Where can i print out a chick fli a application

Evangelion

2009.09.06 20:48 ksan Evangelion

God's in his heaven. All's right with the world.

2015.05.15 20:14 jewbacabra Discord - Imagine a Place...

Imagine a Place... where you can belong to a school club, a gaming group, or a worldwide art community. Where just you and handful of friends can spend time together. A place that makes it easy to talk every day and hang out more often.

[link]

2014.02.27 04:15 madeinchina Get help to diagnose and fix 3D print problems

The community of FixMyPrint will help you fix your 3D printer settings for the most optimal prints.

[link]

2024.05.22 00:43 MixMasterG Results of the Rekordbox 6 vs. Rekordbox 7 Real-World Speed Test and Comparison to Serato and djay Pro 5 [macOS]

TL:DR
This project began when someone on Reddit asked about the export speed of Rekordbox 7 compared to Rekordbox 6, prompting the entire initiative. My intention is not to "blame" or "shame" any company or its products. I approached these tests with an unbiased, open mind, taking great care to provide a level playing field for all tests conducted. This report reflects my impartial findings.
Test DateMay 16th - May 20th 2024 Report ReleaseMay 21st 2024 AuthorMixMasterG CompanyAnd The Groove Remains Production Team Websitewww.ATGR.nl
Publication of (sections) of this report is allowed, with full data source statement included.
Introduction:
Welcome to the real world Rekordbox 6/7 speed comparison test on macOS 2024.
When I began these tests, my initial goal was to quickly compare the speed difference between Rekordbox 6 and Rekordbox 7 on an Apple ARM computer for tasks that are notoriously slow, such as opening, exporting to USB, and analysis. I used my personal, extensive track collection for these tests. Due to unexpected results, I expanded the test to include several other macOS computers. As a reference, I decided to include Algoriddim djay Pro 5, the most optimized DJ software for macOS, and Serato, the second most popular DJ software on macOS.
Mandatory Rekordbox 7 analysis when exporting to USB
When I initiated the tests, the measured export times from Rekordbox 7 to USB were unreasonably long. Similar reports poured in from users of my applications in various settings. Identifying the cause of this sluggishness swiftly became my top priority. It turned out that Rekordbox 7's export process necessitated the analysis of tracks by RB7, even if those tracks were already fully analyzed in Rekordbox 6.8.5. When an artist updates from Rekordbox 6 to Rekordbox 7, RB7 silently analyzes the tracks before exporting, leading to excessively prolonged export times. Fortunately, RB7 analysis is a one-time requirement per track and can be manually initiated at times that its more convenient then minutes before a gig. I issued this short YouTube video to make users aware: Slow USB export from Rekordbox 7? This is why and how to fix!
I gave the full explanation and interpretation of the test results, together with performance tips in my weekly Ask Me Anything live stream for DJs, the video can be watched back here Ask Me Anything for DJs - Results of the Rekordbox 6 Vs Rekordbox 7 real world speed-test There is a time index in the first remark under the video.
All previous AMA livestreams, are available in this YouTube playlist: Ask Me Anything conversion & collection management for DJs past streams
The Test parameters:
Main collection managerMusic (the app formerly known as iTunes, will be referred to as iTunes) Total number of tracks in collection116.747 / 1.47 Tb Audio file formatMP3 preferred - 320 Kbs / 44.1 kHz / 16bit/CBR Location of audio filesexternal SSD, Samsung T7 2Tb / formatted macOS Extended Export driveexternal SSD, Samsung T7 2Tb each test run (FAT32 and HFS) started with a fresh formatted export drive Drive's connection to computeron all test systems USB-C
The software used:
Music (=iTunes)1.2.5 RB6Rekordbox 6.8.5 RB7Rekordbox 7.0 SeratoSerato 3.1.3 djaydjay Pro 5.1.7
Computer specifications
M1 = MacMini (2020) - M1 8 cores (4 efficiency 4 performance) - GPU 8 cores - RAM 8Gb - macOS Sonoma 14.4.1
i9 = Intel MacPro - i9 9900K @3.6Ghz 8 cores - GPU AMD RX 580 8 Gb - RAM 16Gb - macOS Monterey 12.7.5
MBP = MacBookPro 14" (2021) - M1 8 cores (2 efficiency 6 performance) - GPU 14 cores - RAM 16Gb - macOS Monterey 12.7.1 because the similarity in times for Rekordbox 7.0 on the M1 and MBP, the Rekordbox 6.8.5 tests were skipped on the MBP.
Note: for the tasks that were tested, none of the DJ softwares utilizes the GPU
Test conditions
I aimed to standardize all test conditions as much as possible, including:

Data for collection was stored on the internal drive, the audio files were stored on external storage.
Each test used the exact same external drives, connected to the computer over USB-C, using the same cables.
All collection data was identical across all systems, synchronized using Carbon Copy Cloner before the test.
All computers were freshly rebooted prior to the test, with the "open windows from previous session" option disabled.
No other applications were open besides an on-screen stopwatch.
Wi-Fi was disabled, and network cables were disconnected.
No screen capture applications were used; all video recording was done externally to avoid occupying system resources from the test.
Between the various exports in a single test run, the export drive was not formatted (so each of the 3 exports added to the previous). Only after a full export run (sync1, sync2 and sync3) on a given computer, the drive was reformatted.
The partitioning scheme used in both FAT32 and HFS (=macOS Extended journaled) was Master Boot Record.
Analysis in Rekordbox was only performed for "Phrase" to maintain the converted Mixed in Key/Traktor values. Analysis requires at least one option to be checked, all other options (BPM/Grid, key etc) were disabled.
In Serato DJ Pro analysis for BPM and Key were disabled
In Rekordbox, the Sync Manager was enabled to synchronize all playlists from iTunes, ensuring the sync was up-to-date with no changes made to the iTunes collection during the test.
All test playlists originate from iTunes and were accessed through the iTunes section of the DJ software.
All (116.747) tracks from iTunes had been pre-analyzed in: Rekordbox 6, Serato, and djay Pro 5. In other words, the DJ software had a real and big collection of tracks. Since djay Pro 5 does not re-analyze already analyzed audio files, all djay analysis data was deleted from the system before running the analysis tests.
Because iTunes sync can not be disabled in djay Pro, the values used for startup without iTunes are the same values from the test run with iTunes sync enabled.

Rekordbox 7 on macOS is not multithreading when it comes to analysis, hence the spikes in the tests. On Windows Rekordbox 7 utilizes all available CPU cores. Rekordbox 6.8.5 is also multithreading.
Export to an HFS formatted USB is faster than a FAT32 formatted, especially after consecutive exports.
Disabling iTunes integration in the SyncManager can improve startup times of Rekordbox considerably. Disabling iTunes sync can cause issues with exported USBs that were originally created using the SyncManager.
Rekordbox 7 has a bug, where custom/edited BPM/Grids can be overwritten with mandatory analysis. Even when the BPM/Grid analysis is disabled!
Export to USB using the SyncManager still shows 2 progress bars, where export through right click -> export only shows 1

submitted by MixMasterG to DJs [link] [comments]

2024.05.22 00:43 ArcAngel98 Jess and Blinx: The Dragon- Part 3

Dracula: World of War --- The Violet Reaper ---- Humans Don’t Make Good Familiars Book 1 ---- The Lonely World --- Discord ---- YouTube --- My Patreon --- My Author's Page --- ArcAngel98 Wiki ---- The Next Best Hero ---- HDMGF Book 2 ---- Jess and Blinx: The Wizard ---- The Questing Parties ---- Previous
It took a month for Zanwy to recover from losing her wing. The shaman said everything went well, but afterwards she developed a fever for three days, and couldn’t move from the pain for over a week. Even after the fever broke and the pain faded, she was still too weak to move, and could not eat for some time. I visited her every day, bringing her food, making sure she ate even a little, and peeling the chard scales off the wound to help it heal. The shaman never even returned once to check on Zanwy. Her parents and siblings stayed with her, but that may have only been because they lived there too. After she recovered her strength, we started making plans on what to do. She knew the swarm wouldn’t accept her anymore, and I never felt at peace within it, so our plan was to leave.
“Are you ready?” I asked Zanwy as we overlooked the cliff edge. Even though I could fly now, I was not strong enough to carry her, so she needed to climb down. Which, after a month of infrequent meals and not moving much, seemed risky. “We could wait a few more weeks. Until you recover.”
“No. I can’t stay here.” One claw after the other, her wing pressed tightly to her back so she didn’t catch an updraft and twist, her belly flat against the rock, and her head pointed to the ground, she climbed down carefully. Of course, I could have glided down, but I didn’t. It felt wrong now somehow. The rocks shadows had moved over an inch before we made it to the bottom, with the forest we loved so much as our first destination. We thought that maybe the first place we should go could be past the furthest point we’d gone together.
Walking through those familiar rolling grassy hills and past the jumper’s nests, I listened to these familiar sounds one last time. Taking it all in, I heard, of course, that penetrating roar of the swarm, but there was also the small wet splashes of the jumpers moving about, the small howl of the wind as it made waves in the tall grass, the crunch of that same grass under our claws as we walked, and Zanwy’s slight panting. She was out of breath, but was keeping quiet, hoping I wouldn’t notice.
Eventually, we reached the edge of the forest, and stopped to eat red-berries. We sat in the grass and ate the red-berries that had fallen out of the treetops. Once we’d had our fill, and juice dripped from our snouts, I asked Zanwy, “How do you feel?”
“Off balance. Walking is a lot harder than I remember it being.” Zanwy said, limping slightly.
“Can you climb?” I looked up to the branches we always run along.
“I… no. I don’t think so.”
“What if I helped you?”
“Maybe, but jumping along the branches would be hard.” A drop of berry juice ran down her mouth and landed on the grass as she licked her claws clean.
“Okay, we can just-”
“No, I wanna try.” Zanwy said.
Getting Zanwy up the tree truck was clumsy and hard. She rested her tail on my head as I climbed below her, pushing her up for support. It took a few minutes but she and I made it to the strong branches. The branch swayed with the wind, and Zanwy flared her one wing, before quickly realizing her mistake and pulling it, and herself, closer to the branch. Using my wings to balance myself, I walked over to her. “Should we go back down?”
“Not yet. Just let me…” She slowly stood back up, and kept her wing pressed to her body. The nub where her missing wing had once been pressed itself down too, mimicking the movements of the other like an invisible mirror. Pushing off, she jumped to another nearby branch, and landed safely on the other side. Once again, I heard heavy panting, but she couldn’t hide it as well right now. “See, I can do it!” Zanwy yelled excitedly as her tail swayed back and forth from the edge. I followed suit, and lept to the branch next to her. It took a while, but she found a rhythm, and we ran along the branches for nearly an hour, until the sun began to set.
“It’s almost night. Let’s find somewhere to sleep.” I suggested.
“Yeah, let’s head back to the ground.” Zanwy agreed.
“You don’t want to sleep in the trees?”
“No. Without my wing… I don’t wanna risk falling by accident. Do you mind sleeping with me on the ground?”
“Okay, let’s find somewhere safe.” We spent a few minutes looking around, and found a tree with a hollow spot near the base. It was cramped, but empty. By the time the moon rose we had already settled down. Zanwy rested closer to the back of the hollow, and I slept near the entrance.
“It’s cold.” She said, and yawned. Since we were under a tree, the walls of the hollow couldn’t be heated with fire directly. So slowly and carefully, Zanwy and I used our fire to heat the dirt under us instead. Small embers of grass charred, caught fire, and burned away, leaving the ground much warmer; enough for us to sleep comfortably.
That night, I dreamt of Zanwy. She was flying around, soaking up the sunlight with her wings. I was the too; flying right beside her. We danced in the sky together. Zipping and diving about. It was so quiet. It was just us; as a perfectly happy swarm of two. Later that night, I woke up feeling sluggish and dizzy. A moment later I realized how cold it had gotten, and that the heat from the ground had long since gone. Zanwy was still asleep, and I didn’t want to wake her up.
Controlling flames is easy… to a point. But once something is on fire, you don’t control how it burns. That was something my father taught me when I breathed my first flame. The grass had already burned, so I assumed it could burn again. Because of that, I thought it would be safe to use more this time. I assumed wrong. One breath was all it took, and the walls turned yellow with fire. I tried to put it out by beating it with my tail and wings, but that only spread it faster.
“Zanwy! Get up!” I shouted. Dragons may be harder to burn, but enough fire can char and blacken even our scales.
Zanwy startled awake, “what’s going on? What happened!?” The flames started creeping closer, so she scrabbled to her and we both ran out of the hollow. It didn’t take long for the rest of the tree to burn, and for the fire to spread to the nearby trees. We ran away as fast as we could, the smell of smoke in our noses, and the sounds of crackling flames left behind us. Once we’d gotten safely out of the forest, I told Zanwy what happened.
“I’m sorry.” I told her.
“I guess the forest isn’t as used to fire as our nests are.” She said. She was upset, but was trying to not let me hear it. “Let’s just find someone else to sleep for tonight.” It was dark, but we could both see well enough to spot a rocky outcrop.
“Rocks are harder to burn than trees.” Zanwy said, crawling into an opening between the rocks. We crawled inside, and made sure there was nothing that could burn this time.
“Looks safe to heat these up.” I suggested. Zanwy agreed, and we spent several minutes making the place warm. “Much better.”
We finally got to sleep again after that, and woke up to beams of light hitting our eyes from the opening in the rocks. I rolled my head away from the light, and covered my eyes with my wings. I was all set to go back to sleep, until Zanwy said, “Woah… look at this, Blinx.”
Sliding one of my wings down, I peaked an eye open. With the sun out, the cave we were in became a lot brighter. Enough to see that it was much deeper than we’d realized. Zanwy, who’d slept further in than I did, noticed it first.
“This hole is really deep.” She said. “And it gets darker inside too. Do you wanna go explore it?”
I stood up, and my stomach growled. “Sure, but let’s eat first.” We left the cave in search of food. Outside, we found three things. One, some tasty slitherers under a big rock. Two, some water under another rock. And three, a burned down forest. Well, not the whole forest, but a lot of it that we could see. In the distance, white smoke rose into the sky from a few different places. A lot of the grass around the rocky area had been burnt up too.
“I guess we slept through the worst of it.” Zanwy said.
“Are the fires out now, at least?”
“Yeah, the smoke it white, so nothing’s burning anymore.” The was a moment of quiet, and I thought about how lucky we were to escape that tree in time, and how careless I was.
“I’m… sorry. We almost got hurt because of me.”
“Forget it. Name one dragon who hasn’t accidentally burned something with their breath. Let’s just go look at that cave. That’s why we left, right? To explore?” She said.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
The cave itself was very deep, and the walls were made of stones of lots of different colors. As we climbed down, we had to squeeze between rocks, and scrabble with our claws to make holes as we went deeper and deeper down. Eventually, the light from outside didn’t shine, but we could still see fairly well, though not as far, and without any colors. The cave quickly went from colorful, to just shades of gray. As we went along, the sounds of our claws on the stone did something strange. The sounds started happening several times, and coming from all around us.
“Do you hear that Zanwy?” I asked.
“Hear what?”
“Listen,” I said, and tapped the stone with my claw. Suddenly, the same tap came from above, below, and beside us; like a tiny swarm was clattering all around the rocks.
“Let me try.” She said, and scratched a stone. Once again, the sounds repeated. “Oh wow!” We decided to go deeper, and find out what was causing the sounds to do that. Eventually though, we entered a big open area in the cave.
“What is this?” I asked, hoping down into the area, and looking around.
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s the village of another species!” Zanwy said. “Hello!” She cried out with her mind in a way that any species could hear and understand, but there was no answer. As we continued to look around, we found all kinds of things. There were strangely small hard clay nests all around, but they were filled with tiny rocks and ash and mud. There were also lines of white mud on the ground. I followed them, and they led to the center of the ‘village’.
“Find anything?” Zanwy asked, walking over.
“No, but I am getting cold.”
“Yeah, it was much warmer aboveground.”
“Do you wanna warm up?”
“No, you go ahead, I’m going to keep looking around.” She said. As she walked away, I used my fire to warm up the rocks below me. Suddenly, light started to shine from the mud lines, revealing that I was standing on a large, circle with a strange pattern on it. The light got brighter and brighter, and I tried to run, but found that I couldn’t move. “Blinx!”
“Zanwy!” Without warning, I felt dizzy, and I could move again. Then I heard the sounds of something behind me, but it wasn’t Zanwy. Growly, I tried to make myself look bigger, and threatening. Whatever it was, it stood on two legs, and was rubbing its eyes. In its hand was a broken tree branch, with a rock at one end. The cave village had been filled with light, but it came from all around.
“What the?” The creature mumbled, looking at me. “Are you a dragon?” I growled at the creature, while looking around for Zanwy, but she wasn’t there.
“Who are you? Where’s Zanwy?” I demanded. I let the flames build up in my mouth to show that I was dangerous.
The creature grabbed her head. “Telepathy. That’s new. My name is Jess. I’m a wizard. Who are you?”

submitted by ArcAngel98 to SyFyandFantasy [link] [comments]

2024.05.22 00:38 TheChessWar Micheal Moveset

Micheal Afton MOVESET
Lightweight with 2 jumps
Gimmick
Not really a gimmick just wanted to mention this. Micheal will not be referencing enard at any point During the attacks. As michaels moveset is less about micheal specificity and is more meant to be a security guard composet moveset. Which is the same reason that he will use Ucn items. I know that's williams torment and stuff but it works better on michael.
Basic Attacks
Jab: Flash Light (Mike presses on a flashlight which causes it to flash)
Doesn’t do damage but can flinch
(Flashlights in the fnaf series)
Dash: Foxy Scare (Mike dawns a foxy mask and jumps forward)
Pretty strong Knockback but meh damage
(Michael Scaring his brother and Withered Foxy Jump Scare)
Side Tilt: Decomposing (Slowly Punches at an upward angle)
Does mid damage
(Final walking sprites when micheal fully decomposed)
Up tilt: Walking (Micheal does a basic uppercut)
Does Great Knockback but no damage
(Micheal Walkin down the street)
Down Tilt: Scary Slide (Micheal Wears a foxy mask and slides)
Basic Sliding down tilt. Does minor damage but can cause a stun
(Micheals bed scare)
Side Smash: Faz Coin (Faz Coins start to appear around michael as the move charges)
If you charge for the shortest amount of time you will get a random plushie where he throws the plushie where it acts as a basic gravity affected projectile. Does a lot of knockback and has a 20% chance to freeze but barely any damage. if you charge for a medium amount of time rockstar freddy will punch forward. Does medium knockback and damage. And if you charge the Longest amount of time you get a death coin which Michael will throw forwards. From there it flies into a straight line until it hits a wall or a foe where it will disappear. It does no knockback but tons of damage And if the foes damage was over 80% damage when hit by the death coin, it’s an instant kill.
(Ucn coin purchases)
Up Smash: Wiring Malfunction (Micheal holds a wire that emits flame)
Does decent knockback and has a chance to stun or burn
(fnaf 3 fire)
Down Smash: Music Box (Micheal Spins the handle of a music box)
Does Great Knockback but no damage
(Music Box general use)
Aerials
Neutral Air: Music Box (Micheal Spins the handle of a music box)
Does Great Knockback but no damage
(Music Box general use)
F Air: Death Coin (Micheal Throws a death coin)
It flies into a straight line until it hits a wall or a foe where it will disappear. It does no knockback but tons of damage And if the foes damage was over 80% damage when hit by the death coin, it’s an instant kill.
(Death Coin)
B Air: Plushies (Throws Random plushie behind hims)
A basic gravity affected projectile. Does a lot of knockback and has a 20% chance to freeze but barely any damage.
(Plushies in ucn)
Up Air: Wiring Malfunction (Micheal holds a wire that emits flame)
Does decent knockback and has a chance to stun or burn
(fnaf 3 fire)
Down Air: Panic (Micheal shakes the feet below him)
Hits great damage and knockback
(the panic animation shared between afton and CC)
Grabs
Grab: Flashes opponent with camera stunning them.
(Camera security breach)
Pummel: Uses a fazer blaster
F Throw: A hoard of people crowd surf the opponent
(the events before the bite of 83)
B Throw: A hoard of people crowd surf the opponent
(the events before the bite of 83)
Up Throw: A pedestal with a button appears under the foe that micheal presses shocking the opponent
(sister location controlled shock)
Down Throw: A Fredbear suit appears which micheal puts the opponent into the suits mouth before it crushes them
(Bite of 83)
Specials
Neutral Special: Doors
A Door appears in front of michael. Acts like Steve's blocks with bigger hitboxes and major restrictions. First only can be placed on the ground. Second, only 2 doors can be on screen at a time. But in exchange for those hindrances there are some benefits. First the doors will not disappear unless you make them by pressing the b button near a door or if you lose a stocks your doors still disappear. And second micheal is unaffected by the doors hitbox. Meaning he can walk through them or even attack between them. Speaking of which if you use the jab next to a door the flashlight will now instead freeze opponents. And all projectiles including michaels will disappear after touching a door. So overall its a great way to control the outcome of a match in the right hands but if used incorrectly could give your opponents a major leg up.
Side Special: Audio Lure
Micheal will pull up his computer and use an audio lure. From an icon appears that you can move. Press B at your desired location and a sound will play. From there there’s a 50% chance the opponent will move to the location. Note they will stop at ledges and avoid on stage hazards like lava so you can’t move the foe to their death. But it is still a powerful ability. And you can use side b while charging a smash attack or while doing another special.
Up Special: Dee Dee
Dee Dee picks micheal up and flies with their propeller hat before dropping him. Acts exactly like king k rools up b with a key difference. If michael lands on the stage after using up special one out of six random animatronics will appear each lasting 25 seconds. Shadow Bonnie who will fly around the stage trying to get to someone and teleport the person touches to a random part off the stage before disappearing. Micheal can be that person but it cannot go through Michael's doors. plushtrap acts like a slower moving, bigger claptrap who can’t jump and freezes with light attacks also can’t go through doors. Lolbit and the minireenas who serve the same function of blocking the screen. Nightmare chica who acts like a slower Roden who instead of summoning hands just punches you straight up. And bonnet who acts like plushtrap who can jump. The move can only be used twice within 25 seconds as only 2 animatronics can appear at a time. The second time you use the move xor will appear instead fulfilling the same role. Also no minireenas and lolbit can’t appear at the same time
Down Special: Cameras
Mike will pull up his monitor and check his cameras. The screen will then freeze. As little text boxes appear above the screen basically explaining important info like the matchup of the foe compared to michael, Their weight, counters to there specials, recommended strategies, etc. you can exit it by pressing the b button again where you can’t use the move for 20 seconds. Which is the wise move since just like in fnaf the text will only be on screen for 3 seconds before static appears and disappears with michael being stunned and unable to use the move for 40 seconds. So just like in fnaf you need to scan the scene and focus on what's important and plan your next action accordingly.
Final Smash: Connection Terminated
The move starts with micheal charging up a punch. But before he can punch the opponent the screen cuts to black as an altered version of henry's speech plays before cutting back to the match where michael is mysteriously gone as the screen slowly shrinks with fire on the border. Additionally the entire stage is on fire making the ground no longer safe. The torment ends after 15 seconds where it cuts to an animatic of the fnaf 6 pizzaplex in ruin. When it cuts back to the stage michael has mysteriously come back
Cosmetics
Costumes
Security guard outfit
Purple skin (Ennard and purple guy reference)
Gray skin and shirt (Souls reference)
Blue Shirt (Phone Guy)
Striped shirt (Crying Child)
Pink (Pink Slip)
Orange Hair and pink shirt (Elezabith
Orange Skin with a top hat and blue shirt (Glamrock Freddy)
Stage Entrance: Walks out of his house the same way he does in the fnaf 5 cutscenes
Taunts
Puts On Foxy Mask
Eats pizza
Puts on freddy mask (invincible while in the taunt)
Victory Animations
A Pink slip appears on screen
Fire appears on screen (always happens when winning with final smash)
A Black screen appears Before 6 Am appears on screen (always happens when winning timed match)

submitted by TheChessWar to supersmashbros [link] [comments]

2024.05.22 00:31 natural-death For you.

I love your big cheeks when you smile. You always wanted to get braces, but I love your teeth the way they are.
I love your soft heart. I’d always admire how you cry. I’m sorry I made you cry so much sometimes. I’m too much like my parents.
I love that you always want to grow and how you can look forward. I’m so proud of you. I’m so grateful I was there to see you get your degree, to see you move out, to be part of your life.
I love that you love yellow and sunflowers and the sky. You were always so bright. I also don’t like it now too, because whenever I see something happy, I think of you, and it makes me really sad. Being happy makes me sad.
If art was for me, music was for you. I miss hearing you hum and sing. You’re a great singer. I can’t listen to soft songs anymore.
I loved giving you my last bite every time. Sitting across from you made me happy. It was always enough for me to just be with you. I didn’t need any gifts or flowers or letters, but I got those too anyway.
Sometimes you’d slap your big belly, and I’d slap it too. I liked that. Do you remember when I’d cuff your sleeves before work? Or run to get your hairbrush one more time? How you’d scare me through the window while I washed the dishes? How I’d hug you at the door when you came home? Scrubbing your back in the shower? Waking you up just so I could remind you that I love you? I miss calling you over so you could just lay on top of me. When we rolled on the floor after moving into your new apartment.
My friends and family say I idealize you too much. But I don’t think so. I did the cliche thing, the important healing step, where I made a list of all the pet peeves and transgressions. But it didn’t feel right, hating you or villainizing you. You had your flaws, your quirks and those were fine with me. It just reminded me you were human. The weird way you sleep, how’d you get a little too angry at video games, how you’d be too anxious to go out sometimes. I love the human you.
Sometimes I wish you were horrible to me, to make this easier. Everyone else I talk to had horrible exes, mean ones. When I listen to their stories, it’s not you I think about. It’s me, maybe. Maybe that’s what I am to you.
I went to Chickfila and Cheesecake Factory on my own to try and replace our memories. I took myself to brunch and looked at the colors of the floor, the ceilings and the letters hanging on the wall to stay grounded. I browsed the shelves of the Korean Mart where I’d buy you snacks and looked at the chocolate bar selection at Aldi’s. I went to an arcade with new strangers I met and tried to win myself my own prize.
My therapist asked me to recall a happy memory, a content one. I told her about how I drove your car over the Golden Gate Bridge. We stopped at the viewing vista over the San Francisco Bay, and I kissed you on the cheek as I took a picture. It was my favorite picture of us, I had it printed so many times and pinned to my wall. In that memory, I felt safe, I felt warm, I felt content, I felt loved.
I hate how you said I never loved you, how I am unable to love. What is this feeling then? And where does this pain come from, if not my shattered heart?
Because I love you, I’m supposed to let you go. Be happy for you and send you off with love. But you’re not here anyway, so I hope it’s okay if I hold on for a little while longer. Write you a letter, or two, and look for you in every song lyric and in every flower by the street. Think of you as the clouds pass by and feel you in my chest when I find a laugh.

submitted by natural-death to UnsentLetters [link] [comments]

2024.05.22 00:26 ThrowRA84657982 (M21) My gf (F19) just broke up with me and I don't know what to do. Should I reach out and try to mend things?

She broke up with me because she said I was unsupportive. The first example is when she got off the waitlist at a good university and decided to go there instead of the college we were supposed to go to together and live off campus at. I was clearly upset for a couple of days because all of our plans that I thought were a guarantee were flipped upside down and now we would be a 9 hour drive apart. But, after a while, I accepted that this school would be better for her and that she would be happy there and we could make this work. Over the next 6 months I would fly to her once or twice a month and spend the weekend and in all that time she only visited me once, but I didn't mind because we were still seeing each other. Now, she is currently studying abroad and was supposed to come back to visit, but she canceled in order to pursue a bike race. This obviously upset me and I was bummed for a day or two because I wouldn't be seeing her but I was still cheerful because I would be visiting over spring break. Then she decided that instead of coming straight home for summer she would also be extending her stay for 2 months for another bike race she wanted to do. This canceled our plans for summer where we would go on a camping/road trip. This again upset me for a while and I would ask if she could come home and fly out for the race later and even offered to pay for it. But no matter what solution I posed it was always "No, it's just another month or two and then we will see each other". Eventually, I accepted this and looked forward to the couple of weeks we would have for summer. I visited over spring break and things were great and just how they were in person and while I was there she let me know that she didn't appreciate the fact that she felt I wasn't showing as much support as her family and friends when she had these great opportunities and wanted better from me in the future. She said that I was always too sad for too long and that she had these great races to do that her family made her realize she would regret doing and that I was the only thing holding her back because she didn't want to upset me. I agreed and told her I would try to work on that and be more excited for what she is doing vs what we are losing from these opportunities. When I came home everything was good for about two months. Then two weeks ago she says she has some things she wants to talk about but she wants time to think them through. A week later we begin a break because she wants to be able to rethink all her decisions and her lifestyle. Then yesterday I asked her to talk because I had thought of some solutions to our problem and how we can return to how things were because I was under the impression that the break was just that, a break and we would be back together after. Then she says that the problem has altered her feelings and she doesn't think she could be happy in the relationship but she was willing to hear me out. She agreed that everything I said would fix it and improve the relationship but she didn't want to be in a relationship where she was unhappy even though we were going to be working on it and she thought it would fix it. All of this came as a shock to me because there was nothing from the time that we were together over spring break and now that I could've shown differently about my supportiveness. Now all I feel is lost because we had been together for 1.5 years and never had any problems before this was the first big one. And even though we found a solution we both think would work she doesn't want to try. But, I can't imagine my life without her so I don't know what to do. I don't think reaching out now would help so I'm thinking of meeting up with her over the summer when she is back and see if she can fall in love again then, but I also know I should move on and can't spend the next 2 months in limbo just waiting for her to return. But, whenever I think about not speaking with her or the plans we were supposed to have and the future we wanted to build I get dizzy and can't imagine living my life without her. Even her dad was shocked and still wants to stay in contact with me and is coming to visit soon because I was really close with her family and they all thought we were perfect together. All in all I just want advice on what people think I should do because I want her back.

submitted by ThrowRA84657982 to relationship_advice [link] [comments]

2024.05.22 00:24 plantsandbugs This ink on paper was passed from my grandfather to my dad, and now to me. But i cant find anything about the artist. I love all the hidden faces, you can stare at it for hours. Does anyone recognize it?

This ink on paper was passed from my grandfather to my dad, and now to me. But i cant find anything about the artist. I love all the hidden faces, you can stare at it for hours. Does anyone recognize it?

I really hope im in the right sub for this 😅
Its about 4 feet tall, ink on paper (possibly a print but im not sure) with nothing on the back. Professionally framed. I did a google photo search and nothing comes up. My dad doesnt know where his father got it from, he has since passed.
2cd photo is a closeup of the details
3rd photo has hidden writings on the leaf. All i can make out is it says "Forest Heads" on the top.
4th photo is the signature, "copyright 1975 Richard Smith"
Any info would be greatly appreciated!
This piece has an insane amount of hidden details! Ive been staring at it all my life and 20 years later im still finding things i havent seen before hidden in the works. (I cant imagine how trippy it would be under the influence)
Please let me know if i should post a link to more hidden details in the comments.

submitted by plantsandbugs to WhatIsThisPainting [link] [comments]

2024.05.22 00:22 Then-Sir9052 Tip for Job Interviews to Weed Out Bullshit Jobs

So I have been grinding job applications hard trying to find something good where I'm not pinned down like I work in North Korea and can get to the upper middle-class... It's been exhausting.
I got so exhausted that I was like, "Fuck these people... I'm going to find out if they're wasting my time."
Rather than wait until next week, I got the phone number for the place and called and starting asking questions about the job.
Let me tell ya... That's a good way to weed out some bullshit. Fortunately, I found out my interview Monday could be a good deal; I may have something I am going to like doing. 100% commission though. Dangerous stuff...

submitted by Then-Sir9052 to sales [link] [comments]

2024.05.22 00:16 MrDownhillRacer What's Your Headcanon DC Timeline?

For me, it's:
Year Negative Four

J'onn J'onzz is accidentally teleported to Earth by Dr. Saul Erdel. He disguises himself as police detective John Jones, using his powers in secret, but never revealing his Martian identity to anyone.

Year Negative Two

After years of exploring the world, Arthur Curry discovers Atlantis and is imprisoned by its current rulership for three years.

Year One

Clark Kent debuts as Superman in Metropolis (he was never Superboy)
- Other than Luthor, Gerald Shugel, Prankster, and Bizarro, Superman's first year is mostly spent intervening in ordinary crimes and crises, as not a lot of supervillains have come out of the woodwork yet.
- By the end of the year, Clark learns of his Kryptonian heritage.
Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham after training abroad and begins operating as the Batman.
- Batman has his first encounters with Catwoman, Hugo Strange, the Mad Monk, and Dr. Death. Other than this, Batman is mostly fighting street and organized crime.
- The Bat-Signal is established by the end of the year.
Diana leaves Themyscira and begins operating as Wonder Woman.
- Wonder Woman is mostly working to stop Aries' plot, but she also encounters Paula von Gunther, Angle Man, Dr. Poison, and The Cheetah (Priscilla Rich).
Hal Jordan encounters Abin Sur and becomes the Green Lantern of Sector 2814.
- Jordan first encounters Hector Hammond and Legion.
- Sinestro begins mentoring Hal.
Barry Allen becomes The Flash.
Oliver Queen returns to Star City and becomes Green Arrow.

Year Two

Arthur Curry escapes prison and makes his public debut as Aquaman.
The wizard Shazam appoints Billy Batson to be Captain Marvel.
Superman first encounters kryptonite, The Parasite, Metallo, Toyman, and Mister Mxyzptlk.
- Superman and Batman first meet.
- Superman later has his first encounters with other superheroes, teaming up with them when their paths cross.
Batman first encounters The Joker, The Scarecrow, The Penguin, The Riddler, Poison Ivy, and Killer Croc.
- The Holiday murders begin.
- Batman wrestles with a venom addiction before kicking it.
- By the end of the year, the Falcone and Maroni gangs are mostly dismantled, and Harvey Dent becomes Two-Face.
Wonder Woman first encounters Dr. Psycho, Circe, Giganta, and The Cheetah (Barbara Minerva).
Hal encounters the Puppeteer, Sonar, Black Hand, Evil Star, and the Invisible Destroyer.
- Sinestro is stripped of his ring and exiled after it is revealed that he is misusing his power to rule Korugar.

Year Three

Superman first encounters Brainiac, whom he stops from bottling Metropolis.
- Superman first encounters General Zod and his confederates when they escape from the Phantom Zone.
- Superman has his first encounters with the machinations of Darkseid, as Intergang begins using mysteriously advanced weaponry and emissaries of Darkseid begin to attack Project Cadmus.
  - Orion and the Forever People come to Earth to work against Darkseid.
  - Superman first encounters a Boom Tube and visits SuperTown, where he meets Lightray and other new Gods for the first time.
Batman first encounters Mr. Freeze, Clayface, and the Mad Hatter.
- Batman first encounters Mr. Freeze, Clayface, Deadshot, and Man-Bat.
- Bruce Wayne adopts Dick Grayson, who starts operating as Robin.
Roy Harper becomes Speedy.
Guy Gardner is appointed as a back-up Green Lantern.
Alec Holland becomes the Swamp Thing.

Year Four

Wally West becomes Kid Flash.
Kara Zor-El lands on Earth and becomes Supergirl.
J'onn J'onzz unites Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Flash, and Aquaman to fend off a White Martian invasion. They temporarily operate out of a satellite Batcave in Rhode Island and form The Justice League.
- No longer keeping his presence hidden, J'onn J'onzz starts operating publicly as "Martian Manhunter" at the encouragement of his teammates.
- The League builds the Hall of Justice in Washington, D.C., which becomes their stable base of operations.
- The League later encounters Starro, Kanjar-Ro, Doctor Destiny, the Royal Flush Gang, and other villains.
- Green Arrow becomes the first League recruit and helps Bruce Wayne finance the Watchtower Satellite.
- Zatanna discovers her magical powers and enlists various superheroes to help her find her father, reconnecting with Bruce Wayne in the process.
- The League later recruits Black Lightning, Zatanna, Black Canary, The Atom, Hawkwoman, and Hawkman.
Aquaman takes the throne as ruler of Atlantis.
- Garth becomes Aqualad.
Barbara Gordon becomes Batgirl.
Jack Ryder becomes The Creeper and Boston Brand becomes Deadman.
Superman first meets Darkseid face-to-face.
- Superman encounters Mongul and War World.
- Morgan Edge's WGBS buys out the Daily Planet.

Year Five

Aquaman meets Mera.
The League recruits Elongated Man, Red Tornado, Metamorpho, and Firestorm.
Robin, Speedy, Aqualad, Wonder Girl, and Kid Flash form the Teen Titans.
Oliver Queen loses his fortune, grows the goatee, and redesigns his costume from the Silver Age green-and-red suit to the Neal Adams suit.
Batman first encounters Ra's al Ghul.
Roman Sionis becomes Black Mask.
Helena Bertinelli becomes The Huntress.

Year Six

Hal Jordan and Oliver Queen go their road trip across the U.S., going from being mere colleagues to friends.
- John Stewart is inducted as a Green Lantern.
Nathaniel Adams returns and General Eilling starts Project Atom, blackmailing Adams to work as a government asset while posing as Captain Atom.

Year Seven

Dick Grayson starts attending Hudson University, meaning that he and Batman begin to work together less frequently, though they still keep in touch and team up when Dick is on holidays.
- Bruce Wayne moves from Wayne Manor to his downtown Penthouse.
Raven unites Robin, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire to form a new version of the Teen Titans.

Year Eight

Dick Grayson becomes Nightwing.
Jason Todd becomes Robin.
Batman, Robin, and Wonder Woman visit Superman to celebrate his birthday, only to find that he has been captured by Mongul.
Barry Allen dies saving the universe from the Anti-Monitor.
- Wally West becomes The Flash.
Power Girl from Earth-2 becomes stranded on Earth-0.
Amanda Waller launches Task Force X.
While the original Justice League is on hiatus, the U.N. forms the Justice League International.
Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters stuff starts happening now.
Swamp Thing, Constantine, Etrigan the Demon, and the Phantom Stranger team up to fight the Great Darkness.

Year Nine

Deacon Blackfire's cult takes over Gotham, but he is stopped by Batman and Robin.
Jason Todd is killed by The Joker.
Barbara Gordon is paralyzed by The Joker.

Year Ten

Anarky debuts.
Tim Drake assumes the mantle of Robin.
Virgil Hawkins becomes Static.

After the first decade or so, time starts being more amorphous and operating on some cross between a timeline that develops and a stationary Simpsons-like timeline where time doesn't really move. Some things progress, some things don't, everything is kept vague, and characters don't notice or call attention to this. Essentially, large amounts of time are zipped into small amounts of time, and both the longer and shorter time intervals between events are "correct" depending on how much we're zooming in on the timeline. For example, Kyle Rayner had a good number of years as a solo Green Lantern and Tim Drake was Robin for a solid amount of time before Hal Jordan returned and Damian Wayne showed up, but somehow, superheroes in general have only been operating for about 10 to 15 years, max. This is really the only way you can keep Batman perpetually in his 30s or 40s without having weird consequences like each Robin only holding the title for a year before he gets a new one.
So after this, I stop having specific "years" and it becomes more like "periods of time in which certain things co-occur." So there might be considerable time intervals between events, yet those events might also paradoxically be squished into some 10-15-year timeline.
The Fall of Heroes Era

The Death and Return of Superman happen.
- Superboy and Steel debut.
Bane debuts and Knightfall happens.
Diana is replaced by Artemis as Wonder Woman.
Shortly after Clark and Bruce return, Hal becomes the Parallax.
- Kyle Rayner becomes Earth's Green Lantern.
Oliver Queen dies.
- Connor Hawke becomes Green Arrow.

The Reconstruction Era

Clark Kent and Lois Lane get married.
Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (Rayner), The Flash (West), Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter reform the Justice League.
- Electric Superman Blue never happened, lol.
Robin, Superboy, and Impulse form Young Justice.
Cataclysm, Contagion, and No Man's Land happen (sorry for having so much destruction during the reconstruction era)
Cassandra Cain becomes Batgirl.

The Millennium Era

Obviously didn't happen around the turn of the millennium anymore because floating timeline.
Our Worlds at War and Bruce Wayne: MurdereFugitive happen around here.
Oliver Queen returns from the dead.

The Infinite Crisis Era

Hal Jordan and the GLC return.
Infinite Crisis, 52, and OYL happen.

The Final Crisis Era

The War of Light (Sinestro Corps War through Blackest Night) stuff happens.
The Black Glove/Leviathan Saga (Batman & Son through Batman Incorporated) stuff happens.
- Bruce meets Damian Wayne.
The New Krypton stuff happens.
Katherine Kane becomes Batwoman.

There are things I'm on the fence on, such as whether the Golden Age heroes are part of this timeline. On the one hand, I like the idea of Superman being the world's very first superhero and the public never having had encountered anything fantastical until his debut. If the JSA existed before him, then his debut would be met with "hey look, I guess flying men are back" instead of "can you BELIEVE a man can fly?!" Batman's debut also seems more striking if Gotham was never patrolled by a Green Lantern (that guy probably would have single-handedly demolished Gotham's mob in the '40s instead of letting it grow to the size it would later become).
On the other hand, I wouldn't want to jettison the cool relationships that exist between the Golden Age and later characters, like Kyle Rayner knowing Jade. I think I lean toward "keep them on Earth-2, but allow them to have regular meetings and friendships with the Earth-0 guys." But if the walls between universes are that porous, that just raises the question of why Power Girl got stuck on Earth-0 when the rest of the Earth-2 people can go home whenever they want.

submitted by MrDownhillRacer to DCcomics [link] [comments]

2024.05.22 00:16 TheChessWar Monokuma Moveset

Monokuma MOVESET
Heavyweight with 2 jumps and a crawl
GIMMICK
Every time Monokuma gets attacked with a non-projectile attack Monokuma has a 1/61 chance to blow up instantly killing him but does tons of damage and knockback to any opponents nearby.
Basic Attacks
Jab: 1000 Blows (Jab: Mono Hits a baseball Rapid Jab: Baseball Gun used on leon)
Good damage and can flinch but no knockback and can be reflected
(Leon’s punishment Trigger Happy Havoc)
Dash: Beast Monokuma (Mono Charges forward as a dangerous beast monokuma unit)
Great Damage but decent end lag
(Beast Monokuma Units UDG)
Side Tilt: Skeleton Key (Mono Charges Key and turns it)
Two hit move. The stage does minimal damage but insures opponents
(Skeleton key used by Kyoko in Trigger Happy Havoc)
Up tilt: Mega Scepter (Points Scepter Above him as wind comes out of it’s top)
Weak Damage But Does Amazing Upwards KnockBack
(Mega Monokuma Bomb)
Down Tilt: Punishment Slam (Monokuma Slams Hammer on ground)
small flinching damage with end lag but has a 25% chance to bury and spikes if it hits someone off stage
(What happens every punishment time)
Side Smash: Take Off (A Rocket appears in front of Monokuma that flies up before crashing down)
Is a command grab and Does Great Damage but no real knockback and leaves mono from behind
(First Punishment we have seen)
Up Smash: Junkuma (Monokuma Jumps Up)
Does Great Knockback but leaves him vulnerable
(Junk Monokuma Leaping attack UDG)
Down Smash: Playtime (Monokuma Gets a random monokub and spins them around)
Does Great Damage And hits on both sides
(Monokubs and the icon spinning thing parents do with kids)
Aerials
Neutral Air: Death By Hurricane (Monokuma Spins around)
Mid damage but spikes
(When Monokuma mentions all executions and talks about death by hurricane)
F Air: Aura Aura (Monokuma Punches super fast in front of himself)
Multiple flinching hits of damage before ending with a spike
(An attack used on Monomi)
B Air: Gas Chamber (Monokuma slides backwards as foam come out his mouth)
No real knockback but has a chance to poison
(When Monokuma mentions all executions and talks about death by gas chamber)
Up Air: Sakura Defense (Monokuma Kicks Up)
Does Great Damage and Spikes
(Move Monokuma used on sakura in trigger happy havoc)
Down Air: Beasts Pounce (Monokuma turns into a beast Monokuma and pounces down to the ground)
Acts like the last half of incineror’s up special.
(Death animation when you die from beast Monokuma in UDG)
Grabs
Grab: Grabs opponent with Chain used before exections
Pummel: Drags Opponent on ground
F Throw: Grabs Opponent by the throat and puts a bomb on their chest before throwing them forward
(When Mondo throws Monokuma)
B Throw: Drags the opponent backwards before running forward
(Animation before every punishment)
Up Throw: Sirens Appear above monokuma before a bunch of units appear and dogpile the opponent
(Siren Monokuma Units and ending to almost every boss battle in UDG)
Down Throw: Monokuma pilots an excavator and crushes opponent with it (can bury)
(Alter Egos punishment)
Specials + Gimmicks
A Lot of things to mention with the special. First You might have guessed but I watch brawlfan1 including his mono moveset so a lot of these moves are gonna be similar. Speaking of which just like brawl fan suggested these are going to be randomized but fill the same general role. Except down special which will kinda work as a miscellaneous collection
Neutral Special: Despair Bullet
Number 1: Mono Spits out A Pile Of Trash (can poison and does mid damage reference to ball monokumas) 2: Monokuma Holds his staff as a monokuma bomb comes out (Acts like a homing projectile for 3 seconds before exploding. To reference its role in the boss fight if the foe hits it with a strong enough attack it will target the next closest foe which could be monokuma. From there it acts the same but can’t be hit back more then twice) 3: Monokuma Throws a Grenade (acts the same as snakes with the difference it does more damage to monokuma if hes hit by his bombs then snake gets if hes hit by his) References the bomber Monokuma units) 4: Mono Throws a crystal ball (does strong damage but no knockback. References the first kill by leon) 5: Mono Shoots out robot wasps out of a gun (can be held down to shoot out more wasps. Does small flinching damage and has a 1/10 chance to poison. References wild west insecticide) 6: Mono Throws Out Salt (acts like ice climbers down b references the cultural mixing pot)
Side Special: Despair Ride
Number 1: Monokuma Rides A Bike (acts like wario's side b with the added benefit that if it hits an opponent there is a 50% chance they drop butter which acts like an average consumable. And you can still use the side special if you leave the bike. Referencing mondos punishment) Number 2: Mono Rides a giant fist (Does Good damage but mid damage reference to bye bye ouchies) Number 3: Mono Drives A Fire Truck (Standard Gravity affected charge special lasts a second but when i say gravity affected i mean charges toward the ground and is uncancelable in the air so you better hope you were high up when you use this. Can also burn opponents. Reference to celeste ludenberg’s punishment) Number 4: Mono Rides A Robot Bison (Works like Pit's Side B with out the final Uppercut. Reference to Gundhan’s punishment) Number 5: Mono Rides Peko as she slashes forward (Acts like a weaker version of Mythra’s side b references one woman army) Number 6: Mono Rides A pac man robot (Works like pac man's side b. Reference to please insert coin)
Up Special: Despair Elevation
Number 1: A Rope appears tied over monos neck raising him up before a spiked wall flies into him (A decent amount of elevation but no control. Also the raising of monokuma doesn’t do damage, only the spiked wall does. A reference to Kaede’s punishment) Number 2: Monokuma Grows wings and flies upwards (works like pit’s up special) Number 3: Mono gets a jetpack and flies up (works like robs up b) Number 4: Mono Flings a vine over head (Basic tether recovery with one major difference. If you use the move in the air without grabbing anything the vine will break and cause monokuma to fall where he acts as a projectile. A reference to the strand of agony) Number 5: Monokuma will blow up as another Monokuma comes out riding a giant bug as it spins holding out scythes (acts like wario's up special with less height but way more damage. References wild west insecticide) Number 6: Monokuma Turns into a rocket and slightly goes up before he drills below himself (acts like ganon's wizard foot in the air. If right next to the ledge then it can grab on but this is mainly meant to troll. Much like the reference of the second ignition)
Down Special: Random Despair
Number 1: Monokuma wears a riot shield for 10 seconds which blocks all attacks from the front reference to guard monokuma units. Number 2: Monokuma Gets Electrocuted acting like pikachus thunder reference to the first thing monokuma mentions when he talks about possible executions. Number 3: Monokuma flails his arms and if any one attacks him they get attacked by the spears of Gungnir basic counter referencing the fate of Mukuro. Number 4: Landmine acts like snakes and a reference for mono’s tenacity for explosions. Number 5: Monokuma Drives a tank acting like foxes old final smash with the land master though 3 times less likely to happen as the other options reference to please insert coin. Number 6: Monokuma Raises into the air before turning into a crane holding a random tetris block where you can move left and right for 1 second before the crane drops the block doing tons of damage if it hits a foe before the crane raises into the air where monokuma takes its place reference to please insert coin. Number 7: Monokuma blows up instantly killing him but does tons of damage and knockback to any opponents nearby.
Final Smash: Ultimate Despair
There are 2 ways i see this final smash so i’ll say the one i perfer then i’ll say the one thats actually likely. The move starts with a chain either way and if any one gets hit by the chain they’ll be dragged off stage before the cinematic starts. The first option has it personallized to the characters. Not like what brawlfan1 suggested but rather each character in a category. The space characters get sent into space with the rocket before exploding, The villains get killed by the hero, vice versa for the protagonists, the princesses get killed by a dummy version of the hero and so on. The second option is junkos punishment having all of the punishments from the first game happen before finishing with the final blow of the white board. Either way it's a guaranteed stock loss.
Cosmetics
Costumes
Base Of Black And White
Pink and white (monokub and Monomi)
Black and black (Kurokuma)
White and White (Monomi true form)
White and white with red details (Leons punishment)
Orange with black stripes (Mondos punishment)
Red with orange details (Celestes punishment)
Black with brown details (Detention)
Stage intro
A giant pedestal appears where Monokuma jumps from behind it
Taunts
Monokuma guzzling some honey
Monokuma Standing over a pile of money
Monokuma Swinging around a glass of wine
Visual gimmick when Monokuma wins it shows the character who lost portrait with a giant x over it instead of them clapping
Also if Monokuma loses it shows him wearing glasses
Victory Animations
Nothing appears on screen before a stomp happens where the camera pans up to see a giant Monokuma wearing a crown (Big Bang Monokuma)
Monokuma Grabs the camera before swallowing it causing static to appear (What you get when you win)
Junko appears laughing maniacally

submitted by TheChessWar to supersmashbros [link] [comments]

2024.05.22 00:12 Chipupuu Cardano ecosystem

I want to explore the cardano ecosystem. Is there a page of applications where I can try out stuff?
I want to check out AMM exchanges, trade derivatives on chain, NFT market place, social and gaming applications.
Does Cardano have this? All I see people talk about it just staking and that’s it, but cardano should be so much more than that.

submitted by Chipupuu to cardano [link] [comments]

2024.05.22 00:11 LeanoreLovecraft Bonding Tips?

Hi, not new bird owner with some questions. I have experience with birds but I'm used to hand rearing. I worked with rescues, hand tamed adults and hand reared my chicks myself.
I don't have personal experience building trust with an untamed domestic parakeet. I just adopted a delightful little one who is somewhere under a year old. I want to do right by her. And I did do my research on taming.
I live/work at home and rarely leave because of the weather. We have lots of time to bond. I bird proofed everything and put her cage where I spend most my time. I don't plan on forcefully bonding with her. I don't want to ever reach into her cage and grab her. My idea was to get her to come to me.
When I wake her up I do put my hands in the cage for fresh food and water. She doesn't seem to mind too much. All day she eats, preens and chirps while I go about my business. I decided to open the cage door because she started following me to the nearest corner of the cage when I moved around the room. She came to the cage door and just perched there all day. Occasionally hopping back in for food or water. She eventually jumped out of her cage and made her way toward me then changed her mind and went back to her cage. She missed and fluttered to the floor. I calmly collected her; got a good nip for picking her up😂 because she hasn't learned step up yet. She didn't want to go back in her cage even though I offered. She sat on my hand for a moment and I offered her some millet which she didn't accept yet. So, I decided that was enough excitement and put her in her cage.
Am I going in the right direction?
My eventual goal is a best friend buddy. Open access to the cage in a bird proofed space during the day. But hopefully she'll want to spend more time with me than in her cage. I have a bird safe lifestyle because I do spend so much time at home it's nice to have a little companion. I want her to want to spend time with me. All my research indicated that parakeets are very social and a close bond is possible with time. I have all the time to bond with her. I just want to do it right.
I suppose I have a question? Can an "untamed" bird build a bond best friend trust bond with a person? Again, my experience lies with had rearing and rescues. I've seen abused birds become lap puppies. I've also seen human imprinted birds become extremely aggressive. Birds are so smart, most people underestimate them. I just want to set my expectations for what's best for her.

submitted by LeanoreLovecraft to Parakeets [link] [comments]

2024.05.22 00:07 TheChessWar Monokuma Moveset

submitted by TheChessWar to SmashBrosUltimate [link] [comments]

2024.05.22 00:07 Dextrophik Oh look another late 20s lonely guy

No idea where this is going but I've got time to kill at work..
As far as I'm feeling at this moment, I think I'm fine. I'm pretty worn down though and wondering how many days off the gym and 10+hr sleep days will get me fresh.
Anyway, I'm a 29 year old dude in Canada. I have a pretty good job in the defense sector, but I'm not great with finances. My hobbies and passions are expensive, and I often overpay for things so I don't have to think about it in the moment.
I live at home, as 2500+ for an apartment eating 60+% of my salary hasn't sounded exactly appealing but its almost time here. I don't think I want to live with my parents this time next year, at 30 years old.
My big issue is not being in a romantic relationship. That fact has always been the driving force behind most of the actions I take to be honest. I'm just realizing it now, so yeah, the ROI doesn't seem worth it.
By actions I mean anything to do with fitness and appearance, the music I listen to, and most the little things I do on any given day, that might challenge me or make me avoid or cover up pain in some way ( little self care habits or things like weed, supplements, nootropics, drugs in general to keep me somewhat functional, mostly by masking some of the pain).
I'll be blunt and objective about my situation, and its this:
29, single since 19
Good looking guy, gotten better looking over time, but short, and my hair is a semi-permanent piece.
I've got self esteem issues for sure, and I can't say I always put off the best energy, being depressed and all.
I avoided, or just flat-out didn't try to find anyone really. I used to just open up tinder and feel a mix of emotions that would just ball up into anxiety or butterflies. Weird mix of excitement resentment and hopelessness.
Last year I decided I was going to make big life changes. Learn a new language (Spanish), learn music in some form (bass guitar), improve my finances, quit some of my bad habits, and find love.
Well the year started off pretty good. Dove into a Spanish learning book, got stuff for my bassguitar thats sat for a decade, started journaling every day (failing to keep up with this).
By mid Feb around Valentines day and my birthday, things had been rocky. A bunch of health scares, a couple of injuries, car was fucking up left and right, started working 10 hours daily (Back to 8 after a month as side gig got kiboshed), some money stuff etc..
I heard about the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and decided to give that a watch, not knowing what to expect, and it kinda broke something inside me, for the better.
Another shitty thing that happened was I got stopped at the border late January (Can to US), because the dog smelled cannabis in my bag (there was none, but they found something that had residue on it and bam, not allowed in the US). This is funny timing because not two weeks later I matched with this girl that lived in California, and after talking for a bit and me finding out how closely our niche music tastes lined up, and just how beautiful i found her.. Like maybe not everyone's type, kind of gothic, not very active on social media, but something about her... just looked unique and I still think she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen.
You can judge my.. judgement all you want, and it might be fair. Some people just flip some specific switches in your head and make things light up. No one did that like this... I quickly got familiar with the concept of limerence but even after acknowledging that was probably happening here, I didn't care.
I honestly just over pursued.. I didn't send her a bunch of texts, but I started writing these long love letter things. I honestly can't believe how head over heels and dopey I was being. It lasted for probably 2 months, ending after I started talking with a few other girls, and actually meeting someone a city over at a concert that said she really liked me.
Felt like the longest 2 months of my life, there was a lot and I mean A LOT of pain, and I had no idea that I was capable or susceptible to something like this based off so little. We didn't even voice chat, and we hardly talked about anything other then music.
I just created this compelling fantasy world in my head and I was conflating things like my new desire to leave Canada and eloping with what I was projecting to be the woman of my dreams.
I'll never know where it could have actually went because I could not keep this shit to myself. Around the time this limerent episode started I got this ENORMOUS boost in energy and ambition, like I hadn't felt before. Didn't matter what drugs I was put on or what state of health, being etc I was in. This was bizarrely strong and I actually forgot about my vices. Almost completely, and all of them. In the span of 3 weeks, I had cold stopped THC (2nd time in 14 years), I got off nicotine, I cut my spending in half and adhered to my diet better than I ever had before.. a little too well (24lbs lost in 3 weeks).
It seemed like this daze I was in was like a dopamine geyser from within that had never been found before.
As soon as the deterioration phase of limerence started (the day I found out there was 0 reciprocation), those habits came flying back, starting off with the vape again. Just one disposable cause I wanted to have a moment outside this church for some reason... I felt really compromised, embarrassed, disappointed and a lot of self loathing.
I started doing private vlogs that day too. I found that to be very insightful and good for processing this stuff, but it became emotionally draining and I got tired of hearing and seeing myself pretty fast.
As weird as it is to admit this. I miss living in that simulated romance. It felt like it was driving me to the real thing.. maybe it still will, but I feel my motivation to do so has dropped off after this shit.. Music just sounded better, everything felt deeper, I had a weird but unsustainable sense of purpose. Now everything feels hollow and plasticy..
I'm pretty much past that now, and I don't know how to feel about that. I know what I should feel... GOOD, but I just kind of feel nothing.

submitted by Dextrophik to loneliness [link] [comments]

2024.05.22 00:05 itsauntiechristen Disappointed in long distance cubs making offers they cannot fulfill

I would have chosen "Venting" for my flair but it did not appear as an option. This is NOT a "seeking" post so cubs, DO NOT DM me if we don't already know each other. I will just delete it. Here is my "disappointment" story:
I am a Cougar (51F) and I posted my info on one of the "seeking" posts in the appropriate subreddit a couple of weeks ago. I specifically said that I was looking to meet a cub within 2 hours driving distance of me for a FWB type relationship. I am poly with a couple of partners but no one with this specific dynamic. Of course I got quite a few messages and I hit it off really well with one guy - but he lives 5 hours drive from me. To me, this was actually NBD because I don't mind road trips. He drives a lot for work so if HE came to see ME, he wanted to fly. Ok - fine.
I should have looked up the dates before I started typing so forgive the vagueness. But I texted quite a bit with this guy over the course of about 2 weeks and we talked on the phone once for 4 hours. It felt like we had a unique connection and there was definitely mutual attraction there. He told me he was "talking with" one other Cougar he met on Reddit and they had met for lunch once but it wasn't serious. So...I was getting excited to meet him and see if we vibes as well in person as we did via text and phone. We started planning for me to visit him on Memorial Day Weekend.
Then last week (I believe) he texted me to ask if I had bought tickets or made reservations yet. He said he had had lunch with the other woman - who lives within 2 hours of him - and she asked if they could be exclusive and he said "yes." Of course this is his choice and I respected it, but I DID ask some questions because I felt like it came out if nowhere. I said something like, "You are willing to be exclusive with someone you have met only twice and not even made out with?" To which he replied, "I never said we hadn't made out." OH. Okay. That's a bit different. 😞
I told him I was disappointed and that I felt like he had downplayed his interest in the other woman when getting to know me. But I had NOT made any reservations so I wasn't out any money. Then - he blocked my cell number, and blocked me on Instagram AND Reddit! Holy crap! That just felt mean and unnecessary!!
So I shook it off (took a couple of days) and went on with my life. Started talking with another cub from Reddit - again - he is a 2 hour PLANE ride away but not a quick car trip. Hmmm. I have tried to take it slower with this guy. We have also been communicating for about 2 weeks now, and the first week he seemed very enthusiastic, but then over the past weekend he was busy and I didn't hear much from him. I asked on Sunday night what he had been up to and he said mostly going out and drinking beer with friends. Cool, sounds like fun.
So today we are texting and I asked him if he wanted to talk about planning for me to visit him. He said he was stressed from work, not in the mood to talk about it, can we talk later. His waning interest feels familiar so I asked point blank if he has started to date someone local. He said he has met a couple of people but isn't dating them. I asked if he was interested in one in particular and he said yes, but he hasn't made a move. So - my Spidey sense is tingling big time. Part of the problem is that I am poly so I don't think starting to date someone is a reason not to meet someone else. But he has told me that eventually he wants to find a wife and get married and be monogamous. The SOONEST I could go for a visit would be June 7 which is over 2 weeks away. And if he is anything like that other guy, he will probably have a girlfriend by then. 😠
So... I get it. Dating can suck. I'm an adult and I can handle disappointment. But I'm not sure how to guard against this SAME thing happening again!! Some ideas: don't even agree to TALK to guys who live more than 2 hours drive from me, stop talking to younger men because 2 weeks seems like forever to them and I usually need a minimum of 2 weeks to plan a visit.
Cubs - if you are reading this, can you PLEASE avoid being like these 2 guys? I made it CLEAR what I was looking for, where I live, etc. These guys acted like they were interested in spite of the distance but basically ditched me for people who are more immediately accessible. If you only want to date local people, that's totally fine and your choice, but for Pete's sake, don't start talking to someone who lives far away and requires planning to see if you can't wait 2 weeks to meet them!!
Ok - end of ranting/venting. Please be kind in the comments. I would appreciate hearing different perspectives. Ideas to avoid this in the future?

submitted by itsauntiechristen to CougarsAndCubs [link] [comments]

2024.05.22 00:03 Stormcoming7 [M4F] Searching for a Dragon's Lair [Dragon Speaker] [Knight Listener] [Slow Burn, I Think] [Deception] [Protective] [Treasure] [Could Be Prequel, Could Be Standalone] [Far Too Long]

Intro: For your distinguished service to the crown, you’ve been assigned the difficult and dangerous job of slaying a dragon purported to have slaughtered a village on the outskirts of the kingdom. It’s a job you should be able to handle, and you’re not too scared… now, if only the whole thing felt less wrong…
Summary: Listener meets a new acquaintance who befriends her, and offers to guide her where she needs to go. They face a danger together, and she learns that he is not what he seems.
Go ahead and monetize, it's fine. Word count is about 3800.
If you fill this or plan to fill this, please notify me. Please don't make edits without asking first.
TWs: Running deception, combat, discussion of mass murder (dragon burning places to the ground), possessiveness, forced sleep
Line breaks represent the listener talking or space where no one talks and should be short pauses, words within {brackets} represent the speaker’s tone or sfx. At ellipses, the speaker trails off, and at dashes, he is either cut off abruptly by the listener or by himself.
Author’s Note: And also the flipped version, for the draconic gentlemen out there!
If you want to read this somewhere other than Reddit, it's also here.
F4M version here.

{internal monologue} {disgusted} Ugh, those damn livestock merchants charge more every time. Gouging bastards, {rationalization} but I do need them to stay silent. If the town finds out how much food I have to purchase every month, it’ll only end badly. Besides, it’s not like even this much bribery makes a dent in my hoard. I should really just be glad I haven’t met any merchants with integrity, that wouldn’t end well. Good thing it’s a vanishingly rare trait these days… {annoyance} wait, no, that’s not a good thing, what am I saying? It’s sad… but it does make my life easier. Well, that’s a hell of a conundrum. {sigh} {bored} Not one I haven’t dealt with before, though. Have this conversation with myself every time. Oh, well. What matters is the food’ll be delivered soon, I don’t have to go into hibernation, and the merchants won’t talk. Anything else I wanted to do before heading home? Hmm… I think I wanted to stop at the spice merchant, see how much- {interest} HELlo. Who is that?
{curiosity} What would a knight be doing here? I mean, I suppose the goblin raids have been getting more brazen, but the town guards seem to have it handled, I haven’t even needed to get involved yet. I guess she could be here about that, but it doesn’t feel right. Maybe she’s just passing through? Well, best way to find out is to go talk to-
{quiet} Oh, damn. That’s- oh, damn. Fuck, she’s hot. {forced calm} Okay, composure. You are an all-powerful dragon. You will not be thrown off your game by one mortal, no matter how shiny her armor is. And it’s only her armor you’ll be looking at, right? Right. Ignore that beautiful face, you just need to find out what she’s doing here, not-
{suspicious} Wait. Who’s she talking to? {upset} The spice merchant? And he’s BLUSHING? Uh-uh. No. Not gonna fly.
{out loud} {sickly sweet} Hiiiii, hello! It’s me again, I’m here to pick up some- Oh? Who’s this? A new friend?
Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were having a conversation. Please, continue. I can wait.
{cough}
Oh, no, don’t mind me, just looking at… cumin. My, this smells awfully strong.
So sorry to barge in again, uh, I would like to buy these.
Are you leaving? Well, it was lovely to meet you.
{internal monologue} Okay, let me just finish up here, and I can go talk to her.
{pleased} Hah! Look frustrated, spice sleazeball. Serves you right. {confused} Wait, do I know your name? Have I ever asked your name? Eh, doesn’t matter right now, I don’t need to know everyone in the village. {disgust} Especially not someone who flirts with- {confusion} Wait, what am I doing? I don’t have any claim over some random knight, why am I acting like this?
{frustrated noise} Figure out internal dilemma later, find human now. Where’d she go?
Agh! Curse this mortal form’s short legs, I can’t see- wait! Shiny!
{out loud} Hey! Hey! Wait up!
{out of breath} Whew… Thought I was gonna… gonna lose you… for a minute.
Thanks. Only need… a few seconds…
{composed} Hi. I’m Typhon*.* Sorry to chase after you like that, but I realized I didn’t catch your name?
Oh, that’s a lovely name. It suits you.
{pleased} Oh, flatterer. {internal monologue} She’s smooth, isn’t she? I was expecting all armor, no brain. I understand why the spice merchant was blushing now, I guess. {out loud} I just wanted to ask you… uh, I wanted to ask you what you were doing at the spice merchant’s? Usually passers-through don’t stop there when they can get their salt cheaper elsewhere.
Oh, that’s interesting! I didn’t know you could find that here.
Oh, no, I don’t spend very much time there. I mostly go in, buy what I need for my next few weeks of meals, and leave. Other places to be. More important places.
{laugh} Well. You certainly know the way to a man’s heart. {internal monologue} A knight with both manners and a sense of humor… who’d have thought?
{out loud} Wonderful. So, what brings you to Wylgrith? It’s not a large settlement by any means, and well out of the way of… everything, really. What reason would a mighty royal knight have for stopping by? Were you sent to handle the goblins that-
{stunned} …Say what now?
The dragon? You were sent to kill the DRAGON?
Can you… not?
{off-balance} I mean- uh- Well, I don’t see why you would, do I? After all, the dragon hasn’t been seen or heard from in years, right? And even before that he didn’t harm any humans for decades. He-
I- uhhh… I guess I’m guessing he’s a ‘he?’ I did see him once, flying overhead, though, and he looked like a boy dragon. Kind of stocky.
I… suppose ‘it’ works as well, yeah. {quiet, sad} A little hurtful, though…
{back on track} Nothing, nothing. So, why are you killing the dragon, again? I don’t think… it… has even harmed a human in living memory.
{sputtering} What? No it didn’t!
I- I think I would know if it burned down a village. I mean, this place is still standing, right?
A different- Well, I’m sure he wouldn’t have done anything like-
{quickly} No, no, I don’t know. It’s not like I’ve met the thing, right? But it hasn’t burned down this village, so why would-
{tentative} Oh. They said that?
Right to the king?
Right in the middle of court, where everyone could hear it?
{sad} I guess that settles that, then. The dragon needs to die.
{internal monologue} Damn. What a waste of such a beautiful knight. There’s no chance she could possibly beat me on her own, so she’s going to end up- wait, on her own?
{out loud} {confused} And the king sent you? Alone, I mean? No army, or squad of knights, or cadre of mages? Why would he do that?
{awed} Oh. Oh, that is a very magic sword.
Well, no, I haven’t. But- but you can just tell, can’t you? It’s glowing! And it’s covered in some kind of weird letters, those have to be magical, right?
{internal monologue} {hesitant} Okay. That’s somewhat worrying. Even with all the useless sigils and that pointless glow siphoning its energy, I can feel the power rippling off that thing. Where did she ever find- No, that doesn’t matter. Could it level the playing field? Give her a chance? Hard to tell, I think, my senses in this form aren’t as-
{out loud} I’m sorry, what? I was distracted. Uh- it’s a very pretty sword.
{taken aback} That’s- that’s a good name for it. Very dangerous-sounding.
{internal monologue}{stressed} ARE YOU KIDDING ME? FANGBANE? SHE FOUND FANGBANE? HOW IN THE- {forced composure} no, I’m calm, I’m calm, it’s fine. It’s not worrying at all that she has the most dangerous dragon-slaying sword ever forged. Wow, this very quickly went from “I don’t want to fight her, I don’t want to kill her” to “I don’t want to fight her, I don’t want to die.” Okay, time to nip this in the bud.
{out loud} Wow, it’s done that much? I never would’ve guessed that, it looks much too fancy for that. So… you can actually kill the dragon?
{hesitant} You’re right, I suppose. If it burned a village, it does deserve that. Well… *{resolve}*Do you know how to find its lair?
No, it’s not. If it was, everyone would be constantly in there robbing the hoard, wouldn’t we? Everyone knows that the lair is somewhere on the mountain, but no one knows where.
{triumph} Yes. Except me. And I’ll guide you there.
{reasonable} We already agreed, right? If it burned down a village, killed that many people, it needs to be put down. I want to help with that, and besides, you need someone to take you there. You’ll never find it on your own, so you can’t be too choosy about who you bring, can you?
I like hiking, and the mountain isn’t dangerous if you’ve known what you were doing since you were a child. I found it once, but I ran immediately, because I didn’t want to risk angering the dragon. I think I can find it again, but it’ll be a long trip. Three days at minimum.
{internal monologue} {satisfied} Perfect. A few days wandering in the forest should discourage her, maybe I can even convince her I didn’t burn any village. {confused} Why would she have been told… {moving on} Doesn’t matter right now. What matters is getting her off my trail, and maybe getting to know her in the meantime… {upset} No! Stop that! Bad Typhon! She’s literally trying to kill you. She is not a prospective mate, she isn’t even another dragon!
{sigh} {wistful} She is gorgeous, though, especially when the light catches her armor like that… No! Stop!
{out loud} {serious} We should set out soon, then. Do you have enough provisions for the trip?
Good, good. No time to waste, come on.
You’re hunting a dragon. A dragon. Don’t you think it might be wise to move before he- it catches wind of your presence?
Let’s go, then.
{some indicator of a time skip}
{amused} What, don’t tell me you’re getting tired? We’ve only been hiking for a couple hours today, aren’t you supposed to be a big, strong knight?
You could take off the armor, if it’s that hot.
{concession} All right, your decision. And I suppose wearing the armor was helpful when the tangler tree tried to grab you. Fine, we’ll stop for a bit.
How much is left in your waterskin?
Good, good. Mine’s pretty full, I haven’t felt thirsty in a while.
No, we’re definitely going in the right direction. {grasping at straws} I recognize… uh, that rock! Yeah. See how it kinda looks like a bear, if you tilt your head?
Really? Well, I see it. Anyway, I remember seeing that before. We’re about a day’s walk away from the lair, I’m almost certain.
You know, you never asked why I decided to hike in a random direction for three days. {internal monologue} {pleased} I have such a good story for it, too. It’ll leave you crying, and then maybe I can-
{out loud} {taken aback} You do?
What? You’re a royal knight, one of the most honored positions in the land. Why would you feel the need to escape?
{internal monologue} What? What was that? There for a second and then gone, was that… a crack in the charming exterior?
{out loud} No, no, I understand the feeling. I just… didn’t expect it from this quarter. Is something wrong at court? Are you-
{inner monologue} {protective} Oh… Oh her eyes… So sad… What did they do to you, my knight?
{out loud} Please, anything you can-
{confused} What? What’s wrong?
No, I’m not going to shush, we’re talking, and-
{muffled} Mmph! MMMMPH!
{inner monologue} {angy} This presumptuous human dares lay her hand on ME? I don’t care what might be inside her, I’m going to make it outside- {considering} Wait. What’s that noise?
That doesn’t sound like- oh. Oh, those are goblins. And she wanted me to be quiet, and now they heard us, and- oops. Why did I not sense them coming? Goblins wouldn’t know stealth if it snuck up behind them and ripped their legs off, I should’ve heard them from miles away. This doesn’t make any sense… Oh, well. I suppose it doesn’t matter, in the grand scheme of things. Just a few more goblins to kill. If she’d just let go of me… wait, but I don’t want to reveal myself. That makes this much more difficult. Can I kill all these green idiots in my human form? {concerned} Oh, wow, that’s… a worrying amount. Where are they all coming from? All right, I think I can take- wait, what? Human? What are you doing?
{out loud} Why are you getting in front of me? That is far too many goblins for any human to handle, we need to run!
{internal monologue} {flustered} Wha? What does she mean by that? And why does she have to be this lovely as she says it? That’s unfair!
{out loud} No- you can’t-
{internal monologue} {upset} Oh, the stupid, brave, self-sacrificial idiot! She’s gonna get herself killed if I don’t help her- wait, what?
{taken aback} She’s- oh, wow, that’s quite impressive. That’s- wow. I’ve never seen a human fight like that.
{confused} Huh? Why’s she looking back… Is she angry? What?
She’s yelling something… She wants me to run? Wha- {realization} OHHHHH- She thinks I’m in danger, and she’s trying to protect me! She wants to- {touched} aw. That’s the sweetest thing… My heart- {serious} I need to keep this knight alive.
{realization} Oh! I have to pretend to be running, yes. I can’t help her here, much as I want to. Besides, it looks like she has it handled. Those goblins aren’t laying a claw on her, somehow. Guess it was a good decision to wear the armor.
{planning} I’ll come back for her later, and she can be happy that she kept me safe, and maybe I can use that to find out what’s wrong with her, oh, looks like she’s just about finished with those- {shock} wut.
What is that.
That’s a- that’s a freaking hellhound! What in the Low Realms is a hellhound doing here?
{protective} Okay, no, unacceptable. I am not risking my treasure- {concerned} the human. The human! Why did I just think of her as- never mind, time for that later.
{whoosh sfx}
{roar}
{desperate} Oh no, please don’t let me be too late…
{out loud} {furious} Stay away from my human!
{crunch sfx}
{triumph} Hah. That’ll teach you.
Did you get the last of the goblins, lady kni- {wary} What are you doing.
Put that sword down, please, I’m not your enemy.
Okay, no, no, calm down, there’s no need to get worked up.
This isn’t helping anything, can we just talk?
{upset} OW! All right, this has gone far enough
{magically resonant} Sleep.
{sigh} {fading out} What am I going to do with you?
{some indicator of a time skip}
{cordial} Good morning, lady knight. As promised, I brought you to my lair.
Oh, yes, you must be confused.
{whoosh sfx}
There, is that better?
{resigned} Yes. It was me the whole time.
No, it wasn’t. If it had been a game, you would be dead right now. Instead you’re alive, unharmed, even unrestrained, in the middle of my hoard.
Or didn’t you notice?
{amused} Yes, I thought that might get your attention. Being surrounded by enough gold to fill a palace ten times over generally does the trick where humans are involved, or so I am informed.
{annoyed} Fangbane? The sword that slew more of my kind in two years than any other managed in thousands? You want it back?
Tch, no, but I would’ve if I could. That butcher’s blade should’ve been melted down long ago. Alas, it was impervious even to my fire.
I thought that was clear: no, you can’t have it back. You can have another sword, even a magic one, but not that atrocity forged in steel.
{considering} That would seem to be the question of the hour, yes. “What are you doing here.” Well… why don’t you tell me? You were sent to kill me, that much is clear. But much more isn’t. I would like… an explanation.
{annoyed} Oh, come on. You’ve been interacting with me for days now. Do I really seem like the type of person who burns down villages at random? That excuse is worthless… and… {suspicious} I think we both know it. You were sent here for some other reason. What was it? Tell me, before I grow cross.
Oh, I believe they didn’t tell you. But, though I think you like to pretend otherwise, dumb is one thing you are not. You know more than you’re saying, so answer me. Please. Why does the king want me dead?
{stunned} That’s- that’s it? Of all the petty, arrogant, stupid- I’m not even going to bother trying with that. {snort} And humans use dragons as symbols of greed.
{explaining something obvious} Yes. Because I like gold, its color, its luster. And because I enjoy living comfortably. {disgust} Not just… to have more than others.
Even if you don’t want to concede the difference, surely it does not escape you that I earned all of this, not just killed its old owner and stole it.
{offended} Of course I did! The very idea of taking something unearned… ugh.
{considering} You really know so little of my kind…
All of this, though… brings us back to you. You were sent here, presumably because you’re the kingdom’s best knight, the one with the highest chance of victory. You weren’t given any backup because there’s only one Fangbane. And you were fed a lie about me slaughtering innocents to make the job go down easier, but something in you knew that it was a lie. Tell me, am I hitting the mark with these?
So, my question becomes… why didn’t you? You had me at the point of your blade, and with a sword like that and skills like yours, you could’ve done it. If you wanted me dead, I would be, draconic magic and might notwithstanding. Instead, all I have is a scratch on my snout- {venomous} yes, that is the scar on my nose. Injuries do carry over, thank you so much for noticing.
{curious} And now you’re sorry. I don’t think I understand you at all, no matter how hard I try. Please, answer me. I want to.
Wha- {sigh} {exasperated} Well, if you were so certain it was a lie, why come here in the first place? If you felt you were given unjust orders, you could’ve just left the kingdom. Plenty of other places need knights, and there’s always work to be found as a sellsword. You risked much to gain… nothing, as best as I can see.
{dangerous} He… he what?
The king threatened to…
{cold} No. No, that is unacceptable.
No one threatens my human.
Yes, my human. I- {sigh} {warmer} I believe an explanation is in order. You see, I finally figured out what I’ve been feeling these past few days. At first, I thought it might be love, and, well, I suppose it is, of a kind: hoarding instinct. I feel hoarding instinct when I look at you. I saw you for the first time, and something in me just knew. You are the most precious treasure in this entire cavern, and I need to protect and keep you until the end of time, like the work of art you are.
{worried} Ohh, that’s not a good expression. Did I say something wrong? Come on too strong? I promise, living here won’t be bad at all, it’s quite a comfortable lair, whether I’m in human form or dragon. I maintain a good relationship with the villagers, too, so we can even go down to Wylgrith on day trips, as long as you don’t try to leave. You understand the importance of that, I trust.
{calming} No, no, don’t get all worked up. There’s no need to do something we’ll both regret.
Please, calm down. We’re both rational people, let’s discuss this as such.
{harder} Human, I don’t want to put you to sleep again. Don’t make me.
{pleased} Good, that’s much better. Now, what are your objections?
Mhm, mhm… {logical} Well, in point of fact, no, you don’t have a home anymore. If you go back without proof of my demise, the king will have you executed, will he not?
As I thought. So there’s nowhere else for you to be. As to your next point, of course I won’t keep you as a pet, you’re a sentient human. You have your own free will, thoughts, ideas, desires, the whole package. You would never be a pet. You will be my treasure. Very different thing, and it means I will want to keep you close, keep you safe, and stare at your radiance for as long as draconically possible.
{considering} Well, no, I haven’t heard of this. A living part of a dragon’s hoard? I believe it’s unprecedented, since nothing but gold lasts forever. Nevertheless, we’ll figure something out, we can make it work. And this doesn’t reflect strangely on me, you needn’t worry. I am one of the eldest dragons of this age, the young are used to my… peculiarities by now.
{pleased} Ah, yes, I wondered when we would get to that point. No, as a matter of fact, the king will not be sending other knights, or mages, or armies after me. I will not be killed like that, and you will not be reclaimed by them. And do you wish to know why?
{colder than ice} Because I am going to burn this kingdom to the ground. {amused} Naturally. I could overlook the attempt on my life - it brought me the most precious treasure I have ever known, after all, - I could forgive the use of Fangbane, since now I can make sure it never harms one of my kind again, I could even somewhat tolerate the blatant lies spread about me as flimsy justification. {angry} What I cannot accept, however, is what they have done to you. Threats on your life, on your body, on those you protect, promises of execution, forcing you to stain your soul against your will… no. No one is permitted to harm my human and live. This will, I admit, be something of a first for dragonkind, actually killing humans instead of protecting them is practically unheard of. I may even face repercussions from my kind for this. I find it hard to care, though, these ones are only getting what they deserve, for their actions or their complacence.
Now you’re getting upset again. {soothing} Don’t worry, this isn’t a sign of my outlook changing. I still have no desire to harm humans, and the village is perfectly safe.
We were communicating so well a second ago, if we could return to that, I would be grateful.
I promise you, this shouting and carrying on is nothing but counterproductive.
{tired} Lady knight, if you are not capable of being objective, I will be forced to- oh, forget it.
{magically resonant} Sleep.
{gentle} {slowly fading out} I truly am sorry to do this to you, but I can’t have you fighting me on this. I don’t want you to be upset at me, treasure, so, by the time you wake, the cause of this contention will be gone.
Shh, shh. It’s okay. It’s just a simple sleep spell, you’ll wake up comfortable and well-rested.
There. It will all be fixed before you awaken. Don’t worry, my treasure, nothing will ever harm you again.

submitted by Stormcoming7 to talkingtalltales [link] [comments]

2024.05.22 00:02 Stormcoming7 [F4M] Searching for a Dragon's Lair [Dragon Speaker] [Knight Listener] [Slow Burn, I Think] [Deception] [Protective] [Treasure] [Could Be Prequel, Could Be Standalone] [Far Too Long]

Intro: For your distinguished service to the crown, you’ve been assigned the difficult and dangerous job of slaying a dragon purported to have slaughtered a village on the outskirts of the kingdom. It’s a job you should be able to handle, and you’re not too scared… now, if only the whole thing felt less wrong…
Summary: Listener meets a new acquaintance who befriends him, and offers to guide him where he needs to go. They face a danger together, and he learns that she is not what she seems.
Go ahead and monetize, it's fine. Word count is about 3800.
If you fill this or plan to fill this, please notify me. Please don't make edits without asking first.
TWs: Running deception, combat, discussion of mass murder (dragon burning places to the ground), possessiveness, forced sleep
Line breaks represent the listener talking or space where no one talks and should be short pauses, words within {brackets} represent the speaker’s tone or sfx. At ellipses, the speaker trails off, and at dashes, she is either cut off abruptly by the listener or by herself.
Author’s Note: God, this took way too long to write. A couple months, if you count when I had the idea and when I wrote the first few sentences. Well, it’s here now, and I hope it’s not too disappointing. Prequel series go!
If you want to read this somewhere other than Reddit, it's also here.
M4F Version here.

{internal monologue} {disgusted} Ugh, those damn livestock merchants charge more every time. Gouging bastards, {rationalization} but I do need them to stay silent. If the town finds out how much food I have to purchase every month, it’ll only end badly. Besides, it’s not like even this much bribery makes a dent in my hoard. I should really just be glad I haven’t met any merchants with integrity, that wouldn’t end well. Good thing it’s a vanishingly rare trait these days… {annoyance} wait, no, that’s not a good thing, what am I saying? It’s sad… but it does make my life easier. Well, that’s a hell of a conundrum. {sigh} {bored} Not one I haven’t dealt with before, though. Have this conversation with myself every time. Oh, well. What matters is the food’ll be delivered soon, I don’t have to go into hibernation, and the merchants won’t talk. Anything else I wanted to do before heading home? Hmm… I think I wanted to stop at the spice merchant, see how much- {interest} HELlo. Who is that?
{curiosity} What would a knight be doing here? I mean, I suppose the goblin raids have been getting more brazen, but the town guards seem to have it handled, I haven’t even needed to get involved yet. I guess he could be here about that, but it doesn’t feel right. Maybe he’s just passing through? Well, best way to find out is to go talk to-
{quiet} Oh, damn. That’s- oh, damn. Fuck, he’s hot. {forced calm} Okay, composure. You are an all-powerful dragon. You will not be thrown off your game by one mortal, no matter how shiny his armor is. And it’s only his armor you’ll be looking at, right? Right. Ignore that beautiful face, you just need to find out what he’s doing here, not-
{suspicious} Wait. Who’s he talking to? {upset} The spice merchant? And she’s BLUSHING? Uh-uh. No. Not gonna fly.
{out loud} {sickly sweet} Hiiiii, hello! It’s me again, I’m here to pick up some- Oh? Who’s this? A new friend?
Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were having a conversation. Please, continue. I can wait.
{cough}
Oh, no, don’t mind me, just looking at… cumin. My, this smells awfully strong.
So sorry to barge in again, uh, I would like to buy these.
Are you leaving? Well, it was lovely to meet you.
{internal monologue} Okay, let me just finish up here, and I can go talk to him.
{pleased} Hah! Look frustrated, spice skank. Serves you right. {confused} Wait, do I know your name? Have I ever asked your name? Eh, doesn’t matter right now, I don’t need to know everyone in the village. {disgust} Especially not someone who flirts with- {confusion} Wait, what am I doing? I don’t have any claim over some random knight, why am I acting like this?
{frustrated noise} Figure out internal dilemma later, find human now. Where’d he go?
Agh! Curse this mortal form’s short legs, I can’t see- wait! Shiny!
{out loud} Hey! Hey! Wait up!
{out of breath} Whew… Thought I was gonna… gonna lose you… for a minute.
Thanks. Only need… a few seconds…
{composed} Hi. I’m Tiamat*.* Sorry to chase after you like that, but I realized I didn’t catch your name?
Oh, that’s a lovely name. It suits you.
{pleased} Oh, flatterer. {internal monologue} He’s smooth, isn’t he? I was expecting all muscle, no brain. I understand why the spice merchant was blushing now, I guess. {out loud} I just wanted to ask you… uh, I wanted to ask you what you were doing at the spice merchant’s? Usually passers-through don’t stop there when they can get their salt cheaper elsewhere.
Oh, that’s interesting! I didn’t know you could find that here.
Oh, no, I don’t spend very much time there. I mostly go in, buy what I need for my next few weeks of meals, and leave. Other places to be. More important places.
{laugh} Well. You certainly know the way to a woman’s heart. {internal monologue} A knight with both manners and a sense of humor… who’d have thought?
{out loud} Wonderful. So, what brings you to Wylgrith? It’s not a large settlement by any means, and well out of the way of… everything, really. What reason would a mighty royal knight have for stopping by? Were you sent to handle the goblins that-
{stunned} …Say what now?
The dragon? You were sent to kill the DRAGON?
Can you… not?
{off-balance} I mean- uh- Well, I don’t see why you would, do I? After all, the dragon hasn’t been seen or heard from in years, right? And even before that she didn’t harm any humans for decades. She-
I- uhhh… I guess I’m guessing she’s a ‘she?’ I did see her once, flying overhead, though, and she looked like a girl dragon. Kind of slender.
I… suppose ‘it’ works as well, yeah. {quiet, sad} A little hurtful, though…
{back on track} Nothing, nothing. So, why are you killing the dragon, again? I don’t think… it… has even harmed a human in living memory.
{sputtering} What? No it didn’t!
I- I think I would know if it burned down a village. I mean, this place is still standing, right?
A different- Well, I’m sure she wouldn’t have done anything like-
{quickly} No, no, I don’t know. It’s not like I’ve met the thing, right? But it hasn’t burned down this village, so why would-
{tentative} Oh. They said that?
Right to the king?
Right in the middle of court, where everyone could hear it?
{sad} I guess that settles that, then. The dragon needs to die.
{internal monologue} Damn. What a waste of such a handsome knight. There’s no chance he could possibly beat me on his own, so he’s going to end up- wait, on his own?
{out loud} {confused} And the king sent you? Alone, I mean? No army, or squad of knights, or cadre of mages? Why would he do that?
{awed} Oh. Oh, that is a very magic sword.
Well, no, I haven’t. But- but you can just tell, can’t you? It’s glowing! And it’s covered in some kind of weird letters, those have to be magical, right?
{internal monologue} {hesitant} Okay. That’s somewhat worrying. Even with all the useless sigils and that pointless glow siphoning its energy, I can feel the power rippling off that thing. Where did he ever find- No, that doesn’t matter. Could it level the playing field? Give him a chance? Hard to tell, I think, my senses in this form aren’t as-
{out loud} I’m sorry, what? I was distracted. Uh- it’s a very pretty sword.
{taken aback} That’s- that’s a good name for it. Very dangerous-sounding.
{internal monologue}{stressed} ARE YOU KIDDING ME? FANGBANE? HE FOUND FANGBANE? HOW IN THE- {forced composure} no, I’m calm, I’m calm, it’s fine. It’s not worrying at all that he has the most dangerous dragon-slaying sword ever forged. Wow, this very quickly went from “I don’t want to fight him, I don’t want to kill him” to “I don’t want to fight him, I don’t want to die.” Okay, time to nip this in the bud.
{out loud} Wow, it’s done that much? I never would’ve guessed that, it looks much too fancy for that. So… you can actually kill the dragon?
{hesitant} You’re right, I suppose. If it burned a village, it does deserve that. Well… *{resolve}*Do you know how to find its lair?
No, it’s not. If it was, everyone would be constantly in there robbing the hoard, wouldn’t we? Everyone knows that the lair is somewhere on the mountain, but no one knows where.
{triumph} Yes. Except me. And I’ll guide you there.
{reasonable} We already agreed, right? If it burned down a village, killed that many people, it needs to be put down. I want to help with that, and besides, you need someone to take you there. You’ll never find it on your own, so you can’t be too choosy about who you bring, can you?
I like hiking, and the mountain isn’t dangerous if you’ve known what you were doing since you were a child. I found it once, but I ran immediately, because I didn’t want to risk angering the dragon. I think I can find it again, but it’ll be a long trip. Three days at minimum.
{internal monologue} {satisfied} Perfect. A few days wandering in the forest should discourage him, maybe I can even convince him I didn’t burn any village. {confused} Why would he have been told… {moving on} Doesn’t matter right now. What matters is getting him off my trail, and maybe getting to know him in the meantime… {upset} No! Stop that! Bad Tiamat! He’s literally trying to kill you. He is not a prospective mate, he isn’t even another dragon!
{sigh} {wistful} He is handsome, though, especially when the light catches his armor like that… No! Stop!
{out loud} {serious} We should set out soon, then. Do you have enough provisions for the trip?
Good, good. No time to waste, come on.
You’re hunting a dragon. A dragon. Don’t you think it might be wise to move before she- it catches wind of your presence?
Let’s go, then.
{some indicator of a time skip}
{amused} What, don’t tell me you’re getting tired? We’ve only been hiking for a couple hours today, aren’t you supposed to be a big, strong knight?
You could take off the armor, if it’s that hot.
{concession} All right, your decision. And I suppose wearing the armor was helpful when the tangler tree tried to grab you. Fine, we’ll stop for a bit.
How much is left in your waterskin?
Good, good. Mine’s pretty full, I haven’t felt thirsty in a while.
No, we’re definitely going in the right direction. {grasping at straws} I recognize… uh, that rock! Yeah. See how it kinda looks like a bear, if you tilt your head?
Really? Well, I see it. Anyway, I remember seeing that before. We’re about a day’s walk away from the lair, I’m almost certain.
You know, you never asked why I decided to hike in a random direction for three days. {internal monologue} {pleased} I have such a good story for it, too. It’ll leave you crying, and then maybe I can-
{out loud} {taken aback} You do?
What? You’re a royal knight, one of the most honored positions in the land. Why would you feel the need to escape?
{internal monologue} What? What was that? There for a second and then gone, was that… a crack in the charming exterior?
{out loud} No, no, I understand the feeling. I just… didn’t expect it from this quarter. Is something wrong at court? Are you-
{inner monologue} {protective} Oh… Oh his eyes… So sad… What did they do to you, my knight?
{out loud} Please, anything you can-
{confused} What? What’s wrong?
No, I’m not going to shush, we’re talking, and-
{muffled} Mmph! MMMMPH!
{inner monologue} {angy} This presumptuous human dares lay his hand on ME? I don’t care what might be inside him, I’m going to make it outside- {considering} Wait. What’s that noise?
That doesn’t sound like- oh. Oh, those are goblins. And he wanted me to be quiet, and now they heard us, and- oops. Why did I not sense them coming? Goblins wouldn’t know stealth if it snuck up behind them and ripped their legs off, I should’ve heard them from miles away. This doesn’t make any sense… Oh, well. I suppose it doesn’t matter, in the grand scheme of things. Just a few more goblins to kill. If he’d just let go of me… wait, but I don’t want to reveal myself. That makes this much more difficult. Can I kill all these green idiots in my human form? {concerned} Oh, wow, that’s… a worrying amount. Where are they all coming from? All right, I think I can take- wait, what? Human? What are you doing?
{out loud} Why are you getting in front of me? That is far too many goblins for any human to handle, we need to run!
{internal monologue} {flustered} Wha? What does he mean by that? And why does he have to be this handsome as he says it? That’s unfair!
{out loud} No- you can’t-
{internal monologue} {upset} Oh, the stupid, brave, self-sacrificial idiot! He’s gonna get himself killed if I don’t help him- wait, what?
{taken aback} He’s- oh, wow, that’s quite impressive. That’s- wow. I’ve never seen a human fight like that.
{confused} Huh? Why’s he looking back… Is he angry? What?
He’s yelling something… He wants me to run? Wha- {realization} OHHHHH- He thinks I’m in danger, and he’s trying to protect me! He wants to- {touched} aw. That’s the sweetest thing… My heart- {serious} I need to keep this knight alive.
{realization} Oh! I have to pretend to be running, yes. I can’t help him here, much as I want to. Besides, it looks like he has it handled. Those goblins aren’t laying a claw on him, somehow. Guess it was a good decision to wear the armor.
{planning} I’ll come back for him later, and he can be happy that he kept me safe, and maybe I can use that to find out what’s wrong with him, oh, looks like he’s just about finished with those- {shock} wut.
What is that.
That’s a- that’s a freaking hellhound! What in the Low Realms is a hellhound doing here?
{protective} Okay, no, unacceptable. I am not risking my treasure- {concerned} the human. The human! Why did I just think of him as- never mind, time for that later.
{whoosh sfx}
{roar}
{desperate} Oh no, please don’t let me be too late…
{out loud} {furious} Stay away from my human!
{crunch sfx}
{triumph} Hah. That’ll teach you.
Did you get the last of the goblins, sir kni- {wary} What are you doing.
Put that sword down, please, I’m not your enemy.
Okay, no, no, calm down, there’s no need to get worked up.
This isn’t helping anything, can we just talk?
{upset} OW! All right, this has gone far enough
{magically resonant} Sleep.
{sigh} {fading out} What am I going to do with you?
{some indicator of a time skip}
{cordial} Good morning, sir knight. As promised, I brought you to my lair.
Oh, yes, you must be confused.
{whoosh sfx}
There, is that better?
{resigned} Yes. It was me the whole time.
No, it wasn’t. If it had been a game, you would be dead right now. Instead you’re alive, unharmed, even unrestrained, in the middle of my hoard.
Or didn’t you notice?
{amused} Yes, I thought that might get your attention. Being surrounded by enough gold to fill a palace ten times over generally does the trick where humans are involved, or so I am informed.
{annoyed} Fangbane? The sword that slew more of my kind in two years than any other managed in thousands? You want it back?
Tch, no, but I would’ve if I could. That butcher’s blade should’ve been melted down long ago. Alas, it was impervious even to my fire.
I thought that was clear: no, you can’t have it back. You can have another sword, even a magic one, but not that atrocity forged in steel.
{considering} That would seem to be the question of the hour, yes. “What are you doing here.” Well… why don’t you tell me? You were sent to kill me, that much is clear. But much more isn’t. I would like… an explanation.
{annoyed} Oh, come on. You’ve been interacting with me for days now. Do I really seem like the type of person who burns down villages at random? That excuse is worthless… and… {suspicious} I think we both know it. You were sent here for some other reason. What was it? Tell me, before I grow cross.
Oh, I believe they didn’t tell you. But, though I think you like to pretend otherwise, dumb is one thing you are not. You know more than you’re saying, so answer me. Please. Why does the king want me dead?
{stunned} That’s- that’s it? Of all the petty, arrogant, stupid- I’m not even going to bother trying with that. {snort} And humans use dragons as symbols of greed.
{explaining something obvious} Yes. Because I like gold, its color, its luster. And because I enjoy living comfortably. {disgust} Not just… to have more than others.
Even if you don’t want to concede the difference, surely it does not escape you that I earned all of this, not just killed its old owner and stole it.
{offended} Of course I did! The very idea of taking something unearned… ugh.
{considering} You really know so little of my kind…
All of this, though… brings us back to you. You were sent here, presumably because you’re the kingdom’s best knight, the one with the highest chance of victory. You weren’t given any backup because there’s only one Fangbane. And you were fed a lie about me slaughtering innocents to make the job go down easier, but something in you knew that it was a lie. Tell me, am I hitting the mark with these?
So, my question becomes… why didn’t you? You had me at the point of your blade, and with a sword like that and skills like yours, you could’ve done it. If you wanted me dead, I would be, draconic magic and might notwithstanding. Instead, all I have is a scratch on my snout- {venomous} yes, that is the scar on my nose. Injuries do carry over, thank you so much for noticing.
{curious} And now you’re sorry. I don’t think I understand you at all, no matter how hard I try. Please, answer me. I want to.
Wha- {sigh} {exasperated} Well, if you were so certain it was a lie, why come here in the first place? If you felt you were given unjust orders, you could’ve just left the kingdom. Plenty of other places need knights, and there’s always work to be found as a sellsword. You risked much to gain… nothing, as best as I can see.
{dangerous} He… he what?
The king threatened to…
{cold} No. No, that is unacceptable.
No one threatens my human.
Yes, my human. I- {sigh} {warmer} I believe an explanation is in order. You see, I finally figured out what I’ve been feeling these past few days. At first, I thought it might be love, and, well, I suppose it is, of a kind: hoarding instinct. I feel hoarding instinct when I look at you. I saw you for the first time, and something in me just knew. You are the most precious treasure in this entire cavern, and I need to protect and keep you until the end of time, like the work of art you are.
{worried} Ohh, that’s not a good expression. Did I say something wrong? Come on too strong? I promise, living here won’t be bad at all, it’s quite a comfortable lair, whether I’m in human form or dragon. I maintain a good relationship with the villagers, too, so we can even go down to Wylgrith on day trips, as long as you don’t try to leave. You understand the importance of that, I trust.
{calming} No, no, don’t get all worked up. There’s no need to do something we’ll both regret.
Please, calm down. We’re both rational people, let’s discuss this as such.
{harder} Human, I don’t want to put you to sleep again. Don’t make me.
{pleased} Good, that’s much better. Now, what are your objections?
Mhm, mhm… {logical} Well, in point of fact, no, you don’t have a home anymore. If you go back without proof of my demise, the king will have you executed, will he not?
As I thought. So there’s nowhere else for you to be. As to your next point, of course I won’t keep you as a pet, you’re a sentient human. You have your own free will, thoughts, ideas, desires, the whole package. You would never be a pet. You will be my treasure. Very different thing, and it means I will want to keep you close, keep you safe, and stare at your radiance for as long as draconically possible.
{considering} Well, no, I haven’t heard of this. A living part of a dragon’s hoard? I believe it’s unprecedented, since nothing but gold lasts forever. Nevertheless, we’ll figure something out, we can make it work. And this doesn’t reflect strangely on me, you needn’t worry. I am one of the eldest dragons of this age, the young are used to my… peculiarities by now.
{pleased} Ah, yes, I wondered when we would get to that point. No, as a matter of fact, the king will not be sending other knights, or mages, or armies after me. I will not be killed like that, and you will not be reclaimed by them. And do you wish to know why?
{colder than ice} Because I am going to burn this kingdom to the ground.{amused} Naturally. I could overlook the attempt on my life - it brought me the most precious treasure I have ever known, after all, - I could forgive the use of Fangbane, since now I can make sure it never harms one of my kind again, I could even somewhat tolerate the blatant lies spread about me as flimsy justification. {angry} What I cannot accept, however, is what they have done to you. Threats on your life, on your body, on those you protect, promises of execution, forcing you to stain your soul against your will… no. No one is permitted to harm my human and live. This will, I admit, be something of a first for dragonkind, actually killing humans instead of protecting them is practically unheard of. I may even face repercussions from my kind for this. I find it hard to care, though, these ones are only getting what they deserve, for their actions or their complacence.
Now you’re getting upset again. {soothing} Don’t worry, this isn’t a sign of my outlook changing. I still have no desire to harm humans, and the village is perfectly safe.
We were communicating so well a second ago, if we could return to that, I would be grateful.
I promise you, this shouting and carrying on is nothing but counterproductive.
{tired} Sir knight, if you are not capable of being objective, I will be forced to- oh, forget it.
{magically resonant} Sleep.
{gentle} {slowly fading out} I truly am sorry to do this to you, but I can’t have you fighting me on this. I don’t want you to be upset at me, treasure, so, by the time you wake, the cause of this contention will be gone.
Shh, shh. It’s okay. It’s just a simple sleep spell, you’ll wake up comfortable and well-rested.
There. It will all be fixed before you awaken. Don’t worry, my treasure, nothing will ever harm you again.

submitted by Stormcoming7 to talkingtalltales [link] [comments]

2024.05.22 00:01 ikieneng My fanfiction - episode 4!

The next part is here! This episode is so long that I had to split it, and today, you're finally getting part 3 of 3.
You can find the previous episodes in the side bar! (Community info page in the app)
DISCLAIMERS (the same ones as before)
The point of this fanfiction is not to be a straight-up continuation of events with the same themes, intensity, and tone. If you go into it with those expectations, you are probably not going to like it. Rather, it’s supposed to be how I wish things went if these events were real life. The resolution you want for a real-life situation isn’t often the right choice for a show, but it can be incredibly beautiful. Think of what you’re about to read to be a separate show then.
Episode 1 of this fanfiction begins after the episode “2:00” (season 2 episode 4), so it replaces the episode “Cake” and the ones that follow it. This fanfiction expects you to have seen the entirety of seasons 1 and 2, so you should watch those first.
I myself am bursting into the story here. The narrator and me are the same. While my character is like 95% real me, don’t take events about my life described here as facts. Some aspects of my life have been changed for the story. In my head, I started writing like an “alternate me” character in 2016, fulfilling a lot of the things that I wish I had in life, adding that to my story. I’m not really from Ukraine. I speak fluent Ukrainian as a foreign language, I started learning it in 2014, and I’ve talked to tons of people from there, but I’m not from Ukraine. I also don’t have as much money as I do in the story. I wish lmao.
If you want to post your own fanfiction, feel free to do so! To get your own post flair for your fanfic, and to appear in the side bar, please message me.

Part 3 (days 3 and 4)

We’d wake up on day three, and still, nothing would be any different - we’re still locked up. We’d both feel really worried not knowing if we’ll have to forfeit our whole plan because we might run out of food and water and take the risky route - calling the police and getting ourselves into a situation where we’d have to be freed by force, which would be so dangerous because the Turners have proven that there’s nothing they’re not prepared to do to us to “get Jericho back”. Leanne would ask me “What do we do if we call the police, and Mrs. Turner comes up here and tries to hurt us?” At first, I’d insist that we start thinking about that when we do run out of food the next day, but she’d insist we should come up with a plan. I’d point at the corner on the edge of the attic facing Spruce Street, the corner that’s to one’s right when coming up into the attic,
https://preview.redd.it/knoz0zwpou1d1.png?width=975&format=png&auto=webp&s=bd1694f292bb546ea45339ebecea7ffacfe33541
and say “Then you’d curl up and hide over there, and I’d take the radio, you’d take the metronome, and I’d sit down in front of you, shielding you, and if she gets in here before the cops do, we’ll defend ourselves. And we’d record everything on my phone. And we should probably hide behind the sofa. Maybe then, she might not notice we’re still up here at first. She’d probably be in a state of panic.” She’d look at me with sad, but touched eyes and just hug me and say thank you. I’d reply “Of course”. After some silence, I’d tell her “If anything happens to me… Please bring me back”.

She’d be touched by that, but say that if she reanimates me, the Church of Lesser Saints will come after ME as well because they’ll believe that I’ll be obligated to join. With a worried smile, I’d say “I know... But they’re probably already gonna do that, right? Because I won’t let them get to you!” We’d both nod with the same half-happy, half-worried expression. “And if things go terribly wrong and you have to bring me back, we can try again!”

I’d ask if I’m getting it right that the “great sins” they think she’s committing are not spending time with the Church and helping another family from the one that was assigned to her. She’d say yes and add that there’s a lot more they hate her for, like her “disobedient and rebellious streak”, disobeying their instructions, putting curses on people, and now, leaving the Marinos.
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After a few seconds of silence (out of shock that this is how the Church of Lesser Saints frames it), I’d be like “If you disobey so many of their instructions, then...”, look her directly in the eyes, and go “Good! Keep on disobeying them! I’m actually kind of stunned that this is how they frame your actions, because that is so manipulative. Wanting to have a life where you don’t have to worry about your every step being watched and controlled, where you can actually freely explore what you believe – not what they tell you to believe, but what YOU believe, where you can do totally normal human things like listen to music, and where you can go wherever you want and make some basic decisions for yourself and work wherever you want, that doesn’t make you...” (doing the “quote-on-quote” with my hands while I say it) “quote-on-quote ‘disobedient’ or ‘rebellious’, it makes you a normal human being. If they forbid every little thing that people do that makes you happy, if you then look for happiness elsewhere, that’s on them. You can’t take every bit of joy away from people and then expect them to just deal with it. You wanting to run away, that’s the logical result of their bullshit. And you didn’t ‘leave’ the Marinos, you were taken. Don’t let them think you’re at fault in any way!” She might have never heard any verbal confirmation before that her feelings about leaving are valid, and this would be so reassuring to her. She’d tell me that whenever she did things like not be there for meals at the Church, skip assemblies, or curse people without permission, she would be brought before May and the rest of the community, get questioned about her behavior, and she’d have to self-flagellate to receive forgiveness.
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I’d go really still and quiet when she mentions the self-flagellation, which she’d then explain is a frequent punishment. That would freaking break my heart... I’d ask her when was the last time she hurt herself, and it was a little less than two weeks ago, before she was forced to leave the Turners. Very carefully and quietly, I’d ask her if it would be okay if she can show me her scars and add “You do NOT have to if you’re not comfortable, PLEASE don’t do it if you’re not”, and after a second, she’d nod and show me her back. My heart would break for her even more seeing her scars, I’d just express how horrible it is that they made her do that… I’d show her some of my cut wounds from when I self-harmed, which I hadn’t done in like three and a half years at that point. I’d want her to know that way that I get the urge, that I really do, but I’d tell her that hurting oneself achieves nothing. All it does is make you feel horrible mentally and physically, and every time you do it, there’s a risk of infection and even death. I’d just tell her I understand while taking her in my arms. I’d ask her to please look me in the eyes and tell me she won’t hurt herself again, and that when she feels like doing it again, to please talk to me first. She’d quietly say “I promise” while looking me in the eyes, and after some longer embraces, we’d both smile a bit, that would make me really happy to hear! I’d ask that when we’re out of here, if we can call a doctor sometime soon and get them to look at her scars to make sure none of them are infected, if she’s comfortable enough, and she’d nod and smile at me a little bit some more.

We’d eat after that. We’d run out of tomato soup that meal, and I’d tell her that when we’re getting out of there, I’d get her all the tomato soup in the world! “We’re gonna fill a whole hotel fridge with tomato soup!” “And with Ben & Jerry’s?”, she’d ask, and I’d say yes and say that we’re probably gonna need more than one fridge. I’d say we’re gonna pick the nicest and most expensive hotel to stay at, an idea that she’d love! “You still think Allentown is a good idea?”, I’d ask her, and she’d think my reasoning from the day before makes sense and say yes. We’d look for the nicest hotel in Allentown online and see that there are “only” three-star hotels in Allentown. Leanne would ask if getting such an expensive place to stay is really okay, and I’d say “Money is not an issue, don’t worry about it” while reaching across her back and like caressing her right shoulder, looking her in the eyes, and smiling. “And besides, let’s spoil you, you fucking deserve it after all this!” We wouldn’t book anything yet because we wouldn’t know when we can get out of there yet, but looking at all those insanely nice hotels would lift our spirits a bit.

After eating the first half of that day’s rations (only two half day’s rations would be left after that…), we’d think that it would probably be a good idea if we started writing the document for the police right now. Writing it can take hours upon hours, and there’s no point in delaying the rescue to write the document after I leave if we can do it right now, so we’d begin right that moment. It would begin something like “My name is Daria Horenko, born July 30, 1999 in Odesa, Ukraine, residing in 501 Pembroke Ave, Philadelphia 19050, Pennsylvania...” (I don’t live there. I have no idea who does. Please leave them alone lmao) “...I sent this statement to my Facebook friend Liam [...] (residing in Tipperary, Ireland, using Facebook as Liam [...]) as a PDF file and told him to call the Philadelphia police and read this statement to them if I don’t come back online and confirm that I’m okay by 10 PM Philadelphia time / 3 PM London, UK time on December 22, 2022. If he is reading this to you, it probably means that there was no sign of life from me by that time, and that I’m not safe, probably kidnapped and locked up by Dorothy Turner, Sean Turner, Julian (I’m not sure about his surname, but I’m referring to Dorothy Turner’s brother - redhead, not very tall, moderately overweight) in the attic of their residence at 9780 Spruce Street, Philadelphia 19139, Pennsylvania”, and then document everything I’ve seen in chronological order and everything that Leanne has told me, with a link to our video and photographic evidence, references to DNA evidence that can probably be found in the hole in the basement if they haven’t covered it up by now, and a statement at the end saying that I’ve written it together with Leanne to make sure that everything is correct. That would take a really long time, hours for sure. But when it’s done, I’d run spell- and grammar checks on it and send it to my printer at home, to be queued for printing when I get home and turn it on. We’d also know that today (December 21) or tomorrow will be the day when we leave one way or another, so I’d schedule a text message to 911 in 30 hours from that moment. The message would say “This is a scheduled message. If you’ve received it, then Leanne Grayson (born October 13, 2001)...” (We only ever learn Leanne’s birth year from the gravestone. October 13 is Nell Tiger Free’s birthday, so October 13, 2001 being Leanne’s birthday is kind of my headcanon)
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“...and me (Daria Horenko, born July 30, 1999) are probably not safe, abducted and locked up against our will by Dorothy Turner, her brother Julian, and Sean Turner in the attic of their house at 9780 Spruce Street, Philadelphia 19139, Pennsylvania or somewhere else on the property. We need help immediately. The Turners should be considered dangerous and very clearly willing to use violence and intimidation. We need help NOW. Details in our prepared statement: [the link]”. Because we’re holding out hope that we won’t have to call the police from inside the attic, the document would include information on what our plan is to get Leanne (and me) out of there as safely as possible and call the police from the taxi, but that if we run out of rations, we won’t have a choice but to call the police while we’re unarmed and while the Turners still have the upper hand.

We would debate whether we should include information about the Church of Lesser Saints right away or tell the police about them later because we know how that sounds, considering that this would hurt the credibility of our testimony,
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but we’d modify the document and include the most important information about them as well, with more believable explanations - how they forced Leanne and other members to self-harm (meaning that current members or those who recently left), where they’re currently operating from in Lancaster,
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that they faked their deaths, that they forced Leanne to leave the Turners, and the necessary lie that they took the real baby, and that Leanne hasn’t seen it since that day and doesn’t know where they’ve taken it. We’d also include names and stuff, and most importantly, reference the baptism tape and say that it shows May and George watching us from the sidewalk outside the church less than three weeks ago, and that piece of evidence would change everything in regards to investigating the Church of Lesser Saints and make the police believe us. We’d add that it’s probably among the other DVDs in the Turners’ living room, and that I’ll try to get it when leaving the building if our original plan is still going to be an option, rip the DVD at home, and add a link to the video file to the document. We’d modify the scheduled text message as well, and we’d charge both phones, mine first because the scheduled message is so important, but it’s an iPhone, so we could charge it to 100% rather quickly and then charge hers. And we’d add that we’d want the police to get Leanne’s things from the Marino estate. All her stuff being there would be further evidence that she was taken suddenly and against her will. We’d also add what number Leanne can be reached at for now with the Samsung Galaxy phone. And then, I’d send the document to Liam on all platforms where I know how to reach him, followed by a message to alert the authorities if I’m not back online confirming that we’re both okay in what’s now probably more like 29 hours, the phone number of the Philadelphia police, and caps at the beginning saying that it’s an actual emergency.

Out of nowhere, I’d ask her if she’s seen “Titanic” lmao, and with her near total isolation growing up, she wouldn’t have seen it. “I’ve only seen movies on TV”. I’d be like “I can show you lots of movies if you want! I got several subscriptions to streaming services, and also a bunch of stuff offline on an external drive at home.”
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Back on talking about “Titanic”, I’d tell her it’s wonderful and so freaking romantic, albeit over-the-top at times for sure and a bit overrated. It has that glossy feeling and some superficial characters to it that all James Cameron movies have, but it’s still really wonderful. After explaining the plot to her (since she’s grown up so isolated), I’d tell her about one scene that I’m thinking about a lot from time to time - near the end of the movie, when old Rose is done telling the researchers her story, she says that she doesn’t even have a picture of Jack, and that has hit me so hard from the first time I’ve seen the movie.
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She has no physical memories of him, she can never see his face again, and she can never show people what he looked like. That just rips my heart. I’d ask Leanne if we can take some pictures together. We’d look pretty horrible because we haven’t been able to shower in days, but we wouldn’t care and take them anyway and really, genuinely smile so hard. I’d send them to her email address (leanne_grayson@icloud.com, that email address is on her resume in the show),
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manually sync my gallery with iCloud, and I’d send them to Liam. I’d ask what phone she got back at the Marinos’ and if she’s got any pictures of herself in her iCloud gallery, but she’d tell me she’s rarely ever taken pictures of herself, only for the resume she applied at the Turners’ for, and I’d be like “Whaaaaat? But you’re so beautiful!”, and she’d smile hard, a bit embarrassed. I’d look her straight in the eyes and say it again and say that I mean it for real, she is so incredibly beautiful! It’s probably so rare that anyone’s ever said that to her in her entire life (her mother definitely didn’t, and given that the Church of Lesser Saints believes that anything that feels good is dangerous,
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it’s rather unlikely that they did), Tobe saying it in “Balloon” might even have been the only time ever…
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I’d then add “Inside AND out!”, and she’d smile some more in a bit of embarrassment and then look me in the eyes and say “You, too, Daria!”, and as you’d expect, I’d smile so hard and even with my eyes!

It would be rather late by then, so we’d eat and listen to some more music together from the Spotify playlist I created for her and talk so much about what we’re hearing.

After dinner, she’d bring the topic up on her own (this is kind of making fun of these fan theories) - she’d tell me that some in the Church of Lesser Saints think she’s the Devil or Lilith because of her rebelliousness, and how she’s inspired doubt in some people in the Church. I’d make such a weirded-out face. After realizing she’s serious, I’d say “If you are the Devil, then hail Satan! Like, seriously, if YOU are what God is threatening will happen if we don’t follow him, then that’s literally the weakest threat I’ve ever heard of. Then God is the villain here. We need more people like you in the world!” Shy as she still is, she’d still be almost embarrassed to hear this (she’s so not used to compliments), and I’d make it clear I’m serious, that I really think she’s fricking wonderful and the sweetest, and that she clearly has a huge heart full of so much love, and that she deserves so much better than what she’s ever experienced! Almost in denial, she’d see in my eyes that I really mean it and just smile and hug me, and then, we’d both smile even more! I’d rub her back a lot in that moment and promise her again that everything will be okay. “I’ll make sure of that!”

After some more music together, knowing that tomorrow will be the day we leave, no matter which plan we’ll go with, we’d make sure we haven’t forgotten anything. Looking around, I’d realize I have to give her my earphones with a cord because the internal mic of my Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini is essentially useless. I’d tell her that when I call her the next day to tell her it’s safe to come downstairs now, she should answer the call, plug in the earphones, and then, it will take a few seconds until I can hear her, but then, it should be fine. We’d set a code phrase that I’ll mention to let her know if the Turners got me and it’s NOT safe to come down. She’d suggest “tomato soup”, and I’d smile and say yes, that’s gonna be our code phrase. “And if it IS safe to come down?”, she’d ask, and I’d suggest “ice cream”.

I’d realize that we should probably find her fresh clothes in the attic and a coat right now, so as I said, it’s not too obvious that she’s been locked up for a long time the second she walks out of the door, because if she’s in dirty clothes or nightwear, with it being obvious that she hasn’t showered in days, and I get her out of there and into a taxi to drive off while I got a gun, it would look as if I was kidnapping her, so we’d find her a nice dress and coat up there, and I’d turn around and close my eyes while she puts it on, and when she’s done, I’d tell her again that she looks amazing! 😊
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And she’d smile and thank me this time, sort of the way she says it to the makeup artist at the street fair in S3E5 “Tiger” in that typical way of hers that’s so adorable for real,
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and she’d look in my direction and say “You look really beautiful, too!”, really shy, before peeking me in the eyes for a moment, and we’d just look at each other for a moment. “Can I have your pictures?”, she’d ask me, and I’d say yeah, open my iPhone, and select ALL pictures of myself in my gallery and send them to her email address, and send her those that are too large via a Google Drive link (iCloud isn’t great for sharing files lol), and then, I’d take her Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini, download them all (which would take a while because that phone is ancient), and set one of the pictures we’ve taken together as her wallpaper, and then set it as my wallpaper on my iPhone as well! 😊

We’d consider if there’s anything else we’ve missed. She’d mention that parts of the floor screech, especially one tile, so when I sneak out, I gotta be careful on the stairs, especially with that one tile.
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After a few seconds, she’d ask me if we wanna book a hotel now, and I’d smile and say sure! “Did you like any hotels in particular, out of the ones we looked at?” She’d say “The one with the big jacuzzi looks great” with big eyes and enthusiasm in her voice, like she does during some of her conversations with Tobe in S3E5 “Tiger”. “You’ve ever been in a jacuzzi?”, I’d ask her, and she’d go “Nooo, but I wanna try!” in the same tone,
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and so, after lying down now, we’d look up which hotel she was talking about and book a two-room suite in that hotel in Allentown for three weeks. I’d add “So we can easily look out for each other, and so you’ll also have some privacy.”, and she’d smile and nod, that consideration would probably mean a lot to her.

We’d then get ready for bed. For the next day, I’d get some better clothes as well and put them on while she’s turned around with her eyes closed. I’d take the last ration of food out of my backpack, put the clothes I just took off at the bottom of it, above Leanne’s Bible (the porcelain baby and card are already in one of the other pockets), and put my phone and the chargers in another pocket. I’d look around and ask her if there’s anything else I should take with me to safeguard, and at first, she’d also look around because she wouldn’t know how to answer right away, but she’d then point at Mrs. Barrington with her face,
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and I’d be like “Well, I think she’s a little too big for my backpack, but I can talk to the police when we’re out of here, maybe we can try to get her!”, and Leanne would nod with a big smile again.

We’d lie down on the mattress and share the covers again. Just like the night before, I’d lie down on the side of the mattress that’s closer to the stairs, in case Dorothy changes her mind and tries to assault Leanne again… On the mattress, she’d suddenly hug me really tight, break into tears, and thank me over and over again, and I’d just hold her tight, say “Of course”, and assure her that everything’s gonna be okay, that we’ll get out of there tomorrow. I’d wipe some of her tears off her face 🥺 On the mattress, we’d just look each other in the eyes and both just smile more and more, and after a minute or two, she’d kiss me on the lips for a tiiiiny moment and then, we’d just smile at each other even harder! She’d say “I’m not supposed to do that” while still smiling just as hard and looking me directly in the eyes! “Says who?”, I’d reply. She goes “My aunts and uncles”, and I’d say “I don’t think they’re a reliable source!”, and we’d kiss each other some more and longer, and both feel each other’s smile on our lips, and peek at each other a few times in between 😊🥰❤️ We’d both put our arms around each other before telling each other good night and before I promise her one more time it’s all going to be okay!
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At some point during the night, she’d wake me up, and when she does, I’d realize I had a nightmare, like, not from my night terrors, and she’d tell me I had a nightmare, that I was sniffling in my sleep, and that I told her two days earlier to wake me up if this happens. Still feeling terrible (the feeling of immediate dread always takes a while to subside for me), I’d thank her. I’d ask what I was saying, and she’d say that I wasn’t speaking English. I’d consider if I should tell her for a moment, but then, I’d take a deep breath, look up for a second, and with a heavy voice, slowly say “What if we try plan A tomorrow, and I fail? I’m scared… I don’t wanna mess this up… I don’t wanna fail you…” And she’d slowly look at me and just say two words: “You haven’t!” I’d look at her and almost laugh a bit out of joy. I’d smile and just cuddle up to her a bit, and she’d do it back. I’d say I’ll try to listen to music for a while to calm down because doing something else makes it much easier for me to zone out of the feeling of dread again. “Why only you?”, she’d ask. “I don’t wanna keep you awake”, I’d say, “You need the sleep”, and she’d say “It’s okay” and just smile a bit, and so, we’d listen to some music together for about half an hour.

I’d tell her that my sleep is so horrible (she’d say she can tell) because I don’t have my meds, and I’m really fricking looking forward to taking them again. Without them, the quality of my sleep is terrible, and it takes so long for me to fall asleep at all if I don’t take them. She’d ask if I’ve taken them for a long time, and I’d say that I haven’t taken these particular meds for long because whatever I take, my body builds up some resistance to them pretty quickly, so after a while, I always have to get new ones, but I’ve taken sleeping meds for years now. “It sounds like they’re really helping you, right?”, she’d ask, and I’d nod and say “Yeah, they really do. I’m also taking antidepressants, and they were an absolute gamechanger for me. It’s okay if I don’t take them for a few days because they don’t work in the moment, but they like rewire your brain over time, and they’re the best thing that’s ever happened to my mental health. Before I started taking them, it was so hard for me to avoid bad thoughts or resist them, like, it was hell, but ever since then, it got sooo much easier, and not letting things get to me or not letting bad things really take over me is just so much easier now.” After a while, I’d say “I was at a psychiatric clinic voluntarily for six months, but I also had nowhere else to go, and the doctors and employees really abused their power. They only intervened when there was physical violence, they didn’t intervene in any other conflicts, so because of them, the patients constantly bullied each other. My doctor switched to another department while I was there, so I got a new one, and the new one wasn’t perfect, but at least, she cared. I got really lucky to get a place at a living group for mentally ill people, which was when I could finally leave. But honestly, all my experiences with mental health professionals since then have been better. I went to a different clinic for four or five days voluntarily in 2019, and even they were far better. “That sounds scary…”, she’d say. I’d reply “It was. But things got much better after that. I had lots of setbacks, like, you know, but if you get help, it’s always better.”

After the current song’s over, we’d lie down to try and sleep again. We’d smile at each other again in bed, and I’d give her a short-ish kiss before saying good night, and we’d both smile even harder after that 😁 And we would fall asleep for good after a while (it would still take me longer than her).

In the morning, Leanne would wake me up again. She’d show me that the door is unlocked and open by a little bit now (they’re “letting” her out for a few hours…),
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and we’d both just embrace and chuckle in huge joy, as we can go with plan A now, the less risky one! We’d remember to quiet down after a few seconds and whisper from then on out. I’d go to the toilet roll, take eight pieces, rip them into two bands of four pieces each, and roll each of them up into a little bunch. I’d give them to her and tell her to put them into the wall pieces of the door when she gets out (so it looks like the door is closed while it can’t actually lock) and give me an audible signal when the third floor is clear, so I’ll get out with my backpack, take out the toilet paper, and hide in her room.
https://preview.redd.it/bzze2o6wpu1d1.png?width=304&format=png&auto=webp&s=aaa155b611408db6e9960485f6f726125fc2698d
“Is there anything you want me to get from there?”, I’d ask. “No. Everything is here or at the Marinos’.” I’d go “Okay” and move on - since I’m almost definitely unable to come down to the second floor right away (I’m using American English in all of these episodes. “First floor” in American English = “ground floor” in British English; “Second floor” in American English = “first floor” in British English; “Third floor” in American English = “second floor” in British English, etc.), she’d give me a signal when coming back upstairs. We’d agree that when she comes back upstairs, if it’s safe to go to the second floor, she’d shout something, maybe in conversation, maybe some sort of cry, doesn’t matter, and if not, she’d kick something. She’d be locked upstairs again after that, so I’ll have to tell when to get further downstairs myself, which I’d do as soon as I’ve heard absolutely no sounds from inside the house for at least a few minutes. On the first floor, I’d get the DVD from March 11, 2001, and if the baptism tape isn’t clearly labeled among the tapes, I’d unplug the DVD player from the TV, turn on the player, open the DVD slot, and if the tape isn’t in there, I’d take all unlabeled tapes. I’d then listen in on the basement door for a few seconds, and if I hear no sounds from down there, I’d quietly open the basement door and go downstairs, and if no one’s there, I’d get out through the side entrance down there, out through the back gate, walk back to Spruce Street, drive my bike home, take a shower, watch the tape from March 11, 2011 like she told me I could, hide it somewhere at home, print out the document for the police, take it with me in an envelope, print out a second version of it to give to the taxi driver, so I can say “If I’m not back in an hour, please call the police for me and read this to them”. I’d then call a taxi (a taxi with a large trunk whose driver is allowed to drive to Allentown and back), load my gun, and leave for the Turners’ and get Leanne.

We’d see that Liam has replied by now. Of course, he’d be super worried, but he’s got our backs for the plan, and that would be really reassuring. We’d look each other in the eyes, and then, I’d hug her sooo tight for several seconds, and we’d have one loooong kiss (hoping it’s not the last time we see each other…) before she goes downstairs while looking back at me on the way before putting the toilet paper in the door. I’d then put on my backpack. Once Leanne loudly shouts “Mister Turner?”, that would be my signal, and I’d hide in her room for about 45 minutes before she’s “let” back upstairs and shouts “You can lock me in now, Mrs. Turner”,
https://preview.redd.it/uy9loclypu1d1.png?width=975&format=png&auto=webp&s=16abd51170405f1ef3123ff22f4559642a0c0c92
which is when I’d sneak into the storage/guest room and wait. It would take like five hours until I hear nothing for a while, which is when I’d sneak onto the first floor, look around to make extra sure no one’s there, and go to the living room. I’d get the tape from March 11, 2011, and the baptism tape would be among the labeled DVDs, and I’d put it into the box of the March 11, 2011 tape (I’d put the original DVD loose in there and use the spot inside the box for the baptism tape because it’s probably more important. I then wouldn’t hear anything from the basement, so I’d slowly and quietly go down there. No one would be there, so I’d leave as planned and go home and take a shower. I’d watch the March 11, 2011 DVD. I’d be surprised to see the interaction between Leanne and Dorothy for sure, but sort of knowing her, I wouldn’t think anything bad of it. I’d actually get it because of my past celebrity crushes (which I know isn’t what she was feeling for Dorothy) and the desire to meet them, especially with Blanche. I’d get why Leanne wouldn’t want the police to see it, it would look bad for her. I’d wrap up the DVD in a thick piece of paper and tape it to the back of my closet, between the closet and the wall. I’d burn the piece of paper in the DVD case in my bathtub with a bucket of water next to me just in case. I’d test if the DVD of the baptism tape still works (it does), rip it, upload the video file to Google Drive, add it to the document for the police, cancel my printing queue, print the document (two versions of it. The one for the taxi driver would just have a short introduction at the beginning, like, that I’m the person who ordered the taxi), order the taxi, pack my things for the next couple of weeks and anything that Leanne might need, so I’d include any clothes that I think could fit her, and go to the taxi. I’d tell the driver to get me one block away from 9780 Spruce Street (which isn’t actually a real address, by the way) and wait there for me. Before leaving for the Turner house, I’d give him the envelope with his version of the letter for the police and tell him what I said I would tell him. I’d then get my backpack with the gun in it from my luggage in the trunk, and walk to the Turners’ house.

I have already "written" so much more in my head, but I've now reached the end of what I've actually written down, so it will take longer until the next episode is out now! Hope you've enjooooyed this one!

submitted by ikieneng to teamleanne [link] [comments]

2024.05.22 00:01 Gossip-Luv2 Retrieved the content of Tweets on SLB's eccentricities - The Mythmaker’s Legacy - Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, I am the Greatest of Them All!

Thanks to Patron Member u/Entharo_entho - Here is the wiped out Tweet retrieved
Context - Wiped out from Internet
In March, I got a chance to work with filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali right after he made Gangubai Kathiawadi, and Alia Bhatt, playing the titular character in the film, retweeted me.
The headline (in my head) was going to be, ‘The Boy From Kamathipura Goes To Bhansali Mandi.’
Then reality struck in April.
One of my closest friends Sweta called me from the Shivapuri National Park near Kathmandu and put me on speaker. Two other friends Mona and Ayush were listening to the WhatsApp call.
‘How’s it going with Bhansu?’ Sweta asked.
‘We are not working together anymore,’ I said.
‘Whaaaaaaaat?’ the three people shrieked, creating a wavy disturbance in audio frequency.
‘Whyyyyy?’ they cried, collectively anguished.
‘He said he is not feeling the vibes.’
‘What?’
‘Vibes,’ I said aloud, causing a seismic tremor in the audio frequency.
‘What vibes?’ Sweta jibed, ‘Maybe he can’t feel the vibrator.’
Laughter upped the vibes.
First, a little context on how I got that far. Check this, this, this & this.
So my tweets were going viral in February-March.
In the second week of March, a woman DM’d me saying she loves the tweets. I said thank you. She said she works at Bhansali Productions.
Whoopsie Daisy!
I asked if I could be a part of the production. She checked with SLB and team. He said he wants to meet now.
NOW!
How?
I was in Calcutta.
I called an actor friend in Bombay and told him about it.
“They will book your tickets and put you up in 5-star,” he said, “Like Hollywood.”
“This is Bhansaliwood,” I said, “Yahan dhanda hamesha manda hai.”
I flew (on my own expense) and met him.
I was ‘prepared’ by his team for the meeting with His High and Mightiness.
I was told:

Arre, then what do I say?
I sashayed in a brown kurta and white linen trousers. Please see Madhuri Dixit-Nene’s brown ghagra for aesthetic reference I used from my very limited wardrobe of the only kurta I had at the time. By the way, the chorus sings ‘Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje,’ aesthetically referencing you know what, right?
He was lunching with his minions (strictly calling them minions from his pov) when I arrived in his pristine white dining hall in a building called Magnum Opus. Where else should he reside, no? Both his house, and his office (where I was ‘prepared’ earlier) were tastefully done in creamy white.
It was, as I said to my friend later, like walking into a cumulus cloud, or like sitting on his favourite singer Lata Mangeshkar’s lap. Calm, serene and quite surreal. I was inside his snow globe. Violins from a Bach concerto (in my head) were replaced with say Madan Mohan’s doleful rendition of ‘Mai ri main ka se kahoon peedh apne jiya ki.’ (Side effect of writing this on Mother’s Day.)
I look for books when I enter a house for signs of intelligent life. There were lots of lamps and candelabras but where were the stacks of books they were perched on? The aesthetic was high on film set disposable kitsch. I stared into a cumulative void.
The minions were intensely debating Darjeeling momos. What’s that? I spent my childhood there. Never heard of this GI tag!
SLB relished his meal and said, “I want puranpoli today.”
Puranpoli appeared not out of thin air, but a house-help flipping wishes instantly on a griddle on the fifth floor. We were on the first floor. Although the puranpoli is shaped like a flying saucer, it doesn’t fly, perhaps burdened by the weight of excess ghee and crowd-pleasing expectation. It does, however, reach SLB’s plate at the speed of light.
‘Give him some,’ he asked a minion to serve me while I waited on the sofa.
‘I’ve had lunch, thank you,’ I said, trying to behave. The plate arrived. I took a mousy bite to exhibit my failing attempt to transform into a champion minion.
When he came to chat, he noticed the unfinished food and gently reminded me how there were days he went hungry. I should have rolled my eyes for my own lean days.
‘One should not waste food,’ he said.
‘I don’t,’ I said, ‘I was going to parcel it home in a doggy bag.’
Hearing the word doggy, his well-behaved dog came over to inspect me.
He observed me. I petted her perfunctorily. Am a cat person. Stereotypical writer stuff — allergic to undesired petting and attention.
‘So, what have you done?’ he asked, sitting on a sort of empire-style bergere chair. Full marks for faux-ornate.
‘A novel, some writing for a series,’ I said nervously, dismissively.
‘Anything I might have seen?’ he asked.
‘No, not worthwhile.’
‘Are you interested in direction also?’
‘No, am not delusional.’
A moment passed. I might have displayed an errant repartee.
‘I mean, I can only write, or am trying to,’ I said. L’esprit de l’escalier.
He gave me a spiel on writing, how screenplay is an art not many understand, etc, et cetera.
I nodded to make his voice disappear.
‘What are you writing now?’
I showed him the cover of my new book, The Last Courtesan, featuring my mother, on my phone.
‘Oh, this is so fascinating,’ he said.
He spoke rapturously about Calcutta’s great food and colonial architecture when I mentioned growing up in Bowbazar kothas. If you watch any of his interviews now on YouTube you will realise he only speaks in raptures. He’s always explaining things like an impassioned conductor at a dime-store opera. It can exhaust the boorish audience immediately. He spoke about living in the Kamathipura area as a child when I said I had lived there. The mythmaker was interested in exoticising his own legend as an ‘outsider’.
‘But how will you work here if your mother is in Calcutta?’ he said, ‘I am a maa-ka-bhakt.’
Everything is about him or his mother. I have reached that stage too, though only by circumstances unavoidable.
‘Actually it was my mother who asked me to come here. I told her it would only work out if you understand that I will have to vacillate between the two cities initially. Jaise Sanjay ki Leela hai, waise meri Rekha.’
Corny dialogue, but worked. No one calls him by his first name, except perhaps his own mother. He is sir for everyone.
‘If I am speaking to you for so long means I like you,’ he said. ‘Otherwise, I would have asked you to leave long ago.’
Barely five minutes into the conversation, he asked me to return to his office and inform his team that I was going to be a part of his writer’s room.
I went back to his office and read a script. This is the part I cannot mention. His legal team sits in the adjacent room.
I flew to Calcutta and was to return after a week. I had to make arrangements for my mother’s tri-weekly dialysis sessions at a nearby hospital, figure out a tiffin-delivery service for her, find a house help (she sent four nurses scurrying in the past), all of which is a bit of a task in this retrograde city.
Remember the woman who had DM’d me about my tweets? She messaged. She had met SLB after my meeting. He said this about me: ‘What a wonderful find. That boy has so much potential and is talented. Most importantly, he is sensitive.’
I told her I’d get this engraved on my tombstone.
Like how he wants to take Alia Bhatt’s golchakkar in Dholida to his grave.
“It’s a shot that I will take to my grave. If there’s any shot that I want to be played when I breathe my last, it would be Alia doing that shot. It is the best thing I have seen an actor do in a very long, long time.”
I was only emulating the high priest of hyperbole in my tombstone comment. Perhaps I was regressing into a minion.
I had only managed a few tasks for mother when I was back in Bombay. It worried me that the old, frail woman with shaky limbs and slurred speech was trying to be brave to send me to work. I hadn’t worked since the pandemic; she was in and out of hospitals so frequently that I had surrendered the thought of getting another job ever again. Taking care of her was my full-time job.
The first day in his office was to chill in my new, aesthetically pleasing kurta I had shopped for in Gariahat. There was a security camera in every corner that was apparently accessible on his phone. My skin tingled with this information. Chilled. He was at home. Probably watching. That’s a great way to create a myth.
The next day, there were more minions on the lunch table in his first floor apartment. The magically appearing steamy and fragrant sheera was delicious. A minion deemed it the best sheera in the city. I nodded to make that statement evaporate.
A courier boy interrupted for a document signature. SLB flared at a spelling mistake in the document papers.
‘Go wash your face and come back,’ he yelled at the young man.
The minions at the table laughed nervously. I so wished I was wearing a mask to cover my surprise emoji face.
The minions on the table were writers and assistant directors.
‘Dastavez,’ SLB said, ‘would that be correct to use?’
‘Kaaghzaat,’ the minion replied.
‘Kaaghzaat is paper, dastavez is document,’ said the second minion.
‘You always mislead me,’ SLB sternly reprimanded the first minion. ‘Don’t ever do that again.’
Only that minion tried to laugh, offering an apology. He shut the minion down.
My mask, my mask emoji face.
A third minion was sulking in a corner before I arrived for the writing session. This minion had reportedly offered a script suggestion, which he disliked and barked down. I liked this minion the most. Relatable.
A faint noise of a person running or perhaps just a rumbling sound from somewhere outside interrupted the room. He looked up at the ceiling and said, ‘No one lives there. Am certain it is a ghost. I hear running sounds all the time. I have heard sounds of furniture being dragged.’
I wondered if he actually believed in half the things he uttered, or was he just saying it to create enigma about himself. Mythical thoughts certainly kept him preoccupied.
Reality bored him. SLB had nothing good to say about the ‘current plague’ of South Indian films upsetting the Bollywood cartel. He compared them to a circus. He wasn’t kind to the actors he had worked with in his last film. He cracked lame jokes about everyone and everything. The minions laughed and kept him busy. I chuckled a few times to blend in. The mythmaker revelled in his prophesies about the impending doom of charlatans with no aesthetics: just crass, commercial peddlers pimping art. It was all said to amuse and bemuse while he fussed over the yellow shade of fabric from several swatches.
When he left for his music session, the minions bitched him out, and how! All the horror stories I had heard over the years about his moods, behaviour, language and violent temper were true. How else will he create myth about himself as a maestro? The Glomar response. Let the plebs indulge in hearsay. I will neither confirm nor deny. The minions sang effigy songs in happy tunes, if I may stretch this part a bit like his penchant for high camp.
That night, when I went to my actor friend’s house, where I was temporarily staying, I said to him, ‘I don’t think I will last a week there.’
I was rattled by how he spoke to the courier boy and the minions, with no filter. Well, at least it was clear he had no tact, endearing as that might be of a ‘genius’ if one compromises with his erratic behaviour. The CEO of his company does it beautifully and advises to develop a ‘thick hide’ around him. Cows, essentially.
Verve
The words genius, great, master, maverick, were so loosely bandied by his office staff even in his absence that I was tempted to add auteur, if they could spell or pronounce it. They worked in perpetual fear of him turning up at any hour and checking on their tidiness. A minion whined she wasn’t dressed appropriately for his surprise visit. Once, he even cut pay for unscheduled leave, said another minion. A minion narrated a shot he copied from a photographer in Gangubai Kathiawadi. Another minion recounted how he made her cry on shoot by screaming at her for a silly mistake. Minions couldn’t leave the office till his evenings were scheduled. It was a well-paying job so long as they did not have to see ‘chacha’s’ face and only applaud his cinematic sorcery.
His office team would assign me desk-work and warn me not to inform him about it.
‘What am I supposed to say if he asks?’
‘Make up something,’ I was told.
‘Why should I?’
‘You will slowly understand,’ I was told.
His team of assistants would sneak around me. I didn’t know who was reporting what back to him. He would interrogate the management team. They would lash out at me for informing the assistants. The management wanted to control me a certain way because ‘sir’ does not need to know everything. It was quite a guessing game. He had created an ecosystem of complete chaos and loved the hubbub. New people were hired for him to use the ‘new energy’ to rekindle the ‘old energy’ that needed to be reminded it could be snuffed out and replaced. He thrived on confusion because it all boiled down to him to sort out the mess. He was the provider so long as the minions ingratiated and served their grand master.
One time he called me upstairs, what his CEO called the god’s chamber aka the Shahenshah’s durbar: his office on the seventh floor. Walls were lined with giant posters of his films. We minions sat on the fifth floor. I was of course by now a week old in the toady mill. On the seventh floor, production team members, set designer, director assistant, young people sat on the floor, armed with notebooks and laptops, alert and sugar-tongued. He sat on a throne and dictated each one about their duty. A masseur massaged his leg. He asked me what I thought of a script. I said it was lovely. He asked me to elaborate. I said I liked a character’s resolve. He denied it was written. I said that’s my interpretation. A minion promptly backed me.
‘What changes do you suggest?’ he asked.
‘We should sit on it collectively and decide,’ I said.
He mumbled something. My suggestion was dismissed. I was dismissed. I bowed out. A minion whispered to me, ‘We all walk on eggshells around him.’ I had to be a chicken in a coop I suppose.
Another time he dismissed my suggestion for a scene saying, ‘That’s not how art is made.’ I had referenced a scene from Bandit Queen to illustrate my point. Just like his entire oeuvre is homage to a classic. How else does he make his art?
Allow me to illustrate with a frame from his first film Khamoshi: The Musical. The second image is from Pakeezah.
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam references Red Beard, Woh 7 Din.
Devdas references Pakeezah more than once.
Black references The Miracle Worker.
Saawariya references Pyaasa, Awaara.
Guzaarish references Whose Life Is It Anyway?
Goliyon Ki Raasleela: Ram-Leela references Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story.
Bajirao Mastani references Mughal-E-Azam.
Padmaavat references Mirch Masala.
Gangubai Kathiawadi, let’s give him the benefit of doubt is all his own, original artistry.
The American filmmaker Jim Jarmusch once meta quoted the French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard when he said:
“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery — celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from — it’s where you take them to.”
SLB believes he takes art and betters it, removing the grubby coat of slime from the sublime, often not concerned with acknowledging the source. He is a master’s master, elevating it to an otherworldly experience, the creator of a mythoverse.
He asked me to rewrite a scene I didn’t agree with. He banged the script folders on the table like a petulant, little child. I watched his posture change into a frump. Tiger Shroff’s ‘Bacchi ho kya,’ dialogue comes to mind.
‘You are talking like those critics who find fault but don’t know how to write. They should write the film,’ he said.
That argument will never make sense to me but since I write movies now and not just about them, I rewrote the scene in half an hour and showed it to him. He found it rubbish.
I was not called to the writer’s room for a week.
His CEO said I should go to his house; hang around him, like the other assistants whose only purpose in life is to feed his ego. We are slaves to his vision, she said. She thought I was a better writer than the team he had assembled. ‘From whatever I read, only three lines of your work on social media, I could sense it,’ she said.
Either she was encouraging, or bluffing with a perfectly Zen face. From the hundreds of Ganesh idols stacked in her room, it was clear she wasn’t a reader. She was good at reading numbers, data, and stats. She would sense a sign if one of the metal idols sucked milk from a spoon on the day she enquired about box –office figures.
There was more than one right-wing hardliner in his office. Secular staff was invisible. A pretty minion in baby pink t-shirt, whose main grouse was that another minion called him a Barbie doll, said he was happy with the Modi government building roads in his home state Bihar. Another minion countered him by asking: What about the persecution of minorities by the same government? The pretty minion said he didn’t care for that. He was assisting ‘sir’ because he wanted to be an actor. Which lead me to wonder how many Muslim actors has this production worked with? Silly of me to think, right? Given that I myself don’t use my Muslim surname. I’ve now successfully planted a myth in your head. That’s how it works.
In the time that I was in Versova during my brief stint at Bhansali Productions, I met several people with their own SLB horror story. A producer said, ‘He is a difficult man but life changes for good after you work with him. Some people want to go through hell first. Life bann jaati hai.’ I didn’t understand why purgatory was necessary. Another former assistant said, ‘When you work with the worst (SLB) and the best (KJO), you are ready for the rest.’
A young woman gave him a thesis she wrote on his films. He asked her to write a book on her. She said she wanted to assist as a director. She never heard from him. A filmmaker said SLB was too friendly with another assistant, suggesting intimacy. A writer wasn’t given credit in a film.
Another writer was promised his script will be turned into a film but it never took off and now he feels his life has been ruined. A young filmmaker’s debut movie SLB produced was delayed, not promoted, and called ‘kachra’ to his face.
The young man said SLB is sexist, homophobe, classist, fat shamer, emotional abuser, and a body shamer. “He is a joyless pit of darkness where happiness goes to die. And those are the nicest words I can think of to describe him,” he said. Another filmmaker said a choreographer was in a relationship with SLB and wanted to marry him but he wouldn’t even touch her, a hotly discussed conversation amongst his minions.
Everything sounds hokum. A successful man is likely to upset a few. The few will talk. Their words may ring true through a gossamer veil of implausibility. Myths magnifying his persona.
There are too many myths about his personal life, aroused by his silence on the subject but all too obvious in his work. When people want to confirm with me, I am equally appalled at their lack of aesthetics. Like the great reader of curtains, Edgar Allan Poe, you only have to look at SLB’s use of billowy curtains in films to guess.

Above stanza, courtesy Poe, poem: The Raven.
Hope you get the drift, or draft, hawa ka jhonka! By the way, am digressing now, is the weirdly named character Sameer Rosselline in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam the first mainstream Hindi film hero to pass wind? The ruffled curtains are first to be cautioned though.
Unlike most people willing to swallow their pride to work with SLB, few like the eponymous Gangubai character choose izzat. The house-help employed in my actor friend’s house was asked to work as a cook in his house. When she heard the whimsy, dessert-craving demands, she declined the offer. I identify with her no-nonsense style.
In November 2021, a filmmaker read a film script I wrote and said, ‘This is SLB territory. Only he can make it. It is the modern love-story he has been wanting to make for a long time.’
‘Are you sure?’ I asked, somewhat flattered but also bewildered.
‘Yes, we just have to change the setting from Calcutta-Bombay to Calcutta-New York. It is what he has been trying to crack. I’ll get him to read it.’
I never spoke to SLB about my script. I did not want to look like a schemer. I had only got a chance because of my mother’s story. I had come to write courtesan songs. Hindi films are recognised by their songs. His films have show tunes that live on long after the sequins and mirrors reflect a decadent style. He employs the old-fashioned method of making Hindi films, which is to stitch scenes around a song, not the other way round. And when you glean your references from the best of classical melodies, how can you falter?
My own SLB story is that after watching Saawariya in 2007, I wrote a few songs, moved to Bombay, lived in Versova, close to Magnum Opus, and hoped to meet him, but made no effort even though I came in close contact with people who worked directly with him. I never requested for a meeting. Over the years, I too had heard a few horror stories about him. I only believe in what I see. I waited when he would call for me, my work would have to speak for itself.
A day before Good Friday, his CEO sat me down and said it’s not working out.
There’s a mythical story of how Lata Mangeshkar was on her way to record a song for SLB but the heavens poured and she had to turn her car back. A typical SLB frame of hope and hopelessness.
Never work with your idols. You’ll have a better story to imagine and create myths.
I was so relieved to leave. I hadn’t got a moment to read, or write, let alone think since I got here. Why I wanted to work with SLB was to not believe in hearsay. I will either confirm or deny.
‘Great,’ I said, ‘everyone deserves an off on Good Friday.’
The office was unsure about public holidays. SLB’s mood dictated the calendar.
Before returning to Calcutta, I met a friend entrenched in the film business.
When she heard of the fiasco, she said, ‘I’ve heard he is very anal, is he?’
The vibrator jokes never stop.

submitted by Gossip-Luv2 to BollyBlindsNGossip [link] [comments]

2024.05.22 00:01 kenefactor Need help defining a 3 mile scale piece of an 18 mile scale map

I've used the book "World Generator Deluxe" by Kent David Kelly to create a rough draft sketch of a continent that I'm happy with. It's taken almost two months of pencil and paper work, but I have made a 3x2 page grid of 18 mile hexes. Each of the ~100 numbered regions have a separate keyed terrain type, whether it's civilized and if so which civilization, etc. Now, this is all quite rough draft, large scale detail. These regions are only 50+% their listed terrain, so other terrains and especially water features can be present or extend from other regions. The base layout is just a locals approximate guess. The rivers in particular are abstracted, with only major waterways and a continental river or two symbolically dividing up regions much less being accurately represented.
My next step is to pick a 3x4 (or ~9x11, whatever, as long as it's roughly the same ratio as a piece of paper) subset of hexes to detail the terrain down to 3 mile hexes, and this is where I feel completely writer-blocked. I've printed some "hex in hex" sheets, intend to just drop down "1 town, 1 nearby City State, and 1 dungeon" (I figured running it with friends in a Tabletop RPG is a fine way to "grow" perception of the world naturally) but I don't even know how to begin with the terrain/rivers/etc despite my detailed breakdown above. Even if I try to slice near mountains instead it's exactly the same issue, and away from the mountains and rivers my idea generation similarly dead-ends.
I've even picked out the centermost region 58 to do this, a Hills (Grave Mounds) region that got split between two pages. If added context is needed, Taunbo Heights is bordered on the west by Gedanken's Girdle (largest mountain range on world of Gendanken), on the east by the Artorian River (major continental rivedried up sea - further east is the Saltswept Wastes (Region 59 Salt Flats) until you reach The Chasm We Do Not Speak of), on the north "beyond" a major river by Westwash (Region 46 wetlands) and The Endless Gravescape (Region 54, plains/battlegrounds), and to the south "beyond" a major river by the Vindalo Desert (Region 68, Ventifact Wastes) and Brackenwog Swamp (Region 69, Cypress Swamp). The Chasm is unnatural, started forming between 200-400 years ago and is still growing. The area's civilization "Gulere" is an Incan-inspired... trade collective? (no emperor.) that consists of Taunbo Heights (58), the Westwash (46), and Brackenwog Swamp (69); all other listed regions are wilderness (but possible nomads/barbarians/etc). A black death tier plague/depopulation event has drastically reduced the population of the prior two generations. Guard llamas are a common sight, whether with caravans travelling north/south or protecting herds of alpacas.
I don't plan to do even half of the map with the 3 mile hex scale (or even NAME all the regions - it's a feature, not a bug), but until I can get this step done my world has been dead in the water. Even when less than half of a single region is completed I feel I could extrapolate and grow it as "narrative focus" demands. I've been at this standstill for 4 months and still have blank hex sheets to show for it. I mean Grad School doesn't help, but you know...
TLDR, I need help, whether advice or an overgenerous soul deciding to do some practice doodles over what I have. I am willing to put in work once I know how to proceed. I do have a great deal more information to ~~gush about~~ share as people need.
https://preview.redd.it/b9piv53vru1d1.png?width=1405&format=png&auto=webp&s=9e96d10625c3fd2f4816fa04bca294f969ade168

submitted by kenefactor to Hexmap [link] [comments]

2024.05.22 00:00 firezodyssey Soft tissue imaging - can't see damage

Has anyone had the issue that subluxations and injuries that aren't as severe as an actual tear or dislocation not showing up on imaging like ultra sounds and X-rays? Links to peer reviewed medical journal articles on imaging and EDS/HSD or other connective tissue disorders are welcome!
I'm thinking that baring an actual tear, our soft tissue is thin to begin with so it won't show damage unless there's an actual tear or the joint is still dislocated (not after a dislocation or sublux is put back in joint). I'm basing this on the story below and I'm open to comments about my current issue.
For the story context my mom and I have thin eye tissue. We're both finally diagnosed with hEDS

She has had retinal tears and is blind (can still read large print with her right eye), and I had surgery for a hole in my right retina.
In 2006 I went in to Emerg at a university teaching hospital with eye pain. This was almost two decades before we had an hEDS diagnosis.
The attending Opthomologist put in the contrast drops that turn corneal scratches green.
So of course my entire cornea went green. "Well I've never seen that before!" he said.
Then he tried the eye that didn't hurt. That also went completely green
Then ... the typical thing we hear as zebras "That's interesting! Can I bring in the medical students?" lol. He was really nice and actually listened to me so I said yes.

Current issue:
Most of my injuries and chronic issues are lower body and/or to my right side. Left side upper body is only recent. My left shoulder blade has subluxed twice from my spine in the past year.

The first time was from having to stand for hours when I should have been sitting at a part-time job. I put so much pressure on my cane from being incredibly dizzy that the subluxation happened. (It's a long rant of a story and I'm no longer working there.)
My awesome family doctor (PCP/GP) ordered imaging. Nothing showed up on either the X-ray (she was concerned about a hairline fracture) or the ultra sound. Yet I had hugely reduced function and was at at 7 to 9 on my pain scale most days (10 is passing out, 9 was a major car accident).
About three weeks ago I unplugged my AC and subluxed the same joint again. Think it qualifies as a 9.5 because I did pass out on the couch about 15 minutes afterwards.
I have a phone doctor's appointment next week followed by an in person the next day. I have an overdue script for a neck x-ray (yup that's unstable), so I'm thinking of getting my shoulder blade/back imaged as well.

I'm thinking that baring an actual tear, our soft tissue is thin to begin with so it won't show damage - just like my corneas don't, because that damage is everywhere. (Like a website with white text on an almost white background.)
I'm getting my first custom titanium wheelchair soon (the application is in the works). I know that to get any additions or changes in the future, including a SmartDrive power assist there must be a clinical justification. It's helpful to be either able to document injuries that can be seen on imaging or have a justification why those injuries can't be seen on imaging.
Any medical journal articles are welcome! I have a science degree with human anatomy and physiology with cadaver lab, plus work/life experience so I can read them.

submitted by firezodyssey to eds [link] [comments]

2024.05.21 23:59 BunuTheShunu Advice on Clinical Research Coordinator resume?

Graduating with a degree in Neuroscience in June. Worked a clinical research job from 2019-2021 where I was responsible for handling PHI, recruiting patients, conducting follow up interviews, etc.. Currently working as a nurse's aid as a psych hospital where I handle PHI, track patient vitals, and oversee discharge and intake paperwork. In between these roles I worked as a tutor.
I'm wondering how I can cater my resume to a Clinical Research Coordinator role, and if my experience is enough to get my foot in the door. I have a heavy interest in research and would want to stay at this role for 1-2 years and hopefully get some publications as well. Willing to work for any certifications that would help me stand out. Any tips on what to advertise or express interest in during the application, interview, and job-searching process would be greatly appreciated!

submitted by BunuTheShunu to clinicalresearch [link] [comments]

2024.05.21 23:58 SUBLOLLIPOP [Request] More streamlined process for starting your Godot journey

Godot has always been a bit of an underdog in the game dev community, but it's obviously found its niche here, with us. Godot is a great engine with its friendliness towards beginners, its capability to make high-end games, its flexibility in terms of what graphics engine you want to use, if you want to use touch etc., and of course, it being open source, which means that games made with it can't, for instance, cost you ten cents per download, even if that game is free. Godot is great, but one thing is really keeping the door to the mainstream shut - the jankiness of making a new project.
Unity has a concise menu, where you either choose which project you want to work on or if you want to create a new one. There is a clear layer of abstraction keeping files and project separated. In Godot, you have to find the right file path, then click "create folder", and then get on with your day. And here's why that's a problem.
The "select path" thing is only really necessary the first time you make a project, but first time impressions last - especially on a complete programming beginner, who will very likely be bewildered and confused by the process - file explorer lingo (AKA slashes and "C: ") is not common knowledge.
The project has to be created in an empty folder; the create folder button adds a mostly unnecessary step to the process of making a project. This does not feel intuitive for most beginners, and although we as fairly experienced users of Godot have gotten used to it, and most programmers know how computers work and why it is set up in this way, for a beginner it will feel like Godot putting a stick to the wheel of their learning process by making the process more complicated than it needs to be.
Don't remember that installing the program involves unzipping a folder; an easy task, but one that intimidates many beginners (more than a simple setup wizard). Starting your programming journey by being expected to know how to unzip a folder (or even know to unzip it in the first place) could make a beginner feel like they're not fit for programming. (Also, you have to create a desktop shortcut or do something of the like to be able to launch Godot like you would any other program).
These are all small things, but they add up to a larger uncomfortable setup process that filters out 10% of beginner programmers and let 70% in with a larger doubt in their ability to program and smaller trust in Godot as a piece of software than before they even considered coding. This is far from an unsolvable problem; I think these two simple steps could massively help Godot reach a wider audience:

Setup Wizard

Not necessarily removing the zip option, let the default installation option be a .msi or .exe file that sets up Godot in your Program Files like most other applications and gives you the option to make a desktop shortcut.

Project Manager

Make Godot projects "projects" instead of files. Hide all the file manager jibber-jabber and just show the user the file names and maybe a thumbnail and which graphics engine that project uses. This would once again abstract the file structure type of things and make it much less intimidating for a beginner to launch something new. Also, no "create folder" button. You just make a project, simple as that.
The options to change your default Godot folder or go back to the old folder-creating system should of course exist.
Please let me know your thoughts on this in the comments, my ears are open and I'm excited to hear everyone's thoughts

submitted by SUBLOLLIPOP to godot [link] [comments]

http://rodzice.org/