Ballys casino in atlantic city
South Jersey
2010.11.22 23:35 hypo11 South Jersey
The "other" New Jersey you never hear about. Don't be an asshole. Join our discord at https://discord.com/invite/2UKFE8ut3G
2014.06.08 21:58 LostCause_TV AnimeNEXT in Edison, NJ (June 16th - 18th, 2023)
This is the unofficial subreddit for the anime convention "AnimeNEXT" hosted in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Next Evolution of Anime Convention!
2008.04.13 15:10 New Jersey
News, discussion, and current events for the state of New Jersey
2024.05.19 00:29 Bazil2009 The Battle of Big Reel 💥💥💥 #StarlightDriveIn (No Mods)
 | (1/12) The Battle of Big Reel occurred on November 27th, 2295, during the Nuka War. After the fall of the institute in 2289, a new threat came to the Commonwealth: the Nuka-World Raider Gangs. On October 12, 2293, the Sunshine Massacre would occur after the Nuka-World Raider Gangs invaded the Minutemen Settlement, outnumbering its residents ten to one. The next morning, a group of Minutemen and a small militia from nearby settlements would arrive, only to meet the same fate as the Sunshine settlers. Mason would then send a small force of raiders to Diamomd City to deliver a declaration of war on the Commonwealth. submitted by Bazil2009 to fo4 [link] [comments] (2/12) After news spread on Diamond City radio, things escalated when the Rust Devils approached the Nuka-World Raiders Gangs for the first time and formed an alliance. (3/12) Eventually, the Raiders would push north for Abernathy to gain control of the settlement artillery. This led to the Battle of Farm Hill, which was the first major battle of the war. The Minutemen and the BOS both suffered major losses, and Abernathy fell on January 6, 2294. Much of the Raiders' success during the Battle of Farm Hill is due to their invention of mobile anti-aircraft missile turrets that practically annihilated the BOS's Vertibird Fleet. This made defeating the outnumbered Minutemen's ground troops a cakewalk. (4/12) Much of the war was then focused around Red Rocket and the City of Sanctuary. Many feared an artillery attack was coming at any given moment. A large army consisting of BOS, Minutement, and local militias was formed to prepare to defend the city from an invasion. Instead, the Raiders continued to surround Red Rocket and the City of Sanctuary, leaving a small route to the east going to Ten Pines as the only way in or out. This left most of the other settlements in the area to fend for themselves. Most settlements quickly realized this and started making preparations. (5/12) In larger settlements like Big Reel, everyone came together to fortify the city. Many believed that if the City of Sanctuary fell, Big Reel would be the next target. A patchwork army quickly formed, consisting of City Police, Minutemen, BOS, Merian Casino Security Robots, Undercover Railroad, Settlers, Synths, and Ghouls. (6/12) Big Reel's weak spot is the hill next to the city's north wall. However, if the Raiders are spotted to the south, the Church of Atom will ring its bell to alert the patchwork army to move south. (7/12) On November 27th, 2295, at 8:06 p.m., an artillery strike from Abernathy struck the top of Minutemen Tower, instantly destroying the city's vital communication antennas. The Raiders knew the best way into Big Reel would be the hill to the north, so William & Mags sent a small group of raiders to the south of the city to try to create a diversion, and it worked. The Church of Atom rang its bell upon seeing the raiders, drawing the patchwork army away from the north wall. The raider army then charged the north wall of the city. By the time the patchwork army realized what was happening, it was too late. (8/12) The Raiders had broken through several positions and were trying to gain control of the loop. The battle had begun, and though already outnumbered and outsmarted, the people of Big Reel fought with everything they had. (9/12) Once inside the city, the Raiders started releasing cages of muzzled ghouls and hordes of robots. Buildings were being set ablaze while the patchwork army did everything in their power to keep the raiders away from the city's power plant. Settlers started becoming trapped in highrise buildings as many residents fled to the upper floors to get away from the robots and feral ghouls. The Raiders eventually reached the power plant, and the city fell into darkness. (10/12) The Raiders were almost victorious when suddenly, a sound could be heard coming from the east. "Attention, people of the Commonwealth! I, the mechanist, have come to bring about an era of peace. Do not be alarmed." The mechanists and an army of her robots rush into the city and join the remains of the patchwork army to drive the Raiders out of Big Reel. (11/12) Though the war was not over, the resistance of the patchwork army during the Battle of Big Reel marked the turning point for the war and its eventual end on June 24, 2296. (12/12) After the Raiders were defeated, the city would rebuild, and the settlers would finally move forward. |
2024.05.19 00:17 EMG943 H:Q50c50bs Railway W:FCJS + Pink Asylum
 | submitted by EMG943 to Market76 [link] [comments] |
2024.05.19 00:10 Bazil2009 The Battle of Big Reel 💥💥💥 #StarlightDriveIn (No Mods)
 | (1/12) The Battle of Big Reel occurred on November 27th, 2295, during the Nuka War. After the fall of the institute in 2289, a new threat came to the Commonwealth: the Nuka-World Raider Gangs. On October 12, 2293, the Sunshine Massacre would occur after the Nuka-World Raider Gangs invaded the Minutemen Settlement, outnumbering its residents ten to one. The next morning, a group of Minutemen and a small militia from nearby settlements would arrive, only to meet the same fate as the Sunshine settlers. Mason would then send a small force of raiders to Diamomd City to deliver a declaration of war on the Commonwealth. submitted by Bazil2009 to falloutsettlements [link] [comments] (2/12) After news spread on Diamond City radio, things escalated when the Rust Devils approached the Nuka-World Raiders Gangs for the first time and formed an alliance. (3/12) Eventually, the Raiders would push north for Abernathy to gain control of the settlement artillery. This led to the Battle of Farm Hill, which was the first major battle of the war. The Minutemen and the BOS both suffered major losses, and Abernathy fell on January 6, 2294. Much of the Raiders' success during the Battle of Farm Hill is due to their invention of mobile anti-aircraft missile turrets that practically annihilated the BOS's Vertibird Fleet. This made defeating the outnumbered Minutemen's ground troops a cakewalk. (4/12) Much of the war was then focused around Red Rocket and the City of Sanctuary. Many feared an artillery attack was coming at any given moment. A large army consisting of BOS, Minutement, and local militias was formed to prepare to defend the city from an invasion. Instead, the Raiders continued to surround Red Rocket and the City of Sanctuary, leaving a small route to the east going to Ten Pines as the only way in or out. This left most of the other settlements in the area to fend for themselves. Most settlements quickly realized this and started making preparations. (5/12) In larger settlements like Big Reel, everyone came together to fortify the city. Many believed that if the City of Sanctuary fell, Big Reel would be the next target. A patchwork army quickly formed, consisting of City Police, Minutemen, BOS, Merian Casino Security Robots, Undercover Railroad, Settlers, Synths, and Ghouls. (6/12) Big Reel's weak spot is the hill next to the city's north wall. However, if the Raiders are spotted to the south, the Church of Atom will ring its bell to alert the patchwork army to move south. (7/12) On November 27th, 2295, at 8:06 p.m., an artillery strike from Abernathy struck the top of Minutemen Tower, instantly destroying the city's vital communication antennas. The Raiders knew the best way into Big Reel would be the hill to the north, so William & Mags sent a small group of raiders to the south of the city to try to create a diversion, and it worked. The Church of Atom rang its bell upon seeing the raiders, drawing the patchwork army away from the north wall. The raider army then charged the north wall of the city. By the time the patchwork army realized what was happening, it was too late. (8/12) The Raiders had broken through several positions and were trying to gain control of the loop. The battle had begun, and though already outnumbered and outsmarted, the people of Big Reel fought with everything they had. (9/12) Once inside the city, the Raiders started releasing cages of muzzled ghouls and hordes of robots. Buildings were being set ablaze while the patchwork army did everything in their power to keep the raiders away from the city's power plant. Settlers started becoming trapped in highrise buildings as many residents fled to the upper floors to get away from the robots and feral ghouls. The Raiders eventually reached the power plant, and the city fell into darkness. (10/12) The Raiders were almost victorious when suddenly, a sound could be heard coming from the east. "Attention, people of the Commonwealth! I, the mechanist, have come to bring about an era of peace. Do not be alarmed." The mechanists and an army of her robots rush into the city and join the remains of the patchwork army to drive the Raiders out of Big Reel. (11/12) Though the war was not over, the resistance of the patchwork army during the Battle of Big Reel marked the turning point for the war and its eventual end on June 24, 2296. (12/12) After the Raiders were defeated, the city would rebuild, and the settlers would finally move forward. |
2024.05.19 00:08 Bazil2009 The Battle of Big Reel 💥💥💥 #StarlightDriveIn (No Mods)
 | (1/12) The Battle of Big Reel occurred on November 27th, 2295, during the Nuka War. After the fall of the institute in 2289, a new threat came to the Commonwealth: the Nuka-World Raider Gangs. On October 12, 2293, the Sunshine Massacre would occur after the Nuka-World Raider Gangs invaded the Minutemen Settlement, outnumbering its residents ten to one. The next morning, a group of Minutemen and a small militia from nearby settlements would arrive, only to meet the same fate as the Sunshine settlers. Mason would then send a small force of raiders to Diamomd City to deliver a declaration of war on the Commonwealth. submitted by Bazil2009 to fallout4settlements [link] [comments] (2/12) After news spread on Diamond City radio, things escalated when the Rust Devils approached the Nuka-World Raiders Gangs for the first time and formed an alliance. (3/12) Eventually, the Raiders would push north for Abernathy to gain control of the settlement artillery. This led to the Battle of Farm Hill, which was the first major battle of the war. The Minutemen and the BOS both suffered major losses, and Abernathy fell on January 6, 2294. Much of the Raiders' success during the Battle of Farm Hill is due to their invention of mobile anti-aircraft missile turrets that practically annihilated the BOS's Vertibird Fleet. This made defeating the outnumbered Minutemen's ground troops a cakewalk. (4/12) Much of the war was then focused around Red Rocket and the City of Sanctuary. Many feared an artillery attack was coming at any given moment. A large army consisting of BOS, Minutement, and local militias was formed to prepare to defend the city from an invasion. Instead, the Raiders continued to surround Red Rocket and the City of Sanctuary, leaving a small route to the east going to Ten Pines as the only way in or out. This left most of the other settlements in the area to fend for themselves. Most settlements quickly realized this and started making preparations. (5/12) In larger settlements like Big Reel, everyone came together to fortify the city. Many believed that if the City of Sanctuary fell, Big Reel would be the next target. A patchwork army quickly formed, consisting of City Police, Minutemen, BOS, Merian Casino Security Robots, Undercover Railroad, Settlers, Synths, and Ghouls. (6/12) Big Reel's weak spot is the hill next to the city's north wall. However, if the Raiders are spotted to the south, the Church of Atom will ring its bell to alert the patchwork army to move south. (7/12) On November 27th, 2295, at 8:06 p.m., an artillery strike from Abernathy struck the top of Minutemen Tower, instantly destroying the city's vital communication antennas. The Raiders knew the best way into Big Reel would be the hill to the north, so William & Mags sent a small group of raiders to the south of the city to try to create a diversion, and it worked. The Church of Atom rang its bell upon seeing the raiders, drawing the patchwork army away from the north wall. The raider army then charged the north wall of the city. By the time the patchwork army realized what was happening, it was too late. (8/12) The Raiders had broken through several positions and were trying to gain control of the loop. The battle had begun, and though already outnumbered and outsmarted, the people of Big Reel fought with everything they had. (9/12) Once inside the city, the Raiders started releasing cages of muzzled ghouls and hordes of robots. Buildings were being set ablaze while the patchwork army did everything in their power to keep the raiders away from the city's power plant. Settlers started becoming trapped in highrise buildings as many residents fled to the upper floors to get away from the robots and feral ghouls. The Raiders eventually reached the power plant, and the city fell into darkness. (10/12) The Raiders were almost victorious when suddenly, a sound could be heard coming from the east. "Attention, people of the Commonwealth! I, the mechanist, have come to bring about an era of peace. Do not be alarmed." The mechanists and an army of her robots rush into the city and join the remains of the patchwork army to drive the Raiders out of Big Reel. (11/12) Though the war was not over, the resistance of the patchwork army during the Battle of Big Reel marked the turning point for the war and its eventual end on June 24, 2296. (12/12) After the Raiders were defeated, the city would rebuild, and the settlers would finally move forward. |
2024.05.19 00:06 Bazil2009 The Battle of Big Reel 💥💥💥 #StarlightDriveIn (No Mods)
 | (1/12) The Battle of Big Reel occurred on November 27th, 2295, during the Nuka War. After the fall of the institute in 2289, a new threat came to the Commonwealth: the Nuka-World Raider Gangs. On October 12, 2293, the Sunshine Massacre would occur after the Nuka-World Raider Gangs invaded the Minutemen Settlement, outnumbering its residents ten to one. The next morning, a group of Minutemen and a small militia from nearby settlements would arrive, only to meet the same fate as the Sunshine settlers. Mason would then send a small force of raiders to Diamomd City to deliver a declaration of war on the Commonwealth. submitted by Bazil2009 to Fallout [link] [comments] (2/12) After news spread on Diamond City radio, things escalated when the Rust Devils approached the Nuka-World Raiders Gangs for the first time and formed an alliance. (3/12) Eventually, the Raiders would push north for Abernathy to gain control of the settlement artillery. This led to the Battle of Farm Hill, which was the first major battle of the war. The Minutemen and the BOS both suffered major losses, and Abernathy fell on January 6, 2294. Much of the Raiders' success during the Battle of Farm Hill is due to their invention of mobile anti-aircraft missile turrets that practically annihilated the BOS's Vertibird Fleet. This made defeating the outnumbered Minutemen's ground troops a cakewalk. (4/12) Much of the war was then focused around Red Rocket and the City of Sanctuary. Many feared an artillery attack was coming at any given moment. A large army consisting of BOS, Minutement, and local militias was formed to prepare to defend the city from an invasion. Instead, the Raiders continued to surround Red Rocket and the City of Sanctuary, leaving a small route to the east going to Ten Pines as the only way in or out. This left most of the other settlements in the area to fend for themselves. Most settlements quickly realized this and started making preparations. (5/12) In larger settlements like Big Reel, everyone came together to fortify the city. Many believed that if the City of Sanctuary fell, Big Reel would be the next target. A patchwork army quickly formed, consisting of City Police, Minutemen, BOS, Merian Casino Security Robots, Undercover Railroad, Settlers, Synths, and Ghouls. (6/12) Big Reel's weak spot is the hill next to the city's north wall. However, if the Raiders are spotted to the south, the Church of Atom will ring its bell to alert the patchwork army to move south. (7/12) On November 27th, 2295, at 8:06 p.m., an artillery strike from Abernathy struck the top of Minutemen Tower, instantly destroying the city's vital communication antennas. The Raiders knew the best way into Big Reel would be the hill to the north, so William & Mags sent a small group of raiders to the south of the city to try to create a diversion, and it worked. The Church of Atom rang its bell upon seeing the raiders, drawing the patchwork army away from the north wall. The raider army then charged the north wall of the city. By the time the patchwork army realized what was happening, it was too late. (8/12) The Raiders had broken through several positions and were trying to gain control of the loop. The battle had begun, and though already outnumbered and outsmarted, the people of Big Reel fought with everything they had. (9/12) Once inside the city, the Raiders started releasing cages of muzzled ghouls and hordes of robots. Buildings were being set ablaze while the patchwork army did everything in their power to keep the raiders away from the city's power plant. Settlers started becoming trapped in highrise buildings as many residents fled to the upper floors to get away from the robots and feral ghouls. The Raiders eventually reached the power plant, and the city fell into darkness. (10/12) The Raiders were almost victorious when suddenly, a sound could be heard coming from the east. "Attention, people of the Commonwealth! I, the mechanist, have come to bring about an era of peace. Do not be alarmed." The mechanists and an army of her robots rush into the city and join the remains of the patchwork army to drive the Raiders out of Big Reel. (11/12) Though the war was not over, the resistance of the patchwork army during the Battle of Big Reel marked the turning point for the war and its eventual end on June 24, 2296. (12/12) After the Raiders were defeated, the city would rebuild, and the settlers would finally move forward. |
2024.05.18 23:58 AustralianChrono Chronologica's Drag Race Season 6: Episode 1- Prove Your Worth
 | https://i.redd.it/lnq1hwinb91d1.gif submitted by AustralianChrono to ChronologicasDragRace [link] [comments] In a bright yellow wig, her hair up to high heavens, and a massive black coat with a pair of matching black boots that go up to cover above the coat, Molly Moppit walks in. With a smile on her face, Molly Moppit looks up at the pink wallpaper of the room. “I want that.” Molly smirks, ripping off her coat to reveal a minidress made out of the same pink wallpaper of the werkroom. “Mopped it!” Molly looks around at the empty room. “…and nobody here to see me stun.” She shrugs. “Pity for them!” Molly Moppit: “I’m Molly Moppit, and I’m here to run away with the competition.” Molly winks. “This table’s cuuute.” Molly looks over at the table, before running to a sculpture on the side of the workroom and trying to pull at the sculpture, before realizing it’s glued to the floor. “FUCK!” Molly Moppit: “I am currently based in New Jersey, but I'm a New York staple, as well.” Molly grins. “First and foremost, I’m a NEW JERSEY DRAG QUEEN.” “What about the…” Molly swipes at a coat hanger, tucking it behind her back. Molly Moppit: “Being an Atlantic City Queen means being ready to do what you can to survive. It’s a cutthroat lifestyle, and that’s fine. It taught me to host, perform, serve looks, make ‘em laugh… and it’ll help me to win.” “You saw nothing.” Molly smiles. A lone tumbleweed rolls into the werkroom as clouds of red dust fill the entrance. There are two loud bangs, and on the far wall of the room, two bullet holes tear into the eyes of a hanging portrait of Chronologica. Molly looks over as the portrait falls to the ground, the glass of the frame shattering loudly. When she looks back, a masked bandit stands amidst their midst, blowing smoke from his old-timey pistol. In a cowboy hat, long black jacket, beaded vest, and denim chaps, Ethan Angel-Eye glowers, his nose and mouth hidden behind a vigilante’s black bandana. The room is silent for a long moment. Molly Moppit: “It’s a Mexican Stand-Off. And I’m NOT talking.” Molly and Ethan stare at each other. Ethan Angel-Eye: “Please welcome the best performer this side of the Mississippi, your very own Apache-Dakota bandit vigilante drag king, and the only person here who actually needs to win. I’ve beaten Kaneq and Vitória in lip sync competitions, I’ve out-danced professionally trained celebs; I’m unstoppable onstage and I’m always providing that debonaire dastardly Western rogue fantasy. I’m Ethan Angel-Eye, and I’ve got my eye on this crown.” “The fuck are you supposed to be?” Ethan asks, looking Molly up and down as he strides into the room, his voice low and gravelly. “I’m Molly Moppit, what the fuck YOU supposed to be?” Molly raises an eyebrow. Molly Moppit: “Are we cosplaying as ugly men this season?” “Cute.” Ethan brushes past Molly, and then hops up on one of the werkroom tables, sinking into a menacing squat and looming over the space like a vulture. “It’s pinker here than I thought it’d be.” Ethan glares, looking at her wallpaper look. Molly scoffs. “Course it’s pink. Do you watch the show?” “Do you watch the show?” Ethan parrots back, doing a crude impression of Molly’s voice. “I breathe this show.” Ethan Angel-Eye: “I am not a pretty faerie princess, and I am not everyone’s cup of tea, but I know how to win this, in and out. Some petty little bitch isn’t getting in my way.” “Ooooh, he’s a hater. Love.” Molly laughs, looking up at Ethan as he perches on the table. “What’s your name, my little masked bandit? Here to take some shots at me?” “Ethan Angel-Eye.” Ethan cocks his head to the side. “My shots don’t miss.” “Neither do mine.” Molly smirks. Ethan looks around, as he realizes a button of his top has gone missing. A tall, proud Indian woman struts out from the werkroom entrance, with many elaborate blue hair clips and a strikingly long blue gown which cascades in wave-like shapes behind her into a long train. She gestures broadly with her hands, emphasizing each syllable of her words as if they’re the most important thing anyone’s ever said. “WA-TER-FALL!!!!” Niagara Halls: “New York in the HOUSE what-what!! Hey divas, it’s me, your Desi-American god-DESS of season 6, here to bring upstate pageantry and that Canadian border flair to your screens. I KNOW I’m serving as a pageant fashion icon in this entrance look, you can’t tell me otherwise. Don’t I look GORGEOUS?!” Niagara Halls twirls, the blue gown’s long train wrapping around her feet, then swirling back out again, where it smacks Molly in the knee. “Um, hello, waterfall woman.” Molly exclaims, pulling away to avoid being smacked again. “Hello, hello!” Niagara Halls waves an emphatic wave to Molly and Ethan before daintily picking up her gown’s train with one hand and gently striding to sit at the werkroom table Ethan is perched on. “How are we?” Molly reaches over and snatches a hair clip from Niagara’s hair, causing several long brown locks to tumble into Niagara’s face. “Oh! You–” Niagara looks baffled. “So it’s gonna be THAT kind of season!” Ethan rolls his eyes, looking decidedly down at the two girls. Molly laughs. “No, oh my gosh! I just love these clips! Where’d you get them?” Niagara pulls the fallen hair out of her face and clips it into another one of her clips, chuckling. “You WISH I would tell you. You could use the help with that mop!” “MOP!” Molly bursts out laughing. “You don’t even know!” “What’s your drag, what’s your name, who are you both? I need to know who I’m demolishing here.” Niagara smiles a huge smile, talking with her hands again. “But where is the clips from?” Molly asks. “I-” Niagara looks into the mirror. “...You didn’t buy the clips?!” Molly says dramatically, putting on a gasping face. “Who did?!” “What’s your names?” Niagara smiles awkwardly. Niagara Halls: “My Drag Mother helped with the outfit! I don’t know!” “I’m Molly Moppit.” Molly grins. “Atlantic City roya–” Ethan interrupts. “Ethan Angel-Eye. And you’re Niagara Halls.” Niagara enthusiastically tosses her hair (and all of its clips) back and forth. “I KNOW you know me, that’s right, that’s right!” Ethan nods. “You lost Miss Toronto to Vitória Benedita.” Niagara gasps. Niagara Halls: “How did this MAN KNOW me?!” Ethan Eagle-Eye: “Does no one look at reddit on their way to the season? Scope the competition out.” A mysterious black mist seeps through the entrance of the werkroom, followed by a devilish laugh. Lokii struts in, and flips a green cape, revealing their face and leather-clad body. Golden horns, almost corrupted with black veins connected to his face, just from Lokii’s forehead. In thin black hands, Lokii holds a corrupted golden scepter and a smoke machine. She smirks, and her Londoner accent is obvious when she speaks. “I am Lokii, of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose.” “We’re all stealing something, aren’t we?” Molly jokes. “I don’t get it.” Niagara says. “Loki. Marvel.” Ethan says gruffly. “Welcome, nerd.” Molly smiles, as Lokii runs over. Lokii blushes deep red. “Oh my gosh. Hello!” Lokii: “I’m Lokii, and low-key? Aye, I’m pretty bloody psyched to be here! I’m 22 years old, visiting from across the pond by way of South London, and like, I’m pretty new to drag, but cosplay has been a huge part of my life since I was really young, and I’ve felt really called to take it in this new direction!” “So are you really called Lokii? Like the Norse god?” Molly investigates every inch of Lokii’s outfit. “The… Disney character?” Niagara ponders. “I don’t watch superhero movies.” “They are.” Ethan flexes his ankles, looking at Lokii with an intense stare. “You’re the Tumblr cosplayer, right?” Lokii nods, smiling. “Yeah! Loki was the first character I did in cosplay. We have a long history, he and I!” “And so you came to Chronologica’s Drag Race dressed up in your little Marvel cosplay character!” Niagara chuckles nastily. Lokii laughs awkwardly, making their way to the table. “Yep!” “You look incredible, by the way.” Lokii smiles at Niagara. “This is a really beautiful garment.” “I KNOW, baby, thank you.” Niagara smiles daggers. “You’re pretty new, right?” Lokii looks surprised. “Oh, I–” “JUST teasing!” Niagara laughs. Lokii: “I have.. Not been doing drag, that long. But I have been crafting, designing and MAKING things for years. I think that’s my edge…” Lokii smiles slightly awkwardly. Ethan Angel-Eye: “So far, the girls are…childish.” “Wait, what’s this?” Lokii picks up a brown paper bag on one of the werkroom tables and reads something written on it in sharpie. “Barf bags…for if you gag too hard?” Niagara makes a face. “What the fuck?” Suddenly, in a sculpted silver one-piece with sharp ridges and bulky shoulders, a stylized mop of blonde and pink curls, super-shadowed fierce makeup and chunky black boots with chains, Lady Gag arrives. In an exact recreation of one of Lady Gaga’s looks from the 2009 VMAs, she purrs. “Dirty pony, I can’t wait to hose you down.” Ethan makes an obvious look of disgust. Niagara stops laughing very suddenly. Molly laughs even harder. “HEAVY METAL LOVER!” Lokii yells, before covering her mouth as if she is in fear of being too loud. Lady Gag: “When our Lord and Saviour Gaga said ‘No matter gay, straight, or bi', lesbian, transgender life?” Lady Gaga smirks. “She was talking first and foremost about me. Are you gagging? I’m Lady Gag, foremost Gaga impersonator of Miami, Florida, and the most gag-worthy woman known to man. Mama I am known to man, if you know what I mean.” Lady Gag strikes poses in the entrance, twisting her arms into strange shapes and cocking her head at strange angles. “Everyone, just imagine Alejandro is playing over this.” “I’m imagining it.” Molly says, smiling and still laughing. Niagara looks nonplussed, Ethan looks dismissive, and Lokii looks shy, but Molly warmly greets Lady Gag with a firm handshake. “Welcome, Miss Gaga, welcome! You’re giving very 2000 and late! I’m Molly Moppit. Atlantic City roya–” “MRS. Moppit.” Lady Gag stops her, putting a hand up. “Don’t try to read me with those smile lines and bags under your eyes. I’m 2000 and fresh off the boat if you ever saw it. You will not be coming for me on this, the day of my arrival.” Molly’s jaw drops. She looks thrilled. Niagara smiles softly. “You’re going to talk about her looks when you’re a copy-and-paste baby? LOVE to see a tiny little fighter.” Niagara Halls: “The good thing about doing drag that’s literally on the Canadian-American border is that I can leave the worst of both sides behind. Canadians, watch out: I will NOT be apologizing for my shade! And I can say THIS… who the fuck is Lady Gag?” “Your shade needs work, I think.” Lady Gag says. “It’s about as dark as midday in FLORIDA. I would know.” Ethan’s eyes give away his smile. He sits back on the table, relaxing for the first time, to listen to the girls snip back and forth. Ethan Angel-Eye: “I’m watching these girls, and I think, good. Let them fight. If this is the energy first day, they’re never gonna be able to focus on a challenge, and that’s perfect for me.” “I BET you would know Florida pretty well!” Niagara shoots back. “That contour job looks pretty Florida Man to me.” “I am a WOMAN and you will treat me with respect!” Lady Gag yells dramatically. Niagara looks confused, almost as if she is unsure if Gag is playing into the shade or not. Molly chuckles. “Girls, girls, oh my gosh! This is gonna be fun as fuck.” Lokii looks utterly horrified and speechless. There’s a sound of heels approaching, and the contestants turn to look at the entrance. “Please give me another crazy bitch,” Molly joke-pleads. “Please!” In a heavy, blood red reconstructed kimono covered in pearlescent white beads, Shiseido Red slowly struts into the werkroom. Her hair is bold, black and sculpted upwards into a towering beehive, and her silhouette is intricate, yet the restructuring of the kimono lets her show off her legs. “Paint the town red?” She cackles. “Baby, just paint these lips.” Shiseido blows a kiss. Lokii whoops. Ethan’s eyes glint with recognition. “An old bitch. Thank goodness.” Niagara vigorously applauds. Lady Gag still looks caught up in the fight from before. Molly looks concerned, before putting on a smile. “Oh, it’s YOU!” Molly yells. Molly Moppit: “I know Shiseido from the New York scene. I travel around the area, and she doesn’t.” Molly smiles. “Ahh, you’re here!” Shiseido ignores the others around her, looking straight at Molly. “Would you take my bags to that corner of the werkroom over there?” Shiseido asks, pointing to the farthest (and largest) dressing alcove. “I’d rather not.” Molly drops the playful facade for a moment, as the two look at each other. Shiseido Red: “Darlings. I’m Shiseido Red, and I’m no spring chicken. I am 45 years old and proud–I have a long legacy in New York City that will outlive any of these basic-bitch children. I was a princess of the 90s club scene and now, I’m their grand duchess. In my scene, we’re all about originality, ingenuity, innovation. So… nothing like what most of these kids are wearing.” Lokii scurries over to Shiseido. “This kimono is incredible.” Shiseido smiles curtly. “It’s certainly one step up from a costume, yes.” Lokii looks awkwardly. Molly tries to roll one of Shiseido’s suitcases from where it’s parked near the entrance and fails to move it despite pulling with all her strength. Nobody seems to notice. Molly Moppit: “Damn it, I was going to take half of her shit- subtly!” Niagara waves a broad hello. “HELLO NEW YORK! I’m SO glad you’re here, these girls are all WHORES so far.” Niagara goes in for a hug, but Shiseido moves away. “I’m sorry…do I know you?” Shiseido asks, clearly baffled. Lady Gag loudly guffaws. Niagara laughs once, awkwardly. “Oh, yes!” Niagara blushes, pulling away from her failed hug and gesturing wildly with her hands. “I’m Niagara Halls, mama. We worked together at–” “All you young girls blend together for me.” Shiseido shrugs. “Name doesn’t ring a bell.” Molly, laughing under her breath, opens Shiseido’s suitcase while she’s distracted and snatches a blonde curly wig. Molly Moppit: “I don’t get along with Shiseido. But I know this- she has good wigs… and I KNOW that old lady is a smart bitch. Whether or not she actually knows Niagara, she won’t admit it. Throw the girl off. I see you, mama.” “Aha.” Niagara looks put off. “No worries. It was just last year when–” “Hello, children.” Shiseido addresses the group like a troop leader. “I fear you look as bland as expected.” Lady Gag starts up again. “GIRL, this is not–” It’s Drag Time! Chronologica steps into the werkroom, and the gathered contestants gasp in shock–except Ethan, who looks over passively. Ethan Angel-Eye: “Interrupted at 6. So it’s a split premiere…which hasn’t happened since Season 3. Just, of course…of course it would be…” Molly hurriedly closes Shiseido’s suitcase and tucks the stolen wig into her top. Lady Gag, Niagara, and Lokii rush over towards Chronologica excitedly, while Shiseido and Ethan take their time, making eye contact as they do. Hello, racers! I’m thrilled to welcome you to the fantabulous Season 6 of Chronologica’s Drag Race! Here, you’ll be competing for the chance to win a spectacular crown and scepter from Moxie Maniac jewels, plus an extra-special grand prize of $100,000. Everyone cheers and applauds. One of you could become the next Drag Superstar…orrrr one of the other bitches who shows up next week could snatch the crown away from all of you. This week is your chance to prove your worth before any of those nasty skanks come and get in your way. Lady Gag: “Quite simply, yes. We ALL know Gaga is THE queen. I can guarantee I’ll be the one to get her her crown!” For your very first challenge, you’re putting on a premiere talent show. Show us what YOU can do that no one else can, and show us who you are. First impressions count! And you’d better hope it’s not a countDOWN…good luck! And don’t fuck it up! Shiseido Red: “Believe me, for some of these baby girls? The countdown’s already started.” Shiseido smirks. “I’m prepared for a talent show. I’ve been talented since I was born.” ~ Later, the monarchs strip out of their entrance looks and claim their dressing areas. Shiseido Red: “For this week’s maxi challenge, it’s time for us to showcase our abilities in a talent show. But first, it’s time to get to know each other.” Without a word, Ethan picks up Shiseido’s heavy suitcases and moves them to her preferred corner. “A gentleman.” Shiseido smiles, looking at Ethan’s bandana. “My faceless guardian.” Ethan chuckles. “No. You’re just not my mark today.” “Your mark? Alright. You’re an assassin, of sorts.” Shiseido ponders. “Mhm.” Shiseido Red: “Ethan is giving some sort of Bessie Big Sky-Jupiter Sterling story…but evil? It’s a very specific take, I’ll give him that…I’m at least…curious.” Ethan looks serious. “Assassin. You could say that.” Ethan retrieves his own bags and puts them next to Shiseido’s, just as Lokii enthusiastically hurries up towards the two-person dressing alcove. “Oh, sorry!” Lokii says, chuckling awkwardly. “I would love to uh, room with Shiseido, here, uh, the other girls are kinda mean and–” Ethan looks over, one eyebrow raised. Shiseido makes a face. “Baby. You’re not old enough to be here.” Lokii blanches. “No worries, then.” She scurry off. “...If she bantered back, I’d have had her.” Shiseido responds. “The baby queens can’t take it. No surprise.” Ethan grumbles. Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Niagara, Molly, and Lady Gag each make for separate adjacent dressing stations. Lokii stands awkwardly in the middle of the room. Lokii: “The producers very clearly told us that we had to share 4 of the dressing rooms, two racers per room. But none of the girls are willing to share with each other… what’s … happening right now? Where am I supposed to go?” Niagara carefully changes out of her blue gown and puts on a comfortable yellow sweatsuit, then starts picking the clips out of her hair one by one. She watches Ethan and Shiseido across the room as Ethan takes off the bandana covering his face for the first time, then lets out the loudest gasp imaginable and throws her arms to the side, shocked. Blue butterfly clips fall to the ground everywhere. Lady Gag gives Niagara a look in between racks of hanging clothes. “Diva, what the FUCK are you doing?” Niagara whispers loudly. “Looooook!!!!” She aggressively points at Ethan, who is currently changing his shirt. Ethan very clearly and visibly has scratchy scruffy facial hair, and no makeup on the bottom half of his face. Niagara looks gagged. “That’s a MAN, Maury!” Niagara Halls: “I didn’t expect him to look like that, out of drag… kinda tracks, THOUGH!” Niagara cackles. Lady Gag yells across the room. “Mister Ethan!” Ethan looks over as he takes off his beaded vest and reveals his bare chest, clearly showcasing obvious top surgery scars. Lady Gag looks back to Niagara. “Queens recognize kings. Are you gagging yet?” “Not on your copy-and-paste eleganza.” Niagara shakes her head, then takes a step and slips on the fallen butterfly clips, awkwardly plopping on her butt. Niagara Halls: “We’ve had many trans divas compete in this competition- me included. But is this the first trans man here?” Niagara ponders. While Niagara has fallen, Molly sneaks in and grabs some more blue clips off the ground. I’m ba-ack! Chronologica waves from the entrance. Lokii returns the wave. Everyone else hurriedly finishes changing. Our producers let me know that we’re having some trouble getting into our dressing stations. We do actually need you to share space, here, now. Lokii: “I kinda was just waiting around- when they came in. I guess I kinda looked.. Awkward.” Lokii exhales. “This is a lot.” Lokii nods. Lady Gag and Niagara roll their eyes. Molly tuts excitedly. Molly Moppit: “I live for this drama, honestly. It’s so stuuupid I love it. I’m gonna make this shit eat up as much time as I can.” “Our space is set, Miss C.” Shiseido says assuredly. Great. So, which one of you three wants to share space with Lokii? “I KNOW you’re not equating Miss GAGA to a Disney gay–” Lady Gag smirks. Niagara shakes her head. “Well, I don’t think our visions are exactly aligned–” Molly winks, looking at the others. “I’m not cut out for sharing…” She says cheekily. Lokii stands awkwardly, a bit embarrassed. Okay, fine. Which two of you want to share with each other? Niagara scoffs. “The impersonator? That raggedy-ass mop bitch? I am not–” Girls. Chronologica looks annoyed. Okay. Let’s be serious. “No, of course, I’d love to work with Lokii in our space.” Molly smiles. Molly Moppit: “I am a playful artist, but I do take this seriously- and I look around, and Lokii looks like a deer in headlights. It’s a competition. But I’ll make her feel welcome. I mean, she’s better then the Gaga impersonator and fucking Niagara Halls.” She takes a sip of her drink. … Molly Moppit: “Can we circle back to Lady Gag as a name? Like be inspired and be an orignator but LADY GAG?! I DON’T GET IT!” She bursts, interrupting herself from finishing her drink. Shiseido and Ethan, who have returned to their corner, give each other a look. Ethan Angel-Eye: “It’s just like the last few seasons. All the kids are incompetent. No surprise.” I’ll leave you to it. Now. I’ll see you on the main stage. Let’s keep it professional, alright? Chronologica departs, and Molly drags her singular small suitcase into Niagara’s dressing station. She drops the bag heavily, and all of the butterfly clips Molly has stolen spill out of it onto the floor. “Where’s my clips?!” Niagara yells. Lokii and Molly look at each other, and Molly giggles. ~ Chronologica goes to visit the racers. Hello, Mr. Angel-Eye. “Chronologica.” Ethan says gruffly. Now, you’re drag family, right?! The other’s ears pick up, as Ethan nods. “Yeah, I used to be related to Bessie Big Sky. But we’re not talking about that, we’re talking about my talent show.” Ethan says, clearly displeased. Shiseido Red: “Oh… Inteeeeerersting.” Shiseido purses her lips. “This makes a lot of sense.” Totally. Well, tell me then, what ARE you doing for the talent show? “I’m from Montana. We’re not basic-ass pageant queens, who haven’t fought for anything a day in their life-“ Niagara’s head turns over to Ethan’s conversation as she has caught interest, clearly offended. Niagara Halls: “Wow.” Niagara is looking in a complete state of shock in her confessional room. “… Alright.” Niagara nods. “…because life’s hard,” Ethan continues. “I was a rez kid, I was in the foster care system, I been through some shit. And I’ve picked up a few skills along the way. So I will be doing a Projectile Weaponry Showcase.” Interesting. What does that entail? “Pistols, throwing knives, bow and arrow, shotgun.” Ethan nods. “I’m a good shot, no matter what I’m shooting.” Fuck yeah. Ethan smiles for a moment, before nodding. I was raised at my local gun club, over in La Perouse, Sydney. I know a good few weapons. How are you going to make it dragged up? “I do it my way. Ethan Angel-Eye is the evil Indian from cowboys and Indians. He’s a vigilante bandit, and these are a bandit’s weapons. I’ve got a story. I know what I do in my performance space- to me, the art stands for itself. I don’t need bells and whistles, because this has never been done before.” If you keep us excited, well that’s all that matters. Ethan nods. “I will.” … Niagara Halls. “Chronologica.” Niagara smiles. Now, you’re a pageant Queen. How is that going to impact you in this competition? “Well, MAMA!” Niagara says excitedly, talking with her hands. “For me, it’s about serving. I’m pretty, I’m gorgeous and I am not scared to CUT a bitch when I want to.” Niagara draws a line across her throat with one hand. Chronologica chuckles. Tell me, what are you doing for the talent show? “Yodeling.” Niagara smiles brightly. …Yodelling? Are you a singer? “NOT at ALL.” Niagara shakes her head. “Like, I’d probably say I am a bad singer.” Then…why are you yodeling? “For me, it’s about standing out. I wanted to deliver something no one has really done, make it camp, and then stun on the runway.” Niagara tongue pops. But do you feel like you are able to do this well? If you’re not a singer- “I feel like it’s an opportunity to showcase what I can do, and make it fun.” Niagara smiles. Okay. Well, good luck… …. Molly Moppit! “Shhh.” Molly whispers, pointing Chronologica to outside. I- “Let’s chat outside; I don’t need them hearing.” Molly whispers, as the two walk to the smoking area outside. The others look confused as the two disappear. “Cigarette?” Molly hands one to Chronologica. Is that from my packet- Okay, tell me, Molly, what’s your talent show? “For me, I do really take my drag seriously.” Molly smiles. “But I don’t need them all to know that, initially.” I get it. So, what are you doing for the talent show? Molly whips out a packet of notes. Chronologica grins. “I’ll be presenting onto the main stage, MOPPING DUTY. It’s a live freestyle Diss Track of the Cast of Season 6.” Molly smirks. “And I’ve got the notes for it.” Why is it called… Mopping Duty? “Because I am about to wash these bitches out and mop the crown, duh.” Molly chuckles. Chronologica bursts into laughter. I think that’s a fantastic idea. “I don’t want them to know what I’m doing, because part of the work here is centered around making them react. I’m great off the cuff- and planned, secretly. So, for me it’s really important to get to embrace all of that.” I am really excited to see how you do it, Molly. Molly grins. “I am too.” Molly Moppit: “I am going to blow these bitches out of the water, they just don’t know it yet.” Molly winks. ~ The next day, the racers twirl into the werkroom and get ready for the talent show. Lady Gag: “It’s time for the talent show, and I’m ready. Are these girls ready? Well, they should be, because… I’m coming for them.” “So, what are you bitches doing for the talent show?” Lady Gag asks, plaiting her hair. “I mean, I know some…” Niagara starts to yodel. Ethan rolls his eyes. Ethan Angel-Eye: “Bitches. The way these children talk.” “I’m not a bitch, first of all.” Shiseido says. “So let us start there, lookalike.” “Okay, I was just talking like us girls do.” Lady Gag scoffs. “Do you know actual Drag Queens?” Shiseido asks. Lady Gag rolls her eyes. Lokii whispers under her breath. “So much shade…” “I’m doing a Stand-Up show.” Lady Gag flicks back her hair. “I’ve been told I’m a funny bitch, so-” Everyone looks surprised. Molly Moppit: “She’s a comedian?” Molly bursts into laughter. “Oh, let’s be honest, her biggest joke is her name!” “Have you done comedy?” Lokii asks. “Actually, yes.” Lady Gag smiles. “In my room, to my family…” “Love.” Niagara clicks her fingers. “Werk, bitch, creativity…” Shiseido Red: “I am starting to notice something. These girls claim to be experienced, knowledgeable- but then, you speak to them, and suddenly they’re like ‘I’ve done this… at home.’ Lacking experience. It SHOWS.” “I am a designer and club kid.” Shiseido smiles to herself. “I’d love to hear about what that was like.” Lokii interrupts. “Well, if you survive the first week, you might hear it.” Shiseido says swiftly. Lokii looks to the left, then down. “I’m doing a megamix to 90s club anthems, and designing a look all the while.” Shiseido nods. Shiseido Red: “This will allow me to put my best foot forward instead of dancing the stage up and down, something I… can’t do as well anymore.” “That sounds… fine.” Niagara shrugs. Niagara Halls: “Like, BORING…and honestly, I don’t see it for her?!” Niagara laughs. “OH, the shade of ME!” Niagara giggles to herself. “What are you two doing, Molly and Lokii?” Ethan says, surprising the two. “I’m not talking about it.” Molly winks. “You can wait and see.” Ethan purses his lips. “I do wonder if it’s going to be anything of note.” Shiseido says. Shiseido Red: “Molly has a…not-so-great reputation, in New York. I’ll be honest, she’s never been notable to me, though. Beyond the theft jokes.” “Well, you gotta wait and see.” Molly winks. Molly Moppit: “Keep it fun… until you make the move.” Molly smirks. “I am a bit of a nerd.” Lokii says. “What a surprise.” Lady Gag jokes. “...Finish your thought.” Ethan looks at Lokii. “I’ll be repeating the plot of star wars, with puppets.” Lokii grins. Everyone once again looks around awkwardly. “Well, I’m excited for MY own talent show, because it sounds like I’m winning.” Lady Gag says. “Don’t count your chickens yet, Miss Copypasta.” Ethan responds. Lady Gag rolls her eyes for what appears to be the 10th time. Lokii: “I… don’t think anyone gets me here.” “The cosplay newbie… and the puppets.” Shiseido whispers, shaking her head to Ethan. “The impersonator who does stand-up in her bedroom. The tone-deaf girl singing, and the thief who probably doesn’t even have talents of her own. Great.” Lokii: “But I have crafted an entire concept. I’ve sewn and made these puppets, made a comedic story and saga- and if there’s one thing I do believe in, it’s the lore. It’s my knowledge in the cosplay, nerd space…” Lokii giggles, playing with her puppets. Lokii: “Lokii, you can do this…” Lokii gulps. “I think.” “Who’s.” Niagara claps. “Gonna.” Niagara claps. “GO HOME FIRST?!” “You, bitch!” Lady Gag snaps her fingers. “RUDE, RUDE!!!!!” Niagara yells. “Not me.” Molly whispers into the camera and winks. ~ Stats Voting Spreadsheet |
2024.05.18 23:38 borkmaster0 Structural Maintenance - Trains Rerouted (R)
In Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan, Queens-bound R runs via the Q from DeKalb Av to Canal St from May 18 - 19, Sat and Sun, 5:45 AM to 11:45 PM
In Brooklyn, use nearby Borough Hall (2, 3, 4) for Jay St-MetroTech and Court St.
In Manhattan, use nearby 4 or J stations for Whitehall St-South Ferry, Rector St, Cortlandt St and City Hall.
What's happening?
Structural maintenance
submitted by borkmaster0 to nyctransitalerts [link] [comments]
In Brooklyn, use nearby Borough Hall (2, 3, 4) for Jay St-MetroTech and Court St.
In Manhattan, use nearby 4 or J stations for Whitehall St-South Ferry, Rector St, Cortlandt St and City Hall.
- Transfer between R and 2, 3, 4 trains at Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr or 14 St-Union Sq.
- Transfer between R and J trains at Canal St.
- For service from Court St and Jay St-MetroTech, take a Bay Ridge-bound R to DeKalb Av and transfer to a Manhattan-bound R.
What's happening?
Structural maintenance
2024.05.18 23:35 XxironbucksxX H: Guns W: Appeal offers
 | Looking for tlc, lc. Really all higher tier apperal submitted by XxironbucksxX to Market76 [link] [comments] |
2024.05.18 23:23 Thunderbird0325 Building a casino in my camp
I just built the blackjack and poker tables. Is there anyway to actually play those like you can the dice table?
Also would love any suggestions of what to add! I have the fancy bar and stools set up in it with the Atlantic City slot machines 1 and 2 and the poker and blackjack and dice tables.
submitted by Thunderbird0325 to fo76 [link] [comments]
Also would love any suggestions of what to add! I have the fancy bar and stools set up in it with the Atlantic City slot machines 1 and 2 and the poker and blackjack and dice tables.
2024.05.18 23:18 Cloud_Strife83 I thought this was possible?
 | I see the explosive is a perk, but it’s there anyone know what’s going on? Or if this is a thing been away for a long time so just got it and was confused submitted by Cloud_Strife83 to Market76 [link] [comments] |
2024.05.18 23:10 KCRoyalsBot Game Thread: Athletics @ Royals - Sat, May 18 @ 06:10 PM CDT
Athletics @ Royals - Sat, May 18
Game Status: In Progress - Score: 2-2
Top of the 3rd, 2 outs, runner on second, 0-1 count with Seth Lugo pitching and Tyler Soderstrom batting. Zack Gelof is on deck, and Seth Brown is in the hole.Links & Info
- Current conditions at Kauffman Stadium: 87°F - Clear - Wind 6 mph, R To L
- TV: Athletics: NBCSCA, Royals: Bally Sports Kansas City
- Radio: Athletics: Bloomberg 960 AM/103.7 HD2, A's Cast, Royals: KCSP 610
- MLB Gameday
- Game Graphs
- Savant Gamefeed
| Athletics Batters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K | LOB | AVG | OBP | SLG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toro - 3B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .296 | .345 | .447 |
| 2 | Bleday - CF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .239 | .316 | .421 |
| 3 | Rooker - DH | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .268 | .350 | .559 |
| 4 | Langeliers - C | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .226 | .288 | .526 |
| 5 | Soderstrom - 1B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .304 | .385 | .522 |
| 6 | Gelof - 2B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .189 | .252 | .321 |
| 7 | Brown, S - RF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .182 | .237 | .318 |
| 8 | Schuemann - SS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .231 | .329 | .369 |
| 9 | Ruiz, E - LF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .208 | .279 | .396 |
| Totals | 13 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| Athletics |
|---|
| BATTING: 2B: Gelof (3, Lugo, S); Langeliers (7, Lugo, S). HR: Brown, S (4, 2nd inning off Lugo, S, 1 on, 1 out). TB: Brown, S 4; Gelof 2; Langeliers 2; Schuemann; Toro. RBI: Brown, S 2 (11). Team RISP: 1-for-1. Team LOB: 2. |
| Royals Batters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K | LOB | AVG | OBP | SLG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Garcia, M - 3B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .240 | .288 | .383 |
| 2 | Witt Jr. - SS | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .294 | .358 | .500 |
| 3 | Pasquantino - 1B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .229 | .309 | .405 |
| 4 | Perez, S - C | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .340 | .407 | .560 |
| 5 | Massey - DH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .267 | .270 | .453 |
| 6 | Velázquez - RF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .218 | .281 | .347 |
| 7 | Melendez - LF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .179 | .236 | .351 |
| 8 | Frazier - 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .191 | .301 | .258 |
| 9 | Isbel - CF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .214 | .258 | .333 |
| Totals | 10 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Royals |
|---|
| BATTING: TB: Garcia, M; Massey; Perez, S; Witt Jr. RBI: Perez, S 2 (36). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Melendez. Team RISP: 1-for-4. Team LOB: 2. |
| Athletics Pitchers | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR | P-S | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stripling | 2.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37-25 | 5.14 |
| Totals | 2.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Royals Pitchers | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR | P-S | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lugo, S | 2.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 44-31 | 1.88 |
| Totals | 2.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Inning | Scoring Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom 1 | Salvador Perez singles on a sharp line drive to left fielder Esteury Ruiz. Maikel Garcia scores. Bobby Witt Jr. scores. | 2-0 KC |
| Top 2 | Seth Brown homers (4) on a fly ball to center field. Zack Gelof scores. | 2-2 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | LOB | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athletics | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||
| Royals | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
Division Scoreboard
CWS 1 @ NYY 6 - FinalMIN 0 @ CLE 7 - Top 6, 2 Outs
DET 0 @ AZ 0 Warmup
Last Updated: 05/18/2024 06:49:55 PM CDT
2024.05.18 23:07 eko_ikari H: Pics + 300 leaders W: Offers
 | Can bundle up submitted by eko_ikari to Market76 [link] [comments] |
2024.05.18 23:04 Theo-Dorable Ideologies (and their descriptions)
A list of all the ideologies (within the game files), including their descriptions. Enjoy.
National Conservatism National conservatism is a variant of conservatism that concentrates more on national interests and upholding cultural or ethnic identity than most other conservatives. In Europe, national conservatives are usually Eurosceptics.
Gaullism
Gaullism is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader General Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic.
Corporatism I do not know where the description for this is. Considering corporatism doesn't exactly fit within conservatism I believe this is a mistake, but I'm including it here anyway.
Republican Party [sic]
The Republican Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States, the other being its historic rival, the Democratic Party. The party is named after republicanism, a major ideology of the American Revolution. Founded by anti-slavery activists, economic modernizers, ex-National Republicans, ex-Free Soilers and Whigs in 1854, the Republicans largely dominated politics nationally and in the majority of northern states between 1860 and 1932.
Religious Zionism Formed as a nationalist opposition and acts as the basis of the Israeli right, Revisionist Zionism envisions territorial integrity over the historical Land of Israel and supports Jewish nationalism. Revisionist Zionists believed that Jews have sovereignty over both banks of the Jordan river and its followers question the legitimacy of the Kingdom of Jordan. Currently, Revisionist Zionism is regarded as a fringe ideology but its proponents have recently began a push to make the ideology more moderate and hence more electable.
Black Conservatism Black Conservatism is a type of conservative ideology popular among Africans in both hemispheres. Individuals which would promote black conservatism would likely be advocates of free market capitalism, promotion of traditional beliefs (generally in regards to Catholic and Protestant Christianity), and Patriotism or Jingoism. Black Conservatism generally is opposed to Pan-Africanism, Socialism, and Anti-Imperialism.
Conservative Liberalism Conservative liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal values and policies with conservative stances, or simply representing the right-wing of the liberal movement. It is a more positive and less radical variant of classical liberalism.
Vatican [sic]
The politics of Vatican City take place in a framework of an theocratic absolute elective monarchy, in which the Pope, religiously speaking, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and Bishop of Rome, exercises ex officio supreme legislative, executive, and judicial power over the Vatican City, a rare case of non-hereditary monarchy.
Democratic Socialism Democratic socialism is a political philosophy that advocates political democracy alongside social ownership of the means of production, with an emphasis on self-management and democratic management of economic institutions within a market or some form of decentralized planned socialist economy.
Market Socialism Market socialism is a type of economic system involving the public, cooperative, or social ownership of the means of production in the framework of a market economy.
Royal Socialism No information in the game files. Probably a scrapped ideology, but still here for showcase purposes.
Neocommunism Ditto to above.
African Socialism African socialism is a belief in sharing economic resources in a traditional African way, as distinct from classical socialism. Common principles of African socialism are social development guided by a large public sector, incorporating the African identity and what it means to be African, and the avoidance of the development of social classes within society.
Ujamaa The Swahili word Ujamaa means 'extended family', 'brotherhood' or 'socialism'; as a political concept it asserts that a person becomes a person through the people or community. Ujamaa was a term made popular by the political philosophy applied under Julius Nyerere's social and economic development policies in Tanzania after it gained independence from Britain in 1961.
Labor Zionism (Mapai) Labor Zionism is the left-wing of the Zionist movement. For many years, it was the most significant tendency among Zionists and Zionist organizations. It saw itself as the Zionist sector of the historic Jewish labor movements of Eastern and Central Europe, eventually developing local units in most countries with sizable Jewish populations. Labor Zionists believe that a Jewish state could only be created through the efforts of the Jewish working class settling in the Land of Israel and constructing a state through the creation of a progressive Jewish society with rural kibbutzim and moshavim and an urban Jewish proletariat.
Kemalism Kemalism is the founding ideology of the Republic of Turkey. Kemalism, as it was implemented by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, was defined by sweeping political, social, cultural and religious reforms designed to separate the new Turkish state from its Ottoman predecessor and embrace a Westernized way of living, including the establishment of democracy, secularism, state support of the sciences and free education.
Oriental Personalism Oriental Personalism is the official ideology of Ngo Dinh Diem's Can-Lao Party in South Vietnam. Owing as much to the influence of his brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu as Diem himself, Oriental Personalism has diverse ideological influences, including Emannuel Mournier's theory of Personalism, Marxism, and the folk traditions and religions of Vietnam. The Can-Lao manifest calls for the gradual transformation of Vietnamese society through two phase. In the first phase, the Personalist Revolution, the Social and Working Classes will tear their divisions and join as one. Then comes the Social Revolution, where all forms of capitalism and colonial influence will be swept out on a triumphant march to a utopian, socialist, and proudly Vietnamese society.
Democratic Party [sic]
The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party.
Labor Zionism Functionally the exact same as Labor Zionism (Mapai), with the same description. I have no clue why it's divided as such.
Green politics Green politics is a political ideology that aims to create an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy.
Libertarianism Libertarianism is a collection of political philosophies and movements that uphold liberty as a core principle. Libertarians seek to maximize political freedom and autonomy, emphasizing freedom of choice, voluntary association, and individual judgment. Libertarians share a skepticism of authority and state power, but they diverge on the scope of their opposition to existing political and economic systems.
Zionism (General Zionism) Many people and parties chose not to follow any of the distinct Zionist schools of thought and chose to stick to the core ideology of Zionism, settling in Israel and the establishment of the Jewish State. Many of the parties that stick to the 'core' of Zionism are centrist parties that don't associate themselves with either the left nor the right and tend to be economically liberal.
Liberal Communism I can find no reference. I presume this refers to the like of Gorbachev.
Stalinism Stalinism is the means of governing and related policies implemented from around 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. Stalinist policies and ideas as developed in the Soviet Union included rapid industrialization, the theory of socialism in one country, a totalitarian state, collectivization of agriculture, a cult of personality and subordination of the interests of foreign communist parties to those of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, deemed by Stalinism to be the leading vanguard party of communist revolution at the time.
Juche Juche is the official state ideology of North Korea, described by the government as Kim Il-sung's original, brilliant and revolutionary contribution to national and international thought. It postulates that the Korean masses are to act as the masters of the revolution and construction and that by becoming self-reliant and strong a nation can achieve true socialism.
Ho Chi Minh Thought Ho Chi Minh Thought is the official ideology of the Communist Party of Vietnam under the leadership of Chairman Ho Chi Minh. Though firmly Marxist-Leninist, Ho believes in a more nationalistic reintepretation of Marxism for the unique conditions of the Vietnamese revolution, even taking some influence from Sun Yat-Sen's "Three Principles of the People" and the American revolutionaries. Ho Chi Minh Thought is as proudly Vietnamese as it is Communist, and calls for a "national democratic revolution" -- a truly Vietnamese path to socialism where worker, peasant, soldier, and merchant will unite against inequality and imperialism in all its forms.
Revolutionary Islamic Socialism Your guess is as good as mine.
Trotskyism Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Russian Leon Trotsky. Trotsky identified as an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist. He supported founding a vanguard party of the proletariat, proletarian internationalism and a dictatorship of the proletariat based on working class self-emancipation and mass democracy.
Sartre Thought No description given.
Anarcho-Communism Anarcho-communism is a theory of anarchism which advocates the abolition of the state, capitalism, wage labor and private property in favor of common ownership of the means of production, direct democracy and a horizontal network of workers' councils with production and consumption based on the guiding principle: From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.
Posadism No description. Another relic.
Titoism Titoism is described as the post-World War II policies and practices associated with Josip Broz Tito during the Cold War, characterized by an opposition to the Soviet Union. It usually represents Tito's Yugoslav doctrine in Cold War international politics. It emerged with the Yugoslav Partisans' liberation of Yugoslavia independently of the Red Army, resulting in Yugoslavia being the only Eastern European country to remain socialist, but independent after World War II as well as resisting Soviet Union pressure to become a member of the Warsaw Pact.
Left-wing Military Dictatorship a Left-wing Military Dictatorship is a government which may espouse specific socialistic beliefs to gain second world support, but is however a military-controlled oppressive autocratic state. [sic]
Person Dignity Theory (Nhuism) Person Dignity Theory, also known as Spiritualistic Marxism, describes the more radical worldview of Ngo Dinh Nhu. Influenced by his involvment with French syndicalism in the 1930s and the left-wing nationalism of the Viet Minh, Nhu's views are significantly to the left of his older brother. Nhu's interpretation of \"True Marxism\" calls for a total centralization of state power in the Can Lao Party and the complete destruction of traditional society in favor of the strict regimentation of the peasants in collectivist \"Strategic Hamlets\" and the city dwellers through \"Urban Revolutionary Syndicates\". Some believe Nhu's ambitions may lie beyond Vietnam, given his calls for a worldwide crusade against \"Materialistic Capitalism\". [sic]
Mao Zedong thought is the product of the combination of the basic principles of Marxism Leninism and the specific reality of the Chinese revolution. It is the crystallization of the collective wisdom of the Chinese Communists. It is a political, military and development theory advocated by Mao Zedong and widely practiced in the Chinese revolution in the 20th century. It is generally considered to be the development of Marxism Leninism in China.
Anti-Revisionism A Marxist-Leninist position emerging after the XXth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Anti-revisionist movements oppose the reforms of the Khrushchev period and uphold Stalinist and Maoist developments in Marxism.
Marxism-Leninism-Maoism The synthesis of Marxism–Leninism–Maoism did not occur during the life of Mao Zedong. From the 1960s, groups that called themselves Maoist or which upheld Maoism were not unified around a common understanding of Maoism and had instead their own particular interpretations of the political, philosophical, economical and military works of Mao; these disorganized ideological trends comprised, and still comprise, Mao Zedong Thought.
Scientific Socialism Scientific Socialism was founded by Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, but was widely used by Deng Xiaoping of the PRC to reform Maoism. It is often Maoism, but with a few reforms that add more emphasis on science, industrialization, and overall a new focus on the economy.
Hoxhaism Hoxhaism is a variant of anti-revisionist Marxism-Leninism that developed in the late 1970s due to a split in the Maoist movement, appearing after the ideological dispute between the Communist Party of China and the Party of Labor of Albania. The ideology is named after Enver Hoxha, a notable Albanian communist leader.
Guevarism Guevarism is a theory of communist revolution and a military strategy of guerrilla warfare associated with communist revolutionary Ernesto \"Che\" Guevara. The ideology promotes exporting revolution to any country whose leader is supported by the empire (United States) and has fallen out of favor with its citizens. The ideology has three main points, namely that the people can win with proper organization against a nation's army; that the conditions that make a revolution possible can be put in place by the popular forces; and that the popular forces always have an advantage in a non urban setting. [sic]
Falangism An authoritarian ideology with traits of fascism and conservatism, Falangist values national and Catholic identity.
Rexism Strongly opposed to both liberal and communist ideals, Rexism is a staunchly conservative nationalist movement who advocate a corporatist economic policy. Employing increasingly populist and authoritarian rhetoric, their ideals are shifting closer to other fascist movements.
Hindu Nationalism Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expression of social and political thought, based on the native spiritual and cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent.
Salazarism Salazarism is a nationalist authoritarian ideology focusing on 'God, Fatherland and Family' and emphasizing the social role of Catholicism - setting it apart from mainstream variations of Fascism.
Neo-Nazism Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II militant, social or political movements seeking to revive the ideology of Nazism. It borrows elements from Nazi doctrine, including ultranationalism, racism up to xenophobia, ableism, homophobia, anti-Romanyism, antisemitism, anti-communism and initiating the Fourth Reich. Holocaust denial is a common feature, as is the incorporation of Nazi symbols and admiration of Adolf Hitler.
National Bolshevism National Bolshevism is a political movement that combines elements of nationalism and Bolshevism.
Baathism Baathism is an Arab nationalist ideology that promotes the development and creation of a unified Arab state through the leadership of a vanguard party over a progressive revolutionary government.
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan is an American white supremacist hate group. The Klan has existed in three distinct eras at different points in time during the history of the United States. Each has advocated extremist reactionary positions such as white supremacy, white nationalism, anti-immigration and-especially in later iterations-Nordicism and anti-Catholicism.
Kahanism No information.
Authenticité Ditto.
Trujillism Ditto.
Peronism Ditto.
National Democracy no desc.
Pan-Africanism Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all people of African descent. Based on a common fate going back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement extends beyond continental Africans, with a substantial support base among the African diaspora in the Caribbean, Latin America and the United States.
Leftwing Nationalism Leftwing Nationalism is a form of nationalism which promotes the raising of societal standards for one's own national people generally through the introduction of social equality and government nationalization. Leftwing Nationalism is often anti-imperialist and can commonly represent national liberation fronts. Generally, Leftwing Nationalism will be a response to repeated exploitation of a nation by outside factors.
Bourguibism No desc.
Nasserism Nasserism is a revolutionary ideology, inspired by the second Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasser; espousing the unification of what is referred to as the Arab world. It asserts that the Arab people constitute a single nation or federation, based upon a shared language and culture, transcending Islam and Christianity. Advocates of Nasserism have often been described representing political and economic positions which are secular, socialist, nationalistic, socially progressive, and anti-imperialist.
Revisionist Zionism See above.
Islamic Monarchy Islamic monarchies are a type of Islamic state which are monarchies. They are historically known by various names, such as Mamlakah, Caliphate, Sultanate, or Emirate.
Negusa Nagast
Negusa Nagast, or king of kings, is a type of selective hereditary imperial monarchy that became the prevalent leadership of Ethiopia since Negus Zemene Mesafint ended the Age of Princes period where Ethiopia was fractured between small principalities, kindoms, and sultanates.
Despotism Despotism is a form of government in which a single person rules with absolute power.
Military Dictatorship A military dictatorship is a form of government wherein a military force exerts complete or substantial control over political authority.
Oligarchic Oligarchy is a form of government in which a group of people rule with absolute power.
Colonialism Colonialism is the policy of a foreign polity seeking to extend or retain its authority over other people or territories, generally with the aim of opening trade opportunities. The colonizing country seeks to benefit whilst the colonized country or land mass, as many of the colonized countries were not countries at all, modernize in terms defined by the colonizers, especially in economics, religion, and health.
Independent An independent politician is an individual politician not affiliated with any political party.
Haredi no desc.
Vennamoism Vennamolaisuus, or Vennamoism in english is name given to the ideology and political movement of Veikko Vennamo, the leader of Finnish Rural Party. It is categorized by populism, reliance on slogans and support for agriculture.
Democratic Islamism Islamic democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Islamic principles to public policy within a democratic framework. Islamic political theory specifies three basic features of an Islamic democracy: leaders must be elected by the people, subject to sharia and committed to practicing \"shura\", a special form of consultation practiced by Prophet Muhammad
Ibadi Imamate no desc.
Shia Monarchy no desc.
Houthiism
Houthiism is an armed movement stemming from a sect of Shia Islam, Zaidiism. Houthiism is almost nonexistent outside of Yemen. The Houthi movement strongly opposes Saudi Arabia, the US, and Israel and seeks to combat the 'underdevelopment and marginalization' of Yemen.
"Eereerhmm... where are the ideology tags?" NOWHERE! I will not add them.
submitted by Theo-Dorable to CWIC [link] [comments]
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy promoting traditional social institutions in the context of culture and civilization. The central tenets of conservatism include tradition, human imperfection, organic society, hierarchy and authority, and property rights. Conservatives seek to preserve a range of institutions such as monarchy, religion, parliamentary government, and property rights, with the aim of emphasizing social stability and continuity.National Conservatism National conservatism is a variant of conservatism that concentrates more on national interests and upholding cultural or ethnic identity than most other conservatives. In Europe, national conservatives are usually Eurosceptics.
Gaullism
Gaullism is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader General Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic.
Corporatism I do not know where the description for this is. Considering corporatism doesn't exactly fit within conservatism I believe this is a mistake, but I'm including it here anyway.
Republican Party [sic]
The Republican Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States, the other being its historic rival, the Democratic Party. The party is named after republicanism, a major ideology of the American Revolution. Founded by anti-slavery activists, economic modernizers, ex-National Republicans, ex-Free Soilers and Whigs in 1854, the Republicans largely dominated politics nationally and in the majority of northern states between 1860 and 1932.
Religious Zionism Formed as a nationalist opposition and acts as the basis of the Israeli right, Revisionist Zionism envisions territorial integrity over the historical Land of Israel and supports Jewish nationalism. Revisionist Zionists believed that Jews have sovereignty over both banks of the Jordan river and its followers question the legitimacy of the Kingdom of Jordan. Currently, Revisionist Zionism is regarded as a fringe ideology but its proponents have recently began a push to make the ideology more moderate and hence more electable.
Black Conservatism Black Conservatism is a type of conservative ideology popular among Africans in both hemispheres. Individuals which would promote black conservatism would likely be advocates of free market capitalism, promotion of traditional beliefs (generally in regards to Catholic and Protestant Christianity), and Patriotism or Jingoism. Black Conservatism generally is opposed to Pan-Africanism, Socialism, and Anti-Imperialism.
Liberal Conservatism
Liberal conservatism combines conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic, social and ethical issues. It incorporates the classical liberal view of minimal government intervention in the economy, according to which individuals should be free to participate in the market and generate wealth without government interference. However, individuals cannot be thoroughly depended on to act responsibly in other spheres of life, therefore liberal conservatives believe that a strong state is necessary to ensure law and order and social institutions are needed to nurture a sense of duty and responsibility to the nation. They also support civil liberties, along with some social conservative positions.Conservative Liberalism Conservative liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal values and policies with conservative stances, or simply representing the right-wing of the liberal movement. It is a more positive and less radical variant of classical liberalism.
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy is a form of conservatism and a political ideology which emerged in 19th century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching, as well as Neo Calvinism. It was originally conceived as a combination of traditional Catholic beliefs and modern democratic ideas, and it grew to incorporate the social teaching of other Christian denominations, such as the Lutheran Church and the Reformed Church.Vatican [sic]
The politics of Vatican City take place in a framework of an theocratic absolute elective monarchy, in which the Pope, religiously speaking, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and Bishop of Rome, exercises ex officio supreme legislative, executive, and judicial power over the Vatican City, a rare case of non-hereditary monarchy.
Socialism
Socialism is a range of economic and social systems characterized by social ownership and workers' self-management of the means of production as well as the political theories and movements associated with them. Social ownership may refer to forms of public, collective or cooperative ownership, or to citizen ownership of equity. There are many varieties of socialism and there is no single definition encapsulating all of them, though social ownership is the common element shared by its various forms. Socialist economic systems can be divided into non-market and market forms. Non-market socialism involves the substitution of factor markets and money, with engineering and technical criteria, based on calculation performed in-kind, thereby producing an economic mechanism that functions according to different economic laws from those of capitalism. Non-market socialism aims to circumvent the inefficiencies and crises traditionally associated with capital accumulation and the profit system. By contrast, market socialism retains the use of monetary prices, factor markets and in some cases the profit motive, with respect to the operation of socially owned enterprises and the allocation of capital goods between them. Profits generated by these firms would be controlled directly by the workforce of each firm, or accrue to society at large in the form of a social dividend. The socialist calculation debate discusses the feasibility and methods of resource allocation for a socialist system.Democratic Socialism Democratic socialism is a political philosophy that advocates political democracy alongside social ownership of the means of production, with an emphasis on self-management and democratic management of economic institutions within a market or some form of decentralized planned socialist economy.
Market Socialism Market socialism is a type of economic system involving the public, cooperative, or social ownership of the means of production in the framework of a market economy.
Royal Socialism No information in the game files. Probably a scrapped ideology, but still here for showcase purposes.
Neocommunism Ditto to above.
African Socialism African socialism is a belief in sharing economic resources in a traditional African way, as distinct from classical socialism. Common principles of African socialism are social development guided by a large public sector, incorporating the African identity and what it means to be African, and the avoidance of the development of social classes within society.
Ujamaa The Swahili word Ujamaa means 'extended family', 'brotherhood' or 'socialism'; as a political concept it asserts that a person becomes a person through the people or community. Ujamaa was a term made popular by the political philosophy applied under Julius Nyerere's social and economic development policies in Tanzania after it gained independence from Britain in 1961.
Labor Zionism (Mapai) Labor Zionism is the left-wing of the Zionist movement. For many years, it was the most significant tendency among Zionists and Zionist organizations. It saw itself as the Zionist sector of the historic Jewish labor movements of Eastern and Central Europe, eventually developing local units in most countries with sizable Jewish populations. Labor Zionists believe that a Jewish state could only be created through the efforts of the Jewish working class settling in the Land of Israel and constructing a state through the creation of a progressive Jewish society with rural kibbutzim and moshavim and an urban Jewish proletariat.
Kemalism Kemalism is the founding ideology of the Republic of Turkey. Kemalism, as it was implemented by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, was defined by sweeping political, social, cultural and religious reforms designed to separate the new Turkish state from its Ottoman predecessor and embrace a Westernized way of living, including the establishment of democracy, secularism, state support of the sciences and free education.
Oriental Personalism Oriental Personalism is the official ideology of Ngo Dinh Diem's Can-Lao Party in South Vietnam. Owing as much to the influence of his brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu as Diem himself, Oriental Personalism has diverse ideological influences, including Emannuel Mournier's theory of Personalism, Marxism, and the folk traditions and religions of Vietnam. The Can-Lao manifest calls for the gradual transformation of Vietnamese society through two phase. In the first phase, the Personalist Revolution, the Social and Working Classes will tear their divisions and join as one. Then comes the Social Revolution, where all forms of capitalism and colonial influence will be swept out on a triumphant march to a utopian, socialist, and proudly Vietnamese society.
Social Democracy
Social Democracy is a political, social and economic ideology that supports economic and social interventions to promote social justice within the framework of a capitalist economy, as well as a policy regime involving a commitment to representative democracy, measures for income redistribution, and regulation of the economy in the general interest and welfare state provisions.Democratic Party [sic]
The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party.
Labor Zionism Functionally the exact same as Labor Zionism (Mapai), with the same description. I have no clue why it's divided as such.
Social Liberalism
Social liberalism is a political ideology that believes individual liberty requires a level of social justice. Like classical liberalism, social liberalism endorses a market economy and the expansion of civil and political rights and liberties, but differs in that it believes the legitimate role of the government includes addressing economic and social issues such as poverty, health care, and education.Progressivism
Progressivism is the support for or advocacy of improvement of society by reform. As a philosophy, it is based on the idea of progress, which asserts that advancements in science, technology, economic development and social organization are vital to the improvement of the human condition.Green politics Green politics is a political ideology that aims to create an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy.
Centrism
Centrism is a political outlook or specific position that involves acceptance or support of a balance of a degree of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy, while opposing political changes which would result in a significant shift of society either strongly to the left or the right.Classical Liberalism
Democracy (yes, that is the entire description)Libertarianism Libertarianism is a collection of political philosophies and movements that uphold liberty as a core principle. Libertarians seek to maximize political freedom and autonomy, emphasizing freedom of choice, voluntary association, and individual judgment. Libertarians share a skepticism of authority and state power, but they diverge on the scope of their opposition to existing political and economic systems.
Zionism (General Zionism) Many people and parties chose not to follow any of the distinct Zionist schools of thought and chose to stick to the core ideology of Zionism, settling in Israel and the establishment of the Jewish State. Many of the parties that stick to the 'core' of Zionism are centrist parties that don't associate themselves with either the left nor the right and tend to be economically liberal.
Marxism-Leninism
Marxism-Leninism is the ideology combining Marxist socioeconomic theory and Leninist political praxis, which is the official ideology of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and of the Communist International. The purpose of Marxism-Leninism is the revolutionary development of a capitalist state into a socialist state, effected by the leadership of a vanguard party of professional revolutionaries from the working class.Liberal Communism I can find no reference. I presume this refers to the like of Gorbachev.
Stalinism Stalinism is the means of governing and related policies implemented from around 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. Stalinist policies and ideas as developed in the Soviet Union included rapid industrialization, the theory of socialism in one country, a totalitarian state, collectivization of agriculture, a cult of personality and subordination of the interests of foreign communist parties to those of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, deemed by Stalinism to be the leading vanguard party of communist revolution at the time.
Juche Juche is the official state ideology of North Korea, described by the government as Kim Il-sung's original, brilliant and revolutionary contribution to national and international thought. It postulates that the Korean masses are to act as the masters of the revolution and construction and that by becoming self-reliant and strong a nation can achieve true socialism.
Ho Chi Minh Thought Ho Chi Minh Thought is the official ideology of the Communist Party of Vietnam under the leadership of Chairman Ho Chi Minh. Though firmly Marxist-Leninist, Ho believes in a more nationalistic reintepretation of Marxism for the unique conditions of the Vietnamese revolution, even taking some influence from Sun Yat-Sen's "Three Principles of the People" and the American revolutionaries. Ho Chi Minh Thought is as proudly Vietnamese as it is Communist, and calls for a "national democratic revolution" -- a truly Vietnamese path to socialism where worker, peasant, soldier, and merchant will unite against inequality and imperialism in all its forms.
Revolutionary Socialism
Revolutionary socialism is the socialist doctrine that social revolution is necessary in order to bring about structural changes to society. More specifically, it is the view that revolution is a necessary precondition for a transition from capitalism to socialism.Revolutionary Islamic Socialism Your guess is as good as mine.
Trotskyism Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Russian Leon Trotsky. Trotsky identified as an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist. He supported founding a vanguard party of the proletariat, proletarian internationalism and a dictatorship of the proletariat based on working class self-emancipation and mass democracy.
Sartre Thought No description given.
Anarcho-Communism Anarcho-communism is a theory of anarchism which advocates the abolition of the state, capitalism, wage labor and private property in favor of common ownership of the means of production, direct democracy and a horizontal network of workers' councils with production and consumption based on the guiding principle: From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.
Posadism No description. Another relic.
Titoism Titoism is described as the post-World War II policies and practices associated with Josip Broz Tito during the Cold War, characterized by an opposition to the Soviet Union. It usually represents Tito's Yugoslav doctrine in Cold War international politics. It emerged with the Yugoslav Partisans' liberation of Yugoslavia independently of the Red Army, resulting in Yugoslavia being the only Eastern European country to remain socialist, but independent after World War II as well as resisting Soviet Union pressure to become a member of the Warsaw Pact.
Left-wing Military Dictatorship a Left-wing Military Dictatorship is a government which may espouse specific socialistic beliefs to gain second world support, but is however a military-controlled oppressive autocratic state. [sic]
Person Dignity Theory (Nhuism) Person Dignity Theory, also known as Spiritualistic Marxism, describes the more radical worldview of Ngo Dinh Nhu. Influenced by his involvment with French syndicalism in the 1930s and the left-wing nationalism of the Viet Minh, Nhu's views are significantly to the left of his older brother. Nhu's interpretation of \"True Marxism\" calls for a total centralization of state power in the Can Lao Party and the complete destruction of traditional society in favor of the strict regimentation of the peasants in collectivist \"Strategic Hamlets\" and the city dwellers through \"Urban Revolutionary Syndicates\". Some believe Nhu's ambitions may lie beyond Vietnam, given his calls for a worldwide crusade against \"Materialistic Capitalism\". [sic]
Maoism (Mao Zedong Thought)
Actually clumps together "anti-revisionist" ideologies, but for our purposes we'll start with Mao Zedong Thought.Mao Zedong thought is the product of the combination of the basic principles of Marxism Leninism and the specific reality of the Chinese revolution. It is the crystallization of the collective wisdom of the Chinese Communists. It is a political, military and development theory advocated by Mao Zedong and widely practiced in the Chinese revolution in the 20th century. It is generally considered to be the development of Marxism Leninism in China.
Anti-Revisionism A Marxist-Leninist position emerging after the XXth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Anti-revisionist movements oppose the reforms of the Khrushchev period and uphold Stalinist and Maoist developments in Marxism.
Marxism-Leninism-Maoism The synthesis of Marxism–Leninism–Maoism did not occur during the life of Mao Zedong. From the 1960s, groups that called themselves Maoist or which upheld Maoism were not unified around a common understanding of Maoism and had instead their own particular interpretations of the political, philosophical, economical and military works of Mao; these disorganized ideological trends comprised, and still comprise, Mao Zedong Thought.
Scientific Socialism Scientific Socialism was founded by Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, but was widely used by Deng Xiaoping of the PRC to reform Maoism. It is often Maoism, but with a few reforms that add more emphasis on science, industrialization, and overall a new focus on the economy.
Hoxhaism Hoxhaism is a variant of anti-revisionist Marxism-Leninism that developed in the late 1970s due to a split in the Maoist movement, appearing after the ideological dispute between the Communist Party of China and the Party of Labor of Albania. The ideology is named after Enver Hoxha, a notable Albanian communist leader.
Guevarism Guevarism is a theory of communist revolution and a military strategy of guerrilla warfare associated with communist revolutionary Ernesto \"Che\" Guevara. The ideology promotes exporting revolution to any country whose leader is supported by the empire (United States) and has fallen out of favor with its citizens. The ideology has three main points, namely that the people can win with proper organization against a nation's army; that the conditions that make a revolution possible can be put in place by the popular forces; and that the popular forces always have an advantage in a non urban setting. [sic]
Third Positionism
Encompassing a variety of ultra-nationalist movements, third positionism typically venerates devotion to the state and uniting the people under a strong leader. Third Positionism is presented as its own unique ideology as a third option to capitalism or communism.Falangism An authoritarian ideology with traits of fascism and conservatism, Falangist values national and Catholic identity.
Rexism Strongly opposed to both liberal and communist ideals, Rexism is a staunchly conservative nationalist movement who advocate a corporatist economic policy. Employing increasingly populist and authoritarian rhetoric, their ideals are shifting closer to other fascist movements.
Hindu Nationalism Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expression of social and political thought, based on the native spiritual and cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent.
Salazarism Salazarism is a nationalist authoritarian ideology focusing on 'God, Fatherland and Family' and emphasizing the social role of Catholicism - setting it apart from mainstream variations of Fascism.
Neo-Nazism Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II militant, social or political movements seeking to revive the ideology of Nazism. It borrows elements from Nazi doctrine, including ultranationalism, racism up to xenophobia, ableism, homophobia, anti-Romanyism, antisemitism, anti-communism and initiating the Fourth Reich. Holocaust denial is a common feature, as is the incorporation of Nazi symbols and admiration of Adolf Hitler.
National Bolshevism National Bolshevism is a political movement that combines elements of nationalism and Bolshevism.
Baathism Baathism is an Arab nationalist ideology that promotes the development and creation of a unified Arab state through the leadership of a vanguard party over a progressive revolutionary government.
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan is an American white supremacist hate group. The Klan has existed in three distinct eras at different points in time during the history of the United States. Each has advocated extremist reactionary positions such as white supremacy, white nationalism, anti-immigration and-especially in later iterations-Nordicism and anti-Catholicism.
Kahanism No information.
Authenticité Ditto.
Trujillism Ditto.
Peronism Ditto.
Nationalism
Encompassing a variety of ultra nationalist movements, Nationalism typically venerates devotion to the state and uniting the people under a strong leader.National Democracy no desc.
Pan-Africanism Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all people of African descent. Based on a common fate going back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement extends beyond continental Africans, with a substantial support base among the African diaspora in the Caribbean, Latin America and the United States.
Leftwing Nationalism Leftwing Nationalism is a form of nationalism which promotes the raising of societal standards for one's own national people generally through the introduction of social equality and government nationalization. Leftwing Nationalism is often anti-imperialist and can commonly represent national liberation fronts. Generally, Leftwing Nationalism will be a response to repeated exploitation of a nation by outside factors.
Bourguibism No desc.
Nasserism Nasserism is a revolutionary ideology, inspired by the second Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasser; espousing the unification of what is referred to as the Arab world. It asserts that the Arab people constitute a single nation or federation, based upon a shared language and culture, transcending Islam and Christianity. Advocates of Nasserism have often been described representing political and economic positions which are secular, socialist, nationalistic, socially progressive, and anti-imperialist.
Revisionist Zionism See above.
Monarchism
A monarchy is a form of government in which a group, generally a family representing a dynasty, embodies the country's national identity and its head, the monarch, exercises the role of sovereignty.Islamic Monarchy Islamic monarchies are a type of Islamic state which are monarchies. They are historically known by various names, such as Mamlakah, Caliphate, Sultanate, or Emirate.
Negusa Nagast
Negusa Nagast, or king of kings, is a type of selective hereditary imperial monarchy that became the prevalent leadership of Ethiopia since Negus Zemene Mesafint ended the Age of Princes period where Ethiopia was fractured between small principalities, kindoms, and sultanates.
Reactionary (also Neutrality)
In political science, a reactionary is a person who holds political views that favor a return to the status quo ante, the previous political state of society, which he or she believes possessed characteristics that are negatively absent from the contemporary status quo of a society.Despotism Despotism is a form of government in which a single person rules with absolute power.
Military Dictatorship A military dictatorship is a form of government wherein a military force exerts complete or substantial control over political authority.
Oligarchic Oligarchy is a form of government in which a group of people rule with absolute power.
Colonialism Colonialism is the policy of a foreign polity seeking to extend or retain its authority over other people or territories, generally with the aim of opening trade opportunities. The colonizing country seeks to benefit whilst the colonized country or land mass, as many of the colonized countries were not countries at all, modernize in terms defined by the colonizers, especially in economics, religion, and health.
Independent An independent politician is an individual politician not affiliated with any political party.
Haredi no desc.
Vennamoism Vennamolaisuus, or Vennamoism in english is name given to the ideology and political movement of Veikko Vennamo, the leader of Finnish Rural Party. It is categorized by populism, reliance on slogans and support for agriculture.
Islamism
Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam. Its name comes from the word Sunnah, referring to the exemplary behavior of the Islamic prophet MuhammadDemocratic Islamism Islamic democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Islamic principles to public policy within a democratic framework. Islamic political theory specifies three basic features of an Islamic democracy: leaders must be elected by the people, subject to sharia and committed to practicing \"shura\", a special form of consultation practiced by Prophet Muhammad
Ibadi Imamate no desc.
Radical Shiaism
Shia is a branch of Islam which holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor (Imam).Shia Monarchy no desc.
Houthiism
Houthiism is an armed movement stemming from a sect of Shia Islam, Zaidiism. Houthiism is almost nonexistent outside of Yemen. The Houthi movement strongly opposes Saudi Arabia, the US, and Israel and seeks to combat the 'underdevelopment and marginalization' of Yemen.
Salafism
Salafism is a reform branch or revivalist movement within Sunni Islam that developed in Egypt in the late 19th century as a response to Western European imperialism, with roots in the 18th-century Wahhabi movement that originated in the Najd region of modern day Saudi Arabia."Eereerhmm... where are the ideology tags?" NOWHERE! I will not add them.
2024.05.18 23:02 SmellMyCheese76 H: wep in pic W: LC or TLC (or jumpsuit bundle)
 | submitted by SmellMyCheese76 to Market76 [link] [comments] |
2024.05.18 22:39 JadedBarber5363 [WTS] [WTT] Slabs, 1/10 Gold Phil, Proof Sets, Ike’s, 10 oz Bars, 1 oz Bars, 1 oz Rounds/Coins, Kooks, Geigers, Fractional, Foreign, Goldbacks, Casino Tokens, Collectables, and more.
*Chat Preferred. Only accepting trades for items under “COLLECTABLES”. Items are verified using SIGMA Investor (thru and gravity), Pocket Pinger, Weight, and magnet.
[PROOF](https://imgur.com/a/qK4PKfz
GOLD
ROUNDS AND COINS:
2.5 Gram Silver Bar- $3
5x 1/10 Silver- $25
1/4 Oz Round- $10
1922 Peace Dollar- $26
1 oz APMEX Bar- $32
2000 The Dawn of A New Millennium 1oz Silver- $35
1 Gram Geiger In Assay- $10
40% lot ($5 Face)- $47
35% Lot (5 War Nickels)- $8.50
16x 1 oz Silver Towne Mighty Eagles- $512
4x 1 oz Buffalos- $128
7x 1 oz Misc Nicer Rounds- $230
4x Casino Tokens- $85 For All or $22 EA
5 oz Sealed Bar- $158
Cale Yarborough 1 oz Round- $45
1978 Cien Pesos- $20
4 Standing Liberty Quartahhhs- $25
1974 1 oz Liberty Medallion- $35
20x 1 oz Tokelau 2024 Proof Mustang- $36 EA for all for $34 EA
Numismatic 90% (1905 Barber Dime, 1915 Barber Quarter, 1901 O Barber Half, and 1937 Walker.)- $47
$9.50 Face 90% Lot ($6 JFK, $.50 Franklin, $1 Wash, $1.20 Rosevelt’s, $.80 Mercs all with dates and some are higher grades)- $208
2x 1962 Proof Sets (Some missing random pieces like cardboard or paper)- $26 EA
Blue Ike (1x 1971, 2x 1972, 3x 1974)- $13 Ea
10 oz Bar- $315
1 oz Peace Dollar Round- $40
5x 2023 Kookaburra (W/Capsule)- $35 EA
5x 2024 Kookaburra (W/Capsule)- $35 EA
1 oz Germania Mint Allegories (W/COA)- $45
1 oz 2024 BU T2 ASE- $35
500 Gram The Holy Mint Bar- $525
6x Vintage Bars (Engelhard, JM, and Silver Towne) Lot- $215
1964 Accented Hair Proof Set (Complete)- $70
24x 2024 1/10 Silver Brittanias- $10 EA or all for $9 EA
2001 S Proof JFK Half- $12
Foreign lot In Flips (31 Coins)- $25
Foreign lot Loose (21 Coins and most are Canadian)- $15
1 New Penny (26 coins dates all in the 1970s), 1/2 New Penny (16 coins dates all in the 1970s), and 2 New Pence Lot (26 coins dates all in the 1970s)- $40
1970 1 Piso Pope Paul VI (Non PM)- $5
1966 Jamaican Commonwealth Games Coin- $4
1983 Netherland Coin Set (Cracked Open Case)- $7
RANDOMS:
5x 1 Gram Argor Palladium- $65 EA
Silver 1975 Philippines Proof Set (complete)- $90
10 Oz “The Wedge” DHF Silver Bar- $380
SLABS: (Whale deal is buy all slabs get the 1900 Morgan for $60)
2022 1oz Serbia Nikola Tesla Natural Healing NGC MS70- $115
1950 S Booker T Washington PCGS MS65- $65
1944 Winged Liberty Dime PCGS MS66- $40
1964 Washington Quarter NGC PF67 (Crack on slab)- $15
1946 Walking Liberty Half PCI MS65- $95
2017 S ASE NGC PF70 Ultra Cameo San Fransico Slab- $120
1922 D Peace NGC MS63- $85
1900 Morgan PCGS MS63 (Toned)- $115
1883 Morgan NGC “Fattie” MS64 (Toned)- $125
2023 Morgan CAC First Delivery MS69 Slab- $100
Bradford Exchange 2023 T2 BU ASE- $40
1855 Germany 1 S Hamburg MS63 NGC (Toner)- $80
2007-S PCGS PR70DCAM John Adams- $11
COLLECTABLES: Will trade for low premium Silver and Gold. [WTT] [WTS]
2x 2021 Cameroon Crucifix Coin- $120 EA
6x Fiji 2022 Snowflake Coin W/Crystals (Sealed)- $85 EA
3x Fiji 2023 Wonders Of Nature Great Barrier Reef Coin- $145 EA
2021 Star Wars IG-11 NIUE Coin- $105
2021 Samoa Splash Of Colour (Color 🇺🇸) New York City Coin- $175
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shipping/payment:
🚛*Shipping- is $5 for 1-8 oz (Ground Advantage), $6 for 9-12 oz (Ground Advantage) and $10 for over 12 oz (Priority Mail) both with tracking numbers. American shipping only 🇺🇸 (prices are for lower 48). I am shipping out of Oklahoma, if you are close I may be able to ship cheaper ground than priority on higher weights. Be sure to inquire if you expect that to be the case.
🧾*Payment- I accept Zelle (preferred), Venmo, cash app, and PayPal FF (least preferred and not available for low flair users). Please no notes/comments or I will refund (if you are forced to use one add an emoji or . ) Thanks!
💂 *Security- I will not give my password to anyone for any reason. I have enabled two factor authentication and have other steps to help protect myself and the buyers. I also use the same setup to take proof photos, so any deviation in that is a red flag 🚩.
submitted by JadedBarber5363 to CoinSales [link] [comments]
[PROOF](https://imgur.com/a/qK4PKfz
GOLD
ROUNDS AND COINS:
2.5 Gram Silver Bar- $3
5x 1/10 Silver- $25
1/4 Oz Round- $10
1922 Peace Dollar- $26
1 oz APMEX Bar- $32
2000 The Dawn of A New Millennium 1oz Silver- $35
1 Gram Geiger In Assay- $10
40% lot ($5 Face)- $47
35% Lot (5 War Nickels)- $8.50
16x 1 oz Silver Towne Mighty Eagles- $512
4x 1 oz Buffalos- $128
7x 1 oz Misc Nicer Rounds- $230
4x Casino Tokens- $85 For All or $22 EA
5 oz Sealed Bar- $158
Cale Yarborough 1 oz Round- $45
1978 Cien Pesos- $20
4 Standing Liberty Quartahhhs- $25
1974 1 oz Liberty Medallion- $35
20x 1 oz Tokelau 2024 Proof Mustang- $36 EA for all for $34 EA
Numismatic 90% (1905 Barber Dime, 1915 Barber Quarter, 1901 O Barber Half, and 1937 Walker.)- $47
$9.50 Face 90% Lot ($6 JFK, $.50 Franklin, $1 Wash, $1.20 Rosevelt’s, $.80 Mercs all with dates and some are higher grades)- $208
2x 1962 Proof Sets (Some missing random pieces like cardboard or paper)- $26 EA
Blue Ike (1x 1971, 2x 1972, 3x 1974)- $13 Ea
10 oz Bar- $315
1 oz Peace Dollar Round- $40
5x 2023 Kookaburra (W/Capsule)- $35 EA
5x 2024 Kookaburra (W/Capsule)- $35 EA
1 oz Germania Mint Allegories (W/COA)- $45
1 oz 2024 BU T2 ASE- $35
500 Gram The Holy Mint Bar- $525
6x Vintage Bars (Engelhard, JM, and Silver Towne) Lot- $215
1964 Accented Hair Proof Set (Complete)- $70
24x 2024 1/10 Silver Brittanias- $10 EA or all for $9 EA
2001 S Proof JFK Half- $12
Foreign lot In Flips (31 Coins)- $25
Foreign lot Loose (21 Coins and most are Canadian)- $15
1 New Penny (26 coins dates all in the 1970s), 1/2 New Penny (16 coins dates all in the 1970s), and 2 New Pence Lot (26 coins dates all in the 1970s)- $40
1970 1 Piso Pope Paul VI (Non PM)- $5
1966 Jamaican Commonwealth Games Coin- $4
1983 Netherland Coin Set (Cracked Open Case)- $7
RANDOMS:
5x 1 Gram Argor Palladium- $65 EA
Silver 1975 Philippines Proof Set (complete)- $90
10 Oz “The Wedge” DHF Silver Bar- $380
SLABS: (Whale deal is buy all slabs get the 1900 Morgan for $60)
2022 1oz Serbia Nikola Tesla Natural Healing NGC MS70- $115
1950 S Booker T Washington PCGS MS65- $65
1944 Winged Liberty Dime PCGS MS66- $40
1964 Washington Quarter NGC PF67 (Crack on slab)- $15
1946 Walking Liberty Half PCI MS65- $95
2017 S ASE NGC PF70 Ultra Cameo San Fransico Slab- $120
1922 D Peace NGC MS63- $85
1900 Morgan PCGS MS63 (Toned)- $115
1883 Morgan NGC “Fattie” MS64 (Toned)- $125
2023 Morgan CAC First Delivery MS69 Slab- $100
Bradford Exchange 2023 T2 BU ASE- $40
1855 Germany 1 S Hamburg MS63 NGC (Toner)- $80
2007-S PCGS PR70DCAM John Adams- $11
COLLECTABLES: Will trade for low premium Silver and Gold. [WTT] [WTS]
2x 2021 Cameroon Crucifix Coin- $120 EA
6x Fiji 2022 Snowflake Coin W/Crystals (Sealed)- $85 EA
3x Fiji 2023 Wonders Of Nature Great Barrier Reef Coin- $145 EA
2021 Star Wars IG-11 NIUE Coin- $105
2021 Samoa Splash Of Colour (Color 🇺🇸) New York City Coin- $175
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shipping/payment:
🚛*Shipping- is $5 for 1-8 oz (Ground Advantage), $6 for 9-12 oz (Ground Advantage) and $10 for over 12 oz (Priority Mail) both with tracking numbers. American shipping only 🇺🇸 (prices are for lower 48). I am shipping out of Oklahoma, if you are close I may be able to ship cheaper ground than priority on higher weights. Be sure to inquire if you expect that to be the case.
🧾*Payment- I accept Zelle (preferred), Venmo, cash app, and PayPal FF (least preferred and not available for low flair users). Please no notes/comments or I will refund (if you are forced to use one add an emoji or . ) Thanks!
💂 *Security- I will not give my password to anyone for any reason. I have enabled two factor authentication and have other steps to help protect myself and the buyers. I also use the same setup to take proof photos, so any deviation in that is a red flag 🚩.
2024.05.18 22:30 malcolio DRAFT - NTW in Alphabetical Order. Chapter 1: Alsace-Lorraine
 | submitted by malcolio to u/malcolio [link] [comments] Europe in Early January, 1805. How the continent looks at the start of a Napoleon: Total War game. Seven years ago I started posting a writeup of playing a game of Empire: Total War with the challenge of conquering every region in alphabetical order. This was inspired by someone trying to play Crusader Kings in alphabetical order back in 2006. After 75 chapters, with about 2,600 images and just a silly amount of text, I completed the game and swore off touching another Total War game for some time! I’m now back, to try and achieve the same goal of conquering every region in alphabetical order but in Napoleon: Total War. I’ve never finished a game of N:TW before, so it will fun to see what this more focused and refined(?) version of E:TW will be like to play. As with my last playthrough, I’m using DarthMod and playing on Normal/Normal difficulty. I have no idea if those settings will make this challenge too easy or impossible, let’s find out! Napoleon Bonaparte’s stats and the 11 regions I have to sell off before I can start this challenge. There is a vast quantity of books studying the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, but what none of them will tell you is that he had a passion for the alphabet just like King Louis XIV. So obviously he was forced to sell off every region of the French Empire so that he could conquer the entirety of Europe in alphabetical order. Unfortunately if I lose France I automatically lose the entire game, so I’ll need to unofficially keep hold of that, but otherwise I first need to trade away Alsace-Lorraine, Aquitaine, Bretagne, Corsica, Hannover, Normandie, Pays d'Oc, Picardie-Champagne, Piedmont-Liguria, Provence, and the Southern Netherlands. At the moment the French Empire’s prosperity is spectacular, its prestige sublime, but that’s going to take a bit of a hit… The French military units in those region capitals will soon need to vacate, most are just militia and basic cavalry, but Strasbourg has a decent sized force led by Napoleon’s brother-in-law Joachim Murat. The French Imperial Army, scattered across Alsace-Lorraine, Northern Italy, and Hannover The rest of the Imperial Army is along the empire’s eastern border. Napoleon himself commands the largest army to the west of Strasbourg, close to two smaller forces led by Marshals Michel Ney and Louis-Nicolas Davout. Over in Northern Italy a detachment led by Marshal Jean-André Masséna guards the border with Austria, and in isolated Hannover a similar-sized group guards the city with Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte as its commander. The two French fleets, one off Portugal and the other near Genoa, and the flagship Scipion. The French Navy has just two fleets. The Atlantic Squadron is currently stationed near Portugal, Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve commands the immense 122-gun Scipion, two 3rd rates, two 4th rates, and frigate. The Mediterranean Squadron is near French-controlled Genoa, led by Vice-Admiral Victor Durand it consists of just two frigates and a corvette. Soon the French Empire won’t have any ports that need defending or to repair ships at, and my income is about to nosedive, so I think it’s time to do something reckless… An outnumbered French fleet is defeated by Britain’s finest, but not without scoring a massive blow against the Royal Navy. Admiral Villeneuve is told to take his fleet north and engage whatever enemy vessels he can find, to sink as many ships as possible even if it risks wiping out his own. It doesn’t take long: in the Bay of Biscay the Atlantic Squadron bumps into none other than Vice-Admiral Nelson and a huge British fleet. The two commanders had previously fought at the Battle of the Nile as Rear-Admirals, and in reality weren’t due to meet for another 10 months at the Battle of Trafalgar. The British fleet greatly dwarfs the French, with Nelson commanding his own 122-gun Heavy 1st rate, a 1st rate, two 2nd rates, and three 3rd rates! I auto-resolve the battle, resulting in an expected defeat. Villeneuve survives on board a battered Scipion, with only a 4th rate for company, but somehow his squadron managed to sink every British vessel except for Nelson’s Rose! The Royal Navy has suffered a pyrrhic victory, my navy upkeep costs have gone down by more than 1,000 gold, and what remains of the Atlantic Squadron flees south to join up with the Mediterranean Squadron next turn. Parts of the French Empire are sold off, ready for them to be retaken in alphabetical order with the rest of Europe. With those naval manoeuvres finished I start haggling with other nations to remove eleven French regions that are stopping me from starting my alphabetical challenge. I sell each region to a different ruler, to get as much cash from the sale and to stop any one nation becoming too powerful. I try to give territory that is towards the end of the alphabet to my allies, and those towards the start to my enemies, to prevent having to backstab my friends until I’m already forced to destroy them anyway. While cash is important I also barter for as many technologies as I can: one technology can take 7 turns to research, gaining them now will pay dividends in growing my economy and strengthening my armed forces. The main achievement of these region swaps, apart from losing all my income and making me only one region away from defeat, is completely changing the United Kingdom’s foreign policy: by letting George III have both a personal and political union with Hannover I convince the British Empire to abandon all of its allies, and instead join the side of its centuries-old nemesis. That recent battle in Biscay didn’t seem to matter! Along with becoming friends with Prussia I now feel less worried that Paris might be immediately marched on, though it’s hard to tell how long these new alliances will last. The first unedited screenshot of the game. France is exempt from taxes, to help pretend it doesn’t exist, which doesn’t help the Empire’s negative income. After all those region swaps I now only control France, as mentioned before I can’t remove this territory without automatically losing the game. So to try not to benefit from being forced to keep France I’ve set myself the rule that I cannot build anything there, cannot research there, cannot recruit any troops from Paris, and the region is exempt from taxes. I keep a company of Grenadiers à Cheval and two artillery batteries to defend the capital, together they cost 546 gold a turn in upkeep so Paris is losing me money! Right, the game is now set up to start my challenge of conquering Europe in alphabetical order (sort of, ignore France). Which region do I need to capture first? Alsace-Lorraine. Only just traded to the Austrian Empire, it is surrounded by French armies including one teleported from Hannover. This is Alsace-Lorraine. Two images ago it became Austrian, in exchange for 5,530 gold and two technologies that would have taken me 14 turns to research. Unfortunately for Austria the region is surrounded by the bulk of the French Imperial Army, so the question isn’t how will I immediately conquer Alsace-Lorraine but can I do so without losing a single soldier? The full might of the Imperial Army is amassed against Strasbourg, defended by a small number of Austrian infantrymen and some armed civilians. Marshals Ney, Murat, and Bernadotte link up to immediately attack Strasbourg together. The full stack of units is supported by further armies commanded by Napoleon and Marshal Davot. Protecting the city is just five companies of Austrian line infantry, supported by hastily-armed citizens. Alsace-Lorraine is captured, denting the expected deficit and allowing resources to be spent on improving the French military and economy. It would be insanity to resist such an attack so the small Austrian infantry detachment wisely surrenders without a fight. Unfortunately, yet again, there is no battle to see here! I choose to peacefully occupy Strasbourg and immediately start the construction of basic roads, a cannon factory, a musket manufactory, and an iron mine, plus a cantonment to replace the local tax office. Until that’s all built I can’t actually recruit any more soldiers, cavalry, or artillery (as I’m ignoring France existing). So avoiding a battle is boring but the troops I have are priceless! The people of Alsace-Lorraine are unhappy under French rule, despite being Austrian for less time than it takes to read this sentence. Luckily I need to keep a large garrison here anyway to protect against my enemies to the east, and I also lower taxes a little to keep the region’s population and wealth growing, so the newly conquered population should be content for now. OK, so far this challenge seems ridiculously easy, I captured my first region immediately without a single casualty. What’s next? Aquitaine. Until very recently French, traded away to the Russian Empire. This is Aquitaine. Like Alsace-Lorraine it was part of the French Empire but quickly traded away, this time to Russia, and like Strasbourg an enemy force has magically popped into existence to guard the region’s capital. Unlike last time though there are no doom stacks waiting, ready to steamroll the city. What I do have is a random collection of units which originally guarded Bordeaux, Rennes, and Toulouse. A force of two companies of Chasseurs à Cheval (light cavalry) and two cohorts of the local National Guard is led by Captain Alexandre de Rosée, who waits for a company of Chevau-légers Lanciers (lancer cavalry) and another cohort of militia to reinforce him from Bretagne. Combined, this ragtag group of misfits should be enough to win against six battalions of Russian infantry squatting in Bordeaux. So attacking the city will need to wait until next turn, but before we move to Late January 1805 I have a few chores to do… The French Empire is leaps and bounds ahead of every other nation in research, but this has ground to a halt until a college can be acquired. One task is to think about researching new technologies. Most nations begin with all technologies locked, some are lucky to have already researched one or two when the game starts. France is luckiest of all with three technologies already researched: Army Corps Organisation, Conscription, and Division of Labour). Thanks to those earlier region trades the French now also understand Classical Economics), Fire and Advance), Improved Coppering), National Debt), and Public Schooling. Those technologies provide various small economic and military bonuses which will take any other nation at least 50 turns to research, so I’m at a significant advantage on turn 1. However with my self-imposed rule of ignoring the existence of France I cannot use Orléans to start researching any new technologies, instead I send my two gentlemen east towards the first region which will provide a college I can use. It will take more than 10 turns for François-René de Chateaubriand and Jean Rapp to reach their destination, in the meantime my enemies will have unlocked a new technology each, and I have to hope the college they’re travelling to will be controlled by the French Empire by the time they arrive! Charles-Louis Schulmeister, French spy extraordinaire, joins them on the journey. The French Council of State sees the appointment of a Keeper of the Seals, and new trade deals dent an expected deficit. One other job to do before ending the first turn is to review who is running things. My starting ministers all have decent stats except for 3 star Keeper of the Seals Claude Ambroise Régnier. I replace him with a string of candidates until one, Oliver Molyneux, arrives with the Stallholder trait which give him a total of 4 management stars. That one extra star means the cost of repressing unrest in my regions is 3% cheaper, and that repression now has a +1 bonus. Small benefits like that could make or break my game in the long run! Selling off all my regions severed all my trade routes. I re-establish all of them except the one with Spain, as I no longer have a sea or land connection with the Iberia Peninsula. Instead I create a trade agreement with the Electorate of Hesse-Kassel, worth 300 less gold than the Spanish agreement. Overall my trade income has dropped by 1,100 gold since I started this game, but at least I’m now only going to lose 2,880 in gold per turn! That's the draft of this first chapter for now, this will be taken down when I start posting chapters on the Total War subreddit. |
2024.05.18 22:20 I_Stole_Your_Pie The legion could have been so much more than what we got
Look I love the legion their a really cool faction But there's a part of me now that says they were just half-done I understand the whole 18 months of development for New Vegas but still
It feels like they just made the legion evil just to make the NCR look better I mean if they want to do that then that's fine but just why do they allow us to join them if the legion was just was just going to be evil Hell if the legion is so sexist then why does the legion allow a female courier to help them
The legion isn't a fleshed out faction only the NCR is and that's only because we've seen them in another game
It would have been way better if the legion was just a morally gray faction We could have looked more into their society And less about the slavery and crucifixions Like they could have added scribes or war priests
They could have added morally good characters that so happened to the legionaries Along with the morally bad legionaries
The legion could have actually pointed out Actual flaws within the NCR instead of saying oh the government is corrupt they could have actually pointed out actual hypocrisies within the NCR They could have pointed out that the ncr was doing the exact same thing as them
Hell I would happily sacrifice the brotherhood of steel the independent Vegas the bombers quest line just so I could have a better legion quest line
Because the independent Vegas ending is a cop out ending for if you screw everyone else over and make them hate you and unable to finish the game
The brotherhood of steel was a pretty good questline but it felt like they only really existed just do be another way for you to get power armor and power armor training
And the boomers were just unnecessary I think they would have done better if nellis Air Force Base was instead a NCR military base Trying to get bomber jets working again
Hell I would give the NCR real power armor and power armor training while giving the legion the salvage power armor And the ability for the player character to create salvage power armor
Hell I've created a different version of New Vegas in my head where the legion has Hoover dam and the NCR has New Vegas And Helios One
So this is the part of this post Where what I would have changed a lot more of the story
1st-legion
Ok first part is of the territorys that the legion would control the legion will control all territories that they already have But they will have the NCR correctional facility, prim, Boulder City, novac, hover damn, and camp forelorn hope,
Boulder City will be besieged by the NCR forces including NCR rangers, NCR power armor troopers, and and regular NCR troopers With mechanical infantry like the m4 Sherman tank, Humvees, m44 armored personal carriers, And robot infantry, like sentry bots, protectrons, holograms from the Sierra Madre, Mr gutsey's (I might have said it wrong) As Vertibirds and howitzers will be bombing Boulder City constantly Basically the Battle of Berlin
hoover dam is no longer just a military complex but also a city that due to the fact that the legion moved a bunch of people on to Hoover dam building houses and walkways across the whole wall but it will also be besieged by NCR forces with the same equipment I listed above just without the air support or the howitzer support no air support because the legion will be using anti-aircraft weaponry and the howitzers are busy with Boulder City, but it will have to suffer from watercraft like NCR military boats Such as WW2 patrol torpedo boats,
Primm is not being besieged by the NCR but they are suffering a revolution pro NCR partisans has attacked prim from the inside causing havoc and destruction against the legion military and local law enforcement They will have regular civilian clothes with Kevlar vests, makeshift helmets, and service rifles, Hunting rifles, hunting shotguns, SMGs, Makeshift explosives and vehicles made into armored cars
Camp forlorn hope will be a military hospital camp do treat injured or sick legionary soldiers suffering skirmishes against the NCR troopers and NCR mercenaries due to the fact that it has close proximity to Hoover dam but is they are not being besiegeddue to the fact that Hoover dam is right around the corner and that place is currently being besieged
And Novac will be a relatively peaceful legion City only suffering from occasional NCR skirmishes but they will have a partisans problem too just on a lesser degree That is due to the fact that the NCR is right around the corner in the NCR is currently just starting the revolution within Novac
The NCR correctional facility now known as the legion gulag because I cannot have thought of a better name right now Is not currently being attacked by any forces because it is a military prison installation holding criminals partisans and prisoners of war and unlike the NCR they were not being dumb and they are not giving the prisoners TNT
2st-ncr
Okay second part the NCR Will have all the territories they have in New Vegas except for the ones I listed above But they will have other places like the big MT and the Sierra Madre casino along with the brothers of steel bunkers and nellis Air Force Base along with black mountain
The Mojave Outpost was no longer just being Outpost but a giant military base with vertibirds howitzers and m4 tanks that the legion will be constantly besieging
The Big MT will be an area where the NCR is excavating technologies and resources they will not be attacked by the legion but they are being attacked by brotherhood of steel remnants with enclave vertibirds they stole from The enclave after Fallout 2
The Sierra Madre casino will be an area where the NCR is also excavating for technology But unlike the big MT NCR is having much more troubles because of the corrosive fog the ghost people And the captured prisoners of war and legion sympathizers/political oppositions that they are using for slave labor will revolt against the NCR using the technology they find against the NCR themselves
The hidden valley bunkers will be NCR territory now after they hunted down the brotherhood of steel and slaughtered them leaving some to escape to live to fight another day they are not being besieged by any hostile forces as for right now due to the close proximity to Black mountain
Black mountain will be a large military base of operations in charge of radio transmissions due to this fact black mound will be protected 24/7 by vertibirds and soldiers and it will also be protecting the hidden valley bunkers due to the fact that the bunkers are close in proximity Black will have a large military presence
Nellis Air Force Base unlike black mountain will be attacked constantly by legion forces due to the fact that the Air Force Base is where the vertibird and a working b-24 bomber plane is stationed due to this fact the outside areas of nellis is a blown out hellscape but it is not dealing with the front of the attacks unlike Vegas or the Mojave Outpost
New Vegas is basically the Battle of Stalingrad As inner Vegas is perfectly okay but outer Vegas is currently being attacked by legion forces Legion sympathizers, and a rogue group of l brotherhood of steel remnants who went rogue and are now terrorizing Westside With mechanized infantry and death squads/Stormtroopers Outer Vegas is constantly being bombed out by howitzers, vertibirds, and legion motors, Along with makeshift bombs by the legion partisans, The ncr also has mechanized infantry, power armor troopers, desert rangers, NCR troopers, It is not a safe place to live in outer Vegas Inside the strip itself it's perfectly fine though for some reason but it has been completely closed off due to well the events that's currently happening outside
Ok now we are at the part of the weapon technology of the legion and NCR
Starting off with the legion, They will have a little worse equipment than the NCR but they have more soldiers overall killing them by a thousand cuts But the technology they do have includes Mortars, howitzers, Humvees modified with Rams, some salvaged m4 Sherman tanks from the NCR, salvaged power armopower armor without the power, they will have a b24 bomber and vertibirds Only if they successfully take over nellis Air Force Base, Along with some laser and plasma weapons only some not a lot if any,
Now the NCR Because they have been salvaging from Big MT & the Sierra Madre They will have much more advance technology Such as fully working power armor, forcefield technology, fully working vertibirds, holograms, instead of the crappy NCR trooper uniform in base game Vegas they will have The superior combat armor that the United States military pre-war used, they also have the ability to use Archimedes 2 the orbital death laser, also m4 Sherman tanks, m44 armored personnel carriers, Humvees, boats, Howitzers,
Now the skeletal frame for the story during the first battle of Hoover dam the main characters will obviously be Caesar, the malpis legate, vulpes inculta, general Oliver, the NCR president currently at Vegas, Chief Hamilton,
And mister house is now reawakening about to send his robot army to get rid of all factions from Vegas
You are The scribe and you have just arrived in Nevada you were involved in a vertibird crash that left you with no memories Only that you woke up in a red robe and a 10mm magazine fed revolver
Almost all the factions within this new story Will be morally Gray with both good and bad characters belonging to them It is your job to choose who you work for The occupying force of the NCR He already established force of the legion Who came there before the NCR Or will you go neither and work with the mysterious house a man who is not awoken yet...
You can convince the brother of steel to work with legion if you do so before the Air Force Base mission you will get air support and the brotherhood of steel will be come an exhilary Force for the legion They will not join the NCR at all Unless you take the place has elder
And that's it I might think of something else later but right now I'm out of thoughts anyways how do you guys think of this.
submitted by I_Stole_Your_Pie to Fallout [link] [comments]
It feels like they just made the legion evil just to make the NCR look better I mean if they want to do that then that's fine but just why do they allow us to join them if the legion was just was just going to be evil Hell if the legion is so sexist then why does the legion allow a female courier to help them
The legion isn't a fleshed out faction only the NCR is and that's only because we've seen them in another game
It would have been way better if the legion was just a morally gray faction We could have looked more into their society And less about the slavery and crucifixions Like they could have added scribes or war priests
They could have added morally good characters that so happened to the legionaries Along with the morally bad legionaries
The legion could have actually pointed out Actual flaws within the NCR instead of saying oh the government is corrupt they could have actually pointed out actual hypocrisies within the NCR They could have pointed out that the ncr was doing the exact same thing as them
Hell I would happily sacrifice the brotherhood of steel the independent Vegas the bombers quest line just so I could have a better legion quest line
Because the independent Vegas ending is a cop out ending for if you screw everyone else over and make them hate you and unable to finish the game
The brotherhood of steel was a pretty good questline but it felt like they only really existed just do be another way for you to get power armor and power armor training
And the boomers were just unnecessary I think they would have done better if nellis Air Force Base was instead a NCR military base Trying to get bomber jets working again
Hell I would give the NCR real power armor and power armor training while giving the legion the salvage power armor And the ability for the player character to create salvage power armor
Hell I've created a different version of New Vegas in my head where the legion has Hoover dam and the NCR has New Vegas And Helios One
So this is the part of this post Where what I would have changed a lot more of the story
1st-legion
Ok first part is of the territorys that the legion would control the legion will control all territories that they already have But they will have the NCR correctional facility, prim, Boulder City, novac, hover damn, and camp forelorn hope,
Boulder City will be besieged by the NCR forces including NCR rangers, NCR power armor troopers, and and regular NCR troopers With mechanical infantry like the m4 Sherman tank, Humvees, m44 armored personal carriers, And robot infantry, like sentry bots, protectrons, holograms from the Sierra Madre, Mr gutsey's (I might have said it wrong) As Vertibirds and howitzers will be bombing Boulder City constantly Basically the Battle of Berlin
hoover dam is no longer just a military complex but also a city that due to the fact that the legion moved a bunch of people on to Hoover dam building houses and walkways across the whole wall but it will also be besieged by NCR forces with the same equipment I listed above just without the air support or the howitzer support no air support because the legion will be using anti-aircraft weaponry and the howitzers are busy with Boulder City, but it will have to suffer from watercraft like NCR military boats Such as WW2 patrol torpedo boats,
Primm is not being besieged by the NCR but they are suffering a revolution pro NCR partisans has attacked prim from the inside causing havoc and destruction against the legion military and local law enforcement They will have regular civilian clothes with Kevlar vests, makeshift helmets, and service rifles, Hunting rifles, hunting shotguns, SMGs, Makeshift explosives and vehicles made into armored cars
Camp forlorn hope will be a military hospital camp do treat injured or sick legionary soldiers suffering skirmishes against the NCR troopers and NCR mercenaries due to the fact that it has close proximity to Hoover dam but is they are not being besiegeddue to the fact that Hoover dam is right around the corner and that place is currently being besieged
And Novac will be a relatively peaceful legion City only suffering from occasional NCR skirmishes but they will have a partisans problem too just on a lesser degree That is due to the fact that the NCR is right around the corner in the NCR is currently just starting the revolution within Novac
The NCR correctional facility now known as the legion gulag because I cannot have thought of a better name right now Is not currently being attacked by any forces because it is a military prison installation holding criminals partisans and prisoners of war and unlike the NCR they were not being dumb and they are not giving the prisoners TNT
2st-ncr
Okay second part the NCR Will have all the territories they have in New Vegas except for the ones I listed above But they will have other places like the big MT and the Sierra Madre casino along with the brothers of steel bunkers and nellis Air Force Base along with black mountain
The Mojave Outpost was no longer just being Outpost but a giant military base with vertibirds howitzers and m4 tanks that the legion will be constantly besieging
The Big MT will be an area where the NCR is excavating technologies and resources they will not be attacked by the legion but they are being attacked by brotherhood of steel remnants with enclave vertibirds they stole from The enclave after Fallout 2
The Sierra Madre casino will be an area where the NCR is also excavating for technology But unlike the big MT NCR is having much more troubles because of the corrosive fog the ghost people And the captured prisoners of war and legion sympathizers/political oppositions that they are using for slave labor will revolt against the NCR using the technology they find against the NCR themselves
The hidden valley bunkers will be NCR territory now after they hunted down the brotherhood of steel and slaughtered them leaving some to escape to live to fight another day they are not being besieged by any hostile forces as for right now due to the close proximity to Black mountain
Black mountain will be a large military base of operations in charge of radio transmissions due to this fact black mound will be protected 24/7 by vertibirds and soldiers and it will also be protecting the hidden valley bunkers due to the fact that the bunkers are close in proximity Black will have a large military presence
Nellis Air Force Base unlike black mountain will be attacked constantly by legion forces due to the fact that the Air Force Base is where the vertibird and a working b-24 bomber plane is stationed due to this fact the outside areas of nellis is a blown out hellscape but it is not dealing with the front of the attacks unlike Vegas or the Mojave Outpost
New Vegas is basically the Battle of Stalingrad As inner Vegas is perfectly okay but outer Vegas is currently being attacked by legion forces Legion sympathizers, and a rogue group of l brotherhood of steel remnants who went rogue and are now terrorizing Westside With mechanized infantry and death squads/Stormtroopers Outer Vegas is constantly being bombed out by howitzers, vertibirds, and legion motors, Along with makeshift bombs by the legion partisans, The ncr also has mechanized infantry, power armor troopers, desert rangers, NCR troopers, It is not a safe place to live in outer Vegas Inside the strip itself it's perfectly fine though for some reason but it has been completely closed off due to well the events that's currently happening outside
Ok now we are at the part of the weapon technology of the legion and NCR
Starting off with the legion, They will have a little worse equipment than the NCR but they have more soldiers overall killing them by a thousand cuts But the technology they do have includes Mortars, howitzers, Humvees modified with Rams, some salvaged m4 Sherman tanks from the NCR, salvaged power armopower armor without the power, they will have a b24 bomber and vertibirds Only if they successfully take over nellis Air Force Base, Along with some laser and plasma weapons only some not a lot if any,
Now the NCR Because they have been salvaging from Big MT & the Sierra Madre They will have much more advance technology Such as fully working power armor, forcefield technology, fully working vertibirds, holograms, instead of the crappy NCR trooper uniform in base game Vegas they will have The superior combat armor that the United States military pre-war used, they also have the ability to use Archimedes 2 the orbital death laser, also m4 Sherman tanks, m44 armored personnel carriers, Humvees, boats, Howitzers,
Now the skeletal frame for the story during the first battle of Hoover dam the main characters will obviously be Caesar, the malpis legate, vulpes inculta, general Oliver, the NCR president currently at Vegas, Chief Hamilton,
And mister house is now reawakening about to send his robot army to get rid of all factions from Vegas
You are The scribe and you have just arrived in Nevada you were involved in a vertibird crash that left you with no memories Only that you woke up in a red robe and a 10mm magazine fed revolver
Almost all the factions within this new story Will be morally Gray with both good and bad characters belonging to them It is your job to choose who you work for The occupying force of the NCR He already established force of the legion Who came there before the NCR Or will you go neither and work with the mysterious house a man who is not awoken yet...
You can convince the brother of steel to work with legion if you do so before the Air Force Base mission you will get air support and the brotherhood of steel will be come an exhilary Force for the legion They will not join the NCR at all Unless you take the place has elder
And that's it I might think of something else later but right now I'm out of thoughts anyways how do you guys think of this.
2024.05.18 21:52 tonemaz5 TributeRP Whitelisted Community Quality roleplay Quasar SmartphonePro w/ Facetime & more! LSPD/EMS open interviews! 70+ a Night & Looking for more EU players EVERYONE is welcome! Gangs Actively Recruiting but Offering free Gang Packages for new Groups! Come join for a forever home 🙂
 | https://discord.gg/tributerp submitted by tonemaz5 to FiveMServers [link] [comments] Hi! We at TributeRP would like to offer you the chance to come try out our server! TributeRP is a serious server, but we also don’t take ourselves too seriously, and we focus heavily on quality RolePlay, with plenty of silliness and goofiness abound! We have a lot of different types of Player-Owned jobs hiring, and Custom Developed Scripts for the many of the activities found in our city. It’s a well curated and toxicity free community full of respectful and close-nit players and it has a lot of potential to grow! Come join us! Gang Package: Fly in with a group of 5+ people and provide good roleplay, and the server will provide you with a gang package, all for free, as a reward for bringing quality roleplay to our server.. The package will come with: An MLO/Safehouse, gang car for all founding members, Gang drug OR gun, 5 pieces of gang clothes, Turf on Map, Sprays + other Criminal Activities. https://discord.gg/tributerp connect.tributerp.com Recent Updates: ● More Realistic Player Faces: replaced vanilla face textures plus +46 new face shapes and textures! ● Sewer System ● Working Trains ● New Clothing Stores ● Clicklovers ● NoPixel Server-side Visual Assets TributeRP Activities Overview: ● Trucking and Air Deliveries ● Car Boosting D to S+ ● Vin Scratching ● City Lore with plenty of depth, interconnected with current activities. ● Immersive Gang experience w/ many activities, like Custom Weapons Transports, 10+ Heists, Etc ● Custom Drug Production and Distribution Activities ● Dynamic and Static Black Markets ● Illegal Item and Weapons Crafting ● Organ harvesting/selling Civilian Opportunities: ● DOJ - Lawyers and District attorneys. ● Housing/Real Estate ● Player Owned Businesses Hiring: Limey’s, Cat Cafe, Korean Noodle Shop, Burgershot, cookies, white widow, towing ● Local Jobs Hiring: Trucker, Fisherman, Garbageman, Recycling, etc, 25+ civilian jobs ● Custom Businesses available ● Unique EMS Features ● PD Evidence Sweeping, Blood samples, Bullet casings etc Unique Assets: ● Custom Cars (Non-Branded) ● Custom Clothes(Non-Branded) ● Custom Weapons ● Weed Script with 1000+ Custom strains available for production + selling reputation ● Casino + Prize Wheel spin + Hotel ● Race club/street racing scene ● LSPD Abilities: Taser, Handcuffs, Pistol, SMG, AR, 10+ Cop Cars, Exosuit, Tire Grappler, GSR, MDT, etc, all with appropriate SOPs. ● An Active DOJ! ● Scheduled server events! Pretty much anything you can think of, we most likely have it, or we can try our best to make it! We are always open to suggestions to make this place a better environment for everyone 🙂 https://discord.gg/tributerp https://youtu.be/i7fPjBCIFsw?si=X-qKeqC-ud39okOX |
2024.05.18 21:41 Slep1k Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (How would you rate this game?)
 | This is my experience with the story mode. Keep in mind that it differs from person to person and you shouldn’t compare yours with that of the others. ⬇️ submitted by Slep1k to GTA [link] [comments] 💟 (Phenomenal) ✅ (Very Good) ✴️ (Good) ⛔️ (Bad) STORY 💟 Storytelling 💟 - Starting with the low life gangsters and rising to the top of the world, just to be reminded where you came from. - Each mission has its own storyline, be it a simple job, a date, a well planed heist or a complex robbery. - Tenpenny vs CJ was a good battle, way too stretched and way too one sided though. Only the final mission had the chips turned upside down. - The Driver game by Reflections was played by nearly everyone during some cutscenes, funny how all of them sucked at it, myself included. Characters 💟 - CJ was a good character. Way too vulnerable in my opinion. Everyone from the start of the game was pushing him around, using him, not taking him seriously, and what’s even worse, even by the end, I didn’t feel any power emanating from him. - Tenpenny and Samuel L. Jackson’s performance made this game a thousand times better. The lines, calmness, just two fucks given, a real motherfucker! - Catalina and Claude, yeah, Claude from GTA III made a cool presentation of how crazy women can be. She kept calling CJ throughout the game and expressing her love in a weird manner. - Sweet was a dumb fool. Having an opportunity to get out of the hood and live the life, he chose to stay within it and remain a low life, dragging everyone with him. - Big smoke was all talk and didn’t appear on screen for too long, which was a good thing. His whole part in this game was very confusing and didn’t provide any meaningful input. - Woozie was my favourite. Even when blind, he always knew that whichever path he followed, it would lead him to HIS destination. Setting 💟 - The whole California vibe was incredible. - Starting with the low life hoods, then moving towards the unknown forests, deserts, and finally reaching the big city with all the casinos. - Los Santos was super detailed and didn’t lack any of its vibe. Pacing ✴️ - Somewhat good. Starting slow, then blasting through a variety of missions, and finally ending with a well balanced pace. - Some missions are badly stretched and lack the fast travel option. - Driving around for 10 minutes just to arrive at your destination and failing due to a technical flaw in the game’s design is the most painful thing you can endure, even Souls games didn’t give me that much grief. GAMEPLAY ✅ Controls ✅ - Enjoyable but very confusing at the start. Coming from GTA III & Vice City, this was a heavy change. - The auto aim works wonders, although sometimes it’s better to use manual. - Cars feel very good and you can actually improve their skill and controls. - Boats are very enjoyable with the quick turns and acceleration. - Helicopters and planes have a heavy feel, each one with a different control and feeling. Some buttons like the R3 to retract the wheels are wrong. Mechanics 💟 - Starting with the gang territories, they were frustrating. Each one was confusing to acquire and by the end, a chore. - Like in Vice City there were properties which you acquired by completing missions with the usual cash reward. I so wished there was a taxi one which gave you the fast travel option. - There were some missions hunting bikers for cash and doing different jobs. - The gym for muscle growth, dating, driving, lung capacity and more, all of these had their meter to fill and felt like a chore. The flying and driving schools were cool though. Exploration 💟 - Impressive for a game made in 2004. So many different buildings which weren’t marked on the map that you could enter. - Based on 3 huge islands there were a whole lot to explore. Starting with collectibles which provide special rewards, hidden weapons, cars, planes, and more. - The map was so huge that you could get lost within a city, sometimes the map was the only way you could escape. Missions/Events ✅ - I loved each of them, but I hated their length. Some start and end very quickly, while the others have crazy long distances and make your finger hurt by pressing X for too long. - The diversity, pain and fun you had in each of them was a colourful experience. - Starting with the hood, the simplicity, and finishing with the casino heists, which required some crazy feats. For reference, the jet hijack was hilarious. Difficulty ✴️ - Way harder than expected. The missions in themselves aren’t hard, it’s their longevity. - Advancing into a mission for 20 minutes just to fail due to the lack of health items is very painful. - The last mission was made by sadistic fucks. I think it went on for longer than an hour, and if you fail, you get to experience it all over again. The game was way too rushed if you ask me. - Very hard and incredibly frustrating, that’s what I’m going with. SOUND DESIGN 💟 Surround Sound 💟 - I loved it. Each interaction, cutscene, music, cars, planes, everything was synched together delivering a beautiful experience. - Sometimes characters would fall behind and you’ll hear them as if it was real life. The distance was felt, effects made you exited, voices created feeling, all around great. Sound Effects 💟 - Incredible for such a game. As soon as you start, you can feel each car’s engine, people talking to each other, planes flying on top of your head, police chasing criminals and so on. - CJ hurting, people dying, cars getting blown or destroyed, gunfire, tires, so many details that I can’t even write them all down. Voice Acting 💟 - The game delivered some movie quality acting right here. I was so hyped when I hear S. L. Jackson, he really carried. - Each character had his own accent and personality. Transferring emotions through the screen is hard in a movie, let alone a video game, and this one delivered. Music 💟 - Each to their own. There’re a whole bunch of radio stations from which you can choose your favorite one. I for once didn’t have a favorite, because each one was perfect in its own way. VISUALS ✅ Fidelity 💟 - Astronomical achievement. I can’t believe this game came on a DVD and had these amazing details. - The field of view was short indeed, but on such a big scale, texture streaming was impressive. Even when flying through the city, it somehow kept up with the pace. Performance ✴️ - I wouldn’t go as far as good, but I’d give it an acceptable vote. - Most of the time the frame rate was below 30 with terrible screen tearing and freezes. I do understand though, the game had revolutionary details. Textures 💟 - Every single thing in Los Santos is incredibly detailed. You could stop by some houses in the wild and admire their design, pick a variety of cars while destroying them and wonder how they did it, look at NPCs in the world and follow their actions. - Each location is well made and doesn’t lack anything really, Rockstar’s craft is on another level. Effects 💟 - From fires spreading through the wild, sandstorms, rain, waves and much more, such a cool vibe. - Flying around through the clouds and foggy cities was such a great experience! COMBAT 💟 Flow 💟 - Good progression through enemies. Each one has a health bar, some can be killed with headshots or running them over. - The gore and head explosions are cool. I wish there was total body dismemberment though. - Free aiming is difficult at times, until you get the sensitivity right. Diversity 💟 - Starting with a normal car run over, then a knife in the neck, a silent shot to the skull, 30 shots to the body, even if already dead, a snipe to the genitals, a rocket to a chopper, a jet with missiles and much more. - So many creative ways to kill people that one can just wonder. Enemy Variety ✅ - A bunch of gangsters, police, swat, bosses and more, the game has incredible NPC development. - Most of them have the same weapons and make your life harder, but overall very cool. Weapons 💟 - Super fun and a whole lot of them. The dildo had me cracking. The ability to kill people with that thing already gave this game a 10/10! - Choppers have mini guns and rockets, same as jets but these have an auto aim system as well. Stealth 💟 - I love stealth in games and this one didn’t disappoint. The way CJ sneaks behind enemies and delivers the final blow with that sweet sound effect is very pleasing. - Most missions have a choice, either sneak or go guns blazing. DRIVING ✅ Flow ✴️ - Good driving around enjoying a beautiful landscape while listening to some great songs. - The problem lies in NPCs. They occasionally drive into you and cause mayhem. Other than that, they have no sense of awareness. You can sit at a light waiting for it to go green, and they will just honk at you endlessly while passing you aggressively. - Cars have weight and it shows, what I mean is how quickly they get upside down. Not to mention the fact that a car will always blow up if it does so, right? NPCs ⛔️ - Dumb and critically aggressive. Sometimes you have to avoid them altogether to complete a mission. Cops ✅ - Coming from previous GTAs, this game was somehow a relief. They were aggressive, sure, but not as aggressive as in previous titles. Cars/Planes 💟 - Impressive variety. From normal to trucks and finally to super cars. - Boats have different ones with small, medium and large ones. - Helicopters have a cool variety too. Normal, combat, pickup, and so on. - Jets and planes have a unique feel. Some aquaplanes as well. Quite impressive! Roads 💟 - Very detailed in every way. As an example, if you drive in the rain, the car would have a water print behind it, or the desert would have dust, even in water there’re waves. - Each one is well made and connects to each island through bridges. WORLD DESIGN 💟 Atmosphere 💟 - The initial vibe wasn’t as good, all dark and without proper scale, but as you progress through the game, it expands like the universe itself. - You start discovering different locations, sights, landscapes, roads, cities and it becomes one of the greatest experiences on PS2. Surroundings 💟 - Loved each city and desert. You could go on the highway and stop for a couple of seconds just because of the sunrise. Or drive through the city and see a yellow marker that doesn’t have anything on the map, so you go exploring. - Each part of the game has astonishing surroundings and level designs. You can get lost in it. Landscapes 💟 - Extremely beautiful. For a 2004 game, I bet people back in the day were all ecstatic. World Destruction ✴️ - Overall good, nothing too impressive on an environmental scale. - The usual car blowing up, planes, boats, motorcycles, and so on. - There’re a couple of locations where there’re some minor level changing destructions, but nothing too impressive. |
2024.05.18 20:49 cyuca Selling Old Merch
 | hi all! please let me know if this is against the rules, but i kind of fell out of listening to chase atlantic and now i’ve got some merch that i think other people would enjoy, since i don’t wear it anymore! submitted by cyuca to ChaseAtlantic [link] [comments] i have a beanie, a medium black long sleeve, a large yellow phases tour hoodie, and a signed north america phases tour poster that has a little bit of wear! i did accidentally pull the hoodie string out of the yellow hoodie, but it’s currently tied around the arm so it doesn’t get lost! please DM me if you’re interested! i would love to get these to people who will actually weadisplay them! |
2024.05.18 18:59 djavulensfitta Short story written by Joost (Brüders auf Berlin)
Hi, I know some of you have been interested in Joost’s written stuff, so this is one of them. It’s a short story that Joost wrote for Boekenweek voor Jongeren (Book Week for Young People) in 2019. There’s more info about it here (in Dutch) https://www.vice.com/nl/article/qvgzpv/joost-klein-schreef-een-kort-verhaal-over-een-wilde-nacht-in-berlijn and there was also this promo video for it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx7wxnpxps0. It's been translated from Dutch - maybe not the most perfect translation but it's readable. Original in Dutch here. Enjoy
"How come he suddenly has cash?" I looked at Gurb, but he avoided my gaze. Louis never had money and yet he was buying another round. Meanwhile, a Moby song was playing and nothing made sense. "If he has money for drinks, he can surely pay me back, right?"
Just a few hours ago, I was alone in Berlin. Now, ten hours later, I'm standing in some obscure techno club with my best friends. Loud rock music with drunken shouting. "Hey, Miss Murder, can I make beauty stay if I take my life?" I woke up that day with a mild hangover from the lonely yet people-filled night before. Perfect conditions for a 20-year-old dropout.
The Hard Rock Café was the most beautifully ugly place in Berlin. Gurb had driven for seven hours straight in his mother's car, but we didn't notice. An iconic black Mini Cooper. Your body leads your mind, the beat never stops, and you can conquer the world. Louis threw in another crazy dance move. We were happy.
"Do you want another drink, brother?" Gurb asked me, half shouting. An evening filled with rhetorical questions. He saw me dancing and already knew the answer.
Gurb always had money. Louis, on the other hand, never did. Louis was also the youngest of us three. He had just turned 18. I wouldn't call him a cunning fox. More like a jack-of-all-trades. Like the time he made a lot of money on a Wadden Island with a group of boys. They sold large blocks of hash.
"Crazy dude!" I shouted at him. He yelled something back.
"Do you remember back then?" Louis said.
"Back then? Back then? Yeah man, of course!" I had no idea what he meant. "Do you mean the party?"
"Do you mean the party, he says! This guy. When I look at you like this, it makes me happy. The exact same kid is here letting loose just like back in high school!"
We knew each other from secondary school. He joined when I was in the second grade. He was very intelligent. Too young, too much knowledge of the world. His mother is from Brazil. We often went to his mother's place to play on the Playstation Louis and I had bought together.
I lived everywhere at that time. In the crisis shelter where I stayed for a while, for example, I wasn't allowed to have a Playstation. So we set it up in an accessible place, near school. It was always fun with Louis. Going together to the Apple Store. Taking all kinds of photos with all the webcams, posting them on Hyves, and then leaving. Louis always knew how to cheer me up.
"Aaaaaaaaaa!" There was Gurb with five drinks in his hands. Gurb was wearing a blue checkered shirt. Two buttons undone. Hair slicked back. "You look good, brother!"
"You look fresh too! We all look fresh!" Gurb said enthusiastically. Louis was wearing a completely white outfit. We quickly bought this before going out. He also bleached his hair.
"You look like the Brazilian cousin of James Dean in these clothes," I said. Louis laughed. "Let me take a picture."
Suddenly, the DJ switched to some kind of techno. "Ah, here Berlin briefly takes off its mask." I was fine with it all. Louis was talking to a lady.
Voluptuous breasts, I thought to myself. He gave her one of his two drinks.
"He's with a girl and he's thinking with his dick," I said to Gurb. "Let him be, tonight Berlin is ours!"
The bass kept pounding. "I simply don't have the patience for the club," I said to Gurb. He looked surprised. Like a sweet dog, tilting his head. "I'm just waiting for tomorrow. Can't do my thing here. Don't have patience for the already known. I want adventure and I want it now!"
Gurb started laughing. "Patience is a virtue." Yes. Patience is all well and good, but I think it's a waste of my time. Gurb grabbed my shoulder.
"I think it's time for another beer."
Louis and I were walking through Leeuwarden a year ago when suddenly a red Ford Ka stopped in front of us. It was Gurb, casually driving around the city. He invited us into his car. We hopped in. Since that afternoon, the three of us were together. A few months later, Louis got a tattoo on his ribs in honor of our friendship. It was the name of our group chat. Braddar Force Indigo.
There were also days when Gurb would take me for a drive around Friesland. He reminded me how beautiful Friesland is. The world doesn't spin there. The newspapers I threw away in the Stiens forest in 2011 could still be lying in the same spot, so to speak.
Just before midnight, I found myself in line for the restroom. My eyes fell on a pair of striking shoes. Cigarette smoke invaded my nose for the fourth time. "Müssen Sie eine Zigarette haben?" a female voice spoke to me. I felt like Tom Hanks in the final scene of Angels & Demons, where the new pope first steps onto the balcony. The curtains opened. There I was, witnessing an important moment in history. I was just told how I was sent by God, but my ears didn't want to hear any of it. At least that's how I felt. My mouth was empty. I had no words left. That's when I knew for sure. Berlin might really be as crazy as literally everyone says.
Dark blond, silky hair. Was this real beauty then? She wouldn't look 40, but I think she was. A true woman. Beautiful in all her elegance. I always joked about being interested in older women, but tonight one stood in front of me. "I don't smoke," I said to her.
Someone tapped me. "Please, just go to the toilet!" He was right. I hadn't peed in a while either. My urine was cloudy. "Glomerulonephritis," I said to myself on the toilet. This is an unusual condition. It's an inflammation in the kidneys, I thought I remembered. They should never have given me access to Google.
The evening progressed, and Louis kept buying rounds. "But seriously now. How does Louis suddenly have all that money for drinks?" I asked Gurb. He was outside smoking with a group of Swiss girls. I had strategically positioned myself so that I could always leave the crime scene if necessary.
"You shouldn't ask me," said Gurb. He was laughing with the temporary girlfriend group of Louis. Gurb has a beard. A lot of chicks like that. I get it too.
As much as I enjoyed Louis and Gurb being here for me, something didn't sit right with me. It couldn't just be about the money. "What's up with him?" I heard one of the Swiss girls say to Gurb.
Those kinds of questions really tire me out. "Not much, with you?" I replied.
They all started laughing. "That's not what she meant, brother," said Gurb.
"I couldn't care less whether she meant it or not. Send that brace-face back to Switzerland. Don't drive me crazy, alright!"
Actually, I hadn't drunk that much that evening. "Two vodka Sprites, please!" It's rare for me to get just one drink. "I always get two drinks, then you have to wait shorter for the third one!" Maybe the alcohol was affecting me more than I wanted to admit. Oh well, it was still the three of us against the world.
"Nice shoes, are those Prada?" I asked a random girl at the bar.
"No, these are fake. Why would I buy real ones for 600 dollars if I could just buy these for 20?"
"..."
I'm not very good at that. Talking. To women.
Louis and Gurb were in the smoking area now. It was less blue than the dance floor itself. My clothes already stank, so a visit to the smoking area couldn't hurt. "These people are so underground!" Gurb shouted. Louis was filming him with his phone. "These people..." There was a brief pause. As if Gurb forgot the only line he had. "...so underground!" All three of us burst into laughter. The alcohol flowed through our veins as if it came from the purest mountains. People seemed doubled and the room was full. We had been in the same club in Berlin for several hours.
"Leonardo! What are you hiding from the big boss?" I sometimes called Louis ‘DiCaprio.’ "You a rich guy, now?" I said, with an accent as if I were from the Bronx.
Louis started laughing. "Eh, you know nothing. Bullshit talk."
I had to laugh too. What was I even worried about? Friends are friends, with or without money. That shouldn't matter. Louis probably just worked for that money. Maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought. Maybe he just had enough to buy rounds. But what if my gut feeling was right? That feeling was never wrong. Except for that one time at the Holland Casino in Groningen. Even the best of us have slip-ups. I was just getting worked up again. When it comes down to it, Louis is one of the sweetest guys I know. I had to let it go. After all, it's still Louis.
"I think I'm going to have sex soon, man," Louis said.
"With who?" I asked immediately.
"That one girl."
"Which one?"
"The one with the boobs."
"Oh, her. Just be careful."
"What kind of reaction is that?" Louis asked indignantly.
I'd only had four drinks, but I was acting like a mess. Louis was right. I didn't understand myself. Where was my head at? I'm here in Berlin, supposed to be having the time of my life, but here I am feeling lonely and sad again. Joost once again couldn't control his emotions.
"Sorry," I suddenly said to Louis. "Sorry for my behavior. Been acting dumb towards you all night. It's unnecessary." Sometimes I have that. Mood swings. "Know that crime is never the solution. We've talked about this so many times. Yes, it's tempting and sometimes easy money. I sometimes find it amusing too, but it's always hypothetical. Ask me for help. I can help you, even with illegal things. I'll always have your back." The dancing was kind of over.
The words I had just placed on Louis's plate came from my heart. My Frisian, irregular boys' heart.
Crying in the club. I had never seen myself like that. Crying, yes. In the club, no. I never understood the taboo around crying. Or emotions in general. I saw myself in the mirror. They weren't tears of joy. They weren't tears of sadness either. It was me letting everything go. All the emotions I had ever felt. The emotions I felt between my brother and sister and myself because they wanted to take on a parental role over me, but I was in puberty, so I pushed them away. The emotions I felt when my old neighbors were supposed to take care of my dog, but didn't tell me that he was bitten by one of their dogs. They didn't have money for the surgery, they later told me. They were ashamed of their lack of money. My dog died from this injury. Even the emotions that were all jumping at once during the retake for my swimming diploma A, I let go of.
No emotions. Just for a moment, not feeling anything. Is that too much to ask for?
"You still don’t smoke?"
It had to be the voice of the woman with the cigarettes. I looked over my shoulder through the mirror. It was her. The one with dark blond, silky hair.
"Not to be rude, but this is the men’s room," I said. She took a step closer and kissed me on my lips. It tasted like more. We started kissing. It had been a while since I had had female contact at this level. It probably didn't look good and it didn't feel good either. She started kissing my neck. Slowly, I noticed the pressure in the erectile tissues of my penis starting to increase. "I really don't have time for this!" I thought to myself. The woman with the cigarettes started to slowly sink down until she was on her knees. I didn't want this. Not now, not like this. She unraveled my penis from my Polo Ralph Lauren underwear. Her tongue was blue. It was probably from cheap shots of alcohol.
Was this real beauty then? Was this the beginning or the end of her story? And had I become the boy my parents hoped I would be? I thought about the fact that this was once someone's little daughter. Somewhere in the world, an old man might be wondering what his daughter is doing. Am I really putting pleasure above my own morals and values?
With my semi-erect circumcised penis still exposed, I lifted her up. After giving her a kiss on her forehead, I pulled up my pants and left the toilets.
It was the usual last hour in any club ever. I met Louis and Gurb at the bar. "Should we have another drink?" I asked Gurb. "I feel like having a cocktail. Something sweet. Lots of sugar. What about you?"
Gurb looked at the menu. "A cognac would go down well right now."
"A cognac? You're only nineteen!" Gurb and Louis laughed. "Two Tequila Sunrises please!" I called to the bartender. "Also, two beers! Thanks!" I also got a beer for Louis. At first, I didn't want to, but I didn't want to spoil the mood either. Besides, I didn't want to show too much that it bothered me so much.
We danced away the last minutes. The club closed, and we decided to walk with the group of Swiss girls. Apparently, they were staying nearby.
As I lagged behind the group, one of them tried to start a conversation with me. "Are you okay?" she asked kindly.
"I'm fine. Just had too much beer. Makes me sleepy." Not true at all, but I've heard people say that.
"You’re tired? The fun has only just began!" And as she said this, she pulled something out of her inner pocket. Her clenched fist, shielded by a half jacket. Who is this girl, anyway? I thought to myself. She opened her hand flat, and right in the center of her palm lay two small pills with a smiley face on them. At least, they looked like it.
"Oh, I don’t do drugs. Sorry."
"Me neither!" And she swallowed a pill. "Now it’s your turn... Or are you scared?"
Scared? Who did this crazy Swiss witch (with really beautiful eyes) think she was. With her "are you scared". I'll show her who's scared.
"Scared? I’m not scared." I picked up the remaining pill and swallowed it.
Everything went in slow motion. Was this who I had become? Was this the same boy from high school? And just before I could swallow, I spat out the pill. She was shocked. I picked up the pill again, dried it with my jacket, and put it back in her fist. "Maybe later!" I shouted, running back to the group, over my shoulder.
I have nothing to say to 9 out of 10 peers I come across. Of course, I can be social. I can also have fun with random people in random situations, but that night, it just tired me out. I also didn't understand what we were doing there. Those girls found me strange anyway. Suddenly, I was the fifth wheel.
"We know this place where they go until 7 in the morning!" The girl leader of the group spoke. I wanted to go home. "If you guys want, you can go. Don't worry about me," I said to Gurb and Louis. The boys had a brief discussion. We agreed to stay for just a little while longer for some drinks. I consented. I was thirsty. "I'll have a Fanta, Louis."
Gurb had reached the last cigarette in his pack. Louis and a girl from the group were nowhere to be found. It didn't even bother me. This guy just walks around with some cash in his pocket and all hell breaks loose. After a night full of stimuli, I understood Louis. Of course, I understood Louis. He's a young god. Handsome, smart guy. But that didn't make me any less angry. It was purely about trust for me. Something inside me said I should stop subconsciously expecting things from people too. It prevents disappointment.
"Hotel please!" I jokingly suggested to Gurb. "Should you call Louis or should I?" I added. Gurb immediately grabbed his Android smartphone and called Louis. He put the call on speaker.
"Are you ready?" Gurb asked.
"Yeah. Sort of."
"What do you mean?"
"We didn't have sex."
"That's fine, right? Tomorrow's a new day!"
"I think I'm in love, man," Louis said.
"...," Gurb said, chuckling as he let out a sigh.
Once we arrived at the girls' hostel, it was already getting light. Louis was thankfully back. There were stains on his pants, around his knees. My focus was solely on arranging a taxi. Although the boys were still flirting, I was really done now. "How are we going to pay for this taxi?" I said a bit too loudly.
There was a silence. "Don't worry. I still have cash," Gurb said.
"Yeah, I knew you would," I replied.
My words clearly hit Louis. "What do you mean by that?" he said.
It was as if time stood still for a few seconds. "Exactly what I said. Better listen." Louis pulled out a small wad of green bills from his pocket. At least 400 euros. "I don't even want to see that money," I reacted. I walked away.
I'll just order a taxi myself.
"Why are you walking away now?" Gurb said.
"Twelve hours ago, I was alone too, and I had a lot more fun then."
"Do you really want to know how I got this money?" Louis said.
Yes, I did want to know. My whole evening revolved around that damn money.
He took a second of pause before he began speaking. "The answer lies in the Mini."
What on earth could be in Gurb's mother's car? Louis was trying to get into my head. "Taxi!"
Once in the taxi, the division was clear. Gurb was upfront, chatting animatedly with the driver. All adventures ever were recounted. Louis and I in the back. One of my best friends since I was thirteen. Funny how things turn out. It was quiet between us. I was in my head, rehearsing how I would bring up the money again. It didn't add up, and he knew it himself. "I don't care, you know," I said, hoping he'd break.
"What don't you care about?"
"About that money."
"What money? You're really a crazy woozy man." Louis burst out laughing again.
On the other hand, it was silent. Gurb had started talking about the driver's family. The driver didn't appreciate it. Gurb meant well. The driver smelled of alcohol. Or was it me? His nails were polished. Maybe his wife was a specialist. I bite my nails myself. Like now.
"In the Mini, oh yeah."
"Shut up. Illegal man."
"You'll never know."
"Stop playing. Just say it!"
Louis grabbed my head, pulled himself towards me, and brought his mouth to my right ear. "Why so serious?" he whispered. He didn't want to tell me.
"But always with this damn money, huh?" I almost shouted at Louis. I broke every silence within a radius of 10 kilometers.
"I'm trying my best, bro. It is what it is. I can't make it any different," he replied. It was clearly bothering him deeply. He ran his hands through his hair. "Sometimes people have to do things. And you know that better than anyone. Sometimes they have to do things they don't really want to or aren't supposed to do."
I knew this spiel all too well. Through all the drunken haziness, I suddenly saw a small glimmer of light. A tiny spark of sincerity. Louis was serious this time.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to involve you in this. I'm sorry," sweat dripped from his forehead.
"You're serious, huh? Damn, man. What mess have you gotten yourself into now? Worse than Terschelling?" Worse than Terschelling would mean stolen goods. Maybe even violence.
"It's not what you think."
"The Adlon Hotel, right?" the driver chimed in. Always saved by the bell, that Louis.
Suddenly I hit my head against the seat in front of me. Of course, I wasn't wearing my seatbelt. The last thing I saw was Gurb waking up in panic from his drunken stupor. One by one, I started losing my senses. It started with the feeling in my fingers. For a brief moment, everything wasn't quite black, and I could only see a vague pattern of colors repeating inside my eyelids. You could compare it to the brief moment after the commercial break before the movie starts in the cinema. The movie was about to begin.
I knew I wasn't dying. At least not yet. Not like this. Not after an overall mediocre night out in Berlin. I found comfort in the image I forced myself to see. It was all in my head. There I was, unconscious.
I saw myself in a third-person point of view. It wasn't like I was actually leaving my body. More like there was a webcam hanging in one of the upper corners of the taxi.
As a child, I used to dream a lot about death. Nights spent awake.
At some point, I developed a kind of compulsive behavior. I kept swaying my torso from left to right with my hands under my head. It became almost like a workout before bedtime. Every night.
I called it dream shuffling. Just like I had learned to shuffle puzzle pieces or playing cards. Making things a little exciting for yourself. But what I almost never told anyone was that I was scared. I was afraid of burglars, who were very agile and muscular.
Especially afraid that they would murder me. I really wanted to know what death was like. It scared me.
These fear visions originated during an all-inclusive vacation in Turkey. I was 6 years old and already in bed. There was a big old TV in our hotel room, so I could secretly watch TV from bed. Every evening, my parents sat on the balcony. Here they discussed their day while enjoying a glass of alcohol. There was a Japanese animated series on TV. In the few seconds that I watched, I saw a scary creature climbing a sort of apartment complex via the balconies. The creature had hundreds of teeth and blond hair. It quickly entered to decapitate the people, then drained them and, as a final insult, robbed them. Dozens of carcasses of dead people were scattered around the apartment complex. The complex on TV resembled the resort where we were in reality, and the TV world merged with my surroundings. I became part of it. I saw people watching. No matter how loudly I screamed for help, they didn't react. The sun became very bright, and the people turned into nothing more than shadows. As the intensity of the sun increased, something became clear to me. These were not people. They had a sort of orange skin. Where I had previously thought it was their nose and mouth, it turned out that these shadowy figures did not have such physical features. They simply had three holes in their heads. The police tried to do something, but in vain. Since then, we always kept the light on in the hallway outside my bedroom. By rocking back and forth, from left to right, I could glance fleetingly at the beam of light under the door. That bit of light, escaping from the hallway into my room, gave me an advantage. It allowed me to stay one step ahead of the burglars. Pretty smart, right?
"From Jamaica to the world!
It’s just love. Why must the children play in the street?"
It was Bob Sinclar with "Love Generation" speaking to us through the taxi's speakers. We were stationary. I was conscious again, but I didn't feel alive at all. "How long was I out?" I asked Louis.
I could tell by his expression that he was relieved. Relieved that I was back. "One minute," he almost apologized. Louis gave me a pat on the shoulder. Gurb, on the other hand, was sleeping. He slept like a baby cub.
I put my right index finger on my forehead. It felt wet, but it wasn't blood. Blood feels different. Meanwhile, I kept hearing whistling.
"Be the love generation! Oh yeah!" It was still that same song by Bob Sinclar.
The earlier scent of alcohol had now been replaced by the smell of incense. It smelled like the same incense I had in my room. Sold to me as Tibetan 39 incense. I had bought it at a coffee shop in Rotterdam. I pulled up my notes on my phone. "Who lights incense in a CAR????" I let Louis read from my screen. He took the phone from my hands and started typing as well.
"Look at Gurb >>>" Gurb was so deeply asleep that his head drooped. His seatbelt held his torso in place, but his head ended up on the driver's shoulder. The man didn't mind. He didn't move. I made eye contact with the driver through the rearview mirror, and soon I found him. He winked at me.
We arrived at the hotel. Gurb awakened from his alcoholic hibernation. "Who's going to pay for the taxi?" I asked. Clearly rhetorical. I already knew I would take this one for the team, as usual. I refused to use Louis's money. It was uncomfortably quiet. "By card please," I said.
"I'll always protect you, Louis. You really need to know that. I care about you like my own little brother. I'll always try to help you. But you have to be honest with me. Can you do that?" Louis didn't hesitate.
"Yes. Yes, I can. I'll show you. It's really in the Mini." Meanwhile, the taxi driver's card machine indicated that I had insufficient funds. That couldn't be right. Maybe I had withdrawn too much that evening.
"I have cash in the hotel room," Gurb said to me. Gurb informed the driver in broken English that he would go get his cash. The driver agreed. Money is money, whether it comes now or later. As long as it feels good in your hands.
Louis and I got out of the taxi. "You're not going to light a cigarette now, are you?" Louis wanted to smoke. "Especially for stress. That's really for people who can't handle pain. You need to feel pain. Pain needs to brand you for the rest of your life so you finally learn not to do such stupid things." It fell silent again. My blood boiled. All pots were on the stove. I felt like Gordon Ramsay in the kitchen. "Show me then. Do it."
Louis remained silent and walked around the corner of the hotel. Towards the parking lot. I followed him. "You're not going to find much," said Louis.
"Why not? Are you a magician?"
"No. Just. Not much."
"So there's suddenly magically nothing in Gurb's car?"
"Stop. Get out. Get out of my head!" Louis shouted. Louis had had enough. He was done with the parade. Normally we dealt with hypothetical stories. Only this time it wasn't a joke. I was sure now. Louis had dropped his mask. The revolution had begun. The government had fallen and the dikes had broken. The people were in charge. "You shouldn't freak out like this. Always wanting more. Sweet boy, think about yourself."
After Gurb gave the money to the driver, he came to us. He had a smile on his face, lit a cigarette, and exclaimed, "Brothers!" Once with us, he hugged me. He started laughing. "Maybe I haven't been entirely honest either." Sometimes Gurb seemed like a 38-year-old man. In a positive way. He exuded confidence in a way I didn't often see. Affectionate, with a hint of authority.
We stood in the middle of a large parking lot. "Look. We've reached a point where I might not even care anymore. You guys are teasing me." It did matter to me. Maybe more than ever. I was supposed to be two steps ahead of them, but I couldn't figure it out. "I give up."
The delightful silence returned. Louis and Gurb looked at each other. "You guys win. Apparently, I'm not to be trusted as a friend."
From Louis's expression, I could tell he disagreed with this. "Not true. Come to the car."
We arrived at the car. Louis unlocked it and searched for the trunk button. Gurb had started his third cigarette. "It's a corpse, isn't it? Say it now. I can still help you. I can still help us. I can book a ticket for you. We can get you out of here," I said to Louis.
"Just wait. Nutcase."
"Why won't you accept my help?"
Louis started laughing nervously. Or at least it seemed that way. Perhaps a sly laugh too. Had Louis killed someone? "It's not a corpse. That can't be. You wouldn't be stupid enough to use their ID. You're smarter than that. So it must be something stolen. Haven't you found that button yet?"
Suddenly, we heard a click. Louis had found the button. Somewhere, I didn't want to know. Shouldn't I just trust Louis? Wasn't that the whole point of friendship?
Finally, the moment had arrived. I placed my right hand in the slot of the rear hatch. Something in me doubted. Still. I still doubted. Louis looked dead serious. "You wanted to know, didn't you? Then you also have to be man enough to accept it." Louis was clearly not joking. Or was he acting again? "Pussy," Louis said. I looked away. "You're afraid of what's inside, huh? You're afraid of the real Louis." He began to laugh manically. "Open that thing, man. Nutcase!"
I started laughing too. Why did I make such a big deal out of it? Sweat broke out from every pore in my body. It was even a bit damp in the no man's land between my scrotum and my anus. A tropical climate. It had been quite an adventure the whole evening. I took my hand off the rear hatch and first gave Louis a hug. Not some half-hearted birthday wish. No, a real hug.
"It's okay, buddy," Louis said to me. I had no idea what he meant by that. It fit the moment though.
It was really time now. I opened the rear hatch.
"Where is it?"
"In front of you," said Louis.
"In some secret compartment?"
There was nothing in the trunk. Absolutely nothing. An empty trunk. For an empty evening, in an empty Berlin, with an empty group of guys. I didn't get it.
"You won, man," I whispered. "You finally fucking done did it."
I couldn't believe my eyes. Empty? There was still nothing in the car. Louis just stood there. Emotionally, I was a wreck. I had felt every emotion this evening. Seen every color and smelled every scent. I was done. My body was ready. No longer needed. My mission was complete.
"But why did you do this?" I asked Louis, laughing.
He scratched his chin. It felt like the end of a bad movie.
"I sold our Playstation. Wanted to tell you only after I had sorted everything out again. I terminated my lease. Had some debts, and I also wanted to have some money for once. Once not empty-handed in the club. Once not dependent on my best friends. This is not who I am... I know how much that Playstation meant to you. It was ours together. I should have just told you."
"… and how does Gurb actually make his money?"
submitted by djavulensfitta to Joostklein [link] [comments]
"How come he suddenly has cash?" I looked at Gurb, but he avoided my gaze. Louis never had money and yet he was buying another round. Meanwhile, a Moby song was playing and nothing made sense. "If he has money for drinks, he can surely pay me back, right?"
Just a few hours ago, I was alone in Berlin. Now, ten hours later, I'm standing in some obscure techno club with my best friends. Loud rock music with drunken shouting. "Hey, Miss Murder, can I make beauty stay if I take my life?" I woke up that day with a mild hangover from the lonely yet people-filled night before. Perfect conditions for a 20-year-old dropout.
The Hard Rock Café was the most beautifully ugly place in Berlin. Gurb had driven for seven hours straight in his mother's car, but we didn't notice. An iconic black Mini Cooper. Your body leads your mind, the beat never stops, and you can conquer the world. Louis threw in another crazy dance move. We were happy.
"Do you want another drink, brother?" Gurb asked me, half shouting. An evening filled with rhetorical questions. He saw me dancing and already knew the answer.
Gurb always had money. Louis, on the other hand, never did. Louis was also the youngest of us three. He had just turned 18. I wouldn't call him a cunning fox. More like a jack-of-all-trades. Like the time he made a lot of money on a Wadden Island with a group of boys. They sold large blocks of hash.
"Crazy dude!" I shouted at him. He yelled something back.
"Do you remember back then?" Louis said.
"Back then? Back then? Yeah man, of course!" I had no idea what he meant. "Do you mean the party?"
"Do you mean the party, he says! This guy. When I look at you like this, it makes me happy. The exact same kid is here letting loose just like back in high school!"
We knew each other from secondary school. He joined when I was in the second grade. He was very intelligent. Too young, too much knowledge of the world. His mother is from Brazil. We often went to his mother's place to play on the Playstation Louis and I had bought together.
I lived everywhere at that time. In the crisis shelter where I stayed for a while, for example, I wasn't allowed to have a Playstation. So we set it up in an accessible place, near school. It was always fun with Louis. Going together to the Apple Store. Taking all kinds of photos with all the webcams, posting them on Hyves, and then leaving. Louis always knew how to cheer me up.
"Aaaaaaaaaa!" There was Gurb with five drinks in his hands. Gurb was wearing a blue checkered shirt. Two buttons undone. Hair slicked back. "You look good, brother!"
"You look fresh too! We all look fresh!" Gurb said enthusiastically. Louis was wearing a completely white outfit. We quickly bought this before going out. He also bleached his hair.
"You look like the Brazilian cousin of James Dean in these clothes," I said. Louis laughed. "Let me take a picture."
Suddenly, the DJ switched to some kind of techno. "Ah, here Berlin briefly takes off its mask." I was fine with it all. Louis was talking to a lady.
Voluptuous breasts, I thought to myself. He gave her one of his two drinks.
"He's with a girl and he's thinking with his dick," I said to Gurb. "Let him be, tonight Berlin is ours!"
The bass kept pounding. "I simply don't have the patience for the club," I said to Gurb. He looked surprised. Like a sweet dog, tilting his head. "I'm just waiting for tomorrow. Can't do my thing here. Don't have patience for the already known. I want adventure and I want it now!"
Gurb started laughing. "Patience is a virtue." Yes. Patience is all well and good, but I think it's a waste of my time. Gurb grabbed my shoulder.
"I think it's time for another beer."
Louis and I were walking through Leeuwarden a year ago when suddenly a red Ford Ka stopped in front of us. It was Gurb, casually driving around the city. He invited us into his car. We hopped in. Since that afternoon, the three of us were together. A few months later, Louis got a tattoo on his ribs in honor of our friendship. It was the name of our group chat. Braddar Force Indigo.
There were also days when Gurb would take me for a drive around Friesland. He reminded me how beautiful Friesland is. The world doesn't spin there. The newspapers I threw away in the Stiens forest in 2011 could still be lying in the same spot, so to speak.
Just before midnight, I found myself in line for the restroom. My eyes fell on a pair of striking shoes. Cigarette smoke invaded my nose for the fourth time. "Müssen Sie eine Zigarette haben?" a female voice spoke to me. I felt like Tom Hanks in the final scene of Angels & Demons, where the new pope first steps onto the balcony. The curtains opened. There I was, witnessing an important moment in history. I was just told how I was sent by God, but my ears didn't want to hear any of it. At least that's how I felt. My mouth was empty. I had no words left. That's when I knew for sure. Berlin might really be as crazy as literally everyone says.
Dark blond, silky hair. Was this real beauty then? She wouldn't look 40, but I think she was. A true woman. Beautiful in all her elegance. I always joked about being interested in older women, but tonight one stood in front of me. "I don't smoke," I said to her.
Someone tapped me. "Please, just go to the toilet!" He was right. I hadn't peed in a while either. My urine was cloudy. "Glomerulonephritis," I said to myself on the toilet. This is an unusual condition. It's an inflammation in the kidneys, I thought I remembered. They should never have given me access to Google.
The evening progressed, and Louis kept buying rounds. "But seriously now. How does Louis suddenly have all that money for drinks?" I asked Gurb. He was outside smoking with a group of Swiss girls. I had strategically positioned myself so that I could always leave the crime scene if necessary.
"You shouldn't ask me," said Gurb. He was laughing with the temporary girlfriend group of Louis. Gurb has a beard. A lot of chicks like that. I get it too.
As much as I enjoyed Louis and Gurb being here for me, something didn't sit right with me. It couldn't just be about the money. "What's up with him?" I heard one of the Swiss girls say to Gurb.
Those kinds of questions really tire me out. "Not much, with you?" I replied.
They all started laughing. "That's not what she meant, brother," said Gurb.
"I couldn't care less whether she meant it or not. Send that brace-face back to Switzerland. Don't drive me crazy, alright!"
Actually, I hadn't drunk that much that evening. "Two vodka Sprites, please!" It's rare for me to get just one drink. "I always get two drinks, then you have to wait shorter for the third one!" Maybe the alcohol was affecting me more than I wanted to admit. Oh well, it was still the three of us against the world.
"Nice shoes, are those Prada?" I asked a random girl at the bar.
"No, these are fake. Why would I buy real ones for 600 dollars if I could just buy these for 20?"
"..."
I'm not very good at that. Talking. To women.
Louis and Gurb were in the smoking area now. It was less blue than the dance floor itself. My clothes already stank, so a visit to the smoking area couldn't hurt. "These people are so underground!" Gurb shouted. Louis was filming him with his phone. "These people..." There was a brief pause. As if Gurb forgot the only line he had. "...so underground!" All three of us burst into laughter. The alcohol flowed through our veins as if it came from the purest mountains. People seemed doubled and the room was full. We had been in the same club in Berlin for several hours.
"Leonardo! What are you hiding from the big boss?" I sometimes called Louis ‘DiCaprio.’ "You a rich guy, now?" I said, with an accent as if I were from the Bronx.
Louis started laughing. "Eh, you know nothing. Bullshit talk."
I had to laugh too. What was I even worried about? Friends are friends, with or without money. That shouldn't matter. Louis probably just worked for that money. Maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought. Maybe he just had enough to buy rounds. But what if my gut feeling was right? That feeling was never wrong. Except for that one time at the Holland Casino in Groningen. Even the best of us have slip-ups. I was just getting worked up again. When it comes down to it, Louis is one of the sweetest guys I know. I had to let it go. After all, it's still Louis.
"I think I'm going to have sex soon, man," Louis said.
"With who?" I asked immediately.
"That one girl."
"Which one?"
"The one with the boobs."
"Oh, her. Just be careful."
"What kind of reaction is that?" Louis asked indignantly.
I'd only had four drinks, but I was acting like a mess. Louis was right. I didn't understand myself. Where was my head at? I'm here in Berlin, supposed to be having the time of my life, but here I am feeling lonely and sad again. Joost once again couldn't control his emotions.
"Sorry," I suddenly said to Louis. "Sorry for my behavior. Been acting dumb towards you all night. It's unnecessary." Sometimes I have that. Mood swings. "Know that crime is never the solution. We've talked about this so many times. Yes, it's tempting and sometimes easy money. I sometimes find it amusing too, but it's always hypothetical. Ask me for help. I can help you, even with illegal things. I'll always have your back." The dancing was kind of over.
The words I had just placed on Louis's plate came from my heart. My Frisian, irregular boys' heart.
Crying in the club. I had never seen myself like that. Crying, yes. In the club, no. I never understood the taboo around crying. Or emotions in general. I saw myself in the mirror. They weren't tears of joy. They weren't tears of sadness either. It was me letting everything go. All the emotions I had ever felt. The emotions I felt between my brother and sister and myself because they wanted to take on a parental role over me, but I was in puberty, so I pushed them away. The emotions I felt when my old neighbors were supposed to take care of my dog, but didn't tell me that he was bitten by one of their dogs. They didn't have money for the surgery, they later told me. They were ashamed of their lack of money. My dog died from this injury. Even the emotions that were all jumping at once during the retake for my swimming diploma A, I let go of.
No emotions. Just for a moment, not feeling anything. Is that too much to ask for?
"You still don’t smoke?"
It had to be the voice of the woman with the cigarettes. I looked over my shoulder through the mirror. It was her. The one with dark blond, silky hair.
"Not to be rude, but this is the men’s room," I said. She took a step closer and kissed me on my lips. It tasted like more. We started kissing. It had been a while since I had had female contact at this level. It probably didn't look good and it didn't feel good either. She started kissing my neck. Slowly, I noticed the pressure in the erectile tissues of my penis starting to increase. "I really don't have time for this!" I thought to myself. The woman with the cigarettes started to slowly sink down until she was on her knees. I didn't want this. Not now, not like this. She unraveled my penis from my Polo Ralph Lauren underwear. Her tongue was blue. It was probably from cheap shots of alcohol.
Was this real beauty then? Was this the beginning or the end of her story? And had I become the boy my parents hoped I would be? I thought about the fact that this was once someone's little daughter. Somewhere in the world, an old man might be wondering what his daughter is doing. Am I really putting pleasure above my own morals and values?
With my semi-erect circumcised penis still exposed, I lifted her up. After giving her a kiss on her forehead, I pulled up my pants and left the toilets.
It was the usual last hour in any club ever. I met Louis and Gurb at the bar. "Should we have another drink?" I asked Gurb. "I feel like having a cocktail. Something sweet. Lots of sugar. What about you?"
Gurb looked at the menu. "A cognac would go down well right now."
"A cognac? You're only nineteen!" Gurb and Louis laughed. "Two Tequila Sunrises please!" I called to the bartender. "Also, two beers! Thanks!" I also got a beer for Louis. At first, I didn't want to, but I didn't want to spoil the mood either. Besides, I didn't want to show too much that it bothered me so much.
We danced away the last minutes. The club closed, and we decided to walk with the group of Swiss girls. Apparently, they were staying nearby.
As I lagged behind the group, one of them tried to start a conversation with me. "Are you okay?" she asked kindly.
"I'm fine. Just had too much beer. Makes me sleepy." Not true at all, but I've heard people say that.
"You’re tired? The fun has only just began!" And as she said this, she pulled something out of her inner pocket. Her clenched fist, shielded by a half jacket. Who is this girl, anyway? I thought to myself. She opened her hand flat, and right in the center of her palm lay two small pills with a smiley face on them. At least, they looked like it.
"Oh, I don’t do drugs. Sorry."
"Me neither!" And she swallowed a pill. "Now it’s your turn... Or are you scared?"
Scared? Who did this crazy Swiss witch (with really beautiful eyes) think she was. With her "are you scared". I'll show her who's scared.
"Scared? I’m not scared." I picked up the remaining pill and swallowed it.
Everything went in slow motion. Was this who I had become? Was this the same boy from high school? And just before I could swallow, I spat out the pill. She was shocked. I picked up the pill again, dried it with my jacket, and put it back in her fist. "Maybe later!" I shouted, running back to the group, over my shoulder.
I have nothing to say to 9 out of 10 peers I come across. Of course, I can be social. I can also have fun with random people in random situations, but that night, it just tired me out. I also didn't understand what we were doing there. Those girls found me strange anyway. Suddenly, I was the fifth wheel.
"We know this place where they go until 7 in the morning!" The girl leader of the group spoke. I wanted to go home. "If you guys want, you can go. Don't worry about me," I said to Gurb and Louis. The boys had a brief discussion. We agreed to stay for just a little while longer for some drinks. I consented. I was thirsty. "I'll have a Fanta, Louis."
Gurb had reached the last cigarette in his pack. Louis and a girl from the group were nowhere to be found. It didn't even bother me. This guy just walks around with some cash in his pocket and all hell breaks loose. After a night full of stimuli, I understood Louis. Of course, I understood Louis. He's a young god. Handsome, smart guy. But that didn't make me any less angry. It was purely about trust for me. Something inside me said I should stop subconsciously expecting things from people too. It prevents disappointment.
"Hotel please!" I jokingly suggested to Gurb. "Should you call Louis or should I?" I added. Gurb immediately grabbed his Android smartphone and called Louis. He put the call on speaker.
"Are you ready?" Gurb asked.
"Yeah. Sort of."
"What do you mean?"
"We didn't have sex."
"That's fine, right? Tomorrow's a new day!"
"I think I'm in love, man," Louis said.
"...," Gurb said, chuckling as he let out a sigh.
Once we arrived at the girls' hostel, it was already getting light. Louis was thankfully back. There were stains on his pants, around his knees. My focus was solely on arranging a taxi. Although the boys were still flirting, I was really done now. "How are we going to pay for this taxi?" I said a bit too loudly.
There was a silence. "Don't worry. I still have cash," Gurb said.
"Yeah, I knew you would," I replied.
My words clearly hit Louis. "What do you mean by that?" he said.
It was as if time stood still for a few seconds. "Exactly what I said. Better listen." Louis pulled out a small wad of green bills from his pocket. At least 400 euros. "I don't even want to see that money," I reacted. I walked away.
I'll just order a taxi myself.
"Why are you walking away now?" Gurb said.
"Twelve hours ago, I was alone too, and I had a lot more fun then."
"Do you really want to know how I got this money?" Louis said.
Yes, I did want to know. My whole evening revolved around that damn money.
He took a second of pause before he began speaking. "The answer lies in the Mini."
What on earth could be in Gurb's mother's car? Louis was trying to get into my head. "Taxi!"
Once in the taxi, the division was clear. Gurb was upfront, chatting animatedly with the driver. All adventures ever were recounted. Louis and I in the back. One of my best friends since I was thirteen. Funny how things turn out. It was quiet between us. I was in my head, rehearsing how I would bring up the money again. It didn't add up, and he knew it himself. "I don't care, you know," I said, hoping he'd break.
"What don't you care about?"
"About that money."
"What money? You're really a crazy woozy man." Louis burst out laughing again.
On the other hand, it was silent. Gurb had started talking about the driver's family. The driver didn't appreciate it. Gurb meant well. The driver smelled of alcohol. Or was it me? His nails were polished. Maybe his wife was a specialist. I bite my nails myself. Like now.
"In the Mini, oh yeah."
"Shut up. Illegal man."
"You'll never know."
"Stop playing. Just say it!"
Louis grabbed my head, pulled himself towards me, and brought his mouth to my right ear. "Why so serious?" he whispered. He didn't want to tell me.
"But always with this damn money, huh?" I almost shouted at Louis. I broke every silence within a radius of 10 kilometers.
"I'm trying my best, bro. It is what it is. I can't make it any different," he replied. It was clearly bothering him deeply. He ran his hands through his hair. "Sometimes people have to do things. And you know that better than anyone. Sometimes they have to do things they don't really want to or aren't supposed to do."
I knew this spiel all too well. Through all the drunken haziness, I suddenly saw a small glimmer of light. A tiny spark of sincerity. Louis was serious this time.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to involve you in this. I'm sorry," sweat dripped from his forehead.
"You're serious, huh? Damn, man. What mess have you gotten yourself into now? Worse than Terschelling?" Worse than Terschelling would mean stolen goods. Maybe even violence.
"It's not what you think."
"The Adlon Hotel, right?" the driver chimed in. Always saved by the bell, that Louis.
Suddenly I hit my head against the seat in front of me. Of course, I wasn't wearing my seatbelt. The last thing I saw was Gurb waking up in panic from his drunken stupor. One by one, I started losing my senses. It started with the feeling in my fingers. For a brief moment, everything wasn't quite black, and I could only see a vague pattern of colors repeating inside my eyelids. You could compare it to the brief moment after the commercial break before the movie starts in the cinema. The movie was about to begin.
I knew I wasn't dying. At least not yet. Not like this. Not after an overall mediocre night out in Berlin. I found comfort in the image I forced myself to see. It was all in my head. There I was, unconscious.
I saw myself in a third-person point of view. It wasn't like I was actually leaving my body. More like there was a webcam hanging in one of the upper corners of the taxi.
As a child, I used to dream a lot about death. Nights spent awake.
At some point, I developed a kind of compulsive behavior. I kept swaying my torso from left to right with my hands under my head. It became almost like a workout before bedtime. Every night.
I called it dream shuffling. Just like I had learned to shuffle puzzle pieces or playing cards. Making things a little exciting for yourself. But what I almost never told anyone was that I was scared. I was afraid of burglars, who were very agile and muscular.
Especially afraid that they would murder me. I really wanted to know what death was like. It scared me.
These fear visions originated during an all-inclusive vacation in Turkey. I was 6 years old and already in bed. There was a big old TV in our hotel room, so I could secretly watch TV from bed. Every evening, my parents sat on the balcony. Here they discussed their day while enjoying a glass of alcohol. There was a Japanese animated series on TV. In the few seconds that I watched, I saw a scary creature climbing a sort of apartment complex via the balconies. The creature had hundreds of teeth and blond hair. It quickly entered to decapitate the people, then drained them and, as a final insult, robbed them. Dozens of carcasses of dead people were scattered around the apartment complex. The complex on TV resembled the resort where we were in reality, and the TV world merged with my surroundings. I became part of it. I saw people watching. No matter how loudly I screamed for help, they didn't react. The sun became very bright, and the people turned into nothing more than shadows. As the intensity of the sun increased, something became clear to me. These were not people. They had a sort of orange skin. Where I had previously thought it was their nose and mouth, it turned out that these shadowy figures did not have such physical features. They simply had three holes in their heads. The police tried to do something, but in vain. Since then, we always kept the light on in the hallway outside my bedroom. By rocking back and forth, from left to right, I could glance fleetingly at the beam of light under the door. That bit of light, escaping from the hallway into my room, gave me an advantage. It allowed me to stay one step ahead of the burglars. Pretty smart, right?
"From Jamaica to the world!
It’s just love. Why must the children play in the street?"
It was Bob Sinclar with "Love Generation" speaking to us through the taxi's speakers. We were stationary. I was conscious again, but I didn't feel alive at all. "How long was I out?" I asked Louis.
I could tell by his expression that he was relieved. Relieved that I was back. "One minute," he almost apologized. Louis gave me a pat on the shoulder. Gurb, on the other hand, was sleeping. He slept like a baby cub.
I put my right index finger on my forehead. It felt wet, but it wasn't blood. Blood feels different. Meanwhile, I kept hearing whistling.
"Be the love generation! Oh yeah!" It was still that same song by Bob Sinclar.
The earlier scent of alcohol had now been replaced by the smell of incense. It smelled like the same incense I had in my room. Sold to me as Tibetan 39 incense. I had bought it at a coffee shop in Rotterdam. I pulled up my notes on my phone. "Who lights incense in a CAR????" I let Louis read from my screen. He took the phone from my hands and started typing as well.
"Look at Gurb >>>" Gurb was so deeply asleep that his head drooped. His seatbelt held his torso in place, but his head ended up on the driver's shoulder. The man didn't mind. He didn't move. I made eye contact with the driver through the rearview mirror, and soon I found him. He winked at me.
We arrived at the hotel. Gurb awakened from his alcoholic hibernation. "Who's going to pay for the taxi?" I asked. Clearly rhetorical. I already knew I would take this one for the team, as usual. I refused to use Louis's money. It was uncomfortably quiet. "By card please," I said.
"I'll always protect you, Louis. You really need to know that. I care about you like my own little brother. I'll always try to help you. But you have to be honest with me. Can you do that?" Louis didn't hesitate.
"Yes. Yes, I can. I'll show you. It's really in the Mini." Meanwhile, the taxi driver's card machine indicated that I had insufficient funds. That couldn't be right. Maybe I had withdrawn too much that evening.
"I have cash in the hotel room," Gurb said to me. Gurb informed the driver in broken English that he would go get his cash. The driver agreed. Money is money, whether it comes now or later. As long as it feels good in your hands.
Louis and I got out of the taxi. "You're not going to light a cigarette now, are you?" Louis wanted to smoke. "Especially for stress. That's really for people who can't handle pain. You need to feel pain. Pain needs to brand you for the rest of your life so you finally learn not to do such stupid things." It fell silent again. My blood boiled. All pots were on the stove. I felt like Gordon Ramsay in the kitchen. "Show me then. Do it."
Louis remained silent and walked around the corner of the hotel. Towards the parking lot. I followed him. "You're not going to find much," said Louis.
"Why not? Are you a magician?"
"No. Just. Not much."
"So there's suddenly magically nothing in Gurb's car?"
"Stop. Get out. Get out of my head!" Louis shouted. Louis had had enough. He was done with the parade. Normally we dealt with hypothetical stories. Only this time it wasn't a joke. I was sure now. Louis had dropped his mask. The revolution had begun. The government had fallen and the dikes had broken. The people were in charge. "You shouldn't freak out like this. Always wanting more. Sweet boy, think about yourself."
After Gurb gave the money to the driver, he came to us. He had a smile on his face, lit a cigarette, and exclaimed, "Brothers!" Once with us, he hugged me. He started laughing. "Maybe I haven't been entirely honest either." Sometimes Gurb seemed like a 38-year-old man. In a positive way. He exuded confidence in a way I didn't often see. Affectionate, with a hint of authority.
We stood in the middle of a large parking lot. "Look. We've reached a point where I might not even care anymore. You guys are teasing me." It did matter to me. Maybe more than ever. I was supposed to be two steps ahead of them, but I couldn't figure it out. "I give up."
The delightful silence returned. Louis and Gurb looked at each other. "You guys win. Apparently, I'm not to be trusted as a friend."
From Louis's expression, I could tell he disagreed with this. "Not true. Come to the car."
We arrived at the car. Louis unlocked it and searched for the trunk button. Gurb had started his third cigarette. "It's a corpse, isn't it? Say it now. I can still help you. I can still help us. I can book a ticket for you. We can get you out of here," I said to Louis.
"Just wait. Nutcase."
"Why won't you accept my help?"
Louis started laughing nervously. Or at least it seemed that way. Perhaps a sly laugh too. Had Louis killed someone? "It's not a corpse. That can't be. You wouldn't be stupid enough to use their ID. You're smarter than that. So it must be something stolen. Haven't you found that button yet?"
Suddenly, we heard a click. Louis had found the button. Somewhere, I didn't want to know. Shouldn't I just trust Louis? Wasn't that the whole point of friendship?
Finally, the moment had arrived. I placed my right hand in the slot of the rear hatch. Something in me doubted. Still. I still doubted. Louis looked dead serious. "You wanted to know, didn't you? Then you also have to be man enough to accept it." Louis was clearly not joking. Or was he acting again? "Pussy," Louis said. I looked away. "You're afraid of what's inside, huh? You're afraid of the real Louis." He began to laugh manically. "Open that thing, man. Nutcase!"
I started laughing too. Why did I make such a big deal out of it? Sweat broke out from every pore in my body. It was even a bit damp in the no man's land between my scrotum and my anus. A tropical climate. It had been quite an adventure the whole evening. I took my hand off the rear hatch and first gave Louis a hug. Not some half-hearted birthday wish. No, a real hug.
"It's okay, buddy," Louis said to me. I had no idea what he meant by that. It fit the moment though.
It was really time now. I opened the rear hatch.
"Where is it?"
"In front of you," said Louis.
"In some secret compartment?"
There was nothing in the trunk. Absolutely nothing. An empty trunk. For an empty evening, in an empty Berlin, with an empty group of guys. I didn't get it.
"You won, man," I whispered. "You finally fucking done did it."
I couldn't believe my eyes. Empty? There was still nothing in the car. Louis just stood there. Emotionally, I was a wreck. I had felt every emotion this evening. Seen every color and smelled every scent. I was done. My body was ready. No longer needed. My mission was complete.
"But why did you do this?" I asked Louis, laughing.
He scratched his chin. It felt like the end of a bad movie.
"I sold our Playstation. Wanted to tell you only after I had sorted everything out again. I terminated my lease. Had some debts, and I also wanted to have some money for once. Once not empty-handed in the club. Once not dependent on my best friends. This is not who I am... I know how much that Playstation meant to you. It was ours together. I should have just told you."
"… and how does Gurb actually make his money?"
2024.05.18 17:40 UpstairsAncient7446 My mom fucked up big time and i don't think i'll ever find peace in this life
Ever since I was child, seaman na yung dad ko while my mom was a housewife. 3 kaming siblings and they were able to provide our needs, sometimes pati yung wants (we are far from spoiled). Core memory ko as a child na mamimili kami ng bagong gamit every June for school and December for Christmas Party. In my head I know that we weren't rich pero nakakaluwag-luwag compared to our relatives.
Now, maaga ako namulat sa financial problem ng pamilya namin. Eldest daughter kaya siguro maaga na-develop yung brain lol.
Sa hometown namin, 1) May bumbay na laging naghahanap sa nanay ko at lagi namang tinataguan ng nanay ko. 2) Me and my kuya studied in a private school and there were times na di bayad tuition namin na we had to give promissory notes sa teacher. 3) Palaging naga-away parents ko tuwing umuuwi yung tatay ko kasi no work = no money. So sa halip na bakasyon is pahinga for him, palaging stressful ang ganap sa bahay at nagmamadali na sumampa ulit ng barko yung dad ko.
It was messy. I think people knew my mother was in a lot of debt. So to start anew, we moved to another city. Kumuha ng hulugang townhouse yung dad ko, also a car. We only lasted there for 5 years. My dad had to forfeit the house kasi it turned out na di nababayaran ng mom ko yung house for months. We ended up going back to our hometown at our grandparents' house.
My mom became a DH in a foreign country so she can repay her debts once and for all. Dad ko seaman pa din and siya sa bills namin. It has been 9 years, dalawang beses pa lang siya nakauwi for vacation. During those 2 vacations, I saw how she spent money to treat us and our relatives. I thought everything was okay and she got her money problems under control.
Until hindi na siya masyadong nakakapagpadala and we received a letter during the pandemic, it's from a bank stating that our mom has a debt worth 180k+. Gumuho mundo namin nun, lalo na unemployed din dad ko kasi nga pandemic, hirap makasampa. Sumuko na dad ko and broke up with her. Di na namin siya madalas makausap simula nito.
I then found out na umalis siya sa employer niya and wala na siya sa agency, nagpa-part time nanny na lang siya ngayon (illegaly bc no papers) at puro online casino nakikita ko sa fb niya so I'm guessing agent siya. I asked her bat di na lang siya umuwi, ayaw daw niya kasi gusto niya makapagumpisa ulit kami. Nakikita ko rin sa fb posts na may nakakaaway siyang kapwa DH dahil pa rin sa utang. Hays.
Ngayon, may work na ako. Last year nangungutang siya 1k to 3k tapos binabalik rin. This March to April naka-total of 5k na siya sakin, lagi niyang sinasabi na ibabalik pero tbh I'm not expecting anymore. Iniisip ko na lang na tulong ko sa kanya kasi mom ko siya.
Napa-post ako kasi every time na nanghihingi siya I breakdown. Kasi bakit niya yun ginawa sa sarili niya? Minsan naiiyak na lang ako kasi di ko alam kalagayan ng health niya, kung nakakain ba siya ng 3x a day? I also don't think I can save her kasi malamang lumobo na interest ng utang niya. May future din akong pinaghahandaan.
Also, saan ba niya pinaglalagay yung perang pinapadala ng dad ko back then? Kasi kinakapos kami nun, pero consistent naman magpadala dad ko. I can't help but antagonize her in my head sometimes.
Ayun, I don't think I'll ever find peace in this life knowing my mom is suffering somewhere and I can't do anything about it.
submitted by UpstairsAncient7446 to OffMyChestPH [link] [comments]
Now, maaga ako namulat sa financial problem ng pamilya namin. Eldest daughter kaya siguro maaga na-develop yung brain lol.
Sa hometown namin, 1) May bumbay na laging naghahanap sa nanay ko at lagi namang tinataguan ng nanay ko. 2) Me and my kuya studied in a private school and there were times na di bayad tuition namin na we had to give promissory notes sa teacher. 3) Palaging naga-away parents ko tuwing umuuwi yung tatay ko kasi no work = no money. So sa halip na bakasyon is pahinga for him, palaging stressful ang ganap sa bahay at nagmamadali na sumampa ulit ng barko yung dad ko.
It was messy. I think people knew my mother was in a lot of debt. So to start anew, we moved to another city. Kumuha ng hulugang townhouse yung dad ko, also a car. We only lasted there for 5 years. My dad had to forfeit the house kasi it turned out na di nababayaran ng mom ko yung house for months. We ended up going back to our hometown at our grandparents' house.
My mom became a DH in a foreign country so she can repay her debts once and for all. Dad ko seaman pa din and siya sa bills namin. It has been 9 years, dalawang beses pa lang siya nakauwi for vacation. During those 2 vacations, I saw how she spent money to treat us and our relatives. I thought everything was okay and she got her money problems under control.
Until hindi na siya masyadong nakakapagpadala and we received a letter during the pandemic, it's from a bank stating that our mom has a debt worth 180k+. Gumuho mundo namin nun, lalo na unemployed din dad ko kasi nga pandemic, hirap makasampa. Sumuko na dad ko and broke up with her. Di na namin siya madalas makausap simula nito.
I then found out na umalis siya sa employer niya and wala na siya sa agency, nagpa-part time nanny na lang siya ngayon (illegaly bc no papers) at puro online casino nakikita ko sa fb niya so I'm guessing agent siya. I asked her bat di na lang siya umuwi, ayaw daw niya kasi gusto niya makapagumpisa ulit kami. Nakikita ko rin sa fb posts na may nakakaaway siyang kapwa DH dahil pa rin sa utang. Hays.
Ngayon, may work na ako. Last year nangungutang siya 1k to 3k tapos binabalik rin. This March to April naka-total of 5k na siya sakin, lagi niyang sinasabi na ibabalik pero tbh I'm not expecting anymore. Iniisip ko na lang na tulong ko sa kanya kasi mom ko siya.
Napa-post ako kasi every time na nanghihingi siya I breakdown. Kasi bakit niya yun ginawa sa sarili niya? Minsan naiiyak na lang ako kasi di ko alam kalagayan ng health niya, kung nakakain ba siya ng 3x a day? I also don't think I can save her kasi malamang lumobo na interest ng utang niya. May future din akong pinaghahandaan.
Also, saan ba niya pinaglalagay yung perang pinapadala ng dad ko back then? Kasi kinakapos kami nun, pero consistent naman magpadala dad ko. I can't help but antagonize her in my head sometimes.
Ayun, I don't think I'll ever find peace in this life knowing my mom is suffering somewhere and I can't do anything about it.