Free camera bag

Dashcam videos in Gif form!

2013.10.04 15:07 shittyartist Dashcam videos in Gif form!

The craziest crashes in gif format. Gif'd content from a dashcam, rear dashcam, a cell phone, helmet cam, or go pro that was taken in any vehicle. Reddit has a gif checkbox if you want to upload your content that way. But MP4's with no sound are accepted. NOTHING LONGER THAN 40 SECONDS.
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2010.03.05 14:56 krikreuk Reddit's Camera Store

Find buyers, sellers, and traders for all your camera equipment both photo and video. Computers/peripherals designed for content creation are allowed.
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2021.02.12 01:39 notuntitled CameraBags

Posts about bags that you put cameras in. DIY a cool camera bag? Questions about what bag to get? Neatly knolled kit photos? Post 'em here.
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2024.05.21 19:07 Nellyfucker69420 /fit/ anon was hoodwinked

/fit/ anon was hoodwinked submitted by Nellyfucker69420 to greentext [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 19:06 EconomistDazzling776 How to Clean White Opal Camera Bag

How to Clean White Opal Camera Bag
I’ve been eyeing the white opal camera bag 2L. With the 8% cashback and nurse discount, I’m thinking of finally getting it! Although I intend to baby this bag, is it possible to clean/wash it? Thank you! 🙏
submitted by EconomistDazzling776 to lululemon [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 19:00 Top-Distribution1430 Camera Operator (A-Rolling & B-Rolling)

Company Overview: Join the vibrant team at BuckBoysTV, a thriving YouTube channel dedicated to delivering captivating content to our audience. We're in search of a skilled Camera Operator who excels in A-Rolling and B-Rolling techniques to join us in Toronto. If you're passionate about storytelling through visuals and have exceptional availability, we want you on our team!
Position Overview: We're seeking a talented Camera Operator with expertise in A-Rolling and B-Rolling to play a pivotal role in our content creation process. You'll be responsible for selecting crucial footage from extensive recordings, ensuring sound is mixed properly, and contributing to the overall quality of our videos. Extreme availability and flexibility are essential to meet our production demands.
Location: Toronto, Canada
Responsibilities:
Requirements:
Offer:
How to Apply: If you're a skilled Camera Operator with expertise in A-Rolling and B-Rolling techniques and are ready to contribute your talents to BuckBoysTV, we'd love to hear from you! If you'd like to discuss how to follow up on a job offer or any other topic privately, feel free to send me a direct message, and we can chat one-on-one.
submitted by Top-Distribution1430 to CanadaJobs [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 19:00 Top-Distribution1430 Camera Operator (A-Rolling & B-Rolling)

Company Overview: Join the vibrant team at BuckBoysTV, a thriving YouTube channel dedicated to delivering captivating content to our audience. We're in search of a skilled Camera Operator who excels in A-Rolling and B-Rolling techniques to join us in Toronto. If you're passionate about storytelling through visuals and have exceptional availability, we want you on our team!
Position Overview: We're seeking a talented Camera Operator with expertise in A-Rolling and B-Rolling to play a pivotal role in our content creation process. You'll be responsible for selecting crucial footage from extensive recordings, ensuring sound is mixed properly, and contributing to the overall quality of our videos. Extreme availability and flexibility are essential to meet our production demands.
Location: Toronto, Canada
Responsibilities:
Requirements:
Offer:
How to Apply: If you're a skilled Camera Operator with expertise in A-Rolling and B-Rolling techniques and are ready to contribute your talents to BuckBoysTV, we'd love to hear from you! If you'd like to discuss how to follow up on a job offer or any other topic privately, feel free to send me a direct message, and we can chat one-on-one.
submitted by Top-Distribution1430 to torontoJobs [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 18:59 oromis7901 [S] [USA-NY] Nikon F2 w Lens + Peak Design 6l + Yashica Mat 124G

https://imgur.com/a/JkrbAZy
Nikon F2 with 50mm F2 and DP1 finder
Camera is in great condition and fires well at all speeds. Meter is working, lens in good condition. $250
Peak Design 6L Sling
Bag is in great shape, I just don’t use it. $70
Yashica Mat 124G
You can see more details on my previous post but this has just been CLA’d and is working great. Lens condition is spectacular. Comes with hood and can throw in some film. Meter is calibrated and working. $440.
submitted by oromis7901 to photomarket [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 18:59 No-Scientist3474 I guess I'm suddenly transphobic (trans porn rant)

I just discovered 'content creator' ts4straight, who's a trans woman. I'm not into trans porn at all. However, I just saw her videos and she constantly fucks jocks. Very attractive jocks. Not daddies, not twinks, but proper college jocks. Most likely bisexual guys.
I'm bummed. I'm so envious. I thought trans people 'struggle' in the sex department, and I felt compassion for them. But seeing whom she lands, damn. I would give my 3 month income just to touch one of those guys whom she fucks for free on camera. They are so hot. And they don't seem fellow content creators. Just horny dudes on Tinder. Most wear masks. Now I'm in yet another existential crisis regarding my sexuality.
Please tell me it's staged or that they're payed, or something. If she just hops on Tinder and invites jocks to fuck, ut's way too good to be true. And all our lives, gentlemen, suck big time.
Rant over.
submitted by No-Scientist3474 to askgaybros [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 18:58 kiteret Camera could work as a data receiver for free space optical transmissions, while being a camera, by using a certain kind of integrated circuit

Every pixel on the image sensor ( placed on focal plane ) could have double functionality: taking photos & videos and also having potential to be the one pixel that receives a data stream from a focused LED or laser, possibly with megabytes per second speeds. Only 1 or maybe 2 pixel(s) at a time can receive so and that receiver pixel can change constantly as the camera shakes. One pixel generates almost as large or larger data stream as taking video, so about half of the chip's bandwidth could be video and other half data from that pixel.
That chip needs more layers to handle the receiving.
Other way, if the camera aspect ratio is other than square 1:1, is to put pure receiver pixels on edges only, up and below the image area, so the camera needs to point up or down from the transmitter beam.
Distance can be kilometers. The light could be red or near-infrared. IR passes 10 km distance better and IR photography is interesting and may reveal important details, so the image sensor could have 4 color filters instead of 3.
submitted by kiteret to Lightbulb [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 18:39 Comanche_4153 Flock Cameras

Who here has Flock cameras in their jurisdiction? If you do not, I would strongly recommend you bring it to your city’s attention. They have been great for our department in terms of catching wanted persons, stolen vehicles, keeping tabs on local shit bags.
Let me know if you have questions. They are becoming more and more widespread when I check the map.
submitted by Comanche_4153 to AskLE [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 18:39 2011051305 Frontier lesson learn for first-time frontier flyer - bag drop time, gate check in and personal item etc.

Frontier lesson learn for first-time frontier flyer - bag drop time, gate check in and personal item etc.
Hi, I recently took my first Frontier flight and had a horrible experience with terrible customer service.
It was clear that no one cared about the passenger experience. Here are my lessons learned. I hope this can help you avoid wasting your hard-earned money on an airline like Frontier.
  • Noticed the wording: The checked bag default weight is less than other regular airlines ( 50 lbs), Frontier checked bag allows 40 lbs only. If your bags weighing 41-50 lbs, you need to pay additional extra $75 for this bag in additional to the base baggage fee, that means one 41-50 lbs bag cost you $75 + $65(base) = $140 total , not $75 for one bag.
https://preview.redd.it/qcqwv7zt4t1d1.png?width=709&format=png&auto=webp&s=b12c61f0b2cc65f0b5d9e3b2606bc71db01a9de1
  • Book non-stop flights only. You might encountered forever delayed and delayed flights. No Frontier excuse. If there is no non-stop flight from Frontier, pay another airline.
  • Frontier lies about the bag drop time. This is how Frontier cheats to let you pay more. Here is their official website on when to drop the bag . HOWEVER, their policy actually is **you have to drop your bag 1 hour before boarding time.**For example, if your flights boarding at 6:45, and departure time is 7:15. you will have to drop in bag 1 hour before boarding time, that is, dropping your bag on OR BEFORE 5:45.
    • They will just reject your bag if you are late even just 1 minute (and then you have to full pay another flight, + the baggage cost for that new-booking flight. There is no way to “help reschedule the flight paying a reschedule fee”)
    • Another trick I learned is if you are rejected to drop bag at front desk, you can risk of taking your baggage directly to the gate and ask for “gate check in”. You will pay for another checked bag item + processing fee ( even you have paid checked bag)
LIES
  • check in your flight 24 hour before check-in time. The earlier you checked in, the more certainty you guarantees your spot.
  • Other regular airlines will allow you to choose seat during mobile check in for free( 24 hours before check-in time), but Frontier will ask you to pay for the seat whenever you try to select your seat. If you are team traveling and want to sit together, the best strategy is to let everyone sit together and each using their own phone mobile check in simultaneously.
  • There is a possibility that if you bought something after security, like a gift box etc, Frontier will consider whatever you bought after security is also a personal item, and since you are allowed to bring 1 personal item, you need to pay $99 for whatever you bought
  • Do NOT expect any useful help from any Frontier staff, all they will respond to you is either you buy a new ticket, buy a new bag, or “I don’t know”.
Summary to use Frontier : if you do not have to arrive your destination on time, and you do not have luggage other than a personal item, and your time is flexible enough that you can definitely arrive at airport at least 1 hour before check in time, and you buy nothing after security, Frontier is your choice.
submitted by 2011051305 to frontierairlines [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 18:37 WabbajackedWacko Adventures with an Interdimensional Psychopath 40

***Lily***
“Stupid gnome prejudice. I may not be the biggest fan of gnomes but, just because we are small doesn’t mean we can’t cause some damage.” Mogsten says as he walks over, kicks the fishman, and picks up the horn and dusts it off. “I’m hesitant to admit this since, when he regains consciousness, he will do what he could to ruin my business even more but, still, thank you Wabbajack.” He says.
“Don’t mention it Mogsten, this guy’s haggling game was all over the place.” Wabbajack responds.
“Indeed, he has no understanding of value.” Mogsten says with a smirk on his face.
“Well, unless he knew that you had about another sixty of those in the back that is.” Wabbajack says as he chuckles.
Mogsten quickly turns around as he says, “Shh. That’s a trade secret.” He then lets out an “oh ho ho” chuckle. He then looks down and yells, “Gourdsten! Clean up!”
Just like that, Gourdsten comes out from the back and drags the body off. Soon after the body disappears towards the back, Gourdsten reappears with a spray bottle, gloves, and a sponge.
“What happened to him?” I ask Mogsten.
“Don’t worry, I can’t afford a bloody reputation. He is just in stasis until the authorities get here.” Mogsten answers with.
“Stasis?” I ask.
“She really is new to all this huh? Stasis is basically freezing someone in a state of time. In this state however, while nothing can happen to them, they can’t function. Depending on the state they are in when they go under, they may be aware of the environment around them. Sometimes, certain criminals may undergo such punishment for their crimes.” Mogsten explains, looking at Wabbajack for some reason.
Mogsten then looks at me and asks, “So, did you find all the ingredients?”
I nod my head.
He then rubs his temple as he asks, “And you Really intend to go through with this?”
“There’s no other option!” I exclaim.
“Well, there are quite a few, just that they would take a LOT longer.” Wabbajack points out.
I look at him in annoyance and he responds with, “What? Just saying.”
I sigh and look at Mogsten and hand him the “ingredients”.
“Let’s see what we have. A fur scarf, a pistol, a lantern that looks like a child tried to make it, a… rubber duck. And what the world is this?” Mogsten asks pulling out the leg.
“It’s a prosthetic leg for a dragon-sized crocodile. Well, a smaller scale version at the very least.” I explain.
“Who would put a prosthetic leg on a Dragon-sized crocodile?” he asks.
“Right?” I ask in return.
He then looks back at the leg, strokes his fake beard, and says, “Well, when you put it like that, makes sense you would want to use it as an ingredient.” He then looks back at me and asks, “Are these the ingredients that you Really want to use?”
“They fit the descriptions that you gave me.” I point out.
He then looks at the ingredients again and says, “Yes… this may actually work then.”
“Come again?” I ask him.
“Well, one of the Biggest reasons, after that whole dark nature I mentioned, that this fails is that people try to influence their familiar by using ingredients that don’t inspire these feelings.” He explains.
“Because of this disconnection between the host and the familiar, that may also cause the familiar to go berserk as well.” Wabbajack then explains.
“Exactly!” Mogsten exclaims as he points towards to Wabbajack. He then looks back to me and asks, “With that in mind, are you one-Hundred percent sure that these ingredients are correct?”
I nod again and explain, “I can explain my reasons if you want.”
“No. As long as you are certain, then follow me to the back.” He says as he picks everything up again and starts waddling towards the back.
“Would you like some help?” I ask.
“No, I have to prepare everything anyways so it’s best I handle most things from here.” He explains.
Wabbajack walks past me but, I notice he is holding his banjo-thing upside-down. But, its neck is awfully long. Long enough to reach the ground and have the base be about level to his head. Which is pretty impressive since he is not that much taller than me. I want to ask about it but, I figured that is better left for later. Besides, I could probably guess that it can switch between a staff and an instrument. So, I shrug and follow them towards the back.
As I pass the flaps, I let out an audible, “Wow” because the room is massive! There is so much stock in here. I would have never guessed it from the gypsy-sized tent I see from the outside.
I guess Mogsten hears me as he says while putting the items in a pattern, “Spatial compression spell. It’s like that bag you are probably holding. It’s a pocket of space that you can mess with everything as long as it’s registered to you. Any merchant worth his salt at least attempts to lessen the target on his store to wannabe burglars. For example, there was a tannery that was completely torn apart for scrap. I hear the owner left it unattended And unlocked. I hope he can recover from that, it’s a pretty costly mistake.”
I look off towards the side and say, “Oh, I hear he is doing alright. Hehe.”
He pulls out a spray can and says while he shakes it, “That’s good.” He then starts spraying the ground.
I look over towards Wabbajack, who is standing sideways towards the thing Mogsten is working on. He has his free hand about chest level, fingers-spread, and it looks like he has a weird circle thing again like when I think I have seen him do before when he casted magic. Like when he summoned that ghost thing. I guess he is on guard duty.
I look back at Mogsten and see he is about halfway done at this point. He works fast since the design is very intricate. Now that I think about it, it looks like that circle Wabbajack has but… different. I think I remember reading about this. These must be magic circles. While they look similar, they must be different since each magic circle represents something different. Kinda like snowflakes. I can’t help but ask, “What’s that you are spraying to make that magic circle?”
“Ah, someone has been studying. It’s a mixture of compounds for creating the familiar summoning circle. I kept a few around just in case that someone managed to convince me to do this.” He explains. He then stands up and shakes it some more as he says, “I thought it was unlikely but, a smart businessman looks at every opportunity.” He then goes back to spraying and says, “Now, no offense, but mind letting me focus? I got to make sure I get this perfect. I want to lessen the margin of error as much as possible.”
“Oh! Sure. Sorry.” I say. Now that I think about it, I look towards my bag and think about what he said, “Like my bag.” I open it and it looks like a normal bag. Either it needs to be activated or it doesn’t have that spell yet. I’ll have to ask about that after we are done.
“Before I forget, leave your bandolier and bag over by Wabbajack there. We don’t want to add unnecessary items to the circle.” Mogsten says as he shakes the can again.
“Oh! Alright!” I respond. I take off my bandolier and put it down by Wabbajack.
“Don’t worry. If worse comes to worse, I’ll protect you. And come whatever may, we’ll figure out what to do next.” Wabbajack says.
I feel a little relief hearing him say that. Next thing I know, Gourdsten runs up to me with a simple white robe. “Oh, what’s this?” I ask.
“It’s a robe.” Wabbajack says.
As I look at him, annoyed, Gourdsten says, “Robe! Wear Robe!”
Mogsten then explains, “You’ll have to take off the rest of your gear as well and wear just that robe. Like I said, No unnecessary items. Only simple clothes.”
I look at the robe and say, “Oh… There is a changing room, right?”
“This way! Here, here!” Gourdsten says as he pulls my arm.
“Alright! Calm down.” I say.
I follow him to a wooden stall. “I guess I change in there, huh?” I ask.
“Yes! Correct!” Gourdsten says.
I sigh and open it up, step inside and change. Afterwards, after I step out in the robe, Gourdsten then says, “Shoes! Too!”
I look down and sigh. I then ask, “Can that wait till we get back?”
“Shoes! Shoes! He repeats.
I then puff my face in annoyance as I sit down and take off my shoes. “Happy?” I ask.
He just jumps up and down and starts walking back.
All I can think is that it’s a good thing that the floor is at least wooden. I then get up, grab my stuff, and chase after him.
As we get back, Mogsten appears out of nowhere and points behind him as he says, “Circle is done. All that is left is the blood of the subject.”
“You’re not going to slit my wrists, are you?” I ask with a meek chuckle.
“Heaven’s no!” He says as he pulls out a syringe. He then grabs my wrist under these large sleeves and asks, “On three. Ready?”
I nervously nod my head. Just as he opens his mouth, I quickly say, “Wait! Why do we need blood again?” Trying to delay the inevitable.
He looks at me and explains, “A familiar is an extension of yourself. Quite literally. In order to cement that bond, it needs the blood of the host. That bond will allow you and your familiar to share experiences but, still allow autonomy for individual thought. You can live without it but, for it to retain its presence, it needs you alive.”
“Fascinating. Mind going into more detail?” I say with a weak smile.
He then stabs the syringe into my wrist as he says, “No.”
“Ow!” I yelp.
Just like that, he pulls the syringe out and empties it out into a bowl. “Alright, here you go.” He says as he hands me the bowl.
As I stare into a small bowl of my own blood, I ask, “What am I supposed to do with this?”
“Now, You stand at the center of the circle. As I activate the circle, the blood will start sloshing around in that bowl. Do NOT let a SINGLE drop fall out until the last item is floating. When the last item does start floating, pour the blood in the center and take four steps back. Got it?” he explains.
I look over back to the circle and then look back to Mogsten and repeat, “Don’t let it spill until the last object starts floating. When it does, pour it all out and take four steps back, right?”
He nods and says, “Correct.” I think I then hear him mumble, “I can’t believe I was convinced to do this.” As he walks away.
I then take my place at the center of the circle. I am somewhat trembling at this point.
“Are you sure, you want to do this?” Mogsten asks again.
“Just do it already!” I yell back.
He lets out a sigh and starts mouthing something as he levels out his arms towards me.
I could feel the energy around me shifting and moving. I start seeing the objects that were placed start floating one by one. Slowly but surely. I then look down at the bowl and it is sloshing around. So far, not too bad. Around the time the fourth object starts floating, the blood really starts flying around to the point I have to actually adjust to make sure it doesn’t go flying out.
After a few more minutes the last object starts flying up. As soon as it stops moving, I pour the blood and take four steps back. The blood stops midair and forms a bubbling ball. It then rises up about level to my face. It stops bubbling and then a flash of blinding light envelops the room and I try to shield my eyes.
After a minute, I slowly open my eyes and lower my arms. What I see before me is something pretty weird.
It’s in the shape of a sphere with a detached fox tail. The floating tail matches the fur of the body of the “familiar”, I guess. Its fur is a golden yellow with a white tip. The body looks like it has a line down the middle, with Very sharp fangs from the top row. It has fox ears and tiny fox paws and a fox nose. It’s got lines for eyes? Either that or they are just closed. Between its ears, it has a lantern dangling from a line, kinda like an angler fish. The other side of that line looks like white gator leather and it has two tiny gator feet. As it yawns, I guess, it opens its massive mouth, showing all its fangs, top and bottom rows, and stretches its fox paws, revealing some nasty looking barbed claws. It’s only as tall as, from the floor, up to my knee.
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submitted by WabbajackedWacko to HFY [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 18:33 Aginagala WWF In Your House - Ground Zero 1997 Review

Welcome back to my running series of WWF PPV Reviews from a ‘blind’ perspective (I have no idea what’s going to happen; the results, the feuds or how good any of the matches will be). I have always heard stories of the attitude era and golden age but never watched it myself so I set myself to watching every single PPV event chronologically. I am also watching Wrestling Bios ‘reliving the war’ series to keep me updated inbetween the events with the feuds, and to get excited about upcoming matches.
Before I review the matches, based on the past few episodes of raw and last PPVs I’ll let you know, going into the event, which match I’m most excited for and which feud I’m most excited to see.
The match and feud I’m most excited to see is Shawn vs undertaker. I mean what needs to be said their feud is absolutely legendary, and with my favourite match of all time coming in the future between these two I cant wait to see how they perform together in these early years.
WWF In Your House - Ground Zero 1997 Match Ratings
Goldust vs Brian Pillman 2/5
Scott putski vs Brian Christopher 1/5
Savio vega vs Faarooq vs Crush 0.25/5
El torito vs Max Mini 1.5/5
Tag Fatal 4 way elimination match 1.75/5
The patriot vs Bret Hart 3.25/5
Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker 4.75/5
I cannot believe they pulled the “she’s my love child” story it’s so funny to look back on these storylines. Goldust and Pillman are set to fight and there’s a huge grudge for Goldust here so I’m hoping to see a physical bout.
Which it wasn’t… while it was a good bout with no botched or anything, and it was better than their Summerslam match. I saw pillman was limited due to an ankle problem he had, which is kinda weird with the amount of running around he did, but they still had a decent match. Honestly though this draw of this match was where the story was going and it definitely went 😂 Pillman managed to win the match by whacking Goldust with a brick concealed in marlenas bag, and literally drags marlena to his car where he drove off with her. Classic wwf is so hilarious.
The next match was the first time I’m seeing putski and Christopher wrestle and it was actually going well until that ending. I thought they pulled off some very clean looking spots but the crowd was completely dead for almost all of this match, especially after the match, just no one seemed to care. I didn’t really care for this Brian Christopher he was laughing like a clown or something, not even a figure of speech it was literally like a clown. He might’ve been trying to impersonate Lawler but it was just weird. I’m not sure if putski was actually injured or not it was pretty hard to tell but this match seemed like it was 3 or 4 minutes long of pretty dull action.
Going into the next match and honestly I’m pretty bored of these pointless gang wars but let’s see if it can deliver. Maybe rock will get involved and liven it up but all three competitors in this triple threat have yet to put on a good show during my journey through the new gen/attitude era. Also I feel like this is the first triple threat match I’ve seen since KOTR 1996 so there’s some level of excitement for me as it can make for a really entertaining match when done right.
I was surprised to see crush get a pop as I hadn’t heard one before when he made his entrance, but a big biker dude coming in on a massive Harley will get an American crowd going I suppose 😂. But oh man once the match got going there was actually boos going throughout the stadium for the last 1/3 of it. They were trying some weird thing where they played on the fact that they both used to be part of the NOD in which they’d team with farooq on sadio vega but oh my lord it didn’t work at all, it just came off like they had no idea what they were doing. There were no highlights at all, and the last 5 minutes was crush throwing vega out the ring to use moves solo on farooq to which he’d come back in the ring, break the pin and repeat the process. Then he randomly wants to team with crush after all that?? It made no sense at all and was just a bad match, the crowd wasn’t into it and booed during quite a bit of the match, big miss.
I’m just gunna call it a ‘mini-match’ and I’m sure you’ll know what I’m talking about but it ended up being entertaining for what it was in all fairness, much better than the match I’d just seen anyway. It was more of a funny performance than a match; they both end up biting everyone’s asses? Including the referee, and mini goes and steals lawyers crown too. El torito is bloody nuts, his character is basically to act like a bull so he chases refs and officials around trying to headbutt them, fu**ing nuts 😂. I do think it went on a little too long though, if they’re going to book this kind of match then it should be short and sweet filler rather than dragging it on. There was however a pretty good looking springboard move close to the end so that was cool. There were some impressive moves and the crowd was getting involved but It’s just some filler while the show gets going in the end.
Very good idea having dude love and Austin come out inbetween the matches to relinquish the titles as this crowd REALLY needed some livening up after the past hour of the show. And when Steve starts his promo the crowd eats up every second of it and it’s no surprise because he kills it as usual, what a breath of fresh air SCSA is in the WWF during this era. He’s throwing insults to Vince, to the sergeant to JR and it’s f***ing brilliant. It’s cool seeing dude love backing him up as well I think they actually make a really cool looking tag team. And then out of god damn nowhere he delivers a stunner to JR and the crowd absolutely loses it. I would say at this point he is truly the face of the WWF and it really does suck that he suffered that neck injury and couldn’t wrestle properly for a while, having to change his entire wrestling style because of it, but it was never to his detriment, we’re truly in the stone cold era now.
Before the fatal four way, while the LOD get interviewed I couldn’t help but notice how young Michael Cole looks, I mean obviously it’s over 25 years ago but still cool seeing how long he’s been involved.
I really don’t understand these fatal four way tag matches, they always come off weirdly as you can have two people from the same team in the ring that have to wrestle… but it makes no sense because why not just tag someone else in? I don’t know it’s a weird dynamic and I’m not surprised they dropped this type of match in the future.
It’s a shame LOD was the first to be eliminated because they randomly started beating the godwinns with a metal bucket? It makes 0 sense for them to blindly DQ themselves from getting the tag titles since they were crowd favourites, but okay you do you Vince. I wanted them to win too. I know a few people don’t care for LOD but they’re top 2 tag teams in the wwf right now beside Owen and bulldog. The godwinns get eliminated next (thank god), and they just feel like the most filler tag team I’ve ever seen they’re SOOO bland and basic, they don’t even play up to their hillbilly characters anymore which is a new level of bad I won’t lie. I was really REALLY surprised that headbangers took away the belts though, with the massive push of the hart foundation I thought it was a no brainer. It was awesome seeing Austin come in and disrupt the match, he absolutely brings the whole arena completely alive whenever he does anything. Overall though the match was bad and it went on far too long even with four teams. I think the ending was pretty fun but that was only about 2 minutes of the match that was entertaining the rest just felt veryyyy slow.
Man this event has really gotta pull out some f***ing 5/5 main events for it to be worth watching because we’re 1 hour 45 minutes in without a match over 2/5 at most.
When I hear Kurt angles theme playing I was so happy, excited, confused, and then disappointed when I realised it was 3 or 4 years too early. I had no idea they kept this theme and used it for Kurt angle as well as patriot.
I have a small inkling that Bret hart didn’t perform as well as he could’ve in this match because he was annoyed about Shawn getting the top spot after everything that’s gone down and him working more regularly recently than Shawn. Patriot wasn’t a bad wrestler but his character was extremely bland, what would happen after this feud? He’d just be a guy that’s proud to be from America that looks like a Mexican wrestler… in the time of big characters making the main events he unfortunately doesn’t really fit in that well. His in ring ability was good though, no botches or anything but I just couldn’t really feel myself getting into this match. I didn’t really know if they’d book patriot in to take the wwf title as I was pretty sure they wouldn’t want hart to lose his title being such a huge name in the business right now. It was pretty fun when Vader and bulldog came out for some extra drama with them interfering with each of the wrestlers but it’s not a good sign when a match needs drama like that to elevate it. It’s better than what we’ve seen tonight but not particularly worth watching. If you love Bret hart give it a watch as he was his usual fantastic in ring performer but it’s not one of his best for sure. The crowd was really into it, making the hard camera shake chanting “USA USA”, so that was cool, but I’m not entirely sure if it’s because of the crowd or because it was such a small venue. Also worth noting Bret hart is a perfect heel character, he’s a massive star with a character that works perfectly as a heel because he sprinkles some IRL elements into everything he does. The move of breaking the American flag pole and the strangling patriot with the flag is just brilliant, makes it that extra bit more believable and I love it, Americans however must’ve hated it!
Shawn Michaels entrance was so hilarious, he gets hit by a… idk what that even was, a brown cabbage? He makes BJ notions to the crowd, his pyro doesn’t go off properly in the ring like it usually does, and he still pulled it off because he’s HBK, fantastic. This FEELS like main event material though and I’m really excited for it. Sometimes main events don’t really build up properly and just haven’t got that hype behind it but this match should be great. The first of many times we’d see these legends in the ring together.
Starting off the match right too with undertaker taking out the referee and allowing undertaker to take it to the outside and absolutely lay into Michael’s without a count out. I absolutely loved Shawn’s selling during this match too, it’s so over the top that it’s brilliant, with one of his famous vertical presses while he gets kicked in the belly whilst in the corner, love it. Him begging to the ref to dq undertaker, trying to escape through the door of the set and banging on the door, it all works really well and he plays up undertakers character perfectly. I hate when wrestlers forget they’re supposed to play up this undertaker being very scary it really takes away immersion but Shawn does it perfectly. The boos for undertaker seem to be from the women only and the cheers for Shawn seem to be from the women only, of course 😂. I also love seeing the origins of d generation x, one of my all time favourite tag teams as I’m sure is the same with everyone else. HHH makes his way down to the ring with a referee to replace the numerous ones that have been taken out during this match, and they are just the perfect team together I love it.
The actual match I thought was really really fun. It was absolute chaos and maybe not a wrestling masterclass but you can’t deny it was fun. From start to finish we go through 3 referees, we get strangling with power chords, we get triple H and HBK telling the crowd to suck it, and an amazing back and forth showcase from Michael’s and undertaker. I think this match did an absolutely fantastic job and reinstating the undertaker as the most intimidating wrestler in the wwf. The poor referees during this match though, they got absolutely abused. The only thing I didn’t like about this match was the ending. Another random referee comes to the ring to end the match as a DQ, which is a really stupid ending because illegal stuff had already happened when the other referees came to the ring so why wouldn’t they have ended it then? The action continues after the match with undertaker almost soloing Michael’s and HHH. More officials come to the ring as Michael’s beats the hell out of them. And then other wrestlers are forced to come to the ring to try and break the two up which was awesome to see. This really sets up further matches between the two, and I think that’s was the whole idea of the match which worked well, it’s just that I hate these random DQ endings to main events. We see the undertaker flying over the top rope for… I think the first time? Correct me if I’m wrong but I’m pretty sure that’s the first time I’ve seen it in this era which was of course AWESOME!! Overall a really fun match that sets up for further main events but it’s held back by its weird and stupid decision. It’s still well worth a watch if you enjoy this feud however.
Overall, whilst the main event hit all the right places for me I just don’t think the WWF was ready for a 3 hour event yet. They simply didn’t have the roster for it to be enjoyable and so many of these matches went way longer than they had any business doing. I think Bret hart is always gunna deliver so he was fun to watch but it just want one of his best but the main event hit in every single way apart from the finish which I understand is setting up for further matches but ughhhh it was done weirdly and poorly. If you’re gunna watch this event, skip everything but the main event it’s just not worth sitting through everything else.
Overall rating 2.75/5
submitted by Aginagala to WWE [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 18:30 nikmts [REHOME] [WW] - GF Small Dior Djoy in Black

[REHOME] [WW] - GF Small Dior Djoy in Black
Item: Small Dior Djoy in Black from God Factory. Leather strap, chain strap, dustbag included. My Photos: https://imgur.com/a/NqHrWwK // PSPs: https://imgur.com/a/UKfrIub
Condition: Like new. Used once. Hardly any scratches on the hardware.
SelleFactory: Aadan, God Factory // Factory Photos: https://imgur.com/a/NbbufTf
Original Purchase Price: 427 USD (including shipping)
SELLING FOR: 395 USD. Paypal GS. Buyer will shoulder the fees.
POP: https://imgur.com/a/Aw4OeYo
Location: East Asia. Can ship worldwide (shipping fee will depend on the buyer’s location). From past transactions, shipping to the US is about 30-35 USD.
RFS: I love this bag so much but unfortunately I don’t reach for it as much as I want to. It’s too dressy for the outfits I wear on a daily. Also decluttering and downsizing my collection.
Please feel free to ask for more photos if needed. Please do your own QC before purchasing. All sales are final.
Link to auth: https://www.dior.com/en_us/fashion/products/M0613ONGE_M900-small-lady-d-joy-bag-black-cannage-lambskin
submitted by nikmts to RepladiesDesigner [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 18:26 Turbulent-Tiger1352 🙏 Need help deciding

I can't make my mind up between the AMD and Intel specs, let me know which would last 3 to 4 years or more with Mid to High work/office use. Not into gaming much, so I most likely won't game on it, but may need gpu for video/site building in the future.
Max budget £1090.00
submitted by Turbulent-Tiger1352 to PcBuild [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 18:24 viewscreentech Today we launched the public beta of our scouting/previs app, ViewScreen Scout.

Hi world. Our ViewScreen team is making an augmented reality app for filmmakers that lets you scout, storyboard, previz, block and more. You can bring your own sets, models, props, vehicles, etc. into the app, place them in AR space, light them, animate them, and try out different camera settings.
It runs on your phone. We've used it to do full-CG shots set in outer space, and also to go out to the park and drive digital cars around in the real parking lot with a game controller.
It's in public beta right now (free) and it's called ViewScreen Scout. iOS only for now, sorry Android fans. I'm trying to keep this post brief for Reddit reasons, but there's a lot it can do. We would love to get it into more people's hands to see if it's useful to you / what other features you'd like to have from a tool like this.
https://viewscreen.com/scout
We also have a Discord: (we're online pretty regularly there; not so much here) https://discord.gg/Y65GstkAjK
submitted by viewscreentech to viewscreentech [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 18:22 Longjumping-Role-593 The Resentment is real

My husband (35m) and I (34f) are currently separated but still live in the same house due to financial reasons.
I've posted previously about having issues for a while now after our son (2.5m) was born.
My husband had made it clear through his lack of action that he's not going to try to fix our relationship and that hurts enough. But, what's really killing me is the resentment I feel toward him, particularly financially.
For our entire relationship he has made a third of what I have. I have always paid most of the bills, expenses, etc. We had joined our finances when we moved in together and boy, do I regret that. Year and years of him staying at a job that didn't allow us to save money, pay off debts, etc and not even attempting to look for a new one. He finally got a slightly better job with slightly better pay, but we also have higher rent, expenses for our son, inflation, etc.
Now that we're separated, we have separate accounts and spilt the bills 60/40 because he cannot afford 50/50.
I find that I hate him so much because now all of a sudden he cares about things being fair. Can't remember to close the backyard gate so the dog doesn't get out, but will remember that I owe him $10.
He recently said he needed to spend like $8 to get free shipping and I suggested getting a bag of treats for the dog. Of course, he was like ok, but you'll have to pay me back (in our arrangement I cover dog/house expenses). I had a little issue with my money this month so I'm struggling a bit with fundsnd while I know full well that he's fully in his right to hold us to the agreement. The fact that after all these years (we've been together 15, married 6) he can't even fucking give me $8 is making me loath him.
Didn't matter that I paid for our ENTIRE wedding myself. Doesn't matter the rent I've covered out entire time living together. The loan payments I made, the medical bills I've helped cover. The hours, mileage, and gas I've spent driving him to and from work (he doesn't drive due to eye issues). Doesn't matter that I kept our family afloat during his 6 months of unemployment.
Again, I know keeping to the agreement is his right, but damn does it burn my ass.
I'm so mad at myself for allowing it to happen, while I worked summers (I"m a teacher), took on extra responsibility for money, took classes to advance my pay, set budgets and sold items to make some extra money. I have nothing saved to show for it because I've been paying well more than my fair share for years.
submitted by Longjumping-Role-593 to breakingmom [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 18:21 snakeUA [PC] [2000’s] Game where you can use parts of your foes as weapons

Genre: I really am not sure, probably roguelike or metroidvania. 3rd person.
Estimated year of release: 2000-2018~
Graphics: Simplistic 3D, "Journey" or "Risk of rain 2" looks really similar in terms of style
Notable characters: cocky final boss/narrator that looked like spinning dark blood pyramid with big yellow eye, always looking down
Notable gameplay mechanics: when you defeated an enemy it breaks in to many pieces, and you can use the same piece as a weapon, or as a shield, pr as a piece of armor
Other details: probably has/ or had some sort of a multiplayer
Ok, so now, rumbling time. This game sits in my memory rant free, and whoever I ask, never even heard about anything similar. As a 2000’s baby, biggest half of my childhood was on YouTube, where I mostly watched Minecraft stuff, but one day I stumbled across a video of a creator that I don’t really remember, It was a long let’s play of this game. He was playing with his friend or something.
The game start by showing a giant pyramid with an eye on every top of it, than camera zooms in inside, showing how a floating platform slowly goes down with player characters on top of it (imagine chibis with sand colour bodies and pyramid heads). While this happening the narrator mocks you, have you will never get out from this labyrinth.
The thing I remember really clearly, is youtuber’s character jumping and killing a bat, and then the youtuber freaks out, like "omg you can use it wings as an armor and as a sword?!", something like that.
submitted by snakeUA to tipofmyjoystick [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 18:16 plateau1999 Another annoying go with our 18’ Bestway above ground pool.

Another annoying go with our 18’ Bestway above ground pool.
Yet again, I am struggling to combat green algae in our 9,000 gal Bestway above ground pool this year. According to the test strips: chlorine is ideal. Hardness, stabilizer, and free chlorine are all good/ideal. I vacuumed a huge layer of dead algae a few days ago. Scrubbed the sides too to loosen stuck dead algae. Poured flocculant to gather what was on the surface a few days ago. Turned the pump off and still am not seeing any clarification. According to the test strips everything but pH is good/ideal. I have ‘pH Up’ crystals. pH was low but not critically low.
Saving grace is that this round of algae is lighter green than two weeks ago after vacuuming the floor and walls. It’s more teal color. Seems like each successive vacuum results in lighter colored algae. Should I 6-in 1 shock it? I’ve already poured several bags over the past 4 weeks. I can see (sorta) all the way to the bottom of the pool but dammit all… there is still haze and I’m super frustrated.
Just need to know what I am doing wrong. Many of you here are experts. I just wanna get my pool ready for the fam by June 1st, if possible. Oh… an oddity: You can see an odd stream of clean, clear pool liner that somehow randomly showed up. Any help, please. Thanks!
submitted by plateau1999 to pools [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 18:15 Jacksenic We made a traffic cop give up his "feeding trough"

Salutations, fellow petty revengers!
This is a story from my youth. To briefly sum up the situation: nearby where I live there is a road that goes all around my city. The particular section in this story comes up a slight hill then it goes downward for quite a while, maybe a full mile, and at the end of it there is a big parking area for a local big store.
One of those days, a traffic cop had made that downward mile stretch his "feeding trough" spot. He parked his car behind some bush and hid behind it, waiting for a passing car to suddenly jump out and stop. Note: this is not in the US, so the cops here don't need a probable cause to stop cars.
So, one night, he stopped me in my car. Very rude, very condescending, very sure of himself, arrogant, I-am-above-God attitude. He checked my documents (all in order), checked the car (all in order), checked everything and all was in order. Then he showed me his radar gun and it showed way over the speed limit.
Now, I knew for a fact that I wasn't speeding. I don't know what he had done to the instrument, maybe he didn't reset it from the previous reading, maybe it wasn't working at all, I don't know. But he wrote me a ticket for driving 32km/h (20 mph?) over the limit.
Same thing happened the next night when I was going home from a gathering with friends. This time I knew he might be there, so I was extra careful with my speed. He saw my lights, jumped out to stop me, and showed me the radar: 32km/h over the speed limit. The exact same number from last night. And I knew the jig is on.
It's a big part of our "cop culture" here that the first thing a cop says when he comes up to your window is not "License and registration", it's "You're speeding, what are we gonna do now?" And most people prefer to give the cop some part of the ticket's value instead of paying it to the state in full. This cop has made this spot his personal money maker.
I knew that I can't prove anything or do anything about it back then. Remember, this is not the US, we don't have your guys' luxuries. My word against his would always end with him winning in those days. Exceptions were truly rare. So, I knew I had to get him another way.
That weekend I gathered my friends, and we cooked a plan. We waited for the evening, and I was ready at the start of the stretch. We confirmed the cop was again there, and we began. I drove down, he stopped me, I said "Good evening, officer "Mike", he looked at me and said "We know our lesson now, do we?" I nodded, gave him a 20, and he let me go.
I drove to the parking area, parked my car, jumped in a friend's car, we went out of the parking area, made a U-turn, drove the mile back up the hill and switched places. I then drove down again, he stopped the new car, came to my window, I said, "Good evening, officer "Mike" with a 20 in my hand. He was stunned and just waved me to go.
I went to my friends, we laughed for several minutes, then I got into yet another car, did the same drive and the same switch. This time he didn't even come to the window. He shone his flashlight, saw it's me, and waved me to go.
He knew me now, so I had to up my game. Wigs, scarfs, hats, hoodies, even a fake moustache, all went into play. He stops me, flashlights the masked me, walks up, hears "Good evening, officer "Mike" with the 20 in hand, and waves. One of those times he actually asked me "What are you doing?! Don't you have something better to do?" and I said, "No, officer "Mike", we got aaaaaall weekend free".
Eleven times we did that, in the span of like 3 hours. On the 12th run he wasn't there anymore, and I never saw him again.
I wish we had camera phones, dashcams and Go-Pros back then, it would be so much easier to load my car with cameras and annihilate his ass in court, but I don't regret it much.
It definitely wouldn't be so much fun.
submitted by Jacksenic to pettyrevenge [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 18:09 Far-War-3804 B028 ADRENOCHROME OSCARS: WHITE HATS had INFILTRATED A ACADEMY AWARDS CEREMONY in HOPES OF ARRESTING a FEW CRIMINAL HOLLYWOOD ELITISTS. But THEY ABORTED aborted THE PLAN, due to an OVERWELMING SECURITY PRESENC that OUTNUMBERED them 100-1. DESPITE the HINDRANCE, they still obtained a USEFUL but DIS

B028 ADRENOCHROME OSCARS: WHITE HATS had INFILTRATED A ACADEMY AWARDS CEREMONY in HOPES OF ARRESTING a FEW CRIMINAL HOLLYWOOD ELITISTS. But THEY ABORTED aborted THE PLAN, due to an OVERWELMING SECURITY PRESENC that OUTNUMBERED them 100-1. DESPITE the HINDRANCE, they still obtained a USEFUL but DIS
https://preview.redd.it/cf590eowzs1d1.png?width=695&format=png&auto=webp&s=201f0f195df9ad9e555ba459999a2ac40f4360de
B028
ADRENOCHROME OSCARS: WHITE HATS had INFILTRATED A ACADEMY AWARDS CEREMONY in HOPES OF ARRESTING a FEW CRIMINAL HOLLYWOOD ELITISTS. But THEY ABORTED aborted THE PLAN, due to an OVERWELMING SECURITY PRESENC that OUTNUMBERED them 100-1. DESPITE the HINDRANCE, they still obtained a USEFUL but DISTURBING KNOWLEDGE: The TENUOUS WAR AGAINST ADRENOCHROME PEDDLERS has yet to BE WON. March 14, 2024.
White Hats had infiltrated Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony in hopes of arresting a few criminal Hollywood elitists. But they aborted the plan due to an overwhelming security presence that outnumbered them 100-1. Despite the hindrance, they still obtained a useful but disturbing bit of knowledge: The tenuous war against Adrenochrome peddlers has yet to be won.
Part biologic, part synthetic, the potent narcotic is to the elite what heroin and fentanyl are to the homeless addicts encamped in the streets of San Francisco and Portland: an addictive fix. Whereas a fentanyl tab might cost a druggie three dollars, an Adrenochrome injection or infusion costs thousands or tens of thousands of dollars, based on the purity of the product. And prices continue to skyrocket as entities like the White Hats and Vladimir Putin wage war on Adrenochrome production and distribution networks in the U.S. and Eastern Europe, respectively, creating scarcity and an accompanying price surge—the laws of economics. But those disruptions didn’t stop some Oscar nominees from receiving a free sample.
A source at General Smith’s office told Real Raw News that White Hat investigators surreptitiously accessed the Academy Awards and saw certain nominees receive a jumbo gift bag, distinct from the $168,000 prize bags given to every nominee by the Luciferian Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Like the Willy Wonka Bars in Ronald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, certain gift bags held something golden. But instead of a golden ticket, these bags held a golden box about the size and shape of an eyeglass case, which contained a syringe of Adrenochrome.
Cillian Murphy’s bag had the injection, as did actress Lilly Gladstone’s sack.
At one point in the evening, Gladstone reached inside the bag for the gold case. But her Killers Flowers of the Flower Moon co-star, Robert De Niro, looked at her askance and laid his hand atop hers, pushing the case back into the gift bag. He shook his head in disapproval and whispered in her ear.
According to our source, the investigators also witnessed Cillian Murphy holding and then opening the gold case in a restroom, where a half-dozen other actors were snorting lines and giggling up a storm. Murphy asked an unidentified actor what the syringe held and was told, “It’ll take you to another planet, but that’s not for here. It’s for the latter.” Taped to the case was a label that read, “Do not open at ceremony.”
Murphy ignored the warning out of curiosity. Still, he nodded slowly, returned the case to the bag, and left the restroom.
By then, the investigators believed beyond reasonable double the syringes had Adrenochrome, and they suspected that someone at the Oscars had distributed it to celebrities who hadn’t yet taken the instantly addictive pharmaceutical cocktail.
“CID noticed that a handful of bags had a red bow, and they assumed those had the Adrenochrome. The addicted were trying to indoctrinate greenhorns into the ways of Adrenochrome. Even though they had backup nearby, the security there was immense—we’re talking about guys with submachine guns concealed beneath their jackets, and Lord knows what else. Mass arrests were out of the question. But CID wanted to get their hands on a syringe so we could chemically analyze it and possibly determine where it was made,” our source said.
Toward the end of the evening, the investigators cashed in on a hunch; they found an empty syringe in a bathroom trash can. Some Adrenochrome recipients had disobeyed the cautionary memo and injected themselves.
Although no arrests were made, White Hats found enough residue in the depleted syringe to run a chemical analysis. They believe the Adrenochrome came from Ukraine, meaning Putin has yet to bomb them out of existence entirely, and the Deep State is still importing it from Zelenskyy’s Adrenochrome mills.
“We still think that’ll be helpful,” our source said. “It may help isolate a specific lab.”
submitted by Far-War-3804 to CourtofAges [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 18:05 Brilliant_Shine2247 My Response to the Guy Telling You About Them Homeless Folks

This is for the guy trying to say not to give money to homeless people flying a sign. This my personal experience from being homeless in Wilmington. I can't say as I speak for everyone, just my experience. 
I'm still homeless, but I've moved out of Wilmington. I had to teach myself how to read and write all over again, and this is what I do now. I hope you enjoy.

 Six-thirty am, I woke up to my alarm. I had to be at work at nine, and I didn't want to be frazzled from being in panic mode on my first day, hurried, and hassled. No, sir. You don't get too many chances to make a first impression. 

 Rolled out of my sleeping bag with a smooth, well practiced motion, unzipped the flap, and made my way out into brisk spring morning air, taking a brief pause, taking in the natural beuaty of the forest. If it hadn't been for the sounds of the highway a few hundred yards away, this scene could have been from a camping trip or hike that I remembered from days gone by. I didn't pause to think about too long due to the urgency to find a suitable tree to relieve myself. Fifty feet, at least. Fifty feet. Otherwise, that smell could come back to haunt you. This wasn't a camping trip but rather where I lived. My homestead, abode, residence, shelter, and as far as I could tell, it would be for a long time to come. 

 I decided to drink my energy drink, which had come to replace my morning cup of brew, outside this fine morn, so I made my way back to the tent and pulled my Monster can and my half full box of handrolled cigarettes from their hiding places, turned around and walked the fifteen feet to my "visiting bench". Aptly named because that's where we all sat when someone came visiting, which wasn't very often, a few feet in front was the small firepit. A hundred or so yards beyond, down a respectable hill, sat Frankies tent, another fifty yards at the split in the trail was Chris's small pup tent, where a small pile of trash meant that Chris and I needed to talk. This was my site, and I had few rules, and trash was something I didn't want to see. 

 According to the rules out here, our social contract, the first person at a campsite was in charge and I had spent the last month of winter all alone here to earn the right to call the shots. After all, it was deemed The Allen Compound for the Criminally Insane by my friend who led a real boots on the ground street outreach in town, someone that I had insane respect for and not a small bit of love. We weren't. I won't speak to insane. 

 I took a seat on the bench, popped the top on the Monster, lit up a smoke, and took a big long pull of the drink. Spring was starting to show now, and the highway was slowly starting to hide behind the new growth of forest. My tent was already invisible from the road thanks to a large camouflaged tarp that I had strung to block the view once I recovered from the panic attack following the discovery of how visible it once was. That discovery came not long after I set up camp, as I was returning from town. Walking down the shoulder of the highway, I just happened to look up in the direction of my camp and saw that my tent sat in the middle of a big clearing of branches, making a perfect frame for my work of art. The realization that thousands of people could have seen that on a daily basis. I was live bait for any psychotic person or persons to visit on a full moon. Recalling the stories of people setting sleeping people on fire for the fun of watching a human cook, I instantly turned on my heels and headed back into town, a spy who just realized he'd been compromised. I didn't return until I had a tarp, but even then, it was some time before sleep came easy. 

 Seven am and the spring sun were now spreading its rays of love to its children in the forest undergrowth, letting everything know it was day shift now in the kingdom. Down below, I spied Frankie, who piled out of his tent and sprinted to a tree like his bladder had caught fire. At the sight of this, I barked three times in greeting. He threw his head back and made a rooster crow, knowing it would wake Chris up long enough to feel the urgency. And by the time I stood up finish the last bit of my morning nectar, sure enough, scrambled out of his tent and instantly let it go right beside where his head would lay when he slept. I shook my head and trudged to my place to change clothes. A light blue polo type short sleeve tucked neatly into my cleanest pair of jeans, then a long sleeve light flannel over that as a precaution, because a lesson learned early is that you dressed for all day. There was no going home to get a coat when the temps plummeted, so it was wise to have that coat ready at all times. I changed my socks, put on my shoes and out of the flap I went. I closed it up and placed a pine needle inside the zipper that would let me know when I got back if anyone had violated my space. 

Seven ten am, and I was on my way. I had fourty minutes to be at the bus stop a little over a mile from the camp and I didn't want to be late, so off I went down the trail, just past Frankies tent I took a left, pausing just long enough to notice that Chris had gone back to bed and left his flap door open, then another fifty yard and over the fence to what I referred to as the 'exposed zone'. There, I was out of the woods walking down a small trail hidden only from the waist down by overgrown weeds and grass. The exposed zone went about a hundred and fifty yards to the shoulder of the highway, where I would merge left, facing the oncoming traffic. At that point, it wouldn't be so obvious to passing cars that I had just emerged from the woods, and the exact spot would no doubt be a mystery. There, my pace stepped up to an average of four miles an hour, something that I had clocked many times, and these days, it was a knowledge that came in handy. I could deal with being homeless, but not tardy. Every minute I walked along the shoulder of the highway, I was fraught with danger, at least in my overactive brain. I could envision cars swerving to miss the car ahead and turning me into a hood ornament, or blowing a tire and taking me out when the driver loses control for that half a second. Maybe something would fall out of the many dump trucks that passed frequently at seventy miles an hour and cleanly decapitate me before I even saw it coming. Why not? It's not like I was having a good luck streak, let's be honest. 

Seven fifty am and I managed to make it to the bus stop with all my organs just where they should be and my head still attached to my body. I lit up a smoke and fished three quarters out of my pocket, ready to pay my way and go to work. The bus pulled up on time, and I climbed aboard, nodding to the driver in solidarity, one working man to the other, dropped my coins of passage into the box, turned and found an empty seat by the window. I watched as the scenery went from historical homes with their gates and carefully tended lawns to the brown crabgrass and dirt yards where the children played in poverty, then to the blocks of businesses where hopes and dreams were born and died, with their big banners proclaiming another last chance at big savings, or let you know that for the twentieth time this furniture store was going out of business and these prices wouldn't last. Nothing but a higher class of a carnival barker. Free financing, limited time only, no interest for ninety days, credit same as cash, act now, last chance to save, overstocked and marked down, employee pricing, never before savings, trade ins welcome, don't miss out, and my all time favorite, below wholesale. Imagine that a business surviving by losing money. The saddest part of it all is that these tactics worked on people. For the second time that morning, I shook my head. 

Eight thirty eight am and the doors open at my destination, my job site, half the bus stood up to depart. Standing up and slipping No. 7 onto my shoulders, I let the line shuffle past me with the knowledge that I had time to spare 

 Eight forty, I stepped off the bus, gravitating to have a smoke with a small group of like-minded people who nodded their approval as I approached. The signal that I was accepted in the circle of debauchery. I made it clear, though, that I had no time to make small talk because I had to go to work and I was a responsible person. On time, it was late, and ten minutes early was on time. That was my motto, starting now, at least. Eight fourty five am I started to the job site, feeling the anxiety butterflies come to life in the pit of my stomach. I had never done this sort of work before, and I hoped I would catch on quick. 

 Eight fifty am, and I was standing beside the exit lane of the Walmart Superstore on a patch of grass where the stopsign was planted, dropping No. 7 to the earth. I bent over and unzipped the section that contained the piece of cardboard. As I put my fingers on it, I felt emotions pour over me, a mixture of shame, embarrassment, and determination. This was my third try at this, but I was determined not to chicken out this time, so, choking everything back down I pulled the sign from my bag and turned to face the cars coming up to the stop sign so I could show them the story of my life, condensed down to some scribbles from a Sharpie which read, 'Traumatic Brain Injury' in large lettering, with a smaller, 'Please Help' below. I'd never felt so alone as I did in that spot light that day at Walmart, that my life had led me to this point, here with a sign begging for money from strangers to get things I needed. It seemed like I couldn't even breathe with my phone service cut off, as I still felt sure that my son would call me at any minute to see how I was, and knowing that life line was severed was unbearable. 

 A grey van with a logo pulled up to the stop sign and I heard one of the doors open, then close, so I turned around to see someone jogging up to me, holding out his hand with a twenty dollar bill pinched in his fingers, "Here you go, brother. Take care of yourself, my man, "then back to the van and was gone. 

I broke. Just like that. I broke.
submitted by Brilliant_Shine2247 to Wilmington [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 17:59 CIAHerpes In the caverns under Frost Hollow, I found the madness of the ancient gods

I sit alone in my room on the seventh floor, writing what will surely be my last will and testament. The heroin which allowed me to forget and to sleep for the last couple of years has lost its power to keep the screaming terrors away. The drug destroyed my body and mind, gradually eating away at them like a corrosive acid. Now I have become a slave to it. And yet, without it, I do not sleep for weeks, but instead continuously see the scenes from that terrible night running through my head on repeat as worsening waves of madness crash on the shores of my consciousness.
In the caverns under the town of Frost Hollow, I found the meaning of true madness. Ever since I escaped that den of horrors, it is difficult to tell what is real and what is only the feverish delirium of an unhinged mind.
Even now, they wait behind the door to this cheap, bare rented room. They drag their claws over the wood. I hear them hissing in that strange, ancient tongue, the one I first heard in the tombs of rock that had been undisturbed for countless millennia.
***
I had first heard rumors of an unexplored cavern from my friend, an experienced caver named Sonia who had explored caverns all over the world. I had been looking for some excitement in my life, some break from the constant monotony and boredom of simply working and sleeping. I had gone caving quite a few times over the year leading up to the trip, but I was not nearly as experienced and had never explored a supposedly virgin passageway of cavern before.
“How do you know no one’s gone down there?” I asked, curious. We sat across from each other at a local diner, getting some early breakfast before our planned descent. The sunrise was still another half-hour away, the sky flat and dark. We would be joined by Sonia’s husband, Phil, who would meet us there shortly after sunrise. I repressed an urge to yawn, chugging half of the steaming hot coffee in one long swallow. Sonia leaned close to me, her nearly colorless blue eyes reminding me of chunks of ice floating down a muddy stream.
“Phil’s friend just found it randomly,” she whispered before glancing around conspiratorially, as if she feared someone would care enough to eavesdrop on a conversation about a cave. “Well, it’s in the middle of a farm, and Phil’s friend, Jack Graysole, owns the entire property and surrounding woods. Jack says he noticed the cows kept going over to a certain spot in the field when it got really hot during the summertime. They would all gather around this little indentation in the grass. After seeing it a few times, Jack got curious and went to investigate what the cows were doing.
“He found a small hole in the ground, almost entirely covered by weeds and grass. He said he felt a cool breeze constantly blowing out of the hole, a breeze that smelled like burning matches and charred metal. After bringing out some shovels and digging down a couple feet, Jack realized that the hole wasn’t a hole at all, but the beginning of a steep passageway leading deep into the bowels of the earth.”
***
The owner of the land decided to unofficially call the newly-discovered cavern Graysole Caverns. Out of respect for him, this is also the name we all used. This is the story of how I found myself in the bowels of a strange subterranean tunnel, a tunnel where creatures beyond my comprehension slunk and hunted, skittering monstrosities who would be more at home in a nightmare.
After grabbing a couple coffees to take with us, Sonia drove over to Graysole Farms. Cows stood out in the grassy fields, huddled in tight circles as they repetitively chewed. The thin silhouette of Jack Graysole waited for us next to the herd. He had a face like a raisin, I thought to myself. I watched his thin, shaking body standing in the middle of an overgrown grassy field. Jack stared down blankly at something only he could see. Sonia and I started unloading some equipment from the car while we waited for Phil.
Once we had the backpacks loaded with some simple supplies, such as water, food, headlamps, rope, a couple extra batteries, some buck knives, and radios, we headed over to accompany Jack. We weren’t taking much, as we didn’t really expect to be down there for more than six or seven hours at the most.
Jack Graysole’s withered old face was as slack and expressionless as that of a corpse. He stared down at the ground as if he were in a trance, waving back and forth slowly on his feet like a plant in a light breeze.
“Jack?” Sonia called out as we approached. I could hear the man’s teeth chattering as we got nearer.
“Hey, what are you doing over here this early? You interested in accompanying us down there?” Sonia joked. But Jack might as well have been totally deaf for all the reaction he gave. Sonia glanced over at me with an anxious expression. I wondered if the old man was having a stroke.
I quickly walked over to where he stood, staring down at a black circular hole about three feet across directly in front of his feet. The entrance to Graysole Caverns stared up at us like a sightless pupil. As I drew within a few feet of Jack and looked straight into his blank eyes, I noticed something alarming.
His pupils were quickly dilating and constricting before my eyes. They would shrink to tiny pinpoints, then, a couple seconds later, rapidly expand until they became dark and serious. I could see his thready, rapid heartbeat pulsating in a vein on the side of his temple. Alarmed, I reached forward and put my hand on his shoulder.
Instantly, he came to life, like a man waking up from a nightmare. Shrieking, he looked at me with fully dilated pupils, reminding me of a panicked deer surrounded by wolves. His quavering old man’s voice shook with ineffable existential horror and mortal fear.
He took a step back away from us, seeming to realize where he was and what he was doing. He looked around, confused, then straight at me and Sonia. His eyes focused with anger and fear, as if we were demons here to drag him down to Hell. His eyes flicked back and forth between us constantly. Jack raised a trembling hand and pointed it straight at my heart.
“It’s you,” he said, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. His teeth chattered despite the warm spring air. His skin looked deathly pale. “You’re the one who will bring an end to humanity, who will release the ruler of nightmares upon us.” He continued to point accusingly for a long moment at me, his face turning chalk-white. Then his eyes rolled up in his head. Slowly, he stumbled and fell backwards onto the soft grass of the field.
“Jack!” Sonia cried, running over to the old man. Jack’s breaths had started to come in slow, drawn-out gurgles, like a man with a slit throat trying to breathe. Frothy blood bubbled from his lips as they turned blue. Staring up at the endless expanse of cloudless sky, he exhaled one last shuddering breath and died.
***
Phil showed up only a couple minutes later. He found me and Sonia in a state of utter panic, both of us bent double over the still body of Jack. Sonia was on the phone with 911, and I was trying to give Jack chest compressions. The way his fingernails and lips shone with that cyanotic blue cast made me feel sick and weak. I knew it was futile, that I was simply playing with a corpse at this point, but I didn’t know what else to do. I felt if I didn’t do something, I might explode.
I heard the faint wailing of sirens approaching as Sonia’s panicked voice continued babbling to the 911 operator. Phil stood by her side, his tall, dark features searching and lost.
“Oh God, I think he’s dead!” Sonia cried over and over to the operator, as if she thought the operator could do anything about it. I didn’t hear what the operator said in response. As the ambulance pulled in, I gave up on chest compressions. I stood up and took a step back, looking sadly down on the kindly old man’s dead body.
The paramedics ran over. Phil, Sonia and I stood back while they worked on the corpse, trying to shock the heart back into life. But Jack’s open eyes stayed glazed as they stared sightlessly up into eternity.
***
The paramedics left. A couple police officers stayed behind to ask us a few routine questions. Eventually, after an hour or so, they left, too.
“What a fucked-up day,” Phil said, shaking his head grimly. “Do you guys still want to do this? Maybe it’s an omen from God telling us to go home.” Sonia and I exchanged a glance, then we both nodded at the same time.
“Definitely,” she said. “It’s sad what happened to Jack, but realistically, we don’t know what’s going to happen to this property now that he’s passed away. It might get sold or taken by the bank for all we know. This could be our one and only chance to explore this cave.”
“I don’t believe in omens. I’m still down,” I said, feeling slightly sick from the experience. I still remembered how Jack’s body had cracked under the weight of my chest compressions, how his ribs had snapped like bones shattering in greedy hands. “We’ll do it in memory of Jack. I plan to put this up on YouTube.” I pulled my GoPro out of my bag, turning it on. Phil groaned at that.
“Do we have any idea how far down this cave goes?” Phil asked. I felt a sense of relief now that the topic had changed from the death of the old man.
“I sent a little camera down on a rope, but it only went about a hundred feet,” Sonia responded. “It’s pretty steep at first, then it levels out. I couldn’t really see much after it leveled out, but it looks like it should be easy to climb down. There’s plenty of handholds, lots of jutting rocks.”
Phil put on his headlamp and small pack. As he crawled down into the hole, his tanned face looked up at us and gave us one last devilish grin. Once he had gone down a few dozen feet, Sonia started descending. She looked excited and happy. I noticed how she couldn’t stop smiling as she disappeared from view.
I watched their lights grow smaller and dimmer in the circular tunnel. I marveled at how perfectly circular the entrance was. It almost didn’t even look natural.
Taking a deep breath in, I followed my friends down into the dark.
***
“This isn’t too bad,” I said as I climbed down. The jutting rocks gave plenty of handholds and footholds for us. It wasn’t so tight that it felt like a coffin, either.
“It only gets easier from here!” Sonia called up.
“How do you know?” I asked. “You said you’ve never been here before.” She laughed.
“I know. Probably just wishful thinking,” she said. Far below us, Jack’s voice drifted up, faint and weak. He had already reached the bottom.
“The tunnel really opens up down here, guys,” he called. “It’s somewhat… bizarre, though.”
“What do you mean by that?” Sonia asked. I looked down, seeing Sonia and I would reach the bottom in seconds. “Forget it, I’ll let it be a surprise.” I heard her drop down. Slowly and carefully, I lowered myself down the last few feet. There was a short fall onto a smooth granite floor. I looked up, seeing what Phil and Sonia were so mesmerized by.
“Oh, wow,” I said, speechless. I blinked rapidly, wondering if the image would clear like a mirage. The tunnel was cut into a perfectly triangular shape, each side about seven feet long. The ceiling met in a point above our heads.
All along the smooth walls of gray rock, I saw thousands of black orbs peeking out. They looked similar to obsidian, but they were perfectly smooth and circular, each about the size of an orange. They were formed into interlocking diagonal patterns and followed the tunnel straight down as far as the eye could see.
“What is this place?” Sonia asked, taking a tentative step forward. I looked up, seeing the distant pinpoint of sunlight far above our heads. Our voices continued to echo off down the massive tunnels, disappearing in eerie waves into the thick curtain of shadows.
“Are you recording all this?” Phil asked me. I laughed, giddy.
“Of course! This is internet gold right here,” I said. “No one’s going to believe that this isn’t man-made, however. I can’t even believe it. Do you think Jack was playing a joke on us or something?”
“Jack had the sense of humor of a wet paper towel,” Phil whispered, shaking his head. “No, he wouldn’t do something like this.”
“Well, let’s go check it out,” Sonia said, taking a step forward. Her headlamp bobbed up and down rapidly, throwing dancing shadows through the triangular tunnel. It continued straight ahead, without the slightest deviation or curve, disappearing off into a dark point in the distance.
***
We walked as fast as we could, excited to see where, if anywhere, the strange tunnel led. Phil, always the conspiracy theorist, babbled excitedly.
“This has to be aliens, man,” he said, running his fingers through his dark hair. “I bet that scientists will find out this shit is millions of years old when we get back up and tell everyone. Maybe aliens came to earth in ancient times and made a bunch of stuff underground.” Gradually, as we walked, I noticed the tunnel opening up. The pointed triangular ceiling rose up higher above our heads and the walls moved outwards, as we were walking up a triangular funnel. At first, it was so subtle that I didn’t believe it when Sonia pointed it out.
“No, look,” she said, raising her hand above her head. “When we first started down this weird tunnel, my fingers were only maybe a foot away from the top. Now it’s a couple feet.” I was about to respond when our headlamps illuminated something standing in the middle of the tunnel.
“What the fuck is that?” I whispered, stopping cold in my tracks. Phil and Sonia looked up at the abomination at the same time. Its back was to us. It stood nearly as tall as the tunnel, which was now about twenty feet high.
The bottom half looked black and spidery with dozens of long, jointed legs. A bloody, white spine rose out of the mass of legs. Inhumanly long, skeletal arms stretched out in front of it. Its face was pointed away from us, but the back of its head resembled an enormous pointed skull with deep fissures like the cracks of an earthquake running through the bone. The abomination stayed as still as a statue, and for a long moment, I wondered if we were looking at some macabre work of art.
Then, suddenly, one of its insectile legs twitched. A moment later, the other legs started jerking and twisting. There was a sound like bones shattering as it rose up to its full height, turning around to face us.
Its face was like something from a nightmare, melting and reforming constantly like dripping candle wax. I would see a black eye appear on its forehead, then a grinning mouth on its chin, then the features would get sucked back into the folds of melting flesh. After a few moments, two enormous eyes appeared on its face, dark and cold like craters on the surface of the Moon. The mouths and noses disappeared back into the dripping skin, and only the two lidless eyes remained, emanating a cold, reptilian consciousness beyond the ability of my mind to comprehend. I felt terror radiating from its body like freezing waves.
“Free me,” it cried in a gurgling voice that seethed with insanity. It had a shrieking, metallic ringing behind every word that gave it an alien quality. “Free me, and I will give you the waters of eternal life. Within me, I contain the seeds of immortality. Within the nightmares, we live forever, always together, never alone.”
“Who are you?” I asked, terrified. The black reptilian skin of the enormous beast glistened as it knelt down, its massive face drawing near to mine. A sideways mouth burst out of the liquified flesh, showing hundreds of fangs growing like tumors from its white, bloodless gums. The fangs varied in size from only a couple inches to long, sword-like projections that stabbed into the creature’s flesh, causing white blood glittering with rainbows to fall like raindrops all around me.
“I have many names,” it hissed, its thousand voices rising and falling in crashing waves of sound. “I was present at the beginning, when this planet was no more than dead cliffs and endless freezing oceans. Those holy ones who search for us, the ancient ones, call me Niralahoth.”
“How do we free you?” Phil asked, looking terrified. He held Sonia’s hand tightly.
“By letting me into your mind and body,” Niralahoth cried, shaking the cavern. “I was thrown down here, cursed and forgotten. I cannot leave this place of shadows within this body. But in the body of another, my consciousness can be free, and the seeds of new life can spread beyond this prison.”
“There’s no way anyone’s going to do that,” I said, my eyes widening as Niralahoth’s reptilian skull turned towards me in fury. “I mean, you’re asking one of us to give up our individuality, our lives, right?”
“I am asking you to become one with me and gain power undreamt of by mortals,” it cried. “I have within me the fountain of life, the waters that send death away screaming.” I glanced anxiously at Phil and Sonia, wondering if we would have to run.
“The answer is no,” I said. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, we can’t do that,” Phil said, backing me up. “But, anyways, I think our trip has ended. It’s time to turn around…”
“You will never return,” Niralahoth cried, skittering away from us. “If you will not accept salvation, then you must accept death.” Within seconds, it slunk away from us, backpedaling on its many skittering legs into the shadows.
***
All around us, a rumbling started.
There was a pounding that crashed through the rock tunnel, as if an insane blacksmith were hammering on a massive anvil. The ringing of crashing rock started off slowly, with a few stones smashing down around us with heavy blasts of sound. Within seconds, the cacophony sped up, rising into a constant stream of destruction. The black orbs were spinning in place all up and down the tunnel, their glossy obsidian surfaces flashing with sparks of blue light.
“It’s collapsing!” Phil cried, running back in the direction we came, holding Sonia’s hand as she tried to keep up with him. I could only stare for a long moment, not sure what to do. It seemed that the direction Phil was heading stood closer to total collapse.
“Wait!” I cried, but my voice was drowned out in the destruction all around us. I felt a rock smash into my shoulder, sending me down to my feet. I heard Phil give a scream of pain, then another stone came down and smashed into my forehead. I remember seeing everything spinning around me as the world went black.
***
I awoke to find my headlamp still shining straight up in the dusty tunnel. Large chunks of the tunnel had slid out of place and crashed to the stone floor. The granite chunks that had fallen looked unnaturally smooth, most of them in the shapes of cylinders or cubes and varying in size from that of an egg to that of a small car.
My head throbbed. It felt as if a tight belt of fire were wrapped around my temples. Groaning, I put my fingers up to my forehead. They came away slick with blood.
Slowly, I started pushing myself up on my feet. I was relieved that nothing seemed broken. I had a deep gash running from the center of my scalp down to my left temple and some shallower cuts on my shoulders and back, but I knew none of that was life-threatening.
“Sonia?” I whispered, my voice coming out weak and strained. I reached into my pack and found a bottle of water. I chugged it quickly in one long swallow.
“Phil?” I cried again, this time stronger. I heard a soft weeping nearby. Staggering, I followed the sound.
Sonia was bloody and covered in cuts and scrapes, sitting next to Phil’s prone form. I saw Phil’s right arm pinned under a massive slab of granite. His arm disappeared from the elbow down in a spreading puddle of thick, dark blood.
“Oh God, Max, I think he’s hurt really bad,” she wept. Phil’s eyes rolled wildly in his head, his face pale and bloodless. I looked down the way we had come, seeing the entire tunnel blocked by large slabs of stone, many with strange, black orbs peeking out like the lenses of cameras.
***
I don’t know how much time passed. My phone died after a day, and then we were counting the endless darkness in breaths and tears.
Phil swam in and out of consciousness as his arm putrefied and blackened around the crush site. After a couple days, Sonia and I agreed that something had to be done. We told Phil we would need to amputate his arm. He was half-delirious, but he came back long enough to understand us and nod weakly.
We made a fire with Phil’s pack, trying to find fuel to throw in it to get it roaring. As it grew, I saw one of the black orbs near the flames abruptly ignite, as if it had been covered in gasoline. Blue, almost colorless flames rose from its surface. We started throwing the small black orbs on the fire until it rose high in the air. I sanitized the buck knife with the flames and pulled a rope tourniquet tight around Phil’s arm. He was conscious but seemingly insane, talking to himself more than anyone else.
“How are we going to get the car started without a key?” he gurgled to someone only he could see. “We need to look around. It has to be here somewhere.”
“Phil, can you hear me, bud? We need to fix your arm. We need to get you out of this mess. OK?” I said as comfortingly as I could. Phil’s eyes rolled wildly, but they didn’t meet my own. I sighed and looked over at Sonia.
“Let’s do it,” I said, giving a grim nod.
I pulled the buck knife out, slicing quickly down through the flesh next to the tourniquet. His veins throbbed like fat worms as the blackened, necrotic skin split easily under the blade, releasing a rancid-smelling gas that hissed out of the wound.
I couldn’t believe how hard it was to slice all the way through the arm. It felt like I was stuck in that hellish task forever. Phil’s eyes rolled in his head as his skin turned the color of clotted milk.
“God, Jesus, make it stop,” Phil whispered over and over, exhaling ragged, pain-filled breaths. The blood spurted from the blackened, dying tissue all over the dust-covered cavern floor, covering my hands in its warm, slick embrace.
After what was probably only three or four minutes, but felt like hours, I had sliced all the way down to the bone. The infected tissue of his arm spurted great gouts of orange pus mixed with rivulets of blood. The hard part was over.
Standing up, I took my steel-toe sneaker and stomped down on his arm as hard as I could. Phil cried out in a powerful voice, as if all the agony and suffering in the world was contained in that one shriek. The bone snapped under my weight with a sound like a tree branch cracking. A moment later, Phil rolled away from the rock that had pinned me in place for so long. Something alien and spongy was shoved into my face, a mass of destroyed red tissue pulsating in time with a runaway heartbeat. At first, shell-shocked and revolted, my mind couldn’t comprehend that I was looking at the stump of Phil’s mutilated arm. I hardened my heart and forced the giddiness and madness to the back of my mind. The time had come to cauterize the wound.
“Sonia, give it to me,” I said with a tremor in my voice. I reached out a hand towards her, a hand stained with Phil’s blood. It looked as if I were wearing a wet, crimson glove. Sonia only stared blankly at me for a long moment, however. A surge of anger ran up my chest.
“Sonia, toughen the fuck up! He’s going to die if you just sit there!” I swore at her, hearing my deep, angry voice bounce around the caverns. Sonia pulled back, as if she were struck. Inwardly, I cursed having a woman as my only able-bodied companion in this situation. She was a competent enough caver, but what would happen if violence and blood came over us? What would happen if, or more realistically when, we needed to fight?
Grimly, Sonia leaned forward and yanked the burning black orb out of the roaring fire, handing it to me on the end of a buck knife that had just barely pierced its hard, strange exterior. The handle of the knife felt coarse and splintery under my filthy skin. I put it to the spongy stump of Phil’s arm. The stump twitched violently. Phil tried to pull away as black smoke rose from the burning flesh.
There was a smell like bacon sizzling. The searing meat of Phil’s arm blackened and crisped under the heat of the orb, which had become no more than a cylinder of glowing blue embers by this point. I felt simultaneously sick and giddy. I didn’t know if I wanted to laugh or vomit. I felt like I was on the verge of some kind of madness, that the stress and insanity of the experience had started to shatter my mind.
His eyes rolled back in his head and he appeared to go into a seizure for a few seconds. With a long exhalation of breath, he finally, mercifully, lost consciousness. It’s hard to admit it, even this close to the end, but a small, sick piece of me was jealous of Phil. Most likely, he would be dead soon, maybe within hours, while Sonia and I would slowly starve and dehydrate like animals over a period of weeks. I looked at her lithe body and soft skin, seeing the feminine curves of her hips and chest. She was a beautiful woman. I knew Phil to be a lucky man. At least, before this trip, he was.
I watched her body, wondering if I had what it took to eat her or Phil if I had to. Did I have an iron heart that would allow me to slice into my friends and consume their raw, cold flesh? Perhaps, by that point, it would be hunger and madness driving me forward, and I wouldn’t even hesitate. I shuddered at the very thought.
***
I fell asleep that night, having strange dreams of massive gods with melting faces sitting in judgment in a circle around me. We had very little food or water left. No one knew we were down here. Rescue was not coming.
When I awoke, I found myself alone. Phil had died from his injuries while I slept, the black streaks of septic shock spreading up his arm towards his heart. His eyes stared sightlessly up at the rock ceiling.
“Sonia?” I called out, my heart racing as I sat up. “Where are you?” My headlamp was growing dim. I looked in my pack, realizing I was on the last of my batteries. I saw a silhouette walking out of the darkness, the thin, pale form of Sonia. She was trembling badly.
“I saw them,” she said. “Niralahoth and its priests. The priests aren’t human. They look reptilian with sideways mouths and too many eyes.” She shuddered.
“Why would you do that?” I asked. Her eyes grew distant.
“You know we’re not getting out of here alive,” she said. “Not on our own. I wanted to see what it offered. It says that if we take a piece of its nightmare into us, we will gain the power to leave this place, that it simply wants to see the surface and spread its nightmares there.” I shook my head.
“Insanity,” I muttered. “We’d be better off dead.” Sonia nodded.
“My thoughts exactly,” she responded grimly. I didn’t realize what she meant until the next day, when I woke up and found her hanging next to Phil’s body, her tongue swollen and blue as it poked out of her cyanotic lips. And then I was truly alone.
***
Soon after Sonia committed suicide, the last of the batteries for the headlamp died. I had run out of food and had only a small sip of water left. I don’t know how much time passed in the darkness, starving and raving, following the tunnel by running my hands over the walls. I heard many things skittering in the darkness, and a few times, I heard the demonic voice of Niralahoth as it split and distorted.
“You are on death’s door,” it hissed. “Will you not drink from the fountain of life?” I couldn’t tell where the voice came from in the maddening blackness. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. I had lost nearly all of my sanity in that pit of shadows by this point. I tried laughing constantly to keep my spirits up, and when that failed, I simply cried.
“I’ll do it,” I wailed. “I’ll do it. Just let me see the sky again. Get me out of here, Niralahoth.” Everything went deathly silent all around me, then a laugh rang out like the grinding of glass.
In front of me, I saw a tornado of fire descending from the ceiling, surrounding the massive, spidery form of Niralahoth. It rose its skeletal arms upwards, as if it were Zeus calling down lightning. In the sudden brightness, I saw the fiery form of snakes slithering and centipedes skittering forwards in that tornado, each massive creature sculpted from flames in the spinning cyclone of energy. Niralahoth reached into the tornado of fire with its sharp points of fingers and plucked something small from it. The fire instantly dissipated. In its hand, I saw a tiny, swirling orb that looked like it contained a firestorm within it.
“The nightmare seed,” Niralahoth gurgled as it skittered forward towards me. I could only stare, open-mouthed and starving. I hadn’t slept for days, it felt like, and everything seemed slow and unreal.
In a blur, its skeletal arm shot out and forced the orb into my mouth. Despite the fire raging within it, it felt freezing cold. As it touched my tongue, it gave off a sensation like frostbite all throughout my mouth. I screamed and tried spitting it out, but it seemed to have a mind of its own. It started liquifying, dripping down my throat.
I felt something cancerous and sick spreading throughout my body, radiating out from my heart and stomach to every inch of it. I tried to scream, but it caught behind my teeth. I fell to my knees, clawing at my face as that insane, alien laugh continued resounding all down the tunnel. I fell unconscious and woke up under a beautiful sky in the fields of Graysole Farms.
***
Soon after, I realized that my life would never be the same. Everywhere I went, I could hear the wailing voice of Niralahoth. Behind the trees, I always saw skittering shadows, creatures with long, spidery legs that stalked me every day and night. I slept with every light in the house turned on, yet when I woke up, they would all be shut off, and I would find myself in darkness, next to something in the bed with far too many legs and a face that dripped like burning wax.
I sold everything I owned and tried to move far away, to give as much distance between myself and those cursed caverns as I could, but the nightmares followed me like a shadow. I realize what a fool I was in those ephemeral moments of madness. Sonia was much wiser than myself; I should have killed myself or died rather than allowing that thing inside of me.
Even now, I can feel it creeping through my heart, spreading through my blood. I feel it trying to crawl its way out of my throat, the thin, black legs peeking out at the back of my esophagus.
I only hope that, when I finally jump and feel my bones shatter against the concrete far below, I will kill whatever is inside of me. For I fear the consequences for the world if it were to escape.
submitted by CIAHerpes to nosleep [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 17:55 IllustratorOk7613 Weekly SQL Question

Hey all, here's this weeks question.

Items frequently bought together

As an analyst at an e-commerce company, you are tasked with analyzing customer purchasing behavior related to cameras and film. Write SQL query to get the following 2 metrics
- Metric A: Find the number of customers who purchased at least one camera but did not buy any film along with it in the same order.
- Metric B: From the customers identified in Metric A, find the number of customers who purchased film in a separate order.
Tables and Columns:
user_order

Sample Input

ORDER_ID CUSTOMER_ID ITEM_NAME ITEM_COUNT
700 S86 Polaroid XS100i 16MP Waterproof Sports Action Camera 1
700 S86 Polaroid Color 600 Film 5 Pack (40 Photos) (6013) 2
800 D57 Polaroid Snap Touch Instant Camera 1
850 H87 Polaroid 300 Instant Camera PIC-300B 1
903 K24 Polaroid IF045 14MP Point & Shoot Camera 1
767 W82 Instax Colour Film PK X 2 2
905 K24 Polaroid Color Film for I-Type (6000) 1

Sample Output

METRIC VALUE
metric_a 3
metric_b 1
Explanation: Users D57, H87 and K24 bought cameras without film (orders 800, 850, 903 respectively). User K24 bought film separately in order 905.
You can test out your solution here for free :) https://www.analystnextdoor.com/question/potw
submitted by IllustratorOk7613 to SQL [link] [comments]


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