m bullish on Nakashima here, I think it’s more likely that this will be close enough that anyone can win, and whoever plays the big points better will. A server like Hurkacz in tiebreakers is pretty efficient, and playing a servebot in a 5th is a really tough ask if they’re serving first. Honestly, I saw this match in the draw and thought Nakashima was 50/50, so I’m sticking with it. Nakashima in 5.
Shapovalov vs Tiafoe :
Shapovalov is winning tennis matches again. It’s great to see, but he’s in Dimitrov territory for me. Sure he’s winning, but I’m not going near it because I don’t want to get hurt again. His opponent this round is a player whose range of play goes from “does he even play tennis anymore?” to “omg he’s going to win the US Open” Bellucci almost had Tiafoe, and a few big returns for Tiafoe ended up being the key in the end. Tiafoe will probably be competitive here, and playing a lefty the round before means his backhand got a good workout and he’ll be comfortable with the generic patterns that a lefty will bring. Shapovalov hits bigger than Tiafoe regularly, and it will take a big step up in effort/consistency from Tiafoe to win this. Given his serving ability and the underlying ability to play top level tennis, being sure Tiafoe will lose here doesn’t make sense. I’m expecting a match where both players will be pretty frustrated at times, and I think the one who’s more willing to lock in and play stingy defensive tennis will win. For once, that seems to be Shapo. Shapovalov in 4-5.Bergs vs Marterer :
There were some wild first round results, but Tabilo losing quickly to Zizou Bergs was one of the biggest. Not only does he get a huge result, but he’s a favorite to win his second round also. Marterer has gotten a lot of respect and fallen short on tour for a few seasons, but he made good on the respect and beat Thompson in 3. Marterer is a powerful lefty who crushes the ball, and the one problem with his game is he sort of plays at one speed. Hitting big is great but he sometimes plays his opponents into form by showing them the same pace over and over. Shapovalov had a similar problem during his slump as well. Marterer shouldn’t be counted out of this match at all, but Bergs is much quicker around the court and I think Maximilian’s backhand will get worn down eventually. Bergs in 4.Maroszan vs Dimitrov :
I’ll take tickets to this match. Both are through in straight sets, and both hit extremely clean and play skilled tennis. Maroszan can win this match, but I think Dimitrov’s ability to defend will eventually get him through. Maroszan’s power and forehand are good enough to hit some winners, but he also scores a lot off of dropshots. I think it’s still a viable option, but Dimitrov’s speed will make it a risky option. Expecting a high level clash here and when both players are extremely skilled sets usually get traded. Dimitrov in 4 is what I suspect, but since it’s his defense I expect to get him across the finish line this could easily go 5. Maroszan is really good, and it’s just fitness and decision-making that are left for him to work on.Moutet vs Shevchenko :
Moutet’s coach got a bit spicy before the Jarry match, allegedly mad about fans’ behavior in the Moutet Jarry clash in Chile. It seemed to work, as Moutet played some of the best tennis he ever has and beat Jarry in 4 exhilarating sets. That same level should win this contest, but a slightly different style of opponent can complicate things. Shevchenko is a plucky baseliner and he will make Moutet earn all his points. He managed to outlast Karatsev in round one in a 5 set clash that had a million changes in momentum and 21 breaks. Moutet’s level was higher, but besting another offense is sometimes a simpler task. Shevchenko is going to put the ball in annoying spots and try to outlast Moutet, so this is a mental test. I think Moutet is up for it, but I could see it taking some time to happen. Moutet in 4.Ofner vs Baez :
Gustavo Heide should be on everyone’s radar now. He hits the ball huge and clean, and has one of the better serves from the young crop of talents on tour. Honestly, when I first saw him 2 years ago I think he was a servebot and an old guy, and now his baseline game has developed in a major way and somehow he’s 22. Stay still Gustavo! Baez had this mostly wrapped up and Heide was tired, and then he won 2 lopsided sets in a row. I was expecting Baez to go on a run here, and he played Ruud close in Geneva so this is a good reprieve for him (playing Ofner). Ofner beat Atmane in 5 and he has the power to compete with Baez, but not the consistency. The 5 setter with Heide was surprising, but I’m willing to chalk it up to Heide’s high level rather than Baez being a flight risk. Baez in 4.Kotov vs Wawrinka :
Hehe. Kinda fair for these two to play each other. If there were any two players to look both ways during a changeover and then sneak a cupcake out of their bag and scarf it, it’s these two offensive wizards. Kotov managed to outlast Norrie which is honestly a tremendous win, and Wawrinka continued his clay dominance against Murray in a straight set win. Kotov is a little better and has more stamina at this point, but Wawrinka is serving well and I expect him to win at least 1 of the first two sets.Wawrinka has been losing to a lot of players right around Kotov’s level recently (Martinez in 2, ARV in 3, Borges in 3) so it’s tempting but tricky to declare him a winner. Tennis-wise, my brain won’t let me see Kotov winning. Pavel serves well and hits big, and for a guy who appears out of shape he wins a lot of marathon matches and has good power late in the game. 5 sets with Norrie isn’t going to help him here, and if Wawrinka can get up 2-0 or 2-1 it could easily be goodnight just because he can then open up. Norrie is a tough out, but on clay his shots don’t really clear the court. Wawrinka is almost a clay specialist at this point in his career, and he serves a lot bigger than Cam also.
This is wide open, and if I could skip a match, it’d be this one. Wawrinka in 4 or Kotov in 5. Stan needs to win quickly, but his recent results don’t make it realistic. You can point to him smoking Murray, but Murray is really a gimme these days on clay.
Gasquet vs Sinner :
Jannik Sinner has filled the void that the gradual departure of the big 3 is creating. He was always a tremendous player, but now he’s become extremely reliable at that level. His returning is world class, his serve is constantly improving, and his baseline game is now measured and tactical rather than an all-out assault. He knows when to just put the ball in play, and his footwork is constant. I love it. Gasquet turned back the clock and smoked Coric in straight sets, but the road probably ends here. This will be a high-level match and the crowd will be behind Gasquet in a major way. Jannik is a classy kid and will understand the atmosphere and respect it enough to navigate to the finish line. Sinner in 3-4.2024.05.29 04:39 SlimeSpree Review with pics! Library of Slime/Pink Sugar Slimey/Oh my Slime/Lime Slime co.
 | Today a look at four slime stores. Let's go! submitted by SlimeSpree to Slime [link] [comments] The Library of Slime https://preview.redd.it/ben8h6qut93d1.jpg?width=2769&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b183e6946cb0f465ddd29bd309821ae1527c472d A wide range of prices from £4-12 depending on size and they also do bundles. The sizes range from 2-6oz. Beautifully designed waterproof labels. The box was very well packaged with foam peanuts to protect the contents and the utterly stunning glass slime jars had nice honeycomb cardboard protectors around them. Even the charms were beautifully packaged with one being in a little canvas bag. Included was a mini lemon hand towelette (what a great touch!) a card telling me my packaging is eco friendly (lovely to know) and a cute bookmark care card with a super sweet note on it. Upon unpacking, I found that Eliora (the head librarian 😁) had including an incredibly thoughtful gift in the way of delicious, high quality chocolate from a little company that shares my name! In the note it was mentioned that this was especially ordered just for me on account of being the first international customer 🥲 I was so deeply touched by this! It says a lot about the customer service and just how much care is put into customer satisfaction and enjoyment. The library/book aesthetic of the entire web-store and the slimes/jars is just spectacular. I have so much appreciation for slime stores who clearly put so much thought and love into everything they do, it really is a magical experience. One thing I love about slime is how it affords us the ability to turn our thoughts off and indulge in something that taps straight into our primal pleasure center, allowing us to leave the stresses and responsibilities of the world for a while. The library theme and how beautifully it’s all pulled off ramps that experience up for me. All I’ve done so far is open the box and I already feel like I’ve taken a trip to a whimsical bookstore in some Harry Potter-esq universe! 😆 I think they may also be the only slime store to use glass jars which makes them feel very high end.
I was worried I may have a struggle getting this slime out the jar but it slipped out into my hand nice and politely. It was a tiny bit sticky at first but a couple of puffs of activator sorted that out completely. The slime was very dense and super stretchy. It was very resistant but also very elastic and bouncy with no ripping. As you stretched you could feel the sand brush across your fingers but there was very little in the way of sand fallout. This has some unreal crackly sizzles when you inflate and then squeeze it. The crackles just keep coming and coming the more you squeeze. It does inflate a lot calling for a second jar for the excess. The packaging is stunning and, equally, so is the slime!
These look like real potatoes, they're utterly uncanny!! https://preview.redd.it/sytwljg8v93d1.jpg?width=1356&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2e8054f16d8493babc8fa4a78b4329fa76f221b0
https://preview.redd.it/yi940tvgv93d1.jpg?width=5854&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=965de6ae379ae8e06ed4e26f5dea98d5798e9a1f Every slimer has to try the Library of Slime at some point as it’s such a special and surreal experience! The essential oil scents were some of the classiest and most nuanced I have experienced, the textures are super entertaining, interesting and well made. I absolutely adored the clay potatoes which were mind bendingly realistic! The mini book charms are an amazing touch. This store really blurs the lines between art and sensory product. I have a love/hate relationship with the glass jars. On one hand they are very beautiful and make the product feel so special, it wasn’t hard to get the slime out of them in the least. On the other it is harder to get the slime back in the jar. I was having issues with air pockets and the narrower mouths. Of course it inflated a fair bit so usually I just put them in new jars of my own but I loved the aesthetic of the library jars and really wanted to get some slime back in there. I very tied because I wouldn’t want the library to swap to plastic but the glass does make things tricky. All in all I can’t wait to see what's in the next restock and had SO much fun visiting the library's beautiful and profoundly whimsical little world! We are always seeking for a new and novel experience when it comes to slime and this provides just that! 9.9/10 ............... Pink Sugar Slimey £11-13 for 7oz. Came very well packaged in super cute pink heart and white foam chips. Included is little organza bag with care card, activator and delicious lychee hard candy. The labels are not waterproof.
https://preview.redd.it/v1x6s4ggw93d1.jpg?width=5524&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=94d20a125bdf99c94293e371f48745800fe90ede
Before and after the topper.
https://preview.redd.it/t98oxf8xw93d1.jpg?width=7915&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b10f21ae5ddea6ba1cb74ea5fb6326082b4e0b2a
https://preview.redd.it/hzdan803x93d1.jpg?width=5638&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=db465d9d61dac25fc9b7d01d026dac86736d5a88
https://preview.redd.it/ewdm2mv4x93d1.jpg?width=8288&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0761c38c0cfc7a00d67c92bc46dca6ba32d75806 These are some of the most incredible and utterly delicious scents I have come across on my slime spree, they go so well with the themes which are all so well thought out. Clearly, a lot of love and attention go into these slimes. Personally I found them to be a little on the loose side and a bit tricky to activate. It can be hard to ascertain whether this is by design or due to the warmer weather now we have hit the summer months. I always go for the fastest international shipping to minimise issues with melting and the slimes go in the fridge for 15-30 minutes prior to play. I am very much on board with Momo, Pilot, OG and others who slightly overactive their slime to avoid this. While I enjoy the odd jiggly slay, I prefer my slimes to be on the more holdable side so this is something I will keep in mind in future with Pink Sugar. Nonetheless these scents were spectacular and the thicker textures lovely! Waterproof labels would be a strong preference of mine, I did manage to get slime on one or two of these labels while photographing and that is always a real shame. 9.1/10 ...... Oh My Slime (Singapore) Came with borax, a care card and a couple of candies. Slimes come in 6 or 8oz for between around $10-14. The jars have anti leak inner caps which is a great shout. I hate opening the box to discover slime leaks and this keeps things so much tidier! The labels are nicely designed and waterproof.
https://preview.redd.it/ls76r151y93d1.jpg?width=5701&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a3c6b86cd9ca7d7dddcf0cb175856a71535c7cd7
https://preview.redd.it/y9n2nia8y93d1.jpg?width=1348&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=69c8470ea11d9e386050a390051eb708d169d2e6 https://preview.redd.it/rffvecaay93d1.jpg?width=2890&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=54bdd9e9d7528acb8968775d854c2943637a622e
https://preview.redd.it/vuwropjey93d1.jpg?width=3995&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e051a6329f56a23db7349421b3978c689bc54a1a
https://preview.redd.it/wdhxrcoly93d1.jpg?width=5937&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b5952870a91b47b249631fe7353859df8b24ed2c This was a pretty disappointing experience, more so than anything because the themes were great, the charms gorgeous, the colours and scents really beautiful and I could tell the textures were well made and at some point gorgeous. It would have been less disappointing if the quality of the slimes was low and the scents/aesthetics mediocre. I would have understood if all the slimes were all the way in one direction or the other activation-wise but it was super weird to get one perfect slime (water slime no less, a typically temperamental texture) and the rest either totally deactivated or wildly over-activated to the point of being unstretchable. In light of this I am really scratching my head over giving Oh My Slime a rating that fairly represents their concoctions. I just got done reactivating slimes that arrived with me in a liquid state and it took a good 12 hours for them to settle into the consistency I like. Personally hate touching totally melted slime, it really gives me the ick which is amongst the many reasons why I have no wish to make my own slime. I keep my slime in a chiller so this is not typically an issue I commonly have as I go in with activator long before they turn back to glue. I would reactivate some of my favourites if they melted down slightly over time but I just lost heart for these sadly. I hear from a friend that their slays and clays are much better. On this occasion 6/10 on account of the great water slime and all the other redeemable factors such as jars/designs/excellent scents but I only had one slime I could play with out of the whole batch so I don’t think I will return with any enthisiasm. MAYBE for another thick water slime. ............ Lime Slimes Company Comes with care card and Borax. Waterproof labels with a lovely aesthetic. The jars are 8oz and priced from £12.15 to £15.39. Link to my previous review here.
Other than the tackiness, it was a nice and puffy, inflatable snow fizz with plenty of soft sizzles, soft finger, pokes, and soft pops. https://preview.redd.it/4vrlogvrz93d1.jpg?width=5827&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=95baa8b8379cf8b040c355770b4dbfe4203fbe74
https://preview.redd.it/tyheh3pa0a3d1.jpg?width=5560&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=87659a72e8f63e05f8a3f80c8de8b891d2cc0267
I don’t much like judging a slime that I have reconstituted nearly from scratch as it’s hard to know if it’s as the creator intended. That having been said, it is a very nice, creamy thickie with medium gloss. Lovely to pop and full of crackles. It has tiny bits of red flocking in it for a very pretty strawberry pulp effect. Top left is how it arrived. Top right is where I managed to get it to with activator (still sticky by rippy.) Bottom left is after it rested overnight. Much better but still not quite as great as my previous Oui which I bought a month ago (an up to date picture of that on the bottom right.) I am so tied over Lime Slimes. I love their scents and themes and when they are good they are great. However, this is not the first completely liquified slime I have received from them and it very much spoils the experience for me. Reading your reviews on this sub I see that I am not alone in having this issue with them but it seems to be quite hit and miss. I know they come from California so I would hazard a guess that the issue happens during shipping due to the heat, I doubt these left them in this condition. I always pay for the fastest international shipping to prevent this issue occurring and most slimes arrive with me in 2-4 days. The only completely melted US slimes I have received have been from Lime Slimes, I’ve never had anything more than a slightly tacky surface that calls for a squirt of activator from other US companies. Once again, I can only reiterate how much I appreciate it when a slime leaves a store a little over-activated! I hate rating slimes which are melted as it’s not really a representation of what the creator intended. I do love Lime's Oui line when not melted and may chance buying another one if a particularly interesting scent is released when mine dies but, ultimately, I won’t be returning to Lime Slimes Co. with any gusto, which is a real shame. I really feel drawn to them as I really love the themes, presentation, aesthetic and scents generally. However, it’s a very important factor to me that I receive my slimes in a play-ready condition as I hate having to reactivate them (to a texture that may not be quite right) and the feeling of sticky mess on my hands 6.5/10 ......... Thank you for reading! I'll be back soon to review Audeez and more Mythical Mushbunny, Rodem and Momo! Feel free to give me a follow so you don't miss the review 🩵😊 |
2024.05.29 04:38 No_Literature_9785 I need some advice.. 28M and 27F. She had. secret lover behind my back. Is there anyway to fix the relationship ?
Im 28 M and she is 27F. We started dating in early 2017. I was a single dad when she met me and we clicked right away. Unfortunately I didn’t have proper boundaries set with my babymomma which caused my relationship with my new gf to become difficult and stressful. I did set boundaries and I was showing her that I was focused on her and my kid and no one else. We were good for a while. About two years went by and at this point we are together like she is my girl my rock my partner. Unfortunately her and I did have problems. We would argue over simple stuff and we both had some anger issues we were working on. At the end of 2019 she chose to take a break and left me but not really left me. Her and I would still go and spend everyday together after she made her choice to take a break. So that kinda messed with my head and in my heart I knew I wanted to be with her so I did whatever I could to be with her. She felt the same way but she put restrictions on me. I wouldn’t be able to hug her or hold her hand. She would tell me we aren’t together remember that. Even on new years we spent it together I went for a new years kiss like how we did the year before but she refused. It was my first time dealing with something like this. So I chose to just keep it going hopefully one day her and I get back together. She’ll see that I’m working on myself ti be the very best version of me for her. Fast forward to march of 2020. She is having me drop her off earlier and earlier at her house. Then one day I went on. Her instagram. I trusted her so I wouldn’t check her stuff. But this time I did I checked her tagged photos and right there was a picture of her with some guy hugging and kissing. Caption read” Loml❤️” I lost it. I called her she didn’t answer I told her I knew what was up and that she had a new bf. I told her thanks for lying and making me think I’m the problem. Her response was “I’m not doing this right now. I’m going ti block you”. She called me the next day asking if we could talk. Of course I went and talked to her. Before I knew it. Her and I were hanging out like normal again. Except this time I would drop her off early and we were back to having sex. She would still go and be with the other guy at night but during the day she was with me. That lasted till may when her guy found out that she was still hooking up with me and spending all this time with me. They broke up and her and I got back together. Crazy so far right.? It gets crazier. Fast forward a year later to my 26 birthday , we are still together. We live in our house we have two cats and very stable financially we had just came back from our first vacation. Things were great except for that day we celebrated my birthday and I was working the night shift so I took her to her moms house for her to visit and I would pick her up after. She gets out the car and leaves her phone. I notice right away but she’s already inside. Her phone receives a notification. It’s a Snapchat , I thought it’s her best friend then I look it closely and see it’s just a face emoji. I immediately open it and it was a guy she had been talking ti behind my back. And not only was she talking to him but they were having full on sex talks and nudes where sent and saved. I saw it all. She was calling him names like babe or daddy or papi. I scrolled all the way as much as I could. It stretched all the way back to 2017. Then I realized this kid was the one that she would tell me she was talking to but as friend and nothing more. She told me this 2018. I was naive and trusted her. She came in the car for her phone but instead I showed her what I found out. She said it was all fake and none of that meant anything to her. Clearly at this point I know she’s lying even more but I still chose to work things out. We did work things out and remained together. But now I have trust issues that I’m working past. Fast forward to 2023 October to be exact. We broke up because we were having financial issues and our anger was getting a bit out of hand. But we still saw each other every single day after that. About a month in she began to act differently. She would not let me touch her iPad while to switch to new shows to watch or to scroll on YouTube for us to watch anew video or whatever we wanted to watch. I would call her out on her behavior and tell her she is acting sneaky. She denied and denied said I was tripping. Okay so at this point I know something is up. That’s when she gave me the phone I had bought her back after she got herself her own phone. I get the phone and decided to download Snapchat and instagram. And before I could even blink I see that the phone saved her login info. I had two choices look through her stuff or erase it not invade her privacy. I chose to look through her snap first and right away I see 5 different guys Snapchating with her. At the very top was the guy she had been talking to since 2017 the same guy I caught her up on my birthday. She was planning a vacation to go see him. The guy is stationed in Tokyo he’s a marine. She was telling me she was going to Mexico. But in reality she was leaving to Tokyo and I just had to be ok with it. She gave me a blowjob literally the day I confronted her about it. She was leaving to spend valentines week with him. And she did leave. When she came back she tried to talk to me but I was in shambles. My heart was broken. eventually I gave in and said yeah let’s hangout. Before I knew it we were spending everyday together again and we were behaving like a couple again. But then came reality hitting me hard. I was using her iPad earlier this month and I went on her calendar to figure out a date for us to go on a trip. When I opens the app I saw may 31st listed as Tokyo trip. She was leaving once again at the end of the month and wouldn’t be back till June 7th. My world once again came crashing down. She said sorry but was still going and she tried to say she is doing it because she wanted to travel. It’s all bs on my mind because her and I could’ve traveled anywhere we wanted to. Now it’s the week of her leaving and she tells me that when she comes back we’ll work on being together again. I know it sounds like I’m an idiot and rightfully so. My actions of taking her back over and over have made it be ok for her to do this. I’m confused and pretty messed up in the head that I don’t know what to do or how to handle any of this anymore. Is it better to just leave and work on myself without her anymore or stay and wait for her ?
submitted by No_Literature_9785 to relationship_advice [link] [comments]
2024.05.29 04:30 Idisliketheworld I’m just ranting, I think something is seriously wrong with me.
So I have a bad anxiety disorder I also have acid reflux… yay me (sarcasm). How I was diagnosed was kind of traumatizing. I got dysphagia, where I had trouble initiating a swallow, I could still drink water but that was it. I starved for 2 weeks until I got an endoscopy, comes back gastro doc says “your fine, no acidic damage I could see anywhere”. Then my GP calls me the same day and says “I have your biopsy results, you have acid reflux”. So I was relieved because why couldn’t I eat food ? At least there was an answer. It took me 3 fn months of starvation before I could take the smallest nibbles. I’m talking the size of a hamster nibble. It would take me 4 hours to eat half a sandwich. So anyways I’ve been on a ppi ever since 2 years. Once my swallowing got better (I use water to help me swallow food now).
Present day: I start eating like absolute shit because it’s the only thing I really enjoy these days since my anxiety is so god damn bad (I was on Clonazepam for 15 years, and forced to come off and ever since anxiety is unmanageable and I developed agoraphobia). Well 2 weeks ago I was eating some dorrito chips and I had the worst chest pain, stomach pain, racing heart rate, chest pressure, tight throat, trouble swallowing, an airy weird feeling in my heart, PVCs. So I begin to have an absolute freeze response with everything I started feeling. I lay in bed for 6 days hardly getting up, and I stop eating because every time I attempt to I get shortness of breath, fast heart rate, chest pressure, tight throat, and just feeling like my heart can’t handle any food. On the 6th day I couldn’t handle it anymore. I rushed myself to the ER got an ekg, blood tests, and sat for 8 hours (I’m Canadian), all the tests came out perfectly fine the ER doc says. Of course all my symptoms had resolved in those 8 hours. So I go home and continue to have massive anxiety and unable to eat at all. I’ve been to the hospital two more times since then and have called the nurse line and crisis lines multiple times since. I’m on day 12 ? I think. So the last two days I’ve been only getting 600 calories with one baby food and one ensure plus a day. I haven’t been able to eat food without bringing on horrendous cardiac symptoms. I tried to do some dishes today and my heart rate got up to 180 bpm, of course when I lied back down my heart rate went to 70 bpm. This has been happening for the last two days, every time I stand up my heart goes extremely fast. I don’t know what’s going on with me, I find it hard to believe it’s all “anxiety induced” my anxiety was stable before the day I ate those Doritos chips. I’ve always gotten a tight throat and shortness of breath, and fast heart rate about 20 minutes after eating. But now it includes chest thumping, chest pressure and all that other jazz. Doctors say I’m fine though.
submitted by Idisliketheworld to acidreflux [link] [comments]
Present day: I start eating like absolute shit because it’s the only thing I really enjoy these days since my anxiety is so god damn bad (I was on Clonazepam for 15 years, and forced to come off and ever since anxiety is unmanageable and I developed agoraphobia). Well 2 weeks ago I was eating some dorrito chips and I had the worst chest pain, stomach pain, racing heart rate, chest pressure, tight throat, trouble swallowing, an airy weird feeling in my heart, PVCs. So I begin to have an absolute freeze response with everything I started feeling. I lay in bed for 6 days hardly getting up, and I stop eating because every time I attempt to I get shortness of breath, fast heart rate, chest pressure, tight throat, and just feeling like my heart can’t handle any food. On the 6th day I couldn’t handle it anymore. I rushed myself to the ER got an ekg, blood tests, and sat for 8 hours (I’m Canadian), all the tests came out perfectly fine the ER doc says. Of course all my symptoms had resolved in those 8 hours. So I go home and continue to have massive anxiety and unable to eat at all. I’ve been to the hospital two more times since then and have called the nurse line and crisis lines multiple times since. I’m on day 12 ? I think. So the last two days I’ve been only getting 600 calories with one baby food and one ensure plus a day. I haven’t been able to eat food without bringing on horrendous cardiac symptoms. I tried to do some dishes today and my heart rate got up to 180 bpm, of course when I lied back down my heart rate went to 70 bpm. This has been happening for the last two days, every time I stand up my heart goes extremely fast. I don’t know what’s going on with me, I find it hard to believe it’s all “anxiety induced” my anxiety was stable before the day I ate those Doritos chips. I’ve always gotten a tight throat and shortness of breath, and fast heart rate about 20 minutes after eating. But now it includes chest thumping, chest pressure and all that other jazz. Doctors say I’m fine though.
2024.05.29 04:26 InteractionProud7297 need honest criticism
i'm working on a novel and would like to know if anyone could tell me any improvements i could make to the first chapter and prologue
Prologue
The day had started the same way it had for the past two years. The only difference was that I was going home. The hallway was crowded with people walking to and from their classes. Everyone was crowded next to each other so the halls were making the area feel claustrophobic. All the people talking mixed with the summer heat made me feel like I was locked in a sauna. I walked with Preston to the last class we would ever have together and as usual he was smiling. I never got why he always smiled even in situations where people should be sad he still smiled. He knew what today meant for me and he tried to keep light of the situation. I kept my head down away from what was ahead of me. My mind was too clouded about returning to see my family to notice anything in front of me. I walked into another student. It felt like I had walked into a wall. I knew immediately I had walked into tree. I stumble onto the ground and the commotion around me slows down to make room for us. He turned his bulky body around and apologized profusely without saying a word even though I had walked into him. He helped me off of the ground before hurrying down the hall.
“Alexandria, are you doing okay?” Preston said he had tilted his body downward so I had to look down to look him in his eyes. The way he was standing made him look like an idiot but he didn't seem to care. The way he acted made me laugh, which caused his smile to widen.
“I'm doing fine, just got lost in my head.”
“Thinking about how you’ll leave soon,” he said
“Was it that obvious?” He was the only person I told about me being an exchange student. I came to spend high school in Newkinawa and he was the only person I ever hung out with.
“I see what you mean,” he said “Newkinawa is a beautiful place with beautiful people to live in it…myself included”
“You wish,” I say with a smile we continue walking through the hallway “I'm just not excited to go back yet”
After I say that his smile grows wider “So you will miss me after all”
“I wouldn't say that much” I responded whilst smiling.
We had made it to our last class only to see it closed with a sign labeled “Uma incident” Uma was a student known for messing with the chemistry lab and destroying school property in the process. I've never actually met her but Preston says “She's a little weird but still nice”
“Guess class is canceled for today,” Preston remarked with a smile “Wanna go out to the court till the bell rings.”
“Sure let's go” I respond
The place we ate every day was outside. It used to be a tennis court before I moved in. Now they put trees and flowers all over the place. Preston really liked the blue color of the flowers but it just never clicked for me. I look over at Preston and he's staring up at the sky. There are a number of clouds in almost enough to block the sun but it still pokes its rays through and lands on Preston's face. The clouds swim in front of the sun till they block out the sun's light. Preston faces towards me.
“I'm gonna miss you Alexandria” he says
“You know you can just call me Alex,” I replied. I start to smile again. “I'll miss you too!" He smiles toward me again as we get up to leave as the clouds start to clump together and rain slowly falls. As we're walking back to the school there's a loud tearing sound followed by screams as the ground shakes.
The ground tears itself apart as the dirt and stone erupt from the ground. The sky blackens and a pale blue light escapes the earth. Then creatures erupt from the ground in a violent ejection from the earth creating a white pillar diffusing as they reach higher in the air. Some are clawing their way out of the cracks like maggots out of a corpse. People are swept into the updraft screaming for their lives.
The creatures descend like a tidal wave and tear apart any people caught in their path. They storm out of the crack in hundreds as more cracks in the earth form. Me and Preston started running away as people were screaming behind us. A girl running next to us has her legs slashed by a creature. The monster begins to tear open her chest as she chokes on her own blood. The monster shovels her lungs and innards into its decrepit mouth. Me and Preston keep running until we're met at the entrance of the school and we catch the attention of a monster as it begins to savagely rush toward us. The monster resembles ghosts my father told me about. But this one looks monstrously horrific. It floats in the air and opens its mouth so wide it nearly replaces its entire torso; its jaws hold savage teeth each the same old gray color of its body. Its eyes glow a rotten yellow color through the dark. It stretches out its arms showing its giant hands and claws like fingers. It swipes at us leaving a giant claw mark on the door behind us but Preston ducks my body down to avoid the attack. We run around it as the monster swaps its focus to another bystander. Screaming past us. Me and Preston run into the parking lot as people scream around us. We hide next to a car.
“What the hell is happening!?” I yell to Preston. More of the creatures fly over us and swoop down to people like vultures on roadkill devouring the fleeing people.
Preston starts to breathe heavily ”we need to get out of here and someplace safer”. As we were talking one of the monster phases through the car we were hiding next to forcing us to run into the street.
“Lets go to your house till things cool down” i say to Preston through panted breaths
“Wait couldn't we head to your house instead” Preston says.
“Why would that matter your house is closer anyways” i respond
“But-” Preston is interrupted by two creatures swooping above us to grab another person. The two monsters begin to pull the person apart while he writhes in pain before having his flesh be torn in half and having his organs be devoured.
“Come on lets go!!” I say as I grab his hand and run even faster.
By the time we reach Preston's house any living person is gone. On the street are just corpses laying torn and mutilated on the roads and sidewalk. The air in the neighborhood feels cold despite the season being summer. When I walk down the street I can still hear the occasional horrific wail the monsters give off. We move closer to Preston's house and I can see him sweating. He looked more worried than before when the creatures were chasing us and he kept darting his eyes away from his home.
“Preston, are you feeling okay?” he doesn't respond to my question and keeps darting his eyes. He walks slowly behind me and as I reach for the door handle and when I touch it it feels nearly freezing. I wrap my hoodie around my hand and slowly open the door. The house is quiet so me and Preston creep further into his house. The inside is cold and damp as if we were locked in a freezer. The further we move into the house the louder a subtle chewing sound is heard.
“It sounds like rats are eating a dead cow over there” I whisper. Preston continues to stay silent behind me. We slowly walk closer towards the kitchen and the sound gets louder and louder and louder until we reach the room.
We're met with a rancid smell of vomit and blood. My blood starts to run cold and every instinct in my body is telling me to run. I can feel Preston breathing get heavier as we get closer. We turn the corner and see Preston's mom lying on the ground dead with one of the creatures hunched over slurping her intestines. The sight causes me to vomit alerting the monster to our presence. The creature turns around and its mouth turns into a mortifying grin as it flies into Preston's moms body. The corpse begins to rise and spur splashing blood over the kitchen. When the corpse stops spasming it picks itself up from the ground and with glazed over eyes it holds its intestines in its hand and gives us the same grin it did when it was outside her body. The possessed corpse lunges at me and starts to chase me around the kitchen. The body is running into the walls and cabinets spraying its blood and other loose organs around the area as I'm avoiding its assault. The corpse leans over and ejects one of its loose intestines towards me, wrapping me in it. It pulls me towards it so fast I'm flung towards the ground. The corpse limbers over to me and raises its free hand aiming for my head. The creature's deranged smile causes the corpse’s cheeks to tear apart. It places both of its bloodied and demented hands on my face and starts to press my skull into the ground. I struggle to breathe. The room starts to get dark and blood escapes my head.
Until Preston jumps on top of his mothers corpse with a kitchen knife and repeatedly stabs it in the head. The possessed body tries to shake him off but he keeps stabbing, blood gets in on his face and tears start to escape his eyes. The creature violently ejects from the corpse's mouth causing her head to nearly explode and Preston stops stabbing the body. The body falls over in a splash of blood and organs. The monster leaves phasing through the roof leaving Preston crying over his mother's body. As the blood mixes with the tears he collapses to his knees crying. I walk over and hug him as the air around us turns bitter and the chill of death leaves the room and us with it.
Chapter 1 Eclipse
It's been 2 months since the apocalypse started. We've kept ourselves alive by looting grocery stores and houses, we hide from the creatures as we have no way to fight back against them. Preston came up with the idea to call them glanter’s. He’s looking better since we left his family home but I can tell something is wrong with him that he's not telling me. Everytime I ask him about it he tells me it's no big deal. I asked him earlier today and he just told me
“don't worry about it, I'm over it” without even looking at me. Now we're walking through the street and I'm walking behind Preston, I can barely see his head past the giant bag we're both carrying on our backs we use to carry supplies. I look up at the sky and it's still pitch black except for the moon giving us any amount of light. Preston turns around to face me.
“Let's check out that house, it might have some cool stuff in it” he points to a white house to our right. The house is a two story building with steps leading to the front door. There's a generator poking out from the backyard. The driveway is empty save for a couple of dried blood stains and tire marks. It's similar to the other houses in the neighborhood except for a couple broken windows.
“Sure why not” We head over to the house and I see something shining on the side of the house in the corner of my eye. I turn my head to look at it closer but it quickly disappears before I can see it clearly.
“Probably squirrel or something” I mumble to myself. Preston walks up the stairs to the house and I walk up the steps behind him as a breeze blows past my face. Preston tries to turn the door knob but the door is locked. I start to pull out a lockpick I grabbed at the store earlier. I motion towards Preston to move out of the way as I kneel down to pick the lock. It takes me a couple of minutes to unlock the door so I walk inside the house and Preston follows behind me while closing and locking the door. The doorway of the house leads to a dark room so I take a flashlight out of my bag to illuminate the area. Were put into the living room and bookshelves are on the walls and a large TV sat in front of a large black couch with smaller chairs surrounding it. Dust is covering every surface of the room and spiderwebs litter the corners of the walls. The area smells like moth balls and there's a lack of blood anywhere nearby.
“Guess the owners got out before the Glanter’s got in, '' I say to Preston. When he doesn't respond I turn around and he's already looking further into the house. When I find him he's managed to find a flight of stairs that lead to a lower portion of the house.
“I'll check on him later,” I think to myself as I headed towards the kitchen to see if we could restock on food. I walk past a bedroom and remark on how childish it looked. The walls were painted with blue and green stripes and a bunk bed sat on the right wall. There's a chest at the foot of the bed so I walk over and lift the top off of it. The box is layered with children's toys, a multitude of dolls, bears, and figures all jut out of the box. I notice a small robot toy and inspect it in my hands.
The cold metal makes my hand shiver and the sharp body shape makes the robot bigger than my hand. There's red lining around the robot's buttons surrounded by the cold gray of the robot's “skin”. It reminds me of a toy my little brother had. My heart feels heavy as I worry about what happened to my family. If they're alive, dead, or worse…possessed. The thoughts send a chill down my spine but I push them aside for now. I put the toy in my bag and exit the bedroom.
I can see the kitchen is down the hallway so I walk down the hall and enter. The kitchen is pretty clean except for a couple of dishes in the sink and the dust. There's a table seated for 3 people in the center of the room. I start opening the cabinets in search for any food or water. There's boxes of cereal leftover on top of shelves and a mix of chip bags and cookies in neat boxes stationed in the cabinets.
“Score,” I say to myself as I begin to put the snacks into my bag. When the cabinets are empty I look inside the fridge. The inside of the fridge ran out of power so most of the food inside is rotted. There are a couple of bottles of water in the front so I shove those in my bag. There's also a bag of oranges that still seem to be healthy in the back. I grab them and toss them on the table. There's rotten sandwich meat hidden in the drawer of the fridge.it smells like a dumpster outside of a butcher shop. I wrinkle my nose at the smell. I look around the kitchen for any bread with no luck.
I continue to look through the fridge until I hear Preston scream from another room. Immediately I bolt out of the kitchen leaving my bag behind and run towards the lower part of the house. I run down the stairs and nearly trip on the steps. The stairs lead to a big room. There are posters to tv shows and movies I don't recognize. The walls are painted black and there's a bear skin rug on the floor. I notice Preston standing next to a really big TV hyperventilating. I walk over to him and ask him.
“Are you ok? What happened?”
He talks through deep breaths “I… saw a… spider.”
“What?!” I respond in confusion.
“It was really big and I had jumped at my face”
“Sure it was.” I say while laughing “Let's go upstairs there's some food in the fridge we can eat”
“Wait, I think you should check this out.” He says while pointing towards one of the walls. I grab Preston's flashlight off the floor and face it towards the wall. Hanging halfway off the wall is a large map labeled Newkiwana scavenger hunt of 76.
“I think we should take it,” Preston says “You can read a map right?”
“A little but I'm not the best at it,” I say to him “can you read a map?”
“it shouldn’t be too hard it’s mainly pictures any way I'm sure I can figure it out”
I walk over to the wall where the map is hung there are trophies covering tables and shelved in their own personal cases one of them reads “1st place 100-meter swimming competition for 1986 Zack Hemmingway” and another one reads “2nd place 100-meter swimming competition for 1989 Zack Hemmingway”
“Guess this guy really liked swimming,” Preston remarks while staring at a wall of newspaper clippings. All of them are about the same person in swimming competitions. All labeled different things like “a new record for Zack “the dolphin” Hemmingway”,
‘Zach Hemmingway our star plans for the future” all the newspapers are about this kind he has paler skin and a bulky enough build to swim pretty well. Most of the pictures have him coming out of the water in a pool, his long black hair soaked and sitting at his shoulders. Another one has him sitting at a desk over a pile of books and his hair in a knot , “vicious wipeout ends the Dolphins career”, and “ex-swim champ Zack Hemmingway found in a drunken stupor outside strip club.
“Everyone has their own hobbies I guess,” I say as I take the map off of the wall and fold it up. “Sucks what happened to Zack though” I walked over to Preston’s bag and put the rolled map in one of the pockets. I walk back up the stairs and Preston grabs his bag and follows behind me.
We make our way towards the kitchen and Preston starts looking through the fridge for anything to eat. I grab an orange from the table and throw it at his head. The fruit bounces off his head and rolls on the floor. He turns around and grabs the fruit from the floor
“Why did you throw an orange at me?”
“It's the only food we have unless you plan on eating spoiled a sandwich“ He starts to peel it while walking towards the table. We both take a seat and start to eat the oranges from the bag. He plants his feet on top of the table and bites into the fully peeled orange. I grab a water bottle from a bag and start to drink from it as Preston says.
“I saw a dvd player in that man cave downstairs we could watch a movie if it still has power”
“Sure it could be fun.” Me and Preston spend the rest of our time eating until the bag of oranges is emptied and we head back downstairs. Preston grabs the DVD player from under the table and blows the dust off the top of it; he plugs it into the wall as I plop myself onto the couch. He plugs the DVD player into the TV and sits on the recliner next to me. He presses a few buttons on the remote and the TV lights up. I squint my eyes at how bright it is. It's the most amount of light I've seen that didn't come from a flashlight. I notice there's a box filled with DVDs. I pull the box over towards me. I ruffle through the box and see movies like Silence of the Lambs, Terminator 2, and Home alone.
“Dude some of these came out just before the world turned inside out” I say to him.
“Really? Let's play one.” He responds. I toss him Terminator 2 and he puts it into the DVD player.
We spend the next couple hours watching movies and laughing together. It's some of our only moments of peace we’ve had since the end of the world and to me it's the most fun I've had yet. We're putting in the next DVD when there's a loud crash outside and the TV shuts off. Preston goes behind it to see if it's still plugged in.
“I think the generator outside is busted” i say
“It seems that way” Preston replies while backing away from the tv” i'm gonna go check it out”
“Don't worry I got it” I say as I hop out of my chair. Preston waves goodbye as I head up the stairs. I make my way back through the hallway leading to the living room and front door. I reach the door and start to turn the knob. I open the door wide as a car speeds down the street. I step out of the door to see what had happened when I hear the screech of a glanter. It cuts through the sky like an unholy opera singer. A group of them fly by and chase the car as I rush back inside the house. I slam the door shut and look through the window as I see a couple of smaller glanters grab and shake the car violently looking for the driver. They tear at it, ripping off doors and breaking the windows. The driver screams as the seats cover with blood and he's ripped out of the car as multiple smaller glanters tear and bite off parts of his body like piranha's until his body is completely devoured. I run back to the man cave to warn Preston about what had happened. I spot him laying in his chair spinning a DVD disc on his finger.
“It's not safe outside right now”
“Why not?
“There's glanter's outside, they just ate a dude in his car”
“Did they see you come inside?”
“I don't think so , they flew off before I went inside.”
“well we're not dead so I'm gonna say they didn't see you. But let's stay here for a couple more hours just to be safe”
“Sounds good i'm gonna go find the master bedroom.” I start to walk back up the stairs to the house
“ Hold on why do you get the master bedroom” Preston says while walking after me.
“Because I'm gonna find it first” I say as I start to run to find the bedroom. He chases after me in pursuit of the bedroom. Me and Preston run around the house looking for the master bedroom. We look through room after room finding closets, the garage, a bathroom and a door leading to a balcony in the back of the house. I manage to run into the bedroom and yell out to Preston.``Found it!!”
He comes walking into the room breathing heavily from the running. We both check out the room. The walls are painted a cream yellow and the bed takes up most of the room's center. The bed has burgundy sheets poking out from its bottom and a quilt with multi-colored floral designs lay sprawled out on top of it. There's a wardrobe built into the wall and a black leather couch sits comfortably on the left wall.
“Dibs on the bed” I say as I jump on top of it. I stretch out on top of the quilt and search for a comfortable part to sleep in.
“Where am I supposed to sleep then?” Preston complains
“You can sleep on the couch it looks soft enough” I respond while pointing towards the couch “I saw some spare blankets in one of the closets”
“Alright i’ll be right back” he mumbles to himself “why do i always get the couch”
“ I'll be right here if you need me,” i call after him. I sit up on the bed and start to look around the room more. I notice the entrance to the wardrobe is cracked open slightly. I hop out of the bed and grab a flashlight from my bag as I walk into the wardrobe. I turn on my flashlight and stare in awe at how many clothes are in there. The room is only half as big as the bedroom but it's still bigger than any closet I've ever had. The wardrobe is full of shirts, dresses, pants, and shoes for men and women. I immediately start to look through the shoes to see if any fit my size. I throw a pair of black high heels behind me as Preston finds me in the wardrobe. He looks around before asking me.
“What are you doing?”
“Finding a new pair of clothes to wear cause I've been wearing the same pair of jeans for waaaaay too long”
“Fair enough. Is there any guy stuff in there?”
“Yeah right there” I hook my thumb behind me to point to the other end of the closet.
“I'm sure they won't mind if we take a couple of things…they're probably dead by now anyways,” Preston says with a slight grin on his face. The way he said made me spin my head to look at him but he was already on the opposite end of the wardrobe looking at suits.
I shake away the thought and continue looking for any pair of sneakers in my size. 40 minutes pass before I walk out of the wardrobe holding a new pair of jeans and a black guns-N-roses t-shirt. I toss the clothes on top of the bed and check to see if the shower in the bathroom still works. I turn the dial and wait for a moment. The shower head chokes a little before water comes pouring out. I reach my hand under the showerhead to feel the water. The water is cold, it causes my hand to shiver when I take it out. I shake the water off and say to myself.
“Good enough” as I start to take off my old clothes and get in the shower. The cold water bounces off my skin, it sends shivers down my spine but I still get the old dirt from the last few months off of me. I step out and see a couple of dry towels hanging off of the door. I grab one and dry my body off and grab another to wrap around my head and dry my hair. I step out of the bathroom and Preston is still inside the wardrobe. I put on my new clothes while his back is turned and walk over towards him when I'm finished.
“Still haven't found anything,” I ask him
He turns around “Nothing yet, the only thing interesting was this coat.” He holds a leather coat up to me. The coat is made of black leather and has a skull covered with blue flames on the back. There's a black shirt inside the coat with a skeleton hand making a thumbs-up embroidered on the front.
“ That's pretty cool, it's better than what you're wearing right now at least” he's outfitted in a blue hoodie with holes on the chest and tears at the sleeves. He also has a shirt with a faded picture of a blue flower printed on it.
“I guess you're right” he gets up from the floor and exits the wardrobe. He lays the clothes on the couch along next to the blanket and pillow he brought into the room.
“The shower works so you can get yourself clean In there,” I say to him
“You know, a shower sounds really good right now.” He gets up from the floor and grabs a pair of pajama pants that were laying next to him. He leaves the wardrobe and enters the bathroom, closing the door behind him. After a moment the water turns on and I hop on the bed to get ready to sleep. I squirm myself into the quilt and rest my head against one of the pillows. I shut my eyes and fall asleep listening to the passive sound of the shower like rain on a car.
I'm in a void. It feels like I'm standing in a puddle of water that reaches to my knees. I wade my way forward looking around for anything in the darkness. In the distance I can see 3 figures l. I moved closer to them and their silhouettes get clearer. I realize they are my dad and brothers. I start to run towards them kicking up water behind me until something grabs my leg. It pulls down violently forcing me under the water without a breath of air. I kick at the thing grabbing me until something grabs my other leg. I look down and see two glanter's each with a monstrous smile on their faces. They stare back at me and one of them tugs my leg harder than before and tears it off of my body. The water around me turns red as the glanter laugh's. The other smiles wider as it starts to fling me around the water forcing any air left in my lungs to be forced out as I scream in pain. The glanter throws me away and I can see my family slowly fade into the distance as I'm flown away.
I struggle to swim back to where I was, one of my legs is missing and the other is broken. The glanter's find me again and I try to get to the surface to escape them. I'm flapping my arms in any attempt to escape as one of the glanter's flies in front of me and grabs my arm. I look at the monster with tears in my eyes as it bites my arm and tears my body away from it. It flings my body away and with my remaining arm I clutch the wound as the water floods into my body leaving me in the void I started in. I look around and the glanter's seem to have left. I turn behind me and see my family again, this time I'm closer than before.
I grit my teeth and drag my body towards them slowly as I leave a trail of blood and tears behind me. I finally reach my family and grab one of my father's shoes. I stare up and he looks at me. His stare causes me to feel cold as a grotesque smile grows on his face. I stare in shock as my brothers each have the same look as my father.
I shoot up from my sleep panting heavily in a cold sweat.
“It was just a dream..just a dream…just a dream” I look at my hands as tears fall into them. I look around the room and see Preston sleeping peacefully on the couch. The room feels frozen in place as a chill runs down my spine. I get out of the bed and walk out of the bedroom. I make my way through the dark hallway and find the entrance to the balcony I saw earlier. I creak open the screen door and head outside. The Balcony is pretty large, about the size of the kitchen in the house. There are some chairs knocked over next to a table and I pick one up to sit on it. I look out into the expanse of the neighborhood, houses lined up next to each other, dozens broken apart by roads, and dead bodies scattered across the roads.
I look up in the sky and sit back in the chair. The sky looks empty except for the moon giving this world its only source of light. Without the moon, we’d be left in darkness. It hangs in the sky alone, no stars, no clouds, nothing but itself, and the void of the sky. I think back about the dream I had. My dad and my brother's all dead and possessed and then they kill me. I start to tear up thinking about it. I try to wipe away the tears but it’s no use. I'm too scared for my family. I don't know where they are if they're alive if they're worried about me I don't know anything! I start to quietly cry into my hands. I don't know how long I'm sitting there until I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn my head to face it and I see Preston. He was smiling and looking at me. I turn away to wipe my tears and he walks next to me.
“I heard you sneaking out of the bedroom so I followed you to see where you were going.” he says “but that's not my question.” he pauses and looks at me “my question is what’s got you feeling so down?” he leans over the railing of the balcony
“It's nothing, I just came out here to clear my head.” I say as more tears escape from my eyes in big slow drops that ride down the sides of my face.
“if you don't feel like telling me you don't have to but i'll be here if you ever change your mind”. He looks up at the moon before turning to face me and his smile widens “I'll always be here with you…trust me I'm not going anywhere”
I stare up at him and wipe away my tears as a smile grows on my face to match his. I get up and stare over the balcony with him. “So where are we heading next?” I say to him, Preston pulls the map we got from the man cave downstairs out from his pocket.
“After I got out of the shower I decided to take a look at the map for anything interesting we could see.”
“Ok did you find anything?” i ask
“I did,” he points at a spot on the right of the map. “We should head to the museum”
“I didn't want to go to a museum before the apocalypse why would i want to go now?'' I ask him.
“Well the best part of museums is the cool stuff right”
“Yeah what about it”
“The only problem is that you could only look at the fossils and armor but you could never take them.”
“So you want to rob a museum?” Prestons eyes light up at the question
“Exactly they might have a really cool sword I could use, or I could sharpen a dinosaur tooth and use that as a weapon, there might be a cursed shield that can summon the dead to fight for you. This opportunity is too good to pass up. We need to go!”
“That does seem pretty cool but wouldn't carrying that stuff weigh us down. What if a glanter is chasing us and we can't run fast enough because of the stuff we took from the museum.”
“We’ll only take things that are light. Even then I could just block the glanter with my newly acquired 2000 year old shield.”
“Fair enough we can go in a couple hours” I yawn and stretch out my arms. “Cause I'm feeling way too tired to walk all the way over there right now.”
“Alright i'm heading back to my couch and THEN we’ll head out to the museum” he leaves the balcony and heads back to the master bedroom leaving me alone on the balcony.
“Thanks Preston I'm not leaving either” I say into the sky. I turn around and walk back inside the house, closing the balcony door behind me. I walk back into the bedroom and Preston is hunched over and holding a flashlight looking at the map. He’s drawing lines through roads and marking X’s in different areas.
“What are the X’s for?” i ask him
“They’re places that glanter’s usually stay around. I'm marking them off so we remember not to go through them, or at least be more cautious.”
“Cool. Did you find where we are right now?” He points to an area where the lines all converge out of.
“Right around here is where the neighborhood ends. So if we follow this path we can make it to the museum in one piece” I pat him on the back and take the map from his hands.
“Get some sleep Preston, we have a full day tomorrow” he grins to himself before laying down on the couch. I put the map back into my bag and hop on the bed to get to sleep. I cover my body in the quilt and roll over facing away from Preston as he falls asleep. I nestle myself into the bed and slowly fall asleep to get ready for the next day.
I'm awoken by Preston shaking the bed I'm sleeping on. My eyes open and the room is foggy, I wipe away the sleep from my eyes and focus my attention towards Preston. He's practically jumping out of his skin with excitement, he's already fully dressed for the trip and shaking the bed with a wide smile on his face.
“Ok ok i'm up the air feels heavy as a groggy feeling fills my body. I wipe my eyes and the room starts to clear up. I turn to face Preston. He's still shaking my bed to wake me up, he’s already fully dressed and nearly jumping out of his skin in excitement.
“Ok ok, i'm up you can stop shaking the bed” i say
“Then get up we’ve got a long walk ahead of us” he says as he stops shaking the mattress. He grabs the map from my bag and points to one of the red lines.
“We're gonna follow this way to the museum. We’ll move past the hotel around the ice skating rink and around the park. We’ll mainly stick to walking through the streets, we might have to go rooftop hopping to avoid any glanter’s if we see them but i'm sure we won’t reach that point.” he explains
“Wait, wait, wait, why are avoiding the skating rink and the park” i ask
“ everytime we go near the park there's weird noises and light coming out of it”
“And why can't we go to the ice skating rink?”
“I didn't think it would be important”
“It couldn't hurt to check it out at least”
“Fine we could make a detour”
“Ok and how do you plan on getting on top of roofs?”
“I'm sure we'll figure it out when we get to it”
“Ok man as long as you’re sure '' I yawn and step out of the bed. Preston starts to put the map in his bag. I walk into the bathroom with my clothes and change out of my pajamas. Minutes later I walk out and see Preston sitting on the couch twiddling his thumbs.
“Finally you're out” he smiles at me before handing me my bag and slinging it over his shoulder. We took a last look inside the kitchen to see if we missed anything. Afterwards we leave for the outside. The cold air bites at my face but Preston walks down the stairs, his face buried in the map. I jog to catch up to him as we both head into the street.
“Hey Preston, could I see the map?”
“Sure” he hands over the map and continues walking. I look at the map and the numerous lines drawn on roads. I look at the corner of the map and notice a small map key with numerous symbols for different areas like a library, school, hospital, and more. There's even a way to tell how far away each location is. The text reads “1 inch=5 miles” I quickly count how far we are from the museum.
“Dude this museum is like 100 miles away.”
“Yep it'll be a long walk, it'll take us a while to get there”
“Did you plan on us walking there the whole time?”
“We might find bikes or something.” he pauses “well i did think we would walk the whole way”
“This is gonna take us weeks to get there!”
“Did you have anything else planned?”
“Well…i guess not but we should still try to find some bikes or something”
“Ok if we see any way to travel faster we’ll take it”
“Alright cool” I hand him the map back and he folds it back up and puts it in his bag. We walk further until we leave the gated neighborhood we started in. Preston takes the map back out and looks at it before he turns right and continues walking. I follow him staring forward at the expanse of the road. The outside of the neighborhood is surrounded by roads all leading to different parts of Newkinawa. We walk past a sign that reads “Coretown 20 miles ahead” I nudge Preston towards the sign and he checks the map again.
“Yep, the museum’s in Coretown. Would you believe the residents were pretty proud of it. Should be a fun place to explore” he says
“Yeah but it’ll take us a million years to get there.” i complain
“Lighten up, I'm sure it will be worth it”. We continue walking down the road slowly making our way to Coretown.
submitted by InteractionProud7297 to writers [link] [comments]
Prologue
The day had started the same way it had for the past two years. The only difference was that I was going home. The hallway was crowded with people walking to and from their classes. Everyone was crowded next to each other so the halls were making the area feel claustrophobic. All the people talking mixed with the summer heat made me feel like I was locked in a sauna. I walked with Preston to the last class we would ever have together and as usual he was smiling. I never got why he always smiled even in situations where people should be sad he still smiled. He knew what today meant for me and he tried to keep light of the situation. I kept my head down away from what was ahead of me. My mind was too clouded about returning to see my family to notice anything in front of me. I walked into another student. It felt like I had walked into a wall. I knew immediately I had walked into tree. I stumble onto the ground and the commotion around me slows down to make room for us. He turned his bulky body around and apologized profusely without saying a word even though I had walked into him. He helped me off of the ground before hurrying down the hall.
“Alexandria, are you doing okay?” Preston said he had tilted his body downward so I had to look down to look him in his eyes. The way he was standing made him look like an idiot but he didn't seem to care. The way he acted made me laugh, which caused his smile to widen.
“I'm doing fine, just got lost in my head.”
“Thinking about how you’ll leave soon,” he said
“Was it that obvious?” He was the only person I told about me being an exchange student. I came to spend high school in Newkinawa and he was the only person I ever hung out with.
“I see what you mean,” he said “Newkinawa is a beautiful place with beautiful people to live in it…myself included”
“You wish,” I say with a smile we continue walking through the hallway “I'm just not excited to go back yet”
After I say that his smile grows wider “So you will miss me after all”
“I wouldn't say that much” I responded whilst smiling.
We had made it to our last class only to see it closed with a sign labeled “Uma incident” Uma was a student known for messing with the chemistry lab and destroying school property in the process. I've never actually met her but Preston says “She's a little weird but still nice”
“Guess class is canceled for today,” Preston remarked with a smile “Wanna go out to the court till the bell rings.”
“Sure let's go” I respond
The place we ate every day was outside. It used to be a tennis court before I moved in. Now they put trees and flowers all over the place. Preston really liked the blue color of the flowers but it just never clicked for me. I look over at Preston and he's staring up at the sky. There are a number of clouds in almost enough to block the sun but it still pokes its rays through and lands on Preston's face. The clouds swim in front of the sun till they block out the sun's light. Preston faces towards me.
“I'm gonna miss you Alexandria” he says
“You know you can just call me Alex,” I replied. I start to smile again. “I'll miss you too!" He smiles toward me again as we get up to leave as the clouds start to clump together and rain slowly falls. As we're walking back to the school there's a loud tearing sound followed by screams as the ground shakes.
The ground tears itself apart as the dirt and stone erupt from the ground. The sky blackens and a pale blue light escapes the earth. Then creatures erupt from the ground in a violent ejection from the earth creating a white pillar diffusing as they reach higher in the air. Some are clawing their way out of the cracks like maggots out of a corpse. People are swept into the updraft screaming for their lives.
The creatures descend like a tidal wave and tear apart any people caught in their path. They storm out of the crack in hundreds as more cracks in the earth form. Me and Preston started running away as people were screaming behind us. A girl running next to us has her legs slashed by a creature. The monster begins to tear open her chest as she chokes on her own blood. The monster shovels her lungs and innards into its decrepit mouth. Me and Preston keep running until we're met at the entrance of the school and we catch the attention of a monster as it begins to savagely rush toward us. The monster resembles ghosts my father told me about. But this one looks monstrously horrific. It floats in the air and opens its mouth so wide it nearly replaces its entire torso; its jaws hold savage teeth each the same old gray color of its body. Its eyes glow a rotten yellow color through the dark. It stretches out its arms showing its giant hands and claws like fingers. It swipes at us leaving a giant claw mark on the door behind us but Preston ducks my body down to avoid the attack. We run around it as the monster swaps its focus to another bystander. Screaming past us. Me and Preston run into the parking lot as people scream around us. We hide next to a car.
“What the hell is happening!?” I yell to Preston. More of the creatures fly over us and swoop down to people like vultures on roadkill devouring the fleeing people.
Preston starts to breathe heavily ”we need to get out of here and someplace safer”. As we were talking one of the monster phases through the car we were hiding next to forcing us to run into the street.
“Lets go to your house till things cool down” i say to Preston through panted breaths
“Wait couldn't we head to your house instead” Preston says.
“Why would that matter your house is closer anyways” i respond
“But-” Preston is interrupted by two creatures swooping above us to grab another person. The two monsters begin to pull the person apart while he writhes in pain before having his flesh be torn in half and having his organs be devoured.
“Come on lets go!!” I say as I grab his hand and run even faster.
By the time we reach Preston's house any living person is gone. On the street are just corpses laying torn and mutilated on the roads and sidewalk. The air in the neighborhood feels cold despite the season being summer. When I walk down the street I can still hear the occasional horrific wail the monsters give off. We move closer to Preston's house and I can see him sweating. He looked more worried than before when the creatures were chasing us and he kept darting his eyes away from his home.
“Preston, are you feeling okay?” he doesn't respond to my question and keeps darting his eyes. He walks slowly behind me and as I reach for the door handle and when I touch it it feels nearly freezing. I wrap my hoodie around my hand and slowly open the door. The house is quiet so me and Preston creep further into his house. The inside is cold and damp as if we were locked in a freezer. The further we move into the house the louder a subtle chewing sound is heard.
“It sounds like rats are eating a dead cow over there” I whisper. Preston continues to stay silent behind me. We slowly walk closer towards the kitchen and the sound gets louder and louder and louder until we reach the room.
We're met with a rancid smell of vomit and blood. My blood starts to run cold and every instinct in my body is telling me to run. I can feel Preston breathing get heavier as we get closer. We turn the corner and see Preston's mom lying on the ground dead with one of the creatures hunched over slurping her intestines. The sight causes me to vomit alerting the monster to our presence. The creature turns around and its mouth turns into a mortifying grin as it flies into Preston's moms body. The corpse begins to rise and spur splashing blood over the kitchen. When the corpse stops spasming it picks itself up from the ground and with glazed over eyes it holds its intestines in its hand and gives us the same grin it did when it was outside her body. The possessed corpse lunges at me and starts to chase me around the kitchen. The body is running into the walls and cabinets spraying its blood and other loose organs around the area as I'm avoiding its assault. The corpse leans over and ejects one of its loose intestines towards me, wrapping me in it. It pulls me towards it so fast I'm flung towards the ground. The corpse limbers over to me and raises its free hand aiming for my head. The creature's deranged smile causes the corpse’s cheeks to tear apart. It places both of its bloodied and demented hands on my face and starts to press my skull into the ground. I struggle to breathe. The room starts to get dark and blood escapes my head.
Until Preston jumps on top of his mothers corpse with a kitchen knife and repeatedly stabs it in the head. The possessed body tries to shake him off but he keeps stabbing, blood gets in on his face and tears start to escape his eyes. The creature violently ejects from the corpse's mouth causing her head to nearly explode and Preston stops stabbing the body. The body falls over in a splash of blood and organs. The monster leaves phasing through the roof leaving Preston crying over his mother's body. As the blood mixes with the tears he collapses to his knees crying. I walk over and hug him as the air around us turns bitter and the chill of death leaves the room and us with it.
Chapter 1 Eclipse
It's been 2 months since the apocalypse started. We've kept ourselves alive by looting grocery stores and houses, we hide from the creatures as we have no way to fight back against them. Preston came up with the idea to call them glanter’s. He’s looking better since we left his family home but I can tell something is wrong with him that he's not telling me. Everytime I ask him about it he tells me it's no big deal. I asked him earlier today and he just told me
“don't worry about it, I'm over it” without even looking at me. Now we're walking through the street and I'm walking behind Preston, I can barely see his head past the giant bag we're both carrying on our backs we use to carry supplies. I look up at the sky and it's still pitch black except for the moon giving us any amount of light. Preston turns around to face me.
“Let's check out that house, it might have some cool stuff in it” he points to a white house to our right. The house is a two story building with steps leading to the front door. There's a generator poking out from the backyard. The driveway is empty save for a couple of dried blood stains and tire marks. It's similar to the other houses in the neighborhood except for a couple broken windows.
“Sure why not” We head over to the house and I see something shining on the side of the house in the corner of my eye. I turn my head to look at it closer but it quickly disappears before I can see it clearly.
“Probably squirrel or something” I mumble to myself. Preston walks up the stairs to the house and I walk up the steps behind him as a breeze blows past my face. Preston tries to turn the door knob but the door is locked. I start to pull out a lockpick I grabbed at the store earlier. I motion towards Preston to move out of the way as I kneel down to pick the lock. It takes me a couple of minutes to unlock the door so I walk inside the house and Preston follows behind me while closing and locking the door. The doorway of the house leads to a dark room so I take a flashlight out of my bag to illuminate the area. Were put into the living room and bookshelves are on the walls and a large TV sat in front of a large black couch with smaller chairs surrounding it. Dust is covering every surface of the room and spiderwebs litter the corners of the walls. The area smells like moth balls and there's a lack of blood anywhere nearby.
“Guess the owners got out before the Glanter’s got in, '' I say to Preston. When he doesn't respond I turn around and he's already looking further into the house. When I find him he's managed to find a flight of stairs that lead to a lower portion of the house.
“I'll check on him later,” I think to myself as I headed towards the kitchen to see if we could restock on food. I walk past a bedroom and remark on how childish it looked. The walls were painted with blue and green stripes and a bunk bed sat on the right wall. There's a chest at the foot of the bed so I walk over and lift the top off of it. The box is layered with children's toys, a multitude of dolls, bears, and figures all jut out of the box. I notice a small robot toy and inspect it in my hands.
The cold metal makes my hand shiver and the sharp body shape makes the robot bigger than my hand. There's red lining around the robot's buttons surrounded by the cold gray of the robot's “skin”. It reminds me of a toy my little brother had. My heart feels heavy as I worry about what happened to my family. If they're alive, dead, or worse…possessed. The thoughts send a chill down my spine but I push them aside for now. I put the toy in my bag and exit the bedroom.
I can see the kitchen is down the hallway so I walk down the hall and enter. The kitchen is pretty clean except for a couple of dishes in the sink and the dust. There's a table seated for 3 people in the center of the room. I start opening the cabinets in search for any food or water. There's boxes of cereal leftover on top of shelves and a mix of chip bags and cookies in neat boxes stationed in the cabinets.
“Score,” I say to myself as I begin to put the snacks into my bag. When the cabinets are empty I look inside the fridge. The inside of the fridge ran out of power so most of the food inside is rotted. There are a couple of bottles of water in the front so I shove those in my bag. There's also a bag of oranges that still seem to be healthy in the back. I grab them and toss them on the table. There's rotten sandwich meat hidden in the drawer of the fridge.it smells like a dumpster outside of a butcher shop. I wrinkle my nose at the smell. I look around the kitchen for any bread with no luck.
I continue to look through the fridge until I hear Preston scream from another room. Immediately I bolt out of the kitchen leaving my bag behind and run towards the lower part of the house. I run down the stairs and nearly trip on the steps. The stairs lead to a big room. There are posters to tv shows and movies I don't recognize. The walls are painted black and there's a bear skin rug on the floor. I notice Preston standing next to a really big TV hyperventilating. I walk over to him and ask him.
“Are you ok? What happened?”
He talks through deep breaths “I… saw a… spider.”
“What?!” I respond in confusion.
“It was really big and I had jumped at my face”
“Sure it was.” I say while laughing “Let's go upstairs there's some food in the fridge we can eat”
“Wait, I think you should check this out.” He says while pointing towards one of the walls. I grab Preston's flashlight off the floor and face it towards the wall. Hanging halfway off the wall is a large map labeled Newkiwana scavenger hunt of 76.
“I think we should take it,” Preston says “You can read a map right?”
“A little but I'm not the best at it,” I say to him “can you read a map?”
“it shouldn’t be too hard it’s mainly pictures any way I'm sure I can figure it out”
I walk over to the wall where the map is hung there are trophies covering tables and shelved in their own personal cases one of them reads “1st place 100-meter swimming competition for 1986 Zack Hemmingway” and another one reads “2nd place 100-meter swimming competition for 1989 Zack Hemmingway”
“Guess this guy really liked swimming,” Preston remarks while staring at a wall of newspaper clippings. All of them are about the same person in swimming competitions. All labeled different things like “a new record for Zack “the dolphin” Hemmingway”,
‘Zach Hemmingway our star plans for the future” all the newspapers are about this kind he has paler skin and a bulky enough build to swim pretty well. Most of the pictures have him coming out of the water in a pool, his long black hair soaked and sitting at his shoulders. Another one has him sitting at a desk over a pile of books and his hair in a knot , “vicious wipeout ends the Dolphins career”, and “ex-swim champ Zack Hemmingway found in a drunken stupor outside strip club.
“Everyone has their own hobbies I guess,” I say as I take the map off of the wall and fold it up. “Sucks what happened to Zack though” I walked over to Preston’s bag and put the rolled map in one of the pockets. I walk back up the stairs and Preston grabs his bag and follows behind me.
We make our way towards the kitchen and Preston starts looking through the fridge for anything to eat. I grab an orange from the table and throw it at his head. The fruit bounces off his head and rolls on the floor. He turns around and grabs the fruit from the floor
“Why did you throw an orange at me?”
“It's the only food we have unless you plan on eating spoiled a sandwich“ He starts to peel it while walking towards the table. We both take a seat and start to eat the oranges from the bag. He plants his feet on top of the table and bites into the fully peeled orange. I grab a water bottle from a bag and start to drink from it as Preston says.
“I saw a dvd player in that man cave downstairs we could watch a movie if it still has power”
“Sure it could be fun.” Me and Preston spend the rest of our time eating until the bag of oranges is emptied and we head back downstairs. Preston grabs the DVD player from under the table and blows the dust off the top of it; he plugs it into the wall as I plop myself onto the couch. He plugs the DVD player into the TV and sits on the recliner next to me. He presses a few buttons on the remote and the TV lights up. I squint my eyes at how bright it is. It's the most amount of light I've seen that didn't come from a flashlight. I notice there's a box filled with DVDs. I pull the box over towards me. I ruffle through the box and see movies like Silence of the Lambs, Terminator 2, and Home alone.
“Dude some of these came out just before the world turned inside out” I say to him.
“Really? Let's play one.” He responds. I toss him Terminator 2 and he puts it into the DVD player.
We spend the next couple hours watching movies and laughing together. It's some of our only moments of peace we’ve had since the end of the world and to me it's the most fun I've had yet. We're putting in the next DVD when there's a loud crash outside and the TV shuts off. Preston goes behind it to see if it's still plugged in.
“I think the generator outside is busted” i say
“It seems that way” Preston replies while backing away from the tv” i'm gonna go check it out”
“Don't worry I got it” I say as I hop out of my chair. Preston waves goodbye as I head up the stairs. I make my way back through the hallway leading to the living room and front door. I reach the door and start to turn the knob. I open the door wide as a car speeds down the street. I step out of the door to see what had happened when I hear the screech of a glanter. It cuts through the sky like an unholy opera singer. A group of them fly by and chase the car as I rush back inside the house. I slam the door shut and look through the window as I see a couple of smaller glanters grab and shake the car violently looking for the driver. They tear at it, ripping off doors and breaking the windows. The driver screams as the seats cover with blood and he's ripped out of the car as multiple smaller glanters tear and bite off parts of his body like piranha's until his body is completely devoured. I run back to the man cave to warn Preston about what had happened. I spot him laying in his chair spinning a DVD disc on his finger.
“It's not safe outside right now”
“Why not?
“There's glanter's outside, they just ate a dude in his car”
“Did they see you come inside?”
“I don't think so , they flew off before I went inside.”
“well we're not dead so I'm gonna say they didn't see you. But let's stay here for a couple more hours just to be safe”
“Sounds good i'm gonna go find the master bedroom.” I start to walk back up the stairs to the house
“ Hold on why do you get the master bedroom” Preston says while walking after me.
“Because I'm gonna find it first” I say as I start to run to find the bedroom. He chases after me in pursuit of the bedroom. Me and Preston run around the house looking for the master bedroom. We look through room after room finding closets, the garage, a bathroom and a door leading to a balcony in the back of the house. I manage to run into the bedroom and yell out to Preston.``Found it!!”
He comes walking into the room breathing heavily from the running. We both check out the room. The walls are painted a cream yellow and the bed takes up most of the room's center. The bed has burgundy sheets poking out from its bottom and a quilt with multi-colored floral designs lay sprawled out on top of it. There's a wardrobe built into the wall and a black leather couch sits comfortably on the left wall.
“Dibs on the bed” I say as I jump on top of it. I stretch out on top of the quilt and search for a comfortable part to sleep in.
“Where am I supposed to sleep then?” Preston complains
“You can sleep on the couch it looks soft enough” I respond while pointing towards the couch “I saw some spare blankets in one of the closets”
“Alright i’ll be right back” he mumbles to himself “why do i always get the couch”
“ I'll be right here if you need me,” i call after him. I sit up on the bed and start to look around the room more. I notice the entrance to the wardrobe is cracked open slightly. I hop out of the bed and grab a flashlight from my bag as I walk into the wardrobe. I turn on my flashlight and stare in awe at how many clothes are in there. The room is only half as big as the bedroom but it's still bigger than any closet I've ever had. The wardrobe is full of shirts, dresses, pants, and shoes for men and women. I immediately start to look through the shoes to see if any fit my size. I throw a pair of black high heels behind me as Preston finds me in the wardrobe. He looks around before asking me.
“What are you doing?”
“Finding a new pair of clothes to wear cause I've been wearing the same pair of jeans for waaaaay too long”
“Fair enough. Is there any guy stuff in there?”
“Yeah right there” I hook my thumb behind me to point to the other end of the closet.
“I'm sure they won't mind if we take a couple of things…they're probably dead by now anyways,” Preston says with a slight grin on his face. The way he said made me spin my head to look at him but he was already on the opposite end of the wardrobe looking at suits.
I shake away the thought and continue looking for any pair of sneakers in my size. 40 minutes pass before I walk out of the wardrobe holding a new pair of jeans and a black guns-N-roses t-shirt. I toss the clothes on top of the bed and check to see if the shower in the bathroom still works. I turn the dial and wait for a moment. The shower head chokes a little before water comes pouring out. I reach my hand under the showerhead to feel the water. The water is cold, it causes my hand to shiver when I take it out. I shake the water off and say to myself.
“Good enough” as I start to take off my old clothes and get in the shower. The cold water bounces off my skin, it sends shivers down my spine but I still get the old dirt from the last few months off of me. I step out and see a couple of dry towels hanging off of the door. I grab one and dry my body off and grab another to wrap around my head and dry my hair. I step out of the bathroom and Preston is still inside the wardrobe. I put on my new clothes while his back is turned and walk over towards him when I'm finished.
“Still haven't found anything,” I ask him
He turns around “Nothing yet, the only thing interesting was this coat.” He holds a leather coat up to me. The coat is made of black leather and has a skull covered with blue flames on the back. There's a black shirt inside the coat with a skeleton hand making a thumbs-up embroidered on the front.
“ That's pretty cool, it's better than what you're wearing right now at least” he's outfitted in a blue hoodie with holes on the chest and tears at the sleeves. He also has a shirt with a faded picture of a blue flower printed on it.
“I guess you're right” he gets up from the floor and exits the wardrobe. He lays the clothes on the couch along next to the blanket and pillow he brought into the room.
“The shower works so you can get yourself clean In there,” I say to him
“You know, a shower sounds really good right now.” He gets up from the floor and grabs a pair of pajama pants that were laying next to him. He leaves the wardrobe and enters the bathroom, closing the door behind him. After a moment the water turns on and I hop on the bed to get ready to sleep. I squirm myself into the quilt and rest my head against one of the pillows. I shut my eyes and fall asleep listening to the passive sound of the shower like rain on a car.
I'm in a void. It feels like I'm standing in a puddle of water that reaches to my knees. I wade my way forward looking around for anything in the darkness. In the distance I can see 3 figures l. I moved closer to them and their silhouettes get clearer. I realize they are my dad and brothers. I start to run towards them kicking up water behind me until something grabs my leg. It pulls down violently forcing me under the water without a breath of air. I kick at the thing grabbing me until something grabs my other leg. I look down and see two glanter's each with a monstrous smile on their faces. They stare back at me and one of them tugs my leg harder than before and tears it off of my body. The water around me turns red as the glanter laugh's. The other smiles wider as it starts to fling me around the water forcing any air left in my lungs to be forced out as I scream in pain. The glanter throws me away and I can see my family slowly fade into the distance as I'm flown away.
I struggle to swim back to where I was, one of my legs is missing and the other is broken. The glanter's find me again and I try to get to the surface to escape them. I'm flapping my arms in any attempt to escape as one of the glanter's flies in front of me and grabs my arm. I look at the monster with tears in my eyes as it bites my arm and tears my body away from it. It flings my body away and with my remaining arm I clutch the wound as the water floods into my body leaving me in the void I started in. I look around and the glanter's seem to have left. I turn behind me and see my family again, this time I'm closer than before.
I grit my teeth and drag my body towards them slowly as I leave a trail of blood and tears behind me. I finally reach my family and grab one of my father's shoes. I stare up and he looks at me. His stare causes me to feel cold as a grotesque smile grows on his face. I stare in shock as my brothers each have the same look as my father.
I shoot up from my sleep panting heavily in a cold sweat.
“It was just a dream..just a dream…just a dream” I look at my hands as tears fall into them. I look around the room and see Preston sleeping peacefully on the couch. The room feels frozen in place as a chill runs down my spine. I get out of the bed and walk out of the bedroom. I make my way through the dark hallway and find the entrance to the balcony I saw earlier. I creak open the screen door and head outside. The Balcony is pretty large, about the size of the kitchen in the house. There are some chairs knocked over next to a table and I pick one up to sit on it. I look out into the expanse of the neighborhood, houses lined up next to each other, dozens broken apart by roads, and dead bodies scattered across the roads.
I look up in the sky and sit back in the chair. The sky looks empty except for the moon giving this world its only source of light. Without the moon, we’d be left in darkness. It hangs in the sky alone, no stars, no clouds, nothing but itself, and the void of the sky. I think back about the dream I had. My dad and my brother's all dead and possessed and then they kill me. I start to tear up thinking about it. I try to wipe away the tears but it’s no use. I'm too scared for my family. I don't know where they are if they're alive if they're worried about me I don't know anything! I start to quietly cry into my hands. I don't know how long I'm sitting there until I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn my head to face it and I see Preston. He was smiling and looking at me. I turn away to wipe my tears and he walks next to me.
“I heard you sneaking out of the bedroom so I followed you to see where you were going.” he says “but that's not my question.” he pauses and looks at me “my question is what’s got you feeling so down?” he leans over the railing of the balcony
“It's nothing, I just came out here to clear my head.” I say as more tears escape from my eyes in big slow drops that ride down the sides of my face.
“if you don't feel like telling me you don't have to but i'll be here if you ever change your mind”. He looks up at the moon before turning to face me and his smile widens “I'll always be here with you…trust me I'm not going anywhere”
I stare up at him and wipe away my tears as a smile grows on my face to match his. I get up and stare over the balcony with him. “So where are we heading next?” I say to him, Preston pulls the map we got from the man cave downstairs out from his pocket.
“After I got out of the shower I decided to take a look at the map for anything interesting we could see.”
“Ok did you find anything?” i ask
“I did,” he points at a spot on the right of the map. “We should head to the museum”
“I didn't want to go to a museum before the apocalypse why would i want to go now?'' I ask him.
“Well the best part of museums is the cool stuff right”
“Yeah what about it”
“The only problem is that you could only look at the fossils and armor but you could never take them.”
“So you want to rob a museum?” Prestons eyes light up at the question
“Exactly they might have a really cool sword I could use, or I could sharpen a dinosaur tooth and use that as a weapon, there might be a cursed shield that can summon the dead to fight for you. This opportunity is too good to pass up. We need to go!”
“That does seem pretty cool but wouldn't carrying that stuff weigh us down. What if a glanter is chasing us and we can't run fast enough because of the stuff we took from the museum.”
“We’ll only take things that are light. Even then I could just block the glanter with my newly acquired 2000 year old shield.”
“Fair enough we can go in a couple hours” I yawn and stretch out my arms. “Cause I'm feeling way too tired to walk all the way over there right now.”
“Alright i'm heading back to my couch and THEN we’ll head out to the museum” he leaves the balcony and heads back to the master bedroom leaving me alone on the balcony.
“Thanks Preston I'm not leaving either” I say into the sky. I turn around and walk back inside the house, closing the balcony door behind me. I walk back into the bedroom and Preston is hunched over and holding a flashlight looking at the map. He’s drawing lines through roads and marking X’s in different areas.
“What are the X’s for?” i ask him
“They’re places that glanter’s usually stay around. I'm marking them off so we remember not to go through them, or at least be more cautious.”
“Cool. Did you find where we are right now?” He points to an area where the lines all converge out of.
“Right around here is where the neighborhood ends. So if we follow this path we can make it to the museum in one piece” I pat him on the back and take the map from his hands.
“Get some sleep Preston, we have a full day tomorrow” he grins to himself before laying down on the couch. I put the map back into my bag and hop on the bed to get to sleep. I cover my body in the quilt and roll over facing away from Preston as he falls asleep. I nestle myself into the bed and slowly fall asleep to get ready for the next day.
I'm awoken by Preston shaking the bed I'm sleeping on. My eyes open and the room is foggy, I wipe away the sleep from my eyes and focus my attention towards Preston. He's practically jumping out of his skin with excitement, he's already fully dressed for the trip and shaking the bed with a wide smile on his face.
“Ok ok i'm up the air feels heavy as a groggy feeling fills my body. I wipe my eyes and the room starts to clear up. I turn to face Preston. He's still shaking my bed to wake me up, he’s already fully dressed and nearly jumping out of his skin in excitement.
“Ok ok, i'm up you can stop shaking the bed” i say
“Then get up we’ve got a long walk ahead of us” he says as he stops shaking the mattress. He grabs the map from my bag and points to one of the red lines.
“We're gonna follow this way to the museum. We’ll move past the hotel around the ice skating rink and around the park. We’ll mainly stick to walking through the streets, we might have to go rooftop hopping to avoid any glanter’s if we see them but i'm sure we won’t reach that point.” he explains
“Wait, wait, wait, why are avoiding the skating rink and the park” i ask
“ everytime we go near the park there's weird noises and light coming out of it”
“And why can't we go to the ice skating rink?”
“I didn't think it would be important”
“It couldn't hurt to check it out at least”
“Fine we could make a detour”
“Ok and how do you plan on getting on top of roofs?”
“I'm sure we'll figure it out when we get to it”
“Ok man as long as you’re sure '' I yawn and step out of the bed. Preston starts to put the map in his bag. I walk into the bathroom with my clothes and change out of my pajamas. Minutes later I walk out and see Preston sitting on the couch twiddling his thumbs.
“Finally you're out” he smiles at me before handing me my bag and slinging it over his shoulder. We took a last look inside the kitchen to see if we missed anything. Afterwards we leave for the outside. The cold air bites at my face but Preston walks down the stairs, his face buried in the map. I jog to catch up to him as we both head into the street.
“Hey Preston, could I see the map?”
“Sure” he hands over the map and continues walking. I look at the map and the numerous lines drawn on roads. I look at the corner of the map and notice a small map key with numerous symbols for different areas like a library, school, hospital, and more. There's even a way to tell how far away each location is. The text reads “1 inch=5 miles” I quickly count how far we are from the museum.
“Dude this museum is like 100 miles away.”
“Yep it'll be a long walk, it'll take us a while to get there”
“Did you plan on us walking there the whole time?”
“We might find bikes or something.” he pauses “well i did think we would walk the whole way”
“This is gonna take us weeks to get there!”
“Did you have anything else planned?”
“Well…i guess not but we should still try to find some bikes or something”
“Ok if we see any way to travel faster we’ll take it”
“Alright cool” I hand him the map back and he folds it back up and puts it in his bag. We walk further until we leave the gated neighborhood we started in. Preston takes the map back out and looks at it before he turns right and continues walking. I follow him staring forward at the expanse of the road. The outside of the neighborhood is surrounded by roads all leading to different parts of Newkinawa. We walk past a sign that reads “Coretown 20 miles ahead” I nudge Preston towards the sign and he checks the map again.
“Yep, the museum’s in Coretown. Would you believe the residents were pretty proud of it. Should be a fun place to explore” he says
“Yeah but it’ll take us a million years to get there.” i complain
“Lighten up, I'm sure it will be worth it”. We continue walking down the road slowly making our way to Coretown.
2024.05.29 04:23 GrownUpGirlScout June 13th, I Can See You, Mean, and Taylor Starting a Fire in Liverpool? PART TWO-ICSY Video and Taylor's Selves Escaping and Setting Fire to her Past
 | In part one, I discussed my theory that the music video for Mean featured characters who were representations of either Taylor herself or explorations of her personal experiences with being bullied by mean people. submitted by GrownUpGirlScout to GaylorSwift [link] [comments] With that in mind, I think the video for I Can See You is a continuation on that idea and theme, as well as a easter egg for a resolution to the story Taylor is telling. In the I Can See You video, the first character we are able to fully see is Presley Cash. She has 3 stars drawn on her cheek, a direct connection to her character in the Mean music video, who was working as a "star" at a diner. https://preview.redd.it/yjsytt34883d1.png?width=1469&format=png&auto=webp&s=d5601419d3926dac8433f552d975946b0f6db26c When Presley Cash came out on stage after the premier of the video, she was wearing an outfit featuring sequin stars. https://preview.redd.it/9gcdb8wi883d1.png?width=1201&format=png&auto=webp&s=887c26701351cb1bdc0b786fe60bc9c167f48e67 Also of note? Presley Cash's birthday is June 13!!! This past December she posted on instagram a behind the scenes "photo" (its one still image, but it has a video transition sort of filter over it, and the song playing during it is ME!) from the video shoot on Taylor's birthday saying "it’s a “blondies born on the 13th kind of thing”. The hashtags on the photo include #mastermind, #gemini, #sagittarius, #June 13, #December 13, and #twinning. Sagittarius (the archer, Taylor's sign) is a fire sign while Gemini (the twins, Presley's sign) is an air sign. Fire needs air to burn... https://preview.redd.it/5p9ppgy5b83d1.png?width=1370&format=png&auto=webp&s=d40ef2616553e6260d17f9bfecfdc07518cde90e Next, we are finally able to see a clear shot of Joey King as she is working on breaking into the vault. https://preview.redd.it/f0h1xfswb83d1.png?width=1533&format=png&auto=webp&s=85e12e58dcf4a6f3c5cfab8ecb6e66a18a0b5627 She gets through the security lasers, makes it to the "Speak Now Museum" outside of the vault and is joined by Taylor Lautner, who jumps down from the ceiling. https://preview.redd.it/3ro0j6kec83d1.png?width=1493&format=png&auto=webp&s=fc61fb6e2e59dfedcbec86c013d5f0b01bda261a They walk through the "museum" while Taylor paces back and forth inside her vault. There are A LOT of pieces, all from the Speak Now era, but all from different contexts. There are set pieces from her Speak Now tour, there are clothes from tour, clothes from award shows, musical instruments, outfits from press and media and music videos. King and Lautner are walking together through these artifacts and they come to the dress Joey King wears in the Mean music video. Inside the case with the dress, there is a photo of King with Swift as a child, and there's a moment where Lautner and King are acknowledging one another and acknowledging a connection to this moment from the past. In this shot, you can see that the 4 outfits prominently featured are all from the Mean music video-train track Taylor's dress, the dress she wore with her hair braided and her band, then the dress she wore when she finally performs for King at the end of the video. Buuuut, King's dress is pretty much the only outfit in the entire "museum" Taylor did not wear herself during this time period. She could have included it just as a nod to King being in the video, but then it's a little odd to me she didn't include any other costumes worn by other people in her music videos? I think it's a way of pointing out how the girl from the Mean video is a notable part of Taylor's personal history from this time. https://preview.redd.it/hbmdv7d7e83d1.png?width=1502&format=png&auto=webp&s=73b5faf69fef103d9950b4b378a5cd99ba8e5087 There seems to be only one other outfit in the museum which was probably not worn by Taylor herself and the clearest view of it is off to the side of King's dress when we see the picture of her inside the dress display. https://preview.redd.it/mxpz1ar1g83d1.png?width=2651&format=png&auto=webp&s=cedb448965fba077b9ee62ac7f3fb2189b31b335 I've seen some different ideas of what the outfit might be-some theories it may be the outfit the boy in the Back to December video is wearing and other theories about it being an outfit Taylor was photographed wearing during that era. But I wonder if it might actually be this outfit, the suit worn by the "bullied young boy" from the Mean music video. https://preview.redd.it/pcltbyw2h83d1.png?width=2268&format=png&auto=webp&s=ca6707c1bd456e0860de903e6ea3483d7bcbefa1 It's VERY difficult to see clearly what that outfit is but to me it would make a lot of sense for it to be the suit the "bullied young boy" wears. One-because it would be a nod to an important character in that music video, who otherwise goes somewhat oddly unacknowledged in I Can See You. Two-It would, I think, establish more strongly the link between the "characters" from Mean being being versions of Taylor because they are the only pieces in the museum we see which Taylor did not wear (or use) herself. I think they're meant to be a stronger visual clue than just outfits which happened to be in her music video-because why would those be the ONLY other non-Taylor worn outfits featured? And why did she SPECIFICALLY want to draw us back to Mean at all in I Can See You? I did not see any outfits worn by Presley Cash in the museum, which I was surprised by because I kind of expected it. But, then I began to wonder if--the version of Taylor who is a "star" isn't stuck in this past, isn't stuck in the vault? That version of Taylor she portrayed in the Mean video-the girl whose peers try to come after her and dull her shine, who gets smarter, who goes to the city and works hard, she is already free-and that's why she is the one coordinating the escape? I dunno. But I think it was certainly an intentional choice. So I mentioned in the last part that I find it notable and interesting that Taylor chose to cast Taylor Lautner in this video. While yes, the video is general-Speak Now-era heavy, she is still FOR SURE drawing our attention to Mean. Instead of speculating on why the original actor who played "bullied young boy" wasn't cast, I'm going to speculate on why Taylor Lautner WAS. 1-I think she wanted the roles of the original Mean "characters" and those versions of herself/that story to be featured and called back upon, and so she wanted the 4th character to be included and she wanted the 4th character to be male. I don't think that Lautner is supposed to be the "adult" version of the boy from the Mean video necessarily, but I think he's supposed to be a stand in for someone who represents a part of Taylor which was bullied and ridiculed for her relationships choices (both public and private) during that time, specifically. I also think it's a bit of a Theylor thing, making the intentional choice to cast a "part" of herself as a man-as a way of expressing herself while throwing people off the idea that she may be identifying with that particular part of the story is a very Taylor thing to do. 2-His name is Taylor and she REALLY likes to point out the "Taylor? Taylor? Taylor? Which one's the real Taylor!?" of it all, as illustrated in the meme she posted on Instagram when announcing the video. Swift, Lautner, and his wife (also named Taylor) recreated the classic Spider-Man meme where a bunch of spider men are pointing at one another, trying to figure out who is the real Spider Man. In the caption of the instagram post she writes "Tale of 3 Taylors". Hmmmmm. Which 3 Taylors is she telling the tale of? She cast someone who would specifically make the narrative of the video "Taylor rescues Taylor from vault where she is being held hostage." https://preview.redd.it/hwxysw2pr83d1.png?width=1235&format=png&auto=webp&s=7a2b8eb544fe37ed321498c333ef864701641bcf 3-I think Taylor Lautner is a big honking arrow pointing at the PR-meta aspects of Taylor's past. I personally don't think Taylor Lautner was a beard, but I absolutely believe he was a PR relationship. I think casting him points people back towards this and maybe gets them thinking about WHY he of everyone she's "dated" is someone with whom there's never really been any hint of animosity. And if she got along with him so well and still seems to get along with him well, why does no one ever speculate she's still singing about him being the one who got away? Casting him in this and inviting him to the stage during tour and inviting his wife to tour and being friendly with them all seems to cement him VERY firmly in the Speak Now era, as well as pre-empting possible speculation, knowing her next release is going to invite a TON of speculation. As the music video continues King and Lautner break into the Vault where Taylor is being held. Vault Taylor's behavior throughout the video is interesting as well. She is waiting, she is anticipating, she is preparing. She isn't trying to get out. She sits on a bench lounging and looking at the walls where there are hash marks either counting up or counting down the days. She carefully uncovers her music on the wall. She listens for her rescuers. When they finally arrive, she looks relieved and happy to see them, but she doesn't seem surprised necessarily. But also, she also very obviously KNOWS them and TRUSTS them immediately. Knows and trusts them enough to rescue her. Knows and trusts them enough to follow them into gunfire. https://preview.redd.it/qzsetls9z93d1.png?width=1979&format=png&auto=webp&s=b25dcb13b60bbc4c3044bca3b0b7d5093a5b0e7a I don't think it's completely outside the realm of possibility that it's meant to be seen as her knowing and trusting Taylor Lautner (her ex boyfriend-he is as far as it seems supposed to be playing "himself" in this video?) and Joey King. But then, who is King supposed to be? The actress who played a character in one of her music videos over ten years ago? Or that "character" now grown? Maybe she was and still is supposed to be a representation of Taylor's fans but...I dunno. It makes a lot more sense to me for it to be a moment of Taylor recognizing parts of her self or even metaphorical parts of her past, and that being the reason she trusts them. Taylor has made it VERY clear that she sees herself as always ending up alone in a battle and feeling as if she's the only one she can trust. https://preview.redd.it/dxho8m9le93d1.png?width=2457&format=png&auto=webp&s=6ec5a821c19d264f54f48ef59f54826c20d29f3a With Speak Now (TV) already in hand (again, as if she was ready to go, anticipating a rescue) the three run from the building while ducking bullets as the glass surrounding the artifacts of Speak Now shatter. https://preview.redd.it/oltfwwc2g93d1.png?width=2712&format=png&auto=webp&s=5856aef1ee58c785dae66f79962326f74d8d3808 Presley Cash flips a switch that begins an explosion just as the three exit the building. I again think this is a subtle indication of Taylor's trust of the people involved in this heist, that she seems to know and accept that in order to escape she HAS to blow up some of the most deeply personal parts of her history. An indication that they are people she trusts COMPLETELY to get her and her music (the most important part of her past) out safely. Again, I think the only person Taylor truly trusts to pull this off is herself. https://preview.redd.it/fc4w54l5j93d1.png?width=2415&format=png&auto=webp&s=61aefbd4e6c0af666562fe59c72ae8c2fc6d12c9 Taylor gives the building where she has been held captive one last look, and her companions yell for her to get into the van. https://preview.redd.it/ncaymbk8j93d1.png?width=2835&format=png&auto=webp&s=4c67a819740179f55cca448f5af6d4503b4dab98 They drive away https://preview.redd.it/gkjit9k0k93d1.png?width=2776&format=png&auto=webp&s=b607f90f58bd6de7118f3e6730edbe37bf1ea3b7 I believe ALL of this is connected to the upcoming 100th show on June 13 in Liverpool. I think I Can See You set up an entire premise that something is going to happen in Liverpool that is going to destroy the public image of her past. She and her music are going to escape, but all of these memories that WE recognize of HER also have to be lost in order for that to happen. She just KEEPS using all of this burning, exploding, destructive imagery-but what has she burned down? As far as the public narrative goes, Taylor's plans to re-claim her music has not had to include a total and compete destruction of anything. It started off as a very risky move, but by the time this video was filmed I think it was clear Taylor's entire re-record project was going to be a huge success-she even uses the final shots to tease the next one, further indicating that she had a Plan with this video. The Liverpool Film Office has a post talking about Taylor filming the video. It includes a list of locations which gives even more evidence that Taylor was very thoughtful about where she chose to film this video in particular.
ANYWAY. Thanks all for clowning around with me a bit on this. =) Truly Taylor's burning, exploding, escaping, destroying imagery takes up a TON of space in my brain and it just keeps getting more and more intense and the countdown is getting closer and closer and yeah. I can't stop making connections!!!! And I'm very excited to see what the rest of this year brings!!!!!! |
2024.05.29 04:20 pre-cookedbacon Giveaway!!
 | Free stuff!! Only taking 3 at a time. Lots of bells, items, materials, DIYs, etc. Please take what you want and DO NOT LITTER. There’s a trash can if you want to throw away your OWN items, not mine in the giveaway. submitted by pre-cookedbacon to AnimalCrossingNewHor [link] [comments] No wetsuits please :) No donations required! If you want to bring extra DIYs or bells for other players to keep it going then please drop them in the appropriate section. If you need anything specific let me know and I’ll see if I have it! My island is closed off. Take the pipe. Only leave through the airport please. The giveaway will be shut down if people silently leave. BE PATIENT AND KIND TO OTHERS! I have plenty to give away so don’t fight over things. I will send you a DM when you comment. You have 5 minutes to respond or your turn will be skipped. Trying to get as many people through as possible. Please comment your in-game name, island name, and favorite in-game item or material. Please comment correctly so I know you read the directions. Happy shopping!! |
2024.05.29 04:19 DCEUTourist DeScribe [Time Loop LitRPG]
Chapter 1
“Huff, huff”
Zhong Lin inhaled the heavy gray mist surrounding him, sizzling his already sore lungs. The rancid, musty air did little to soften his scowl aimed at the colossal slab of gravestone. The waning blue moon above casted eerie shadows on the ground, seemingly mocking his desperation.
A reckless punch born out of rage landed on the hard granite. But the carvings of incomprehensible beings responded with little other than broken nerves and muscles.
“HAHAHAHHAHA”
With a loud laugh of self-derision, he roughly fell on the cold, cobbled floor. The chest injury he had forgotten about flared up with the fall. He stared at the blood that flowed from his chest, akin to a river slithering down a mountain, dyeing the floor crimson.
He moved his right hand towards his chest, holding down on the wound. Physical pain was still more bearable than the heart. He had been long used to the pain. Both of heart and body.
“All that for nothing.”
A dispirited mutter left his parched lips as blood and sweat melded together. Divine sense showed his nascent soul in a similar state to his body. As the Qi and Blood competed to leave him, a strong dizziness assaulted his senses, spinning even the azure moon above.
He pulled out a jar with only one red pill left inside.
*Crunch*
Brisk chewing gave life to the hollow, misty temple of death as he gnawed on his final pill. He knew it was futile. When the slab showed no response, he already had a hunch that all his efforts were for naught. Yet, if living a mere moment would increase his non-existent odds, he would seize that moment with everything. He lost too much to stop here.
“You were wrong, father. Trying is never enough.”
Reminiscing about his lives, he couldn’t help but wonder how everything had gone so awry. When he transmigrated to this world, he thought he could redo everything.
A second, no, his first, proper chance at life.
And he had to admit, he had gotten lucky. A loving family. A shed above his head. A heart full of warmth. Brought by the simple act of his mother brushing his hair. By stern reprimands of his father as his sister laughed from behind. But that gave away to the question, had he been a bit too lucky?
“I am sorry, Rin. Your big brother is a coward.”
They say that your life flashes past your eyes before you meet your end. He could not confirm it in his last life, perhaps because he did not have a life worth remembering, but now he could see it clearly.
A scene that frequented him in his nightmares.
It was midnight when the mournful shrieks broke him out of dreams. He sat up to muffled screams, fizzling out, one after another. Even the unending darkness of night was eclipsed by an emerald hue, bleeding into his room from the small crevices of the windows.
From an interstice he watched the man in black robe. With a glowing blade, the dark figure painted the snow in crimson. He saw his father among them, kneeling. A warning in his eyes met his own. And he raced like hell itself chased him, away from the nauseating scent of blood.
And quickly hid inside the house, going away from his room. As fear grasped his soul, the realization hit, his sister was still sleeping, unaware of the carnage outside. Before he could reach out, a footstep froze him, burning him with a primal fear. Only a small, sleepy “Big brother?” reached him, before his heartbeats taking over once again.
But fear whispered at him, to not breathe, to not move, to not go. And he caved in to it, paralyzed, until the screams stopped and the morning sun shone. Only then did he go out, finding her there, lying peacefully.
Only, a bit of perplexity in her azure eyes, which had long lost all semblance of life. Her eyes would continue to stare at him, every night.
Like they did right now as his vision blurred.
“I am sorry, Rin. It should have been me.”
He croaked. There is no pill for regret. Like a gut punch it hit. Often, he wondered why he had been left alive. Before, he thought it was due to him hiding well, but only later did he know that he was spared. After all, there was nowhere to hide from a divine sense.
Sound sleep became a thing of luxury from then on as nightmares took over. Thus, a ten-year-old made revenge his life goal.
But it did not take him long to realize that smarts could not overpower those with the strength to break mountains. Hence, he ran after power, meticulously scheming. Ten years a valet of nobles. Hundreds a slave to immortals. Thousands of years of cultivation. Only to find an answer to one question.
Why was he spared on the night of snowfall?
But efforts matter less where talent is venerated. What took him years took the man of his nightmares a day to accomplish. And by the time Zhong Lin reached nascent soul, his figure of vengeance had long surpassed him by an impossible margin. And he despaired, for as long as he remembered.
Until Requiem landed on his hand, that is. A book of a God long forgotten. A different path to power, beyond what immortals could ever hope to accomplish. And he did whatever the book told him. For that was his only hope.
He found the missing pieces, assembled them, piece by piece. Hiding, running, stealing, slaughtering. Funnily enough. all his efforts only led to him creating his own burial. Perhaps it was karma. Slowly, He felt impending death crawling on his skin as the smell of blood got thicker and thicker.
Faintly, a sound of footsteps could be heard from afar. The firm noise of boots steadily made its way, like death. Inevitable.
Zhong mustered all his remaining strength to stand up, amplifying the dizziness. He had a faint idea of what approached him.
He who led him to the pit of hell.
A black silhouette wearing a gray overcoat slowly emerged from the haze of mist, holding a yellow lantern in his hand. Yet, all the light avoided his visage, scattering before reaching the inky blackness.
“To be honest, I never imagined that you would actually manage to find it yourself.” Zhong Lin’s face crumbled as he listened to the deep, gruff voice mocking him, but he had little to return to the derision reaching his ears. “I must thank you for saving me the trouble.”
Zhong Lin numbly gazed at the figure that went beyond his understanding. A being made of the vast cosmos. Hands made of stars, a face that resembled eternal darkness.
“Sorry. Kid. There was never any inheritance.” Zhong Lin listened to the voice that sounded like a death sentence. In his journey, he had considered many times a question, What if he does not get the inheritance? But he never considered that there was no inheritance to begin with. But all the despair only left as the haze cleared, and a profound numbness filled all that was hollow in his heart.
“Kid” A soft voice reached the ears of the listless Zhong Lin. He watched the inky black around the cosmic figure leave as he brought the lantern up. But more than that familiar voice and face, what brought him more despair is the one single line. “Do you remember the night of snowfall?”
No. It could not have been that early!
His face scrunched up, forming an expression of madness again, his knuckles cracking as they turned white. “Old hermit.” He whispered. He finally connected all the dots. It was not just after he got Requiem. For his entire life, he was but a simple pawn. Chess piece right from the very start of his journey. A mantis unaware of the oriole behind.
No wonder. The only reason why he managed to survive the impossible odds so far was because a higher being was aiding him. He attributed the random burst of luck and lucky encounters to destiny, thinking the world itself wanted him to succeed. How foolish of him when fate has done nothing but mock him.
He stared at the peaceful face of an old hermit; someone he had known for ages. His benefactor, a lifesaver many times,. “Kid, don’t misunderstand. It was never personal.”
“Why?” A quivering voice escaped Zhong Lin’s lips as all of his expression left his face, leaving numbness occupying it once again.
“Why was I spared?” He stared at the being that seemed eternal by now once again, with a black face, hands like the cosmos holding onto a lantern.
Old hermit laughed at the question. “Would you believe me if I said everything was merely a coincidence?”
Zhong Lin watched the burning golden eyes on his eternal black visage peek at his soul. Unfeeling, cold, relishing in his nightmare, refusing to fulfill even his final wish.
And he decided, right there.
The runic seals around his soul unchained as he quickly compressed the Qi on the bead, something he had been keeping inside his soul for a long while. The thunder and fire souls mixed together, creating a mad frenzy of Qi inside him. Soon, all seven souls were burning madly, before destroying themselves within seconds, like an avalanche of Qi.
*BOOOOOOMMMMMM*
The nascent soul destruction created a feint as he propelled the bead forward, to the middle of the gravestone, to the piece he had forged himself. He watched with his dimming divine sense as the bead slowly made its way with a bit of hope, to destroy one of the stones, to stop whatever his plan was.
But right before the bead could reach it. Hermit waved his hand, stopping all the chaotic movement of Qi and soul. Zhong Lin’s final bit of hope died out as he reached his eternal end.
“Almost succeeded. But you were too desperate.” The hermit laughed as he watched the desperate Zhong Lin’s final attempt. Walking towards the frozen bead, he stared at the brewing Qi that would have certainly taken down the entire temple if it hit. .
“And even if you damaged it, it would have only brought me a mild inconvenience.” He ran his fingers on the gravestone, muttering softly. A laughter of elation resounded in the empty hall as he brought out a key from his overcoat. As soon as the key reached the stone, a small hole opened up, like it was made for it. With a clink, the rectangular slab of granite transformed, into a small, unassuming olden black book.
A single ancient word was written on the black cover.
Requiem
“Right? Requiem.”
He stared at the bloody mess caused by the splattered organs and blood on the stone walls. Although he protected himself and Requiem, he shared not that feeling about the old temple of death. He gazed at the detonated Qi that intermixed with the soul energy, all seven souls had been unchained and intermixed.
“Did not even leave yourself a path out for reincarnation. But, kid, you may have chosen well.”
A sigh escaped his lips as he walked off into the dark maws of the door. As he left the temple, it broke down, piece by piece. The large pillars slowly slid underground like it were submerging in water, along with the rest of the temple, disappearing like it never existed, taking with it Zhong Lin's remains. From now on, the old temple of death will have never existed, alongside Zhong Lin.
Or that’s what was supposed to happen.
But an anomalous corruption in time and space was brewing,
submitted by DCEUTourist to HFY [link] [comments]
“Huff, huff”
Zhong Lin inhaled the heavy gray mist surrounding him, sizzling his already sore lungs. The rancid, musty air did little to soften his scowl aimed at the colossal slab of gravestone. The waning blue moon above casted eerie shadows on the ground, seemingly mocking his desperation.
A reckless punch born out of rage landed on the hard granite. But the carvings of incomprehensible beings responded with little other than broken nerves and muscles.
“HAHAHAHHAHA”
With a loud laugh of self-derision, he roughly fell on the cold, cobbled floor. The chest injury he had forgotten about flared up with the fall. He stared at the blood that flowed from his chest, akin to a river slithering down a mountain, dyeing the floor crimson.
He moved his right hand towards his chest, holding down on the wound. Physical pain was still more bearable than the heart. He had been long used to the pain. Both of heart and body.
“All that for nothing.”
A dispirited mutter left his parched lips as blood and sweat melded together. Divine sense showed his nascent soul in a similar state to his body. As the Qi and Blood competed to leave him, a strong dizziness assaulted his senses, spinning even the azure moon above.
He pulled out a jar with only one red pill left inside.
*Crunch*
Brisk chewing gave life to the hollow, misty temple of death as he gnawed on his final pill. He knew it was futile. When the slab showed no response, he already had a hunch that all his efforts were for naught. Yet, if living a mere moment would increase his non-existent odds, he would seize that moment with everything. He lost too much to stop here.
“You were wrong, father. Trying is never enough.”
Reminiscing about his lives, he couldn’t help but wonder how everything had gone so awry. When he transmigrated to this world, he thought he could redo everything.
A second, no, his first, proper chance at life.
And he had to admit, he had gotten lucky. A loving family. A shed above his head. A heart full of warmth. Brought by the simple act of his mother brushing his hair. By stern reprimands of his father as his sister laughed from behind. But that gave away to the question, had he been a bit too lucky?
“I am sorry, Rin. Your big brother is a coward.”
They say that your life flashes past your eyes before you meet your end. He could not confirm it in his last life, perhaps because he did not have a life worth remembering, but now he could see it clearly.
A scene that frequented him in his nightmares.
It was midnight when the mournful shrieks broke him out of dreams. He sat up to muffled screams, fizzling out, one after another. Even the unending darkness of night was eclipsed by an emerald hue, bleeding into his room from the small crevices of the windows.
From an interstice he watched the man in black robe. With a glowing blade, the dark figure painted the snow in crimson. He saw his father among them, kneeling. A warning in his eyes met his own. And he raced like hell itself chased him, away from the nauseating scent of blood.
And quickly hid inside the house, going away from his room. As fear grasped his soul, the realization hit, his sister was still sleeping, unaware of the carnage outside. Before he could reach out, a footstep froze him, burning him with a primal fear. Only a small, sleepy “Big brother?” reached him, before his heartbeats taking over once again.
But fear whispered at him, to not breathe, to not move, to not go. And he caved in to it, paralyzed, until the screams stopped and the morning sun shone. Only then did he go out, finding her there, lying peacefully.
Only, a bit of perplexity in her azure eyes, which had long lost all semblance of life. Her eyes would continue to stare at him, every night.
Like they did right now as his vision blurred.
“I am sorry, Rin. It should have been me.”
He croaked. There is no pill for regret. Like a gut punch it hit. Often, he wondered why he had been left alive. Before, he thought it was due to him hiding well, but only later did he know that he was spared. After all, there was nowhere to hide from a divine sense.
Sound sleep became a thing of luxury from then on as nightmares took over. Thus, a ten-year-old made revenge his life goal.
But it did not take him long to realize that smarts could not overpower those with the strength to break mountains. Hence, he ran after power, meticulously scheming. Ten years a valet of nobles. Hundreds a slave to immortals. Thousands of years of cultivation. Only to find an answer to one question.
Why was he spared on the night of snowfall?
But efforts matter less where talent is venerated. What took him years took the man of his nightmares a day to accomplish. And by the time Zhong Lin reached nascent soul, his figure of vengeance had long surpassed him by an impossible margin. And he despaired, for as long as he remembered.
Until Requiem landed on his hand, that is. A book of a God long forgotten. A different path to power, beyond what immortals could ever hope to accomplish. And he did whatever the book told him. For that was his only hope.
He found the missing pieces, assembled them, piece by piece. Hiding, running, stealing, slaughtering. Funnily enough. all his efforts only led to him creating his own burial. Perhaps it was karma. Slowly, He felt impending death crawling on his skin as the smell of blood got thicker and thicker.
Faintly, a sound of footsteps could be heard from afar. The firm noise of boots steadily made its way, like death. Inevitable.
Zhong mustered all his remaining strength to stand up, amplifying the dizziness. He had a faint idea of what approached him.
He who led him to the pit of hell.
A black silhouette wearing a gray overcoat slowly emerged from the haze of mist, holding a yellow lantern in his hand. Yet, all the light avoided his visage, scattering before reaching the inky blackness.
“To be honest, I never imagined that you would actually manage to find it yourself.” Zhong Lin’s face crumbled as he listened to the deep, gruff voice mocking him, but he had little to return to the derision reaching his ears. “I must thank you for saving me the trouble.”
Zhong Lin numbly gazed at the figure that went beyond his understanding. A being made of the vast cosmos. Hands made of stars, a face that resembled eternal darkness.
“Sorry. Kid. There was never any inheritance.” Zhong Lin listened to the voice that sounded like a death sentence. In his journey, he had considered many times a question, What if he does not get the inheritance? But he never considered that there was no inheritance to begin with. But all the despair only left as the haze cleared, and a profound numbness filled all that was hollow in his heart.
“Kid” A soft voice reached the ears of the listless Zhong Lin. He watched the inky black around the cosmic figure leave as he brought the lantern up. But more than that familiar voice and face, what brought him more despair is the one single line. “Do you remember the night of snowfall?”
No. It could not have been that early!
His face scrunched up, forming an expression of madness again, his knuckles cracking as they turned white. “Old hermit.” He whispered. He finally connected all the dots. It was not just after he got Requiem. For his entire life, he was but a simple pawn. Chess piece right from the very start of his journey. A mantis unaware of the oriole behind.
No wonder. The only reason why he managed to survive the impossible odds so far was because a higher being was aiding him. He attributed the random burst of luck and lucky encounters to destiny, thinking the world itself wanted him to succeed. How foolish of him when fate has done nothing but mock him.
He stared at the peaceful face of an old hermit; someone he had known for ages. His benefactor, a lifesaver many times,. “Kid, don’t misunderstand. It was never personal.”
“Why?” A quivering voice escaped Zhong Lin’s lips as all of his expression left his face, leaving numbness occupying it once again.
“Why was I spared?” He stared at the being that seemed eternal by now once again, with a black face, hands like the cosmos holding onto a lantern.
Old hermit laughed at the question. “Would you believe me if I said everything was merely a coincidence?”
Zhong Lin watched the burning golden eyes on his eternal black visage peek at his soul. Unfeeling, cold, relishing in his nightmare, refusing to fulfill even his final wish.
And he decided, right there.
The runic seals around his soul unchained as he quickly compressed the Qi on the bead, something he had been keeping inside his soul for a long while. The thunder and fire souls mixed together, creating a mad frenzy of Qi inside him. Soon, all seven souls were burning madly, before destroying themselves within seconds, like an avalanche of Qi.
*BOOOOOOMMMMMM*
The nascent soul destruction created a feint as he propelled the bead forward, to the middle of the gravestone, to the piece he had forged himself. He watched with his dimming divine sense as the bead slowly made its way with a bit of hope, to destroy one of the stones, to stop whatever his plan was.
But right before the bead could reach it. Hermit waved his hand, stopping all the chaotic movement of Qi and soul. Zhong Lin’s final bit of hope died out as he reached his eternal end.
“Almost succeeded. But you were too desperate.” The hermit laughed as he watched the desperate Zhong Lin’s final attempt. Walking towards the frozen bead, he stared at the brewing Qi that would have certainly taken down the entire temple if it hit. .
“And even if you damaged it, it would have only brought me a mild inconvenience.” He ran his fingers on the gravestone, muttering softly. A laughter of elation resounded in the empty hall as he brought out a key from his overcoat. As soon as the key reached the stone, a small hole opened up, like it was made for it. With a clink, the rectangular slab of granite transformed, into a small, unassuming olden black book.
A single ancient word was written on the black cover.
Requiem
“Right? Requiem.”
He stared at the bloody mess caused by the splattered organs and blood on the stone walls. Although he protected himself and Requiem, he shared not that feeling about the old temple of death. He gazed at the detonated Qi that intermixed with the soul energy, all seven souls had been unchained and intermixed.
“Did not even leave yourself a path out for reincarnation. But, kid, you may have chosen well.”
A sigh escaped his lips as he walked off into the dark maws of the door. As he left the temple, it broke down, piece by piece. The large pillars slowly slid underground like it were submerging in water, along with the rest of the temple, disappearing like it never existed, taking with it Zhong Lin's remains. From now on, the old temple of death will have never existed, alongside Zhong Lin.
Or that’s what was supposed to happen.
But an anomalous corruption in time and space was brewing,
2024.05.29 04:16 Specific-Air932 Trying to NOT DO something is actually difficult than trying TO DO something everyday
Just a random thought.
Its easier to force your self to do something everyday as a routine, than to try and not do something or restrict yourself. I guess its the way we are no?
Its easy to tell yourself to chug down a certain amount of water everyday, its 'easier' to force yourself to spend some time in the gym. Its 'easier' to get yourself to sit down and study.
What's difficult is to tell yourself not to do something which supposedly brings your body the pleasure or happiness it thinks it wants in the moment.
Its like not allowing yourself to watch youtube, or eat chocolate or just be happy. I mean why wouldn't you let yourself do that.
I think the way we approach not touching ourselves and accompanying that with watching other people touch themselves should change.
Perhaps we shouldn't look at it from a perspective of "I shouldn't do this", rather I'm going to do these 10 different other things than touch myself cuz I'm a cool person and these things are beneath me.
We should imagine ourselves a little elite. In our heads atleast we must look down on the entire concept of this action the way rich people who fly in first class or private jets look down on economy. There's a certain amount of class as muslims we must maintain when it comes to these actions. The way we view ourselves must change regardless of our present circumstances. As we try to climb out of the ditch we fell into, we need to keep believing we will get ourselves out, and that there is no otherway than OUT! We mustn't entertain the thought of failure even though we are prone to it.
Like no one builds a house thinking it will cave in one day due to whatever reasons. You build it thinking that it will shelter you and you will be happy. And even if one day it does cave in, you say Allah Malik.
So even if we fail we mustn't stop hoping and believing. You will get out one day. Its quite near! Allah knows it, that's why he's kept you alive. He wants you to work towards seeing that day.
I want you to know that everyday that you wake up is proof that you actually are going to end up beating this demon. There's enough people saying how difficult and harrowing this is.
This sin is grave in its effects on us. But let's change it up. Let's believe that this is easy. Let's believe that as Muslims with class we are above this indecent act and that this is trivial and there are much more important things for you to tend to.
This is the way I look at it and I think we should adopt this internal mental high ground.
Brother's and sisters we will do it. Allah has given us a chance once again to prove him right. Dont worry about letting him down, just dont let yourselves down, and you will end up not letting him down.
I pray for all of you! May Allah show you the good days he has written for you!
submitted by Specific-Air932 to MuslimNoFap [link] [comments]
Its easier to force your self to do something everyday as a routine, than to try and not do something or restrict yourself. I guess its the way we are no?
Its easy to tell yourself to chug down a certain amount of water everyday, its 'easier' to force yourself to spend some time in the gym. Its 'easier' to get yourself to sit down and study.
What's difficult is to tell yourself not to do something which supposedly brings your body the pleasure or happiness it thinks it wants in the moment.
Its like not allowing yourself to watch youtube, or eat chocolate or just be happy. I mean why wouldn't you let yourself do that.
I think the way we approach not touching ourselves and accompanying that with watching other people touch themselves should change.
Perhaps we shouldn't look at it from a perspective of "I shouldn't do this", rather I'm going to do these 10 different other things than touch myself cuz I'm a cool person and these things are beneath me.
We should imagine ourselves a little elite. In our heads atleast we must look down on the entire concept of this action the way rich people who fly in first class or private jets look down on economy. There's a certain amount of class as muslims we must maintain when it comes to these actions. The way we view ourselves must change regardless of our present circumstances. As we try to climb out of the ditch we fell into, we need to keep believing we will get ourselves out, and that there is no otherway than OUT! We mustn't entertain the thought of failure even though we are prone to it.
Like no one builds a house thinking it will cave in one day due to whatever reasons. You build it thinking that it will shelter you and you will be happy. And even if one day it does cave in, you say Allah Malik.
So even if we fail we mustn't stop hoping and believing. You will get out one day. Its quite near! Allah knows it, that's why he's kept you alive. He wants you to work towards seeing that day.
I want you to know that everyday that you wake up is proof that you actually are going to end up beating this demon. There's enough people saying how difficult and harrowing this is.
This sin is grave in its effects on us. But let's change it up. Let's believe that this is easy. Let's believe that as Muslims with class we are above this indecent act and that this is trivial and there are much more important things for you to tend to.
This is the way I look at it and I think we should adopt this internal mental high ground.
Brother's and sisters we will do it. Allah has given us a chance once again to prove him right. Dont worry about letting him down, just dont let yourselves down, and you will end up not letting him down.
I pray for all of you! May Allah show you the good days he has written for you!
2024.05.29 04:14 Sweet_Bat_7516 All are at least ok. 7 is by far the worst tho.
 | I have many questions. 1: what types of oyster? like I can understand them? Or I can communicate if I want? Can they communicate with me? If I walk past a seafood restaurant will I hear them screaming? 2: how much is meant by "for life" like I can just summon as much gravel as I want? "Bow down to me or the entire planet gets buried in gravel, starting with france." 3: how fast can i do this? Can i just teleport a billion times and go flying across the earth? When I teleport what us left where I teleport from? Because if I teleport and where I teleport from nothing is left, that would theoretically create a true vacuum, and destroy the entire universe at the speed of light. 4: does the pill create 2nd airways for the new nose or do I just have a useless nose? 5: does control mean like I can just make it turn on and stuff? If so does it need plugged in? Does it still heat? Great energy resource if so! But does control mean telekinesis? If so then I will form all the toasters on the planet and overthrow the world government. And become king of planet earth. I will put little toasters into the ocean. It will be like mocroplastics. You disagree with me being king? Well millions of micro-toasters are tearing through your fucking intestines you bitch. 6: is this pill repeatable? Am I able to do this multiple times? Does this pill send my body to how it was 10 hours ago or does it only reverse age? Got shot? I'm ten hours younger. Got cancer? Reverse until before I had cancer! Sell bone marrow, reverse, repeat. 7: pretty uselessgambling. Do that one game with the cups and the ball. By process of elimination you wont be able to see into 1 cup. Find these people all over the country and get moderately rich. Either that or take literally any other pill. 8: apply to teams trying to figure out the abandoned language, pretend to be the brilliant man that deciphered an abandoned language. 9: what age of Albert are we talking here? His current running speed is zero. Peak albert einstein speed? Sounds pretty good. Can I turn this on and off? Or is this forever? I'm not a fast runner so personally this doesnt seem too bad. 80 year old be is gonna be fucking booking it out of the nursing home. submitted by Sweet_Bat_7516 to 196 [link] [comments] |
2024.05.29 04:13 Stormcoming7 [F4M] Your Neighbor Asks to Stay the Night... [Vampire Speaker] [Oblivious Listener] [Protective Listener] [Memory Magic] [Pining] [Vampire Feeding] [Possessive]
Intro: Man, what a day. Well, it’s all over now. Time to just relax on the couch and unwind… Wait, why is the doorbell ringing? Who could that be? And are you getting… deja vu?
Summary: Listener allows Speaker inside and they spend a little time together before Speaker reveals that she is a vampire, as well as a few other things. She then drinks some of Listener’s blood and leaves.
Go ahead and monetize, it's fine. Word count is about 1600.
If you fill this or plan to fill this, please notify me. Please don't make edits without asking first.
Line breaks represent the listener talking or space where no one talks and should be short pauses, words within {brackets} represent the speaker’s tone or sfx. At ellipses, the speaker trails off, and at dashes, she is either cut off abruptly by the listener or by herself.
Author’s Note: All right, the last Feather script, I’m finally caught up. Sorry this took so long to get out, I promise I didn’t want it to be this late, but hey! It’s here now, and I hope y’all enjoy.
If you want to read this somewhere other than Reddit, it's also here.
{doorbell sfx}
{door opens sfx} {stressed} Hi. Hello there. Good day. Well, good evening, I guess. Or good night, the sun’s already down. How are you doing today?
No wait please don’t close the door- I promise I’m not trying to sell you something! Look, it’s me. It’s {insert name here}. Your neighbor. You recognize me, right? We met at that Fourth of July party last year?
Yeah, yeah, I know, been a while. My job basically forces me to be nocturnal, otherwise I promise I’d be less non-existent. I’m not completely anti-social, I just… sleep while everyone else is doing things.
{apologetic} I- yeah, okay, so. Ohh, this is gonna sound terrible. This is gonna sound bad.
…Can I stay the night here? Look, normally I’d never ask this, because we don’t even know each other, obviously, but I accidentally locked myself out of my house, and I don’t know anyone else on the street either, and, well, I remembered you being friendly that time that we did meet, and it’s really cold out and I don’t want to try to sleep in my car, and-
{hopeful} You… you will?
{relieved} Oh, thank you. I’ll come up with a way to pay you back, I promise.
{hesitant} You’re sure I can come in? I mean, you still don’t really know me, and you’re inviting me into your house. You’re okay with that?
{relieved} Thank you. I promise, I don’t need much. I already ate, and I can just sleep on the couch. I don’t want to cause you any bother.
{happy} Oh, wow, it’s warm in here. I never expect it to be this warm. Uh, when I go over to other people’s places. My house and the building I work at are always freezing, so this is nice. Feels like a place I can just relax, y’know?
Wha- huh? {dismissive} No, no, it’s fine. I’ll call a locksmith in the morning, and hell, worst comes to worst, I’ll break a window. I just needed someplace where I wouldn’t freeze to death while I waited. Which, thank you again for providing.
{serious} I mean, yeah. You saw the weather report, right? Not the nicest out tonight. I don’t think I would’ve gotten frostbite, but it wouldn’t have been fun to find out.
{confused} My hands? Why…?
Oh, they can’t be that cold, right?
{hesitant} Uh… not very long? Maybe only an hour? Because first I was trying to get inside, and then I was working up the courage to knock because I didn’t want to bother you, and-
{placating} What- oh, no, come on, you don’t have to do that. I promise, I’m fine just being in here, I already feel much better-
{taken aback} That’s a very large blanket.
Okay, two of them feels excessive, I-
All right, fine. Many blankets are fine.
No, no, I said I already ate, I’m not hungry, I- {interested} did you say hot chocolate? Well. Maybe I could have a little.
Wow, that was fast. Did you already have the water boiling?
Mmm! This is delicious, what brand is it?
I should’ve guessed. Homemade is always better, especially when it’s made in a home as nice as this.
Well, if you really want me to eat something, do you maybe still have any of that peach cobbler? That was- what?
{scrambling} Oh, I mean- well, uh, I- {sigh} {sad} Damn. Guess I got a little too comfy there, didn’t I? And I was really looking forward to the movie you were going to suggest…
{reasonable} All right, no, calm down, I promise I can explain, just- {disappointed} ugh. This isn’t going to work.
{magically resonant} Still.
{fond} That’s better. No freaking out tonight, okay?
Here, come on, let’s sit you down. Put those blankets on you. Does that feel nice? I know you can’t answer, but I’m going to assume that feels nice.
{sigh} What am I going to do with you?
I really am sorry about this, I promise it’s not how I wanted the night to go. It’s just hard to stay on my guard about things like that when I’m here. This place relaxes me, you feel more like home than anywhere I’ve ever lived has. My tongue tends to slip. I’m sure you understand.
Ah, I should explain. I suppose I don’t have to, you won’t remember anyway, but you do deserve to know what’s happening. I come over here… rather a lot. I always use some variant of the “poor, lost innocent” act, and it works every time. You let me in, and you start trying to take care of me, and you’re always so protective and sweet… it’s nice. The first few times, I was annoyed. I thought your kindness was just weakness, or worse, that you were only being kind because you wanted something. I didn’t even realize how hypocritical I was being, can you believe that? But it’s true. It took more weeks than I’d like to admit to realize how good it felt, having you want to take care of me. Once I did, I started coming by more often, staying longer, trying to get to know you better in the time that we had. I started looking forward to getting to take a load off with you more and more, too. It’s gotten to the point where staying with you is the brightest spot in my week. This house has become my little home-away-from-home, my sanctuary from all my problems. And you’re what makes it that, so thank you.
Oy, all of that, and you’re probably more confused than when I started. I suppose I’ve danced around the relevant point. {hesitant} I- uh. Well, I’m- Well, there’s no easy way to say it. I’m a vampire, and at the end of every night, I feed on you and remove your memories of me.
{reassuring} No, no, keep calm. I can feel your heart rate increasing, there’s no need for it to. I’m not here to hurt you, I promise. I haven’t hurt you any time before, and I don’t plan to start now. I would never.
I’m only here for a tiny bit of blood, just a taste, really. You won’t even notice the loss. Well, okay, you might notice it a little. You’ll probably feel kind of weak in the morning, but the marks will have faded away completely, and the bite won’t even hurt. We’ve done this dozens of times by now, and I promise, the worst you’ve felt is a little woozy.
I think it’ll even feel good. You’ve definitely seemed happy with the feeling before.
{sad, tired} Oh, don’t look at me like that! You think I want it to be like this? I hate having to pretend not to know you, not to love…
I hate it, almost as much as I hate the lack of recognition in your eyes when you see me. I want you to know me. To light up when you see me. But this is the way it has to be.
{yearning} I’ve thought about coming to you under other pretenses… introducing myself, maybe starting a real relationship. I could take care of you after every feeding instead of abandoning you, like I want to so badly. I could spend more time in your refuge from the chaos of the world, and give you someone to share it with. I think we’d both be happy… but it’s not that simple, is it? Every day takes us farther from our first meeting, makes it harder to introduce myself, and every memory we make makes me more likely to out myself, as we saw earlier. Besides, I’ve gotten used to this. I like being able to treat you as a safe place, without having to put any burdens on you. And God knows, dating a vampire - hell, just being friends with one - comes with burdens… You deserve better than that. I still want to be a part of your life, one day, and to have you be a part of mine, but it can’t happen today. I can’t do that to you today.
{resolve} All I can do is enjoy the time I can steal with you, and watch over you from afar. Stop anyone else from destroying this little sanctuary of ours. Keep you safe from… interlopers. But there’s no need to discuss them. Not now.
{disappointed sigh} I really was looking forward to spending time with you tonight. Maybe you would’ve even finally asked me to cuddle… A shame it has to be cut short.
{amused} Well, not such a shame. Titans, you smell good. Reminds me of why I wanted your blood in the first place, it might be the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted. Another reason I like coming here so much, probably.
{placating} All right, now just hold still… I mean, I know you can’t do much else, but please try to relax. This will only hurt for a moment.
{vampire feeding} {You can make this sound realistic, with slurping and the occasional moan, or you can just make it sound like someone drinking from a Caprisun. One of the above will be funnier.}
{satisfied} Ahh, that was wonderful. Do you think you’re feeling all right, after that? I- {sad} oh. You can’t answer, can you? I could - I really should - unfreeze you. Listen to what you have to say about… all of this. Maybe you’d be okay with it? Maybe you’d even… accept me? But no. What if you told me to leave and never come back? I don’t think I’m brave enough for that. I can’t lose this… I can’t lose you, even if watching you forget me is almost the same.
I am sorry about this. I say that every time, and it never stops being true. I don’t want to do this to you. But it’s the way it has to be. {sigh} {quiet} Maybe if I keep telling myself that, it’ll start feeling true…
{magically resonant} Forget.
Sleep.
{tender} Good night, love. I’ll see you again soon.
submitted by Stormcoming7 to talkingtalltales [link] [comments]
Summary: Listener allows Speaker inside and they spend a little time together before Speaker reveals that she is a vampire, as well as a few other things. She then drinks some of Listener’s blood and leaves.
Go ahead and monetize, it's fine. Word count is about 1600.
If you fill this or plan to fill this, please notify me. Please don't make edits without asking first.
Line breaks represent the listener talking or space where no one talks and should be short pauses, words within {brackets} represent the speaker’s tone or sfx. At ellipses, the speaker trails off, and at dashes, she is either cut off abruptly by the listener or by herself.
Author’s Note: All right, the last Feather script, I’m finally caught up. Sorry this took so long to get out, I promise I didn’t want it to be this late, but hey! It’s here now, and I hope y’all enjoy.
If you want to read this somewhere other than Reddit, it's also here.
{doorbell sfx}
{door opens sfx} {stressed} Hi. Hello there. Good day. Well, good evening, I guess. Or good night, the sun’s already down. How are you doing today?
No wait please don’t close the door- I promise I’m not trying to sell you something! Look, it’s me. It’s {insert name here}. Your neighbor. You recognize me, right? We met at that Fourth of July party last year?
Yeah, yeah, I know, been a while. My job basically forces me to be nocturnal, otherwise I promise I’d be less non-existent. I’m not completely anti-social, I just… sleep while everyone else is doing things.
{apologetic} I- yeah, okay, so. Ohh, this is gonna sound terrible. This is gonna sound bad.
…Can I stay the night here? Look, normally I’d never ask this, because we don’t even know each other, obviously, but I accidentally locked myself out of my house, and I don’t know anyone else on the street either, and, well, I remembered you being friendly that time that we did meet, and it’s really cold out and I don’t want to try to sleep in my car, and-
{hopeful} You… you will?
{relieved} Oh, thank you. I’ll come up with a way to pay you back, I promise.
{hesitant} You’re sure I can come in? I mean, you still don’t really know me, and you’re inviting me into your house. You’re okay with that?
{relieved} Thank you. I promise, I don’t need much. I already ate, and I can just sleep on the couch. I don’t want to cause you any bother.
{happy} Oh, wow, it’s warm in here. I never expect it to be this warm. Uh, when I go over to other people’s places. My house and the building I work at are always freezing, so this is nice. Feels like a place I can just relax, y’know?
Wha- huh? {dismissive} No, no, it’s fine. I’ll call a locksmith in the morning, and hell, worst comes to worst, I’ll break a window. I just needed someplace where I wouldn’t freeze to death while I waited. Which, thank you again for providing.
{serious} I mean, yeah. You saw the weather report, right? Not the nicest out tonight. I don’t think I would’ve gotten frostbite, but it wouldn’t have been fun to find out.
{confused} My hands? Why…?
Oh, they can’t be that cold, right?
{hesitant} Uh… not very long? Maybe only an hour? Because first I was trying to get inside, and then I was working up the courage to knock because I didn’t want to bother you, and-
{placating} What- oh, no, come on, you don’t have to do that. I promise, I’m fine just being in here, I already feel much better-
{taken aback} That’s a very large blanket.
Okay, two of them feels excessive, I-
All right, fine. Many blankets are fine.
No, no, I said I already ate, I’m not hungry, I- {interested} did you say hot chocolate? Well. Maybe I could have a little.
Wow, that was fast. Did you already have the water boiling?
Mmm! This is delicious, what brand is it?
I should’ve guessed. Homemade is always better, especially when it’s made in a home as nice as this.
Well, if you really want me to eat something, do you maybe still have any of that peach cobbler? That was- what?
{scrambling} Oh, I mean- well, uh, I- {sigh} {sad} Damn. Guess I got a little too comfy there, didn’t I? And I was really looking forward to the movie you were going to suggest…
{reasonable} All right, no, calm down, I promise I can explain, just- {disappointed} ugh. This isn’t going to work.
{magically resonant} Still.
{fond} That’s better. No freaking out tonight, okay?
Here, come on, let’s sit you down. Put those blankets on you. Does that feel nice? I know you can’t answer, but I’m going to assume that feels nice.
{sigh} What am I going to do with you?
I really am sorry about this, I promise it’s not how I wanted the night to go. It’s just hard to stay on my guard about things like that when I’m here. This place relaxes me, you feel more like home than anywhere I’ve ever lived has. My tongue tends to slip. I’m sure you understand.
Ah, I should explain. I suppose I don’t have to, you won’t remember anyway, but you do deserve to know what’s happening. I come over here… rather a lot. I always use some variant of the “poor, lost innocent” act, and it works every time. You let me in, and you start trying to take care of me, and you’re always so protective and sweet… it’s nice. The first few times, I was annoyed. I thought your kindness was just weakness, or worse, that you were only being kind because you wanted something. I didn’t even realize how hypocritical I was being, can you believe that? But it’s true. It took more weeks than I’d like to admit to realize how good it felt, having you want to take care of me. Once I did, I started coming by more often, staying longer, trying to get to know you better in the time that we had. I started looking forward to getting to take a load off with you more and more, too. It’s gotten to the point where staying with you is the brightest spot in my week. This house has become my little home-away-from-home, my sanctuary from all my problems. And you’re what makes it that, so thank you.
Oy, all of that, and you’re probably more confused than when I started. I suppose I’ve danced around the relevant point. {hesitant} I- uh. Well, I’m- Well, there’s no easy way to say it. I’m a vampire, and at the end of every night, I feed on you and remove your memories of me.
{reassuring} No, no, keep calm. I can feel your heart rate increasing, there’s no need for it to. I’m not here to hurt you, I promise. I haven’t hurt you any time before, and I don’t plan to start now. I would never.
I’m only here for a tiny bit of blood, just a taste, really. You won’t even notice the loss. Well, okay, you might notice it a little. You’ll probably feel kind of weak in the morning, but the marks will have faded away completely, and the bite won’t even hurt. We’ve done this dozens of times by now, and I promise, the worst you’ve felt is a little woozy.
I think it’ll even feel good. You’ve definitely seemed happy with the feeling before.
{sad, tired} Oh, don’t look at me like that! You think I want it to be like this? I hate having to pretend not to know you, not to love…
I hate it, almost as much as I hate the lack of recognition in your eyes when you see me. I want you to know me. To light up when you see me. But this is the way it has to be.
{yearning} I’ve thought about coming to you under other pretenses… introducing myself, maybe starting a real relationship. I could take care of you after every feeding instead of abandoning you, like I want to so badly. I could spend more time in your refuge from the chaos of the world, and give you someone to share it with. I think we’d both be happy… but it’s not that simple, is it? Every day takes us farther from our first meeting, makes it harder to introduce myself, and every memory we make makes me more likely to out myself, as we saw earlier. Besides, I’ve gotten used to this. I like being able to treat you as a safe place, without having to put any burdens on you. And God knows, dating a vampire - hell, just being friends with one - comes with burdens… You deserve better than that. I still want to be a part of your life, one day, and to have you be a part of mine, but it can’t happen today. I can’t do that to you today.
{resolve} All I can do is enjoy the time I can steal with you, and watch over you from afar. Stop anyone else from destroying this little sanctuary of ours. Keep you safe from… interlopers. But there’s no need to discuss them. Not now.
{disappointed sigh} I really was looking forward to spending time with you tonight. Maybe you would’ve even finally asked me to cuddle… A shame it has to be cut short.
{amused} Well, not such a shame. Titans, you smell good. Reminds me of why I wanted your blood in the first place, it might be the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted. Another reason I like coming here so much, probably.
{placating} All right, now just hold still… I mean, I know you can’t do much else, but please try to relax. This will only hurt for a moment.
{vampire feeding} {You can make this sound realistic, with slurping and the occasional moan, or you can just make it sound like someone drinking from a Caprisun. One of the above will be funnier.}
{satisfied} Ahh, that was wonderful. Do you think you’re feeling all right, after that? I- {sad} oh. You can’t answer, can you? I could - I really should - unfreeze you. Listen to what you have to say about… all of this. Maybe you’d be okay with it? Maybe you’d even… accept me? But no. What if you told me to leave and never come back? I don’t think I’m brave enough for that. I can’t lose this… I can’t lose you, even if watching you forget me is almost the same.
I am sorry about this. I say that every time, and it never stops being true. I don’t want to do this to you. But it’s the way it has to be. {sigh} {quiet} Maybe if I keep telling myself that, it’ll start feeling true…
{magically resonant} Forget.
Sleep.
{tender} Good night, love. I’ll see you again soon.
2024.05.29 04:13 Stormcoming7 [F4M] Your Neighbor Asks to Stay the Night... [Vampire Speaker] [Oblivious Listener] [Protective Listener] [Memory Magic] [Pining] [Vampire Feeding] [Possessive]
Intro: Man, what a day. Well, it’s all over now. Time to just relax on the couch and unwind… Wait, why is the doorbell ringing? Who could that be? And are you getting… deja vu?
Summary: Listener allows Speaker inside and they spend a little time together before Speaker reveals that she is a vampire, as well as a few other things. She then drinks some of Listener’s blood and leaves.
Go ahead and monetize, it's fine. Word count is about 1600.
If you fill this or plan to fill this, please notify me. Please don't make edits without asking first.
Line breaks represent the listener talking or space where no one talks and should be short pauses, words within {brackets} represent the speaker’s tone or sfx. At ellipses, the speaker trails off, and at dashes, she is either cut off abruptly by the listener or by herself.
Author’s Note: All right, the last Feather script, I’m finally caught up. Sorry this took so long to get out, I promise I didn’t want it to be this late, but hey! It’s here now, and I hope y’all enjoy.
If you want to read this somewhere other than Reddit, it's also here.
{doorbell sfx}
{door opens sfx} {stressed} Hi. Hello there. Good day. Well, good evening, I guess. Or good night, the sun’s already down. How are you doing today?
No wait please don’t close the door- I promise I’m not trying to sell you something! Look, it’s me. It’s {insert name here}. Your neighbor. You recognize me, right? We met at that Fourth of July party last year?
Yeah, yeah, I know, been a while. My job basically forces me to be nocturnal, otherwise I promise I’d be less non-existent. I’m not completely anti-social, I just… sleep while everyone else is doing things.
{apologetic} I- yeah, okay, so. Ohh, this is gonna sound terrible. This is gonna sound bad.
…Can I stay the night here? Look, normally I’d never ask this, because we don’t even know each other, obviously, but I accidentally locked myself out of my house, and I don’t know anyone else on the street either, and, well, I remembered you being friendly that time that we did meet, and it’s really cold out and I don’t want to try to sleep in my car, and-
{hopeful} You… you will?
{relieved} Oh, thank you. I’ll come up with a way to pay you back, I promise.
{hesitant} You’re sure I can come in? I mean, you still don’t really know me, and you’re inviting me into your house. You’re okay with that?
{relieved} Thank you. I promise, I don’t need much. I already ate, and I can just sleep on the couch. I don’t want to cause you any bother.
{happy} Oh, wow, it’s warm in here. I never expect it to be this warm. Uh, when I go over to other people’s places. My house and the building I work at are always freezing, so this is nice. Feels like a place I can just relax, y’know?
Wha- huh? {dismissive} No, no, it’s fine. I’ll call a locksmith in the morning, and hell, worst comes to worst, I’ll break a window. I just needed someplace where I wouldn’t freeze to death while I waited. Which, thank you again for providing.
{serious} I mean, yeah. You saw the weather report, right? Not the nicest out tonight. I don’t think I would’ve gotten frostbite, but it wouldn’t have been fun to find out.
{confused} My hands? Why…?
Oh, they can’t be that cold, right?
{hesitant} Uh… not very long? Maybe only an hour? Because first I was trying to get inside, and then I was working up the courage to knock because I didn’t want to bother you, and-
{placating} What- oh, no, come on, you don’t have to do that. I promise, I’m fine just being in here, I already feel much better-
{taken aback} That’s a very large blanket.
Okay, two of them feels excessive, I-
All right, fine. Many blankets are fine.
No, no, I said I already ate, I’m not hungry, I- {interested} did you say hot chocolate? Well. Maybe I could have a little.
Wow, that was fast. Did you already have the water boiling?
Mmm! This is delicious, what brand is it?
I should’ve guessed. Homemade is always better, especially when it’s made in a home as nice as this.
Well, if you really want me to eat something, do you maybe still have any of that peach cobbler? That was- what?
{scrambling} Oh, I mean- well, uh, I- {sigh} {sad} Damn. Guess I got a little too comfy there, didn’t I? And I was really looking forward to the movie you were going to suggest…
{reasonable} All right, no, calm down, I promise I can explain, just- {disappointed} ugh. This isn’t going to work.
{magically resonant} Still.
{fond} That’s better. No freaking out tonight, okay?
Here, come on, let’s sit you down. Put those blankets on you. Does that feel nice? I know you can’t answer, but I’m going to assume that feels nice.
{sigh} What am I going to do with you?
I really am sorry about this, I promise it’s not how I wanted the night to go. It’s just hard to stay on my guard about things like that when I’m here. This place relaxes me, you feel more like home than anywhere I’ve ever lived has. My tongue tends to slip. I’m sure you understand.
Ah, I should explain. I suppose I don’t have to, you won’t remember anyway, but you do deserve to know what’s happening. I come over here… rather a lot. I always use some variant of the “poor, lost innocent” act, and it works every time. You let me in, and you start trying to take care of me, and you’re always so protective and sweet… it’s nice. The first few times, I was annoyed. I thought your kindness was just weakness, or worse, that you were only being kind because you wanted something. I didn’t even realize how hypocritical I was being, can you believe that? But it’s true. It took more weeks than I’d like to admit to realize how good it felt, having you want to take care of me. Once I did, I started coming by more often, staying longer, trying to get to know you better in the time that we had. I started looking forward to getting to take a load off with you more and more, too. It’s gotten to the point where staying with you is the brightest spot in my week. This house has become my little home-away-from-home, my sanctuary from all my problems. And you’re what makes it that, so thank you.
Oy, all of that, and you’re probably more confused than when I started. I suppose I’ve danced around the relevant point. {hesitant} I- uh. Well, I’m- Well, there’s no easy way to say it. I’m a vampire, and at the end of every night, I feed on you and remove your memories of me.
{reassuring} No, no, keep calm. I can feel your heart rate increasing, there’s no need for it to. I’m not here to hurt you, I promise. I haven’t hurt you any time before, and I don’t plan to start now. I would never.
I’m only here for a tiny bit of blood, just a taste, really. You won’t even notice the loss. Well, okay, you might notice it a little. You’ll probably feel kind of weak in the morning, but the marks will have faded away completely, and the bite won’t even hurt. We’ve done this dozens of times by now, and I promise, the worst you’ve felt is a little woozy.
I think it’ll even feel good. You’ve definitely seemed happy with the feeling before.
{sad, tired} Oh, don’t look at me like that! You think I want it to be like this? I hate having to pretend not to know you, not to love…
I hate it, almost as much as I hate the lack of recognition in your eyes when you see me. I want you to know me. To light up when you see me. But this is the way it has to be.
{yearning} I’ve thought about coming to you under other pretenses… introducing myself, maybe starting a real relationship. I could take care of you after every feeding instead of abandoning you, like I want to so badly. I could spend more time in your refuge from the chaos of the world, and give you someone to share it with. I think we’d both be happy… but it’s not that simple, is it? Every day takes us farther from our first meeting, makes it harder to introduce myself, and every memory we make makes me more likely to out myself, as we saw earlier. Besides, I’ve gotten used to this. I like being able to treat you as a safe place, without having to put any burdens on you. And God knows, dating a vampire - hell, just being friends with one - comes with burdens… You deserve better than that. I still want to be a part of your life, one day, and to have you be a part of mine, but it can’t happen today. I can’t do that to you today.
{resolve} All I can do is enjoy the time I can steal with you, and watch over you from afar. Stop anyone else from destroying this little sanctuary of ours. Keep you safe from… interlopers. But there’s no need to discuss them. Not now.
{disappointed sigh} I really was looking forward to spending time with you tonight. Maybe you would’ve even finally asked me to cuddle… A shame it has to be cut short.
{amused} Well, not such a shame. Titans, you smell good. Reminds me of why I wanted your blood in the first place, it might be the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted. Another reason I like coming here so much, probably.
{placating} All right, now just hold still… I mean, I know you can’t do much else, but please try to relax. This will only hurt for a moment.
{vampire feeding} {You can make this sound realistic, with slurping and the occasional moan, or you can just make it sound like someone drinking from a Caprisun. One of the above will be funnier.}
{satisfied} Ahh, that was wonderful. Do you think you’re feeling all right, after that? I- {sad} oh. You can’t answer, can you? I could - I really should - unfreeze you. Listen to what you have to say about… all of this. Maybe you’d be okay with it? Maybe you’d even… accept me? But no. What if you told me to leave and never come back? I don’t think I’m brave enough for that. I can’t lose this… I can’t lose you, even if watching you forget me is almost the same.
I am sorry about this. I say that every time, and it never stops being true. I don’t want to do this to you. But it’s the way it has to be. {sigh} {quiet} Maybe if I keep telling myself that, it’ll start feeling true…
{magically resonant} Forget.
Sleep.
{tender} Good night, love. I’ll see you again soon.
submitted by Stormcoming7 to ASMRScriptHaven [link] [comments]
Summary: Listener allows Speaker inside and they spend a little time together before Speaker reveals that she is a vampire, as well as a few other things. She then drinks some of Listener’s blood and leaves.
Go ahead and monetize, it's fine. Word count is about 1600.
If you fill this or plan to fill this, please notify me. Please don't make edits without asking first.
Line breaks represent the listener talking or space where no one talks and should be short pauses, words within {brackets} represent the speaker’s tone or sfx. At ellipses, the speaker trails off, and at dashes, she is either cut off abruptly by the listener or by herself.
Author’s Note: All right, the last Feather script, I’m finally caught up. Sorry this took so long to get out, I promise I didn’t want it to be this late, but hey! It’s here now, and I hope y’all enjoy.
If you want to read this somewhere other than Reddit, it's also here.
{doorbell sfx}
{door opens sfx} {stressed} Hi. Hello there. Good day. Well, good evening, I guess. Or good night, the sun’s already down. How are you doing today?
No wait please don’t close the door- I promise I’m not trying to sell you something! Look, it’s me. It’s {insert name here}. Your neighbor. You recognize me, right? We met at that Fourth of July party last year?
Yeah, yeah, I know, been a while. My job basically forces me to be nocturnal, otherwise I promise I’d be less non-existent. I’m not completely anti-social, I just… sleep while everyone else is doing things.
{apologetic} I- yeah, okay, so. Ohh, this is gonna sound terrible. This is gonna sound bad.
…Can I stay the night here? Look, normally I’d never ask this, because we don’t even know each other, obviously, but I accidentally locked myself out of my house, and I don’t know anyone else on the street either, and, well, I remembered you being friendly that time that we did meet, and it’s really cold out and I don’t want to try to sleep in my car, and-
{hopeful} You… you will?
{relieved} Oh, thank you. I’ll come up with a way to pay you back, I promise.
{hesitant} You’re sure I can come in? I mean, you still don’t really know me, and you’re inviting me into your house. You’re okay with that?
{relieved} Thank you. I promise, I don’t need much. I already ate, and I can just sleep on the couch. I don’t want to cause you any bother.
{happy} Oh, wow, it’s warm in here. I never expect it to be this warm. Uh, when I go over to other people’s places. My house and the building I work at are always freezing, so this is nice. Feels like a place I can just relax, y’know?
Wha- huh? {dismissive} No, no, it’s fine. I’ll call a locksmith in the morning, and hell, worst comes to worst, I’ll break a window. I just needed someplace where I wouldn’t freeze to death while I waited. Which, thank you again for providing.
{serious} I mean, yeah. You saw the weather report, right? Not the nicest out tonight. I don’t think I would’ve gotten frostbite, but it wouldn’t have been fun to find out.
{confused} My hands? Why…?
Oh, they can’t be that cold, right?
{hesitant} Uh… not very long? Maybe only an hour? Because first I was trying to get inside, and then I was working up the courage to knock because I didn’t want to bother you, and-
{placating} What- oh, no, come on, you don’t have to do that. I promise, I’m fine just being in here, I already feel much better-
{taken aback} That’s a very large blanket.
Okay, two of them feels excessive, I-
All right, fine. Many blankets are fine.
No, no, I said I already ate, I’m not hungry, I- {interested} did you say hot chocolate? Well. Maybe I could have a little.
Wow, that was fast. Did you already have the water boiling?
Mmm! This is delicious, what brand is it?
I should’ve guessed. Homemade is always better, especially when it’s made in a home as nice as this.
Well, if you really want me to eat something, do you maybe still have any of that peach cobbler? That was- what?
{scrambling} Oh, I mean- well, uh, I- {sigh} {sad} Damn. Guess I got a little too comfy there, didn’t I? And I was really looking forward to the movie you were going to suggest…
{reasonable} All right, no, calm down, I promise I can explain, just- {disappointed} ugh. This isn’t going to work.
{magically resonant} Still.
{fond} That’s better. No freaking out tonight, okay?
Here, come on, let’s sit you down. Put those blankets on you. Does that feel nice? I know you can’t answer, but I’m going to assume that feels nice.
{sigh} What am I going to do with you?
I really am sorry about this, I promise it’s not how I wanted the night to go. It’s just hard to stay on my guard about things like that when I’m here. This place relaxes me, you feel more like home than anywhere I’ve ever lived has. My tongue tends to slip. I’m sure you understand.
Ah, I should explain. I suppose I don’t have to, you won’t remember anyway, but you do deserve to know what’s happening. I come over here… rather a lot. I always use some variant of the “poor, lost innocent” act, and it works every time. You let me in, and you start trying to take care of me, and you’re always so protective and sweet… it’s nice. The first few times, I was annoyed. I thought your kindness was just weakness, or worse, that you were only being kind because you wanted something. I didn’t even realize how hypocritical I was being, can you believe that? But it’s true. It took more weeks than I’d like to admit to realize how good it felt, having you want to take care of me. Once I did, I started coming by more often, staying longer, trying to get to know you better in the time that we had. I started looking forward to getting to take a load off with you more and more, too. It’s gotten to the point where staying with you is the brightest spot in my week. This house has become my little home-away-from-home, my sanctuary from all my problems. And you’re what makes it that, so thank you.
Oy, all of that, and you’re probably more confused than when I started. I suppose I’ve danced around the relevant point. {hesitant} I- uh. Well, I’m- Well, there’s no easy way to say it. I’m a vampire, and at the end of every night, I feed on you and remove your memories of me.
{reassuring} No, no, keep calm. I can feel your heart rate increasing, there’s no need for it to. I’m not here to hurt you, I promise. I haven’t hurt you any time before, and I don’t plan to start now. I would never.
I’m only here for a tiny bit of blood, just a taste, really. You won’t even notice the loss. Well, okay, you might notice it a little. You’ll probably feel kind of weak in the morning, but the marks will have faded away completely, and the bite won’t even hurt. We’ve done this dozens of times by now, and I promise, the worst you’ve felt is a little woozy.
I think it’ll even feel good. You’ve definitely seemed happy with the feeling before.
{sad, tired} Oh, don’t look at me like that! You think I want it to be like this? I hate having to pretend not to know you, not to love…
I hate it, almost as much as I hate the lack of recognition in your eyes when you see me. I want you to know me. To light up when you see me. But this is the way it has to be.
{yearning} I’ve thought about coming to you under other pretenses… introducing myself, maybe starting a real relationship. I could take care of you after every feeding instead of abandoning you, like I want to so badly. I could spend more time in your refuge from the chaos of the world, and give you someone to share it with. I think we’d both be happy… but it’s not that simple, is it? Every day takes us farther from our first meeting, makes it harder to introduce myself, and every memory we make makes me more likely to out myself, as we saw earlier. Besides, I’ve gotten used to this. I like being able to treat you as a safe place, without having to put any burdens on you. And God knows, dating a vampire - hell, just being friends with one - comes with burdens… You deserve better than that. I still want to be a part of your life, one day, and to have you be a part of mine, but it can’t happen today. I can’t do that to you today.
{resolve} All I can do is enjoy the time I can steal with you, and watch over you from afar. Stop anyone else from destroying this little sanctuary of ours. Keep you safe from… interlopers. But there’s no need to discuss them. Not now.
{disappointed sigh} I really was looking forward to spending time with you tonight. Maybe you would’ve even finally asked me to cuddle… A shame it has to be cut short.
{amused} Well, not such a shame. Titans, you smell good. Reminds me of why I wanted your blood in the first place, it might be the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted. Another reason I like coming here so much, probably.
{placating} All right, now just hold still… I mean, I know you can’t do much else, but please try to relax. This will only hurt for a moment.
{vampire feeding} {You can make this sound realistic, with slurping and the occasional moan, or you can just make it sound like someone drinking from a Caprisun. One of the above will be funnier.}
{satisfied} Ahh, that was wonderful. Do you think you’re feeling all right, after that? I- {sad} oh. You can’t answer, can you? I could - I really should - unfreeze you. Listen to what you have to say about… all of this. Maybe you’d be okay with it? Maybe you’d even… accept me? But no. What if you told me to leave and never come back? I don’t think I’m brave enough for that. I can’t lose this… I can’t lose you, even if watching you forget me is almost the same.
I am sorry about this. I say that every time, and it never stops being true. I don’t want to do this to you. But it’s the way it has to be. {sigh} {quiet} Maybe if I keep telling myself that, it’ll start feeling true…
{magically resonant} Forget.
Sleep.
{tender} Good night, love. I’ll see you again soon.
2024.05.29 04:11 Independent-Koala908 How can I help my T1D Husband?
My husband (34m) was diagnosed with t1d at 17. I've been with him since he was 19, lived together since 21 so 13yrs (I'm telling you this as I just want to preface this with the fact I'm not new to dealing with his diabetes!)
Over the last year his management has got worse, he says he feels like his insulin isn't working as well as it used to so he takes more but then he has frequent sugar lows. He rarely ever checks his levels, and goes off of how he is feeling which as you can imagine isn't always accurate. He doesn't have a CGM, I don't know if he has been offered it by the docs but we are UK based so its NHS but he also doesn't want me to be involved or come to any appointments or speak to the nurse so I have no clue what they say or if he even tells them he doesn't check his levels.
This hasn't been an issue until this last year where he often has sugar lows, he doesn't recognise them until he is really low and incoherent and I have to grab him sugar. Often this happens in the middle of the night but occasionally its in the day or evening. I obviously don't mind helping him but its getting extremely frustrating waking up in the middle of the night almost every other night to help him with a sugar low that he doesn't even know is happening.
It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to almost force him to have the sugar and he gets aggressive sometimes when he thinks he doesn't need it, even when it so obvious he does. Most of the time it's verbal and occasionally its physical aggression. Once his levels have returned to normal he doesn't remember how he treated me and is always apologetic.
Yesterday he was calling me satan and threw a glass of water in my face. Tonight (its currently nearly 3am and this just happened) I was trying to give him some sweets and he grabbed my arm and twisted so much that I thought it was gonna brake. I remain calm and just deal with it so I don't escalate it but it really is starting to upset me.
I know he isn't himself so I can't blame him but I'm just so emotionally and physically exhausted and don't know what to do anymore. He gets frustrated when I talk to anyone else about his diabetes, which I respect because its his medical condition, not mine - but I don't know how to convince him to get medical help with this and I don't know how I can help him to help himself without it causing an argument over it.
If I bring it up, he shuts it down and tells me its worse for him having to live with it and I couldn't possibly understand because my body produces insulin for me. When he doesn't remember the sugar low and I talk to him about it, he apologises for however he has treated me but tells me theres nothing he can do because he doesn't control how he is during a low.
Sorry this has turned into a way longer post then planned, any help & advice is appreciated!!
submitted by Independent-Koala908 to diabetes_t1 [link] [comments]
Over the last year his management has got worse, he says he feels like his insulin isn't working as well as it used to so he takes more but then he has frequent sugar lows. He rarely ever checks his levels, and goes off of how he is feeling which as you can imagine isn't always accurate. He doesn't have a CGM, I don't know if he has been offered it by the docs but we are UK based so its NHS but he also doesn't want me to be involved or come to any appointments or speak to the nurse so I have no clue what they say or if he even tells them he doesn't check his levels.
This hasn't been an issue until this last year where he often has sugar lows, he doesn't recognise them until he is really low and incoherent and I have to grab him sugar. Often this happens in the middle of the night but occasionally its in the day or evening. I obviously don't mind helping him but its getting extremely frustrating waking up in the middle of the night almost every other night to help him with a sugar low that he doesn't even know is happening.
It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to almost force him to have the sugar and he gets aggressive sometimes when he thinks he doesn't need it, even when it so obvious he does. Most of the time it's verbal and occasionally its physical aggression. Once his levels have returned to normal he doesn't remember how he treated me and is always apologetic.
Yesterday he was calling me satan and threw a glass of water in my face. Tonight (its currently nearly 3am and this just happened) I was trying to give him some sweets and he grabbed my arm and twisted so much that I thought it was gonna brake. I remain calm and just deal with it so I don't escalate it but it really is starting to upset me.
I know he isn't himself so I can't blame him but I'm just so emotionally and physically exhausted and don't know what to do anymore. He gets frustrated when I talk to anyone else about his diabetes, which I respect because its his medical condition, not mine - but I don't know how to convince him to get medical help with this and I don't know how I can help him to help himself without it causing an argument over it.
If I bring it up, he shuts it down and tells me its worse for him having to live with it and I couldn't possibly understand because my body produces insulin for me. When he doesn't remember the sugar low and I talk to him about it, he apologises for however he has treated me but tells me theres nothing he can do because he doesn't control how he is during a low.
Sorry this has turned into a way longer post then planned, any help & advice is appreciated!!
2024.05.29 04:09 Storms_Wrath The Human Artificial Hivemind Part 518: A Falling Tower
First Previous Wiki
Penny gazed at the quartet of Elders. They were all wearing the merchandise she remembered from the last Judgment, which was exceedingly awkward. Mainly because they were wearing shirts with her face on them. But it was also oddly endearing, in a way. Until now, she hadn't seen too many Elders that were on her side.
Elders that weren't just Kashaunta or the familiar faces she already knew, like Spentha or Rho and Sai, actually showing appreciation of her, felt odd. Even if these ones went a little too far in it.
"You're even more beautiful in person, Liberator," one said.
"Uh, thanks. I appreciate that. I'm glad that you all like me. Rho and Sai told me that you all are interested in something I can give you?"
"Yeah. Maybe a short interview? We won't be like that airhead reporter. We'll ask the good questions."
"Yep, we will."
"Right then," Penny said. "Well, I'm glad to meet you."
"Thank you. Now that we're here, we'd like to know how you plan on taking care of the gang leaders."
"Well, presumably by imprisoning them. I don't think they deserve to die, even if others do. I'll leave that decision up to Justicar and his various judges in the criminal system."
Penny didn't like having to lie blatantly. She wanted to kill the slavers quite brutally, but doing that was a bad idea right now. Saying it also was a bad idea, for a similar reason. And Justicar's system was worryingly preferential to Elders, from what she'd looked up after the meeting with Pundacrawla.
"Aren't you worried that the Judges won't give proper justice?"
"I trust Justicar to do everything that is necessary."
Another lie. Justicar would do whatever he could to maintain his image. Hopefully, that wouldn't be at the cost of the Alliance's very existence.
"Got it. By the way, what's it like being human? Walking on only two legs. It seems kind of unstable. Do you fall a lot?"
A genuine curiosity from them was another breath of fresh air. It was the kind of question a quadruped would definitely ask, which put her more at ease about the nature of what they were trying to do. Even more than their evident support of her, with all the merch they were wearing. Penny felt a smile crack at the corners of her lips, unbidden.
"Not really. We can use our arms to steady ourselves pretty well. Obviously it's not as easy to balance on our two legs as it is with your four, but it's still good enough. In fact, the sprinters in the Olympics use all four limbs, since running as fast as possible also requires pumping our arms. As for what it's like to be human, it's hard to describe. For many of us, it will feel colder or warmer than Sprilnav would feel in the same temperatures, due to thinner skin. Our eyesight is more frontal than yours, given our lack of snouts, so our blindspots are a lot bigger. Our feet require shoes for rough ground, and we heal slower than you by around 20%. We can't really clack our jaws to the scale that you can, though we can make them meet."
Penny bared her teeth, showing as she opened and closed her mouth. It was nice to be able to talk about things like this.
"The Olympics?" one of them asked.
"It's a competition about athletics," Penny said. "Running, jumping, throwing, diving, swimming, skiing, snowboarding, and a lot of sports. There's specific divisions, too. Like how there's a 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, 400 meter dash, and even an 800 meter dash for those with high levels of psychic energy. Though really, psychic energy and genetic editing have been messing with the events for a while now. And there's a Winter, Summer, and Space Olympics, each with different sorts of events. They move from city to city, though the Space Olympics are pretty much always on either Luna, Ceres, or Mercury. There's a lot more information out there on various events, but it's an old cultural practice revered by the entire species. Even more so since Phoebe's increased the prize pools for everyone."
"How does your species handle space in general? I know that you guys did things way differently before First Contact."
"We did. Mining companies kept tight control on all asteroid mining, while nations controlled planets like Earth and Mars and large planetary bodies like Luna. Supposedly, a few people planned for a cloud city on Venus, but we couldn't risk having such a vulnerable population because they'd have to rely on giant balloons to survive. That would probably be the least secure way to live, given the existence of rogue organizations and all that.
As for spaceships, most of them since we really colonized Luna come equipped with spacesuit bays, zero gravity water and food packs, oxygen tanks, emergency seats, specialized anti-micrometeorite hulls, and radiation shielding. A lot of the older military ships also were equipped with big radiators until World War Three, when it all became masses of drone warfare, with the big ships kept mainly for cargo and lanes where mass drone control was impossible.
Once the Vinarii came and we got shields, we started building big again. After all, it provided a huge number of jobs, and in the post-war economies, especially with VIs in place, a lot of people needed work. But we still go and do asteroid and moon mining, star lifting, and energy gathering. We built an orbital ring around Mercury, the closest planet to Sol, to help with all of that. It doubles as a production hub, too. Now, it's all in more systems and with a lot more friends."
"Speaking of aliens, what theory does your people have on why so many creatures resemble one another? Our jaws are adapted for hard shelled creatures, and we're told that many planets have oddly similar variations of those."
"Crabs."
She guessed what they were getting at.
It is odd, isn't it? Nilnacrawla observed.
Perhaps that is another one of the Source's whims, Penny thought.
Maybe.
A few of the Elders made exclamations of shock.
"You even have a word for them that directly translates!"
Penny chuckled. "Yeah, carcinization is a bit of a meme in the science community. But I've heard the most mainstream theories since the First Contact are that the Source itself is uncreative. It has a certain template of creatures which it largely doesn't alter, though it can take in inputs from beings close to it, perhaps even influencing them."
"Influencing them?"
"Yes. Modern depictions of wendigoes, folkloric creatures from North America, a continent on Earth, are shockingly similar to the Knowers in appearance. The internet depictions of them in particular like to emphasize canine qualities, and often show them with skulls visible directly, and with dark brown or black fur. Recent depictions, as in the past 300 years, differ from their original appearances quite significantly, with the canine characteristics in particular being enhanced.
We have sorted through all known images of these creatures and found roughly 80% similarity with the Knowers and tens of thousands of images that are literally exactly the same as Knowers. The ones we searched all came before World War Three, far before even the First Contact with the Vinarii, much less the Knowers who were entirely underground at the time due to the radiation of their home star. We believe that the Source managed to influence this facet of human culture with the actual existence of a real creature.
Other examples exist, like how the Trikkec look very similar to Komodo Dragons, Vinarii look very similar to insects known as a mantis, and the Acuarfar look exactly like insects known as wasps with the single exception of their furry snouts and green instead of yellow markings. The Sprilnav species itself shares high amounts of similarity with a fictional species known as Elites in early 2000s culture, particularly with your jaws, though you all have red skin instead of grey or brown.
The Junyli, Dreedeen, and the wanderers are the main species without high amounts of appearance in our cultures at some point. This correlates with the idea of the Source being the influencer, as their predecessors all were used to fight it. Many species of the galaxy look like parts of our culture or Earth's creatures. The proximity of these examples makes this far more suspicious than if they were across the galaxy.
But since they existed first, the only answer must be that the Source brought the influence to us first and planted the ideas in our heads. As for the ones which look like Earth creatures, all of them are old enough evolutionary branches that copying from them to Earth makes more sense. Though the references centering around the early 2000s is quite odd, it is also roughly when the internet came into wide existence, so it is also possible the Source gave the ideas a push so they would propagate, for an unknown reason. Like if it seeded the ideas that propagated across the early global network Humanity used."
"Hmm. Fascinating. We've seen evidence of the 'seeding' process among some historical nations near the galactic region of Earth before. So the Source re-uses and alters depictions of life and also life itself?"
"Maybe," Penny said. "Unless the Source is more directly tied to life than we think. There's a conceptual Death, but no conceptual Life. Isn't that odd?"
"Conceptual Life died in the Source war."
How did that really work, though? Penny asked Nilnacrawla.
Imagine a conceptual being. A few of the Progenitors, as well as Narvravarana, went up to try to harvest its power. It refused, and Narvravarana used its unique abilities to try and force the deal.
Why was your civilization like this?
Excess and greed, partly. But we couldn't really do much more expansion. Vertical expansion also had its limits if we wanted to remain relevant for the remaining lifespan of the universe. So Narvravarana, along with a few of the greatest rulers and leaders of Sprilnav society, started looking to other dimensional planes. They figured it was best not to let the problem get too much worse. Or at least, that is what they say. I believe it was to harvest more resources to use against our surrounding enemies.
You didn't have any allies? Penny asked.
At that time, all the powers of the universe were enemies. All the allies eventually merged through millions of years of normalization. We happened to get on the universal stage the earliest, so other civilizations we encountered had little choice but to surrender their independence. Some fought, others didn't, but the outcome was the same.
That seems terrible.
It was, though the other universal civilizations were no better. Some of them just exterminated all alien life they found that couldn't fight back. In that sense, the pre-war Sprilnav civilization was one of the greatest, and that's why I fought for them. Obviously, I'm biased in that regard, though.
Thanks for telling me, father.
No problem, Penny.
She refocused back on the conversation at hand.
"But a thing cannot be alive if it dies. The concept of life doesn't work that way. So maybe the Source just... took in the concept of life? Or absorbed it into whatever psychic energy really is, considering that it's responsible for all of our existence?"
"That's so crazy it might actually be true," one of the Elders said. "You're incredible, Penny."
"Uh, thanks. You're all pretty great too." Her eyes drifted to the images of herself on their clothing. She couldn't really help it.
"I have a question for you."
"Yes?"
"Do you know what I'm fighting for?"
"I assume since you're asking it here, you don't just want a one word answer," an Elder said. "I would say yes, and for the liberation of the Sprilnav from the stain of slavery. Though going deeper into your history, you have also fought for other species, either in wars or just generally moving around. It does look aimless, mostly, since the galaxy's so big. But I'm sure you've got a way through that."
"In some way. Part of why I'm here isn't just about my people. It was at first, I admit that. But as I have lived here, on Justicar, for days and weeks, I've seen you less as alien. It makes it easier for sympathy and easier to break out of simple mindsets. So far, there are many problems, but there are distinct pieces. The first is that many people want to uphold slavery. I'm not sure why, but they do. It isn't profitable, and it isn't moral. Robots are cheaper in every way, and don't need food or water.
That means it's illogical or emotional. So I could try and solve the problem with violence alone, but it won't be addressing the cause, only the symptoms. I need to get to the heart of the matter. And I think it has to do with Elders' memories and the gradual woes they have accumulated going through life. I don't want to tear that away or drug them into believing they're fine. I want to find a way to outlet that productively. The second part I have identified is scale. The galaxy is enormous, and your species is incredibly numerous. I could fight planet by planet for the rest of my life, and liberation would still be difficult.
That also means I'd need a better way of doing things. Maybe an economic or political incentive. Emotional reasons will not work permanently, nor will logic, since we are in this situation. I have found several ways to address this. Sadly, since the gangs are likely monitoring this feed, I can't just outright say my strategy. All I can ask you all to do is to believe. Believe that I have a solution, and that I and those who stand with me are working on it. Believe in me because I believe in you."
None of the Elders questioned or ridiculed her words. Most of it was because they were fans of her. But one of them, an Elder named Rahautiti, had a distinct glint in his eye. Their gazes met only momentarily, but Penny could tell he knew.
And so she appeared in the mindscape, even as they concluded the interview, which would be the first of many. It was a ploy to just talk about human culture and ideals a bit more, to get it out there. Because the hivemind's theory was correct.
In the universe, ideas had power. That power could be weaponized against those who previously stood to gain. The first part of it was the image: Nova as an unbeatable bastion. Lecalicus as the Beast, a monster capable of star-crushing rage. Twilight as... whatever she did. Penny wasn't really familiar with the Progenitor's image too much, and the various names, like the Silent Night or the Smiling Darkness, were just so unbelievably edgy she cringed every time she recalled them.
But Rahautiti understood so she moved her mindscape avatar to see him.
"Hello again, Penny. I am no threat."
"I know. I'm glad that your group is led by someone as capable as you, as well as the other groups you dabble within."
"Who discovered it?"
"Phoebe. You met with Ezeonwha, and the android wanted to ensure you weren't a way for Yasihaut to kill him."
"Yeah. We did get approached about that, actually. We're supposed to kill Ezeonwha when you walk into the Judgment hall. Of course, we won't do this, and she won't be able to retaliate against us easily while there."
"Thank you for your honesty, Elder," Penny said. "It seems I'm in your debt."
"Nonsense. 2,839. That is the number of children I have had. 2,626. That is the number of children of mine which were enslaved. The remaining 213 died in unrelated incidents, with nearly half of those involving slavers killing them. I remember all of their names, and all of their faces, Penny. I want all the slavers in this universe dead."
"I cannot achieve that."
"You cannot," Rahautiti agreed. "Not with my help or even that of Kashaunta and Lecalicus. And certainly not right now. I have not lived this long to be incapable of compromise or patchwork solutions. You show great promise. I understand your aversion to killing and the circumstantial reason why you are not doing so now. I will not grow upset if you do not resume killing when the Judgment ends. Nor do I harbor a grudge against you for the speeding space entity you left outside the room to avoid uncomfortable publicity. You are incredibly young.
A sliver of a life. But you are strong, and you are mature. That sliver of your lifespan already outshines all I could do with a trillion more years, Penny. You are right in that this isn't something you can punch your way through. Trauma is part of why slavery still exists, despite it being a wholly unjust reason for the Elders to make such a sport of it. I am sure you know the story of the war, with a great hero in your head and Kashaunta at your side. My line of work is what I started to help you. Every thought about you being the Liberator, every eye that glances on you freeing slaves, helps you to gather conceptual energy. My talent happens to be great enough to sense the Pact of Blades you have, as well. If you want, I can teach you how to hide the mark on your soul and your mind."
"I would like that, yes," Penny said. "And thank you for being so reasonable. I will ask Kashaunta to protect you from what consequences come for refusing the offer on Ezeonwha."
"There are going to be attacks on him, you know. Him and your ship."
Penny felt an odd feeling in her soul. Cardi's power flared around him, and she squinted at the sky. She just barely saw a sliver of a tentacle. Most would have mistaken it for a normal speeding space entity. But here? On Justicar, with Exile obviously not being the cause?
Only one being would cause that. Fate.
Given the subject of their conversation, it was obvious what was going on.
Penny tapped Rahautiti's jaw, adding a thin mark of conceptual power so she could easily find him again. She focused on the conceptual mark she'd left on Ezeonwha. A twinge of conceptual energy came from it. It was accompanied by various impressions, like fear, pain, and acceptance.
"I have to go," Penny said. "I will be back later. Displace."
She appeared next to the 102nd Visitor Welcome Office but not next to Ezeonwha. It was carnage everywhere she looked.
"Champion!" an unknown Elder yelled. "I am Elder Na-"
Her rising fury surged, and it took all she had not to dismember him. The distant thought of the Judgment stayed her hands, though only just.
Penny's fist collided with the Elder's jaw at twice the speed of sound. A piece of his jaws flew free. Bone fragments hit the ground behind him. Hundreds of soldiers fired on her, and she slammed them to the ground with pure will. Penny tore their guns away and sent them each to pummel the Elder in front of her with as much brutality as she could. His powerful armor wasn't as capable of defense against physical attacks as it was against her psychic energy, and so he fell.
"You... cannot save him," the Elder spat. Fields of psychic suppression fell upon her, reducing her power.
"Manipulation through Determination," Penny growled. "De-"
No! Nilnacrawla said. Do not kill him! Not yet!
"What goes up will go down."
Air hardened around the Elder and accelerated rapidly.
The Elder smashed into the shield five miles above with a speed just slow enough that he wouldn't die. He fell from it and then hit it again at a more modest speed. He'd bounce on that until the Guides came to get him.
But Penny had another target. One she had to save instead of attack.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
High Judge Tassidonia awoke to the sound of explosions. He grabbed his swords, his main gun, and the personal shield he reserved for only the most dire occasions. The sky was erupting in war all around him, and buildings were already falling nearby. The spires of skyscrapers rained down upon the entrances to the Underground, crushing thousands of fleeing Sprilnav under their wide impacts.
His implant identified members of the gangs nearby, making their way to his home.
"Retribution Cycle!" Tassidonia cried. A hidden door opened, and he boarded a small hovercraft that sported a high amount of defensive and offensive technology, a gift from Justicar for dealing with all that he had related to the Judgment. Only this time, he wouldn't be on the next one. But already, the destruction was spreading.
Micro-missiles rained upon friend and foe alike. Several detonated against the layered shields. The mounted turrets on the side of his hoverbike shot lasers into the enemies his implant identified.
"Elder Tassidonia!" an Elder cried nearby. "For the crime of defying the will of-"
Tassidonia called his fury to bear. He rammed his mind into the enemy Elder, disorienting her. She reeled, about to attack, when a thick laser smashed into her chest. It pushed her against the wall, and Tassidonia kept the pressure up until her body melted. He listened to her screams impassively, occasionally sending blasts from his gun at the gangs when their members started to stray too close.
The thick red beam did its work within twenty pulses. His swords began to float beside him, keeping pace as he sped away from his home. The entire apartment complex shuddered and began to lean, its foundation being destroyed by some effect below. Tassidonia abandoned it with only minor regret. He'd known this moment would come. Everything he needed was already with him.
He linked into the Guide network, directing squadrons to attack the breaches he'd identified. Orbital strikes fell upon them in quick succession. Thick beams of light pierced through the lower planetary shields from orbital platforms, their guns honing in on Justicar's enemies. Tassidonia's implant was linked to the grid as well. So when he eyed buildings occupied with too many gang members, orbital strikes fell on them a few pulses later.
Fire and plasma rained all around him. Explosions and smoke blossomed all around him. More missiles fell from his hovercraft. A fighter ship appeared beside him, its simple stealth revealing itself to his eyes. Tassidonia waited for the pilot chamber to open, and his craft stowed itself behind him when he got in. It was fully equipped, so soon, Tassidonia was in full control of a weapon of war.
His first order of business was detecting the gangs' most fortified areas. He peppered those bases in shield-weakening mines, followed by bunker-buster missiles. Several anti-air turrets hit him, but his shields prevented them from taking him down. He dropped three high-end Butcher Androids into the fray of the largest battles.
One of the adjacent fighter wings in the separate shield sector dropped a nuke. At that moment, Tassidonia made a decision.
Whatever insanity was going on right now wasn't worth staying here on his own. He turned his ship upward, narrowly avoiding nearly fifty missiles shot from another gang fortress, which was really just the lower floors of a supermarket. Thick slabs of concrete were being set up by androids and slaves from the Underground. All he could do was watch from above and attempt to mark those that might be a problem.
Justicar's Grand Fleet was moving in, though only the carriers and their escorts were doing anything of any scale. The armies were mobilizing, and it seemed that war had finally broken out. Justicar, while isolated due to the Judgment, would have to win a war that threatened to topple his rule entirely.
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Ezeonwha woke when the walls around him shuddered.
An earthquake?
Groggily, he activated the lights in the room. Phoebe's android was charging in the wall. Her limbs swayed with the motion. The walls shuddered again, and the lights went out. Thin, tiny cracks spread in the walls, increasing his worry factors massively. His implant notified him that this wasn't a dream. Distant screams reached his ears, and he went to the window.
Hordes of Sprilnav were running on the ground, tripping over each other to escape. He heard the thump of footsteps approaching from outside. The android activated, standing up.
"Move away from the doo-"
An explosion tossed him across the room. A Sprilnav carrying some sort of mouth weapon faded into view for a moment, smoke recalibrating the stealth field. And then he was gone. Phoebe smashed into the Sprilnav, her fists pummeling the assassin faster than Ezeonwha could comprehend.
Phoebe's arms turned into swords, and she stabbed the Sprilnav at least fifty times in a single pulse. She turned to grab him, but before she reached him, a second explosion sent him flying out of the now-shattered window.
The massive skyscraper loomed large, and he saw the ground beneath it ripple. Dull thumps sounded from below, and large, circular caverns opened beneath the 102nd Visitor Welcome Office. The whole building started to list forward, and Ezeonwha frantically activated his emergency personal shield as he started falling faster and faster. A bullet hit the shield. And then a second one. Gunshots echoed out in the distance, and he saw other Sprilnav falling from broken windows in the falling skyscraper. Gunfire erupted on the streets as Guides engaged a growing army of attackers bubbling up from basements of shops and businesses.
He saw spurts of blood exit the Sprilnav nearest him, bullets tearing holes through the woman's body. Piercing screams surrounded him, a terrible chorus that reminded him of the worst wars he'd fought in. But here, his training could do nothing. She was already dead, and he knew that he was the target of this whole attack. His eyes watered, and Ezeonwha felt so powerless. So useless.
A Corrector emerged from the side of the tilting skyscraper, eyes fixed on Ezeonwha. Then he looked down. Somehow, Ezeonwha knew when the orders had been sent. He knew that it was Astipra in the distance, a jetpack on his shoulders burning a thick flame beneath him.
Astipra looked back at the building and flew toward it. Ezeonwha felt the wind rushing past the shield as pressure. Astipra, far above, vaporized falling chunks of the skyscraper with blasts from his arm cannons. He pressed back against the skyscraper, the jetpack going into overdrive. The metal bent inward, and the groaning and twisting structure continued its fall. Blasts of light from Astipra again vaporized the set of falling chunks.
"Penny," he said. It was almost a prayer, really. His desperate mind was scrambling for whatever it could get. "Please, save me!"
He didn't know if she could hear him. Logically, it was impossible. And in a battle such as this, unlikely as well. Rippling explosions erupted across the facade of the falling skyscraper as rockets struck it. More explosions bloomed as lasers from distant police vehicles, Guides, and Astipra destroyed more of the fast-flying missiles and rockets. They pounded on the world around him, a horde of madness threatening to break his brain. He could feel the wind and gravity equalize as he reached terminal velocity.
And all he could see was the world descending into war around him. The 102nd Visitor Welcome Office continued to slump and lean against Astipra's best efforts. More bullets hit Ezeonwha's personal shield, and peppered the Guides moving over to save him. Air ambulances were shot from the sky. Even small fighter crafts were shot down by powerful ground lasers. EMPs thumped, disabling all the higher functions of his implant before he could think to use it.
A much larger explosion bloomed out, and Ezeonwha followed the rocket's trail to an Elder on the ground, standing in the wreckage surrounding a sudden tunnel opening. The Elder stared at him in glee, and he lined up another shot. Two Guides fell upon the Elder, who flew up using a jetpack to cut them in half with his sword. A hard light hologram lifted a large gun, pointing at Ezeonwha as he fell.
His eyes widened. Ezeonwha did everything he could. He angled his legs and arms. He pushed at the air. He even hefted the meager psychic energy he had, struggling with all his soul to escape the death he could feel was coming to him.
Guides swarmed beyond the shield appearing, while gang soldiers died by the hundreds to carpet bombing. Personal shields sprang up to block the explosions, and the Elder had survived. A thick red laser cut one of the fighters in half from the smoke. Above him, the collapsing facade of the skyscraper consumed Astipra entirely, though large gouts of plasma and thick explosions emerged from within. He could survive if it fell upon him, but Ezonwha could not.
Penny materialized far below, closer to the field of battle. A sweeping wave of gang members began disappearing. A bullet smashed into her head and her stomach, detonating in bright explosions. A personal shield flared and disappeared. Missiles and lasers slammed into Penny by the thousands as psychic energy gathered. A constant roll of words fell from her tongue, but without his implant, they were not translated.
Missiles crumbled into dust. Lasers impacted raw space in front of Penny before bending down and back to their origins, destroying automated turrets. Bullets still hit Penny and the Guides by the thousands, firing too quickly and densely for her to entirely block. But the large ordnance from the gangs continued to work against them.
Penny looked around, confusion evident on her face. But amidst the thousands of wounded and dead Sprilnav falling from the broken windows, Ezeonwha was hidden too well.
Shattering glass could be constantly heard, and he could feel the distant screams in his soul. A bullet smashed into his personal shield again, disabling it. A pulse later, he lost feeling in his legs.
He tried to reach out to her mind, but the war in the mindscape was equally intense. Too many Elders and Guides battling it out along with various suppression artifacts made it all impossible. He could sense Penny's influence, but couldn't directly reach her.
He let out a breath, knowing it to be the final one.
I'm sorry, Penny, Ezeonwha thought.
I wish you luck in the Judgment, and I am sorry I caused this to happen to you.
Penny finally appeared in front of him, eyes wide-
Blood erupted. A searing pain in his head told him his implant had just shorted out. And in the mindscape, he saw a mental attack heading for him, its brutal power evident. He closed his eyes.
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Penny gazed at the quartet of Elders. They were all wearing the merchandise she remembered from the last Judgment, which was exceedingly awkward. Mainly because they were wearing shirts with her face on them. But it was also oddly endearing, in a way. Until now, she hadn't seen too many Elders that were on her side.
Elders that weren't just Kashaunta or the familiar faces she already knew, like Spentha or Rho and Sai, actually showing appreciation of her, felt odd. Even if these ones went a little too far in it.
"You're even more beautiful in person, Liberator," one said.
"Uh, thanks. I appreciate that. I'm glad that you all like me. Rho and Sai told me that you all are interested in something I can give you?"
"Yeah. Maybe a short interview? We won't be like that airhead reporter. We'll ask the good questions."
"Yep, we will."
"Right then," Penny said. "Well, I'm glad to meet you."
"Thank you. Now that we're here, we'd like to know how you plan on taking care of the gang leaders."
"Well, presumably by imprisoning them. I don't think they deserve to die, even if others do. I'll leave that decision up to Justicar and his various judges in the criminal system."
Penny didn't like having to lie blatantly. She wanted to kill the slavers quite brutally, but doing that was a bad idea right now. Saying it also was a bad idea, for a similar reason. And Justicar's system was worryingly preferential to Elders, from what she'd looked up after the meeting with Pundacrawla.
"Aren't you worried that the Judges won't give proper justice?"
"I trust Justicar to do everything that is necessary."
Another lie. Justicar would do whatever he could to maintain his image. Hopefully, that wouldn't be at the cost of the Alliance's very existence.
"Got it. By the way, what's it like being human? Walking on only two legs. It seems kind of unstable. Do you fall a lot?"
A genuine curiosity from them was another breath of fresh air. It was the kind of question a quadruped would definitely ask, which put her more at ease about the nature of what they were trying to do. Even more than their evident support of her, with all the merch they were wearing. Penny felt a smile crack at the corners of her lips, unbidden.
"Not really. We can use our arms to steady ourselves pretty well. Obviously it's not as easy to balance on our two legs as it is with your four, but it's still good enough. In fact, the sprinters in the Olympics use all four limbs, since running as fast as possible also requires pumping our arms. As for what it's like to be human, it's hard to describe. For many of us, it will feel colder or warmer than Sprilnav would feel in the same temperatures, due to thinner skin. Our eyesight is more frontal than yours, given our lack of snouts, so our blindspots are a lot bigger. Our feet require shoes for rough ground, and we heal slower than you by around 20%. We can't really clack our jaws to the scale that you can, though we can make them meet."
Penny bared her teeth, showing as she opened and closed her mouth. It was nice to be able to talk about things like this.
"The Olympics?" one of them asked.
"It's a competition about athletics," Penny said. "Running, jumping, throwing, diving, swimming, skiing, snowboarding, and a lot of sports. There's specific divisions, too. Like how there's a 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, 400 meter dash, and even an 800 meter dash for those with high levels of psychic energy. Though really, psychic energy and genetic editing have been messing with the events for a while now. And there's a Winter, Summer, and Space Olympics, each with different sorts of events. They move from city to city, though the Space Olympics are pretty much always on either Luna, Ceres, or Mercury. There's a lot more information out there on various events, but it's an old cultural practice revered by the entire species. Even more so since Phoebe's increased the prize pools for everyone."
"How does your species handle space in general? I know that you guys did things way differently before First Contact."
"We did. Mining companies kept tight control on all asteroid mining, while nations controlled planets like Earth and Mars and large planetary bodies like Luna. Supposedly, a few people planned for a cloud city on Venus, but we couldn't risk having such a vulnerable population because they'd have to rely on giant balloons to survive. That would probably be the least secure way to live, given the existence of rogue organizations and all that.
As for spaceships, most of them since we really colonized Luna come equipped with spacesuit bays, zero gravity water and food packs, oxygen tanks, emergency seats, specialized anti-micrometeorite hulls, and radiation shielding. A lot of the older military ships also were equipped with big radiators until World War Three, when it all became masses of drone warfare, with the big ships kept mainly for cargo and lanes where mass drone control was impossible.
Once the Vinarii came and we got shields, we started building big again. After all, it provided a huge number of jobs, and in the post-war economies, especially with VIs in place, a lot of people needed work. But we still go and do asteroid and moon mining, star lifting, and energy gathering. We built an orbital ring around Mercury, the closest planet to Sol, to help with all of that. It doubles as a production hub, too. Now, it's all in more systems and with a lot more friends."
"Speaking of aliens, what theory does your people have on why so many creatures resemble one another? Our jaws are adapted for hard shelled creatures, and we're told that many planets have oddly similar variations of those."
"Crabs."
She guessed what they were getting at.
It is odd, isn't it? Nilnacrawla observed.
Perhaps that is another one of the Source's whims, Penny thought.
Maybe.
A few of the Elders made exclamations of shock.
"You even have a word for them that directly translates!"
Penny chuckled. "Yeah, carcinization is a bit of a meme in the science community. But I've heard the most mainstream theories since the First Contact are that the Source itself is uncreative. It has a certain template of creatures which it largely doesn't alter, though it can take in inputs from beings close to it, perhaps even influencing them."
"Influencing them?"
"Yes. Modern depictions of wendigoes, folkloric creatures from North America, a continent on Earth, are shockingly similar to the Knowers in appearance. The internet depictions of them in particular like to emphasize canine qualities, and often show them with skulls visible directly, and with dark brown or black fur. Recent depictions, as in the past 300 years, differ from their original appearances quite significantly, with the canine characteristics in particular being enhanced.
We have sorted through all known images of these creatures and found roughly 80% similarity with the Knowers and tens of thousands of images that are literally exactly the same as Knowers. The ones we searched all came before World War Three, far before even the First Contact with the Vinarii, much less the Knowers who were entirely underground at the time due to the radiation of their home star. We believe that the Source managed to influence this facet of human culture with the actual existence of a real creature.
Other examples exist, like how the Trikkec look very similar to Komodo Dragons, Vinarii look very similar to insects known as a mantis, and the Acuarfar look exactly like insects known as wasps with the single exception of their furry snouts and green instead of yellow markings. The Sprilnav species itself shares high amounts of similarity with a fictional species known as Elites in early 2000s culture, particularly with your jaws, though you all have red skin instead of grey or brown.
The Junyli, Dreedeen, and the wanderers are the main species without high amounts of appearance in our cultures at some point. This correlates with the idea of the Source being the influencer, as their predecessors all were used to fight it. Many species of the galaxy look like parts of our culture or Earth's creatures. The proximity of these examples makes this far more suspicious than if they were across the galaxy.
But since they existed first, the only answer must be that the Source brought the influence to us first and planted the ideas in our heads. As for the ones which look like Earth creatures, all of them are old enough evolutionary branches that copying from them to Earth makes more sense. Though the references centering around the early 2000s is quite odd, it is also roughly when the internet came into wide existence, so it is also possible the Source gave the ideas a push so they would propagate, for an unknown reason. Like if it seeded the ideas that propagated across the early global network Humanity used."
"Hmm. Fascinating. We've seen evidence of the 'seeding' process among some historical nations near the galactic region of Earth before. So the Source re-uses and alters depictions of life and also life itself?"
"Maybe," Penny said. "Unless the Source is more directly tied to life than we think. There's a conceptual Death, but no conceptual Life. Isn't that odd?"
"Conceptual Life died in the Source war."
How did that really work, though? Penny asked Nilnacrawla.
Imagine a conceptual being. A few of the Progenitors, as well as Narvravarana, went up to try to harvest its power. It refused, and Narvravarana used its unique abilities to try and force the deal.
Why was your civilization like this?
Excess and greed, partly. But we couldn't really do much more expansion. Vertical expansion also had its limits if we wanted to remain relevant for the remaining lifespan of the universe. So Narvravarana, along with a few of the greatest rulers and leaders of Sprilnav society, started looking to other dimensional planes. They figured it was best not to let the problem get too much worse. Or at least, that is what they say. I believe it was to harvest more resources to use against our surrounding enemies.
You didn't have any allies? Penny asked.
At that time, all the powers of the universe were enemies. All the allies eventually merged through millions of years of normalization. We happened to get on the universal stage the earliest, so other civilizations we encountered had little choice but to surrender their independence. Some fought, others didn't, but the outcome was the same.
That seems terrible.
It was, though the other universal civilizations were no better. Some of them just exterminated all alien life they found that couldn't fight back. In that sense, the pre-war Sprilnav civilization was one of the greatest, and that's why I fought for them. Obviously, I'm biased in that regard, though.
Thanks for telling me, father.
No problem, Penny.
She refocused back on the conversation at hand.
"But a thing cannot be alive if it dies. The concept of life doesn't work that way. So maybe the Source just... took in the concept of life? Or absorbed it into whatever psychic energy really is, considering that it's responsible for all of our existence?"
"That's so crazy it might actually be true," one of the Elders said. "You're incredible, Penny."
"Uh, thanks. You're all pretty great too." Her eyes drifted to the images of herself on their clothing. She couldn't really help it.
"I have a question for you."
"Yes?"
"Do you know what I'm fighting for?"
"I assume since you're asking it here, you don't just want a one word answer," an Elder said. "I would say yes, and for the liberation of the Sprilnav from the stain of slavery. Though going deeper into your history, you have also fought for other species, either in wars or just generally moving around. It does look aimless, mostly, since the galaxy's so big. But I'm sure you've got a way through that."
"In some way. Part of why I'm here isn't just about my people. It was at first, I admit that. But as I have lived here, on Justicar, for days and weeks, I've seen you less as alien. It makes it easier for sympathy and easier to break out of simple mindsets. So far, there are many problems, but there are distinct pieces. The first is that many people want to uphold slavery. I'm not sure why, but they do. It isn't profitable, and it isn't moral. Robots are cheaper in every way, and don't need food or water.
That means it's illogical or emotional. So I could try and solve the problem with violence alone, but it won't be addressing the cause, only the symptoms. I need to get to the heart of the matter. And I think it has to do with Elders' memories and the gradual woes they have accumulated going through life. I don't want to tear that away or drug them into believing they're fine. I want to find a way to outlet that productively. The second part I have identified is scale. The galaxy is enormous, and your species is incredibly numerous. I could fight planet by planet for the rest of my life, and liberation would still be difficult.
That also means I'd need a better way of doing things. Maybe an economic or political incentive. Emotional reasons will not work permanently, nor will logic, since we are in this situation. I have found several ways to address this. Sadly, since the gangs are likely monitoring this feed, I can't just outright say my strategy. All I can ask you all to do is to believe. Believe that I have a solution, and that I and those who stand with me are working on it. Believe in me because I believe in you."
None of the Elders questioned or ridiculed her words. Most of it was because they were fans of her. But one of them, an Elder named Rahautiti, had a distinct glint in his eye. Their gazes met only momentarily, but Penny could tell he knew.
And so she appeared in the mindscape, even as they concluded the interview, which would be the first of many. It was a ploy to just talk about human culture and ideals a bit more, to get it out there. Because the hivemind's theory was correct.
In the universe, ideas had power. That power could be weaponized against those who previously stood to gain. The first part of it was the image: Nova as an unbeatable bastion. Lecalicus as the Beast, a monster capable of star-crushing rage. Twilight as... whatever she did. Penny wasn't really familiar with the Progenitor's image too much, and the various names, like the Silent Night or the Smiling Darkness, were just so unbelievably edgy she cringed every time she recalled them.
But Rahautiti understood so she moved her mindscape avatar to see him.
"Hello again, Penny. I am no threat."
"I know. I'm glad that your group is led by someone as capable as you, as well as the other groups you dabble within."
"Who discovered it?"
"Phoebe. You met with Ezeonwha, and the android wanted to ensure you weren't a way for Yasihaut to kill him."
"Yeah. We did get approached about that, actually. We're supposed to kill Ezeonwha when you walk into the Judgment hall. Of course, we won't do this, and she won't be able to retaliate against us easily while there."
"Thank you for your honesty, Elder," Penny said. "It seems I'm in your debt."
"Nonsense. 2,839. That is the number of children I have had. 2,626. That is the number of children of mine which were enslaved. The remaining 213 died in unrelated incidents, with nearly half of those involving slavers killing them. I remember all of their names, and all of their faces, Penny. I want all the slavers in this universe dead."
"I cannot achieve that."
"You cannot," Rahautiti agreed. "Not with my help or even that of Kashaunta and Lecalicus. And certainly not right now. I have not lived this long to be incapable of compromise or patchwork solutions. You show great promise. I understand your aversion to killing and the circumstantial reason why you are not doing so now. I will not grow upset if you do not resume killing when the Judgment ends. Nor do I harbor a grudge against you for the speeding space entity you left outside the room to avoid uncomfortable publicity. You are incredibly young.
A sliver of a life. But you are strong, and you are mature. That sliver of your lifespan already outshines all I could do with a trillion more years, Penny. You are right in that this isn't something you can punch your way through. Trauma is part of why slavery still exists, despite it being a wholly unjust reason for the Elders to make such a sport of it. I am sure you know the story of the war, with a great hero in your head and Kashaunta at your side. My line of work is what I started to help you. Every thought about you being the Liberator, every eye that glances on you freeing slaves, helps you to gather conceptual energy. My talent happens to be great enough to sense the Pact of Blades you have, as well. If you want, I can teach you how to hide the mark on your soul and your mind."
"I would like that, yes," Penny said. "And thank you for being so reasonable. I will ask Kashaunta to protect you from what consequences come for refusing the offer on Ezeonwha."
"There are going to be attacks on him, you know. Him and your ship."
Penny felt an odd feeling in her soul. Cardi's power flared around him, and she squinted at the sky. She just barely saw a sliver of a tentacle. Most would have mistaken it for a normal speeding space entity. But here? On Justicar, with Exile obviously not being the cause?
Only one being would cause that. Fate.
Given the subject of their conversation, it was obvious what was going on.
Penny tapped Rahautiti's jaw, adding a thin mark of conceptual power so she could easily find him again. She focused on the conceptual mark she'd left on Ezeonwha. A twinge of conceptual energy came from it. It was accompanied by various impressions, like fear, pain, and acceptance.
"I have to go," Penny said. "I will be back later. Displace."
She appeared next to the 102nd Visitor Welcome Office but not next to Ezeonwha. It was carnage everywhere she looked.
"Champion!" an unknown Elder yelled. "I am Elder Na-"
Her rising fury surged, and it took all she had not to dismember him. The distant thought of the Judgment stayed her hands, though only just.
Penny's fist collided with the Elder's jaw at twice the speed of sound. A piece of his jaws flew free. Bone fragments hit the ground behind him. Hundreds of soldiers fired on her, and she slammed them to the ground with pure will. Penny tore their guns away and sent them each to pummel the Elder in front of her with as much brutality as she could. His powerful armor wasn't as capable of defense against physical attacks as it was against her psychic energy, and so he fell.
"You... cannot save him," the Elder spat. Fields of psychic suppression fell upon her, reducing her power.
"Manipulation through Determination," Penny growled. "De-"
No! Nilnacrawla said. Do not kill him! Not yet!
"What goes up will go down."
Air hardened around the Elder and accelerated rapidly.
The Elder smashed into the shield five miles above with a speed just slow enough that he wouldn't die. He fell from it and then hit it again at a more modest speed. He'd bounce on that until the Guides came to get him.
But Penny had another target. One she had to save instead of attack.
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High Judge Tassidonia awoke to the sound of explosions. He grabbed his swords, his main gun, and the personal shield he reserved for only the most dire occasions. The sky was erupting in war all around him, and buildings were already falling nearby. The spires of skyscrapers rained down upon the entrances to the Underground, crushing thousands of fleeing Sprilnav under their wide impacts.
His implant identified members of the gangs nearby, making their way to his home.
"Retribution Cycle!" Tassidonia cried. A hidden door opened, and he boarded a small hovercraft that sported a high amount of defensive and offensive technology, a gift from Justicar for dealing with all that he had related to the Judgment. Only this time, he wouldn't be on the next one. But already, the destruction was spreading.
Micro-missiles rained upon friend and foe alike. Several detonated against the layered shields. The mounted turrets on the side of his hoverbike shot lasers into the enemies his implant identified.
"Elder Tassidonia!" an Elder cried nearby. "For the crime of defying the will of-"
Tassidonia called his fury to bear. He rammed his mind into the enemy Elder, disorienting her. She reeled, about to attack, when a thick laser smashed into her chest. It pushed her against the wall, and Tassidonia kept the pressure up until her body melted. He listened to her screams impassively, occasionally sending blasts from his gun at the gangs when their members started to stray too close.
The thick red beam did its work within twenty pulses. His swords began to float beside him, keeping pace as he sped away from his home. The entire apartment complex shuddered and began to lean, its foundation being destroyed by some effect below. Tassidonia abandoned it with only minor regret. He'd known this moment would come. Everything he needed was already with him.
He linked into the Guide network, directing squadrons to attack the breaches he'd identified. Orbital strikes fell upon them in quick succession. Thick beams of light pierced through the lower planetary shields from orbital platforms, their guns honing in on Justicar's enemies. Tassidonia's implant was linked to the grid as well. So when he eyed buildings occupied with too many gang members, orbital strikes fell on them a few pulses later.
Fire and plasma rained all around him. Explosions and smoke blossomed all around him. More missiles fell from his hovercraft. A fighter ship appeared beside him, its simple stealth revealing itself to his eyes. Tassidonia waited for the pilot chamber to open, and his craft stowed itself behind him when he got in. It was fully equipped, so soon, Tassidonia was in full control of a weapon of war.
His first order of business was detecting the gangs' most fortified areas. He peppered those bases in shield-weakening mines, followed by bunker-buster missiles. Several anti-air turrets hit him, but his shields prevented them from taking him down. He dropped three high-end Butcher Androids into the fray of the largest battles.
One of the adjacent fighter wings in the separate shield sector dropped a nuke. At that moment, Tassidonia made a decision.
Whatever insanity was going on right now wasn't worth staying here on his own. He turned his ship upward, narrowly avoiding nearly fifty missiles shot from another gang fortress, which was really just the lower floors of a supermarket. Thick slabs of concrete were being set up by androids and slaves from the Underground. All he could do was watch from above and attempt to mark those that might be a problem.
Justicar's Grand Fleet was moving in, though only the carriers and their escorts were doing anything of any scale. The armies were mobilizing, and it seemed that war had finally broken out. Justicar, while isolated due to the Judgment, would have to win a war that threatened to topple his rule entirely.
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Ezeonwha woke when the walls around him shuddered.
An earthquake?
Groggily, he activated the lights in the room. Phoebe's android was charging in the wall. Her limbs swayed with the motion. The walls shuddered again, and the lights went out. Thin, tiny cracks spread in the walls, increasing his worry factors massively. His implant notified him that this wasn't a dream. Distant screams reached his ears, and he went to the window.
Hordes of Sprilnav were running on the ground, tripping over each other to escape. He heard the thump of footsteps approaching from outside. The android activated, standing up.
"Move away from the doo-"
An explosion tossed him across the room. A Sprilnav carrying some sort of mouth weapon faded into view for a moment, smoke recalibrating the stealth field. And then he was gone. Phoebe smashed into the Sprilnav, her fists pummeling the assassin faster than Ezeonwha could comprehend.
Phoebe's arms turned into swords, and she stabbed the Sprilnav at least fifty times in a single pulse. She turned to grab him, but before she reached him, a second explosion sent him flying out of the now-shattered window.
The massive skyscraper loomed large, and he saw the ground beneath it ripple. Dull thumps sounded from below, and large, circular caverns opened beneath the 102nd Visitor Welcome Office. The whole building started to list forward, and Ezeonwha frantically activated his emergency personal shield as he started falling faster and faster. A bullet hit the shield. And then a second one. Gunshots echoed out in the distance, and he saw other Sprilnav falling from broken windows in the falling skyscraper. Gunfire erupted on the streets as Guides engaged a growing army of attackers bubbling up from basements of shops and businesses.
He saw spurts of blood exit the Sprilnav nearest him, bullets tearing holes through the woman's body. Piercing screams surrounded him, a terrible chorus that reminded him of the worst wars he'd fought in. But here, his training could do nothing. She was already dead, and he knew that he was the target of this whole attack. His eyes watered, and Ezeonwha felt so powerless. So useless.
A Corrector emerged from the side of the tilting skyscraper, eyes fixed on Ezeonwha. Then he looked down. Somehow, Ezeonwha knew when the orders had been sent. He knew that it was Astipra in the distance, a jetpack on his shoulders burning a thick flame beneath him.
Astipra looked back at the building and flew toward it. Ezeonwha felt the wind rushing past the shield as pressure. Astipra, far above, vaporized falling chunks of the skyscraper with blasts from his arm cannons. He pressed back against the skyscraper, the jetpack going into overdrive. The metal bent inward, and the groaning and twisting structure continued its fall. Blasts of light from Astipra again vaporized the set of falling chunks.
"Penny," he said. It was almost a prayer, really. His desperate mind was scrambling for whatever it could get. "Please, save me!"
He didn't know if she could hear him. Logically, it was impossible. And in a battle such as this, unlikely as well. Rippling explosions erupted across the facade of the falling skyscraper as rockets struck it. More explosions bloomed as lasers from distant police vehicles, Guides, and Astipra destroyed more of the fast-flying missiles and rockets. They pounded on the world around him, a horde of madness threatening to break his brain. He could feel the wind and gravity equalize as he reached terminal velocity.
And all he could see was the world descending into war around him. The 102nd Visitor Welcome Office continued to slump and lean against Astipra's best efforts. More bullets hit Ezeonwha's personal shield, and peppered the Guides moving over to save him. Air ambulances were shot from the sky. Even small fighter crafts were shot down by powerful ground lasers. EMPs thumped, disabling all the higher functions of his implant before he could think to use it.
A much larger explosion bloomed out, and Ezeonwha followed the rocket's trail to an Elder on the ground, standing in the wreckage surrounding a sudden tunnel opening. The Elder stared at him in glee, and he lined up another shot. Two Guides fell upon the Elder, who flew up using a jetpack to cut them in half with his sword. A hard light hologram lifted a large gun, pointing at Ezeonwha as he fell.
His eyes widened. Ezeonwha did everything he could. He angled his legs and arms. He pushed at the air. He even hefted the meager psychic energy he had, struggling with all his soul to escape the death he could feel was coming to him.
Guides swarmed beyond the shield appearing, while gang soldiers died by the hundreds to carpet bombing. Personal shields sprang up to block the explosions, and the Elder had survived. A thick red laser cut one of the fighters in half from the smoke. Above him, the collapsing facade of the skyscraper consumed Astipra entirely, though large gouts of plasma and thick explosions emerged from within. He could survive if it fell upon him, but Ezonwha could not.
Penny materialized far below, closer to the field of battle. A sweeping wave of gang members began disappearing. A bullet smashed into her head and her stomach, detonating in bright explosions. A personal shield flared and disappeared. Missiles and lasers slammed into Penny by the thousands as psychic energy gathered. A constant roll of words fell from her tongue, but without his implant, they were not translated.
Missiles crumbled into dust. Lasers impacted raw space in front of Penny before bending down and back to their origins, destroying automated turrets. Bullets still hit Penny and the Guides by the thousands, firing too quickly and densely for her to entirely block. But the large ordnance from the gangs continued to work against them.
Penny looked around, confusion evident on her face. But amidst the thousands of wounded and dead Sprilnav falling from the broken windows, Ezeonwha was hidden too well.
Shattering glass could be constantly heard, and he could feel the distant screams in his soul. A bullet smashed into his personal shield again, disabling it. A pulse later, he lost feeling in his legs.
He tried to reach out to her mind, but the war in the mindscape was equally intense. Too many Elders and Guides battling it out along with various suppression artifacts made it all impossible. He could sense Penny's influence, but couldn't directly reach her.
He let out a breath, knowing it to be the final one.
I'm sorry, Penny, Ezeonwha thought.
I wish you luck in the Judgment, and I am sorry I caused this to happen to you.
Penny finally appeared in front of him, eyes wide-
Blood erupted. A searing pain in his head told him his implant had just shorted out. And in the mindscape, he saw a mental attack heading for him, its brutal power evident. He closed his eyes.
2024.05.29 04:07 apehasreturned Booking the AEW World Title in 2024 - Part Two: The Master
 | Part One Here! submitted by apehasreturned to FantasyBookingElite [link] [comments] We pick up following Blood and Guts, where AEW Champion Swerve Strickland led his team to victory over the Elite. It’s been an insanely brutal and bloody reign for Swerve so far, and with enemies and allies alike climbing the ladder towards a shot at the gold, he’s starting to grow slightly paranoid. With a second trip to Wembley approaching, the talk of the town is who’s going to win the Owen and go for AEW’s top title at Wembley - if Swerve even makes it there, the fans knowing that his wars of attrition are leaving him worse for wear with each passing defence. Road to All In London The lineup for the Owen is being narrowed down coming out of Blood and Guts, with MJF, Jay White, Bryan Danielson, Will Ospreay, Darby Allin, Hangman Page, Konosuke Takeshita and Katsuyori Shibata all in the running. With blockbuster match after blockbuster match being fought to determine the finalists for Calgary, we eventually come down to two: MJF and Will Ospreay, set on a collision course for the ages. Swerve’s troubles don’t end there, though - after leaving the Mogul Embassy, his old allies smell blood in the water, and the EVPs are all too happy to make Strickland’s life more miserable by announcing a title match with Brian Cage for the Dynamite opener in Alberta’s largest city. AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland (c) vs. Brian Cage Cage gets a good showing in here, using his remarkable athleticism to nearly put the champion away early, but once Swerve gets rolling, it’s clear that there are levels to this game. The Machine goes for a Liger Bomb, Swerve reversing into a hurricanrana to leave him prone for a HOUSE CALL, FOLLOWED BY A SWERVE STOMP! ONE! TWO! THREE! Swerve Strickland def. Brian Cage (11:51) to retain the AEW World Title After the bout, Swerve’s handed his title, and he keeps it hugged tight to his chest as he grabs a microphone. He says everyone’s been working their asses off around him to try and take this from him, but the champion promises he’s not afraid. He welcomes the challenge, because there ain’t nobody like Swerve Strickland in SWERVE’S HOUSE. He says he’s looking forward to seeing who comes out on top in the main event, and heads off backstage to watch it with Prince Nana. Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Final: MJF vs. Will Ospreay This gets a lot of time, with no limit on a tournament final. Let them cook. MJF is in worse shape than Ospreay, having been flung straight into a tournament after a series of surgeries left him held together with duct tape, but Ospreay’s in a worse headspace, his typical unending confidence hampered by a few narrow wins en route to the final. However, it’s two spectacular in-ring talents, and they go ham in pursuit of victory, MJF wanting to headline Wembley for the second straight year and Ospreay looking to win the AEW World Title in a stadium in his home country. The back-and-forth gives way to MJF getting control, working the arm extensively to warm Ospreay up for the Salt of the Earth. However, an appearance by Adam Cole gives an unknowing Ospreay the opportunity to turn the tables with a handstand reversal to a Heatseeker, following it with a Hidden Blade for two. Ospreay considers working on the shoulder, MJF crying out in agony with each blow to the surgically repaired joint, and eventually, Will has him in perfect position for the Storm Driver 93. He knows MJF’s neck and shoulder are in such a state that this would be an automatic victory, but he hesitates just long enough for MJF to roll him up… ONE! TWO! THRE-KICKOUT! MJF grabs the arm to go for a Salt of the Earth, Ospreay rolling him back into a pin of his own, followed by another HIDDEN BLADE! STORMBREAKER! ONE! TWO! THREE! OSPREAY’S GOING TO WEMBLEY! Will Ospreay def. MJF (31:02) to win the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Out comes Swerve, standing toe to toe with his challenger as confetti falls around them. Ospreay leans on his trophy, grabbing a microphone as it becomes rapidly apparent his confidence is back. He says that All In is on the horizon, and last time AEW was at Wembley Stadium, he won as an outsider… yet Swerve lost. Now, Ospreay’s in AEW full time, mowing through all the competition, and now it’s time that the Kingpin get a shot at the crown. Swerve chuckles before his smile turns into a sneer, growling under his breath that Ospreay will have to kill him to take the AEW Title away - and he’s seen that despite being called the Assassin, he can’t do that. The next week on Dynamite, Ospreay and Swerve are scheduled for a face to face promo in the ring, the title match official for All In. It’s electric as they stand opposite one another in the squared circle, trading some quick verbal barbs that they both brush off before getting down to brass tacks, Swerve holding the microphone and beginning to speak. “Will, you’re impressive, man. You can be as athletic as the day is long, but it’s not ‘heavy is the body that wears the crown,’ it’s ‘heavy is the head,’ and there ain’t nobody like me. This is a mental game, and you don’t have what it takes there. You blew yourself up and broke your own neck when you went for the IWGP Title. You were betrayed by the Don Callis Family and somehow didn’t see it coming. You were beaten on your home turf by your sworn enemy because you got in your own head. You had the win of a lifetime against Bryan, and then you felt so bad about it that you neutered your arsenal. You don’t have what it takes… in your head or in your guts. There’s only one head fit for this crown, and it’s mine.” Ospreay scoffs, trying to keep his cool, but he doesn’t wait long before grabbing the microphone out of Swerve’s hand to an “oooh,” from the crowd. “Ain’t nobody like you, bruv? How dare you talk down to me. How dare you condescend me, belittle me, you arrogant bastard? I came here to AEW and started taking heads, just like I did in Japan, and there were people there just like you. People who said ‘ah, he’s not got it in him to be the next big gaijin. He’ll never be the champion,’ and now there’s you, saying I don’t have what it takes because I don’t have the mentality. YOU don’t have the mentality to do what I do. To fly from the UK to here twice a week, to raise a family, to spend a whole career an ocean away from home, to wear the crown on your head that says you’re the greatest wrestler on Earth. Nobody’s done that but ME, and when that championship’s fastened around my waist, mate, it’s going to prove what everyone already knows - that Will Ospreay’s on another level, and Swerve Strickland… he’s punching up.” Now it’s Strickland’s turn to try and keep a lid on his anger, stepping toe to toe with his challenger and holding the title inches from his face. He tells Ospreay to listen close, before saying that the years of hard work Ospreay put in everywhere but home aren’t gonna be enough to help. He’s gonna be in front of his family, he’s gonna be in front of his friends, he’s gonna be in front of his people, and he’s going to let them all down, because he’s an impressive athlete, but he’s not the guy. Finally, Ospreay snaps, throwing a SHORT HEADBUTT, AND NOW BOTH MEN ARE THROWING FISTS! IT’S UTTER BEDLAM! The bell starts ringing to try and encourage them to break it up, but neither man is stepping down now, furiously exchanging blows as security rushes to the ring to divide them. Swerve grabs the championship, hoisting it high as he spits venom at Ospreay, the challenger spewing a string of words that probably won’t make air. They keep trying to break free and take another swing, commentary asking what on Earth they’ll do when they’re finally let loose at Wembley Stadium, pride and the promotion’s top prize on the line. Swerve Strickland (c) vs. Will Ospreay All In London Wembley Stadium is packed to the gills as All In goes on the air, and they’re fit to burst as the first theme they hear is that of the Commonwealth Kingpin. Justin Roberts announces that our opening match is for the AEW World Title, and Ospreay receives plenty of fanfare and fireworks as he makes his way to the ring, looking more motivated than ever. He’s clearly jonesing in the ring, eagerly awaiting Swerve’s arrival as his compatriots cheer him on… and then Chaka Khan hits. Strickland may be in enemy territory, but the crowd can't help but sing. Oozing charisma as he enters the squared circle, the AEW Champion seems more than ready to put the Assassin down, the electric crowd letting both men soak in the moment as the bell rings. HERE WE GO! SWERVE VS. OSPREAY, LIVE FROM WEMBLEY, AEW TITLE ON THE LINE! AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland (c) vs. Will Ospreay From the bell, Strickland and Ospreay are exchanging words as they gravitate towards one another, Ospreay calling for a lockup. They settle into a collar and elbow, Ospreay using his size to his advantage to try and muscle Swerve into the ropes, but Strickland reversing the momentum to cinch in a side headlock. Will still drives Swerve into the ropes, eventually breaking free and whipping Strickland across the ring, the champion building up speed as he ducks a clothesline attempt from the challenger and nails a Tijeras to send Ospreay flying. Ospreay’s quickly back up to his feet, Swerve attempting a slip behind for a German Suplex, but Will countering with a headlock takeover, kipping up and throwing a superkick that’s narrowly avoided by Swerve, who drops flat to his back, picking Ospreay’s leg and floating into a handstand to bring Ospreay down with a headscissors. Will kips up once more to break free, Swerve scrambling to stand up before OSPREAY THROWS A HIDDEN BLADE, SWERVE DIVING OUT OF THE WAY AT THE LAST MOMENT BEFORE CATASTROPHE! Strickland quickly pivots as Will looks to get to his feet, attempting a HOUSE CALL, BUT NOW IT’S OSPREAY’S TURN TO DODGE AS BOTH MEN END UP STANDING! Gritting his teeth, Swerve goes for another lockup with Ospreay, this time quickly kicking him in the gut for a snapmare, cinching in a chinlock to talk some smack. The Aerial Assassin lands a few elbows to the body as he strives to get back to his feet, finally breaking free before being grounded again by a Tijeras from Swerve. Strickland grabs hold of his challenger again, Ospreay furiously backpedaling into the corner to avoid a lifting inverted DDT, only for Swerve to send him through the ropes for a HANGING NECKBREAKER! Ospreay rolls out to the apron instinctively, Swerve kicking out one of his legs and stepping through the middle rope to SLINGSHOT INTO A DDT ON THE APRON, BUT OSPREAY HANDSPRINGS STRAIGHT TO HIS FEET ON THE FLOOR! Strickland gets cocky, thinking he landed the shot, and turns around to see Ospreay charging at his legs. Swerve leaps up, still on the apron as Will overshoots, the champion pivoting for an APRON PUMP KICK, OSPREAY DUCKING IT AND LEAPING BACK ONTO THE APRON! SWERVE TURNS AROUND ONCE AGAIN… AND OSPREAY FLIES IN WITH AN APRON OSCUTTER! Tumbling to the floor, Swerve tries to get to his senses and figure out how he came out on the rough end of the sequence on the apron, but Ospreay gives him no time to think with a ROBINSON SPECIAL OFF THE APRON, STRAIGHT THROUGH THE BACK OF HIS HEAD! He props Swerve against the barricade, chopping him across the chest before scrambling to the top rope for a SKY TWISTER PRESS TO THE OUTSIDE - ONLY FOR SWERVE TO AVOID IT, NAILING OSPREAY WITH A GERMAN SUPLEX ONTO THE FLOOR! With Ospreay stunned, Strickland slides back in to break the count, measuring his man before effortlessly delivering a FOSBURY FLOP OUT TO RINGSIDE, WIPING OUT THE CHALLENGER! Turning the tables on Ospreay, now it’s Swerve’s turn to lay in some chops against the barricade, only for Will to dump him over the barrier and into the crowd. He follows it up with a hook kick over the guardrail to stagger the champion, running the length of ringside and LAUNCHING HIMSELF STRAIGHT INTO A PUMP KICK FROM THE CHAMPION! Swerve hops up onto the barricade, grabbing hold of Ospreay in a front facelock before MUSCLING HIM UP AND OVER WITH A BRAINBUSTER, OFF OF THE BARRICADE AND RIGHT DOWN ONTO THE FLOOR AT RINGSIDE! He rushes to roll Will back between the ropes, hooking both legs… ONE! TWO! TH-NOOO! Swerve jumps to the middle rope to deliver a diving European Uppercut to the back of the head before Ospreay can quite get to his feet, following it up with a DISCUS LARIAT! The assault on the head is relentless, Swerve looking for a DDT before being driven into the ropes, Will trying to earn a momentary reprieve. Instead, Strickland pummels him with Muay Thai knees to the body, heaving him up for a LIGER BOMB! ONE! TWO! THRE-KICKOUT ONCE MORE! Swerve lets out a frustrated roar, deadlift Ospreay up to attempt another powerbomb, but Ospreay manages to drop to the apron for a gamengiri, followed by a PIP PIP CHEERIO! ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! Desperate to keep momentum on his side, Ospreay quickly delivers a rolling elbow, following it up with a SNAP DRAGON SUPLEX, BUT SWERVE RIGHT BACK UP TO HIS FEET, NAILING A GERMAN! He swivels around, only to see Ospreay landed on his feet, BOTH MEN THROWING HIGH KICKS BEFORE COLLAPSING TO THE CANVAS! Wembley rallies behind Ospreay as both men struggle to get to their feet, barely stirring before the challenger begins pounding the mat, leaning back onto his hands for a kip-up before Swerve simply spins to punt him in the face and bring him back to the mat. Strickland rises to his feet, looking for the House Call, but OSPREAY HAS NONE OF IT, CATCHING THE LEG FOR A STYLES CLASH! ONE! TWO! THR-NOO! Following through, Ospreay attempts a Hidden Blade, Swerve ducking it before rushing towards his opponent and INTO A SPANISH FLY FOR A NEARFALL! Ospreay grabs the back of Swerve’s head, paying him back for the focused assault with a flurry of Kawada Kicks to the face, followed by an attempt at a delayed vertical suplex, Strickland floating over and landing on his feet. The champion runs the ropes, Ospreay stopping him in his tracks with a dropsault and an enziguri, continuously building momentum with a STUNDOG MILLIONAIRE TO FINALLY DROP SWERVE TO HIS BACK! Unleashing a war cry, Ospreay has a gleam in his eyes as he looks towards the top turnbuckle, dragging himself through the ropes to the apron before clambering up to the high rent district, turning his back to Swerve for another SKY TWISTER PRESS, SWERVE ONCE AGAIN ROLLING IN TOWARDS THE TURNBUCKLES… BUT OSPREAY ROLLS STRAIGHT THROUGH TO HIS FEET! Strickland flashes his grill to the camera in the corner with a smile, Ospreay looming behind him before BLASTING STRAIGHT THROUGH HIM WITH A HIDDEN BLADE! ONE! TWO! THRE-SWERVE POWERS OUT! It’s been just over fifteen minutes of insanity as Ospreay smells blood in the water, knowing if he connects with a Stormbreaker, he can wrap this up. However, that certainty would only be cemented if he were to nail a Storm Driver 93, but he refuses to go to such lengths, hooking the arms… BUT SWERVE COUNTERS WITH A BACK BODY DROP, ONLY FOR OSPREAY TO LAND ON HIS FEET! HE BREAKS INTO A SPRINT, REBOUNDING OFF THE ROPES FOR A SPRINGBOARD OSCUTTER - STRAIGHT INTO A HOUSE CALL! SWERVE INTERCEPTED HIM! ONE! TWO! THRE-NOOOO! Strickland can’t believe it, but he’s got Ospreay dead to rights, spinning him around into position for a Tombstone. Strickland looks to the hard cam, a smug sneer on his face as OSPREAY REVERSES WITH A SEGA MEGA DRIVER, SPIKING HIM DOWN ON HIS HEAD! ONE! TWO! THRE-NOOOO! Ospreay is in disbelief, even a tribute to Mad Kurt not being enough to put Swerve down, but he’s staying on the ball as he hooks Swerve’s arms to go for a STORMBREAKER, ONLY FOR SWERVE TO FLOAT OVER FOR A LIFTING INVERTED DDT! Will’s rally wasn’t enough to get him out of trouble, and STRICKLAND FOLLOWS IT UP WITH A SECOND HOUSE CALL! SWERVE IMMEDIATELY ON THE ATTACK ONCE MORE, POSITIONING OSPREAY FOR A JML DRIVER… BUT WILL CLEARS HIS HEAD, COUNTERING WITH A POISON RANA! SWERVE UP TO HIS KNEES, BUT OSPREAY FOLLOWS IT WITH A SPRINGBOARD OSCUTTER! HIDDEN BLADE TO THE BASE OF THE SKULL, AND NOW… STORMBREAKER! ONE! TWO! THREE! WILL OSPREAY IS THE AEW WORLD CHAMPION! Will Ospreay def. Swerve Strickland (20:10) to win the AEW World Title Later in the night, Kazuchika Okada defeats Kenny Omega to win their fifth encounter, establishing himself firmly as the Number One Contender to the AEW World Title, giving the new champion only two weeks to prepare to face off with one of his greatest foes - a foe he’s only managed to beat cleanly once, while falling to the Rainmaker eight times. Road to All Out Ospreay gets to celebrate on Dynamite, cutting a promo saying he’s geared up to finally put this to bed. He says he’s glad he’s starting his title reign like this, because he’s certain he can beat Okada, and he’ll not have to worry about the spectre looming over him anymore. Every time there was a title on the line, every time the stakes were high, he failed against the Rainmaker - but the stakes were high at Wembley, and he won. He proved Swerve Strickland wrong, and now it’s time to prove Kazuchika Okada wrong. Out steps the Rainmaker, taking the EVP Elevator up onto the stage to say that Ospreay has already proven him wrong; he thought, years ago, that Ospreay was a talent worthy of being in Okada’s stable of CHAOS, and Ospreay proved him wrong when he betrayed his leader, only for Okada to beat the brakes off him at the Tokyo Dome. Okada says that Ospreay should be all too familiar with Okada being the top champion, the Ace, and he plans to finally bring that vision to AEW by restoring the world to its natural order and beating the Aerial Assassin for a ninth time. The Rainmaker’s ego is peaking, having avenged his loss to Kenny Omega just a few days prior, and he says that Omega’s a taller mountain to climb than Ospreay. However, he says he’s sure there’ll be room in the Elite’s ranks for Ospreay, should he come to his senses and want to fall back in line behind the Rainmaker. Ospreay declares that at All Out, he’ll prove to Okada and the world that he’s eclipsed the onetime Ace, while Okada insists that Omega was just the beginning - in just a few days, it’ll be time for the Rainmaker Era to start back up. All Out With All In having just occurred recently, All Out is a package deal with the Wembley show, ensuring a huge audience for what’s certain to be an all-timer main event between the Rainmaker and the Assassin. Both men want to walk out with the gold more than anything in the world, making an already personal rivalry all the more exciting as the coin drops for the last match of the night. Okada appears in a new robe, debuted two weeks prior at Wembley, and as he rises from the Elite Elevator, he’s looking more daunting than ever. There’s only one feud the man had ever lost, and he’d just avenged it against Kenny Omega - this is the most dangerous he’s ever been, and as Will Ospreay makes his way to the ring, Okada doesn’t even turn to face him. The champion is furious, but the challenger sees him as a formality standing between him and another epic World Title reign, refusing to even acknowledge him as they’re both introduced by Justin Roberts. They head to their respective corners, and THE BELL RINGS! IT’S OKADA AND OSPREAY, WORLD TITLE ON THE LINE! AEW World Title: Will Ospreay (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada Both men are hesitant to open themselves up to a big counter in the early goings, especially given how well they know each other, so they try and psych each other out a different way - by waiting. The crowd greets them with a deafening reception as they slowly circle the centre of the ring, eventually meeting with a lockup that sees Okada immediately put his height to good use, bearing down on Ospreay with an attempt at a test of strength. He pushes Ospreay down to the mat, even getting his shoulders down for a moment, but the champion bridges up off the canvas. Okada jumps up and drives his legs down into Ospreay’s body, but Ospreay maintains the bridge with both men’s weight, Okada getting back up and shooting for a lateral press that gets a one count. Transitioning into a side headlock, Okada talks some smack, the Young Bucks supporting him at ringside while taunting the champion. However, Ospreay’s put on plenty of muscle mass over the years, making it all the easier for him to slowly make his way to his feet, twisting free and securing a side headlock of his own on the Rainmaker. Okada sends him into the ropes, Ospreay clinging to the top as Okada instinctively goes for a flapjack. Momentarily confused, Okada gives Will the opening to run in for a dropsault, attempting to follow it with an enziguri that’s ducked, Ospreay springing up… and into a flapjack, the inevitability of the Rainmaker’s plans coming to fruition putting the champion in a bad spot early. Continuing with his somewhat lackadaisical pace, Okada keeps treating Ospreay like he’s not that big of a deal, shoving him into the corner for a double pat on the chest, followed by a stiff forearm across the jaw as the referee steps in. Ospreay lunges at him, Okada grabbing the arm for an Irish Whip into the opposite corner, rushing the champion with a big boot, but Ospreay SLINGSHOTS RIGHT OVER HIM, LANDING ON HIS FEET BEHIND THE RAINMAKER FOR A KICK TO THE HAMSTRING! Ospreay hones in with a swift roundhouse to Okada’s other leg, trying to take out his base, but Okada shrugs it off by catching the leg on a third kick attempt before driving his shoulder straight into the bridge of Ospreay’s nose, following it with a DDT that makes it look like Ospreay just died. The champion goes full scorpion, folding over himself like PAC as Okada grabs hold of the wrist to attempt an early Rainmaker. He gets Ospreay up to his feet, a smirk on his face as he winds him up, but Ospreay cuts through his grip with a sharp elbow before rolling Okada up with a victory roll reversal, straight into a DOUBLE STOMP TO THE GUT! Okada rolls right out of the ring and into the waiting arms of the Elite, Ospreay lining up to try and take him out with a dive before being halted by the Bucks, who leap into the way with their hands up. Ospreay shouts at them to move before going for it anyway, launching himself with a PESCADO, STRAIGHT INTO A BOOT TO THE STOMACH BY THE RAINMAKER! THE BUCKS GAVE HIM TIME TO RECOVER! Taking advantage immediately, Okada sends Ospreay crashing into the barricade, Ospreay crying out before Okada sends him into the aisle on the crowd side of the barrier. He measures his man as he heads to the opposite end of ringside, the Bucks gassing him up as he takes a running start for a CROSSBODY OVER THE GUARDRAIL, LANDING ON HIS FEET AFTER TAKING OUT THE AERIAL ASSASSIN! Okada dusts himself off, his signature look of superiority clearer than ever as he drags Ospreay back to ringside, laying in a few boots to the body before spitefully laying in another DDT, this time on the floor. He breaks the count before continuing to pummel Ospreay at ringside, the Bucks taunting the champion with each consecutive shot he takes. Okada works over the champion’s neck, digging a knee into the back of it as he postures with his stablemates before securing a waistlock for a GERMAN SUPLEX ON THE FLOOR, BUT OSPREAY FLIPS OUT OF IT! He flings himself at Okada with a Hidden Blade attempt from behind, the seemingly omniscient Okada ducking at just the right moment before throwing a boot - but Ospreay’s just too quick, slipping under it and LAYING IN A HOOK KICK, FOLLOWED BY A BACK SUPLEX ON THE OUTSIDE TO THE RAINMAKER! Ospreay backs the Bucks away, threatening to put their faces through the back of their heads before sliding back into the ring and EFFORTLESSLY SOARING THROUGH THE AIR WITH A SKY TWISTER PRESS TO THE FLOOR! He sends Okada back between the ropes, following him with a PIP PIP CHEERIO, BUT OKADA CUTS HIM OFF AGAIN BY KICKING OUT THE ROPES! Ospreay is left hung up on the top, Okada turning him over for a DRAPING NECKBREAKER OFF THE TOP! ONE! TWO! THR-KICKOUT! It’s been virtually all Okada thus far, and he continues to methodically wear Ospreay down with a targeted offensive on the neck of the AEW World Champion. Whenever Ospreay tries to get some momentum going, Okada’s able to reverse it, the style Ospreay honed in New Japan having paid dividends against plenty of other AEW talents, but not the man who defined the style for over a decade. Soon enough, Okada looks for the Rainmaker again, and Ospreay finds his opening by reversing it into a SPANISH FLY! ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! Ospreay looks like a bullet fired from a gun the second Okada’s constant pressure is taken off his shoulders, the champion bolting out to the apron to connect with a PIP PIP CHEERIO, NAILING IT BEFORE OKADA HAS TIME TO REALIZE WHAT HIT HIM! Okada tries to evacuate out the other side of the ring, but Ospreay’s having none of it, grabbing him by the trunks and pulling him back in for a SNAP DRAGON SUPLEX! ONE! TWO! TH-NOOO! Okada sits back up just in time for Ospreay to strike him with a standing round kick to the ear, filling the Rainmaker’s head with cobwebs before flattening him to the canvas with a superkick, finishing the sequence with a RUNNING SHOOTING STAR PRESS! ONE! TWO! THR-ANOTHER KICKOUT, BUT OSPREAY’S FINALLY GOTTEN CONTROL AWAY FROM THE CHALLENGER! With the Chicago crowd rallying behind him, Ospreay struggles to get to his feet, the twenty straight minutes of punishment taking a heavy toll on the champion. However, he’s certainly up before the stunned Okada, with the challenger still attempting to get his wits about him when Ospreay charges with a ROBINSON SPECIAL, STRAIGHT TO THE BASE OF THE SKULL! Okada gets to his feet on instinct alone, the Assassin positioning himself behind his prey and circling him before running the ropes for an OSCUTTER! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOO! Ospreay unleashes some Kawada Kicks on the challenger, letting out his aggression before lighting him up with a flurry of chops, Okada attempting to stand on business and throw some of his own, only for Ospreay to obliterate him with a superkick. Okada is left leaning on the ropes, Ospreay beckoning him towards the centre of the ring before attempting a SHOTGUN DROPKICK, SENDING HIM STRAIGHT THROUGH TO THE APRON! With Okada prone, Ospreay looks for the OSCUTTER ON THE APRON, BUT OKADA CATCHES HIM IN A STRAITJACKET! He attempts a Straitjacket German Suplex on the apron, Ospreay avoiding catastrophe with a back headbutt to the bridge of the nose, followed by a stiff back elbow to send Okada tumbling to the floor. Ospreay vaults over the ropes to break the count, finding himself in the perfect spot for an old favourite as Okada gets to his feet at the base of the ramp. Measuring his man, Ospreay leaps into motion with a SASUKE SPECIAL, BUT OKADA CATCHES HIM! WHAT STRENGTH FROM THE RAINMAKER, AND NOW… OH MY GOD, A TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER ON THE FLOOR! Okada’s confidence is peaking, the Tombstone on the floor having been a hallmark of so many of his defining victories and none of his defeats. Knowing this, he rolls Ospreay straight back into the ring, the work on the neck having paid dividends as he immediately secures wrist control, hoisting Ospreay up into position for a RAIIIINMAKERRRRRR! HE GOT ALL OF IT! ONE! TWO! THRE-OSPREAY SOMEHOW LIFTS THE SHOULDER UP! Frustrated, Okada hurls Ospreay’s lifeless corpse into the corner and simply starts stomping a mudhole in his face, grinding his boot into the champion’s features before the referee pulls him away. Okada bickers with the ref as the Bucks sneak up on each side of Ospreay, Will instinctively grabbing a hold of Matthew, who scrambles backwards. However, Will stays latched onto him, forming a fist around Matthew’s tie and being pulled through the ropes… ONLY FOR NICHOLAS TO SUPERKICK OSPREAY STRAIGHT INTO THE RING POST, SPARING HIS OLDER BROTHER! Blood begins to spill from the side of Ospreay’s head, dripping onto the ring post and ring skirt as it becomes clear he hit his head damn hard against the steel. Okada pushes past the referee and continues to beat Ospreay down, relishing each moment of offence as he sends the champion packing to the outside with a petulant boot to the side of the head. He rolls out to the floor, the Bucks handing him a bottle of water to cool himself off with after such a brutal match, and now Okada gets to admire the Elite’s handiwork as crimson teardrops start dotting ringside, a bloody mask obscuring Ospreay’s face. Okada keeps beating ass, commentary noting that this is now the longest we’ve seen these two duke it out for, nearly 40 minutes having elapsed. Excalibur notes Ospreay seems harder than ever to put down, but Okada’s showing the same sort of dominance he has in the past, with Schiavone sounding worried that it might just be a matter of time. Looking to finally put an end to things, Okada starts raining closed fists on Ospreay’s head wound, hurling him into the timekeeper’s table. Eventually, he lays Ospreay out on it, clambering up with him before flipping off the camera and calling for another Tombstone. He flips Ospreay around… but Ospreay drops to the floor behind him, sweeping out Okada’s legs before nailing a CHEEKY NANDO’S AGAINST THE GUARDRAIL, LEAVING OKADA SPLAYED OUT ON THE TABLE! Ospreay scrambles towards the ring post, blood pouring down onto his chest as he makes the long climb up the turnbuckles for a FROG SPLASH THROUGH THE TABLE, AND THROUGH OKADA! The count was broken by him hitting the top rope, sparing both men the risk of being counted out as they lie their motionless. Chicago wills them to their feet, Ospreay sending Okada back into the ring before using the surge of energy and momentum to get the challenger up for a STORMBREAKER! HE GOT HIM! OSPREAY’S GONNA DO IT! Ospreay leaps atop Okada, grabbing the leg and leaning back into a deep cover, putting all his weight across the challenger’s shoulders… ONE! TWO! THRE-OKADA’S FOOT IS HOVERING OVER THE BOTTOM ROPE, OSPREAY TOO ENTHUSIASTIC WITH HIS PIN! The Bucks look like they’re about to have panic attacks as an exasperated, mentally battered Ospreay fights back tears, a fraction of an inch away from redemption. However, he knows he’s got control, so all he has to do is take this one home. Both men are in deep waters now, and with both being renowned for their gas tanks, it’s clearly come down to a war of attrition, both men knowing that it’ll all come down to landing the one big move that’ll keep one of them down. They’ve both sustained plenty of damage, but as Ospreay staggers over to the downed Okada, he gets this look in his eyes - the look of a man who has the chance to do the funniest thing ever against a man he resents oh so much. Ospreay grabs Okada’s wrist, the crowd letting out an “oooh” as it becomes clear he’s going for his own parody of the Rainmaker, traditionally a ripcord Spanish Fly. Okada is on dream street as Ospreay positions him, pulling the wrist to whip Okada around… but the Rainmaker is still wise to Ospreay’s moveset, keeping an arm near his side to stop Ospreay from latching on for a Spanish Fly. However, he wasn’t wise enough, Ospreay digging into Kenny Omega’s toolkit with a RAIN TRIGGER, BLINDSIDING OKADA WITH A HUGE HIT HE DIDN’T SEE COMING! Okada falls into the ropes, trying to keep himself upright by keeping a firm grip on the top rope, only to be uprooted by a POISON RANA, OSPREAY SPIKING THE CHALLENGER RIGHT ON HIS HEAD! He stumbles to the corner, Okada looking to find his footing as he gets to his knees… AND EATS A HIDDEN BLADE STRAIGHT TO THE FACE, OSPREAY MOWING STRAIGHT THROUGH HIS CHALLENGER! ONE! TWO! THRE-OKADA GETS THE SHOULDER UP, AND THE GRUELLING BOUT CONTINUES! Justin Roberts is starting to sound pretty nervous as he makes the 50 minute time call, informing both competitors that there’s only ten minutes left in their longest bout against one another to date. Ospreay crawls towards the ropes, driven by pure determination as he peels off his elbow pad, winding up for the Hidden Blade of a lifetime as Okada slowly starts to stir. Both men have taken each other’s biggest shots, but Okada’s in the champion’s sights now, Ospreay waiting until he’s in the perfect position before CHARGING AT FULL TILT INTO A DROPKICK FROM OKADA! Somehow, Okada’s still got pristine form this late into the match, but there’s no time to linger on his magnificence as he rises to his feet, dazed and confused, in desperate need of a dagger against Ospreay. He leans over to hook Ospreay’s wrist, calling for a second Rainmaker, and now he ripcords him in, ONLY FOR OSPREAY TO BLAST HIM WITH A HIDDEN BLADE TO THE FACE ONCE AGAIN ON THE REBOUND! Okada somehow keeps hold of Ospreay’s wrist, tumbling into the ropes and dragging the champion with him, gritting his teeth and letting out a primal roar before CLOBBERING OSPREAY WITH A SHORT ARM LARIAT, BRINGING THEM BOTH DOWN TO THE MAT! Ospreay gets the slightly better landing tactically, turned completely inside out and managing to drape an arm over… ONE! TWO! THRE-NOO! Okada’s kickout flips Ospreay onto his back, the Rainmaker now making an exhausted pinfall attempt… ONE! TWO! THRE-KICKOUT! WHAT’S IT GOING TO TAKE FOR ONE OF THESE MEN TO STAY DOWN? Puddles of Ospreay’s blood stain the canvas as both men lie there, the unimaginable exhaustion washing over both of them as they fight to be the first man to a vertical base. Commentary discusses the importance of securing the upper hand at this moment, and somehow, it’s Ospreay who’s up first, although only by a matter of seconds. Okada decks him with a forearm, the Rainmaker doubled over trying to catch his breath, but Ospreay clocks him with one of his own, followed by a ROLLING ELBOW TO DROP OKADA TO A KNEE! Ospreay ponders a moment, considering going for a Storm Driver 93, and as Justin Roberts says there’s five minutes remaining, he goes for it. He hooks Okada’s arms in a butterfly, muscling him up off his feet… but Okada drops down to his knees, Ospreay too exhausted to lift 250 pounds into position if that 250 pounds is still fighting back. The champion knees Okada in the face before going for it again, but this time, Okada shifts his weight back and SWINGS OSPREAY OVER HIS OWN SHOULDER FOR AN AIR RAID CRASH NECKBREAKER! Ospreay goes down like a sack of potatoes, clutching the back of his neck in pure agony, unable to function properly as Okada scrapes him off the canvas and positions him for an EMPHATIC COBRA FLOWSION, DRIVING OSPREAY’S NECK INTO THE MAT ONCE AGAIN WITH A RESOUNDING THUD! The challenger rises to his feet behind his foe… AND SPREADS HIS ARMS, THE CAMERA ZOOMING OUT TO ENCOMPASS THE CHICAGO CROWD! OKADA HITS THE RAINMAKER POSE, AND HE’S READY TO STUNT ON OSPREAY ONCE MORE! Ospreay’s in the perfect position for the Rainmaker, only a few minutes left on the clock, but both men’s movements have become lethargic and feeble after all they’ve been through. Matthew and Nicholas pound the mat to encourage Okada as he painstakingly leans over to latch on to Ospreay’s wrist, the champion fighting as best he can with a few back elbows, all of which miss the mark. Okada drives a forearm into the back of Ospreay’s neck, dropping him to his knees again before finally heaving him up for the Rainmaker, winding up… AND WHIZZING RIGHT BY OSPREAY, WHO COLLAPSES FROM EXHAUSTION! Okada falls in a heap behind him, but he’s still in better shape than Ospreay with moments remaining. With the last of his adrenaline, Okada scrambles up and picks Ospreay up once more, positioning him for a Rainmaker… BUT OSPREAY DUCKS, THIS TIME BREAKING INTO A SPRINT TO GET OUT OF THE WRISTLOCK! HE BOUNCES OFF THE ROPES, OKADA TOO TIRED TO SPIN AROUND IN TIME, AND NOW OSPREAY NAILS AN UNPROTECTED HIDDEN BLADE TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD! He’s got to roll him over, the seconds counting down as Ospreay simply digs his shoulder into the Rainmaker’s arm to slowly turn him onto his back, struggling to hook the leg… ONE! TWO! THRE-KICKOUT! OKADA GOT THE SHOULDER UP! Ospreay can’t believe it, fighting to get his feet under him, frantically attempting to hook Okada’s arms to get him into position for a Storm… ding ding ding. Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada fought to a draw (60:00), for Ospreay to retain the AEW World Title Road to WrestleDream With Ospreay having been unable to put away the Rainmaker within an hour, it’s pretty clear that a rematch has to be on the horizon, but the question is where. Both Grand Slam and WrestleDream are coming up, and on Dynamite, Okada lays down the gauntlet for the PPV, saying that he intends to win the AEW Title at a show paying tribute to one of his idols in Antonio Inoki. However, Ospreay’s not off the hook until October just yet - Grand Slam still stands in the way, and a battle between two of his fantastic previous opponents is set to determine his challenger for the event. Those opponents? Swerve Strickland and MJF. In the end, MJF manages to pull out the win, securing a title challenge right next door to his home at Grand Slam. Ospreay walks in insecure, just as he did in the Owen Finals, but this time with good reason - his first title defence was hardly a successful one, and he might not even have the chance to make up for it if he doesn’t manage to put away the longest-reigning AEW World Champion ever, in their home state. The pressure’s on for the Assassin, and with challengers hounding him, all he can do is try and build momentum with wins week over week. He doesn’t bother trying to match MJF on the stick, the next challenger eviscerating the champion with promo after promo until the go-home show, where a fed up Ospreay simply snipes him with a Hidden Blade to cut him off. Grabbing the microphone, Will promises to prove the title belongs around his waist, telling MJF that he wants the same Max who dominated the AEW main event scene for over a year. (Cont'd in Comments) |
2024.05.29 04:06 Darren716 Post WWE NXT 5/28/2024 Show Discussion Thread
MATCH RESULTS
IMPORTANT NOTES
submitted by Darren716 to SquaredCircle [link] [comments]
| Winner | Loser | Match Finish | Stipulation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michin | Tatum Paxley | Soeul Food | Women's North American Championship Qualifier |
| Ridge Holland | Riley Osborne w/ Chase U | Redeemer | |
| The Good Brothers | Edris Enofe and Malik Blade w/ Brinley Reece | Magic Killer | |
| Lola Vice | Arianna Grace | 305 Backfist | |
| Dante Chen | Lexis King | Crucifix Pin | |
| Kelani Jordan | Wren Sinclair | Split-Legged Moonsault | Women's North American Championship Qualifier |
| Trick Williams and Je'von Evans w/ Sexy Red | Gallus | Trick-Shot Knee |
- Kickoff with Ava in the ring welcoming us to the show. She says NXT has the greatest women's division in the world and they're about to prove why in two weeks when 6 women will compete in a ladder match for the new Women's North American Championship. She also says they have a special guest and welcomes out Sexy Red. Sexy thanks Ava for her introduction and says she has a special announcement, she will be hosting Battleground in Vegas. Ava says she also has one more special task and starts a drum roll as Sexy reveals the new Women's North American Championship. Tatum Paxley creeps into the ring and tries to steal the belt away from Red before Michin runs in and starts brawling with Tatum and their match starts.
- Joe Coffey is talking to Mark saying only two of them are allowed at ringside when they are approached by Meta-Four where Oro demands to know why they took out Noam last week. Joe says if they attacked Noam they'd have known it and walk off. Oro and Jackson accuse Trick of being behind the attack while Lash defends him.
- Lola Vice is shadow boxing when Arianna Grace walks in and says as the locker room leader, and leader of women in general, she asks if Lola is seriously going through another barbaric NXT Underground match? Lola says of course she's serious and Arianna says oh sugar. She says Shayna is dangerous and was hoping it was just Lola's temper getting the better of her. Lola calls her princessa and tells Grace she can learn how dangerous she is tonight. Grace says oh shit.
- After their match Ridge Holland extends a hand to Riley but Riley denies it and leaves the ring.
- The Good Brothers are interviewed backstage, Luke says they are done with being dodged by a team that's existed for 6 months while they had title reigns longer than that. He says the beat downs will continue until they get what they want and Karl shouts at Axiom and Frazer if they have their attention now. We cut to another camera where we see Oro Mensa has been assaulted as Lash and Jackson go to check on him along with officials.
- Axiom and Nathan Frazer ambush the Good Brothers after their match, drop kicking them to the outside. Nathan tells the fraudulent clowns that they are never getting near their titles and goes to call them pieces of shit but Axiom cuts him off and says they'll see the Good Brothers at Battleground.
- Dante Chen says he's been waiting two days to get his opportunity and the reaction he got was all worth it. While he'd love to bask in this victory forever, he is ready for another and is ready for whoever is next.
- Backstage Lexis King tells Dante Chen his win meant nothing and it will never happen again. Dante says he'll prove it's not a fluke and challenge to face Lexis again tonight.
- Roxanne Perez makes her way to the ring. She says she is the only woman in WWE who's appreciated this championship from the very beginning, from when she first one it on 2.0, until when she won it back she saw it used by waste after waste who used to to move on to something bigger rather than relishing it. She says at 13 she started training specifically to win this championship. She never cared about Raw or Smackdown, she only cared about the NXT Women's Championship. To everyone else this title represents future greatness but to her it represents current greatness. She says it is incredibly disrespectful that she has to find out her opponent like this and the only thing her and Ava agree on is that she deserves to be treated better. She demands to know who the hell her opponent is going to be when Ava makes her way out. Ava says she never said Rox was a bad champion, but the question will be if she's still champion after Battleground. She announces her opponent for Battleground will be TNA Knockout's Champion Jordynne Grace! Grace says some of them may remember her from the Rumble earlier this year, but if they don't allow her to formally introduce herself. She says she is the TNA Knock-Outs Champion. She tells Roxanne that she built her name NXT the same way she did in TNA, but who has built the stronger foundation? Jordynne wants to find out and she is ready to leave Las Vegas a double champion.
- Eddy Thorpe has a return vignette, he says to his people fire has a deep spiritual connection and it is used as a form of healing. He has looked to the fire a lot these past few months and says his path is illuminated and through the fire he is reborn.
- Backstage Riley says Ridge can't be trusted as Chase U try to figure out what's the matter. Duke admits he sees what Riley is talking about and goes off to talk with him. Thea says she can't deal with all this with her match next week and storms off. Ridge checks with Andre who tells him it was a good match and not to worry,
- After her victory, Lola Vice says Shayna Bazler has one of two options, she taps out or she gets knocked out, her choice bitch. Shayna comes storming out being held back by security. She says she was born in the Underground as she fights trying to get to Lola.
- We get a vignette for Carlee Bright, going over her history as a Division 1 Cheerleader and says once she stepped foot in NXT wrestling became her new love and says the ray of sunshine is coming to NXT.
- Backstage Natalya tells Carlee she crushed it last week as Izzy comes in and tells Nattie her compliments are shallow. Karmen Petrovich tells her to get her negative energy out of here and the two start to brawl.
- Charlie Dempsey says ever since he lost the Heritage Cup he felt he lost a piece of himself. Damon Kemp he knows how he feels but Charlie asks if he really does. He says they need to learn from Tony's family and that they need to learn discipline and chain of command and tells Damon he's facing Tony next week.
- Oro is being checked out in the trainer's room and Jackara tells Lash that she's worried one of them one may next and she has to ask Trick to make sure he has nothing to do with this.
- Lexis King attacks Dante Chen after his victory, dragging him to the outside where he hits him with a running knee to the back of the head. Lexis pulls back the ringside mats and hits Dante with the Coronation on the concrete.
- Josh Briggs says he was signed in 2020 and had big dreams of breaking out on his own but his dreams were a bit big at the time so he found himself a little brother and little sister, they had success but it was time to go off on his own. He says he's bet on himself a few times but questions if it paid off and he is going to find out who Josh Briggs is. Shawn Spears is shown to be watching and says he has been down the same path as Briggs and knows it can be taunting, but he will guide the youth and be their answer.
- Backstage Tony tells the family their current target is the No Quarter Catch Crew and nothing matters until they deal with it since to them the Cup is part of them. Luca says he's looking into the legality of the Catch Clause. Tony says he's preparing for Damon and they're going to beat the Crew at their own game.
- Backstage Stevie Turner asks Ava what Jordynne has done to earn a NXT Women's Championship match and why she wasn't invited to the combine. Ava says her complaints are legitmite as Jordynne comes in and says she couldn't help but overhear so how about next week she proves why she deserves her shot and Stevie can put herself on the map.
- Wes Lee says he's upset he had to share his victory last week, Gallus are three pissed of Scotsmen but tells them they won't be getting all the titles because he will make sure they won't get the North American Championship. Oba Femi comes by and says it doesn't matter how many men he faces, the title remains with him. Wes says he's made a career out of proving people like him wrong.
- After the main event Lash Legend makes her way out to confront Trick as Sexy Red and Je'von leave. She tells Trick he has to be honest with her if he's the one who attacked Oro and Noam. Trick grabs the mic and goes to speak but the lights go out. The lights come back on and Ethan Page is here! He says he attacked Oro and Noam and attacks Trick and then nails him with a knee strike in the corner.
- Live Thread
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2024.05.29 04:05 scassim I Am Sam
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I am Shaheer Cassim (pronounced Shuh-HER Kuh-SEEM), editor of Arctic News blogspot. I write on the threat of runaway global warming caused by methane hydrates. Some esteemed scientists I confer with are Peter Wadhams, world leading expect on Arctic Sea ice at the University of Cambridge and Guy McPherson, emeritus professor at the University of Arizona. In 2011 I founded the Arctic Methane Emergency Group, which included esteemed scientists John Nissen and Paul Beckwith, professor of climatology at the University of Ottawa.
In 2011 scientists discovered 100 methane seeping structures on the East Siberian Arctic Shelf, and estimated there may be many thousands of them. There are more than 1700 billion tonnes of hydrate in the ESAS. Methane hydrate has been liked to four of the five major extinctions in earth history. Scientists Natalia and Igor told that 50 billion tonnes of methane hydrate could be released at any time, which Peter Wadhams calculated would cause a 1.2 degrees Celsius rise in global temperatures in a matter of years. This would cause localized warming which would release more methane hydrate causing runaway global heating. In 2012 I applied an exponential best fit line to Arctic Sea ice and predicted that the sea ice would disappear around 2016. Peter Wadhams agreed with this conclusion.
Yet here we are, 12 years later and no news at all from the Arctic. I believe the government is secretly geoengineering the Arctic to prevent the collapse of the sea ice and catastrophic release of methane hydrates.
The ESAS contains 1700 Gt (Giga-tonne, billion tonnes) of methane hydrate. Since methane hydrate is about 10% pure methane, the ESAS has about 170 Gt methane. What would be the effect of a release of 1 Gt methane? Since methane has 105 times the warming effect over 10 years than CO2, that would be the equivalent of adding 105 Gt of CO2. Humans now emit about 36 Gt CO2 annually.
Methane is decomposed in the atmosphere by hydroxyl. The level of methane we have been emitting in the atmosphere has significantly reduced atmospheric hydroxyl. Large releases of methane will further decrease it until there is no more. Methane in the atmosphere will not decompose anymore.
The IPCC, the International Panel on Climate Change, a U.N. body, says we must at net-zero emissions in just a few decades. Net-zero is the carbon we can emit that will not increase the emissions. Net-zero is about 8 Gt, about 1 tonne of CO2 per person. This number may be too high.
The IPCC is lying to us when they say temperatures will only rise by 3 degrees Celsius by 2100. They are killing us.
There is more carbon in methane hydrate than in all the coal, oil, and gas in the world. In 2009 James Hansen, former director of the NASA Goddard Institute of Space Studies, told if we burn all the coal, oil, and gas, we will cause runaway heating turning Earth into Venus. He told it is a certainty. Now when you add in methane hydrate, it is a dead certainty.
If we pass this tipping point in the next year, 2026, in a decade humankind will be extinct.
In 2012 I came up with the idea we should have not an Earth Hour or Earth Day, but an Earth Year. A year to solve our problems. This is the list of what we must do.
What happens when you smoke?
Smoke is composed of tar, carbon, and chemicals, some which are cancerous. Tar clogs up the passageways of the lung and alveoli. These are microscopic sacs that exchange oxygen and carbon. Carbon cuts up the alveoli. Eventually they collapse, and respiration becomes impossible. Chemicals and small carbon pass into the bloodstream and are distributed through the body. Blood cells try to remove the carbon from the body, and are cut up and killed. Another blood cell tries to remove the carbon, and this continues. Small carbon enters the brain and becomes lodged in the brain cells. To be removed from the body, carbon needs to bond with oxygen. Carbon from smoke cannot bond so remains in your body
.Jesus Christ wants you to stop killing yourself. Jesus Christ ❤️
What does it mean to kill someone?
When you take land, and cause someone to die, you have killed them.
When you destroy nature, and cause someone to die, you have killed them.
When you pollute and cause someone to die, you have killed them.
When you deny knowledge, you kill.
When you deny food, water, shelter, or medicine, you kill.
Giving drugs, tobacco, and alcohol kills.
Buildings that collapse, catch fire, or are destroyed by rain.
Enabling weapons.
Why quit motion video?
Flashing lights affects the brain. Motion video is rapidly moving lights. Children viewing motion video become dramatic. Too much of certain wavelengths of light can affect the brain. Sunlight has the perfect light. Go out and enjoy sunlight.
Believe in Jesus Christ and you will Live Forever. See Jesus Christ. Love Jesus Christ. Forever Jesus Christ ❤️
submitted by scassim to NTHE [link] [comments]
I am Shaheer Cassim (pronounced Shuh-HER Kuh-SEEM), editor of Arctic News blogspot. I write on the threat of runaway global warming caused by methane hydrates. Some esteemed scientists I confer with are Peter Wadhams, world leading expect on Arctic Sea ice at the University of Cambridge and Guy McPherson, emeritus professor at the University of Arizona. In 2011 I founded the Arctic Methane Emergency Group, which included esteemed scientists John Nissen and Paul Beckwith, professor of climatology at the University of Ottawa.
In 2011 scientists discovered 100 methane seeping structures on the East Siberian Arctic Shelf, and estimated there may be many thousands of them. There are more than 1700 billion tonnes of hydrate in the ESAS. Methane hydrate has been liked to four of the five major extinctions in earth history. Scientists Natalia and Igor told that 50 billion tonnes of methane hydrate could be released at any time, which Peter Wadhams calculated would cause a 1.2 degrees Celsius rise in global temperatures in a matter of years. This would cause localized warming which would release more methane hydrate causing runaway global heating. In 2012 I applied an exponential best fit line to Arctic Sea ice and predicted that the sea ice would disappear around 2016. Peter Wadhams agreed with this conclusion.
Yet here we are, 12 years later and no news at all from the Arctic. I believe the government is secretly geoengineering the Arctic to prevent the collapse of the sea ice and catastrophic release of methane hydrates.
The ESAS contains 1700 Gt (Giga-tonne, billion tonnes) of methane hydrate. Since methane hydrate is about 10% pure methane, the ESAS has about 170 Gt methane. What would be the effect of a release of 1 Gt methane? Since methane has 105 times the warming effect over 10 years than CO2, that would be the equivalent of adding 105 Gt of CO2. Humans now emit about 36 Gt CO2 annually.
Methane is decomposed in the atmosphere by hydroxyl. The level of methane we have been emitting in the atmosphere has significantly reduced atmospheric hydroxyl. Large releases of methane will further decrease it until there is no more. Methane in the atmosphere will not decompose anymore.
The IPCC, the International Panel on Climate Change, a U.N. body, says we must at net-zero emissions in just a few decades. Net-zero is the carbon we can emit that will not increase the emissions. Net-zero is about 8 Gt, about 1 tonne of CO2 per person. This number may be too high.
The IPCC is lying to us when they say temperatures will only rise by 3 degrees Celsius by 2100. They are killing us.
There is more carbon in methane hydrate than in all the coal, oil, and gas in the world. In 2009 James Hansen, former director of the NASA Goddard Institute of Space Studies, told if we burn all the coal, oil, and gas, we will cause runaway heating turning Earth into Venus. He told it is a certainty. Now when you add in methane hydrate, it is a dead certainty.
If we pass this tipping point in the next year, 2026, in a decade humankind will be extinct.
In 2012 I came up with the idea we should have not an Earth Hour or Earth Day, but an Earth Year. A year to solve our problems. This is the list of what we must do.
- Abandon the cities and return to the farmland, build yourselves homes and grow food.
- End all weapons and live in peace.
- Have only one child. After 200 years you may have two.
- Eat only plants. Fish is allowed on Fridays.
- Technology is not allowed. Electric bicycles and phones powered by solar panels are allowed.
- Timekeeping is not allowed. Live by the cycles of the sun and moon.
- Pay all an equal wage.
- Give all the right to a home, food, medicine, and education.
- Sit, eat, and sleep on the floor.
- Grow hemp.
- You may use the body of a deceased animal, but you must not eat it.
- Cats and dogs must be pescatarian.
- Plastic is not allowed.
- Tobacco is not allowed.
- Coffee is not allowed.
- Sugar is not allowed.
- A man and a lady must use their hands and mouths on their partners sensual organs, and avoid normal lovemaking to prevent the creation of new life.
What happens when you smoke?
Smoke is composed of tar, carbon, and chemicals, some which are cancerous. Tar clogs up the passageways of the lung and alveoli. These are microscopic sacs that exchange oxygen and carbon. Carbon cuts up the alveoli. Eventually they collapse, and respiration becomes impossible. Chemicals and small carbon pass into the bloodstream and are distributed through the body. Blood cells try to remove the carbon from the body, and are cut up and killed. Another blood cell tries to remove the carbon, and this continues. Small carbon enters the brain and becomes lodged in the brain cells. To be removed from the body, carbon needs to bond with oxygen. Carbon from smoke cannot bond so remains in your body
.Jesus Christ wants you to stop killing yourself. Jesus Christ ❤️
What does it mean to kill someone?
When you take land, and cause someone to die, you have killed them.
When you destroy nature, and cause someone to die, you have killed them.
When you pollute and cause someone to die, you have killed them.
When you deny knowledge, you kill.
When you deny food, water, shelter, or medicine, you kill.
Giving drugs, tobacco, and alcohol kills.
Buildings that collapse, catch fire, or are destroyed by rain.
Enabling weapons.
Why quit motion video?
Flashing lights affects the brain. Motion video is rapidly moving lights. Children viewing motion video become dramatic. Too much of certain wavelengths of light can affect the brain. Sunlight has the perfect light. Go out and enjoy sunlight.
Believe in Jesus Christ and you will Live Forever. See Jesus Christ. Love Jesus Christ. Forever Jesus Christ ❤️
2024.05.29 03:59 Novel_Remove_5421 My spouse has let me down. And I’m losing respect for him.
I’m coming to the end of a nearly year long mat leave, and feeling disturbed by the realization that the stand out takeaway from this precious time is the fact that my spouse has been a complete and utter disappointment of a human being over the last year since baby arrived. He has made the last year so, so much harder than it needed to be and has let me down in so many ways.
Having a baby has seemed to highlight the limits of his emotional maturity and resiliency, and it’s hugely disappointing. I am genuinely shocked as I sit here reflecting on it.
I have discovered he is a person who reacts poorly under stress and I find it pathetic. I told this to my therapist and she told me to keep that thought to myself. I agree, but I can’t stop feeling this way. And the resentment is building. So I’m venting here.
New babies are stressful and will push you to places you never knew existed as you transform from a childless person to a parent. We’ve also had a very stressful year in multiple other ways. This is probably the first real trying time of our relationship, and I’m realizing he’s the type of person who lashes out and becomes emotionally labile when times are rough, and I find it disgusting and pathetic.
I am a person who has experienced significant adversity throughout my life. I also work in a high stress industry where being levelheaded, kind and compassionate while under pressure is highly valued. I grew up in an environment where my family chose to turn towards each other and support each other when times were exceedingly difficult. My parents were wonderful examples of stoicism and compassion during the most difficult times. The challenges we’ve experienced over the last year are by no means disastrous, and are more like just regular life stuff, compared to the significant suffering I have lived through in the past. And even just being the regular ups and downs of life, it was STILL too much for him, bringing out the worst in him. Its pathetic. What would he do if a real emergency or tragedy happened?
Every conversation that is about anything remotely difficult, like any conversation that isn’t fun, he is SO combative. He is so defensive. I regularly tell him he speaks to me like he hates me and he needs to stop and speak to me with basic respect. But he can’t stop.
I’ve also come to realize it’s how he was raised. He was raised my emotionally immature parents. And he’s emotionally immature himself. And I didn’t even realize it until I needed his support and I needed him to be a teammate and he was unable to do so. It’s making it impossible for me to stomach my in laws now that it’s abundantly clear he learned these terrible traits from them.
I need someone who I can turn to when times are tough. Who I can laugh with when a glass of milk gets spilled as we clean it up together. Not someone who fucking loses their mind looking for someone to blame for knocking the glass over accidentally. I need someone whose instinct is to show compassion and kindness during tough times, not to lash out. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to solve this.
submitted by Novel_Remove_5421 to breakingmom [link] [comments]
Having a baby has seemed to highlight the limits of his emotional maturity and resiliency, and it’s hugely disappointing. I am genuinely shocked as I sit here reflecting on it.
I have discovered he is a person who reacts poorly under stress and I find it pathetic. I told this to my therapist and she told me to keep that thought to myself. I agree, but I can’t stop feeling this way. And the resentment is building. So I’m venting here.
New babies are stressful and will push you to places you never knew existed as you transform from a childless person to a parent. We’ve also had a very stressful year in multiple other ways. This is probably the first real trying time of our relationship, and I’m realizing he’s the type of person who lashes out and becomes emotionally labile when times are rough, and I find it disgusting and pathetic.
I am a person who has experienced significant adversity throughout my life. I also work in a high stress industry where being levelheaded, kind and compassionate while under pressure is highly valued. I grew up in an environment where my family chose to turn towards each other and support each other when times were exceedingly difficult. My parents were wonderful examples of stoicism and compassion during the most difficult times. The challenges we’ve experienced over the last year are by no means disastrous, and are more like just regular life stuff, compared to the significant suffering I have lived through in the past. And even just being the regular ups and downs of life, it was STILL too much for him, bringing out the worst in him. Its pathetic. What would he do if a real emergency or tragedy happened?
Every conversation that is about anything remotely difficult, like any conversation that isn’t fun, he is SO combative. He is so defensive. I regularly tell him he speaks to me like he hates me and he needs to stop and speak to me with basic respect. But he can’t stop.
I’ve also come to realize it’s how he was raised. He was raised my emotionally immature parents. And he’s emotionally immature himself. And I didn’t even realize it until I needed his support and I needed him to be a teammate and he was unable to do so. It’s making it impossible for me to stomach my in laws now that it’s abundantly clear he learned these terrible traits from them.
I need someone who I can turn to when times are tough. Who I can laugh with when a glass of milk gets spilled as we clean it up together. Not someone who fucking loses their mind looking for someone to blame for knocking the glass over accidentally. I need someone whose instinct is to show compassion and kindness during tough times, not to lash out. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to solve this.
2024.05.29 03:59 OkDark779 23 [M4F] Delhi/Anywhere - Do you think I'm a green flag? (Detailed post)
Hi!
First of all, I believe that I might fall into the category of being a green flag and why? I'll explain in this post.
If you like reading well detailed posts in which the person has put some serious effort, this is gonna be one of them.
I'm gonna make this post by putting my heart into this totally and hopefully, it will reach the right person out there :) all of the things I've said in this post is absolutely true about me. If you've seen this post before, just know that I haven't found anyone and I'm still looking ♡
So a little description about me first:
I am a guy who's usually very loving in many matters of life. I'm easy going, respectful and have manners. I'm helpful to people that I love and that are nice to me. I'm patient when it comes to a lot of things because I believe in the saying that "good things come to those who wait"
I also have no friends, I just can't spend my time putting efforts in people that does nothing but create fake friendships and who won't be by your side as a loyal friend, they'll just be there when it's for their own good. So I just wanna invest my time into finding my future partner and building a strong relationship.
I still don't believe I'm perfect and I'm constantly working on myself to improve my overall standing as a person because since I don't have an ego, I'm always keen onto making myself a better person and don't have any problem in listening to my flaws through people that are important to me.
What I'm looking for:
I believe that relationships are not just something that you can make, break and move on to another. I don't understand the people that does that. For me, I'm only interested in something meaningful and long term but I also don't wanna be anyone's rebound or get played with. I don't break hearts and don't want anyone to do that to me either.
A relationship is a very beautiful thing which happens very naturally when two souls meet and get fond of each other. It's truly a magical feeling when you know you finally have someone to by your side, you're not alone in this lonely world anymore. I LIVE for that feeling 🫶🏽
Now you must be wondering if I have any hobbies? I do have some of them.
First of all, I'm a guitarist and do it well (at least I think so) and I love sports (especially basketball which is my favorite) I love watching movies (rom-com and horror is my genre)
Also a quick question. Do you like someone with a soothing, partially whispered, deep and asmr kinda voice that whenever you hear it, you feel like I'm talking straight to your soul? If you do, you'll love calling me or listening to my voice mails for sure.
Plus as a boyfriend, I am extremely caring and someone who'd bring you chocolates and your favorite stuff during your periods or when you're feeling down, I'll find happiness in doing that honestly. That's just me!
I do have a passion for cooking as well. So, I might as well try to cook you some delicious dishes and perhaps, get your feedback on it. I'm sure it'll put a smile on your face, exactly how I'd like it <3
I'm not yet perfect at cooking but we can get better at it together, of course! Having you by my side will increase my motivation and we might as well vibe ✨️
Age also doesn't matter to me, as long as you're looking for the same as me and you know we'll get along well.
By the way, I don't give a crap about sexual stuff and have never sent dick pictures to anyone before, so you can be rest assured I'm not one of those people.
I guess that's it for now, if this interests you even a little bit, you can message me and see where it takes us 😊 I'm literally just a message away!
Don't be hesitant in anything, I don't like being creepy or will force you to do anything you don't wanna do. I'd suggest you give me a try ❤️🤞🏽🧿
See ya!
submitted by OkDark779 to SFWr4rIndia [link] [comments]
First of all, I believe that I might fall into the category of being a green flag and why? I'll explain in this post.
If you like reading well detailed posts in which the person has put some serious effort, this is gonna be one of them.
I'm gonna make this post by putting my heart into this totally and hopefully, it will reach the right person out there :) all of the things I've said in this post is absolutely true about me. If you've seen this post before, just know that I haven't found anyone and I'm still looking ♡
So a little description about me first:
I am a guy who's usually very loving in many matters of life. I'm easy going, respectful and have manners. I'm helpful to people that I love and that are nice to me. I'm patient when it comes to a lot of things because I believe in the saying that "good things come to those who wait"
I also have no friends, I just can't spend my time putting efforts in people that does nothing but create fake friendships and who won't be by your side as a loyal friend, they'll just be there when it's for their own good. So I just wanna invest my time into finding my future partner and building a strong relationship.
I still don't believe I'm perfect and I'm constantly working on myself to improve my overall standing as a person because since I don't have an ego, I'm always keen onto making myself a better person and don't have any problem in listening to my flaws through people that are important to me.
What I'm looking for:
I believe that relationships are not just something that you can make, break and move on to another. I don't understand the people that does that. For me, I'm only interested in something meaningful and long term but I also don't wanna be anyone's rebound or get played with. I don't break hearts and don't want anyone to do that to me either.
A relationship is a very beautiful thing which happens very naturally when two souls meet and get fond of each other. It's truly a magical feeling when you know you finally have someone to by your side, you're not alone in this lonely world anymore. I LIVE for that feeling 🫶🏽
Now you must be wondering if I have any hobbies? I do have some of them.
First of all, I'm a guitarist and do it well (at least I think so) and I love sports (especially basketball which is my favorite) I love watching movies (rom-com and horror is my genre)
Also a quick question. Do you like someone with a soothing, partially whispered, deep and asmr kinda voice that whenever you hear it, you feel like I'm talking straight to your soul? If you do, you'll love calling me or listening to my voice mails for sure.
Plus as a boyfriend, I am extremely caring and someone who'd bring you chocolates and your favorite stuff during your periods or when you're feeling down, I'll find happiness in doing that honestly. That's just me!
I do have a passion for cooking as well. So, I might as well try to cook you some delicious dishes and perhaps, get your feedback on it. I'm sure it'll put a smile on your face, exactly how I'd like it <3
I'm not yet perfect at cooking but we can get better at it together, of course! Having you by my side will increase my motivation and we might as well vibe ✨️
Age also doesn't matter to me, as long as you're looking for the same as me and you know we'll get along well.
By the way, I don't give a crap about sexual stuff and have never sent dick pictures to anyone before, so you can be rest assured I'm not one of those people.
I guess that's it for now, if this interests you even a little bit, you can message me and see where it takes us 😊 I'm literally just a message away!
Don't be hesitant in anything, I don't like being creepy or will force you to do anything you don't wanna do. I'd suggest you give me a try ❤️🤞🏽🧿
See ya!
2024.05.29 03:53 imaginedratinis Sincere requests from an active player
I'm only typing this because I believe there are people at Arrowhead who care about this game and want to make it great. I've spent countless hrs playing this game and I really do enjoy it (currently lvl 110, only saying this as support that I play the game A LOT) but it's starting to feel like fewer players are online. I like that this game is designed to be hard, but can we focus on perhaps making the game more enjoyable through removing nagging frustrations? These are a few of my humble suggestions:
submitted by imaginedratinis to Helldivers [link] [comments]
- Can we have an option to disregard dropped primaries in game? I know what loadout I want and those dastardly primaries always get in the way when I am trying to pick up samples and gear. And because you throw a wall of bugs/bots at us every second, I've had several frustrating moment occurs when I'm trying to sweep in and make a play. Never have I picked up a primary and thought, "Gee, this is exactly what I wanted" and the only problem this has ever fixed is if a mate accidentally spawned in with the wrong loadout but that rarely happens and they will lose the primary they swapped after death and since primaries aren't marked on the map, they won't be able to find them again if they die.
- Can we improve the entire mechanic of picking things up? There are several times I am opening up a resource pod and there's a weapon inside that I want and the "pickup item option" will not be available. This will result in several minutes of coming at the pod from every angle and sometimes I'll have to stand beside it and look at it from such an awkward angle that the option will momentarily prompt for a split-second. Well you can imagine how problematic this can be when you are getting spammed with an exorbitant amount of bugs/bots from everywhere!
- Mystery holes? What are they and why do we even have them? I can't tell you how many times I'm being swarmed by packs of hunters and I jump to the side and inevitably fall into one of these mystery holes. Ya know, they are the ones you can throw a grenade into and cause an explosion which is basically useless (I only see them on bugs, I believe). And to make things worse any items you had before falling into this hole are now lost. If you are going to keep having these silly mystery holes, then can you at least give us some way to retrieve our gear? Let's throw a grenade in there and have it erupt, throwing all the items out or something. Falling into a hole when you have super samples is a feeling that I would not even wish upon my greatest enemies!
- Can we give priority to STIMming? This game has about a dozen wonky mechanics that need to be fixed, but in the meantime, you could ameliorate a ton of disgruntled players by allowing the STIM command to take priority. How many times have we had to endure an awkward falling sequence because we dove and landed on a rock or steep hill? Typically we are diving because we are trying to evade some bug or bot that is running us down and the 5-second falling sequence without the ability to STIM means we are toast. And look, this prolonged falling sequence triggers at the worst possible times, plus with all of the funky physics of the game, I will try to climb over a fallen bile titan and suddenly be flung across the map. Allow me to the ability to STIM while this is happening and I will be much more willing to forgive these problems because I can use the invulnerability of the STIM to negate the fall, therefore saving me a lot of hassle trying to run back across the map to get my gear when I have been wrongfully jettisoned across the map.
- Who at Arrowhead thought that the exploding smoke pellets would add value to the game by hurling players when they explode? Well, they were wrong. Too often this creates scenarios where (again) you throw an army of bots at us and as we are trying to evade the sheer volume of crimson laser blasts hurling in our direction, but one shot strikes an unseen smoke pellet behind us and hurles us directly into a moshpit of Hulks and Devastators. The smoke pellets should be there to give us cover and obstruct the ridiculously broken mechanic of bot vision, but in most cases, it just serves as another random obstacle to frustrate us.
- Again, let's talk about Bot vision because there are absolutely not enough people at Arrowhead playing this game. I enjoy running bots more than bugs, but I can't tell you how many times I get completely bombarded with a litany of lasers from the other side of the map, piercing darkness, rain, and about every other obstacle that obstructs my vision but somehow not theirs. I believe blizzards are the only thing that stops their insanely broken vision. No amount of skill can save you on open terrain with any combination of 3 bots that are Heavy and Rocket Devastators. They always seem to sync their fire in such a way that you are completely pinned down and can't move. If you are going to give them such powerful weapons, then at least limit their vision.
- AA defense effect is horrible and should be removed from the game immediately! I've posted on this topic before so I'll curtail this rant, but people play this game because of the stratagems and limiting them as some lazy way of making the mission different only adds frustration and does not promote fun. If you added a new difficult level that gave Helldivers no weapons, no stratagems, and no armor and just asked them to run around and get massacred, how many people do you think would play it? Sure there would be a dozen streamers playing it to somehow win their parents approval or get likes, but no one would play it because it wouldn't be fun. I will say it again, we should have more stratagem slots. This past weekend, when he had free access to the new emancipator exosuit, that was fun and it felt like Helldiving! Even if I had to farm a ridiculous amount of samples to unlock a useful stratagem like orbital precision strike or eagle airstrike as always a part of my loadout at no stratagem cost to me, I would bust my butt to get that because it would add value and fun to the game, which should be the primary goal as you look at ways to bring players back.
- Can we have a use for medals and samples? I've unlocked everything in the game and I have no use for medals, samples, and requisition slips. I don't care what it is, but can I use them on something so that when I pick them up in-game it actually means something? Even if donating your samples and medals and slips give an infinitesimal amount of progress toward our major order, or we can use those in-game to replenish our exosuits, just give me a reason to collect these because being maxed out at 250 medals, 500 samples, 250 rare samples, 100 super samples, and 50k in requisition slips absolutely chokes the fun out of this game for me.
- Can someone revisit the hitboxes of Bile Titans and Hulks when it comes to Hellpods? Again, a unique feature of this game that brings enjoyment to the players is our ability to call in fallen comrades as weapons. Putting yourself in peril to help out your mates is the ultimate experience but I find it very inconsistent when trying to hit Hulks and especially Bile Titans. There are so many times that I put myself in harm's way only to somehow not kill a hulk/titan even though I went directly through them and I know that I am significantly more advanced than most casual players of the game. If people don't feel like they can contribute, they won't play. Especially since the pods are often restricted in mobility (and someone pls remind me why I unlocked power steering again because it doesn't work), please just do something that favors the helldiver for once and I promise people will like it!
- Speaking of chargers, they seem to have a new flair built in that ragdolls you after you have dodged them. I don't know if it is their legs widening after they stop but it creates many a scenario where you successfully run around a charger when it charges, it immediately stops, and then the side sweeping action of the legs when it stops ragdolls and mostly kills you. This didn't use to happen but it is very annoying to successfully dodge a charger and then still have it kill you.
- Suggestion: can we get the exosuits to eject us like the cockpit of a fighter jet when they explode? I don't run the mechs that often, partially because you can have this powerful yet bulky suit that can do everything right but somehow get destroyed by a charger that pops up behind you. But if that suit were to eject me and allow me to prolong my life, that would be a clutch feature for the game. But once again...and I know this is going to sound foreign...but it would create fun gameplay and awesome clips that people would post and it would inevitably influence new players to play the game. Have the cockpit eject into a hellpod that you can use to exact revenge on the menacing charger that destroyed your mech!
2024.05.29 03:48 nainsra Recent Releases and Upcoming June Releases
Below is a list of some recent releases that are highly rated and some that will be released in June for your perusal. If you know of any other upcoming releases please post them in the comments!
For one thing, the devil is still prowling around, with dubious intentions as to Kat’s powers. For another, an underground network of wrongdoers has been spreading a mysterious and addictive drug throughout both Troivack and Daxaria. And perhaps most concerning, a villainess is hiding in plain sight somewhere close to Kat and her best friend, Queen Alina, hoping to use them to strike at the devil. Now it’s up to Kat—with the help of her kitten familiar, Pina, as well as her friends and family—to untangle the twisted web of courtly and magical intrigue before her hurried honeymoon is cut short by deadly disaster . . .
Mai: Four years ago, Ryan Shaw broke my heart, tore it into little pieces and then stomped on it. Ryan is my fated mate, but when I saw him with another woman at the regional meet of all the Packs, I’d had enough. I finally told him what he meant to me, and being the jerk that he is, he rejected me in front of everyone.
Heartbroken, I ran, trying to get as far away from him and the memory of that night as possible. Except I’m on a roll with picking jerks. So now I’m on the run again and heading back to the one place I know I’ll be safe. My brilliant plan is to lie low, heal, and then take off someplace new to start again. But Ryan knows I’m here now, and he has very different ideas.
Ryan: Mai is back, and my wolf is going crazy. I’ll do anything to protect her. It won’t be easy with secret plots to take over our Pack, her abusive ex sniffing around, and Mai’s urge to run every time she sees me. But there’s no way I’m letting her go, not again.
His father has asked him to try to join one of the Crews of Damon’s Mountains. When the new Fastlander Crew starts accepting applicants, Ace puts his name in the hat on a whim. Will the new Alpha ever allow him to be a part of his Crew? Not if he finds out who he really is. Ace has been hiding a secret about his lineage since he was a child, and now the Fastlanders are getting way too close for comfort. And to add to the pressure, there’s a human coordinating the Crew’s interview process that has his animal’s attention. At first he thinks his animal is hunting her, but the more he gets to know her, the more he realizes she is important. Corey Gable just might be the glue of the Fastlanders, and she doesn’t even realize her part in the destiny of this Crew. The problem? It’s twofold. One, he cannot under any circumstances bond to a human, and two? His life is in a free fall, and he cannot drag her into what is about to happen. If she wants to live, she’s got to stay human, and stay away from the Fastlanders. And most importantly? She has to stay away from Ace.
Corey Gable has lost someone she loves.
Corey’s cousin, Hallie, has been consumed by her new life with the shifters of Damon’s Mountains, and she’s left Corey behind. The only way to maintain her relationship with her cousin is to get involved in her new life—the ups, the downs, all of it. When Corey is roped into helping with the interview process of creating the new Fastlanders Crew, there are definitely some interesting characters who want the invite. One of them is tall, dark, and mysterious, and there’s something about him that keeps drawing her in—but he has big warnings for her. She’s messing with a destiny that could be the end of her life as she knows it. She wants to heed his advice, truly she does, but there’s just something about the mysterious stranger. And the more she finds out about who he is, the more she thinks she couldn’t leave him alone if she tried.
Henry’s used to everyone being afraid of him – being a hellhound has that effect on people. What he’s not used to is having every animal within a four-mile radius suddenly wanting to be his best friend. Pigeons roosting on your shoulder: annoying, but mostly harmless. The local moose population stampeding toward you in the hopes of a hug: somewhat more worrying.
There’s nothing for it but to escape to the mountains, where he can use his hellhound form to intimidate the local wildlife into leaving him alone. But a stop for one last piece of cake before heading into the wilderness leads him straight to his fated mate. He's over the moon... but how can he court her when every animal in town is trying to leap into his arms?
Travel journalist Luna was looking forward to this assignment: covering the first annual Girdwood Springs Food Festival, along with her trademark: Fillmore, the world's ugliest dog. Specifically, she was looking forward to sampling all the amazing, mouth-watering local delicacies.
But there's other delights to sample in Girdwood Springs – such as the mind-bogglingly gorgeous, hunky man who is now covered in cake, thanks to Fillmore. And who seems to be strangely popular with the local animal population.
Suddenly, writing her article is the last thing on her mind…
A chance job offer in Scotland gives Willow Barlowe an excuse to escape the predictable life her overly controlling brother, Miles, wants for her. Excited to start fresh as a fashion intern for the local kiltmaker, Willow lands in small town Loren Brae brimming with sunshine and hope.
Until she discovers that her new boss is none other than Ramsay McMillan, her brother’s best friend, and the grumpiest man this side of the Atlantic. Never mind the ghost Highland coo that haunts the castle, nor the supposedly bewitched waters of Loch Mirren, Willow refuses to work under Ramsay’s watchful eyes, certain he’s reporting back to her brother.
Ramsay Kilts is home to one of the last remaining traditional kiltmakers in Scotland, Ramsay McMillan. Loyalty, continuity, and tradition are important to Ramsay–as is his privacy. After a family betrayal, Ramsay keeps his walls up, running a veritable kilt empire with as minimum fuss as he can. Enter Willow Barlowe–his new intern, good friend’s little sister, and a veritable thorn in his side.
If the thorn is made of sunshine and sparkles that is.
As the two clash, Ramsay must decide if loyalty is really more important than love?
I have claimed a love so brutal that I fear losing it might destroy not just me but the world I have fought so desperately to save.
The gods watch us more closely than ever, urging us to fulfil the task our destiny demands. We only have to make it to the end of this road, but I fear what we might find when we reach that final destination.
Montana: I am no longer the girl born to ruin and ash, but a woman set on a path of salvation with my heart in the clutches of a monster.
Our eyes are finally open to the true enemies of our kind and now that we have managed to unite against all odds, we are determined to see the games of the gods end.
Time is running out and fate calls our name on a tumultuous wind. Let’s pray that we can answer it before damnation claims us all.
I carved out a reputation as the Savage Prince for my brutality against witches, but unable to wield our magic, I couldn’t stop my kingdom from being torn apart by war and famine while the Fates demanded my patience.
The worst was still to come.
After almost a thousand years of waiting for my Fates-blessed mate, and thousands of witches dead by my hand, the Fates revealed their cruelest truth yet.
With silver eyes that sliced to the bone and a humility that defied all reason, the witch I’m bound to has tested every inch of my restraint, but that was only the beginning.
Everything I once knew as true has come into question.
Loyalties will be tested, treaties broken, treason committed, and only the strongest will survive.
I am Prince Soren Celestial.
The rightful heir to the throne of the Southern Lands.
Nothing will keep me from my Fates-blessed mate.
Not even her hatred for me.
Now, not only do I have to save myself, I have to save the two men who I swore I would murder with my bare hands if I ever set eyes on them again considering they abandoned me.
Unfortunately for me, Roc and Hook have other plans, and when I find myself caught between them, I have to make a decision: risk my heart or risk my life?
Devourer of Men is a dark MMF romantasy fairytale retelling. Characters have been aged up for this darker, grittier version. For a full list of content warnings, please visit the author's website.
No one told witch Selene Bowers having a soul mate would be so difficult. Nor did they warn her that he might be a vengeful, ancient sorcerer who would frame her for murder, force her to remember a past life he swears she lived, and then coerce her into an unbreakable marriage pact. But that’s exactly what happens the night of the Samhain Ball, when Selene finds herself in a jail cell.
After waking from enchanted sleep, Memnon swore to discover why Selene betrayed him long ago. But when his soul mate’s memories return, the truth reveals something else entirely. Horrified by his own actions and desperate to make amends, Memnon offers Selene the unthinkable: a magic bond that will give her full control over his will. And Selene is desperate enough to accept it.
But other enemies still haunt Henbane Coven, Selene’s magical academy, and they’ve taken a keen interest in her. If she wants to stop them, she’ll need Memnon’s help. But partnering with the sorcerer is a tricky business, especially when he’s dead set on winning her heart. And that can’t happen…because the bond controlling him will break the moment she falls in love with him.
Humans and dragons are at war, and I am a pawn in the battle.
Princess of a dying land, my life is not my own, and a marriage to a vicious, dragon-hunting prince will save my people from deadly famine or death by fire.
But before I can vow my life to a monster, dragons drop screaming from the sky with a single aim. End the alliance. Kill me. I welcome the flames, relieved to burn instead of rot.
But the flames never come.
One look in the dragons' eyes, and they carry me away. Three dragons whose gaze burns with hunger and fills me with fire.
They're not what we were taught, and every passing day I learn more of the truth. Dragons are not the enemy we thought they were.
Still, one question remains: for centuries no one has stood before a dragon and survived. If these dragons were sent to kill me, why am I still alive?
I had her in my arms, only to lose her moments later. Frantic doesn't even begin to describe my state of mind as I search for Bree.
That search takes me deep into my past and to a family home that I swore I would never return to.
To find Bree, I must face a queen I defied and a monster that wants my soul. All while being heckled by a demon-infested blade.
Goddess help me succeed.
Breena:
Being abducted by a woman who is supposed to be dead, and weirdly looks a heck of a lot like me, is disturbing. Being told my death is needed to complete a wicked spell and that I'll be turned into a vampire? Even more disturbing.
I can't reach Crash or my friends. I have no idea where I am. My only ally? Alan. My ex-husband. Yup, you read that right,
The path to the end of my story is shadowed in fog, danger, and mystery, but I begin to see through it as the players and truth emerge. And that sight shows me that the sliver of hope is worth hanging onto, that my friends are with me even when I cannot see them, and that a future free of those who mean us harm is possible.
Even if it costs me more than I ever planned on paying
The Little Shop Of Grand Curiosities is a lighthearted fantasy romance about the true meaning of love, the power of empathy, and the unremitting yearning to be extraordinary as an act of rebellion against the mundaneness of the world.
Because Lachlan isn’t just some ruthless criminal. He’s fae. And he has his own secret reasons for binding her to him. Tricked and desperate, Cate is torn between humanity and the breathtaking Otherworld. A place filled with shadows and secrets, with members of each fae court plotting against her just as her captor’s motives for trapping her become more mysterious. And if she can’t break this sinister bargain in the next thirty days, she’ll be bound to the inscrutable yet infuriatingly tempting fae prince and his deadly world…forever.
As an Omega and a princess, her life revolves around duty; not the dream that she harbors of life-altering love. Her station dictates she deny Nature’s call for a pack of her own. Instead, she must wed and settle for one - and only one - Alpha to preserve their pristine, royal bloodlines.
But fate has other plans in mind for Princess Ivy. Plans that involve not just her Betrothed, but his best friend and Ivy’s childhood nemesis - a nobleman, and the handsome son of the Royal Gardener.
Will societal expectations and tradition pull them apart? Or will Ivy and her Alphas take charge of their fate and give in to a love with the power to change the world?
They say never bargain with the fae. They also say don’t get drunk on fae wine. Yet romance author Edwina Danforth has managed a blunder with both on her first visit to the infamous faelands. Now she's trapped in a magic-fueled bet she barely remembers with a man she’d be happier to forget. The terms? Whoever can bed the most lovers during their month-long dueling book tour wins a coveted publishing contract.
The win should be easy for Edwina. She’s known for penning scintillating tales of whirlwind romance. There’s just one her imagination vastly exceeds her bedroom experience. But when failure means plummeting her career back into obscurity, losing isn’t an option.
Her handsome fae rival, William Haywood, poses an even greater challenge. Not only are his looks as aggravatingly perfect as his track record behind closed doors, but he has his own reasons for playing to win, and he won’t go down without a fight. Unless, of course, it’s a different kind of going down. In that case, he’s fair game.
Edwina and William clash in a rivalry of romance. But what happens when their objects of desire…turn out to be each other?
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RECENT RELEASES
The Burning Witch 3: A Humorous Romantic Fantasy by Delemhach
Lady Katarina Ashowan is used to getting into trouble, but her latest muddle takes the cake. A moment’s weakness in her attraction to Eric Reyes, crown prince of Daxaria, has landed her in an unexpected marriage with the man . . . just as her father, Lord Finlay Ashowan, arrives in Troivack to check on his headstrong daughter. As if figuring out how to acclimate her father to her scandalous elopement isn’t bad enough, there are rumors of dangerous magical plots afoot at court—with Kat seemingly at the center of them all.For one thing, the devil is still prowling around, with dubious intentions as to Kat’s powers. For another, an underground network of wrongdoers has been spreading a mysterious and addictive drug throughout both Troivack and Daxaria. And perhaps most concerning, a villainess is hiding in plain sight somewhere close to Kat and her best friend, Queen Alina, hoping to use them to strike at the devil. Now it’s up to Kat—with the help of her kitten familiar, Pina, as well as her friends and family—to untangle the twisted web of courtly and magical intrigue before her hurried honeymoon is cut short by deadly disaster . . .
The Runaway Mate: A Rejected Mate Shifter Romance (Shifters of the Three Rivers) By Kira Nightingale
After what he did, I never wanted to see my fated mate again…Mai: Four years ago, Ryan Shaw broke my heart, tore it into little pieces and then stomped on it. Ryan is my fated mate, but when I saw him with another woman at the regional meet of all the Packs, I’d had enough. I finally told him what he meant to me, and being the jerk that he is, he rejected me in front of everyone.
Heartbroken, I ran, trying to get as far away from him and the memory of that night as possible. Except I’m on a roll with picking jerks. So now I’m on the run again and heading back to the one place I know I’ll be safe. My brilliant plan is to lie low, heal, and then take off someplace new to start again. But Ryan knows I’m here now, and he has very different ideas.
Ryan: Mai is back, and my wolf is going crazy. I’ll do anything to protect her. It won’t be easy with secret plots to take over our Pack, her abusive ex sniffing around, and Mai’s urge to run every time she sees me. But there’s no way I’m letting her go, not again.
Fastlander Fallen by T.S. Joyce
Ace has one last promise to fulfill.His father has asked him to try to join one of the Crews of Damon’s Mountains. When the new Fastlander Crew starts accepting applicants, Ace puts his name in the hat on a whim. Will the new Alpha ever allow him to be a part of his Crew? Not if he finds out who he really is. Ace has been hiding a secret about his lineage since he was a child, and now the Fastlanders are getting way too close for comfort. And to add to the pressure, there’s a human coordinating the Crew’s interview process that has his animal’s attention. At first he thinks his animal is hunting her, but the more he gets to know her, the more he realizes she is important. Corey Gable just might be the glue of the Fastlanders, and she doesn’t even realize her part in the destiny of this Crew. The problem? It’s twofold. One, he cannot under any circumstances bond to a human, and two? His life is in a free fall, and he cannot drag her into what is about to happen. If she wants to live, she’s got to stay human, and stay away from the Fastlanders. And most importantly? She has to stay away from Ace.
Corey Gable has lost someone she loves.
Corey’s cousin, Hallie, has been consumed by her new life with the shifters of Damon’s Mountains, and she’s left Corey behind. The only way to maintain her relationship with her cousin is to get involved in her new life—the ups, the downs, all of it. When Corey is roped into helping with the interview process of creating the new Fastlanders Crew, there are definitely some interesting characters who want the invite. One of them is tall, dark, and mysterious, and there’s something about him that keeps drawing her in—but he has big warnings for her. She’s messing with a destiny that could be the end of her life as she knows it. She wants to heed his advice, truly she does, but there’s just something about the mysterious stranger. And the more she finds out about who he is, the more she thinks she couldn’t leave him alone if she tried.
Hellhounds and Angel Cakes by Zoe Chant
He’s supposed to be a rough, tough, terrifying hellhound. That's hard when you're covered in chihuahuas.Henry’s used to everyone being afraid of him – being a hellhound has that effect on people. What he’s not used to is having every animal within a four-mile radius suddenly wanting to be his best friend. Pigeons roosting on your shoulder: annoying, but mostly harmless. The local moose population stampeding toward you in the hopes of a hug: somewhat more worrying.
There’s nothing for it but to escape to the mountains, where he can use his hellhound form to intimidate the local wildlife into leaving him alone. But a stop for one last piece of cake before heading into the wilderness leads him straight to his fated mate. He's over the moon... but how can he court her when every animal in town is trying to leap into his arms?
Travel journalist Luna was looking forward to this assignment: covering the first annual Girdwood Springs Food Festival, along with her trademark: Fillmore, the world's ugliest dog. Specifically, she was looking forward to sampling all the amazing, mouth-watering local delicacies.
But there's other delights to sample in Girdwood Springs – such as the mind-bogglingly gorgeous, hunky man who is now covered in cake, thanks to Fillmore. And who seems to be strangely popular with the local animal population.
Suddenly, writing her article is the last thing on her mind…
Wild Scottish Beauty by Tricia O'Malley
“She was sunshine to my storm clouds, and I wondered how the two could ever coexist.”A chance job offer in Scotland gives Willow Barlowe an excuse to escape the predictable life her overly controlling brother, Miles, wants for her. Excited to start fresh as a fashion intern for the local kiltmaker, Willow lands in small town Loren Brae brimming with sunshine and hope.
Until she discovers that her new boss is none other than Ramsay McMillan, her brother’s best friend, and the grumpiest man this side of the Atlantic. Never mind the ghost Highland coo that haunts the castle, nor the supposedly bewitched waters of Loch Mirren, Willow refuses to work under Ramsay’s watchful eyes, certain he’s reporting back to her brother.
Ramsay Kilts is home to one of the last remaining traditional kiltmakers in Scotland, Ramsay McMillan. Loyalty, continuity, and tradition are important to Ramsay–as is his privacy. After a family betrayal, Ramsay keeps his walls up, running a veritable kilt empire with as minimum fuss as he can. Enter Willow Barlowe–his new intern, good friend’s little sister, and a veritable thorn in his side.
If the thorn is made of sunshine and sparkles that is.
As the two clash, Ramsay must decide if loyalty is really more important than love?
Devious Gods by Caroline Peckham
Callie: Ruin chases close on our heels and the price we have paid for a chance at our salvation is higher than any of us could have presumed.I have claimed a love so brutal that I fear losing it might destroy not just me but the world I have fought so desperately to save.
The gods watch us more closely than ever, urging us to fulfil the task our destiny demands. We only have to make it to the end of this road, but I fear what we might find when we reach that final destination.
Montana: I am no longer the girl born to ruin and ash, but a woman set on a path of salvation with my heart in the clutches of a monster.
Our eyes are finally open to the true enemies of our kind and now that we have managed to unite against all odds, we are determined to see the games of the gods end.
Time is running out and fate calls our name on a tumultuous wind. Let’s pray that we can answer it before damnation claims us all.
The Throne of Honour and Blood by J Bree
In our arrogance, the high fae forgot everything that mattered.I carved out a reputation as the Savage Prince for my brutality against witches, but unable to wield our magic, I couldn’t stop my kingdom from being torn apart by war and famine while the Fates demanded my patience.
The worst was still to come.
After almost a thousand years of waiting for my Fates-blessed mate, and thousands of witches dead by my hand, the Fates revealed their cruelest truth yet.
With silver eyes that sliced to the bone and a humility that defied all reason, the witch I’m bound to has tested every inch of my restraint, but that was only the beginning.
Everything I once knew as true has come into question.
Loyalties will be tested, treaties broken, treason committed, and only the strongest will survive.
I am Prince Soren Celestial.
The rightful heir to the throne of the Southern Lands.
Nothing will keep me from my Fates-blessed mate.
Not even her hatred for me.
Devourer of Men: A Captain Hook, Crocodile, and Wendy Darling Reimagining by Nikki St. Crowe
I have few friends and fewer allies. What I do have on the island of Everland is a lot of people who want me gone. So when the Crocodile and Captain Hook reappear in my life, I am in no mood. And worse, they’re unknowingly endangering themselves by asking for me by a name I long considered dead.Now, not only do I have to save myself, I have to save the two men who I swore I would murder with my bare hands if I ever set eyes on them again considering they abandoned me.
Unfortunately for me, Roc and Hook have other plans, and when I find myself caught between them, I have to make a decision: risk my heart or risk my life?
Devourer of Men is a dark MMF romantasy fairytale retelling. Characters have been aged up for this darker, grittier version. For a full list of content warnings, please visit the author's website.
Bespelled (Bewitched Book 2) By Laura Thalassa
“Neither magic, nor time, can keep us apart. We are like the stars. Eternal.”No one told witch Selene Bowers having a soul mate would be so difficult. Nor did they warn her that he might be a vengeful, ancient sorcerer who would frame her for murder, force her to remember a past life he swears she lived, and then coerce her into an unbreakable marriage pact. But that’s exactly what happens the night of the Samhain Ball, when Selene finds herself in a jail cell.
After waking from enchanted sleep, Memnon swore to discover why Selene betrayed him long ago. But when his soul mate’s memories return, the truth reveals something else entirely. Horrified by his own actions and desperate to make amends, Memnon offers Selene the unthinkable: a magic bond that will give her full control over his will. And Selene is desperate enough to accept it.
But other enemies still haunt Henbane Coven, Selene’s magical academy, and they’ve taken a keen interest in her. If she wants to stop them, she’ll need Memnon’s help. But partnering with the sorcerer is a tricky business, especially when he’s dead set on winning her heart. And that can’t happen…because the bond controlling him will break the moment she falls in love with him.
Beautiful Beast (Dragons of Viria) by Devyn Sinclair
Standing in front of a dragon means dying by fire, but the heart knows there’s more than one way to burn.Humans and dragons are at war, and I am a pawn in the battle.
Princess of a dying land, my life is not my own, and a marriage to a vicious, dragon-hunting prince will save my people from deadly famine or death by fire.
But before I can vow my life to a monster, dragons drop screaming from the sky with a single aim. End the alliance. Kill me. I welcome the flames, relieved to burn instead of rot.
But the flames never come.
One look in the dragons' eyes, and they carry me away. Three dragons whose gaze burns with hunger and fills me with fire.
They're not what we were taught, and every passing day I learn more of the truth. Dragons are not the enemy we thought they were.
Still, one question remains: for centuries no one has stood before a dragon and survived. If these dragons were sent to kill me, why am I still alive?
Midlife Vampire Hunter (The Forty Proof Series Book 9) by Shannon Mayer
Crash:I had her in my arms, only to lose her moments later. Frantic doesn't even begin to describe my state of mind as I search for Bree.
That search takes me deep into my past and to a family home that I swore I would never return to.
To find Bree, I must face a queen I defied and a monster that wants my soul. All while being heckled by a demon-infested blade.
Goddess help me succeed.
Breena:
Being abducted by a woman who is supposed to be dead, and weirdly looks a heck of a lot like me, is disturbing. Being told my death is needed to complete a wicked spell and that I'll be turned into a vampire? Even more disturbing.
I can't reach Crash or my friends. I have no idea where I am. My only ally? Alan. My ex-husband. Yup, you read that right,
The path to the end of my story is shadowed in fog, danger, and mystery, but I begin to see through it as the players and truth emerge. And that sight shows me that the sliver of hope is worth hanging onto, that my friends are with me even when I cannot see them, and that a future free of those who mean us harm is possible.
Even if it costs me more than I ever planned on paying
UPCOMING JUNE RELEASES
The Little Shop of Grand Curiosities by Iris Lake
Nepheli’s Little Shop of Grand Curiosities is the last scrap of magic left in the humdrum city of Elora as the Dreadful Mundane slowly takes over its residents’ hearts, and she is determined to preserve it any way she can. But when Apollo, a charming and mysterious traveler from the other side of the world, walks into her Shop, bringing her all kinds of trouble, Nepheli, for the first time in her life, is stolen away from the familiar wonders of her Curiosity Shop and is thrust into a dangerous world of lethal creatures and heartbreaking magic. As the two of them embark on a long journey of self-discovery, Nepheli will soon realize that the most curious things in life lie right beyond the reach of one’s comfort zone.The Little Shop Of Grand Curiosities is a lighthearted fantasy romance about the true meaning of love, the power of empathy, and the unremitting yearning to be extraordinary as an act of rebellion against the mundaneness of the world.
Filthy Rich Fae by Geneva Lee
Cate Holloway knows the unspoken rule of New Orleans: avoid the powerful Gage crime family at all costs. Of course, that was before her brother got caught in their chaos. Now Cate has no choice but to confront the dark and forbidding prince of New Orleans himself and beg for her brother’s life. But Lachlan Gage is as lethal as he is beautiful…and the only currency he’s interested in is her soul.Because Lachlan isn’t just some ruthless criminal. He’s fae. And he has his own secret reasons for binding her to him. Tricked and desperate, Cate is torn between humanity and the breathtaking Otherworld. A place filled with shadows and secrets, with members of each fae court plotting against her just as her captor’s motives for trapping her become more mysterious. And if she can’t break this sinister bargain in the next thirty days, she’ll be bound to the inscrutable yet infuriatingly tempting fae prince and his deadly world…forever.
The Princess and the Pack by Fallon English
Princess Ivy and Prince Cillian have been fated since birth. Ivy has always known that one day, she must leave her country to become not only Cillian’s bride, but Namara’s future Queen.As an Omega and a princess, her life revolves around duty; not the dream that she harbors of life-altering love. Her station dictates she deny Nature’s call for a pack of her own. Instead, she must wed and settle for one - and only one - Alpha to preserve their pristine, royal bloodlines.
But fate has other plans in mind for Princess Ivy. Plans that involve not just her Betrothed, but his best friend and Ivy’s childhood nemesis - a nobleman, and the handsome son of the Royal Gardener.
Will societal expectations and tradition pull them apart? Or will Ivy and her Alphas take charge of their fate and give in to a love with the power to change the world?
A Rival of Hearts by Tessonja Odette
Two rival writers. One prestigious publishing contract. A bargain of hearts and seduction.They say never bargain with the fae. They also say don’t get drunk on fae wine. Yet romance author Edwina Danforth has managed a blunder with both on her first visit to the infamous faelands. Now she's trapped in a magic-fueled bet she barely remembers with a man she’d be happier to forget. The terms? Whoever can bed the most lovers during their month-long dueling book tour wins a coveted publishing contract.
The win should be easy for Edwina. She’s known for penning scintillating tales of whirlwind romance. There’s just one her imagination vastly exceeds her bedroom experience. But when failure means plummeting her career back into obscurity, losing isn’t an option.
Her handsome fae rival, William Haywood, poses an even greater challenge. Not only are his looks as aggravatingly perfect as his track record behind closed doors, but he has his own reasons for playing to win, and he won’t go down without a fight. Unless, of course, it’s a different kind of going down. In that case, he’s fair game.
Edwina and William clash in a rivalry of romance. But what happens when their objects of desire…turn out to be each other?
2024.05.29 03:47 Different_Horse6239 5 wonderful nights in Paris - with (lots of) pictures
To start - the photo album - https://photos.app.goo.gl/m816j6qm54nRQ5uw8
I'm a little bit late writing this up, some things won't be relevant any more, apologies. This itinerary is for someone who likes to be out doing stuff all day every day, most people will find it way too full on. If you are also like this, though, I'd say it was well-planned, I never felt overly rushed, though I could've maybe done with an extra half hour here and there (this is more a problem with Paris' need to book everything a month in advance with a specific timeslot than my planning). I found the people to be very friendly, and never had any trouble communicating - though my French is passable, most people switched to English quite quickly, and not just customer-facing staff but even people I stopped to ask for directions from.
Wednesday 25th October Finished work slightly early to get the Eurostar at 18:01 from London St Pancras. 2.5 hour train (and lose an hour to time zones). The hotel was near Place de la Republique, so walkable from Gare du Nord (Hotel Mimosa - cheapest hotel available when we booked. No complaints, nice staff, really clean, didn't try the breakfast). Only had time to check into our hotel and have a quick drink nearby (the end of the PSG game was on).
Thursday 26th October Disney! I wasn't sure about it since it was the middle of French school holidays, and there were certainly some long queues, but my friend insisted and I'm glad we did (although only because I went twice as a kid, if you don't have the nostalgia I don't think it's worth it on a busy day - one year I spent Christmas eve/day here with my mam and had Christmas dinner at the Cinderella inn). We went to Gare du Nord early to buy Navigo Decouverte passes (even though the week runs Mon-Sun and we arrived midweek it's still the best option, no faff with the little paper ticket booklets, covers as far as Disney/Versailles, and is pretty cheap), got the metro over and made it for almost gates opening. Got really lucky and managed to book a table for 2 at Bistrot Chez Remy (the Ratatouille themed restaurant) for the evening whilst on the train there (do this on the Disneyland app), even then the restaurant is only about a 6.5/10 but it's amazing compared to your walk-up options, I'd suggest trying to book one of the better ones a few weeks in advance (be aware of prices though!). The main park is exactly as I remember with one or two Star Wars things shoehorned in, the Studios park is completely different though - before it was all "behind-the-scenes" type stuff, now it's "everything we own that isn't Disney" (so half the park is painted Marvel, half of it is painted Pixar). Particularly sad the Armageddon experience is gone, as well as the statue of Mickey holding Walt Disney's hand. Last time I was here, Crush's Coaster had just opened so was 2 hour queues and I never got to ride it, and somehow 17 years later they haven't shortened. Maybe next time? Rides close at 10 but we stayed for the fireworks, was quite late getting back.
Friday 27th October Slightly later start, easy morning finding somewhere for breakfast, didn't have to be at the Louvre until 11:30. We tried the side entrance that I've seen mentioned on here a few times, don't think it works any more though. The queue to get in even for timed tickets is enormous, thought we'd be stuck there for hours but dead on 11:30 it started moving, and we were past security and into the main hall in about 20 minutes. Made a beeline for the Mona Lisa, having read about a lengthy queue we'd discussed just getting a drive-by/glimpse of it rather than waste the day, but actually there were about 50 people in the pen ahead of us (which is about 10 people wide) and we were at the front in maybe 5 minutes? My photo of it is timestamped 12:02. Saw the Winged Victory, didn't see Liberty Leading the People as it was down for restoration, but it should be back by the time you're reading this. The place is huge and I definitely missed loads (forgot to try and find Napoleon's apartment). I do like art but I found lots of this to be a drag - I like colourful/interesting stuff, but find portraits of old generals and paintings of Jesus incredibly tedious after a while. Glad I went, not sure I'll return though. I budgeted 3 hours which was pretty much perfect for me. Next stop Saint-Chapelle - the windows are as beautiful as you imagine. I've seen a lot of people saying it's a waste of time and money - it is very expensive for what it is, it is just the one room, depending on your budget it might not be for you, but if like me you're happy to chuck money at stuff when on holiday it's absolutely worth the time. I think we stopped at a cafe at this point? One of the typical Parisian ones, where you sit facing out onto the street. Afterwards we walked over to see Notre Dame (still closed due to the fire) and then down into the Latin Quarter. We stumbled upon a free street art exhibition just across from the Pantheon which I really enjoyed, then started looking around for an early dinner - which turns out to be quite challenging in Paris, nowhere opens before 7 it seems, but we did find an Italian place nearby. We needed to get to the Stade de France for 9 so the plan was to be south of the city to make sure we get onto the metro before it gets into the centre and fills up - needn't have bothered though, lots of trains, never got too packed, as organised as any other modern stadium, just aim to be at least 30 minutes early and you can't go wrong. Rugby World Cup 3rd place game - England beat Argentina 26-23, looked like it might be a walkover early on but it turned into a really tight game, great warmup for the main event. Second dinner at Au Pied du Cochon, the 24hr restaurant that gets mentioned on here a lot.
Saturday 28th October Started at Musee d'Orsay, 10:30 entry. This museum is much more to my taste, and a manageable size. The impressionist stuff is all up on the 5th floor and is spectacular, I have never before (and will probably never again) go to a gallery where I instantly recognise so many things! This was a particularly incredible experience as they also had a Van Gogh exhibition on at the time (focused on his works at the end of his life, when he was living in France and his work was becoming very sinister - sadly no longer on) and I'd just recently taken my mam to the immersive Van Gogh experience in Edinburgh as part of her 60th. The other exhibition was Louis Janmot's Poem of the Soul (a really long poem and a load of paintings to accompany each segment) which I can't claim to have heard of before, I wish I'd had a bit more time to enjoy it fully but I had other plans so only had time to look at the pictures. Catacombs were booked for 14:30 - interesting experience, I'd say worth doing but not a must. It's good to have something planned other than museums. Afterwards, had time to see Jardin du Luxembourg and Montparnasse cemetery (didn't take any pictures in here, feels wrong somehow, didn't find anyone famous anyhow), before finding dinner in Montparnasse. Then the World Cup final - South Africa v New Zealand, another very tense game! I seem to have a habit for picking rugby finals with early red cards.
Sunday 29th October Trip to Versailles, 12:00 ticket, full access. This is the one place where, even with a timed ticket, you have a long wait to get in. I got in at 12:40, and I was fairly early so near the front of the queue for my timeslot. The palace itself is fine, bit nicer than my house but not worth the trip on its own, the gardens are stunning though, I spent over 2 hours in them, and still pressed on to see the other areas. My favourite was Marie-Antoinette's hamlet, the pictures don't really do it justice but it felt like I was in a fairytale. I headed back to Paris and got to the Eiffel tower just in time to see it twinkle at 7pm (it does so every hour on the hour after dark). Walked over to Trocadero (the best place to view the Eiffel tower), then along to the Arc de Triomphe and down the Champs Elysee. Took the metro up to Montmartre to go into Basilica Sacre-Coeur (free entry, and by this time no queue at all - they ask for no photographs so there's nothing in my album from inside, but there's plenty online). Ate nearby then had tickets for Moulin Rouge at 11.30 - like Saint-Chapelle, it's quite expensive, but a good time if you do decide to go. This was my most tiring day, over 35000 steps.
Monday 30th October Final day in Paris. I'd managed to get a spare ticket for Musee de l'Orangerie on an site called Headout (usually you would have to book this a while in advance, like most things in Paris, I guess someone returned one last minute? Could only get one, don't think my friend particularly wanted one anyway), 12:00 entry. I picked a route to pass a couple of landmarks - Opera Garnier, Madeleine, Obelique du Louxor. Monet's water lillies are, as you'd expect, absolutely gorgeous, and the only reason this museum exists really. There's some good stuff in the permanent collection in the basement though - I think I remember seeing a Picasso down there? I don't remember what the temporary exhibitions were at the time but I remember being unimpressed. Went back to the Eiffel tower to see it in the daylight, and stumbled upon Musee du Quai Branly. I'm not sure exactly how to describe it, it's a collection of objects created by humanity when in a loosely "tribal" period? Which happened at vastly different time periods for each continent. And also there's some samurai stuff, even though Japan had a fairly well developed civilisation by the time they came around. The more you think about it the more it falls apart really, basically it's a museum full of really cool stuff. Had to rush this a little bit to catch the Eurostar (train at 17:00), was also panicking because I couldn't make contact with my friend, who had my luggage.
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I'm a little bit late writing this up, some things won't be relevant any more, apologies. This itinerary is for someone who likes to be out doing stuff all day every day, most people will find it way too full on. If you are also like this, though, I'd say it was well-planned, I never felt overly rushed, though I could've maybe done with an extra half hour here and there (this is more a problem with Paris' need to book everything a month in advance with a specific timeslot than my planning). I found the people to be very friendly, and never had any trouble communicating - though my French is passable, most people switched to English quite quickly, and not just customer-facing staff but even people I stopped to ask for directions from.
Wednesday 25th October Finished work slightly early to get the Eurostar at 18:01 from London St Pancras. 2.5 hour train (and lose an hour to time zones). The hotel was near Place de la Republique, so walkable from Gare du Nord (Hotel Mimosa - cheapest hotel available when we booked. No complaints, nice staff, really clean, didn't try the breakfast). Only had time to check into our hotel and have a quick drink nearby (the end of the PSG game was on).
Thursday 26th October Disney! I wasn't sure about it since it was the middle of French school holidays, and there were certainly some long queues, but my friend insisted and I'm glad we did (although only because I went twice as a kid, if you don't have the nostalgia I don't think it's worth it on a busy day - one year I spent Christmas eve/day here with my mam and had Christmas dinner at the Cinderella inn). We went to Gare du Nord early to buy Navigo Decouverte passes (even though the week runs Mon-Sun and we arrived midweek it's still the best option, no faff with the little paper ticket booklets, covers as far as Disney/Versailles, and is pretty cheap), got the metro over and made it for almost gates opening. Got really lucky and managed to book a table for 2 at Bistrot Chez Remy (the Ratatouille themed restaurant) for the evening whilst on the train there (do this on the Disneyland app), even then the restaurant is only about a 6.5/10 but it's amazing compared to your walk-up options, I'd suggest trying to book one of the better ones a few weeks in advance (be aware of prices though!). The main park is exactly as I remember with one or two Star Wars things shoehorned in, the Studios park is completely different though - before it was all "behind-the-scenes" type stuff, now it's "everything we own that isn't Disney" (so half the park is painted Marvel, half of it is painted Pixar). Particularly sad the Armageddon experience is gone, as well as the statue of Mickey holding Walt Disney's hand. Last time I was here, Crush's Coaster had just opened so was 2 hour queues and I never got to ride it, and somehow 17 years later they haven't shortened. Maybe next time? Rides close at 10 but we stayed for the fireworks, was quite late getting back.
Friday 27th October Slightly later start, easy morning finding somewhere for breakfast, didn't have to be at the Louvre until 11:30. We tried the side entrance that I've seen mentioned on here a few times, don't think it works any more though. The queue to get in even for timed tickets is enormous, thought we'd be stuck there for hours but dead on 11:30 it started moving, and we were past security and into the main hall in about 20 minutes. Made a beeline for the Mona Lisa, having read about a lengthy queue we'd discussed just getting a drive-by/glimpse of it rather than waste the day, but actually there were about 50 people in the pen ahead of us (which is about 10 people wide) and we were at the front in maybe 5 minutes? My photo of it is timestamped 12:02. Saw the Winged Victory, didn't see Liberty Leading the People as it was down for restoration, but it should be back by the time you're reading this. The place is huge and I definitely missed loads (forgot to try and find Napoleon's apartment). I do like art but I found lots of this to be a drag - I like colourful/interesting stuff, but find portraits of old generals and paintings of Jesus incredibly tedious after a while. Glad I went, not sure I'll return though. I budgeted 3 hours which was pretty much perfect for me. Next stop Saint-Chapelle - the windows are as beautiful as you imagine. I've seen a lot of people saying it's a waste of time and money - it is very expensive for what it is, it is just the one room, depending on your budget it might not be for you, but if like me you're happy to chuck money at stuff when on holiday it's absolutely worth the time. I think we stopped at a cafe at this point? One of the typical Parisian ones, where you sit facing out onto the street. Afterwards we walked over to see Notre Dame (still closed due to the fire) and then down into the Latin Quarter. We stumbled upon a free street art exhibition just across from the Pantheon which I really enjoyed, then started looking around for an early dinner - which turns out to be quite challenging in Paris, nowhere opens before 7 it seems, but we did find an Italian place nearby. We needed to get to the Stade de France for 9 so the plan was to be south of the city to make sure we get onto the metro before it gets into the centre and fills up - needn't have bothered though, lots of trains, never got too packed, as organised as any other modern stadium, just aim to be at least 30 minutes early and you can't go wrong. Rugby World Cup 3rd place game - England beat Argentina 26-23, looked like it might be a walkover early on but it turned into a really tight game, great warmup for the main event. Second dinner at Au Pied du Cochon, the 24hr restaurant that gets mentioned on here a lot.
Saturday 28th October Started at Musee d'Orsay, 10:30 entry. This museum is much more to my taste, and a manageable size. The impressionist stuff is all up on the 5th floor and is spectacular, I have never before (and will probably never again) go to a gallery where I instantly recognise so many things! This was a particularly incredible experience as they also had a Van Gogh exhibition on at the time (focused on his works at the end of his life, when he was living in France and his work was becoming very sinister - sadly no longer on) and I'd just recently taken my mam to the immersive Van Gogh experience in Edinburgh as part of her 60th. The other exhibition was Louis Janmot's Poem of the Soul (a really long poem and a load of paintings to accompany each segment) which I can't claim to have heard of before, I wish I'd had a bit more time to enjoy it fully but I had other plans so only had time to look at the pictures. Catacombs were booked for 14:30 - interesting experience, I'd say worth doing but not a must. It's good to have something planned other than museums. Afterwards, had time to see Jardin du Luxembourg and Montparnasse cemetery (didn't take any pictures in here, feels wrong somehow, didn't find anyone famous anyhow), before finding dinner in Montparnasse. Then the World Cup final - South Africa v New Zealand, another very tense game! I seem to have a habit for picking rugby finals with early red cards.
Sunday 29th October Trip to Versailles, 12:00 ticket, full access. This is the one place where, even with a timed ticket, you have a long wait to get in. I got in at 12:40, and I was fairly early so near the front of the queue for my timeslot. The palace itself is fine, bit nicer than my house but not worth the trip on its own, the gardens are stunning though, I spent over 2 hours in them, and still pressed on to see the other areas. My favourite was Marie-Antoinette's hamlet, the pictures don't really do it justice but it felt like I was in a fairytale. I headed back to Paris and got to the Eiffel tower just in time to see it twinkle at 7pm (it does so every hour on the hour after dark). Walked over to Trocadero (the best place to view the Eiffel tower), then along to the Arc de Triomphe and down the Champs Elysee. Took the metro up to Montmartre to go into Basilica Sacre-Coeur (free entry, and by this time no queue at all - they ask for no photographs so there's nothing in my album from inside, but there's plenty online). Ate nearby then had tickets for Moulin Rouge at 11.30 - like Saint-Chapelle, it's quite expensive, but a good time if you do decide to go. This was my most tiring day, over 35000 steps.
Monday 30th October Final day in Paris. I'd managed to get a spare ticket for Musee de l'Orangerie on an site called Headout (usually you would have to book this a while in advance, like most things in Paris, I guess someone returned one last minute? Could only get one, don't think my friend particularly wanted one anyway), 12:00 entry. I picked a route to pass a couple of landmarks - Opera Garnier, Madeleine, Obelique du Louxor. Monet's water lillies are, as you'd expect, absolutely gorgeous, and the only reason this museum exists really. There's some good stuff in the permanent collection in the basement though - I think I remember seeing a Picasso down there? I don't remember what the temporary exhibitions were at the time but I remember being unimpressed. Went back to the Eiffel tower to see it in the daylight, and stumbled upon Musee du Quai Branly. I'm not sure exactly how to describe it, it's a collection of objects created by humanity when in a loosely "tribal" period? Which happened at vastly different time periods for each continent. And also there's some samurai stuff, even though Japan had a fairly well developed civilisation by the time they came around. The more you think about it the more it falls apart really, basically it's a museum full of really cool stuff. Had to rush this a little bit to catch the Eurostar (train at 17:00), was also panicking because I couldn't make contact with my friend, who had my luggage.