Stories your girlfriend
YourGhostStories:ghosts stories,experiences,hauntings,paranormal,unexplained phenomena
2014.03.27 16:03 Poloman76 YourGhostStories:ghosts stories,experiences,hauntings,paranormal,unexplained phenomena
Not necessary, they have to be your own ghosts experience or stories but you may also share ghost stories you read or heard from someone, stories of haunted places, unexplained phenomena and paranormal sightings.Many people have had, read or heard this kind of unexplained experiences, and it makes for wonderful readings, maybe at times disturbing, but most often, leaving you wondering what is happening on the other side of material life and our physical senses.
2016.02.07 10:51 brianjamesbowen Now that you're single, you can tell us all the stupid shit she did
Everybody has crazy ex-girlfriend stories... Come tell us why your ex-girlfriend was the worst person ever. Come read other people's amusing stories and ridiculous situations involving the crazy, shady, volatile life of unpredictability for a man in a steady relationship...
2008.01.25 04:52 Ask Reddit...
AskReddit is the place to ask and answer thought-provoking questions.
2024.05.21 11:10 Stylish_aesthetic My love letter to younger me / breakup letter to the Bahais :)
I'd like to share a lengthy and self-indulgent note about my history with the Baha'i community and the impact it had on my family and me. It's worth noting that I'm sharing this using a throwaway Reddit account that I generally reserve for browsing porn. I find funny to imagine a Baha'i apologist reading this, becoming angry and judgmental, and then, investigating my profile and ending up jerking off. With that said, let's dive into my story.
I want to share my experience in case it resonates with someone else, a lot of the stories on this Reddit helped me, and perhaps my story will give some comfort to someone else. It has taken me a while to write this down, and I'm glad I finally got around to doing it.
My parents emigrated from their homeland for reasons of principle and value. Upon their arrival, they were greeted by Baha'is who met them. And so, lovebombed and lavished with love, praise, and celebration for moving countries due to values that they portrayed as being closely aligned with the Baha'i faith, my parents fell for this validation and worked very hard once they became Baha'is in the mid-1980s.
My dad got rid of all of his whiskies, and swiftly, my parents began hosting potlucks and fireside chats, diligently working to integrate into the Baha'i ecosystem. Back then, the atmosphere was fairly light-hearted, with devotional gatherings, prayers, and a somewhat 1960s-esque hippie vibe. There was live guitar music, and joss sticks.
However, I remember Baha'i classes having an interesting edge. We were taught that Buddhists were not following a religion but merely a way of life, and that Hindus had become pantheistic because they had lost the core of their faith and religion, which had become corrupted over time. Thanks to Google, I can discover that yes indeed, this is from Lights of Guidance.
There was a significant emphasis on the importance of gender equality and the oneness of humanity – because, hey, the eighties. I feel sad there isn't anything anymore about the Virtues project - even if the Virtues project was sort of framed like it was created by Bahais.
Even in the 1980s, there was an overwhelming atmosphere that the key to being a good Baha'i was how you presented yourself rather than your actual behaviour. I recall learning an apocryphal tale of a young Baha'i who, while fasting, participated in an aerobics class and nearly fainted (yeah, aerobics, this is a real 80s fable), but was told by another Baha'i to prioritize representing the faith well over completing the fast because *it looked bad*. From a very early age, I learned the importance of putting the right face forward.
My parents then took their relationship with the Baha'i faith to the next level and volunteered at the World Centre in Haifa. As a child, this was a pretty interesting experience. I was suddenly immersed in the Iranian, or rather, Persian community, with its strong culture of martyrdom. Even as a child, every event seemed to feature graphic videos depicting young kids being taken from their homes. It was quite frightening, and I remember being afraid.
I also recall a strong sense of hierarchy within the community. My family lived in a small apartment with a very old, busted-up car from the 1970s, while others resided in nice homes with pleasant views and drove nice cars. I attended a local Israeli school, which was a cultural experience in itself, while my peers my age went to the much fancier American school. It's important to note that, at this point, the conversation about the "great catastrophe" – two-thirds of the world's population dying, leading to a period of peace and the entry by troops – was a prevalent topic openly discussed at the World Centre.
We completed our stint there, even living through the Gulf War. Upon returning to my birth country, my parents chose to live in places with smaller Baha'i communities, as they wanted to support and help establish Local Spiritual Assemblies. Things had changed by this point, not only because I was a teenager but also because the community itself had transformed. There was a significant Iranian presence everywhere, and the focus had shifted heavily towards rules, especially those related to sex, drinking, and drug use. There was also a huge emphasis on financial contributions to the faith, and it was the first time I began to see a somewhat materialistic outlook within the community.
As a preteen and teenager, I engaged in activities like dropping off flyers in mailboxes and soliciting strangers to talk about this great new religion, all in the name of “teaching”. I joined the local choir and sang, inspired by a crush I had on a girl there. This was probably the golden time of the community, with the choir doing outreach and a balance between Western and Iranian believers.
However, things began to accelerate. The Ruhi Institute and teaching became significant focal points. I was encouraged to bring a good friend of mine to a Baha'i camp, and once there, I was pressured to ask him to convert. It was very uncomfortable.
This Reddit loves cringe stories, so here is a winner: I had a birthday party with my non-Baha'i friends, and two older Baha'i girls attended. One of the girls ended up stalking my friend, showing up at his workplace and calling him at home with sexually suggestive comments. The matter was escalated to the Local Spiritual Assembly, but instead of talking to me about it, they basically ended my friendship with this kid. To me, this somehow captures so much of what it was like to be a Baha'i child and how Baha'i adults treat children to this day.
When I turned 15, I signed up for Baha'i membership because it was the expected thing to do. However, by the time I was in my early 20s and studying at university, I had started to interact more with the local, real-world community. This might seem like a small thing, but it was actually quite significant. You see, my parents had always felt a little bit on the outside compared to the average person on the street around them. This sense of elitism was really exacerbated by being a Baha'i because Baha'is would walk around in a cloud of self-assurance, looking at us and thinking, "We don't do drugs. We've got all the answers and solutions, not like you." That was pretty much the attitude. It felt very socio-economic, with a lot of judgment towards working-class people. When the Iranians arrived, the cultural judgments grew even stronger.
But I was working in restaurants and learning about booze from bartenders. I had gotten to know real people. I had lost my virginity, and all that Bahai jazz seemed so much less relevant. I hardly even noticed when the year 2000 arrived without the predicted apocalypse, entry by troops, or any of the other anticipated events. Life went on. I lived in another country and met a girl, and we lived together.
Here is cringe story #2: my girlfriend /fiancé and I hosted a Bahai couple from my hometown. Despite being in my late 20s and engaged, and even though I hosted this gentleman in my house and helped him with his preparations for his business and presentations in the country where I lived, he reported to the Local Spiritual Assembly that I was living with a woman and we weren't married. It was absolutely amazing. The level of judgment still grosses me out.
I started to reflect on what the religion had meant to me and saw how it had changed. The obsession with fundraising was becoming ever more strident and panicked. The gaps in the actual scriptural logic of the religion were becoming more exacerbated as real-world problems still ran rife, and real-time discussions on social media brought these issues to light. It took me a while to start really digging into it, and it was only much later, when I started therapy, that I realized I needed to formally resign from the religion.
Looking back, it's astonishing how this religion, which professes to have such blind equality between the genders, as if other religions have some kind of hardwired sexism, actually had hardwired sexism in how the Universal House of Justice operates. A religion that taught the oneness of humanity, as if all humanity is equal and other religions don't recruit from anyone they can find, places divisors. Although of course, Bahai’s can’t recruit from Israeli Jews, so much for oneness of humanity. But this religion has taught that all humanity is equal, unless, of course, you're gay. Then you can't get married, let alone have sex.
There are other principles I haven't touched on, such as non-involvement in politics, unless it involves things happening to Baha'is or politics in Iran. The principle of independent investigation of the truth doesn't seem to work if you might investigate something that's not in line with the Baha'i perspective. The idea of a universal language? I don't really see any evidence that they're even really thinking about that one. The unity between science and religion? A religion that only allows men to sit on its senior board of a global theocracy probably isn't going to jive with a contemporary scientific perspective…. I mean, apparently you don't need a penis to be a man anymore, right?
In between these moments are my colorful memories of random things, like endless discussions about the boundaries of physical intimacy, people getting married at the age of 16 because they had exemptions for being Persian, and meeting Ms. Khanoom in Israel, feeling some sadness that the lone woman who at least brought some feminine energy to the World Centre is now gone, replaced by 12 boring men.
I've had conversations with my wife where I tried to explain what Baha'is actually do. She just wonders why they aren't doing stuff like normal religions do, like reading to the elderly or supporting schools for the disabled. I explain that's not the target demographic. I remember a wealthy man brought to firesides who obviously nobody else wanted to listen to, but we all sat around and applauded him like he was a great ukulele player and a clever man. He pointed out a hilariously Iranian man who was an alternative healer, and they got into a debate about modern medicine. The wealthy man said, "Well, you should see my daughter and what she studied. She studies Law." And then quickly changed the subject when asked about her name since I studied at the same Law school. Here's this man who's self-aware enough to join the adoration of his crowd but doesn't want his daughter mixed up in it in any way. Absolutely hilarious. Make that cringe story #3.
This reflection was sort of sparked when my wife and I discovered that the writings attributed to Rumi, which Baha'is often quote, is the same guy who started the Whirling Dervishes. We read about Rumi and I realized just how different he is from Baha'u'llah. Rumi wrote poetry, but he didn't pretend to be a prophet of God. He was just offering a different dynamic for how to interpret spirituality. He didn't say he was part of some sort of cycle. There's something beautiful about that simplicity. And needless to say, Rumi lived long before the Baha'is ever started.
It makes me wonder, will anyone ever watch the equivalent of a whirling dervish dance for the Baha'is?
The obsession with appearances sounds like a joke, but it isn't. It wasn't for me. Some bad stuff happened to me on my trip to Israel. When we got there, my parents didn't understand why I was so upset about everything. It was a culture shock, attending a government school, not speaking Hebrew, and being together with Russian kids who got beaten up in the toilet. It wasn't a very good time for me.
So, I was sent to counsel with a local Israeli counselor. After several sessions, she instructed that I had to sit down with my parents and tell them what I needed to tell them, particularly about the shadow that had come over me since coming to Israel. My parents were enraged when I said, “I wish we never became Bahai”.
And so, we returned from the Holy Land and moved to a tiny community that was struggling to get members. To this day, my parents are still members. I've resigned so I'm never dubbed a "covenant breaker." I'm pretty sure my parents know that I resigned because they literally never raise the topic of the Baha'i faith with me. I wish the religion had some interesting cosmology, something mystical, some interesting new take on the universe, or provided my family with tools to handle being migrants or raising teenagers. At the very least, it could have given us a common language we could have used to bond together. It did none of that.
But to be fair, if it wasn't the Baha'is, some other rinky-dink cult would have love-bombed my parents back in the 1980s. Of course, it would have been so much more fun if it had featured more sex and drugs 😊
submitted by Stylish_aesthetic to exbahai [link] [comments]
I want to share my experience in case it resonates with someone else, a lot of the stories on this Reddit helped me, and perhaps my story will give some comfort to someone else. It has taken me a while to write this down, and I'm glad I finally got around to doing it.
My parents emigrated from their homeland for reasons of principle and value. Upon their arrival, they were greeted by Baha'is who met them. And so, lovebombed and lavished with love, praise, and celebration for moving countries due to values that they portrayed as being closely aligned with the Baha'i faith, my parents fell for this validation and worked very hard once they became Baha'is in the mid-1980s.
My dad got rid of all of his whiskies, and swiftly, my parents began hosting potlucks and fireside chats, diligently working to integrate into the Baha'i ecosystem. Back then, the atmosphere was fairly light-hearted, with devotional gatherings, prayers, and a somewhat 1960s-esque hippie vibe. There was live guitar music, and joss sticks.
However, I remember Baha'i classes having an interesting edge. We were taught that Buddhists were not following a religion but merely a way of life, and that Hindus had become pantheistic because they had lost the core of their faith and religion, which had become corrupted over time. Thanks to Google, I can discover that yes indeed, this is from Lights of Guidance.
There was a significant emphasis on the importance of gender equality and the oneness of humanity – because, hey, the eighties. I feel sad there isn't anything anymore about the Virtues project - even if the Virtues project was sort of framed like it was created by Bahais.
Even in the 1980s, there was an overwhelming atmosphere that the key to being a good Baha'i was how you presented yourself rather than your actual behaviour. I recall learning an apocryphal tale of a young Baha'i who, while fasting, participated in an aerobics class and nearly fainted (yeah, aerobics, this is a real 80s fable), but was told by another Baha'i to prioritize representing the faith well over completing the fast because *it looked bad*. From a very early age, I learned the importance of putting the right face forward.
My parents then took their relationship with the Baha'i faith to the next level and volunteered at the World Centre in Haifa. As a child, this was a pretty interesting experience. I was suddenly immersed in the Iranian, or rather, Persian community, with its strong culture of martyrdom. Even as a child, every event seemed to feature graphic videos depicting young kids being taken from their homes. It was quite frightening, and I remember being afraid.
I also recall a strong sense of hierarchy within the community. My family lived in a small apartment with a very old, busted-up car from the 1970s, while others resided in nice homes with pleasant views and drove nice cars. I attended a local Israeli school, which was a cultural experience in itself, while my peers my age went to the much fancier American school. It's important to note that, at this point, the conversation about the "great catastrophe" – two-thirds of the world's population dying, leading to a period of peace and the entry by troops – was a prevalent topic openly discussed at the World Centre.
We completed our stint there, even living through the Gulf War. Upon returning to my birth country, my parents chose to live in places with smaller Baha'i communities, as they wanted to support and help establish Local Spiritual Assemblies. Things had changed by this point, not only because I was a teenager but also because the community itself had transformed. There was a significant Iranian presence everywhere, and the focus had shifted heavily towards rules, especially those related to sex, drinking, and drug use. There was also a huge emphasis on financial contributions to the faith, and it was the first time I began to see a somewhat materialistic outlook within the community.
As a preteen and teenager, I engaged in activities like dropping off flyers in mailboxes and soliciting strangers to talk about this great new religion, all in the name of “teaching”. I joined the local choir and sang, inspired by a crush I had on a girl there. This was probably the golden time of the community, with the choir doing outreach and a balance between Western and Iranian believers.
However, things began to accelerate. The Ruhi Institute and teaching became significant focal points. I was encouraged to bring a good friend of mine to a Baha'i camp, and once there, I was pressured to ask him to convert. It was very uncomfortable.
This Reddit loves cringe stories, so here is a winner: I had a birthday party with my non-Baha'i friends, and two older Baha'i girls attended. One of the girls ended up stalking my friend, showing up at his workplace and calling him at home with sexually suggestive comments. The matter was escalated to the Local Spiritual Assembly, but instead of talking to me about it, they basically ended my friendship with this kid. To me, this somehow captures so much of what it was like to be a Baha'i child and how Baha'i adults treat children to this day.
When I turned 15, I signed up for Baha'i membership because it was the expected thing to do. However, by the time I was in my early 20s and studying at university, I had started to interact more with the local, real-world community. This might seem like a small thing, but it was actually quite significant. You see, my parents had always felt a little bit on the outside compared to the average person on the street around them. This sense of elitism was really exacerbated by being a Baha'i because Baha'is would walk around in a cloud of self-assurance, looking at us and thinking, "We don't do drugs. We've got all the answers and solutions, not like you." That was pretty much the attitude. It felt very socio-economic, with a lot of judgment towards working-class people. When the Iranians arrived, the cultural judgments grew even stronger.
But I was working in restaurants and learning about booze from bartenders. I had gotten to know real people. I had lost my virginity, and all that Bahai jazz seemed so much less relevant. I hardly even noticed when the year 2000 arrived without the predicted apocalypse, entry by troops, or any of the other anticipated events. Life went on. I lived in another country and met a girl, and we lived together.
Here is cringe story #2: my girlfriend /fiancé and I hosted a Bahai couple from my hometown. Despite being in my late 20s and engaged, and even though I hosted this gentleman in my house and helped him with his preparations for his business and presentations in the country where I lived, he reported to the Local Spiritual Assembly that I was living with a woman and we weren't married. It was absolutely amazing. The level of judgment still grosses me out.
I started to reflect on what the religion had meant to me and saw how it had changed. The obsession with fundraising was becoming ever more strident and panicked. The gaps in the actual scriptural logic of the religion were becoming more exacerbated as real-world problems still ran rife, and real-time discussions on social media brought these issues to light. It took me a while to start really digging into it, and it was only much later, when I started therapy, that I realized I needed to formally resign from the religion.
Looking back, it's astonishing how this religion, which professes to have such blind equality between the genders, as if other religions have some kind of hardwired sexism, actually had hardwired sexism in how the Universal House of Justice operates. A religion that taught the oneness of humanity, as if all humanity is equal and other religions don't recruit from anyone they can find, places divisors. Although of course, Bahai’s can’t recruit from Israeli Jews, so much for oneness of humanity. But this religion has taught that all humanity is equal, unless, of course, you're gay. Then you can't get married, let alone have sex.
There are other principles I haven't touched on, such as non-involvement in politics, unless it involves things happening to Baha'is or politics in Iran. The principle of independent investigation of the truth doesn't seem to work if you might investigate something that's not in line with the Baha'i perspective. The idea of a universal language? I don't really see any evidence that they're even really thinking about that one. The unity between science and religion? A religion that only allows men to sit on its senior board of a global theocracy probably isn't going to jive with a contemporary scientific perspective…. I mean, apparently you don't need a penis to be a man anymore, right?
In between these moments are my colorful memories of random things, like endless discussions about the boundaries of physical intimacy, people getting married at the age of 16 because they had exemptions for being Persian, and meeting Ms. Khanoom in Israel, feeling some sadness that the lone woman who at least brought some feminine energy to the World Centre is now gone, replaced by 12 boring men.
I've had conversations with my wife where I tried to explain what Baha'is actually do. She just wonders why they aren't doing stuff like normal religions do, like reading to the elderly or supporting schools for the disabled. I explain that's not the target demographic. I remember a wealthy man brought to firesides who obviously nobody else wanted to listen to, but we all sat around and applauded him like he was a great ukulele player and a clever man. He pointed out a hilariously Iranian man who was an alternative healer, and they got into a debate about modern medicine. The wealthy man said, "Well, you should see my daughter and what she studied. She studies Law." And then quickly changed the subject when asked about her name since I studied at the same Law school. Here's this man who's self-aware enough to join the adoration of his crowd but doesn't want his daughter mixed up in it in any way. Absolutely hilarious. Make that cringe story #3.
This reflection was sort of sparked when my wife and I discovered that the writings attributed to Rumi, which Baha'is often quote, is the same guy who started the Whirling Dervishes. We read about Rumi and I realized just how different he is from Baha'u'llah. Rumi wrote poetry, but he didn't pretend to be a prophet of God. He was just offering a different dynamic for how to interpret spirituality. He didn't say he was part of some sort of cycle. There's something beautiful about that simplicity. And needless to say, Rumi lived long before the Baha'is ever started.
It makes me wonder, will anyone ever watch the equivalent of a whirling dervish dance for the Baha'is?
The obsession with appearances sounds like a joke, but it isn't. It wasn't for me. Some bad stuff happened to me on my trip to Israel. When we got there, my parents didn't understand why I was so upset about everything. It was a culture shock, attending a government school, not speaking Hebrew, and being together with Russian kids who got beaten up in the toilet. It wasn't a very good time for me.
So, I was sent to counsel with a local Israeli counselor. After several sessions, she instructed that I had to sit down with my parents and tell them what I needed to tell them, particularly about the shadow that had come over me since coming to Israel. My parents were enraged when I said, “I wish we never became Bahai”.
And so, we returned from the Holy Land and moved to a tiny community that was struggling to get members. To this day, my parents are still members. I've resigned so I'm never dubbed a "covenant breaker." I'm pretty sure my parents know that I resigned because they literally never raise the topic of the Baha'i faith with me. I wish the religion had some interesting cosmology, something mystical, some interesting new take on the universe, or provided my family with tools to handle being migrants or raising teenagers. At the very least, it could have given us a common language we could have used to bond together. It did none of that.
But to be fair, if it wasn't the Baha'is, some other rinky-dink cult would have love-bombed my parents back in the 1980s. Of course, it would have been so much more fun if it had featured more sex and drugs 😊
2024.05.21 10:51 AdmiralStone96230-A MURDER DRONES: Fall of Earth -Chapter XIII: Handed the Keys to Victory- (Pt. 2)
Wade held Jasmine in his arms as he flew a low height down the long road to another section of the staryard, Tina on his back and Nathan and F right behind them in the air. Together, the five glided across the base grounds, taking care as to not irritate the aerial security during their search for the meeting room. Being outside for the flight, the group considered it a blessing that Wade's 'enhanced cooling unit' allowed his body to tolerate the breaching sun in the still cloudy sky, which, according to F, was dangerous to drones like her due to the inefficient cooling she and disassembly drones like her suffered from. Given F's physical fault, she had to fly under shady areas in order to safely traverse the base at day.
Originally, Wade and his friends had planned to walk to the meeting zone, but after running into a trooper experiencing a health mishap, the group did what they could to help the distressed officer. By the time he was brought to the medical ward by other soldiers, Wade found that him and his team would be at least a few minutes late if they kept on their way with their walk.
Deciding to speed things up, Wade, understanding the concern for performing such an effort, opted to carry the Fowleys around the base to the meeting area. Reluctantly, F decided to come along, carrying Nathan in a similar manner that Wade was carrying Jasmine. Taking notice of the time on his HUD, which read, "9:47 AM", Wade scouted for the building he and his friends were directed to. "8072" He said to himself, the number being for the building that would house the imminent meeting.
"They said it was down here, right?" Wade asked aloud to Tina before stopping himself in mid-air, the girl holding onto him tightly as he tried to speak over the growing sound of a retrofit Apache flying overhead.
Looking about, Tina nodded as she spotted the target building. "Yes, I believe that's the one over there!" Pointing past his head, Wade followed her finger to a large building ahead at his right. The structure was moderately tall, only about two stories high, with several soldiers and officers going in and out of the building. Wade smiled as he noticed the target number, as well as the big, bold words describing the building's designation. "8072, Briefing Center B"
"Good eye, honey. Hang on!" Continuing his low glide, Wade zoomed towards the building's entrance before stopping just meters above the ground, his two friends close behind as they slowed down as well. The troopers around them initially looked startled by the sudden arrival of Wade and his group, but quickly regained their composure as Wade hovered still above them.
"At ease! Just visitors." One of the soldiers declared as they identified the newcomers, who touched down before Wade let Jasmine down to her feet, Tina hopping onto the ground along with her.
Putting his hands up, Wade apologized for his swift surprise. "Sorry for the scare, we got delayed for a meeting we're invited to."
The soldier gave an understanding nod as he replied to the former worker drone sternly. "I can see that, just be a bit more careful next time, Mr. Carter. You gave the boys here quite a scare."
Wade returned the gesture in embarrassment as F put a hand to his back, chuckling at his efforts as Tina questioned the officer. "Is Mrs. J in there? She's the one who called for us."
The guard gave his reply as Wade and Tina pulled out their IDs for clearance. "Yes she is, Miss. The meeting's set to begin in under ten minutes." Checking the two drones' IDs, Jasmine and the others pulled out theirs as well, the watchman motioning another trooper over to verify the group. Once the guard finished checking the five's cards, he nodded in approval as the watchman spoke once more. "You're clear to enter."
"Thank you Sir, again, sorry about that spook back there." Wade replied with a smile as the trooper gave one of his own, the disassembly drone and his allies making their way towards the office door before stopping upon the call of a voice.
"Hey, Felice!" Wade turned to find the origin of the voice, F doing the same as the two quickly spotted a quartet of soldiers walking excitedly towards F. The disassembly drone glanced to her friends with a smile before turning back to the approaching entourage.
Wade examined the four troops as they got closer: Two human men, one woman, and a male worker drone. One of the male soldiers had short, blonde hair, and a small scar to the right side of their face. The second man bore a tan skin tone and had black hair, with blue strips that went down slightly in a mullet style. The woman bore a set of long, dark green hair, with the hair going down and over her left shoulder. As for the worker drone, he wore the standard green soldier helmet, single eye visor and all. He had no hair on him from what Wade could tell, and bore a pair of whiteish purple eyes on his visor.
As F walked over to the soldiers, the same one that called to her spoke again. "Felicity, I didn't expect to see you around here today! Where you been?"
The girl soldier interrupted his initial chatter. "Hang on Carlos, do you even know if she remembers us?"
"Aye, don't she have one o' them memory locks, or sumthin?" The drone added in a heavy Scottish accent.
F waved her hand as she replied to the group. "Easy, everyone. Thankfully I still got my memories, courtesy of my technician back at Central." Lowering her hand, F let down her usual persona as she gave a wide smirk to the soldiers, clearly pleased to see them. "Good to see you guys around here."
The soldiers gave light cheers to F as they all embraced her, the group having a surprise reunion as Wade and the others watched in surprise. These must've been F's old colleagues from when she was in the service, Wade thought. Quite the coincidence for them to be here at this base of all places.
Not bothering with the convenience of the matter, Wade shook the thought off as he and his friends watched F and her old friends breaking the hug, Tina wrapping an arm around her boyfriend as the second male human spoke to her in what the two discerned as Spanish. "Ay, who your new friends, F?"
"Oh, these guys?" F replied in the same language, quietly startling Wade and the others as they had never heard her speak like that until now. Glancing over to Wade, F motioned him and the others to come over. "Everyone, these are some friends I made in the past few days. Wade, Nathan, Tina, and Jasmine." She pointed her hand to the four as she said each of their names. "I met the boys here during my time on Ceres. Jasmine and Tina here are sisters."
The four soldiers gave various forms of excitement, ranging from hearty laughs to low woops and even a whistle from one of the guys. As F stood next to her old teammates, they each introduced themselves to Wade and his friends. The blonde soldier went first. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you all, name's Carlos, Lieutenant Marksman."
"I'm Private Alvaros, good with close-range and stealth operations." Said the tan soldier with a salute.
"Sergeant Lucia Vasquez, usually the one who leads this bunch around these days." The female warrior stated with a humorous smirk.
"And Corporal Duncan Wallace, at your service!" The soldier drone stated proudly as he saluted to the bunch in front of him, who gave warm smiles as Wade shook his hand.
"Quite honored to meet you all, seems you have quite the history with F." The former worker drone said as Carlos patted F on her back.
"Oh, we do! She's the one who took charge when we didn't! Did you all hear of the Pasting of Nola VI?" Jasmine and Tina gave nods of affirmation while Wade, not as familiar with such history, held his hand up in a questioning manner.
"I think, wasn't that the battle where the Navy just barely held the outpost in that system? From the Stryker Clan?" Wade asked as Carlos nodded approvingly to him.
"That's right, and if Felice weren't there, WE would've been the ones getting pasted!" Carlos' statement brought victorious cheers and "oorahs" from the group, F letting a blush loose as she chuckled at her team's praise of her efforts.
"Well, that's not wrong." Although she didn't want to break off from her friends and discuss the past few years since they'd last met, F remembered the briefing. Clearing her throat, she continued. "And as much as I'd like to chat about the good times, I've been called to a meeting here, as have Wade and his crew."
The soldier group gave understanding looks to F as Lucia spoke up. "Thought so, Carl here was real eager to see you, though."
"Maybe we can talk after the meeting?" Nathan proposed as the soldiers collectively nodded in agreement, F readying a smartcomm attachment before turning to face her friends again.
"We're probably getting low on time, you all go in, I'll catch up in a sec." Wade nodded in acknowledgement before taking Tina's hand, the lover drones continuing towards the briefing center as Jasmine and Nathan followed behind them.
Passing through the door, the four guests observed a short hallway, which seemed to split into two paths as they came closer to the other end. Looking to a sign on the wall above, they saw arrows pointing to two separate areas, "Primary Briefing Room; Main Lobby + Secondary & Tertiary" Going to the right, they entered the moderately active lobby, several officers walking and standing about in mass chatter. Walking over to the desk up against the wall to their left, Wade and his group waved a hand to the occupying attendant.
"Welcome, what do you need?" The desk attendant asked as Tina raised a finger to reply.
"We're here for a meeting, Mrs. J called us here."
The attendant nodded in understanding before directing an arm towards the other end of the room, where a single door stood. "She should be in the second briefing room down that way."
"Thank you." Tina replied warmly before she and Wade began walking towards the door, their friends behind them as they proceeded into the room.
The room beyond the door was quite sizable, a large circular table occupying the middle with several chairs surrounding it. The walls went up a few meters, with four whiteish blue lights illuminating the room. On the wall opposite to Wade and Tina were three monitor screens, all of which showed the USN in bright blue. In several of the seats were faces both familiar and unfamiliar, several men and women in varying styles of uniforms conversing about quietly or taking notice of the recent visitors. Standing up near the monitors were three people: A decorated officer whom Tina identified as a ship captain, and the so-called operatives, Tessa, albeit as a hologram, and J.
Walking slowly into the room, Wade gave a low wave of his hand as he tried to hide his nervousness. Noticing his shyness in front of the officers, Tina held his hand and rubbed his arm comfortingly while returning a pleasant smile to the staff in the room.
"Ah, Wade, Tina. Glad to see you all here." J stated with a smile as she scanned the group, raising a digital eyebrow as she noticed one missing guest. "Or, most of you, I see. Did F run off somewhere?"
Wade shook his head as he replied to his fellow disassembly drone. "Oh, no. She just ran into some old friends, she should be back-"
"Right now." F finished aloud as she entered the room, seemingly having heard Wade speaking about her absence. The warrior drone fast walked to Wade's team, taking a seat near them as they prepared to do the same. "Not too late, are we?"
"Not at all." The standing officer answered as the group took their seats, Wade and Tina sitting next to each other as they got comfortable. The captain examined the lot for a moment, glancing to J as he asked about them. "So, these are the ones you helped rescue from the Mojave?"
"Yes Captain, and they helped us out greatly in turn. This is Wade Carter, one of the captured drones whom became a disassembly drone before we could mount the rescue. The luckiest one, if you ask me." Motioning her arm over the others, she continued. "And there's his girlfriend, Mrs. Tina Fowley, and her sister Jasmine." Smirking to F and Nathan, she finished her friends' introductions. "And these two are Serial Designation F and Mr. Nathan, whom I've heard were once under your ranks."
The military captain gave a welcoming smile to the five as they returned the gesture, eyeing F and Nathan specifically before speaking to them. "Indeed they were, we still have records on their contributions to the colonies." Eyeing F, he continued. "Though, in Mrs. F's case, I won't blame her if she doesn't remember us. We've been very well aware of JCJenson's 'memory suppression' protocols when it comes to their DDs."
F laid back in her seat with a smug look as she replied to her former superior. "Well, my friend on the station's a good tech gal. She's... waived that hindrance from me."
"I see, that means your still with us, am I right, Mrs. Lee?" Unlike her friends next to her, F was not startled by her original name being said aloud, rather smiling proudly as she saluted to the captain. "Good to see you again."
"Pleased to be here, Sir." F replied as she lowered her arm, glancing to her companions next to her as J spoke up.
"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Captain Preston Mitchell, commander of the USNV Vickers down at the stardock."
Wade gave a respectful salute to Preston as he spoke first. "It's an honor to meet you, Sir."
"Thank you, Mr. Carter. I've heard about your efforts from J, you did an admirable job back there, son." Wade failed to hide an embarrassed blush from the compliment, but it quickly faded as a beep sounded from a small device on the table. It was swiftly silenced by the captain as he tapped a button on the small, pyramid shaped timer, then facing Wade's group before continuing. "Though, as much as we could use some small talk, it'll have to wait till later."
"Indeed, we're running late at this point." Said another officer, a highly decorated member of the base with dark skin, dark grey hair and a thin beard. He immediately won the attention of everyone in the room as he spoke up. "I'm General Hugh Hood, overseer of this base. I'm certain you know some of the reasons you're here with us, correct?"
Wade nodded as he spoke to Hood. "Yeah, it's cause of those rogue agents from the JCJenson corporation." Glancing to J, the corporate drone nodded in affirmation before speaking herself.
"Tessa and I spent the last hours of yesterday evening clearing up the matter with General Hood, along with several other officials stationed here." She stopped as the middle monitor behind her flashed with a banner at the top, reading, "INCOMING TRANSMISSION", and in place of the USN emblem was a textless version of the JCJenson logo. Below the profile image was another two lines of text. "N. Jenson (Company Exec); Comms Source: Yottrite IV"
"And also told our boss about what happened here too, he wanted to give his say on this ordeal." Looking to the general, J asked him, "May I put him on?"
Hood only gave a nod of approval to the corporate drone before she picked up a remote on the table and tapped a button, accepting the call as the picture shifted to show a middle-aged man in a pristine-looking business suit on the screen.
Wade and Tina glanced to each other before J introduced their guest on the screen. "Ladies and Gentlemen, the CEO of JCJenson: Mr. Noor Jenson."
Jenson gave a pleased nod to his subordinate as he spoke to J. "Thank you for the pleasantries, J. I see we are ready to discuss our plans on dealing with this 'recall' disaster I've bore witness to on the news this morning?"
J nodded as she replied to her boss. "Indeed, I've explained to General Hood here about our efforts yesterday, and, as of recent, we've just received a message from a source we believe to be close to the company."
Mr. Jenson looked down to J attentively as he spoke to her. "Well, that's quite intriguing news, J. Do you have this message available for us to view?" J and Hood both nodded in affirmation, but didn't get an immediate reply as Jenson gazed to Wade and his friends. "...And I presume these are some of the drones rescued from one of the factories?"
Again, J nodded to her superior before explaining her colleagues. "Yes Mr. Jenson, the two drones at the front in particular were among those taken by the Administrator and their subordinates." Pointing an arm to Wade and Tina, she introduced the drone couple. "The disassembly drone here is Mr. Wade Carter, a brother to his-technically speaking-owner, the late Ron Carter. The latter helped us recover Wade during an initial raid inside the Nevada facility." When bringing up Ron, J gave an apologetic look to Wade as to show she did not mean to be offending on him and his brother's relationship. "And this is his romantic partner, Mrs. Tina Fowley. I heard she and her sister Jasmine are pilots."
Jenson looked over the two drones as his obedient employee described them to him, quietly sighing as Wade and Tina returned the gaze with nervous smiles. Once J finished, Jenson spoke to Wade. "I... would say it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Carter. But, given recent events, I don't hold fault to you for feeling frustrated at me for my... former subordinate's actions."
Wade shook his head lightly, taking Jenson's light apology with a faint smile as he replied to the CEO. "Actually, I don't. The only person I have such feelings put towards is," He hesitated for a moment, his anger at Dr. Halloway returning for a short moment before he eased himself. "..That bastard Halloway."
"The feeling's mutual, Mr. Carter. Dr. Halloway has been trying my patience for years now, especially with you and your fellow disassembly drones." Looking to J, then F, he returned his gaze to Wade before questioning him on his new body. "I don't know if J has told you of this, but if there's one truth my company has admittedly not held up to for a while, it's our quality. Recently, some of my research staff here made blueprints for an upgraded variant of the disassembly drone design. It's intended to fix several faults we expected to be nonexistent previously, most notably that atrocious cooling unit."
As a schematic pulled up on the left monitor, everyone glanced to the improved design before F spoke up about it. "If I may ask, Mr. Jenson, how big of an improvement is this new cooling unit supposed to be?"
"Good question, F. Frankly, it's supposed to do away with the issue entirely. Saves us from sacrificing enormous supplies of oil for the poorly built unit in the previous iterations. We even tested it with a repaired drone just a few days ago, and it worked flawlessly." Then, glancing to Wade again, he questioned the former worker drone on his new form. "Speaking of, how does your enhanced body feel, Mr. Carter? I'm certain it feels better to not have to-"
"Actually, Mr. Jenson," Wade interrupted, pulling out one of his canteens as he answered the CEO on his upgrades. "I guess Halloway changed up the blueprints, cause unfortunately this new cooling unit didn't cure the overheating problem. I... kinda learned that the hard way." Wade glanced to Tina apologetically, still feeling bad from her seeing him eat the corpse of the dead murder drone back at the factory.
The corporate CEO grimaced in frustration as he took in Wade's statement, already intolerant of the head researcher's actions as he replied. "...I was worried about that, Edgar always likes to run things his own way, making excuses for that 'Administrator' he watches over." Taking an agitated breath, he continued on with his spew on the two culprits of yesterday's events. "It was only because of all the very impressive creations and enhancements she and her research team provided that I tolerated them for so long, but this..." Sitting up straight in front of the camera, Jenson finished sternly. "J said the Administrator... Cyn, I believe? She was apparently something worse than we presumed originally, and I'm very inclined to believe so after yesterday."
"As well as the program tied to the Administrator, the AbsoluteSolver." J clarified before receiving an agreeing nod from Mr. Jenson, standing corrected on his placing of blame.
Raising a hand, Nathan asked about the supposed plans. "Yeah, about this "Solver Project", what do we plan to do about that?"
"Good question, Nate." Tessa replied as she crossed her arms before looking to Jenson and beginning her explanation. "Initially, we were going to investigate the other factories spread across Earth in order to get some more info on the Administrator before things get worse. But, just this morning, it seems someone else saved us the trouble." Just as Tessa neared the end of her sentence, J held up the remote again, tapping a few buttons before the left monitor shifted to show a slightly grainy video onscreen.
The video only showed a single being, a worker drone, dressed in a chrome suit and bearing a set of yellow eyes. Behind them was what appeared to be a vacant room, a few shelves holding many books within them standing still in the back. The drone's visage indicated they were filled with immense anxiety, terrified of being caught as they spoke quietly to the camera.
"I can only hope someone gets this in time, they're gonna be on me once they find out the transmitter screens are down!" Turning the camera, he showed what appeared to be a large factory room, several more of the mysterious conveyor belts like at the factory slotted next to each other. It was hard to discern every detail due to not only the window reflection, but also the dark lighting in the inactive conveyor room. Filming the room beyond, the drone continued. "Dr. Halloway's a madman, he's got more of those stolen drones being brought here and he's going to be overseeing it in the afternoon tomorrow! I've seen what happened back in Nevada, I can't take this any longer! I'm at coordinates ##.######, -###.###### Please, send someo-"
The suspicious, partially scrambled transmission immediately cut off to static, leaving Wade, Tina, and their friends with confused expressions as Tessa spoke up. "Yeah, that caught me by surprise too."
"So, that guy says they got more drones being sent 'there', but... where is there, exactly?" Jasmine asked with immense curiosity.
"I was hoping you'd ask that, Mrs. Fowley." The technician replied as she glanced to J, who tapped a few more buttons on the remote before speaking over her boss-friend.
"While the transmission itself isn't much to work off of, our friends from Comms over here managed to intercept the signal earlier, and even better, discern where it originated from." As J started her explanation, the screen shifted once more to show a large city, with one skyscraper highlighted in red as it was zoomed towards on the screen. "That scrambled audio wasn't a simple glitch, it was intentionally done so as to hide key information for us to uncover. Upon cleaning up the message, we managed to recover a set of coordinates, which direct to this structure here, in San Francisco."
Wade and his friends stared at the building in shock, examining the tall structure as it stood over the shorter buildings in the city. Tina broke the silence in her gaze. "So, this is another factory? It looks... terribly different from the one we got out of."
"Not exactly, Mrs. Fowley." Mr. Jenson answered, Tina and the others looking to him as he continued. "THAT is the Administrator's main laboratory, its location was kept on the down low so other authorities and terrorist groups wouldn't find out what the buildings true purpose was." Sighing, Jenson completed his reply. "But, with this recent mistake of Halloway's, that place has lost all purpose for us at the company."
Wade raised a hand to speak. "So, we're going to pounce on that place? Get Halloway before he runs off again?"
"Exactly." General Hood replied as he looked up to Mr. Jenson. "This whole 'recovery/recruitment' effort has gotten out of hand all across Sol. We've gotten countless reports of people being killed because of this, be it the brutal robberies here in Nevada or the bloodbath on Ceres. Even if Mr. Jenson refuses to cooperate, this has become a dire matter for us now. One way or another, this insanity will be stopped with due haste."
The CEO nodded in acknowledgement before explaining his own plans for the mission. "Speaking of cooperation, upon seeing what was happening at Earth, I ordered a detachment of our corporate starships in orbit at the time to depart for Sol in order to help with investigating the situation. They're not warships, but they are well-armed. I'll dispatch them to your authority upon concluding this call." Glancing to Wade and his team for a moment, Jenson continued. "As for the mission, I may not have much of a say, but let it be known that you have my blessing to do whatever it takes to end this madness. I don't care what you do with Halloway or any of his lackeys, or what happens to that facility down there... I want that program shut down."
"Thank you for the extra hands, Mr. Jenson. We'll make sure this Administrator is dealt with." Hood replied gratefully as Wade sat firm in his seat, Tina and the others following suite.
"General?" The former worker drone said aloud, catching Hood's attention before he made his request. "I know I'm not a soldier, but I want to help with dealing with Halloway and his grunts. After what he did, after losing my brother, I can't rest until I see that man stopped."
Tina raised a finger as well. "As do I, Wade could use a hand with those people, and given how we did during our escape run out of that place, I think the two of us make quite the duo." She glanced to Wade with a smirk as she referenced their combat prowess when flying together.
Nathan and F stood up before the latter gave her own request. "Sir, I wish to take part in this mission as well. I can also recommend Wade for you too, as I fought alongside him during the factory raid."
"Wouldn't mind giving a hand myself! And I'm sure my pal Kurtis would love to help, he's here at the base too!" Nathan added with a confident smirk, the group's determination encouraging Jasmine to stand up as well.
"I'd like to help too." She stated simply, a smile on her face as the general and his companions observed the five guests.
Admittedly, Hood knew it would be a bit absurd to allow these people to take part in an operation which would certainly involve bloodshed, especially considering most of them merely had civilian status at the moment. But, upon careful evaluation of the five, their desire to see this problem dealt with, and the fact that some of them had experience on the field...
He paused his train of thought as Captain Mitchell spoke to him. "General? I read up on the Fowleys' files when we recovered Mrs. Jasmine here, they provided service in their early careers." He smirked to the pilot sisters as he finished adding his say. "And to be frank, we need more people like them here. The records we have of them showed them to be damn fine pilots."
Tina blushed at the praise from Mitchell as she spoke to the general. "That is true, we uh... did get discharged for our... 'fancy maneuvering'."
"Sir?" Jasmine said, the general's attention on her as she added to the conversation. "Even if our flying is a bit out of protocol, Tina saved a lot of people on that starjet a few days back. I can promise you, she's an excellent woman to have at the wheel."
Glancing to Wade again, Hood took in his face, one of begging desperation as he spoke once more. "Please, Sir. My brother, the troops he brought from the Coalition, Halloway's gotten them all killed cause of this. I want to do this. I HAVE to do this, at least for them."
The good general took a deep, quiet breath, considering his decision once more before finally revealing it to Wade and his friends. "Mr. Carter, Fowleys? I'm probably making myself a fool for saying this, but you're permitted to assist us in this mission."
The drone couple contained their gratefulness in the form of ecstatic grins as Wade replied to the general. "Thanks, General. We won't let you down."
"And Mrs. Lee?" Hood said as he glanced to F, who returned the gesture as he told her, "You're technically under Mr. Jenson's authority, whatever his answer is, it's mine as well."
Bringing her yellow-orange eyes to her CEO, F awaited Mr. Jenson's answer. "F, yes? I heard Mr. Hood call you by a different name just now, I assume you have some experience with the army?"
The warrior drone nodded as she explained herself. "I once inherited the name of Felicity Lee, Mr. Jenson. I served under the USN Defense Forces before joining the DD Division." Then, glancing to the military staff near her, she finished with, "I had hoped to provide my enhancements to the Force one day."
Jenson gave a hint of a proud smile as he finally gave his decision. "Well, it seems you'll finally get that chance. From now on, even after this mission on Earth is over with, you're hereby dispatched to serve under the USN."
F admittedly couldn't hide her excited smirk as she flung a salute to her now former boss. "Thank you Sir!"
Looking up to Jenson, General Hood asked the CEO, "Mr. Jenson, how long until your ships can reach Earth?"
Jenson glanced down at his communication console as he answered the military leader. "At max speed, their Ion drives should be able to bring them into orbit in as little as one to two days. I believe there should be some ships within the system that could help as well."
"Signal them when you can, Mr. Jenson. We could use all the help we can get from them." The CEO nodded to Hood as he stood firmly to the viewer, the general turning to face Wade and his colleagues. "And Mr. Carter? We'll be mobilizing our forces immediately after this meeting concludes. It'll be a minute, but I want you to gather whatever items and belongings you'll need for this operation. Be ready to head to the flight pads in no more than three hours."
"Understood Sir!" Wade said with a salute, Tina, Jasmine and Nathan giving their own as Jasmine raised a finger.
"What about the area around the lab? That place looks like it's in the middle of the city."
J raised a finger as she told Jasmine and the others about their resolution of the civilian obstacle. "Shortly after reporting our findings on the transmission, Hood told us that they were sending in some teams to clear out the civilian population within several miles of the facility. Once we get there, it should be of no concern."
Jasmine sighed in relief as Tina spoke up. "So the people should be safe from any sort of danger?"
"Correct, Mrs. Tina." Preston answered before continuing. "Given the resistance Halloway and his men showed during the Coalition's raid, they most certainly won't hold back there."
"One more thing, Sir." Nathan asked. "The Coalition's going to help us out with this too, right?"
"You can count on it, Mr. Nathan." The Vickers' captain replied as he looked to J, then to Jenson as he spoke further. "I met the leader of the Coalition's detachment working with us when I was introduced to J and Mrs. Elliott here, they intend to see this conflict finished. I highly doubt they're willing to sit back and let us do this by ourselves."
"And their help will be much appreciated." Hood added, everyone's attention returned to him as he looked to Tessa, curious eyes scanning her holographic form. "And Mrs. Elliott, if I may. Do you mind heading down here to assist us in our investigations later on?"
"Funny you say that, General. I'm almost done with my own snooping around on the JCJ up in orbit, Cyn has some small departments of hers aboard, and I thought I'd gather some more intel before coming down." Glancing to Mr. Jenson, she saw him giving an understanding nod before returning her gaze to the military staff. "I should be down there by the evening, judging by where you're located."
"Do what you must, Mrs. Elliott. We could use whatever you find." Hood replied firmly as he turned once more to the JCJenson CEO. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Jenson. We will get to the bottom of this."
"It's my pleasure, General." Glancing to J and Tessa, he spoke to them once more. "J? Contact me when you've finished with Halloway and his Administrator."
"It'll be done, Mr. Jenson." The obedient servant answered before saluting firmly, receiving a final nod from her boss before he ended the transmission.
With their off-world guest out of the way, Hood looked to Wade and his friends, J, Tessa and Captain Mitchells sharing the gaze with them as the general spoke to them in finality. "Well, you know what comes next everyone. You're all dismissed for now. And remember, landing zone by 1300."
"We'll be there Sir." Wade said with a nod as he and his friends stood up, pushing in their chairs before making their way out to the door.
As they neared it, Wade stopped for a moment as they heard Hood call to one of his friends. "And F?" The soldier drone looked to the general as he continued. "Before we depart, would you mind changing your uniform? I believe it could help with identifying you from the other disassembly drones more easily." Glancing to J, then back to F, he finished with, "I recall hearing about the most formidable drones having clones prepared, yes?"
"Correct, Sir. I'll stop by the nearest barracks while I can." F replied before turning back to the door with her colleagues, Wade opening the door for them all as they passed through. After them, Wade passed through himself, shutting the door to the meeting room as he returned to the lobby.
Walking about together, F spoke to Wade and the others. "Well, that went smoothly. I'll be heading down to the barracks, then head over to your place to help out."
"Actually," Wade replied, raising a finger up as he asked his fellow murder drone, "You think you could bring your friends over? We could get to know each other while we're getting ready."
F glanced to Nathan with a smile before returning her eyes to Wade. "I could see about that. You're gonna like them, I can promise you that."
Taking Tina's hand, Wade walked with his girlfriend alongside Jasmine and the others, nearing the hallway they came through as they prepared for the walk back to the apartment.
submitted by AdmiralStone96230-A to MurderDrones [link] [comments]
Originally, Wade and his friends had planned to walk to the meeting zone, but after running into a trooper experiencing a health mishap, the group did what they could to help the distressed officer. By the time he was brought to the medical ward by other soldiers, Wade found that him and his team would be at least a few minutes late if they kept on their way with their walk.
Deciding to speed things up, Wade, understanding the concern for performing such an effort, opted to carry the Fowleys around the base to the meeting area. Reluctantly, F decided to come along, carrying Nathan in a similar manner that Wade was carrying Jasmine. Taking notice of the time on his HUD, which read, "9:47 AM", Wade scouted for the building he and his friends were directed to. "8072" He said to himself, the number being for the building that would house the imminent meeting.
"They said it was down here, right?" Wade asked aloud to Tina before stopping himself in mid-air, the girl holding onto him tightly as he tried to speak over the growing sound of a retrofit Apache flying overhead.
Looking about, Tina nodded as she spotted the target building. "Yes, I believe that's the one over there!" Pointing past his head, Wade followed her finger to a large building ahead at his right. The structure was moderately tall, only about two stories high, with several soldiers and officers going in and out of the building. Wade smiled as he noticed the target number, as well as the big, bold words describing the building's designation. "8072, Briefing Center B"
"Good eye, honey. Hang on!" Continuing his low glide, Wade zoomed towards the building's entrance before stopping just meters above the ground, his two friends close behind as they slowed down as well. The troopers around them initially looked startled by the sudden arrival of Wade and his group, but quickly regained their composure as Wade hovered still above them.
"At ease! Just visitors." One of the soldiers declared as they identified the newcomers, who touched down before Wade let Jasmine down to her feet, Tina hopping onto the ground along with her.
Putting his hands up, Wade apologized for his swift surprise. "Sorry for the scare, we got delayed for a meeting we're invited to."
The soldier gave an understanding nod as he replied to the former worker drone sternly. "I can see that, just be a bit more careful next time, Mr. Carter. You gave the boys here quite a scare."
Wade returned the gesture in embarrassment as F put a hand to his back, chuckling at his efforts as Tina questioned the officer. "Is Mrs. J in there? She's the one who called for us."
The guard gave his reply as Wade and Tina pulled out their IDs for clearance. "Yes she is, Miss. The meeting's set to begin in under ten minutes." Checking the two drones' IDs, Jasmine and the others pulled out theirs as well, the watchman motioning another trooper over to verify the group. Once the guard finished checking the five's cards, he nodded in approval as the watchman spoke once more. "You're clear to enter."
"Thank you Sir, again, sorry about that spook back there." Wade replied with a smile as the trooper gave one of his own, the disassembly drone and his allies making their way towards the office door before stopping upon the call of a voice.
"Hey, Felice!" Wade turned to find the origin of the voice, F doing the same as the two quickly spotted a quartet of soldiers walking excitedly towards F. The disassembly drone glanced to her friends with a smile before turning back to the approaching entourage.
Wade examined the four troops as they got closer: Two human men, one woman, and a male worker drone. One of the male soldiers had short, blonde hair, and a small scar to the right side of their face. The second man bore a tan skin tone and had black hair, with blue strips that went down slightly in a mullet style. The woman bore a set of long, dark green hair, with the hair going down and over her left shoulder. As for the worker drone, he wore the standard green soldier helmet, single eye visor and all. He had no hair on him from what Wade could tell, and bore a pair of whiteish purple eyes on his visor.
As F walked over to the soldiers, the same one that called to her spoke again. "Felicity, I didn't expect to see you around here today! Where you been?"
The girl soldier interrupted his initial chatter. "Hang on Carlos, do you even know if she remembers us?"
"Aye, don't she have one o' them memory locks, or sumthin?" The drone added in a heavy Scottish accent.
F waved her hand as she replied to the group. "Easy, everyone. Thankfully I still got my memories, courtesy of my technician back at Central." Lowering her hand, F let down her usual persona as she gave a wide smirk to the soldiers, clearly pleased to see them. "Good to see you guys around here."
The soldiers gave light cheers to F as they all embraced her, the group having a surprise reunion as Wade and the others watched in surprise. These must've been F's old colleagues from when she was in the service, Wade thought. Quite the coincidence for them to be here at this base of all places.
Not bothering with the convenience of the matter, Wade shook the thought off as he and his friends watched F and her old friends breaking the hug, Tina wrapping an arm around her boyfriend as the second male human spoke to her in what the two discerned as Spanish. "Ay, who your new friends, F?"
"Oh, these guys?" F replied in the same language, quietly startling Wade and the others as they had never heard her speak like that until now. Glancing over to Wade, F motioned him and the others to come over. "Everyone, these are some friends I made in the past few days. Wade, Nathan, Tina, and Jasmine." She pointed her hand to the four as she said each of their names. "I met the boys here during my time on Ceres. Jasmine and Tina here are sisters."
The four soldiers gave various forms of excitement, ranging from hearty laughs to low woops and even a whistle from one of the guys. As F stood next to her old teammates, they each introduced themselves to Wade and his friends. The blonde soldier went first. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you all, name's Carlos, Lieutenant Marksman."
"I'm Private Alvaros, good with close-range and stealth operations." Said the tan soldier with a salute.
"Sergeant Lucia Vasquez, usually the one who leads this bunch around these days." The female warrior stated with a humorous smirk.
"And Corporal Duncan Wallace, at your service!" The soldier drone stated proudly as he saluted to the bunch in front of him, who gave warm smiles as Wade shook his hand.
"Quite honored to meet you all, seems you have quite the history with F." The former worker drone said as Carlos patted F on her back.
"Oh, we do! She's the one who took charge when we didn't! Did you all hear of the Pasting of Nola VI?" Jasmine and Tina gave nods of affirmation while Wade, not as familiar with such history, held his hand up in a questioning manner.
"I think, wasn't that the battle where the Navy just barely held the outpost in that system? From the Stryker Clan?" Wade asked as Carlos nodded approvingly to him.
"That's right, and if Felice weren't there, WE would've been the ones getting pasted!" Carlos' statement brought victorious cheers and "oorahs" from the group, F letting a blush loose as she chuckled at her team's praise of her efforts.
"Well, that's not wrong." Although she didn't want to break off from her friends and discuss the past few years since they'd last met, F remembered the briefing. Clearing her throat, she continued. "And as much as I'd like to chat about the good times, I've been called to a meeting here, as have Wade and his crew."
The soldier group gave understanding looks to F as Lucia spoke up. "Thought so, Carl here was real eager to see you, though."
"Maybe we can talk after the meeting?" Nathan proposed as the soldiers collectively nodded in agreement, F readying a smartcomm attachment before turning to face her friends again.
"We're probably getting low on time, you all go in, I'll catch up in a sec." Wade nodded in acknowledgement before taking Tina's hand, the lover drones continuing towards the briefing center as Jasmine and Nathan followed behind them.
Passing through the door, the four guests observed a short hallway, which seemed to split into two paths as they came closer to the other end. Looking to a sign on the wall above, they saw arrows pointing to two separate areas, "Primary Briefing Room; Main Lobby + Secondary & Tertiary" Going to the right, they entered the moderately active lobby, several officers walking and standing about in mass chatter. Walking over to the desk up against the wall to their left, Wade and his group waved a hand to the occupying attendant.
"Welcome, what do you need?" The desk attendant asked as Tina raised a finger to reply.
"We're here for a meeting, Mrs. J called us here."
The attendant nodded in understanding before directing an arm towards the other end of the room, where a single door stood. "She should be in the second briefing room down that way."
"Thank you." Tina replied warmly before she and Wade began walking towards the door, their friends behind them as they proceeded into the room.
The room beyond the door was quite sizable, a large circular table occupying the middle with several chairs surrounding it. The walls went up a few meters, with four whiteish blue lights illuminating the room. On the wall opposite to Wade and Tina were three monitor screens, all of which showed the USN in bright blue. In several of the seats were faces both familiar and unfamiliar, several men and women in varying styles of uniforms conversing about quietly or taking notice of the recent visitors. Standing up near the monitors were three people: A decorated officer whom Tina identified as a ship captain, and the so-called operatives, Tessa, albeit as a hologram, and J.
Walking slowly into the room, Wade gave a low wave of his hand as he tried to hide his nervousness. Noticing his shyness in front of the officers, Tina held his hand and rubbed his arm comfortingly while returning a pleasant smile to the staff in the room.
"Ah, Wade, Tina. Glad to see you all here." J stated with a smile as she scanned the group, raising a digital eyebrow as she noticed one missing guest. "Or, most of you, I see. Did F run off somewhere?"
Wade shook his head as he replied to his fellow disassembly drone. "Oh, no. She just ran into some old friends, she should be back-"
"Right now." F finished aloud as she entered the room, seemingly having heard Wade speaking about her absence. The warrior drone fast walked to Wade's team, taking a seat near them as they prepared to do the same. "Not too late, are we?"
"Not at all." The standing officer answered as the group took their seats, Wade and Tina sitting next to each other as they got comfortable. The captain examined the lot for a moment, glancing to J as he asked about them. "So, these are the ones you helped rescue from the Mojave?"
"Yes Captain, and they helped us out greatly in turn. This is Wade Carter, one of the captured drones whom became a disassembly drone before we could mount the rescue. The luckiest one, if you ask me." Motioning her arm over the others, she continued. "And there's his girlfriend, Mrs. Tina Fowley, and her sister Jasmine." Smirking to F and Nathan, she finished her friends' introductions. "And these two are Serial Designation F and Mr. Nathan, whom I've heard were once under your ranks."
The military captain gave a welcoming smile to the five as they returned the gesture, eyeing F and Nathan specifically before speaking to them. "Indeed they were, we still have records on their contributions to the colonies." Eyeing F, he continued. "Though, in Mrs. F's case, I won't blame her if she doesn't remember us. We've been very well aware of JCJenson's 'memory suppression' protocols when it comes to their DDs."
F laid back in her seat with a smug look as she replied to her former superior. "Well, my friend on the station's a good tech gal. She's... waived that hindrance from me."
"I see, that means your still with us, am I right, Mrs. Lee?" Unlike her friends next to her, F was not startled by her original name being said aloud, rather smiling proudly as she saluted to the captain. "Good to see you again."
"Pleased to be here, Sir." F replied as she lowered her arm, glancing to her companions next to her as J spoke up.
"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Captain Preston Mitchell, commander of the USNV Vickers down at the stardock."
Wade gave a respectful salute to Preston as he spoke first. "It's an honor to meet you, Sir."
"Thank you, Mr. Carter. I've heard about your efforts from J, you did an admirable job back there, son." Wade failed to hide an embarrassed blush from the compliment, but it quickly faded as a beep sounded from a small device on the table. It was swiftly silenced by the captain as he tapped a button on the small, pyramid shaped timer, then facing Wade's group before continuing. "Though, as much as we could use some small talk, it'll have to wait till later."
"Indeed, we're running late at this point." Said another officer, a highly decorated member of the base with dark skin, dark grey hair and a thin beard. He immediately won the attention of everyone in the room as he spoke up. "I'm General Hugh Hood, overseer of this base. I'm certain you know some of the reasons you're here with us, correct?"
Wade nodded as he spoke to Hood. "Yeah, it's cause of those rogue agents from the JCJenson corporation." Glancing to J, the corporate drone nodded in affirmation before speaking herself.
"Tessa and I spent the last hours of yesterday evening clearing up the matter with General Hood, along with several other officials stationed here." She stopped as the middle monitor behind her flashed with a banner at the top, reading, "INCOMING TRANSMISSION", and in place of the USN emblem was a textless version of the JCJenson logo. Below the profile image was another two lines of text. "N. Jenson (Company Exec); Comms Source: Yottrite IV"
"And also told our boss about what happened here too, he wanted to give his say on this ordeal." Looking to the general, J asked him, "May I put him on?"
Hood only gave a nod of approval to the corporate drone before she picked up a remote on the table and tapped a button, accepting the call as the picture shifted to show a middle-aged man in a pristine-looking business suit on the screen.
Wade and Tina glanced to each other before J introduced their guest on the screen. "Ladies and Gentlemen, the CEO of JCJenson: Mr. Noor Jenson."
Jenson gave a pleased nod to his subordinate as he spoke to J. "Thank you for the pleasantries, J. I see we are ready to discuss our plans on dealing with this 'recall' disaster I've bore witness to on the news this morning?"
J nodded as she replied to her boss. "Indeed, I've explained to General Hood here about our efforts yesterday, and, as of recent, we've just received a message from a source we believe to be close to the company."
Mr. Jenson looked down to J attentively as he spoke to her. "Well, that's quite intriguing news, J. Do you have this message available for us to view?" J and Hood both nodded in affirmation, but didn't get an immediate reply as Jenson gazed to Wade and his friends. "...And I presume these are some of the drones rescued from one of the factories?"
Again, J nodded to her superior before explaining her colleagues. "Yes Mr. Jenson, the two drones at the front in particular were among those taken by the Administrator and their subordinates." Pointing an arm to Wade and Tina, she introduced the drone couple. "The disassembly drone here is Mr. Wade Carter, a brother to his-technically speaking-owner, the late Ron Carter. The latter helped us recover Wade during an initial raid inside the Nevada facility." When bringing up Ron, J gave an apologetic look to Wade as to show she did not mean to be offending on him and his brother's relationship. "And this is his romantic partner, Mrs. Tina Fowley. I heard she and her sister Jasmine are pilots."
Jenson looked over the two drones as his obedient employee described them to him, quietly sighing as Wade and Tina returned the gaze with nervous smiles. Once J finished, Jenson spoke to Wade. "I... would say it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Carter. But, given recent events, I don't hold fault to you for feeling frustrated at me for my... former subordinate's actions."
Wade shook his head lightly, taking Jenson's light apology with a faint smile as he replied to the CEO. "Actually, I don't. The only person I have such feelings put towards is," He hesitated for a moment, his anger at Dr. Halloway returning for a short moment before he eased himself. "..That bastard Halloway."
"The feeling's mutual, Mr. Carter. Dr. Halloway has been trying my patience for years now, especially with you and your fellow disassembly drones." Looking to J, then F, he returned his gaze to Wade before questioning him on his new body. "I don't know if J has told you of this, but if there's one truth my company has admittedly not held up to for a while, it's our quality. Recently, some of my research staff here made blueprints for an upgraded variant of the disassembly drone design. It's intended to fix several faults we expected to be nonexistent previously, most notably that atrocious cooling unit."
As a schematic pulled up on the left monitor, everyone glanced to the improved design before F spoke up about it. "If I may ask, Mr. Jenson, how big of an improvement is this new cooling unit supposed to be?"
"Good question, F. Frankly, it's supposed to do away with the issue entirely. Saves us from sacrificing enormous supplies of oil for the poorly built unit in the previous iterations. We even tested it with a repaired drone just a few days ago, and it worked flawlessly." Then, glancing to Wade again, he questioned the former worker drone on his new form. "Speaking of, how does your enhanced body feel, Mr. Carter? I'm certain it feels better to not have to-"
"Actually, Mr. Jenson," Wade interrupted, pulling out one of his canteens as he answered the CEO on his upgrades. "I guess Halloway changed up the blueprints, cause unfortunately this new cooling unit didn't cure the overheating problem. I... kinda learned that the hard way." Wade glanced to Tina apologetically, still feeling bad from her seeing him eat the corpse of the dead murder drone back at the factory.
The corporate CEO grimaced in frustration as he took in Wade's statement, already intolerant of the head researcher's actions as he replied. "...I was worried about that, Edgar always likes to run things his own way, making excuses for that 'Administrator' he watches over." Taking an agitated breath, he continued on with his spew on the two culprits of yesterday's events. "It was only because of all the very impressive creations and enhancements she and her research team provided that I tolerated them for so long, but this..." Sitting up straight in front of the camera, Jenson finished sternly. "J said the Administrator... Cyn, I believe? She was apparently something worse than we presumed originally, and I'm very inclined to believe so after yesterday."
"As well as the program tied to the Administrator, the AbsoluteSolver." J clarified before receiving an agreeing nod from Mr. Jenson, standing corrected on his placing of blame.
Raising a hand, Nathan asked about the supposed plans. "Yeah, about this "Solver Project", what do we plan to do about that?"
"Good question, Nate." Tessa replied as she crossed her arms before looking to Jenson and beginning her explanation. "Initially, we were going to investigate the other factories spread across Earth in order to get some more info on the Administrator before things get worse. But, just this morning, it seems someone else saved us the trouble." Just as Tessa neared the end of her sentence, J held up the remote again, tapping a few buttons before the left monitor shifted to show a slightly grainy video onscreen.
The video only showed a single being, a worker drone, dressed in a chrome suit and bearing a set of yellow eyes. Behind them was what appeared to be a vacant room, a few shelves holding many books within them standing still in the back. The drone's visage indicated they were filled with immense anxiety, terrified of being caught as they spoke quietly to the camera.
"I can only hope someone gets this in time, they're gonna be on me once they find out the transmitter screens are down!" Turning the camera, he showed what appeared to be a large factory room, several more of the mysterious conveyor belts like at the factory slotted next to each other. It was hard to discern every detail due to not only the window reflection, but also the dark lighting in the inactive conveyor room. Filming the room beyond, the drone continued. "Dr. Halloway's a madman, he's got more of those stolen drones being brought here and he's going to be overseeing it in the afternoon tomorrow! I've seen what happened back in Nevada, I can't take this any longer! I'm at coordinates ##.######, -###.###### Please, send someo-"
The suspicious, partially scrambled transmission immediately cut off to static, leaving Wade, Tina, and their friends with confused expressions as Tessa spoke up. "Yeah, that caught me by surprise too."
"So, that guy says they got more drones being sent 'there', but... where is there, exactly?" Jasmine asked with immense curiosity.
"I was hoping you'd ask that, Mrs. Fowley." The technician replied as she glanced to J, who tapped a few more buttons on the remote before speaking over her boss-friend.
"While the transmission itself isn't much to work off of, our friends from Comms over here managed to intercept the signal earlier, and even better, discern where it originated from." As J started her explanation, the screen shifted once more to show a large city, with one skyscraper highlighted in red as it was zoomed towards on the screen. "That scrambled audio wasn't a simple glitch, it was intentionally done so as to hide key information for us to uncover. Upon cleaning up the message, we managed to recover a set of coordinates, which direct to this structure here, in San Francisco."
Wade and his friends stared at the building in shock, examining the tall structure as it stood over the shorter buildings in the city. Tina broke the silence in her gaze. "So, this is another factory? It looks... terribly different from the one we got out of."
"Not exactly, Mrs. Fowley." Mr. Jenson answered, Tina and the others looking to him as he continued. "THAT is the Administrator's main laboratory, its location was kept on the down low so other authorities and terrorist groups wouldn't find out what the buildings true purpose was." Sighing, Jenson completed his reply. "But, with this recent mistake of Halloway's, that place has lost all purpose for us at the company."
Wade raised a hand to speak. "So, we're going to pounce on that place? Get Halloway before he runs off again?"
"Exactly." General Hood replied as he looked up to Mr. Jenson. "This whole 'recovery/recruitment' effort has gotten out of hand all across Sol. We've gotten countless reports of people being killed because of this, be it the brutal robberies here in Nevada or the bloodbath on Ceres. Even if Mr. Jenson refuses to cooperate, this has become a dire matter for us now. One way or another, this insanity will be stopped with due haste."
The CEO nodded in acknowledgement before explaining his own plans for the mission. "Speaking of cooperation, upon seeing what was happening at Earth, I ordered a detachment of our corporate starships in orbit at the time to depart for Sol in order to help with investigating the situation. They're not warships, but they are well-armed. I'll dispatch them to your authority upon concluding this call." Glancing to Wade and his team for a moment, Jenson continued. "As for the mission, I may not have much of a say, but let it be known that you have my blessing to do whatever it takes to end this madness. I don't care what you do with Halloway or any of his lackeys, or what happens to that facility down there... I want that program shut down."
"Thank you for the extra hands, Mr. Jenson. We'll make sure this Administrator is dealt with." Hood replied gratefully as Wade sat firm in his seat, Tina and the others following suite.
"General?" The former worker drone said aloud, catching Hood's attention before he made his request. "I know I'm not a soldier, but I want to help with dealing with Halloway and his grunts. After what he did, after losing my brother, I can't rest until I see that man stopped."
Tina raised a finger as well. "As do I, Wade could use a hand with those people, and given how we did during our escape run out of that place, I think the two of us make quite the duo." She glanced to Wade with a smirk as she referenced their combat prowess when flying together.
Nathan and F stood up before the latter gave her own request. "Sir, I wish to take part in this mission as well. I can also recommend Wade for you too, as I fought alongside him during the factory raid."
"Wouldn't mind giving a hand myself! And I'm sure my pal Kurtis would love to help, he's here at the base too!" Nathan added with a confident smirk, the group's determination encouraging Jasmine to stand up as well.
"I'd like to help too." She stated simply, a smile on her face as the general and his companions observed the five guests.
Admittedly, Hood knew it would be a bit absurd to allow these people to take part in an operation which would certainly involve bloodshed, especially considering most of them merely had civilian status at the moment. But, upon careful evaluation of the five, their desire to see this problem dealt with, and the fact that some of them had experience on the field...
He paused his train of thought as Captain Mitchell spoke to him. "General? I read up on the Fowleys' files when we recovered Mrs. Jasmine here, they provided service in their early careers." He smirked to the pilot sisters as he finished adding his say. "And to be frank, we need more people like them here. The records we have of them showed them to be damn fine pilots."
Tina blushed at the praise from Mitchell as she spoke to the general. "That is true, we uh... did get discharged for our... 'fancy maneuvering'."
"Sir?" Jasmine said, the general's attention on her as she added to the conversation. "Even if our flying is a bit out of protocol, Tina saved a lot of people on that starjet a few days back. I can promise you, she's an excellent woman to have at the wheel."
Glancing to Wade again, Hood took in his face, one of begging desperation as he spoke once more. "Please, Sir. My brother, the troops he brought from the Coalition, Halloway's gotten them all killed cause of this. I want to do this. I HAVE to do this, at least for them."
The good general took a deep, quiet breath, considering his decision once more before finally revealing it to Wade and his friends. "Mr. Carter, Fowleys? I'm probably making myself a fool for saying this, but you're permitted to assist us in this mission."
The drone couple contained their gratefulness in the form of ecstatic grins as Wade replied to the general. "Thanks, General. We won't let you down."
"And Mrs. Lee?" Hood said as he glanced to F, who returned the gesture as he told her, "You're technically under Mr. Jenson's authority, whatever his answer is, it's mine as well."
Bringing her yellow-orange eyes to her CEO, F awaited Mr. Jenson's answer. "F, yes? I heard Mr. Hood call you by a different name just now, I assume you have some experience with the army?"
The warrior drone nodded as she explained herself. "I once inherited the name of Felicity Lee, Mr. Jenson. I served under the USN Defense Forces before joining the DD Division." Then, glancing to the military staff near her, she finished with, "I had hoped to provide my enhancements to the Force one day."
Jenson gave a hint of a proud smile as he finally gave his decision. "Well, it seems you'll finally get that chance. From now on, even after this mission on Earth is over with, you're hereby dispatched to serve under the USN."
F admittedly couldn't hide her excited smirk as she flung a salute to her now former boss. "Thank you Sir!"
Looking up to Jenson, General Hood asked the CEO, "Mr. Jenson, how long until your ships can reach Earth?"
Jenson glanced down at his communication console as he answered the military leader. "At max speed, their Ion drives should be able to bring them into orbit in as little as one to two days. I believe there should be some ships within the system that could help as well."
"Signal them when you can, Mr. Jenson. We could use all the help we can get from them." The CEO nodded to Hood as he stood firmly to the viewer, the general turning to face Wade and his colleagues. "And Mr. Carter? We'll be mobilizing our forces immediately after this meeting concludes. It'll be a minute, but I want you to gather whatever items and belongings you'll need for this operation. Be ready to head to the flight pads in no more than three hours."
"Understood Sir!" Wade said with a salute, Tina, Jasmine and Nathan giving their own as Jasmine raised a finger.
"What about the area around the lab? That place looks like it's in the middle of the city."
J raised a finger as she told Jasmine and the others about their resolution of the civilian obstacle. "Shortly after reporting our findings on the transmission, Hood told us that they were sending in some teams to clear out the civilian population within several miles of the facility. Once we get there, it should be of no concern."
Jasmine sighed in relief as Tina spoke up. "So the people should be safe from any sort of danger?"
"Correct, Mrs. Tina." Preston answered before continuing. "Given the resistance Halloway and his men showed during the Coalition's raid, they most certainly won't hold back there."
"One more thing, Sir." Nathan asked. "The Coalition's going to help us out with this too, right?"
"You can count on it, Mr. Nathan." The Vickers' captain replied as he looked to J, then to Jenson as he spoke further. "I met the leader of the Coalition's detachment working with us when I was introduced to J and Mrs. Elliott here, they intend to see this conflict finished. I highly doubt they're willing to sit back and let us do this by ourselves."
"And their help will be much appreciated." Hood added, everyone's attention returned to him as he looked to Tessa, curious eyes scanning her holographic form. "And Mrs. Elliott, if I may. Do you mind heading down here to assist us in our investigations later on?"
"Funny you say that, General. I'm almost done with my own snooping around on the JCJ up in orbit, Cyn has some small departments of hers aboard, and I thought I'd gather some more intel before coming down." Glancing to Mr. Jenson, she saw him giving an understanding nod before returning her gaze to the military staff. "I should be down there by the evening, judging by where you're located."
"Do what you must, Mrs. Elliott. We could use whatever you find." Hood replied firmly as he turned once more to the JCJenson CEO. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Jenson. We will get to the bottom of this."
"It's my pleasure, General." Glancing to J and Tessa, he spoke to them once more. "J? Contact me when you've finished with Halloway and his Administrator."
"It'll be done, Mr. Jenson." The obedient servant answered before saluting firmly, receiving a final nod from her boss before he ended the transmission.
With their off-world guest out of the way, Hood looked to Wade and his friends, J, Tessa and Captain Mitchells sharing the gaze with them as the general spoke to them in finality. "Well, you know what comes next everyone. You're all dismissed for now. And remember, landing zone by 1300."
"We'll be there Sir." Wade said with a nod as he and his friends stood up, pushing in their chairs before making their way out to the door.
As they neared it, Wade stopped for a moment as they heard Hood call to one of his friends. "And F?" The soldier drone looked to the general as he continued. "Before we depart, would you mind changing your uniform? I believe it could help with identifying you from the other disassembly drones more easily." Glancing to J, then back to F, he finished with, "I recall hearing about the most formidable drones having clones prepared, yes?"
"Correct, Sir. I'll stop by the nearest barracks while I can." F replied before turning back to the door with her colleagues, Wade opening the door for them all as they passed through. After them, Wade passed through himself, shutting the door to the meeting room as he returned to the lobby.
Walking about together, F spoke to Wade and the others. "Well, that went smoothly. I'll be heading down to the barracks, then head over to your place to help out."
"Actually," Wade replied, raising a finger up as he asked his fellow murder drone, "You think you could bring your friends over? We could get to know each other while we're getting ready."
F glanced to Nathan with a smile before returning her eyes to Wade. "I could see about that. You're gonna like them, I can promise you that."
Taking Tina's hand, Wade walked with his girlfriend alongside Jasmine and the others, nearing the hallway they came through as they prepared for the walk back to the apartment.
2024.05.21 10:42 Leakyships Finding a non-feminist woman in 2024 seemed impossible… until Hinge saved my dating life.
Finding a non-feminist woman in 2024 seemed impossible… until Hinge saved my dating life.
Hello 🙋♂️ Little success story here. I am 31 and politically align as a moderate. (No, Reddit, that doesn’t mean I am a Conservative.) I wanted a traditional, good-hearted woman who respects traditional feminine and masculine roles, who will step into my frame and complement my life. This is a tall order in a major progressive city in 2024.
Some women want a tall man or a guy earning six figures. Well, a traditional family is simply what I wanted. I know this because I have spent most of my life courting girls who simply aren’t what I want. It's been incredibly bumpy with a lot of tears. In the last year alone, I must have been on dates with over 50 women, 10 of which turned into something more. Some were from Hinge, some from speed dating (which I highly recommend if you are more charismatic than pleasing looking like myself).
It got to the point where I was fed up. Date after date, yeah, a lot were subjectively beautiful, but they just weren’t doing it for me. Or when they did do it for me, there was always a bombshell she dropped: either an incurable STI, completely opposing political values, or she had two children. Or, of course, she was not feeling me. There was always something, and none of these 30+ women had the appreciation of traditional values I was looking for. All identified themselves as feminists, and my last three girlfriends have been far-left-leaning social justice warriors who disagreed with my views on pretty much everything. I tried dating some conservative women to see how that was, and well, let’s just say never again. 😂
I realized I needed to get proactive, hone in, and get specific about what I wanted and didn’t want, even if it seemed like an incredibly tall order.
My list was something like:
Slim athletic figure Beautiful smile No kids (but wants kids) No tattoos Respects traditional values Culinary skills Agrees men are success objects, women are beauty/emotional objects Not politically charged Caring, loving, trustworthy, understanding Great at sex Wouldn’t mind dating a guy who’s currently earning under average, who’s a little chubby, short, and whose teeth are slightly stained yellow and brown I know, right? Seems like I am dreaming. So I decided to not actively swipe like a madman because I was burnt out. I just swiped now and again and focused on my mission/purpose in life for a few months.
And the results were insane. It’s like what your mind focuses on, you attract.
I found the loveliest, most respectful, beautiful woman with every single thing on that list. She has a genuine burning desire for me, and we are now official. This happened three months after I made that list. It subconsciously hyper-focused my energy.
So yeah, even if you feel like what you want doesn’t exist or will never be interested in you, just keep going and never give up. You know most people out there are probably not a good match for you as a life partner, but some are.
And again, despite what you guys might think, I am not a conservative, I am not red-pilled, I am not a bigot or a racist, and I strive for an equal quality of life for everyone. I just know what I want, and clearly, that paid off.
Thanks for reading my success story. Have a blessed day, all.
Happy swiping!
submitted by Leakyships to HingeStories [link] [comments]
Hello 🙋♂️ Little success story here. I am 31 and politically align as a moderate. (No, Reddit, that doesn’t mean I am a Conservative.) I wanted a traditional, good-hearted woman who respects traditional feminine and masculine roles, who will step into my frame and complement my life. This is a tall order in a major progressive city in 2024.
Some women want a tall man or a guy earning six figures. Well, a traditional family is simply what I wanted. I know this because I have spent most of my life courting girls who simply aren’t what I want. It's been incredibly bumpy with a lot of tears. In the last year alone, I must have been on dates with over 50 women, 10 of which turned into something more. Some were from Hinge, some from speed dating (which I highly recommend if you are more charismatic than pleasing looking like myself).
It got to the point where I was fed up. Date after date, yeah, a lot were subjectively beautiful, but they just weren’t doing it for me. Or when they did do it for me, there was always a bombshell she dropped: either an incurable STI, completely opposing political values, or she had two children. Or, of course, she was not feeling me. There was always something, and none of these 30+ women had the appreciation of traditional values I was looking for. All identified themselves as feminists, and my last three girlfriends have been far-left-leaning social justice warriors who disagreed with my views on pretty much everything. I tried dating some conservative women to see how that was, and well, let’s just say never again. 😂
I realized I needed to get proactive, hone in, and get specific about what I wanted and didn’t want, even if it seemed like an incredibly tall order.
My list was something like:
Slim athletic figure Beautiful smile No kids (but wants kids) No tattoos Respects traditional values Culinary skills Agrees men are success objects, women are beauty/emotional objects Not politically charged Caring, loving, trustworthy, understanding Great at sex Wouldn’t mind dating a guy who’s currently earning under average, who’s a little chubby, short, and whose teeth are slightly stained yellow and brown I know, right? Seems like I am dreaming. So I decided to not actively swipe like a madman because I was burnt out. I just swiped now and again and focused on my mission/purpose in life for a few months.
And the results were insane. It’s like what your mind focuses on, you attract.
I found the loveliest, most respectful, beautiful woman with every single thing on that list. She has a genuine burning desire for me, and we are now official. This happened three months after I made that list. It subconsciously hyper-focused my energy.
So yeah, even if you feel like what you want doesn’t exist or will never be interested in you, just keep going and never give up. You know most people out there are probably not a good match for you as a life partner, but some are.
And again, despite what you guys might think, I am not a conservative, I am not red-pilled, I am not a bigot or a racist, and I strive for an equal quality of life for everyone. I just know what I want, and clearly, that paid off.
Thanks for reading my success story. Have a blessed day, all.
Happy swiping!
2024.05.21 10:13 princessaria1918 So my dad hid a family secret
My dad kind of revealed a family secret. His health is deteriorating before my eyes and I'm seeing his once strong and wide physique shrink and him becoming frail.... It hurts to see
He sat down in his chair and said he thought he was having a stroke.
He kept talking to himself. Talking about death. About how he wasnt afraid to die and he was practically dueling death before my eyes. He said "You don't scare me you son of a bitch" to open air in front of us and we were none the wiser about what was happening.
He then said something I never thought he would say. He said that he felt euphoric. He started talking about altered states and how sometimes when he was doing his work as a doctor he would go into these states. That he felt things.
He tried to tell my mom. She didn't understand. She was completely speechless. It was like she was too afraid to talk. All this was terrifying to her. But I was right there with him the entire time. He asked my brother if he had any intellectual interests and my brother replied that he liked video games. My dad cursed under his breath, disappointed.
The my mom said "Ask her." My father never really looks at me. We never talk. And he turned to look at me. I told him that I understood.
Relief washed over his face. We talked about individuation, Jung vs Freud, we talked about quantum physics and the physical world versus the spirit world. It felt like he'd heard me for the first time in my entire life and I heard him.
Politically we're very different. He's a Southern conservative man raised Baptist turned Catholic and his dedication to Jesus and Politics take a turn to the fanatical at times and it's caused a lot of arguments with him and my mom. Bad ones. Almost physical.
He was an alcoholic when I was small and that left me deeply traumatized. I thought he would kill us. I thought he would kill everyone. His hulking physique and alcohol were a lethal pairing. He even admitted to hiring someone to kill his ex girlfriend when he was drunk but thank God it fell through.
So there's a lot between us. I feel like we had no understanding of each other whatsoever. We lived in different planets, different universes even. Parallel but never truly touching. Never once seeing.
This was probably the first proper conversation I've had with him in years. We go weeks without saying a word or even looking up when we enter the room. Nothing.
But knowing that I saw him calmed him down from his delirium. He relaxed visibly and was no longer fighting death. He settled down and ate ice cream. But he'd told me something that had shook me to my very core.
He said that this ran in the family. His grandmother said she saw heaven. Ironically about a week ago I was crying bittersweet tears because I saw heaven too. Or something like it. I saw the afterlife. It was beautiful and terrifying. I woke up in tears.
I'd never been happier and I'd never been sadder. A major truth was revealed to me. That on this earth plane we can't experience the love we're capable of.
The love I felt transcended everything I felt. Everything I thought love was is just a speck compared to the light I felt.
I knew I would never feel this again. I would never feel this happy again. I will never feel this love again. And maybe if we remembered we could feel it....
So that hit me hard. My entire life I thought I was the freak in the family. That I was alone. That no one could possibly feel what I felt, especially within my own family. They'd never understand me.
So that door was blown wide open for me. It was living under my nose the entire time. The entire time there were two mystics under one house and we were too afraid to see it in one another.
Too stubborn. Too stuck in old stories. I'm also incredibly sensitive. I feel like my dad is too in some ways. I've never seen him cry. He didn't even cry when his mother died. He says he'll never cry for anyone. And he blows up in anger so easily. So of course he's sensitive like I am. Just in a different way.
I'm also on the autism spectrum so that adds another layer of alienation and I just know that my dad is autistic too.
That day I shoved it all beneath me. My mother was terrified. She was looking to me for answers.
"Is he crazy?" she asked.
"No. " I answered honestly.
He wasn't crazy. Because if he was crazy then I was crazy. But I know what I feel is REAL. She kind of brushed it off and called him a schizophrenic. It hurt.
But I pushed it down anyway. The next day I woke up terrified. I didn't know why. I just felt so anxious. I tried breathing exercises, everything but the sense of dread was still there.
I'd seen my father around all my life, miserable, angry and getting sick. If that's what hiding your radiance and gifts does to you then I don't want it.
I don't want to die when I barely turned 60. I don't want to grey and limp and fall in the bathroom, busting my head open then do nothing about it. It was like he was letting himself die. He wanted to. He said he wanted to.
I saw a part of me in that. The part that was scared. That felt judged. That hid. That felt like such a weirdo. Watching my dad made me realize that it would slowly kill me like a slow acting venom.
I was seeing it before my eyes. He didn't have anyone to understand him all these years. And probably in his home life too....And look at what it'd done.
He was a big angry man hiding gifts and altered states and possibly even God inside of him. And so was I.
We were both hiding.
I couldn't live like that.
I went to the bathroom and cried by myself for awhile and no one knew.
I didn't know what to do with this information and I still don't... But it's there. The story is there. And it's a bittersweet story.
I don't know what I'm going to do with these gifts.
I hope I can make us proud.
One day.
submitted by princessaria1918 to Paranormal [link] [comments]
He sat down in his chair and said he thought he was having a stroke.
He kept talking to himself. Talking about death. About how he wasnt afraid to die and he was practically dueling death before my eyes. He said "You don't scare me you son of a bitch" to open air in front of us and we were none the wiser about what was happening.
He then said something I never thought he would say. He said that he felt euphoric. He started talking about altered states and how sometimes when he was doing his work as a doctor he would go into these states. That he felt things.
He tried to tell my mom. She didn't understand. She was completely speechless. It was like she was too afraid to talk. All this was terrifying to her. But I was right there with him the entire time. He asked my brother if he had any intellectual interests and my brother replied that he liked video games. My dad cursed under his breath, disappointed.
The my mom said "Ask her." My father never really looks at me. We never talk. And he turned to look at me. I told him that I understood.
Relief washed over his face. We talked about individuation, Jung vs Freud, we talked about quantum physics and the physical world versus the spirit world. It felt like he'd heard me for the first time in my entire life and I heard him.
Politically we're very different. He's a Southern conservative man raised Baptist turned Catholic and his dedication to Jesus and Politics take a turn to the fanatical at times and it's caused a lot of arguments with him and my mom. Bad ones. Almost physical.
He was an alcoholic when I was small and that left me deeply traumatized. I thought he would kill us. I thought he would kill everyone. His hulking physique and alcohol were a lethal pairing. He even admitted to hiring someone to kill his ex girlfriend when he was drunk but thank God it fell through.
So there's a lot between us. I feel like we had no understanding of each other whatsoever. We lived in different planets, different universes even. Parallel but never truly touching. Never once seeing.
This was probably the first proper conversation I've had with him in years. We go weeks without saying a word or even looking up when we enter the room. Nothing.
But knowing that I saw him calmed him down from his delirium. He relaxed visibly and was no longer fighting death. He settled down and ate ice cream. But he'd told me something that had shook me to my very core.
He said that this ran in the family. His grandmother said she saw heaven. Ironically about a week ago I was crying bittersweet tears because I saw heaven too. Or something like it. I saw the afterlife. It was beautiful and terrifying. I woke up in tears.
I'd never been happier and I'd never been sadder. A major truth was revealed to me. That on this earth plane we can't experience the love we're capable of.
The love I felt transcended everything I felt. Everything I thought love was is just a speck compared to the light I felt.
I knew I would never feel this again. I would never feel this happy again. I will never feel this love again. And maybe if we remembered we could feel it....
So that hit me hard. My entire life I thought I was the freak in the family. That I was alone. That no one could possibly feel what I felt, especially within my own family. They'd never understand me.
So that door was blown wide open for me. It was living under my nose the entire time. The entire time there were two mystics under one house and we were too afraid to see it in one another.
Too stubborn. Too stuck in old stories. I'm also incredibly sensitive. I feel like my dad is too in some ways. I've never seen him cry. He didn't even cry when his mother died. He says he'll never cry for anyone. And he blows up in anger so easily. So of course he's sensitive like I am. Just in a different way.
I'm also on the autism spectrum so that adds another layer of alienation and I just know that my dad is autistic too.
That day I shoved it all beneath me. My mother was terrified. She was looking to me for answers.
"Is he crazy?" she asked.
"No. " I answered honestly.
He wasn't crazy. Because if he was crazy then I was crazy. But I know what I feel is REAL. She kind of brushed it off and called him a schizophrenic. It hurt.
But I pushed it down anyway. The next day I woke up terrified. I didn't know why. I just felt so anxious. I tried breathing exercises, everything but the sense of dread was still there.
I'd seen my father around all my life, miserable, angry and getting sick. If that's what hiding your radiance and gifts does to you then I don't want it.
I don't want to die when I barely turned 60. I don't want to grey and limp and fall in the bathroom, busting my head open then do nothing about it. It was like he was letting himself die. He wanted to. He said he wanted to.
I saw a part of me in that. The part that was scared. That felt judged. That hid. That felt like such a weirdo. Watching my dad made me realize that it would slowly kill me like a slow acting venom.
I was seeing it before my eyes. He didn't have anyone to understand him all these years. And probably in his home life too....And look at what it'd done.
He was a big angry man hiding gifts and altered states and possibly even God inside of him. And so was I.
We were both hiding.
I couldn't live like that.
I went to the bathroom and cried by myself for awhile and no one knew.
I didn't know what to do with this information and I still don't... But it's there. The story is there. And it's a bittersweet story.
I don't know what I'm going to do with these gifts.
I hope I can make us proud.
One day.
2024.05.21 09:56 noctoutcold I honestly think Luna and Noct should've had a familial relationship instead
This is just my opinion and you're free to disagree or discuss further in the replies because I'm kinda just venting my thoughts, but I personally believe that the story of FFXV would've been a bit more coherent if LuNoct was a familial relationship and I'll explain why. I mainly say this because due to the game's emphasis on brotherhood, fatheson bonding, familial ties, etc., Luna and Noct's bond inevitably got pushed to the background, mainly with how Luna's character as a whole had so little screen time.
The fact that there's such a large amount of people who came to the consensus that Luna and Noct's relationship was poorly written, or that they were never even attracted to each other in the first place, kind of cements that regardless of whether or not LuNoct is "canon" isn't the issue, it's that its overall reception by players was below average at best because honestly, Luna and Noct...barely talk.
Normally, I'm okay with love stories in Final Fantasy games because they're generally well executed, but FFXV specifically is probably the one Final Fantasy game that I genuinely believe shouldn't have had any romance at all, because the relationship Noct has with Prompto, Ignis, Gladio, and Regis (and the overall theme of "family") is obviously meant to have more impact on the player and serve more importance to the story by comparison. But something that made me start considering a hypothetical solution with how many consider the romance shoehorned/unnecessary/etc., is specifically the scene where Luna dies.
In a vast majority of the scene, Noct is presented as his childhood self, while Luna transforms into her adult self fairly quickly and they remain that way until Noct blips into an adult at the very end. Contrary to what some people believe, Luna and Noct's physical states in Luna's death scene isn't actually meant to be a metaphorical representation of their maturity levels/mental states, but very, very literal. This is because in Japanese, young Noct in that cutscene uses the pronoun 僕 (boku), a pronoun mainly used by young boys, instead of 俺 (ore), the more masculine and rough pronoun used by adult Noct. Basically, throughout almost the entire cutscene Luna is speaking to an actual small boy, not a man merely in the image of a child.
When I remember that their relationship is meant to be romantic when presented with the image of the literal adult Luna speaking so fondly to the literal child Noct, it comes off as a very odd writing choice to me that could have some problematic implications. But I feel like a way to ease the discomfort of that scene's implication is if Luna and Noct's relationship was changed from romantic, to familial.
Here's my reasoning behind that.
There's barely any mention of her in-universe so I don't really blame anyone for forgetting her character exists, but the game briefly touches on the fact that Noctis's mother, Aulea, died when he was so young that he doesn't even remember her at all. IIRC, he was still a baby at the time. Regis was unfortunately too occupied with his duties as king to truly be there for Noct as a father, and although he had Ignis and Gladio, and later Prompto to ease the pain of his father's absence, Noct had nobody to fill in that familial gap that his mother left behind. Luna is important in that sense because she's his first source of guidance and warmth that isn't a boy, but an older girl.
(And as a side note: No, just because Ignis is a man that happens to cook, look after Noct, etc., doesn't make him Noct's "mother". A caretaker, yes, but the FFXV fandom's insistence on using the term "mom" to describe Ignis's role to Noct is honestly really irritating and overdone at this rate, not to mention it perpetuates a very outdated view on sewing, cooking, caretaking, etc. being "a mother's job". Ignis is not a "mother", that is a grown man with a cock and balls.)
Even more than the fact that their marriage is repeatedly mentioned to be arranged by King Regis and Emperor Aldercapt and solely meant to serve as a symbol of Lucis and Niflheim's armistice, Luna's emphasis on watching over (Or "protecting", if you translate the Japanese version literally.) Noct, and even more than Luna's fondness for looking back on her childhood with Noct and yearning for those days of innocence, I feel like it's Luna's actual role as Oracle that gives the most support to my opinion that making their relationship romantic wasn't necessarily a good decision. As Oracle, Luna's duty is to be a guiding force for Noctis to help him on his journey, from teaching him all about his destiny when they are children, to paving the way for Noct to forge covenants with the Astrals when they are adults. Despite her mentioning "I do not seek to guide him, merely to stand beside him." in one cutscene, it doesn't change that her very birthright is intrinsically tied to being a guiding force for Noct. The way the bros react after Luna's death prove this: Without Luna, they are borderline aimless.
All of this honestly would've felt more understandable if Noct and Luna's sentiments towards one another were meant in a familial context, like perhaps a mother-figure to her son-figure, thus filling the gap that Aulea's death had left behind and tying in better with FFXV's theme of "familial bonds".
In that sense, Luna's role as Oracle would be less like an overly selfless, obedient, and devoted girlfriend endlessly breaking her back to support her wayward, immature boyfriend, while never questioning this relationship dynamic or even getting anything in return, until she ultimately dies, and more like a mother-figure wanting to guide her child-figure into fulfilling his destiny/reaching adulthood with what little time she has left, since canonically the covenants are shown to be slowly killing her regardless and she would've died soon anyway, with or without Ardyn stabbing her. And her death scene in particular would then come off less like an 8 year old boy is losing his 24 year old crush (...That alone feels even more bizarre of a concept now that I had just typed it out.), and more like a small child being orphaned, losing his one remaining source of familial guidance and security after his beloved father had passed.
I think that small bit of tweaking to their relationship would've resonated more with players overall, and would also prove that stories don't always need to include a romance. But as I said at the beginning of this post, this is just my own personal thoughts and my reasoning behind them. Whether you agree or not, I'd love to hear what y'all think.
submitted by noctoutcold to FFXV [link] [comments]
The fact that there's such a large amount of people who came to the consensus that Luna and Noct's relationship was poorly written, or that they were never even attracted to each other in the first place, kind of cements that regardless of whether or not LuNoct is "canon" isn't the issue, it's that its overall reception by players was below average at best because honestly, Luna and Noct...barely talk.
Normally, I'm okay with love stories in Final Fantasy games because they're generally well executed, but FFXV specifically is probably the one Final Fantasy game that I genuinely believe shouldn't have had any romance at all, because the relationship Noct has with Prompto, Ignis, Gladio, and Regis (and the overall theme of "family") is obviously meant to have more impact on the player and serve more importance to the story by comparison. But something that made me start considering a hypothetical solution with how many consider the romance shoehorned/unnecessary/etc., is specifically the scene where Luna dies.
In a vast majority of the scene, Noct is presented as his childhood self, while Luna transforms into her adult self fairly quickly and they remain that way until Noct blips into an adult at the very end. Contrary to what some people believe, Luna and Noct's physical states in Luna's death scene isn't actually meant to be a metaphorical representation of their maturity levels/mental states, but very, very literal. This is because in Japanese, young Noct in that cutscene uses the pronoun 僕 (boku), a pronoun mainly used by young boys, instead of 俺 (ore), the more masculine and rough pronoun used by adult Noct. Basically, throughout almost the entire cutscene Luna is speaking to an actual small boy, not a man merely in the image of a child.
When I remember that their relationship is meant to be romantic when presented with the image of the literal adult Luna speaking so fondly to the literal child Noct, it comes off as a very odd writing choice to me that could have some problematic implications. But I feel like a way to ease the discomfort of that scene's implication is if Luna and Noct's relationship was changed from romantic, to familial.
Here's my reasoning behind that.
There's barely any mention of her in-universe so I don't really blame anyone for forgetting her character exists, but the game briefly touches on the fact that Noctis's mother, Aulea, died when he was so young that he doesn't even remember her at all. IIRC, he was still a baby at the time. Regis was unfortunately too occupied with his duties as king to truly be there for Noct as a father, and although he had Ignis and Gladio, and later Prompto to ease the pain of his father's absence, Noct had nobody to fill in that familial gap that his mother left behind. Luna is important in that sense because she's his first source of guidance and warmth that isn't a boy, but an older girl.
(And as a side note: No, just because Ignis is a man that happens to cook, look after Noct, etc., doesn't make him Noct's "mother". A caretaker, yes, but the FFXV fandom's insistence on using the term "mom" to describe Ignis's role to Noct is honestly really irritating and overdone at this rate, not to mention it perpetuates a very outdated view on sewing, cooking, caretaking, etc. being "a mother's job". Ignis is not a "mother", that is a grown man with a cock and balls.)
Even more than the fact that their marriage is repeatedly mentioned to be arranged by King Regis and Emperor Aldercapt and solely meant to serve as a symbol of Lucis and Niflheim's armistice, Luna's emphasis on watching over (Or "protecting", if you translate the Japanese version literally.) Noct, and even more than Luna's fondness for looking back on her childhood with Noct and yearning for those days of innocence, I feel like it's Luna's actual role as Oracle that gives the most support to my opinion that making their relationship romantic wasn't necessarily a good decision. As Oracle, Luna's duty is to be a guiding force for Noctis to help him on his journey, from teaching him all about his destiny when they are children, to paving the way for Noct to forge covenants with the Astrals when they are adults. Despite her mentioning "I do not seek to guide him, merely to stand beside him." in one cutscene, it doesn't change that her very birthright is intrinsically tied to being a guiding force for Noct. The way the bros react after Luna's death prove this: Without Luna, they are borderline aimless.
All of this honestly would've felt more understandable if Noct and Luna's sentiments towards one another were meant in a familial context, like perhaps a mother-figure to her son-figure, thus filling the gap that Aulea's death had left behind and tying in better with FFXV's theme of "familial bonds".
In that sense, Luna's role as Oracle would be less like an overly selfless, obedient, and devoted girlfriend endlessly breaking her back to support her wayward, immature boyfriend, while never questioning this relationship dynamic or even getting anything in return, until she ultimately dies, and more like a mother-figure wanting to guide her child-figure into fulfilling his destiny/reaching adulthood with what little time she has left, since canonically the covenants are shown to be slowly killing her regardless and she would've died soon anyway, with or without Ardyn stabbing her. And her death scene in particular would then come off less like an 8 year old boy is losing his 24 year old crush (...That alone feels even more bizarre of a concept now that I had just typed it out.), and more like a small child being orphaned, losing his one remaining source of familial guidance and security after his beloved father had passed.
I think that small bit of tweaking to their relationship would've resonated more with players overall, and would also prove that stories don't always need to include a romance. But as I said at the beginning of this post, this is just my own personal thoughts and my reasoning behind them. Whether you agree or not, I'd love to hear what y'all think.
2024.05.21 09:28 8ballzlobotomy Has anyone had a Fentanyl addiction?
My girlfriend and I are going to be coming off the fentanyl in about two weeks. Our plan is to get Xanax and we have two friends who have dealt with addiction and are willing to give us the Suboxone. We’ve dealt with this addiction for a while now. Is there any suggestions on how to come off them without medical help. My girlfriend is 17 and i am 18. Let us know your story’s and or advice on how you got clean. We would really appreciate it!
submitted by 8ballzlobotomy to AddictionAdvice [link] [comments]
2024.05.21 09:14 Fine-Cherry-5195 What does falling in love in a healthy relationship / from online dating feel like?
PLEASE READ BACKSTORY + DETAILS :)
I first fell in love when i was 19 (now 25). I had known the guy for a year through work and developed a crush on him but he had a girlfriend and obviously, we worked together. When we both left that company he basically confessed his feelings for me and broke up with his long-term girlfriend, we went on one date and it was instant infactuation. Anyway as im sure you can tell from that story alone, it ended up being a really toxic relationship, he was really possessive and insecure and i broke up with him two years later.
So, i fell hard and fast immediately with this guy and i always put that down to the fact i had known him for a year before and had a crush, the fact that i was 19 and the fact that it was a sort of love-bomby, dangerous beginning. However, i have friends who have met their other halves on dating apps and have had really similar experiences, they claim to have just “known” after 2 or 3 dates and were obsessed with their partners and head over heels, and these are people in really loving and happy relationships.
For me, i just don’t understand how you can fall in love with someone so quick that you’ve only really known for a matter of hours when you add it up. I’ve been on a lot of dates since my ex but not really clicked with anyone. I’m in a situation now where i’ve been on 3 dates with a guy i think i like. I came out of the first date unsure but after the second date i found i really got on with him and had a good time. I’m excited to see him again and see where it goes but im absolutely no where near falling in love yet, and can’t fathom how anyone could feel that so early on, but this makes it difficult for me because the only time i have experienced love was chaotic and really intense and im worried that if it doesn’t feel like that i won’t fall in love, it that makes any sense.
For those of you that met your partners online, how long did it take for you to fall in love? And does anyone have any experience of falling in love that was slow and peaceful rather than chaotic and kind of scary? I think im just looking for reassurance that just because i don’t already feel obsessed with this guy doesn’t mean it couldn’t turn into something great.
submitted by Fine-Cherry-5195 to dating_advice [link] [comments]
I first fell in love when i was 19 (now 25). I had known the guy for a year through work and developed a crush on him but he had a girlfriend and obviously, we worked together. When we both left that company he basically confessed his feelings for me and broke up with his long-term girlfriend, we went on one date and it was instant infactuation. Anyway as im sure you can tell from that story alone, it ended up being a really toxic relationship, he was really possessive and insecure and i broke up with him two years later.
So, i fell hard and fast immediately with this guy and i always put that down to the fact i had known him for a year before and had a crush, the fact that i was 19 and the fact that it was a sort of love-bomby, dangerous beginning. However, i have friends who have met their other halves on dating apps and have had really similar experiences, they claim to have just “known” after 2 or 3 dates and were obsessed with their partners and head over heels, and these are people in really loving and happy relationships.
For me, i just don’t understand how you can fall in love with someone so quick that you’ve only really known for a matter of hours when you add it up. I’ve been on a lot of dates since my ex but not really clicked with anyone. I’m in a situation now where i’ve been on 3 dates with a guy i think i like. I came out of the first date unsure but after the second date i found i really got on with him and had a good time. I’m excited to see him again and see where it goes but im absolutely no where near falling in love yet, and can’t fathom how anyone could feel that so early on, but this makes it difficult for me because the only time i have experienced love was chaotic and really intense and im worried that if it doesn’t feel like that i won’t fall in love, it that makes any sense.
For those of you that met your partners online, how long did it take for you to fall in love? And does anyone have any experience of falling in love that was slow and peaceful rather than chaotic and kind of scary? I think im just looking for reassurance that just because i don’t already feel obsessed with this guy doesn’t mean it couldn’t turn into something great.
2024.05.21 08:41 Impressive-Market440 Herpès
Guilt
hello reddit community, I really thank you for the attention and communication that you have given me over the last few months, as you know I live in another country which is different from yours I live in Africa and the The stigma surrounding STDs is much worse than you can imagine, but whose fault is it? as I told you I met my girlfriend about a few months ago and everything was so magical and great until now, after several months of unprotected sex she however contracted a pimple near her device genital and I asked her to show it to her genyco which she refused of course and subsequently I went to get tested and I tested positive for herpes and negative for everything, but since I didn't know the difference between 1 and 2, I just needed a test for HSV1 which was positive, after that I disclosed this to my partner who supported me I was so sick because of what I told myself that I had probably contaminated her, she forgave me but I was in incredible guilt and I refused to eat for a week or two and finally I was taken urgently by what I had developed peritonitis which was going to kill me I spent 1 week in the hospital and then I came home and afterwards I was depressed for about 2 months in the mornings I screamed with all my strength and I cried and my family almost thought that I was going crazy after I explained to them the story with my girlfriend that I loved and that I destroyed her life I asked for forgiveness day and night for the damage that I caused or caused I I promised to manage all these treatments and that's what I finally did I continued to support her and I put her happiness ahead of mine, it was as a result of all that that the other day I learned that she was cheating on me with another guy and that she was going to get married to this gentleman in June INCHALLAH I asked her to account and she confessed everything to me. I was angry with her for that and she told me that my change in behavior regarding my guilt made her get tired of me and that she started dating this gentleman I told him that I regret having transmitted herpes to him but I ask him to forgive me for all the harm that I have caused him and I wished him all the happiness in the world but the guilt destroys me so much in this story that I can't get over it
I blame myself for the harm I may have caused her and I pray every day for her and for her happiness with this new partner but I just can't move forward with the fact that she has herpes I am told to worry about myself and the future but however I can't do it my body my heart and my whole mentality is destroyed and I can't move forward
submitted by Impressive-Market440 to Herpes [link] [comments]
hello reddit community, I really thank you for the attention and communication that you have given me over the last few months, as you know I live in another country which is different from yours I live in Africa and the The stigma surrounding STDs is much worse than you can imagine, but whose fault is it? as I told you I met my girlfriend about a few months ago and everything was so magical and great until now, after several months of unprotected sex she however contracted a pimple near her device genital and I asked her to show it to her genyco which she refused of course and subsequently I went to get tested and I tested positive for herpes and negative for everything, but since I didn't know the difference between 1 and 2, I just needed a test for HSV1 which was positive, after that I disclosed this to my partner who supported me I was so sick because of what I told myself that I had probably contaminated her, she forgave me but I was in incredible guilt and I refused to eat for a week or two and finally I was taken urgently by what I had developed peritonitis which was going to kill me I spent 1 week in the hospital and then I came home and afterwards I was depressed for about 2 months in the mornings I screamed with all my strength and I cried and my family almost thought that I was going crazy after I explained to them the story with my girlfriend that I loved and that I destroyed her life I asked for forgiveness day and night for the damage that I caused or caused I I promised to manage all these treatments and that's what I finally did I continued to support her and I put her happiness ahead of mine, it was as a result of all that that the other day I learned that she was cheating on me with another guy and that she was going to get married to this gentleman in June INCHALLAH I asked her to account and she confessed everything to me. I was angry with her for that and she told me that my change in behavior regarding my guilt made her get tired of me and that she started dating this gentleman I told him that I regret having transmitted herpes to him but I ask him to forgive me for all the harm that I have caused him and I wished him all the happiness in the world but the guilt destroys me so much in this story that I can't get over it
I blame myself for the harm I may have caused her and I pray every day for her and for her happiness with this new partner but I just can't move forward with the fact that she has herpes I am told to worry about myself and the future but however I can't do it my body my heart and my whole mentality is destroyed and I can't move forward
2024.05.21 06:56 AthenaWisdom00 Girlfriend doesn't look at messages and makes plans with her friends but told me she's to busy.
Me and my girlfriend have only been dating for a few months but we promised to made time to see eachother at least once a week since we both work two jobs, and If we couldn't meet up because of plans with friends or how schedule for work ended up that week we would text letting eachother know that we're busy.
That's how it was until a couple weeks a ago when she just sudden stopped looking at my messages, or not respond until a whole day to 3 days later. In that time I would only send one text because I didn't want to spam but last week I kinda got fed up and asked what's going on so a whole day later of that text she respond "idk I'm just very anti-social right now and I don't know why" which I kinda get because everyone has time we're we just want to be alone so I respond "alright just let me know next time we can go on a date" not even looked at for 1 and half days then responds "okay". So after a few days and no messages or even looking at it but I see she's on social media all the time because i get on messenger to text one of my friends and it shows shes always active same with snapchat shes looks at my stories but not my message from 2 weeks ago, i may have gone to far a little yesterday after a very rough day at work"I know my mistake and own it and apologize for it but she hasn't looked at the message still. I talked with her in person today at work asking what's going she said "I don't know whats going on with me" and asked when she free she told me " I'm busy all week" so asked about next week and she said "I don't know" Then I asked what about your birthday week (5 weeks away) and she told me she's going camping with her friend. I should mention that the weeks she's been ignoring my messages she's been going to a fair with her friends.
So now I'm a little pissed and giving vibes from my last relationship where she did almost the same things but she would still messages made that she had plans without me asking. So this one feels worse that my last relationship. I'm I overreacting or to controlling and what should I do?
TLDR girlfriend doesn't look at my messages but makes plans with her friends but to busy to make one with me.
submitted by AthenaWisdom00 to datingadvice [link] [comments]
That's how it was until a couple weeks a ago when she just sudden stopped looking at my messages, or not respond until a whole day to 3 days later. In that time I would only send one text because I didn't want to spam but last week I kinda got fed up and asked what's going on so a whole day later of that text she respond "idk I'm just very anti-social right now and I don't know why" which I kinda get because everyone has time we're we just want to be alone so I respond "alright just let me know next time we can go on a date" not even looked at for 1 and half days then responds "okay". So after a few days and no messages or even looking at it but I see she's on social media all the time because i get on messenger to text one of my friends and it shows shes always active same with snapchat shes looks at my stories but not my message from 2 weeks ago, i may have gone to far a little yesterday after a very rough day at work"I know my mistake and own it and apologize for it but she hasn't looked at the message still. I talked with her in person today at work asking what's going she said "I don't know whats going on with me" and asked when she free she told me " I'm busy all week" so asked about next week and she said "I don't know" Then I asked what about your birthday week (5 weeks away) and she told me she's going camping with her friend. I should mention that the weeks she's been ignoring my messages she's been going to a fair with her friends.
So now I'm a little pissed and giving vibes from my last relationship where she did almost the same things but she would still messages made that she had plans without me asking. So this one feels worse that my last relationship. I'm I overreacting or to controlling and what should I do?
TLDR girlfriend doesn't look at my messages but makes plans with her friends but to busy to make one with me.
2024.05.21 06:56 AthenaWisdom00 Girlfriend doesn't look at messages and makes plans with her friends but told me she's to busy.
Me and my girlfriend have only been dating for a few months but we promised to made time to see eachother at least once a week since we both work two jobs, and If we couldn't meet up because of plans with friends or how schedule for work ended up that week we would text letting eachother know that we're busy.
That's how it was until a couple weeks a ago when she just sudden stopped looking at my messages, or not respond until a whole day to 3 days later. In that time I would only send one text because I didn't want to spam but last week I kinda got fed up and asked what's going on so a whole day later of that text she respond "idk I'm just very anti-social right now and I don't know why" which I kinda get because everyone has time we're we just want to be alone so I respond "alright just let me know next time we can go on a date" not even looked at for 1 and half days then responds "okay". So after a few days and no messages or even looking at it but I see she's on social media all the time because i get on messenger to text one of my friends and it shows shes always active same with snapchat shes looks at my stories but not my message from 2 weeks ago, i may have gone to far a little yesterday after a very rough day at work"I know my mistake and own it and apologize for it but she hasn't looked at the message still. I talked with her in person today at work asking what's going she said "I don't know whats going on with me" and asked when she free she told me " I'm busy all week" so asked about next week and she said "I don't know" Then I asked what about your birthday week (5 weeks away) and she told me she's going camping with her friend. I should mention that the weeks she's been ignoring my messages she's been going to a fair with her friends.
So now I'm a little pissed and giving vibes from my last relationship where she did almost the same things but she would still messages made that she had plans without me asking. So this one feels worse that my last relationship. I'm I overreacting or to controlling and what should I do?
TLDR girlfriend doesn't look at my messages but makes plans with her friends but to busy to make one with me.
submitted by AthenaWisdom00 to datingadvice [link] [comments]
That's how it was until a couple weeks a ago when she just sudden stopped looking at my messages, or not respond until a whole day to 3 days later. In that time I would only send one text because I didn't want to spam but last week I kinda got fed up and asked what's going on so a whole day later of that text she respond "idk I'm just very anti-social right now and I don't know why" which I kinda get because everyone has time we're we just want to be alone so I respond "alright just let me know next time we can go on a date" not even looked at for 1 and half days then responds "okay". So after a few days and no messages or even looking at it but I see she's on social media all the time because i get on messenger to text one of my friends and it shows shes always active same with snapchat shes looks at my stories but not my message from 2 weeks ago, i may have gone to far a little yesterday after a very rough day at work"I know my mistake and own it and apologize for it but she hasn't looked at the message still. I talked with her in person today at work asking what's going she said "I don't know whats going on with me" and asked when she free she told me " I'm busy all week" so asked about next week and she said "I don't know" Then I asked what about your birthday week (5 weeks away) and she told me she's going camping with her friend. I should mention that the weeks she's been ignoring my messages she's been going to a fair with her friends.
So now I'm a little pissed and giving vibes from my last relationship where she did almost the same things but she would still messages made that she had plans without me asking. So this one feels worse that my last relationship. I'm I overreacting or to controlling and what should I do?
TLDR girlfriend doesn't look at my messages but makes plans with her friends but to busy to make one with me.
2024.05.21 06:19 superpeyboy2 [Windows PC][Mid 2010s] Game where you can only do QTE events
This game was played by a lot of youtubers during the mid 2010s, the story in this game, there was something that was causing people to be more angry and would end up people killing each other. This game was kinda of a movie game, but you did QTE events in order to survive, and it happens from a perspective of a guy in real life, during the begining you would get a text from your girlfriend, then you would have to meet her there, once you arrived, a bloody lady chases you with a knife, and you must do a QTE event in order to survive. Then she shower and you go out on a street to fight more people doing QTE events, you go to a lab to meet another man trying to kill you with a staple gu. Once you survive him, you meet another woman that is not affected by the disease or virus and she lets you choose a weapon that you would use to defeat a boss which is a clown. Only thing I remember from this fight with the clown was, that you use qte events and he dies from your chainsaw. At the end you’re driving your girlfriend and you accidentally hit a biker. He comes to your place injured, and you have a really hard qte to kiss your girlfriend, which you end up headbutting her on accident.
submitted by superpeyboy2 to tipofmyjoystick [link] [comments]
2024.05.21 06:01 Choice_Evidence1983 AIW - My wife wants me to reject a job offer because my ex works there
I am NOT OOP, OOP is u/ta-coworker-ex
Originally posted to amiwrong
AIW - My wife wants me to reject a job offer because my ex works there
Editor’s Note: OOP messed up with the fake names provided in the posts. Going with the fake name, Abby, stated in the update
Trigger Warnings: suspicion of infidelity
Original Post: May 9, 2024
I (36M) have been having an argument with my wife regarding this issue for the past few days. I wanted some neutral opinions especially from married women on what you would do in this scenario.
I work in the tech field and our research area is very niche. I had issues with my current company and started interviewing at different companies.
At one of the companies, I ran into Abby, who I dated 14 years ago. We dated for 3 years and broke up amicably as I wanted to pursue further studies and she wanted me to settle down. I met my wife a year after our breakup, and I was still friends (with occasional benefits) with Abby till then. I was upfront about the whole situation with my wife, and she told me early on during our dating that my friendship with Abby bothers her. I loved my wife and was serious about us, and it was a no-brainer for me to stop hanging out with Abby. Abby was confused but understood why I did it. We have not spoken to each other since then. My wife and I have been married for 11 years now, and have one super cute toddler.
During the interview process, Abby was one of the interviewers and we had a nice professional discussion. I received a job offer from that company the very next week. I would be in middle management and Abby would be directly reporting to me. I have already informed the hiring manager regarding Abby, and they seem to have no problems with it.
I also have two more job offers and I negotiated with all the companies and the first company (where Abby works) is willing to pay me almost 80K more than the other companies. However, my wife told me that I promised her that I would not be in touch with Abby many years ago, and she is asking me to take offer from the company who is willing to offer the second most compensation. Her reasoning is it would be awkward for me to be Abby's manager and since we both work in the same field; it is not like I can transfer her to another manager. She insists that it's not insecurity, but I made a promise. She says that it's finally my choice, but she does not feel comfortable with me managing Abby and working with her. I see her side as I would have to travel with my team (including Abby) for few days to an onsite location at least once a month. I can see why it would make my wife nervous.
I personally want to join the first company as the compensation is higher and the experience in that company would be very valuable to me. Would I be the wrong if I decided to go with the first company? It will offer my family a lot of financial security and would be good for my career. I do not want that taken away because of Abby. At the same time, I want my wife to be comfortable and not be constantly worried about the situation I will be putting her in.
Relevant Comments
Is Abby married with kids? You say the brief interaction was professional, but you don’t really know Abbyy’s viewpoint/motives here. Your wife is clearly insecure, but she may have good reason to be insecure. I can’t tell whether you’re full of it or not. This is factually a great setup for you to cheat. I think only you really know whether you are being sketchy, but your wife’s reaction is well within normal.
Update: May 14, 2024
I wanted to give a quick update. I posted a week ago regarding being confused about a job offer that my wife wanted me to reject because my ex (let's call her Abby) would be directly reporting to me. I know a lot of you pointed out why it is such a bad idea, but I want to be honest here. The reason why I wrote the post was to get ideas on how I can convince my wife that I should take the position. I felt that I have never given my wife a reason to not trust me, except one time (long story), and I should not be making important life decisions that benefit my family because of Abby who I have not spoken to in 14 years.
On Friday evening, we had a long discussion as my kid was at my SIL's place for a playdate. As many of you guys pointed out, my wife might be insecure with me hanging out with Abby specifically because we were FWB after breakup. I asked her about it and told her to be honest as I would never make a decision without her being 100% onboard. My wife said that out of all my ex-girlfriends, she felt a bit insecure about her. The reason was because I did not get a clean breakup with her and had lingering feelings even when I met my wife. For context, when I met my wife (thru mutual friends), I was still FWB with Abby for few months after. However, I cleared things with Abby and broke up for good before I asked my wife on our first date. My wife had heard about how I was not able to get over Abby before that and only agreed to date me after I told her that I decided to go NC with Abby.
I asked my wife if she feels I will be less loyal to her if I am around Abby. My wife and kid are everything to me and I assured that there is no circumstances where I would even think of stepping out of line to risk that. I also assured her that I will maintain professional boundaries with each of my direct report as I have been doing over the last many years and Abby will be no different. However, if I miss out on this job opportunity because of Abby, I will always feel like irrespective of what I do, my wife does not 100% trust me.
My wife said that she trusts me 100% and does not want me to feel like I am doing something wrong. She said she does not want some hypothetical scenarios affect the important decisions I make in my career and is ok with me accepting the offer. She asked me to make sure that we set up specific rules about Abby. One of them being no communication outside work, maintain only strictly professional communication and always overcommunicate with my wife about everything about Abby.
Abby messaged me on Saturday about how it was great to see me during interview process, and I immediately told my wife. Based on her idea, I replied back to her on LinkedIn and will make sure any of our communication stays there.
I had until Monday to accept the offer. Yesterday, when I went to my office, I was planning to call the other company during lunch time. However, my manager asked me to come to a meeting room to discuss something urgent. My current company knew that I was entertaining other offers (I had told them) and decided to match the offer from Abby's company. It is not exactly the same compensation, but it is only 20K less than their offer. Plus, they also assured me that they would promote me as soon as a Director level position opens up in one of the teams. It was amazing and I called my wife. She was very happy, and of course I decided to stay at my current job.
Overall, I feel happy that I got a big raise at my current place and also know that my wife is not insecure and trusts me 100%.
Edit: since a lot of people as asking what the one thing was, adding it here instead of replying
It was stupid. Years ago my wife's friend told me we kissed while drunk and I did not tell my wife. Her friend thought I was her husband and apologized a lot. I told my wife after few days later out of guilt. My wife had seen the whole incident and laughed because I drunkenly pushed her away after she tried to kiss me, which I do not remember. But that was about it. She still teases me and her friend about it to this day.
Also, I called my ex Amy in previous post and Abby here (both are fake names)
Editor's Note: Switched Amy to Abby in the first post to make it readability
Relevant Comments
OOP on when asked if he blocked Abby
submitted by Choice_Evidence1983 to BestofRedditorUpdates [link] [comments]
Originally posted to amiwrong
AIW - My wife wants me to reject a job offer because my ex works there
Editor’s Note: OOP messed up with the fake names provided in the posts. Going with the fake name, Abby, stated in the update
Trigger Warnings: suspicion of infidelity
I (36M) have been having an argument with my wife regarding this issue for the past few days. I wanted some neutral opinions especially from married women on what you would do in this scenario.
I work in the tech field and our research area is very niche. I had issues with my current company and started interviewing at different companies.
At one of the companies, I ran into Abby, who I dated 14 years ago. We dated for 3 years and broke up amicably as I wanted to pursue further studies and she wanted me to settle down. I met my wife a year after our breakup, and I was still friends (with occasional benefits) with Abby till then. I was upfront about the whole situation with my wife, and she told me early on during our dating that my friendship with Abby bothers her. I loved my wife and was serious about us, and it was a no-brainer for me to stop hanging out with Abby. Abby was confused but understood why I did it. We have not spoken to each other since then. My wife and I have been married for 11 years now, and have one super cute toddler.
During the interview process, Abby was one of the interviewers and we had a nice professional discussion. I received a job offer from that company the very next week. I would be in middle management and Abby would be directly reporting to me. I have already informed the hiring manager regarding Abby, and they seem to have no problems with it.
I also have two more job offers and I negotiated with all the companies and the first company (where Abby works) is willing to pay me almost 80K more than the other companies. However, my wife told me that I promised her that I would not be in touch with Abby many years ago, and she is asking me to take offer from the company who is willing to offer the second most compensation. Her reasoning is it would be awkward for me to be Abby's manager and since we both work in the same field; it is not like I can transfer her to another manager. She insists that it's not insecurity, but I made a promise. She says that it's finally my choice, but she does not feel comfortable with me managing Abby and working with her. I see her side as I would have to travel with my team (including Abby) for few days to an onsite location at least once a month. I can see why it would make my wife nervous.
I personally want to join the first company as the compensation is higher and the experience in that company would be very valuable to me. Would I be the wrong if I decided to go with the first company? It will offer my family a lot of financial security and would be good for my career. I do not want that taken away because of Abby. At the same time, I want my wife to be comfortable and not be constantly worried about the situation I will be putting her in.
Relevant Comments
Is Abby married with kids? You say the brief interaction was professional, but you don’t really know Abbyy’s viewpoint/motives here. Your wife is clearly insecure, but she may have good reason to be insecure. I can’t tell whether you’re full of it or not. This is factually a great setup for you to cheat. I think only you really know whether you are being sketchy, but your wife’s reaction is well within normal.
OOP: My wife did all the PI work and found out that Abby is divorced and has no kids. That was one of the reasons why she was a bit apprehensive about me taking the job too.
Update: May 14, 2024
I wanted to give a quick update. I posted a week ago regarding being confused about a job offer that my wife wanted me to reject because my ex (let's call her Abby) would be directly reporting to me. I know a lot of you pointed out why it is such a bad idea, but I want to be honest here. The reason why I wrote the post was to get ideas on how I can convince my wife that I should take the position. I felt that I have never given my wife a reason to not trust me, except one time (long story), and I should not be making important life decisions that benefit my family because of Abby who I have not spoken to in 14 years.
On Friday evening, we had a long discussion as my kid was at my SIL's place for a playdate. As many of you guys pointed out, my wife might be insecure with me hanging out with Abby specifically because we were FWB after breakup. I asked her about it and told her to be honest as I would never make a decision without her being 100% onboard. My wife said that out of all my ex-girlfriends, she felt a bit insecure about her. The reason was because I did not get a clean breakup with her and had lingering feelings even when I met my wife. For context, when I met my wife (thru mutual friends), I was still FWB with Abby for few months after. However, I cleared things with Abby and broke up for good before I asked my wife on our first date. My wife had heard about how I was not able to get over Abby before that and only agreed to date me after I told her that I decided to go NC with Abby.
I asked my wife if she feels I will be less loyal to her if I am around Abby. My wife and kid are everything to me and I assured that there is no circumstances where I would even think of stepping out of line to risk that. I also assured her that I will maintain professional boundaries with each of my direct report as I have been doing over the last many years and Abby will be no different. However, if I miss out on this job opportunity because of Abby, I will always feel like irrespective of what I do, my wife does not 100% trust me.
My wife said that she trusts me 100% and does not want me to feel like I am doing something wrong. She said she does not want some hypothetical scenarios affect the important decisions I make in my career and is ok with me accepting the offer. She asked me to make sure that we set up specific rules about Abby. One of them being no communication outside work, maintain only strictly professional communication and always overcommunicate with my wife about everything about Abby.
Abby messaged me on Saturday about how it was great to see me during interview process, and I immediately told my wife. Based on her idea, I replied back to her on LinkedIn and will make sure any of our communication stays there.
I had until Monday to accept the offer. Yesterday, when I went to my office, I was planning to call the other company during lunch time. However, my manager asked me to come to a meeting room to discuss something urgent. My current company knew that I was entertaining other offers (I had told them) and decided to match the offer from Abby's company. It is not exactly the same compensation, but it is only 20K less than their offer. Plus, they also assured me that they would promote me as soon as a Director level position opens up in one of the teams. It was amazing and I called my wife. She was very happy, and of course I decided to stay at my current job.
Overall, I feel happy that I got a big raise at my current place and also know that my wife is not insecure and trusts me 100%.
Edit: since a lot of people as asking what the one thing was, adding it here instead of replying
It was stupid. Years ago my wife's friend told me we kissed while drunk and I did not tell my wife. Her friend thought I was her husband and apologized a lot. I told my wife after few days later out of guilt. My wife had seen the whole incident and laughed because I drunkenly pushed her away after she tried to kiss me, which I do not remember. But that was about it. She still teases me and her friend about it to this day.
Also, I called my ex Amy in previous post and Abby here (both are fake names)
Editor's Note: Switched Amy to Abby in the first post to make it readability
Relevant Comments
OOP on when asked if he blocked Abby
I have not and neither do I plan to. I did not block her 14 years ago and did not contact her once. She is also not a wacko as everyone is making her out to be and respected my wishes and never messaged me during that time. I trust myself to stay away from her without being rude to her.
Just because she is attractive, and we had dating history long time ago is not a reason to go out of my way and block her to make her feel bad.
DO NOT COMMENT IN LINKED POSTS OR MESSAGE OOPs – BoRU Rule #7
THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT OOP
2024.05.21 04:54 perhaps_razor_wrist Nightmare experience like never before
So growing up i had my fair share of all kinds of nightmares from silly to borderline horrible stuff. I guess I was always kinda prone to that stuff, because sometimes I get stressed easily and overwhelmed by what's happening around me. I know this is a regular nightmare and there's no "deeper meaning" or whatever, but this nightmare was so bad it made me wanna write it down. Mainly because it involved someone really really close to me.
I guess some parts are quite blurry for me, but it all started...after i watched some horror game? It was some horror game about some family. I don't remember much from it, but fast-forward I found myself at a bus stop with one of my close relatives. He couldn't catch a bus for some reason and was late for something. Anyway, he caught his bus and I thought of visiting my girlfriend, because the entire area was not far from my home. Context: 6 months ago I met up with this girl that now has become the love my life. She's everything to me and so far everything is absolutely great between us.
Back to the nightmare, here's the thing really takes a bad turn. I suddenly find myself in a completely unfamiliar apartment with my gf and it's late. For some reason she wants to sleep in another room, separated from me? In the nightmare I didn't think much of it, but as I was preparing to go to sleep I started to get that feeling I always get during nightmares..it's like this constant heavy expectation of something. Like you know something isn't right, but you barely understand that youre in a dream. Anyway, as I was preparing to sleep, she comes over and wishes me good night and it didn't feel like her, she said something that I haven't heard her say. I wish I remembered what it was, but something tells me it was a wish? Anyway, she then dissapears and I find myself completely alone. And there I am..alone in this dark completely unfamiliar room and then BAM completely out of nowhere she runs back to me in crazy speed and stops right in front of me. She then laughs and says she tried to scare me (she sometimes tries to scare me irl). Suddenly the entire nightmare just shifts into some different perspective. I think it came back to that family from the game I was talking about. I didn't know who was I. Was i someone else or myself. But the entire thing felt like new story. I don't even know where to begin. Because of some kind of twisted thing, I was constantly witnessing people die. People killing each other through some weird fucked up ways. Pushing each other to fall off a building, breaking necks and it all happened because of something. I don't know what it is, my image is blurry thankfully. Anyway, there were series of events where I'd find myself among people and all of us would die somehow. I remember the last event. It was near the entrance of some big mansion. Everyone was calm before everyone froze in some inhumane fucking way. It's like something completely made them still. There was this voice, saying something and there was also a sound of something or someone doing something. I know it's confusing. Suddenly one woman, who I KNOW from irl, looks at me and stares me in this dark death stare and says something to me. I forgot, but it went something like "we all like to be in a web" and she said that as something started to attach on others heads. Then I look up and I see a huge spider web and yep..of course the spider was big as hell. Had to be. Then it feel the web attach on me and everything goes dark. So, I skipped a lot of things that happened, because i don't remember them and this is already long as hell :D. At this point I felt tormented, like so many creepy things happened I was tired and I found myself at a doctors cabinet with my gf. I..knew that the person sitting next to me wasn't my gf. There was some doctor and she was checking out my eye. She then told me to blink. I..knew that if I do that, something will happen. I didn't want to do it, but I knew I'll do it. And so I did. When I opened my eyes, there was nothing. Nothing, but my girlfriends face staring at me in this twisted inhuman way. I've never seen such an emotionless face. I couldn't watching this so I actually somehow closed my eyes. Remember I said that I started to witness people killing each other? I guess...this was finally the climax, my gf killing me. I closed my eyes and started to hear loud repeating sounds, like everything crashing down on me, but I didn't open my eyes. Suddenly I hear it. Some voice, some childish voice repeating my girlfriends full name in some musical tone. I woke up at 4:50 am after that shit and my hands were numb as hell. That's about it. First time ever of me noting down a nightmare experience. I know this isn't that scary obviously, but every time I described what I say I felt goosebumps take over me.
submitted by perhaps_razor_wrist to TrueOffMyChest [link] [comments]
I guess some parts are quite blurry for me, but it all started...after i watched some horror game? It was some horror game about some family. I don't remember much from it, but fast-forward I found myself at a bus stop with one of my close relatives. He couldn't catch a bus for some reason and was late for something. Anyway, he caught his bus and I thought of visiting my girlfriend, because the entire area was not far from my home. Context: 6 months ago I met up with this girl that now has become the love my life. She's everything to me and so far everything is absolutely great between us.
Back to the nightmare, here's the thing really takes a bad turn. I suddenly find myself in a completely unfamiliar apartment with my gf and it's late. For some reason she wants to sleep in another room, separated from me? In the nightmare I didn't think much of it, but as I was preparing to go to sleep I started to get that feeling I always get during nightmares..it's like this constant heavy expectation of something. Like you know something isn't right, but you barely understand that youre in a dream. Anyway, as I was preparing to sleep, she comes over and wishes me good night and it didn't feel like her, she said something that I haven't heard her say. I wish I remembered what it was, but something tells me it was a wish? Anyway, she then dissapears and I find myself completely alone. And there I am..alone in this dark completely unfamiliar room and then BAM completely out of nowhere she runs back to me in crazy speed and stops right in front of me. She then laughs and says she tried to scare me (she sometimes tries to scare me irl). Suddenly the entire nightmare just shifts into some different perspective. I think it came back to that family from the game I was talking about. I didn't know who was I. Was i someone else or myself. But the entire thing felt like new story. I don't even know where to begin. Because of some kind of twisted thing, I was constantly witnessing people die. People killing each other through some weird fucked up ways. Pushing each other to fall off a building, breaking necks and it all happened because of something. I don't know what it is, my image is blurry thankfully. Anyway, there were series of events where I'd find myself among people and all of us would die somehow. I remember the last event. It was near the entrance of some big mansion. Everyone was calm before everyone froze in some inhumane fucking way. It's like something completely made them still. There was this voice, saying something and there was also a sound of something or someone doing something. I know it's confusing. Suddenly one woman, who I KNOW from irl, looks at me and stares me in this dark death stare and says something to me. I forgot, but it went something like "we all like to be in a web" and she said that as something started to attach on others heads. Then I look up and I see a huge spider web and yep..of course the spider was big as hell. Had to be. Then it feel the web attach on me and everything goes dark. So, I skipped a lot of things that happened, because i don't remember them and this is already long as hell :D. At this point I felt tormented, like so many creepy things happened I was tired and I found myself at a doctors cabinet with my gf. I..knew that the person sitting next to me wasn't my gf. There was some doctor and she was checking out my eye. She then told me to blink. I..knew that if I do that, something will happen. I didn't want to do it, but I knew I'll do it. And so I did. When I opened my eyes, there was nothing. Nothing, but my girlfriends face staring at me in this twisted inhuman way. I've never seen such an emotionless face. I couldn't watching this so I actually somehow closed my eyes. Remember I said that I started to witness people killing each other? I guess...this was finally the climax, my gf killing me. I closed my eyes and started to hear loud repeating sounds, like everything crashing down on me, but I didn't open my eyes. Suddenly I hear it. Some voice, some childish voice repeating my girlfriends full name in some musical tone. I woke up at 4:50 am after that shit and my hands were numb as hell. That's about it. First time ever of me noting down a nightmare experience. I know this isn't that scary obviously, but every time I described what I say I felt goosebumps take over me.
2024.05.21 04:25 jleg1992 Unexpected Silent Visitor
This is not my story, rather, my mom’s from the late 80’s. This will be a short one, but after all these years I still think about it.
I apologize in advance for grammatical errors! This is my first time posting.
My mom was spending an ordinary night in her apartment. She had a miniature Dachshund named Rocky whom was her only roommate.
For context, my mom is a really pretty blonde (she was frequently complimented on her looks and still is.) She had recently rented this place to escape a soured relationship. A fresh start, if you will.
Getting ready to tuck in for the evening she started to the front door to let Rocky outside to use the bathroom. Something came over her to look outside first. Just that split second is all she needed to listen to her intuition and take a quick peek out the window.
As she looked outside she saw a man standing at her door staring directly at her front door. No one had knocked or made any sounds. He was just standing there as if he was waiting for her to open the door for the very reason she intended.
My mom immediately called the police and when officers arrived the man had vanished. She never got a great look at him since it was dark. Other than acting extremely suspicious and creepy, there was nothing the cops could really do other than keep an eye on the place and lookout for this man.
My mom spent the rest of the evening with one of her girlfriends who came over to stay the night with her.
Not exactly a terrifying story, but one I remember strongly of her telling me when I was in my 20’s.
I shudder to think what could’ve or would’ve happened if she opened that door. I got the sense that this person knew my mom lived alone.
Who knows, maybe it was someone at the wrong door or someone playing a prank that they never owned up to.
My mom has always been tough as nails. Maybe that also goes hand in hand with being smart and trusting your instincts.
submitted by jleg1992 to creepyencounters [link] [comments]
I apologize in advance for grammatical errors! This is my first time posting.
My mom was spending an ordinary night in her apartment. She had a miniature Dachshund named Rocky whom was her only roommate.
For context, my mom is a really pretty blonde (she was frequently complimented on her looks and still is.) She had recently rented this place to escape a soured relationship. A fresh start, if you will.
Getting ready to tuck in for the evening she started to the front door to let Rocky outside to use the bathroom. Something came over her to look outside first. Just that split second is all she needed to listen to her intuition and take a quick peek out the window.
As she looked outside she saw a man standing at her door staring directly at her front door. No one had knocked or made any sounds. He was just standing there as if he was waiting for her to open the door for the very reason she intended.
My mom immediately called the police and when officers arrived the man had vanished. She never got a great look at him since it was dark. Other than acting extremely suspicious and creepy, there was nothing the cops could really do other than keep an eye on the place and lookout for this man.
My mom spent the rest of the evening with one of her girlfriends who came over to stay the night with her.
Not exactly a terrifying story, but one I remember strongly of her telling me when I was in my 20’s.
I shudder to think what could’ve or would’ve happened if she opened that door. I got the sense that this person knew my mom lived alone.
Who knows, maybe it was someone at the wrong door or someone playing a prank that they never owned up to.
My mom has always been tough as nails. Maybe that also goes hand in hand with being smart and trusting your instincts.
2024.05.21 04:22 h8-n8- My BSF is USING ME as an Excuse to Get Away with RAPING my EX GF.. ⁉️
A little background for you guys.. For most of my life I've grew up in this friend group of three. There was me (19m), S (18f), and L (24m). I know that the ages are probably throwing some of you off, but all of our parents' were friends, so we were always around each other. When me and S were both 15, again our parents thought it would be cute for us to date. I've only ever seen her as a friend but just never had the heart to tell her.
For the past year or so me and L had been saving up to take S to visit her family in spain as an early birthday/ graduation gift. When it finally came around to leave for spain and we dropped S off at her parent's house there. L started slowly making moves on me. I've made out with him a few times without my gf knowing, which im aware now is a shitty thing to do. Since L knew that S would be gone awhile I'm now realizing that I think he had the idea of taking things up a notch (if some of you know what i mean).
I've told him no so many times, that I don't feel comfortable and yet he's always meaning snarky comments like, "well the very least you could do is wear my clothes for tonight" or "get on your knees, i want to see how you look down there". I'm not even kidding, one from one, exact quotes. No matter what I told him, he would never stop. He started doing more explicit things like: leaning against me, rubbing his dick against me, and even tried sucking on my neck. While we were in fucking spain for my girlfriend and his childhood friend.
Me and him were staying at a nearby hotel by my gf giving her space to do her own thing with catching up with family. And the amount of times I've let the hotel room with hickeys he gave me in my sleep is insane. During the last night we were staying in spain for, L was laying up on the bed doing god knows what on his phone. He told me to come lay down on him and he started playing with my hair. Which I couldn't even lie felt so good.
Ten minutes laters when he finally realized I was blushing shamelessly in his arms. He asked me what he's been waiting for. I told him that if I said yes to him doing whatever he wants to me, he'll never ask again or bring this up. I needed to stand up before anything happened, I told him i was going to take my mood stabilizers and when I came back I had seen him take condoms out from his pocket. He knew what he was doing from the start, planning everything out. I felt so sick to my stomach, about to throw up. I gotta admit, he knew what he was doing. I wanted to not give him the satisfaction of me finishing, but it was so hard and at moments everything felt so unreal.
I think he was going at this for about twenty minutes before we heard a knock at the door. At first I didn't think much of it but when I saw S walked through the door my heart stopped. She was in tears in seconds. I later found out that she had left her parents' house early because one of her uncles were making her uncomfortable. They gave her the choice to stay with another cousin for the night or go back with her friends. It crushed me afterwards finding out she just wanted to be comforted by me and forget about all the uncalled for comment S's uncle made.
I fought back so many tears pushing L off of me. He finally stopped after five minutes of me screaming and begging him too. I know the more I was begging him, the more it was turning him on to the point where he would do anything but stop. By that I had no clue where S was. Neither of our calls went through to her, and by that point is when I started blaming L. I asked him what was his obsession with me, and all I got back was him saying how much of S I reminded him of. I told him that if he wanted her so badly then he can have her.
I knew she wouldn't ever speak to me again. She never believed me when I told her I loved her, and I can't blame her because none of it was actually true. S said that at any point of our relationship she saw i wasn't committed she's cutting me off. I knew at some point this was going to happen I just wished I could have told her myself. S ended up switching flights home. Long story short I haven't talked to her in weeks.
That was until she called me back yesterday. At first I didn't know what to do. I haven't heard from her all this time, I was about to just completely ignore her. But if anything, I love her so much as a friend I couldn't. I answered it to her in tears, screaming at me. I couldn't make out anything she was saying except for how L actually managed to find her at a mutual friend's party and ending up basically raping her. The dude forced himself on top of her and by the time she was completely in tears, all L said was, "He finally said ‘I could have your pretty face all to myself now that he's through with you’".
That pissed me off how he was that fucked up he could say those types of things and the fact he tried blaming rape on me? Saying I gave him permission? And defining my ex gf as just based off her body?
I managed to get S to tell me wheres she's been staying and for the past night I've just been staying with her. Doing everything I can to comfort her and make her feel less used. Once I noticed that she finally fell asleep, I called L up to tell me what the fuck was going through his head. He got defensive very very quickly, saying how if we were to tell anyone he'll post a video from the other night of him and S fucking making it look consensual and how she was trying to babytrap him. He's always threw around empty threats but something about this time felt to real for someone to lie about.
S still hasn't waken up, and I don't know what to do anymore. I'm thinking about not telling her I went against her words and called L. But I feel like theres no win even if I didn't lie. I'm writing this after pulling an all nighter, and I'm on the phone with my sister who only speaks german. If i wrote anything in german by mistake thats why mate. My sister's going through a really bad first year of college right now. Especially trying to make friends after moving across the country, and how she's wishes she had friends like S and L who she could rely on. Which just makes me wonder even more how much of my friendships with them were fake. I'm at a lost for everything right now and honestly don't know what to do.
submitted by h8-n8- to AITAH [link] [comments]
For the past year or so me and L had been saving up to take S to visit her family in spain as an early birthday/ graduation gift. When it finally came around to leave for spain and we dropped S off at her parent's house there. L started slowly making moves on me. I've made out with him a few times without my gf knowing, which im aware now is a shitty thing to do. Since L knew that S would be gone awhile I'm now realizing that I think he had the idea of taking things up a notch (if some of you know what i mean).
I've told him no so many times, that I don't feel comfortable and yet he's always meaning snarky comments like, "well the very least you could do is wear my clothes for tonight" or "get on your knees, i want to see how you look down there". I'm not even kidding, one from one, exact quotes. No matter what I told him, he would never stop. He started doing more explicit things like: leaning against me, rubbing his dick against me, and even tried sucking on my neck. While we were in fucking spain for my girlfriend and his childhood friend.
Me and him were staying at a nearby hotel by my gf giving her space to do her own thing with catching up with family. And the amount of times I've let the hotel room with hickeys he gave me in my sleep is insane. During the last night we were staying in spain for, L was laying up on the bed doing god knows what on his phone. He told me to come lay down on him and he started playing with my hair. Which I couldn't even lie felt so good.
Ten minutes laters when he finally realized I was blushing shamelessly in his arms. He asked me what he's been waiting for. I told him that if I said yes to him doing whatever he wants to me, he'll never ask again or bring this up. I needed to stand up before anything happened, I told him i was going to take my mood stabilizers and when I came back I had seen him take condoms out from his pocket. He knew what he was doing from the start, planning everything out. I felt so sick to my stomach, about to throw up. I gotta admit, he knew what he was doing. I wanted to not give him the satisfaction of me finishing, but it was so hard and at moments everything felt so unreal.
I think he was going at this for about twenty minutes before we heard a knock at the door. At first I didn't think much of it but when I saw S walked through the door my heart stopped. She was in tears in seconds. I later found out that she had left her parents' house early because one of her uncles were making her uncomfortable. They gave her the choice to stay with another cousin for the night or go back with her friends. It crushed me afterwards finding out she just wanted to be comforted by me and forget about all the uncalled for comment S's uncle made.
I fought back so many tears pushing L off of me. He finally stopped after five minutes of me screaming and begging him too. I know the more I was begging him, the more it was turning him on to the point where he would do anything but stop. By that I had no clue where S was. Neither of our calls went through to her, and by that point is when I started blaming L. I asked him what was his obsession with me, and all I got back was him saying how much of S I reminded him of. I told him that if he wanted her so badly then he can have her.
I knew she wouldn't ever speak to me again. She never believed me when I told her I loved her, and I can't blame her because none of it was actually true. S said that at any point of our relationship she saw i wasn't committed she's cutting me off. I knew at some point this was going to happen I just wished I could have told her myself. S ended up switching flights home. Long story short I haven't talked to her in weeks.
That was until she called me back yesterday. At first I didn't know what to do. I haven't heard from her all this time, I was about to just completely ignore her. But if anything, I love her so much as a friend I couldn't. I answered it to her in tears, screaming at me. I couldn't make out anything she was saying except for how L actually managed to find her at a mutual friend's party and ending up basically raping her. The dude forced himself on top of her and by the time she was completely in tears, all L said was, "He finally said ‘I could have your pretty face all to myself now that he's through with you’".
That pissed me off how he was that fucked up he could say those types of things and the fact he tried blaming rape on me? Saying I gave him permission? And defining my ex gf as just based off her body?
I managed to get S to tell me wheres she's been staying and for the past night I've just been staying with her. Doing everything I can to comfort her and make her feel less used. Once I noticed that she finally fell asleep, I called L up to tell me what the fuck was going through his head. He got defensive very very quickly, saying how if we were to tell anyone he'll post a video from the other night of him and S fucking making it look consensual and how she was trying to babytrap him. He's always threw around empty threats but something about this time felt to real for someone to lie about.
S still hasn't waken up, and I don't know what to do anymore. I'm thinking about not telling her I went against her words and called L. But I feel like theres no win even if I didn't lie. I'm writing this after pulling an all nighter, and I'm on the phone with my sister who only speaks german. If i wrote anything in german by mistake thats why mate. My sister's going through a really bad first year of college right now. Especially trying to make friends after moving across the country, and how she's wishes she had friends like S and L who she could rely on. Which just makes me wonder even more how much of my friendships with them were fake. I'm at a lost for everything right now and honestly don't know what to do.
2024.05.21 04:13 HannahAveryWrites Platoon Leader Stories: Ch 1
Little bit of background: First of all, I'm Avery. 22 years old, 5'4, petite build and proud member of the ittybittytittiecommittee. I'm in the army, and dating your hot as hell platoon leader is completely off limits. This is my story about bending....okay breaking....the rules.
We had just gotten back from like a month in the field, where I was the driver for my PL. He was gorgeous....hot...hunk of a man. Right around my age, but 6'1, all muscles and absolutely out of my league in my opinion.
Anyway, after four weeks of driving around this guy that turned out to be more than just a muscle head, but an actual decent conversationalist as well, I was hooked. Totally jealous of any woman who had the opportunity to go out with him. On our last convoy of the exercise, he casually mentioned coming over for dinner at his place to celebrate the end of the field. I thought he was just being nice, and was careful not to get my hopes up about anything actually happening when we got home.
I was wrong. After all the formations and closeouts and weapons turn in at home was wrapped up, he came over and asked when I was coming over and winked at my with this sly smile. Totally shocked that he had remembered, and with my brain going into overdrive about the wink and the sly smile, I stammered out an agreement to be over around 7.
I went back to my barracks, spent like 2 hours getting clean from the field and into something presentable. I went with jeans, a nice blouse and a pushup bra that did all it could for my B cups to hopefully look appealing to him.
When I got to the address he texted me, there was my handsome PL sitting out on the porch waiting for me. He greeted me with a glass of sweet tea and invited me inside. It blew my mind. He had the table set for two, with plates of streak, potatoes and veggies waiting for us. After an absolutely delicious dinner, where he mildly flirted with me continuously (aka drove me crazy), he asked if I'd like a tour of the house.
He showed me around, and then walked me upstairs to his bedroom and his library/office space. He tried to gloss over the bedroom, but I decided to push my luck and asked for a tour of that as well. He obliged and as I pushed past him in the hall to back to the bedroom, I grazed against his crotch with the back of my hand, and discovered his mind might be headed where I was hoping this might go.
I stepped inside and plopped down onto his king sized bed and teasingly asked if all his girlfriends got to see this part of the tour. He replied that I wasn't his girlfriend at work but didn't see why I couldn't be here. I blushed bright red, not expecting that reply at all. Not wanting to let the moment pass, I stood up and leaned close to him, hoping he would close the distance between our lips.
He obliged and soon we were making out passionately, our tongues intertwined and his hands roaming my back and the hem of my shirt. I let him slip it off and I removed his in turn. Slightly embarrassed by my small breasts, I backed away and covered them with my hands and asked if I was his type of girl. He replied my pulling my close to him and taking one of my nipples in his mouth. I gasped as he took the opportunity to push me back onto his bed, climbed between my legs and kissed down my body, from my lips, to my neck, breasts, sides and to the waistband of my jeans.
I was in heaven. Not only was my vagina soaked, I was in an overwhelming state of feeling "wanted". He was completely in the moment with me and kissed the edge of my panties as he slipped my jeans off and asked what I was thinking. I rolled on top of him and unbuckled his shorts and began to stroke him through his boxers. He felt like 6 or 7 inches and I wanted him.
I pulled off his shorts and boxers, leaving him naked, with me in just a pale blue lace thong. I again kissed my way down his chest, until I could tease the tip of his cock with my tongue. I took his moan of pleasure as an okay to go further, taking him deeper and deeper into my mouth as I bobbed my head up and down, letting my saliva coat his cock as I worked the base of his shaft in my hand.
After a few minutes of this, he ran his hand through my hair and pulled my chin up to kiss his lips. I shifted on top of him, straddling him still sperated by just a thin lace strip of my thong. He reached between my legs and pushed it to the side and I reached down and settled the tip of him against my entrance. He pulled me down close to him and kissed me passionately as he pushed inside of me in two firm thrusts.
I moaned into his lips as he kissed me harder to match what his cock was doing inside me. Hard, deep, rhythmic thrusts that were driving me wild. My inner walls clenched tight around his shaft as I went over the edge. Thinking he must have climaxed with me when he suddenly slowed down, I began to get up off of him.
He took this as an opportunity to pull my thong off and asked me where I wanted him to finish. I told him anywhere but inside me since I'd missed some of my BC in the field. He pushed me face down onto the mattress and pulled my hips up to meet his own. I felt him slide into me again and again as I moaned into the mattress and pushed back against him in rhythm with his thrusts.
Another minute or two went by and I climaxed again, this time as he pulled out and sprayed his cum all over my back and butt. Like a true gentleman, he offered me a shower afterwards to clean up. I ended up staying the night, sleeping in one of his old shirts, no panties, just cuddled up against him.
We went on to have more dinners and other adventures like this while we were in the same unit. Please feel free to shoot me some feedback if you're interested in stories like this and would want to hear more!
submitted by HannahAveryWrites to u/HannahAveryWrites [link] [comments]
We had just gotten back from like a month in the field, where I was the driver for my PL. He was gorgeous....hot...hunk of a man. Right around my age, but 6'1, all muscles and absolutely out of my league in my opinion.
Anyway, after four weeks of driving around this guy that turned out to be more than just a muscle head, but an actual decent conversationalist as well, I was hooked. Totally jealous of any woman who had the opportunity to go out with him. On our last convoy of the exercise, he casually mentioned coming over for dinner at his place to celebrate the end of the field. I thought he was just being nice, and was careful not to get my hopes up about anything actually happening when we got home.
I was wrong. After all the formations and closeouts and weapons turn in at home was wrapped up, he came over and asked when I was coming over and winked at my with this sly smile. Totally shocked that he had remembered, and with my brain going into overdrive about the wink and the sly smile, I stammered out an agreement to be over around 7.
I went back to my barracks, spent like 2 hours getting clean from the field and into something presentable. I went with jeans, a nice blouse and a pushup bra that did all it could for my B cups to hopefully look appealing to him.
When I got to the address he texted me, there was my handsome PL sitting out on the porch waiting for me. He greeted me with a glass of sweet tea and invited me inside. It blew my mind. He had the table set for two, with plates of streak, potatoes and veggies waiting for us. After an absolutely delicious dinner, where he mildly flirted with me continuously (aka drove me crazy), he asked if I'd like a tour of the house.
He showed me around, and then walked me upstairs to his bedroom and his library/office space. He tried to gloss over the bedroom, but I decided to push my luck and asked for a tour of that as well. He obliged and as I pushed past him in the hall to back to the bedroom, I grazed against his crotch with the back of my hand, and discovered his mind might be headed where I was hoping this might go.
I stepped inside and plopped down onto his king sized bed and teasingly asked if all his girlfriends got to see this part of the tour. He replied that I wasn't his girlfriend at work but didn't see why I couldn't be here. I blushed bright red, not expecting that reply at all. Not wanting to let the moment pass, I stood up and leaned close to him, hoping he would close the distance between our lips.
He obliged and soon we were making out passionately, our tongues intertwined and his hands roaming my back and the hem of my shirt. I let him slip it off and I removed his in turn. Slightly embarrassed by my small breasts, I backed away and covered them with my hands and asked if I was his type of girl. He replied my pulling my close to him and taking one of my nipples in his mouth. I gasped as he took the opportunity to push me back onto his bed, climbed between my legs and kissed down my body, from my lips, to my neck, breasts, sides and to the waistband of my jeans.
I was in heaven. Not only was my vagina soaked, I was in an overwhelming state of feeling "wanted". He was completely in the moment with me and kissed the edge of my panties as he slipped my jeans off and asked what I was thinking. I rolled on top of him and unbuckled his shorts and began to stroke him through his boxers. He felt like 6 or 7 inches and I wanted him.
I pulled off his shorts and boxers, leaving him naked, with me in just a pale blue lace thong. I again kissed my way down his chest, until I could tease the tip of his cock with my tongue. I took his moan of pleasure as an okay to go further, taking him deeper and deeper into my mouth as I bobbed my head up and down, letting my saliva coat his cock as I worked the base of his shaft in my hand.
After a few minutes of this, he ran his hand through my hair and pulled my chin up to kiss his lips. I shifted on top of him, straddling him still sperated by just a thin lace strip of my thong. He reached between my legs and pushed it to the side and I reached down and settled the tip of him against my entrance. He pulled me down close to him and kissed me passionately as he pushed inside of me in two firm thrusts.
I moaned into his lips as he kissed me harder to match what his cock was doing inside me. Hard, deep, rhythmic thrusts that were driving me wild. My inner walls clenched tight around his shaft as I went over the edge. Thinking he must have climaxed with me when he suddenly slowed down, I began to get up off of him.
He took this as an opportunity to pull my thong off and asked me where I wanted him to finish. I told him anywhere but inside me since I'd missed some of my BC in the field. He pushed me face down onto the mattress and pulled my hips up to meet his own. I felt him slide into me again and again as I moaned into the mattress and pushed back against him in rhythm with his thrusts.
Another minute or two went by and I climaxed again, this time as he pulled out and sprayed his cum all over my back and butt. Like a true gentleman, he offered me a shower afterwards to clean up. I ended up staying the night, sleeping in one of his old shirts, no panties, just cuddled up against him.
We went on to have more dinners and other adventures like this while we were in the same unit. Please feel free to shoot me some feedback if you're interested in stories like this and would want to hear more!
2024.05.21 04:09 Mean_Revolution_1770 Request of a Helping Hand: Making Almost Dying Funny
I haven’t found anyone to actually help me with this, so I’m requesting you give your point of view on these lyrics & I’ll make recordings of singing/piano every time a change is made. This is a discussion surrounding how you think I should make this situation is humorous. That is if you would like. I just know comedy is possible since this little nice kid that was never funny since I went to school with him in 3rd grade is a comedian. It’s an act. If you don’t give up eventually, you’ll be able to do the something that you want to do, or something. At least that’s the way his dad said it. Now regarding this song, I can always give you the background story about how I learned to fly by going 25 feet through a windshield if you’d like, but that scares most away. Tell me what you think of this song that I’m not giving up on! I’m just now giving up on trying to make a song about how I almost died and should be dead and shouldn’t be able to walk and talk and all this other shindazzle (can I curse?), but I’m doing better than most people I meet. Here’s my unfinished jawnson:
[verse 1] Hello to you all, my name is mikey!
This is a tail not meant to be funny
Where I say things that may be offending or derogatory,
Like mentioning stuff that's not great to U.S. hist---or---eee
Like what happened between US & Nagasaki
Or like where we had fun with the Iraq--eeeees
[verse 2] (Sang quickly somewhat serious/deep) Now just to let you all know I'm very experienced at this cuz I've done it before
Not like I’m lying like one of my past whores
(Stop playing, say nicely) All of which I secretly loved moreeee
Than all the girls I’m dating or the girlfriends I’ve explored
But why am I performing in front of you on this floor?
Because I almost died when I learned how to soar
[verse 3] (End goes down) I soared 25 feet through the front windshield (put arm like Superman maybe if funny test)
That’s when me & god made a deal
He said (Sing/say like god bro) “if I let you live you must heal”
“The world that’s fucked that I’m gonna reveal”
“To you to fix more than, most fucks can out in the field”
So I dapped god up & said a deals a deal (imaginary dap up)
[verse 4] Back then working I had a secret clearance
So If I got caught what I was doin I would’ve had at least one fist
Shoved up my bumcrack(whatever’s appropriate) if that car didn’t burn to a crisp
Because I’d be locked inside the clink with the cartel which would’ve been a bliss (face & body “like FU no” or overly happy if funny before giant high pitched cackle sideways face)
If car didn’t burn I’d be killed in a zip or have 10 years getting rods shoved up my grits
From having a white kilo in the car, (look around) Say “Sorry dad” look around look ashamed I used to love that kinda blow, but now do y’all know what’s way betta?!? …. (Piano stop) The kinda blow that’s between her lips
I’m writing a story that has no fiction in it so if you want to hear a little bit of my story first tell me what you think and how I can do better please because then I’ll tell you & I probably shouldn’t say all the things that are bad that I did.
submitted by Mean_Revolution_1770 to comedy [link] [comments]
[verse 1] Hello to you all, my name is mikey!
This is a tail not meant to be funny
Where I say things that may be offending or derogatory,
Like mentioning stuff that's not great to U.S. hist---or---eee
Like what happened between US & Nagasaki
Or like where we had fun with the Iraq--eeeees
[verse 2] (Sang quickly somewhat serious/deep) Now just to let you all know I'm very experienced at this cuz I've done it before
Not like I’m lying like one of my past whores
(Stop playing, say nicely) All of which I secretly loved moreeee
Than all the girls I’m dating or the girlfriends I’ve explored
But why am I performing in front of you on this floor?
Because I almost died when I learned how to soar
[verse 3] (End goes down) I soared 25 feet through the front windshield (put arm like Superman maybe if funny test)
That’s when me & god made a deal
He said (Sing/say like god bro) “if I let you live you must heal”
“The world that’s fucked that I’m gonna reveal”
“To you to fix more than, most fucks can out in the field”
So I dapped god up & said a deals a deal (imaginary dap up)
[verse 4] Back then working I had a secret clearance
So If I got caught what I was doin I would’ve had at least one fist
Shoved up my bumcrack(whatever’s appropriate) if that car didn’t burn to a crisp
Because I’d be locked inside the clink with the cartel which would’ve been a bliss (face & body “like FU no” or overly happy if funny before giant high pitched cackle sideways face)
If car didn’t burn I’d be killed in a zip or have 10 years getting rods shoved up my grits
From having a white kilo in the car, (look around) Say “Sorry dad” look around look ashamed I used to love that kinda blow, but now do y’all know what’s way betta?!? …. (Piano stop) The kinda blow that’s between her lips
I’m writing a story that has no fiction in it so if you want to hear a little bit of my story first tell me what you think and how I can do better please because then I’ll tell you & I probably shouldn’t say all the things that are bad that I did.
2024.05.21 03:50 FlubzRevenge Eisner Award Nominees are Here!
Link here: https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/
BEST SHORT STORY
“Friendship Is Forever,” by Sam Maggs and Keisha Okafor, in My Little Pony 40th Celebration (IDW)
“The Kelpie,” by Becky Cloonan, in Four Gathered on Christmas Eve (Dark Horse)
“The Lady of the Lake,” by Joe S. Farrar and Guilherme Grandizolli, in BUMP: A Horror Anthology #3 (BUMP)
“Talking to a Hill,” by Larry Hancock and Michael Cherkas, in Comics for Ukraine (Zoop)
“World’s Finest, Part 1,” by Tom King and Belen Ortega, in Wonder Woman #3 (DC)
BEST SINGLE ISSUE/ONE-SHOT
Horologist, by Jared Lee and Cross (Grim Film)
Nightwing #105, by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo (DC)
Star Trek: Day of Blood—Shax’s Best Day, by Ryan North and Derek Charm (IDW)
Superman 2023 Annual, by Joshua Williamson and others (DC)
Sweet Paprika: Black, White, & Pink, by Mirka Andolfo and others (Image)
BEST CONTINUING SERIES
Birds of Prey, by Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Basto Romero (DC)
Nightwing, by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo (DC Comics)
Shazam! by Mark Waid and Dan Mora (DC)
Transformers, by Daniel Warren Johnson (Image Skybound)
Wonder Woman, by Tom King and Daniel Sampere (DC)
BEST LIMITED SERIES
The Cull, by Kelly Thompson and Mattia De Iulis (Image)
Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons, by Frank Tieri and Inaki Miranda (IDW)
Kill Your Darlings, by Ethan S. Parker, Griffin Sheridan, and Robert Quinn (Image)
PeePee PooPoo, by Caroline Cash (Silver Sprocket)
Superman: Lost, by Christopher Priest and Carlo Pagulayan (DC)
BEST NEW SERIES
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, by Patrick Horvath (IDW) shincoal you did it! haha.
Black Cloak, by Kelly Thompson and Meredith McClaren (Image)
Local Man, by Tim Seeley and Tony Fleecs (Image)
Phantom Road, by Jeff Lemire and Gabriel Hernández Walta (Image)
Somna: A Bedtime Story, by Becky Cloonan and Tula Lotay (DSTLRY)
BEST PUBLICATION FOR EARLY READERS
Bigfoot and Nessie: The Art of Getting Noticed, by Chelsea M. Campbell and Laura Knetzger (Penguin Workshop/Penguin Random House)
Burt the Beetle Lives Here! by Ashley Spires (Kids Can Press)
Go-Go Guys, by Rowboat Watkins (Chronicle Books)
The Light Inside, by Dan Misdea (Penguin Workshop/Penguin Random House)
Milk and Mocha: Our Little Happiness, by Melani Sie (Andrews McMeel)
Tacos Today: El Toro & Friends, by Raúl the Third (HarperCollins/Versify)
BEST PUBLICATION FOR KIDS
Buzzing, by Samuel Sattin and Rye Hickman (Little, Brown Ink)
Mabuhay!, by Zachary Sterling (Scholastic Graphix)
Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir, by Pedro Martín (Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin Young Readers)
Missing You, by Phellip Willian and Melissa Garabeli. translation by Fabio Ramos (Oni Press)
Saving Sunshine, by Saadia Faruqi and Shazleen Khan (First Second/Macmillan)
BEST PUBLICATION FOR TEENS
Blackward, by Lawrence Lindell (Drawn & Quarterly)
Danger and Other Unknown Risks, by Ryan North and Erica Henderson (Penguin Workshop/Penguin Random House)
Frontera, by Julio Anta and Jacoby Salcedo (HarperAlley)
Lights, by Brenna Thummler (Oni Press)
Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story, by Sarah Myer (First Second/Macmillan)
My Girlfriend’s Child, vol. 1, by Mamoru Aoi, translation by Hana Allen (Seven Seas)
BEST HUMOR PUBLICATION
How to Love: A Guide to Feelings & Relationships for Everyone, by Alex Norris (Candlewick/Walker Books)
I Was a Teenage Michael Jackson Impersonator, and Other Musical Meanderings, by Keith Knight (Keith Knight Press)
It’s Jeff: The Jeff-Verse #1, by Kelly Thompson and Gurihiru (Marvel)
Macanudo: Optimism Is for the Brave, by Liniers (Fantagraphics)
The Yakuza’s Bias, by Teki Yatsuda. translation by Max Greenway (Kodansha)
BEST ANTHOLOGY
Comics for Ukraine, edited by Scott Dunbier (Zoop)
Deep Cuts, by Kyle Higgins, Joe Clark, Danilo Beyruth, and others (Image)
The Devil’s Cut, edited by Will Dennis (DSTLRY)
Marvel Age #1000, edited by Tom Brevoort (Marvel)
The Out Side: Trans & Nonbinary Comics, edited by The Kao, Min Christensen, and David Daneman (Andrews McMeel)
Swan Songs by W. Maxwell Prince and others (Image)
BEST REALITY-BASED WORK
Are You Willing to Die for the Cause? by Chris Oliveros (Drawn & Quarterly)
Last on His Feet: Jack Johnson and the Battle of the Century, by Adrian Matejka and Youssef Daoudi (Liveright)
Messenger: The Legend of Muhammad Ali, by Marc Bernardin and Ron Salas (First Second/Macmillan)
Thing: Inside the Struggle for Animal Personhood, by Samuel Machado and Cynthia Sousa Machado with Steven M. Wise (Island Press)
Three Rocks: The Story of Ernie Bushmiller: The Man Who Created Nancy, by Bill Griffith (Abrams ComicArts)
BEST GRAPHIC MEMOIR
Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam, by Thien Pham (First Second/Macmillan)
A First Time for Everything, by Dan Santat (First Second/Macmillan)
In Limbo, by Deb JJ Lee (First Second/Macmillan)
Memento Mori, by Tiitu Takalo, translation by Maria Schroderus (Oni Press)
Sunshine: How One Camp Taught Me About Life, Death, and Hope, by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Scholastic Graphix)
The Talk, by Darrin Bell (Henry Holt)
BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM—NEW
Ashes, by Álvaro Ortiz, translation by Eva Ibarzabal (Top Shelf/IDW)
Eden II, by K. Wroten (Fantagraphics)
A Guest in the House, by Emily Carroll (First Second/Macmillan)
Parasocial, by Alex De Campi and Erica Henderson (Image)
Roaming, by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki (Drawn & Quarterly)
BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM—REPRINT
Doctor Strange: Fall Sunrise Treasury Edition, by Tradd Moore (Marvel)
The Good Asian, by Pornsak Pichetshote and Alexandre Tefenkgi (Image)
Hip Hop Family Tree: The Omnibus, by Ed Piskor (Fantagraphics)
Orange Complete Series Box Set, by Ichigo Takano, translation by Amber Tamosaitis (Seven Seas)
Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons, by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Phil Jimenez, Gene Ha, and Nicola Scott (DC)
BEST ADAPTATION FROM ANOTHER MEDIUM
Bea Wolf, adapted by Zach Weinersmith and Boulet (First Second/Macmillan)
DRCL midnight children, vol. 1, based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, by Shin’ichi Sakamoto, translation by Caleb Cook (VIZ Media)
H.P. Lovecraft’s The Shadow over Innsmouth, adapted by Gou Tanabe, translation by Zack Davisson (Dark Horse Manga)
The Monkey King: The Complete Odyssey, adapted by Chaiko, translation by Dan Christensen (Magnetic)
Watership Down, by Richard Adams, adapted by James Sturm and Joe Sutphin (Ten Speed Graphic)
BEST U.S. EDITION OF INTERNATIONAL MATERIAL
Ashes, by Álvaro Ortiz, translation by Eva Ibarzabal (Top Shelf/IDW)
Blacksad, Vol 7: They All Fall Down, Part 2, by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido, translation by Diana Schutz and Brandon Kander (Europe Comics)
A Boy Named Rose, by Gaëlle Geniller, translation by Fabrice Sapolsky (Fairsquare Comics)
The Great Beyond, by Léa Murawiec, translation by Aleshia Jensen (Drawn & Quarterly)
Shubeik Lubeik, by Deena Mohamed (Pantheon Books/Penguin Random House)
Spa, by Erik Svetoft, translation by Melissa Bowers (Fantagraphics)
BEST U.S. EDITION OF INTERNATIONAL MATERIAL—ASIA
DRCL midnight children, vol. 1, based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, by Shin’ichi Sakamoto, translation by Caleb Cook (VIZ Media)
Goodbye, Eri, by Tatsuki Fujimoto, translation by Amanda Haley (VIZ Media)
The Horizon, vol. 1, by JH, translation by ULTRAMEDIA Co. Ltd. (Yen/Ize Press)
My Picture Diary, by Fujiwara Maki, translation by Ryan Holmberg (Drawn & Quarterly)
River’s Edge, by Kyoko Okazaki, translation by Alexa Frank (Kodansha)
The Summer Hikaru Died, vol. 1, by Mokumokuren, translation by Ajani Oloye (Yen Press)
BEST ARCHIVAL COLLECTION/PROJECT—STRIPS
Dauntless Dames: High-Heeled Heroes of the Comic Strips, edited by Peter Maresca and Trina Robbins (Sunday Press/Fantagraphics)
David Wright’s Carol Day: Lance Hallam, edited by Roger Clark, Chris Killackey, and Guy Mills (Slingsby Bros, Ink!)
Popeye Sundays Vol 3: The Sea Hag and Alice the Goon, by E.C. Segar, edited by Conrad Groth and Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)
Walt Disney’s Silly Symphonies 1932-1935: Starring Bucky Bug and Donald Duck and Walt Disney’s Silly Symphonies 1935-1939: Starring Donald Duck and Big Bad Wolf, edited by David Gerstein (Fantagraphics)
Where I’m Coming From, by Barbara Brandon-Croft, edited by Peggy Burns and Tracy Hurren (Drawn & Quarterly)
BEST ARCHIVAL COLLECTION/PROJECT—COMIC BOOKS
Adventures Into Terror: The Atlas Comics Library, vol. 1, edited by Michael J. Vassallo (Fantagraphics)
All-Negro Comics 75th Anniversary Edition, edited by Chris Robinson (Very GOOD Books)
The Ballad of Halo Jones Full Colour Omnibus, by Alan Moore and Ian Gibson, edited by Olivia Hicks (2000AD/Rebellion)
The John Severin Westerns Featuring American Eagle, edited by Michael Dean (Fantagraphics)
Michael Golden’s Marvel Stories Artist’s Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
BEST WRITER
Stephen Graham Jones, Earthdivers (IDW)
Mariko Tamaki, Roaming (Drawn & Quarterly)
Tom Taylor, Nightwing, Titans (DC)
Kelly Thompson, Birds of Prey, Harley Quinn, Black White and Redder (DC); Black Cloak, The Cull (Image); It’s Jeff, Captain Marvel (Marvel)
Mark Waid, Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, Shazam!, World’s Finest: Teen Titans (DC)
G. Willow Wilson, Poison Ivy (DC); Hunger and the Dusk (IDW)
BEST WRITEARTIST
Emily Carroll, A Guest in the House (First Second/Macmillan)
Bill Griffith, Three Rocks (Abrams ComicArts)
Daniel Warren Johnson, Transformers (Image Skybound)
Mokumokuren, The Summer Hikaru Died, vol. 1 (Yen Press)
Zoe Thorogood, Hack/Slash: Back To School (Image)
Tillie Walden, Clementine Book Two (Image Skybound)
BEST PENCILLEINKER OR PENCILLEINKER TEAM
Jason Shawn Alexander, Detective Comics (DC); Killadelphia, with Germán Erramouspe (Image)
Tula Lotay, Barnstormers: A Ballad of Love and Murder (Comixology Originals/Best Jackett)
Inaki Miranda, Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons (IDW)
Dan Mora, Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, Shazam! (DC)
Chris Samnee, Fire Power (Image Skybound)
Jillian Tamaki, Roaming (Drawn & Quarterly)
BEST PAINTEMULTIMEDIA ARTIST (INTERIOR ART)
Jason Shawn Alexander, Blacula: Return of the King (Zombie Love Studios)
Chaiko, The Monkey King (Magnetic)
Juanjo Guarnido, Blacksad, Vol 7: They All Fall Down, Part 2 (Europe Comics)
Liam Sharp, Nocterra: Nemesis Special (Best Jackett); Starhenge: The Dragon and the Boar (Image)
Martin Simmonds, Universal Monsters: Dracula (Image Skybound)
Sana Takeda, The Night Eaters: Her Little Reapers (Abrams ComicArts); Monstress (Image)
BEST COVER ARTIST
Jen Bartel, DC Pride 2023, Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville #1 (DC); Captain Marvel: Dark Tempest #1, Demon Wars: Scarlet Sin #1, Scarlet Witch #9, Sensational She-Hulk (Marvel)
Evan Cagle, Detective Comics (DC)
Jenny Frison, Alice Never After #1, BRZRKR: Fallen Empire #1, and other alternate covers (BOOM! Studios); Knight Terrors: Harley Quinn #1–2, Poison Ivy #8, #12 (DC)
E. M. Gist, Expanse Dragon Tooth #1, Something Is Killing the Children #28 & #34, Wild’s End, vol 2 #4 and other alternate covers (BOOM! Studios); Amazing Spider-Man #23, Doctor Aphra #36, Moon Knight #3, Nightcrawlers #1, Wolverine #38 (Marvel)
Peach Momoko, Demon Wars: Scarlet Sin, various alternate covers (Marvel)
Dan Mora, Coda #3, Damn Them All #4, MMPR 30th Anniversary Special #1, Rare Flavours #3 and other alternate covers (BOOM! Studios); Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, Outsiders #1, Poison Ivy #9, Shazam!, Titans #1 (DC)
BEST COLORING
Jordie Bellaire, Batman, Birds of Prey (DC); Dark Spaces: Hollywood Special (IDW)
Matt Hollingsworth, Captain America, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, Punisher (Marvel)
Lee Loughridge, Red Zone (AWA); Edgeworld, Grammaton Punch, Nostalgia (Comixology Originals); The Devil’s Cut, Gone, Somna (DSTLRY); Star Trek (IDW); Killadelphia (Image); Hunt. Kill. Repeat. (Mad Cave)
Dave McCaig, The Sacrificers (Image), The Walking Dead Deluxe (Image Skybound)
Dean White, Conan the Barbarian (Titan Comics)
BEST LETTERING
Emily Carroll, A Guest in the House (First Second/Macmillan)
Benoit Dehan and Lauren Bowes, Inside the Mind of Sherlock Holmes (Titan Comics)
Bill Griffith, Three Rocks (Abrams ComicArts)
Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, The Unlikely Story of Felix and Macabber, The Witcher: Wild Animals, and others (Dark Horse); Batman: City of Madness, The Flash, Poison Ivy, and others (DC); Black Cat Social Club (Humanoids); Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees (IDW); The Cull, What’s the Furthest Place from Here? (Image); and others
Richard Starkings, Barnstormers: A Ballad of Love and Murder, Canary (Comixology Originals/Best Jackett); Parliament of Rooks (Comixology); Astro City, Battle Chasers (Image); Conan the Barbarian (Titan Comics)
Rus Wooton, Monstress, The Sacrificers (Image); Fire Power, Kroma, Transformers, The Walking Dead Deluxe, Universal Monsters: Dracula, Void Rivals (Image Skybound); Hunt. Kill. Repeat., A Legacy of Violence, Nature’s Labyrinth (Mad Cave)
BEST COMICS-RELATED PERIODICAL/JOURNALISM
The Comics Journal #309; edited by Gary Groth, Kristy Valenti, and Austin English (Fantagraphics)
“The Indirect Market,” by Brandon Schatz and Danica LeBlanc, comicsbeat.com
Rob Salkowitz, for Forbes, ICv2.com, Publishers Weekly
SKTCHD, by David Harper, www.sktchd.com
SOLRAD: The Online Literary Magazine for Comics, www.solrad.co (Fieldmouse Press)
BEST COMICS-RELATED BOOK
Bryan Talbot: Father of the British Graphic Novel, by J. D. Harlock and Bryan Talbot (Brainstorm Studios)
Confabulation: An Anecdotal Autobiography, by Dave Gibbons (Dark Horse)
Flamed Out: The Underground Adventures and Comix Genius of Willy Murphy, edited by Nicki Michaels, Ted Richards, and Mark Burstein (Fantagraphics)
I Am the Law: How Judge Dredd Predicted Our Future, by Michael Molcher (Rebellion)
The Pacific Comics Companion, by Stephan Friedt and Jon B. Cooke (TwoMorrows)
Thalamus: The Art of Dave McKean (Dark Horse)
BEST ACADEMIC/SCHOLARLY WORK
Asian Political Cartoons, by John A. Lent (University Press of Mississippi)
The Claremont Run: Subverting Gender in the X- Men, by J. Andrew Deman (University of Texas Press)
Desegregating Comics: Debating Blackness in the Golden Age of American Comics, edited by Qiana Whitted (Rutgers University Press)
If Shehrazad Drew: Critical Writings on Arab Comics, by George Khoury-Jad (Sawaf Center for Arab Comics Studies and American University of Beirut Press)
In Visible Archives: Queer and Feminist Visual Culture in the 1980s, by Margaret Galvan (University of Minnesota Press)
Super Bodies: Comic Book Illustration, Artistic Styles, and Narrative Impact, by Jeffrey A. Brown (University of Texas Press)
BEST PUBLICATION DESIGN
Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein boxed set, designed by Mike Kennedy (Magnetic)
Gratuitous Ninja, by Ronald Wimberly, designed by Chloe Scheffe (Beehive Books)
Inside the Mind of Sherlock Holmes, designed by Benoit Dahan andDonna Askem (Titan Comics)
Iron Maiden: Piece of Mind, designed by Josh Bernstein and Rob Schwager (Z2)
Toilet-bound Hanako-kun First Stall Box Set, designed by Wendy Chan (Yen Press)
BEST WEBCOMIC
Asturias: The Origin of a Flag, by Javi de Castro, https://www.javidecastro.com/asturias-the-origin-of-a-flag
Daughter of a Thousand Faces, by Vel (Velinxi), https://tapas.io/series/daughter-of-a-thousand-faces/info (Tapas)
Lore Olympus, by Rachel Smythe, https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/lore-olympus/s3-episode-226/viewer?title_no=1320&episode_no=231 (WEBTOON)
Matchmaker, vol. 6, by Cam Marshall at https://matchmakercomic.com/. (Silver Sprocket)
3rd Voice, by Evan Dahm, https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/3rd-voice/list?title_no=828919 (WEBTOON)
Unfamiliar, by Haley Newsome: https://tapas.io/series/unfamiliainfo (Tapas)
BEST DIGITAL COMIC
Blacksad, Vol 7: They All Fall Down, Part 2. by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido, translation by Diana Schutz and Brandon Kander (Europe Comics)
Friday, by Ed Brubaker and Marcos Martin, vols. 7–8 (Panel Syndicate)
Parliament of Rooks, by Abigail Jill Harding (Comixology Originals)
Practical Defense Against Piracy, by Tony Cliff (delilahdirk.com)
A Witch’s Guide to Burning, by Aminder Dhaliwal (Instagram.com/aminder_d)
submitted by FlubzRevenge to graphicnovels [link] [comments]
BEST SHORT STORY
“Friendship Is Forever,” by Sam Maggs and Keisha Okafor, in My Little Pony 40th Celebration (IDW)
“The Kelpie,” by Becky Cloonan, in Four Gathered on Christmas Eve (Dark Horse)
“The Lady of the Lake,” by Joe S. Farrar and Guilherme Grandizolli, in BUMP: A Horror Anthology #3 (BUMP)
“Talking to a Hill,” by Larry Hancock and Michael Cherkas, in Comics for Ukraine (Zoop)
“World’s Finest, Part 1,” by Tom King and Belen Ortega, in Wonder Woman #3 (DC)
BEST SINGLE ISSUE/ONE-SHOT
Horologist, by Jared Lee and Cross (Grim Film)
Nightwing #105, by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo (DC)
Star Trek: Day of Blood—Shax’s Best Day, by Ryan North and Derek Charm (IDW)
Superman 2023 Annual, by Joshua Williamson and others (DC)
Sweet Paprika: Black, White, & Pink, by Mirka Andolfo and others (Image)
BEST CONTINUING SERIES
Birds of Prey, by Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Basto Romero (DC)
Nightwing, by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo (DC Comics)
Shazam! by Mark Waid and Dan Mora (DC)
Transformers, by Daniel Warren Johnson (Image Skybound)
Wonder Woman, by Tom King and Daniel Sampere (DC)
BEST LIMITED SERIES
The Cull, by Kelly Thompson and Mattia De Iulis (Image)
Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons, by Frank Tieri and Inaki Miranda (IDW)
Kill Your Darlings, by Ethan S. Parker, Griffin Sheridan, and Robert Quinn (Image)
PeePee PooPoo, by Caroline Cash (Silver Sprocket)
Superman: Lost, by Christopher Priest and Carlo Pagulayan (DC)
BEST NEW SERIES
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, by Patrick Horvath (IDW) shincoal you did it! haha.
Black Cloak, by Kelly Thompson and Meredith McClaren (Image)
Local Man, by Tim Seeley and Tony Fleecs (Image)
Phantom Road, by Jeff Lemire and Gabriel Hernández Walta (Image)
Somna: A Bedtime Story, by Becky Cloonan and Tula Lotay (DSTLRY)
BEST PUBLICATION FOR EARLY READERS
Bigfoot and Nessie: The Art of Getting Noticed, by Chelsea M. Campbell and Laura Knetzger (Penguin Workshop/Penguin Random House)
Burt the Beetle Lives Here! by Ashley Spires (Kids Can Press)
Go-Go Guys, by Rowboat Watkins (Chronicle Books)
The Light Inside, by Dan Misdea (Penguin Workshop/Penguin Random House)
Milk and Mocha: Our Little Happiness, by Melani Sie (Andrews McMeel)
Tacos Today: El Toro & Friends, by Raúl the Third (HarperCollins/Versify)
BEST PUBLICATION FOR KIDS
Buzzing, by Samuel Sattin and Rye Hickman (Little, Brown Ink)
Mabuhay!, by Zachary Sterling (Scholastic Graphix)
Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir, by Pedro Martín (Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin Young Readers)
Missing You, by Phellip Willian and Melissa Garabeli. translation by Fabio Ramos (Oni Press)
Saving Sunshine, by Saadia Faruqi and Shazleen Khan (First Second/Macmillan)
BEST PUBLICATION FOR TEENS
Blackward, by Lawrence Lindell (Drawn & Quarterly)
Danger and Other Unknown Risks, by Ryan North and Erica Henderson (Penguin Workshop/Penguin Random House)
Frontera, by Julio Anta and Jacoby Salcedo (HarperAlley)
Lights, by Brenna Thummler (Oni Press)
Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story, by Sarah Myer (First Second/Macmillan)
My Girlfriend’s Child, vol. 1, by Mamoru Aoi, translation by Hana Allen (Seven Seas)
BEST HUMOR PUBLICATION
How to Love: A Guide to Feelings & Relationships for Everyone, by Alex Norris (Candlewick/Walker Books)
I Was a Teenage Michael Jackson Impersonator, and Other Musical Meanderings, by Keith Knight (Keith Knight Press)
It’s Jeff: The Jeff-Verse #1, by Kelly Thompson and Gurihiru (Marvel)
Macanudo: Optimism Is for the Brave, by Liniers (Fantagraphics)
The Yakuza’s Bias, by Teki Yatsuda. translation by Max Greenway (Kodansha)
BEST ANTHOLOGY
Comics for Ukraine, edited by Scott Dunbier (Zoop)
Deep Cuts, by Kyle Higgins, Joe Clark, Danilo Beyruth, and others (Image)
The Devil’s Cut, edited by Will Dennis (DSTLRY)
Marvel Age #1000, edited by Tom Brevoort (Marvel)
The Out Side: Trans & Nonbinary Comics, edited by The Kao, Min Christensen, and David Daneman (Andrews McMeel)
Swan Songs by W. Maxwell Prince and others (Image)
BEST REALITY-BASED WORK
Are You Willing to Die for the Cause? by Chris Oliveros (Drawn & Quarterly)
Last on His Feet: Jack Johnson and the Battle of the Century, by Adrian Matejka and Youssef Daoudi (Liveright)
Messenger: The Legend of Muhammad Ali, by Marc Bernardin and Ron Salas (First Second/Macmillan)
Thing: Inside the Struggle for Animal Personhood, by Samuel Machado and Cynthia Sousa Machado with Steven M. Wise (Island Press)
Three Rocks: The Story of Ernie Bushmiller: The Man Who Created Nancy, by Bill Griffith (Abrams ComicArts)
BEST GRAPHIC MEMOIR
Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam, by Thien Pham (First Second/Macmillan)
A First Time for Everything, by Dan Santat (First Second/Macmillan)
In Limbo, by Deb JJ Lee (First Second/Macmillan)
Memento Mori, by Tiitu Takalo, translation by Maria Schroderus (Oni Press)
Sunshine: How One Camp Taught Me About Life, Death, and Hope, by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Scholastic Graphix)
The Talk, by Darrin Bell (Henry Holt)
BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM—NEW
Ashes, by Álvaro Ortiz, translation by Eva Ibarzabal (Top Shelf/IDW)
Eden II, by K. Wroten (Fantagraphics)
A Guest in the House, by Emily Carroll (First Second/Macmillan)
Parasocial, by Alex De Campi and Erica Henderson (Image)
Roaming, by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki (Drawn & Quarterly)
BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM—REPRINT
Doctor Strange: Fall Sunrise Treasury Edition, by Tradd Moore (Marvel)
The Good Asian, by Pornsak Pichetshote and Alexandre Tefenkgi (Image)
Hip Hop Family Tree: The Omnibus, by Ed Piskor (Fantagraphics)
Orange Complete Series Box Set, by Ichigo Takano, translation by Amber Tamosaitis (Seven Seas)
Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons, by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Phil Jimenez, Gene Ha, and Nicola Scott (DC)
BEST ADAPTATION FROM ANOTHER MEDIUM
Bea Wolf, adapted by Zach Weinersmith and Boulet (First Second/Macmillan)
DRCL midnight children, vol. 1, based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, by Shin’ichi Sakamoto, translation by Caleb Cook (VIZ Media)
H.P. Lovecraft’s The Shadow over Innsmouth, adapted by Gou Tanabe, translation by Zack Davisson (Dark Horse Manga)
The Monkey King: The Complete Odyssey, adapted by Chaiko, translation by Dan Christensen (Magnetic)
Watership Down, by Richard Adams, adapted by James Sturm and Joe Sutphin (Ten Speed Graphic)
BEST U.S. EDITION OF INTERNATIONAL MATERIAL
Ashes, by Álvaro Ortiz, translation by Eva Ibarzabal (Top Shelf/IDW)
Blacksad, Vol 7: They All Fall Down, Part 2, by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido, translation by Diana Schutz and Brandon Kander (Europe Comics)
A Boy Named Rose, by Gaëlle Geniller, translation by Fabrice Sapolsky (Fairsquare Comics)
The Great Beyond, by Léa Murawiec, translation by Aleshia Jensen (Drawn & Quarterly)
Shubeik Lubeik, by Deena Mohamed (Pantheon Books/Penguin Random House)
Spa, by Erik Svetoft, translation by Melissa Bowers (Fantagraphics)
BEST U.S. EDITION OF INTERNATIONAL MATERIAL—ASIA
DRCL midnight children, vol. 1, based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, by Shin’ichi Sakamoto, translation by Caleb Cook (VIZ Media)
Goodbye, Eri, by Tatsuki Fujimoto, translation by Amanda Haley (VIZ Media)
The Horizon, vol. 1, by JH, translation by ULTRAMEDIA Co. Ltd. (Yen/Ize Press)
My Picture Diary, by Fujiwara Maki, translation by Ryan Holmberg (Drawn & Quarterly)
River’s Edge, by Kyoko Okazaki, translation by Alexa Frank (Kodansha)
The Summer Hikaru Died, vol. 1, by Mokumokuren, translation by Ajani Oloye (Yen Press)
BEST ARCHIVAL COLLECTION/PROJECT—STRIPS
Dauntless Dames: High-Heeled Heroes of the Comic Strips, edited by Peter Maresca and Trina Robbins (Sunday Press/Fantagraphics)
David Wright’s Carol Day: Lance Hallam, edited by Roger Clark, Chris Killackey, and Guy Mills (Slingsby Bros, Ink!)
Popeye Sundays Vol 3: The Sea Hag and Alice the Goon, by E.C. Segar, edited by Conrad Groth and Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)
Walt Disney’s Silly Symphonies 1932-1935: Starring Bucky Bug and Donald Duck and Walt Disney’s Silly Symphonies 1935-1939: Starring Donald Duck and Big Bad Wolf, edited by David Gerstein (Fantagraphics)
Where I’m Coming From, by Barbara Brandon-Croft, edited by Peggy Burns and Tracy Hurren (Drawn & Quarterly)
BEST ARCHIVAL COLLECTION/PROJECT—COMIC BOOKS
Adventures Into Terror: The Atlas Comics Library, vol. 1, edited by Michael J. Vassallo (Fantagraphics)
All-Negro Comics 75th Anniversary Edition, edited by Chris Robinson (Very GOOD Books)
The Ballad of Halo Jones Full Colour Omnibus, by Alan Moore and Ian Gibson, edited by Olivia Hicks (2000AD/Rebellion)
The John Severin Westerns Featuring American Eagle, edited by Michael Dean (Fantagraphics)
Michael Golden’s Marvel Stories Artist’s Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
BEST WRITER
Stephen Graham Jones, Earthdivers (IDW)
Mariko Tamaki, Roaming (Drawn & Quarterly)
Tom Taylor, Nightwing, Titans (DC)
Kelly Thompson, Birds of Prey, Harley Quinn, Black White and Redder (DC); Black Cloak, The Cull (Image); It’s Jeff, Captain Marvel (Marvel)
Mark Waid, Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, Shazam!, World’s Finest: Teen Titans (DC)
G. Willow Wilson, Poison Ivy (DC); Hunger and the Dusk (IDW)
BEST WRITEARTIST
Emily Carroll, A Guest in the House (First Second/Macmillan)
Bill Griffith, Three Rocks (Abrams ComicArts)
Daniel Warren Johnson, Transformers (Image Skybound)
Mokumokuren, The Summer Hikaru Died, vol. 1 (Yen Press)
Zoe Thorogood, Hack/Slash: Back To School (Image)
Tillie Walden, Clementine Book Two (Image Skybound)
BEST PENCILLEINKER OR PENCILLEINKER TEAM
Jason Shawn Alexander, Detective Comics (DC); Killadelphia, with Germán Erramouspe (Image)
Tula Lotay, Barnstormers: A Ballad of Love and Murder (Comixology Originals/Best Jackett)
Inaki Miranda, Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons (IDW)
Dan Mora, Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, Shazam! (DC)
Chris Samnee, Fire Power (Image Skybound)
Jillian Tamaki, Roaming (Drawn & Quarterly)
BEST PAINTEMULTIMEDIA ARTIST (INTERIOR ART)
Jason Shawn Alexander, Blacula: Return of the King (Zombie Love Studios)
Chaiko, The Monkey King (Magnetic)
Juanjo Guarnido, Blacksad, Vol 7: They All Fall Down, Part 2 (Europe Comics)
Liam Sharp, Nocterra: Nemesis Special (Best Jackett); Starhenge: The Dragon and the Boar (Image)
Martin Simmonds, Universal Monsters: Dracula (Image Skybound)
Sana Takeda, The Night Eaters: Her Little Reapers (Abrams ComicArts); Monstress (Image)
BEST COVER ARTIST
Jen Bartel, DC Pride 2023, Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville #1 (DC); Captain Marvel: Dark Tempest #1, Demon Wars: Scarlet Sin #1, Scarlet Witch #9, Sensational She-Hulk (Marvel)
Evan Cagle, Detective Comics (DC)
Jenny Frison, Alice Never After #1, BRZRKR: Fallen Empire #1, and other alternate covers (BOOM! Studios); Knight Terrors: Harley Quinn #1–2, Poison Ivy #8, #12 (DC)
E. M. Gist, Expanse Dragon Tooth #1, Something Is Killing the Children #28 & #34, Wild’s End, vol 2 #4 and other alternate covers (BOOM! Studios); Amazing Spider-Man #23, Doctor Aphra #36, Moon Knight #3, Nightcrawlers #1, Wolverine #38 (Marvel)
Peach Momoko, Demon Wars: Scarlet Sin, various alternate covers (Marvel)
Dan Mora, Coda #3, Damn Them All #4, MMPR 30th Anniversary Special #1, Rare Flavours #3 and other alternate covers (BOOM! Studios); Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, Outsiders #1, Poison Ivy #9, Shazam!, Titans #1 (DC)
BEST COLORING
Jordie Bellaire, Batman, Birds of Prey (DC); Dark Spaces: Hollywood Special (IDW)
Matt Hollingsworth, Captain America, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, Punisher (Marvel)
Lee Loughridge, Red Zone (AWA); Edgeworld, Grammaton Punch, Nostalgia (Comixology Originals); The Devil’s Cut, Gone, Somna (DSTLRY); Star Trek (IDW); Killadelphia (Image); Hunt. Kill. Repeat. (Mad Cave)
Dave McCaig, The Sacrificers (Image), The Walking Dead Deluxe (Image Skybound)
Dean White, Conan the Barbarian (Titan Comics)
BEST LETTERING
Emily Carroll, A Guest in the House (First Second/Macmillan)
Benoit Dehan and Lauren Bowes, Inside the Mind of Sherlock Holmes (Titan Comics)
Bill Griffith, Three Rocks (Abrams ComicArts)
Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, The Unlikely Story of Felix and Macabber, The Witcher: Wild Animals, and others (Dark Horse); Batman: City of Madness, The Flash, Poison Ivy, and others (DC); Black Cat Social Club (Humanoids); Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees (IDW); The Cull, What’s the Furthest Place from Here? (Image); and others
Richard Starkings, Barnstormers: A Ballad of Love and Murder, Canary (Comixology Originals/Best Jackett); Parliament of Rooks (Comixology); Astro City, Battle Chasers (Image); Conan the Barbarian (Titan Comics)
Rus Wooton, Monstress, The Sacrificers (Image); Fire Power, Kroma, Transformers, The Walking Dead Deluxe, Universal Monsters: Dracula, Void Rivals (Image Skybound); Hunt. Kill. Repeat., A Legacy of Violence, Nature’s Labyrinth (Mad Cave)
BEST COMICS-RELATED PERIODICAL/JOURNALISM
The Comics Journal #309; edited by Gary Groth, Kristy Valenti, and Austin English (Fantagraphics)
“The Indirect Market,” by Brandon Schatz and Danica LeBlanc, comicsbeat.com
Rob Salkowitz, for Forbes, ICv2.com, Publishers Weekly
SKTCHD, by David Harper, www.sktchd.com
SOLRAD: The Online Literary Magazine for Comics, www.solrad.co (Fieldmouse Press)
BEST COMICS-RELATED BOOK
Bryan Talbot: Father of the British Graphic Novel, by J. D. Harlock and Bryan Talbot (Brainstorm Studios)
Confabulation: An Anecdotal Autobiography, by Dave Gibbons (Dark Horse)
Flamed Out: The Underground Adventures and Comix Genius of Willy Murphy, edited by Nicki Michaels, Ted Richards, and Mark Burstein (Fantagraphics)
I Am the Law: How Judge Dredd Predicted Our Future, by Michael Molcher (Rebellion)
The Pacific Comics Companion, by Stephan Friedt and Jon B. Cooke (TwoMorrows)
Thalamus: The Art of Dave McKean (Dark Horse)
BEST ACADEMIC/SCHOLARLY WORK
Asian Political Cartoons, by John A. Lent (University Press of Mississippi)
The Claremont Run: Subverting Gender in the X- Men, by J. Andrew Deman (University of Texas Press)
Desegregating Comics: Debating Blackness in the Golden Age of American Comics, edited by Qiana Whitted (Rutgers University Press)
If Shehrazad Drew: Critical Writings on Arab Comics, by George Khoury-Jad (Sawaf Center for Arab Comics Studies and American University of Beirut Press)
In Visible Archives: Queer and Feminist Visual Culture in the 1980s, by Margaret Galvan (University of Minnesota Press)
Super Bodies: Comic Book Illustration, Artistic Styles, and Narrative Impact, by Jeffrey A. Brown (University of Texas Press)
BEST PUBLICATION DESIGN
Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein boxed set, designed by Mike Kennedy (Magnetic)
Gratuitous Ninja, by Ronald Wimberly, designed by Chloe Scheffe (Beehive Books)
Inside the Mind of Sherlock Holmes, designed by Benoit Dahan andDonna Askem (Titan Comics)
Iron Maiden: Piece of Mind, designed by Josh Bernstein and Rob Schwager (Z2)
Toilet-bound Hanako-kun First Stall Box Set, designed by Wendy Chan (Yen Press)
BEST WEBCOMIC
Asturias: The Origin of a Flag, by Javi de Castro, https://www.javidecastro.com/asturias-the-origin-of-a-flag
Daughter of a Thousand Faces, by Vel (Velinxi), https://tapas.io/series/daughter-of-a-thousand-faces/info (Tapas)
Lore Olympus, by Rachel Smythe, https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/lore-olympus/s3-episode-226/viewer?title_no=1320&episode_no=231 (WEBTOON)
Matchmaker, vol. 6, by Cam Marshall at https://matchmakercomic.com/. (Silver Sprocket)
3rd Voice, by Evan Dahm, https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/3rd-voice/list?title_no=828919 (WEBTOON)
Unfamiliar, by Haley Newsome: https://tapas.io/series/unfamiliainfo (Tapas)
BEST DIGITAL COMIC
Blacksad, Vol 7: They All Fall Down, Part 2. by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido, translation by Diana Schutz and Brandon Kander (Europe Comics)
Friday, by Ed Brubaker and Marcos Martin, vols. 7–8 (Panel Syndicate)
Parliament of Rooks, by Abigail Jill Harding (Comixology Originals)
Practical Defense Against Piracy, by Tony Cliff (delilahdirk.com)
A Witch’s Guide to Burning, by Aminder Dhaliwal (Instagram.com/aminder_d)
2024.05.21 03:48 r-ducks I feel like no one will ever love me
I just graduated high school, and for all of high school I had ONE "boyfriend" but he wasn't even my boyfriend, he was just some random older guy who manipulated me, he never even actually asked me to be his girlfriend I just really really liked him (I used to think I loved him but now I realize I was just obsessed). But I saw all my peers do things like go to homecoming and prom and dates and I've never gotten to experience these things. I get told everyday that I am a pretty girl even by strangers so I know it's not my looks, I am also very clean and if I had bad hygiene my family WOULD point it out (I have brothers that are around my age who are ruthless lol) but nonetheless I drive everyone away with my personality. I try to be nice and fun, but I think I'm just way too much for people to handle and understand, I got diagnosed with bpd a few months ago after years of speculation from doctors and therapists who stress to me that I'm "Textbook borderline", my whole life I've only ever heard horror stories about how horrible people with bpd are, and so many guys talk about how "girls who say they have bpd are red flags" which I DO understand but it still hurts. I am working on myself and have been for years but it feels like no matter how much progress I make I will never be good enough for a "normal" person to love me and want to be around me. I have one "friend" who texts me MAYBE once every month and that's IF I text her first and I only met her a few months ago, I already drove her away :(. Im never anyone's favorite person, I just don't know what to do. Im sorry for the really long rant, but I have no one to talk to, I guess I just wanted to know if anyone relates? Thanks for reading guys I hope your day goes the best it can!
submitted by r-ducks to BPD [link] [comments]
2024.05.21 03:38 Tosen5 Longterm Partner Needed
Longterm Partner Needed
Hi! I’m Calvin I’m looking for a longterm rp partner! I am 21. I live in CST. I have 5 years plus experience. I am up late due to work and I’m an early riser. I roleplay mostly male but I’ll do just about any side character we add into the roleplay. I love to do a range of role plays from Slice of Life, to mysteries, westerns, or fantasy Fandoms (star wars, just about any anime, Harry Potter, etc.) with any OC or characters from the books or movies or shows. I love to add a ton of drama and twists to them. If you want to roleplay message me! I am free most of the time and look forward to creating something wonderful! Can’t wait to meet you! I have a couple ideas in mind they’re mostly slice of life’s but I’m open to anything. These aren’t set in stone they are open for change. And if you have any idea you want to try please let me know!!
Sports Star x wife/girlfriend
Marvel/DC crossover- this is a weird random idea I’ve been wanting to do for a while.
Space Adventure/odyssey- something to do. With long travels a whole universe we can create together.
Vampire x human- kinda cliche and overdone but I kinda want to play the human since I’m always the vampire lol
Superhero X Ordinary human- a random idea I’ve had for about a literal minute lol. It’s a romance showing the struggles of dating a hero when you’re a regular human. I’d be okay with playing either role. Kinda interested in being the human but hero is fine too. From marvel or DC or any universe is fine even OCs if you have em!
Military husband/wifeXSoldier- I don’t mind being either character. This is more of a slice of life or a war love story if you’d prefer that too lol it’s just an idea I had at 3 am lol
Fairytail- or any anime other anime I’m down to do intend to do OC’s though I find it a little more comfortable and flexible.
KnightXAnything- I’ve really wanted a fantasy RP where I’m a knight lol no idea why but y/c can be anything you’d like queen, peasant, enemy knight, rogue, witch your choice lolThese are just suggestions if you like one I don’t mind doing one of your ideas! I look forward to hearing from you!
InterestingXInteresting- This is an idea I just had either gender can be the lame like a regular guy falling for a an extraordinary woman (Model, mafia leader, social media influencer) or vice versa Im really interested in playing the lame guy since I dont have any experience playing a normal character I would love to try it hahaha and this is just an example either one of us could be the normal person and the other could be the interesting one.
submitted by Tosen5 to Roleplay [link] [comments]
Hi! I’m Calvin I’m looking for a longterm rp partner! I am 21. I live in CST. I have 5 years plus experience. I am up late due to work and I’m an early riser. I roleplay mostly male but I’ll do just about any side character we add into the roleplay. I love to do a range of role plays from Slice of Life, to mysteries, westerns, or fantasy Fandoms (star wars, just about any anime, Harry Potter, etc.) with any OC or characters from the books or movies or shows. I love to add a ton of drama and twists to them. If you want to roleplay message me! I am free most of the time and look forward to creating something wonderful! Can’t wait to meet you! I have a couple ideas in mind they’re mostly slice of life’s but I’m open to anything. These aren’t set in stone they are open for change. And if you have any idea you want to try please let me know!!
Sports Star x wife/girlfriend
Marvel/DC crossover- this is a weird random idea I’ve been wanting to do for a while.
Space Adventure/odyssey- something to do. With long travels a whole universe we can create together.
Vampire x human- kinda cliche and overdone but I kinda want to play the human since I’m always the vampire lol
Superhero X Ordinary human- a random idea I’ve had for about a literal minute lol. It’s a romance showing the struggles of dating a hero when you’re a regular human. I’d be okay with playing either role. Kinda interested in being the human but hero is fine too. From marvel or DC or any universe is fine even OCs if you have em!
Military husband/wifeXSoldier- I don’t mind being either character. This is more of a slice of life or a war love story if you’d prefer that too lol it’s just an idea I had at 3 am lol
Fairytail- or any anime other anime I’m down to do intend to do OC’s though I find it a little more comfortable and flexible.
KnightXAnything- I’ve really wanted a fantasy RP where I’m a knight lol no idea why but y/c can be anything you’d like queen, peasant, enemy knight, rogue, witch your choice lolThese are just suggestions if you like one I don’t mind doing one of your ideas! I look forward to hearing from you!
InterestingXInteresting- This is an idea I just had either gender can be the lame like a regular guy falling for a an extraordinary woman (Model, mafia leader, social media influencer) or vice versa Im really interested in playing the lame guy since I dont have any experience playing a normal character I would love to try it hahaha and this is just an example either one of us could be the normal person and the other could be the interesting one.
2024.05.21 03:10 AdIntelligent7809 Petty neighbours
I need advice for petty revenge
I was ABSOLUTELY NOT missing out on this chance of asking fellow potato's and petty king's and queens out there for idea's on how I can execute revenge on my petty neighbours. I have so many petty stories for this page of pettiness that has been executed on me. I feel like mash potato at this point. 🤷🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️
I female (43) live in Australia Queensland. I live in a 6 unit complex. With 4 car spaces. 2 out of the 6 tenants that live here own vehicle's one owns a motor bike. I have lived here since 2021. Keep in mind I am the youngest resident, so the pettiness is real up in here.
I have a partner (M35) who I have been in a long term relationship for 2yrs. Together we have purchased a V8 Holden with aftermarket features which is a show caquarter mile race var. Not a drive everyday car. He is a FIFO worker. He is basically home 8 days out of a month. He had his car parked at his mother's place and covered, however his older sister kept driving it putting unnecessary KMs on it, broke the interior revision mirror and lied about it. As his partner I told him to just park it at my place and cover it. So he did. It's been here for approximately a month. Not a word has been said.
He parked his work ute in the complex for approximately 30mins to sort his tools out as he could not do that on the off street parking. That's where he parks his ute when in town. He has a job up north he is driving to today. number 6 (F50) (who rides a pushbike) comes down her stairs phone in hand,starts recording my partner saying how he doesn't live here and he is taking 2 cars spaces up, she is reporting me to housing authorities.
I walked inside because she said she was going to call the cops. I did get really angry,( I am fed up) I told her to go home, back inside her house and mind her business about 2cms from her face my breast basically touching hers. This woman and I have history. I will share more stories. Anyhooo
Well, she waited until I was inside and said to my partner your girlfriend is a slxt and cheating on you anyways haha. Now remember my partner is a FIFO worker is home 8 days a month. It rented a bit of space in my partner's head last night and he went back to work today.
No tbh it hasn't affectedy relationship. But that was malicious pettiness for me. So I am here working in the shadows hoping you can help throw some ideas out there.
I filled her letterbox lock with sealant. She won't be getting mail unless she has bolt cutters for her lock or she has to destroy her letterbox. But that's not enough for me.
The reason I know how to do that is because she did it to me and was stealing my mail. Why? Trying to get to my partners mail and a friend I had staying with me at the time. Their last name's for proof I had people living at my address. To report me to housing authorities for having unannounced long term guests. I now have a P.O Box. My partner happily pays for.
Her pettiness was below the belt, this time. I have a (12yr old) daughter with ASD special needs. Who also loves my partner very much. We are like a family unit. It could have impacted her. Also number 6 has hit my child over the back of the head before.
Like I said I have many stories with this particular neighbour.
Help!!!
submitted by AdIntelligent7809 to CharlotteDobreYouTube [link] [comments]
I was ABSOLUTELY NOT missing out on this chance of asking fellow potato's and petty king's and queens out there for idea's on how I can execute revenge on my petty neighbours. I have so many petty stories for this page of pettiness that has been executed on me. I feel like mash potato at this point. 🤷🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️
I female (43) live in Australia Queensland. I live in a 6 unit complex. With 4 car spaces. 2 out of the 6 tenants that live here own vehicle's one owns a motor bike. I have lived here since 2021. Keep in mind I am the youngest resident, so the pettiness is real up in here.
I have a partner (M35) who I have been in a long term relationship for 2yrs. Together we have purchased a V8 Holden with aftermarket features which is a show caquarter mile race var. Not a drive everyday car. He is a FIFO worker. He is basically home 8 days out of a month. He had his car parked at his mother's place and covered, however his older sister kept driving it putting unnecessary KMs on it, broke the interior revision mirror and lied about it. As his partner I told him to just park it at my place and cover it. So he did. It's been here for approximately a month. Not a word has been said.
He parked his work ute in the complex for approximately 30mins to sort his tools out as he could not do that on the off street parking. That's where he parks his ute when in town. He has a job up north he is driving to today. number 6 (F50) (who rides a pushbike) comes down her stairs phone in hand,starts recording my partner saying how he doesn't live here and he is taking 2 cars spaces up, she is reporting me to housing authorities.
I walked inside because she said she was going to call the cops. I did get really angry,( I am fed up) I told her to go home, back inside her house and mind her business about 2cms from her face my breast basically touching hers. This woman and I have history. I will share more stories. Anyhooo
Well, she waited until I was inside and said to my partner your girlfriend is a slxt and cheating on you anyways haha. Now remember my partner is a FIFO worker is home 8 days a month. It rented a bit of space in my partner's head last night and he went back to work today.
No tbh it hasn't affectedy relationship. But that was malicious pettiness for me. So I am here working in the shadows hoping you can help throw some ideas out there.
I filled her letterbox lock with sealant. She won't be getting mail unless she has bolt cutters for her lock or she has to destroy her letterbox. But that's not enough for me.
The reason I know how to do that is because she did it to me and was stealing my mail. Why? Trying to get to my partners mail and a friend I had staying with me at the time. Their last name's for proof I had people living at my address. To report me to housing authorities for having unannounced long term guests. I now have a P.O Box. My partner happily pays for.
Her pettiness was below the belt, this time. I have a (12yr old) daughter with ASD special needs. Who also loves my partner very much. We are like a family unit. It could have impacted her. Also number 6 has hit my child over the back of the head before.
Like I said I have many stories with this particular neighbour.
Help!!!
2024.05.21 03:07 Mysterious_Theory328 Physical contact and relationships are a thing of the past now
The last three years of my life have been pretty tough, but I really thought I had come through the other side. I (M39) decided to go back to school, as I was not very happy in my former field. It was an extremely tough thing to do, as I would be taking a pay cut for the foreseeable future. My ex-girlfriend and I had been together for almost three years at this point and owned a house together. She said she supported my decision and understood my time would become limited considerably while I was in my program. Well that was a fucking lie. Almost immediately she started complaining about me "not taking her out" like I used to, or not doing as many projects around the house. The program I was in was already anxiety-inducing enough. To cut a long story short (because this isn't event what this post is about), I came to see our relationship was transactional, developed severe anxiety, and started to suffer health-related problems like high blood pressure. By the skin of my teeth I passed my program, became licensed, but had lingering issues around everything that had gone down in that span of time.
Over the last six months I have put in a lot of work and truly felt very hopeful for my future. I saw a therapist, got on some medications, lost 20 lbs. and got into great shape. Starting this new field has been a challenge, but also rewarding in the way I was looking for. I met a girl at work which I was very hesitant about d/t setting and some lingering anxiety issues. There was common interest, and I really explained what I had gone through and where I felt like I was. We both agreed to take things VERY SLOW. Hiking, lunch, movies, very casual for the first month. We finally had our first "serious" date - a fancy late night dinner and tickets to a show. We had some wine at her house after, and after some light touching and kissing, we had the conversation of getting tested because we were very much both interested in pursuing more. She had an ex give her chlamydia and had an upcoming OB/GYN appointment and was planning and getting a full workup. I thought "Well I've only slept with two women in the past eight years and have had no issues," but knew I hadn't been tested since 2016, which had shown I was clean.
I got my results back last Friday. HSV II. I'm fucking stunned. I mean I couldn't fucking breath. Full blown panic attack. I have never had any issues with my penis at all. Never any pain urinating, nothing. All the anxiety that I had worked so hard to get rid of came back and crushed me over this last weekend. It was all I could do to to get through my 12-hour shifts. I immediately hit up both of my ex's to figure out who the hell had given me this, as there was no other way. Last ex proceeds to tell me she had been tested about six months ago when she started dating her new boyfriend. I confirm she's clean for HSV II. She proceeds to berate me for being an idiot and a near 40 year-old with a disease now. I'll admit I'm not very proud of this, but she assumed I had caught something after her and I did not tell her that that left only the possibility of my relationship before her passing this to me.
So on to the title and why I'm so devastated. I'm really racking my brain on how I could have this but never see anything wrong with my penis. Then I read something that was my 'getting struck by lightening' moment. It was a post that is very similar to mine. Guy gets tested, guy gets HSV II diagnosis, perplexed at no previous penis symptoms. But he does get pretty bad cold sores from time-to-time. His Dr informs him that it's very possibly to get HSV II on your face. Now I never thought I had a cold sore before, but I remember back in 2017 getting an infected hair follicle in the hair right below my bottom lip after shaving. I went to the Dr, he looks at it and says "Yup, looks like an infection," give me antibiotics, but it doesn't go away for about two weeks. About two years after that, same thing happens: I shave, my follicle gets infected, I get more antibiotics from the Dr, and though it's not anywhere near as bad as the first time it still takes about two weeks to heal. Then almost exactly a year ago the same thing pops about, but this time I haven't shaved. Call my Dr, gives me antibiotics without even looking at it. I start looking at HSV II outbreaks in the same area as I was getting my infected follicle. I find a few pictures that look dead-on from what mine looks like. I at least though "Well, it's on my penis, condoms exist," but I'm not exaggerating in the least when I tell you after my realization I felt like the hopeless protagonist at the end of an HP Lovecraft novel where he realizes there is indeed a fate worse than death.
I'm finally able to get ahold of my ex from back in 2016. She confirms to me that she indeed has HSV II, but didn't think to tell me because we hadn't spoken in years. "I figured if you didn't reach out then we were good." This confirms she cheated on me because we were tested together. I don't even care about that now. Now my focus shifts to the girl I'm currently dating. She knows something is up. So I just started at where we work and on the other hand she's been there for six years. She is like family to most people on the floor. I'm the annoying new guy who barely knows anyone. She has her OB/GYN appointment today and I realize I need to tell her that not only do I have HSV II, that it's on my face and there is possibility she might have it on hers' too. She is very calm about it but I can tell in her voice that she is shook. I hope to beyond all fucking hope that her test comes back all clear. I'm also legitimately contemplating put in my resignation at work, a job I just fucking started. There's no way this doesn't get out at work and I don't become ostracized. I don't know how I'm going to approach this in the future, I don't see any romance in my life anymore. And this is so fucking selfish, but if I gave this to her I am legitimately scared on how this will make ME feel. I'm scarred that that guilt will cripple me and I'll be doomed to live in constant anxiety. I don't feel any better writing this all out, in fact I feel worse. I have no idea why the fuck I'm posting this.
submitted by Mysterious_Theory328 to offmychest [link] [comments]
Over the last six months I have put in a lot of work and truly felt very hopeful for my future. I saw a therapist, got on some medications, lost 20 lbs. and got into great shape. Starting this new field has been a challenge, but also rewarding in the way I was looking for. I met a girl at work which I was very hesitant about d/t setting and some lingering anxiety issues. There was common interest, and I really explained what I had gone through and where I felt like I was. We both agreed to take things VERY SLOW. Hiking, lunch, movies, very casual for the first month. We finally had our first "serious" date - a fancy late night dinner and tickets to a show. We had some wine at her house after, and after some light touching and kissing, we had the conversation of getting tested because we were very much both interested in pursuing more. She had an ex give her chlamydia and had an upcoming OB/GYN appointment and was planning and getting a full workup. I thought "Well I've only slept with two women in the past eight years and have had no issues," but knew I hadn't been tested since 2016, which had shown I was clean.
I got my results back last Friday. HSV II. I'm fucking stunned. I mean I couldn't fucking breath. Full blown panic attack. I have never had any issues with my penis at all. Never any pain urinating, nothing. All the anxiety that I had worked so hard to get rid of came back and crushed me over this last weekend. It was all I could do to to get through my 12-hour shifts. I immediately hit up both of my ex's to figure out who the hell had given me this, as there was no other way. Last ex proceeds to tell me she had been tested about six months ago when she started dating her new boyfriend. I confirm she's clean for HSV II. She proceeds to berate me for being an idiot and a near 40 year-old with a disease now. I'll admit I'm not very proud of this, but she assumed I had caught something after her and I did not tell her that that left only the possibility of my relationship before her passing this to me.
So on to the title and why I'm so devastated. I'm really racking my brain on how I could have this but never see anything wrong with my penis. Then I read something that was my 'getting struck by lightening' moment. It was a post that is very similar to mine. Guy gets tested, guy gets HSV II diagnosis, perplexed at no previous penis symptoms. But he does get pretty bad cold sores from time-to-time. His Dr informs him that it's very possibly to get HSV II on your face. Now I never thought I had a cold sore before, but I remember back in 2017 getting an infected hair follicle in the hair right below my bottom lip after shaving. I went to the Dr, he looks at it and says "Yup, looks like an infection," give me antibiotics, but it doesn't go away for about two weeks. About two years after that, same thing happens: I shave, my follicle gets infected, I get more antibiotics from the Dr, and though it's not anywhere near as bad as the first time it still takes about two weeks to heal. Then almost exactly a year ago the same thing pops about, but this time I haven't shaved. Call my Dr, gives me antibiotics without even looking at it. I start looking at HSV II outbreaks in the same area as I was getting my infected follicle. I find a few pictures that look dead-on from what mine looks like. I at least though "Well, it's on my penis, condoms exist," but I'm not exaggerating in the least when I tell you after my realization I felt like the hopeless protagonist at the end of an HP Lovecraft novel where he realizes there is indeed a fate worse than death.
I'm finally able to get ahold of my ex from back in 2016. She confirms to me that she indeed has HSV II, but didn't think to tell me because we hadn't spoken in years. "I figured if you didn't reach out then we were good." This confirms she cheated on me because we were tested together. I don't even care about that now. Now my focus shifts to the girl I'm currently dating. She knows something is up. So I just started at where we work and on the other hand she's been there for six years. She is like family to most people on the floor. I'm the annoying new guy who barely knows anyone. She has her OB/GYN appointment today and I realize I need to tell her that not only do I have HSV II, that it's on my face and there is possibility she might have it on hers' too. She is very calm about it but I can tell in her voice that she is shook. I hope to beyond all fucking hope that her test comes back all clear. I'm also legitimately contemplating put in my resignation at work, a job I just fucking started. There's no way this doesn't get out at work and I don't become ostracized. I don't know how I'm going to approach this in the future, I don't see any romance in my life anymore. And this is so fucking selfish, but if I gave this to her I am legitimately scared on how this will make ME feel. I'm scarred that that guilt will cripple me and I'll be doomed to live in constant anxiety. I don't feel any better writing this all out, in fact I feel worse. I have no idea why the fuck I'm posting this.