Front yard flag pole landscaping ideas
Need ideas for xeriscaping 100x30 backyard lawn. It's a disaster and we need help
2023.06.02 18:13 NoYoureACatLady Need ideas for xeriscaping 100x30 backyard lawn. It's a disaster and we need help
The yard is about 100' x 30' for reference.
So I live on some acreage that's all weeds and whatever weird natural crap grows in my area (Denver), but kid wanted a backyard so like 7 years ago we put in a decent size backyard in, with a nice metal fence, plants around the outside with rocks, and a big lawn. It's been a f@#$ing bear to maintain, expensive, and the local landscape maintenance companies disappear overnight all the time. In 7 years we've had 4 companies and last year, we were kinda mired in depression around here and we didn't even mow once. It's now a massive mess, weeds everywhere in the rocks around the plants, the grass is at least 50% dead (thatched and layed down and killed itself in the sun).
OK, cut to today, nobody goes out there, ever. Kid is old enough to not use the playground anymore, and we're all indoor cats around here. But we can't live like this and want it cleaned up and usable somehow.
I got a quote for $4k (to start, might be more) to get it back to decent shape. And it's all a maybe because they can't really guarantee how many man-hours to pull the weeds, trim the good plants, repair and re-seed the grass, etc. It's a big "if".
What if we xeriscaped! Both companies that gave us quotes suggested it as an option.
What looks good in a backyard rectangular lawn this size (100x30)? Where can I find good ideas and make sure we like the concept?
Thanks.
submitted by NoYoureACatLady to landscaping [link] [comments]
So I live on some acreage that's all weeds and whatever weird natural crap grows in my area (Denver), but kid wanted a backyard so like 7 years ago we put in a decent size backyard in, with a nice metal fence, plants around the outside with rocks, and a big lawn. It's been a f@#$ing bear to maintain, expensive, and the local landscape maintenance companies disappear overnight all the time. In 7 years we've had 4 companies and last year, we were kinda mired in depression around here and we didn't even mow once. It's now a massive mess, weeds everywhere in the rocks around the plants, the grass is at least 50% dead (thatched and layed down and killed itself in the sun).
OK, cut to today, nobody goes out there, ever. Kid is old enough to not use the playground anymore, and we're all indoor cats around here. But we can't live like this and want it cleaned up and usable somehow.
I got a quote for $4k (to start, might be more) to get it back to decent shape. And it's all a maybe because they can't really guarantee how many man-hours to pull the weeds, trim the good plants, repair and re-seed the grass, etc. It's a big "if".
What if we xeriscaped! Both companies that gave us quotes suggested it as an option.
What looks good in a backyard rectangular lawn this size (100x30)? Where can I find good ideas and make sure we like the concept?
Thanks.
2023.06.02 18:09 InitiateConscious Feedback on my recovery/spiritual story
I appreciate everyone in this sub Reddit. I haven’t posted anything here yet but I have read a lot. I have been working on a book for the last several months and I have 28,200 words. I would like to share one of my chapters to get feedback.
This is chapter 8
My father was a chief of police and several other members of my family were in law enforcement. I had been raised around and amongst police officers since I was very young and the seeds had been planted in my heart to follow in my father’s footsteps. I dropped out of high school in my junior year because I was utterly failing in my academics and frankly had no interest. I was working at Marvin’s IGA grocery store for most of the time when I was 17. After I turned 18 however, I began to look for a more serious job. My dad had heard that the local jail was hiring and that they would hire at 18 years of age. He explained that the jail was typically the first step on the path on starting a career in law enforcement and that many cops he knew had spent a year or two working at the jail before becoming police officers. In February of 2008 I applied and in early March I began a pre-employment screening process. This consisted of a background check and a polygraph test. I had never been criminally in trouble so the background check went fine. I am sure some of them had heard about my UFO 911 call but it was never mentioned to me if they had. As I walked into the administration side of the Sheriff’s Office, I could feel my heart pounding against my chest. I knew what was waiting for me - a dreaded polygraph test. The room was small, and the only thing between me and the stern-looking lieutenant was a desk. But what caught my attention was the intimidating chair in front of the desk, with various sensors and attachments ready to measure my every physical response. The lieutenant welcomed me, but his tone was stern as he explained that this was a mandatory test for all recruits seeking employment at the facility. The silence in the room was deafening, and the air was thick with tension. I knew that this moment would determine my future, and I could not help but wonder, would I pass the test or fail? I had been previously told what sorts of questions would be on the test. Several of which I knew I would have to lie on. Especially if they asked if I had ever used illegal drugs as I had smoked marijuana with friends by this point. I had been quite a book reader at this point in my life all ready and at one point I had read about how to fool a polygraph test and it essentially went like this. To fool the polygraph sensors, you have to believe your own lies. The sensors are looking for physiological signs of deception, guilt, anticipation anything of that sort. So, you must not view your answers as lies. There has to be an agreement in my mind already that the entire thing is a farce. This man is not really trying to read me, this is simply a round about way of filling out a form in his possession and I am putting the answers as I want them to appear on the form. So, in my heart this is no a question of true or false. It is a question of what I want to appear on the paper. Therefor when a question is asked. I am not lying regardless of what I say, I am simply dictating to him what to put on the paper for me. Another tip I had read was to focus on a particular place on the wall in front of you and concentrate on it. I sat down and said I was ready. He then began by asking my name and what town we were in for a base reading. Next came the questions. Have you ever committed a serious crime that went undetected? A normal response to this question would be to begin to think back over one’s history and to question one’s self to make sure you weren’t missing anything. However, I stared at the wall and decided the answer to that question needed to be no, so I said no. The polygraph examination went on like this until the end. I can’t say I passed with flying colors however. Lieutenant Carter at the end looked at me and told me my lines were strange and did not indicate either deception or truthfulness but were what they would call inconclusive. Which is still passable for I passed my exam although I got a few odd looks from the lieutenant before I left. Not long after this I was being fitted for a jailer uniform and being distributed the equipment I would be using in my new role as Jail Deputy. I had a grand sense of embarking on a noble quest that would lead to untold adventures and a feeling of being a part of something much bigger than myself. Putting on the uniform for the first time went straight to my head as I could almost feel the new powers of authority emanating out from my being. The jail was connected to the main Sheriff's Office by a set of sturdy steel doors, which were operated remotely from a centralized command center. Once inside, there was no way out unless the command center authorized it. Although there were one or two physical keys, they were not kept on the premises and were reserved only for emergency situations where the controls at the command center were inaccessible. As I walked down the corridor towards the "Pod" where I was to begin my work, I couldn't help but notice the thick, grey concrete walls that lined the passageway. The Pod I would be working in for the first few months was known as D Pod. Essentially, a Pod was a hexagonal command center situated on a raised platform, encircled by remotely operated doors that led to various cell blocks. D-Pod comprised of 6 cell blocks and 2 recreational yards. When entering D-Pod, the two largest cell blocks, D-109 and D-130, were situated on the left-hand side. D-109 housed individuals jailed on misdemeanor charges, while D-130 was reserved for those facing felony charges who had not yet gone to trial. Essentially, it was the pre-trial felony block. On the right-hand side, there were four smaller blocks. One of these, D-150, hosted federal inmates who were predominantly Hispanic individuals with immigration-related holds. However, occasionally, unique inmates with charges related to federal crimes, such as crossing state borders to commit a crime, would also be held in D-150. The final two blocks were D-169 which hosted all inmates with sex related crimes and D-170 which held all inmates with Felony charges who had recently been convicted at trial but had not been sent to prison yet. Initially, my job at the jail was titled "Working D-Pod Direct," which involved spending time in the two largest cell blocks, D-109 and D-130, rather than simply standing in the command area of the Pod. As I began to acclimate myself to the environment and interact with the inmates, I noticed a variety of odors that were foreign to me. The persistent scent of sweat and human body odor was particularly revolting. I couldn't help but cringe at the thought of it. As I glanced around at the inmates, I couldn't help but feel a sense of disdain towards them. They had made choices that landed them in jail, and now they were paying the price. While I would be civil and courteous, I didn't feel as though I owed them anything. It was clear that breaking the rules on my watch was not an option. I quickly familiarized myself with the list of inmate infractions and their respective punishments. If an inmate broke certain rules, they could be subjected to lockdown. It became somewhat of a game to try and catch them in the act, and why not? They had committed a crime and their time in jail should not be pleasant or enjoyable. After all, what motivation would they have to not reoffend and come back? Thanks to constantly splitting wood, my arms had become rock-solid. In addition, I had been diligently honing my boxing skills and was eager for a potential altercation. The idea of an inmate attempting to intimidate me was thrilling, and I relished the possibility of a challenge. My father had earned a reputation as a formidable fighter, and now it was time for me to begin carving out my own legacy. As I searched through the bunks in D-109, my eyes caught sight of an inmate's thin, uncomfortable mat resting on top of his metal bunk. I couldn't help but wonder what could be hiding underneath it. My curiosity got the best of me, and I lifted the mat to find small, circular objects made of toothpaste. It was clear to me that the inmate had made these "mints" himself. I immediately located the inmate responsible and demanded an explanation for his actions. He fumbled through a feeble excuse, which did nothing to sway my judgement. As punishment, I stripped him of his privileges to have a mat and associate with other inmates. I then escorted him to E-Pod, on the opposite side of the jail, which served as the lockdown block. While I found the concept of lockdown amusing at the time, it was a truly awful experience for the inmates. They were stripped of all their belongings except for a Bible and confined to an empty cell for 23 hours a day, with only one hour of freedom to take a shower or read the newspaper in the main area of the cell block. I found myself getting a rush from catching inmates breaking the rules. It became a daily goal of mine to ensure that at least one person was placed in lockdown. At the time I thought that the rules were very simple for people who clearly cared little about society, simple dos and don’ts. There were big ones such as “Don’t assault any jail staff”, “No Fighting.”, “Attempts to escape.”, “No sexual activity.” Etc. Then there were the pettier issues, these were the ones I spent my time on. “Leaning on the wall.”, “Storing food after meals have been picked up.”, “Being unsanitary, failing to keep cell clean.”, “Possessing anything not authorized or issued directly to the inmate through jail staff.” The latter rule was very open to interpretation, and was used if inmates had extra of anything. Many an inmate met lockdown due to having an extra roll of toilet paper in those days. A typical portion of my day might go like this. I stride purposefully down the dimly-lit prison block, my boots echoing off the concrete walls. My chest swells with a sense of authority as I approach the inmate's cell. Without a word, I barge in, my hand firmly gripping my baton. "Face the wall!" I bark, my voice carrying the weight of my position. The inmate jumps, fear etched on his face as he turns to comply with my order. I begin to inspect his cell, my eyes scanning every inch for any signs of contraband. My nose wrinkles at the faint smell of sweat and mold, but I push on, determined to maintain control. And then, there it is. An extra roll of toilet paper, sitting innocuously on the shelf. I whirl around to face the inmate, my lip curling in disdain. "What is this?" I demand, my tone dripping with arrogance. The inmate stammers, fear and distress etched on his face. "I-I didn't know," he stutters. "I didn't know we couldn't have more than one roll." I snort in disbelief. "You expect me to believe that? You should have read the handbook more closely." I reach out and snatch the booklet from his hands, flipping through the pages with a sneer. "And here it is," I say triumphantly, jabbing my finger at the relevant section. "One roll per inmate. Did you even bother to read this?" I pull the inmate out of his cell, dragging him along behind me as I stride purposefully down the hallway. "Lockdown for five days," I snap, my tone leaving no room for argument. "Maybe you'll learn to follow the rules next time." I stride out of the prison gates, my uniform crisp and my badge shining in the sun. It's been a hard day, but I've managed to keep the inmates in line, as I always do. The weight of the day's events still heavy on my mind, I pull out a pack of Marlboro reds and light one up. The smoke fills my lungs and I let out a long exhale, feeling a sense of relief wash over me. Driving down the winding country roads, the sun beating down on my face, I can't help but feel a sense of peace. The green pastures and fields stretch out for miles on either side of the road, and I feel like I'm the only one in the world. When I finally get home, I grab a cold beer from the fridge and climb into the driver's seat of my truck. The sounds of the woods and insects fill the air as I crack open the can and start to read a book. The sun slowly begins to set, casting a warm orange glow over the trees. As the night deepens, I feel a restlessness stirring within me. I decide to take my truck out for a spin, driving through the small town I grew up in. The beer has been flowing freely for hours, but it doesn't even occur to me that I might be breaking the law. I revel in the feeling of being an adult, of having power and control over others. It doesn't matter that I've spent the day punishing inmates for petty offenses, because in this moment, I am invincible. The irony of my situation is lost on me, and I continue to drive around, the night stretching out before me like an open road. After I get home and as the night wears on, I continue to drink, the bottles piling up around me. The sounds of the woods outside provide a backdrop to my drunken stupor, and I stumble out into the darkness. The insects hum around me, and the night birds call out in the distance. I feel my stomach churning, and I lurch forward, retching onto the ground. The smell of beer and bile fills my nostrils, and I heave until there's nothing left. As I stumble into the woods, their darkness and isolation seem to envelop me completely. The only witnesses to my weakness are the insects and birds, their chirping and buzzing forming a constant, mocking chorus. No god, no divine presence to judge my actions or offer me solace. I know that I can’t linger here for long. I have to be at work again at 6 in the morning, ready to continue my reign of power.
submitted by InitiateConscious to KeepWriting [link] [comments]
This is chapter 8
My father was a chief of police and several other members of my family were in law enforcement. I had been raised around and amongst police officers since I was very young and the seeds had been planted in my heart to follow in my father’s footsteps. I dropped out of high school in my junior year because I was utterly failing in my academics and frankly had no interest. I was working at Marvin’s IGA grocery store for most of the time when I was 17. After I turned 18 however, I began to look for a more serious job. My dad had heard that the local jail was hiring and that they would hire at 18 years of age. He explained that the jail was typically the first step on the path on starting a career in law enforcement and that many cops he knew had spent a year or two working at the jail before becoming police officers. In February of 2008 I applied and in early March I began a pre-employment screening process. This consisted of a background check and a polygraph test. I had never been criminally in trouble so the background check went fine. I am sure some of them had heard about my UFO 911 call but it was never mentioned to me if they had. As I walked into the administration side of the Sheriff’s Office, I could feel my heart pounding against my chest. I knew what was waiting for me - a dreaded polygraph test. The room was small, and the only thing between me and the stern-looking lieutenant was a desk. But what caught my attention was the intimidating chair in front of the desk, with various sensors and attachments ready to measure my every physical response. The lieutenant welcomed me, but his tone was stern as he explained that this was a mandatory test for all recruits seeking employment at the facility. The silence in the room was deafening, and the air was thick with tension. I knew that this moment would determine my future, and I could not help but wonder, would I pass the test or fail? I had been previously told what sorts of questions would be on the test. Several of which I knew I would have to lie on. Especially if they asked if I had ever used illegal drugs as I had smoked marijuana with friends by this point. I had been quite a book reader at this point in my life all ready and at one point I had read about how to fool a polygraph test and it essentially went like this. To fool the polygraph sensors, you have to believe your own lies. The sensors are looking for physiological signs of deception, guilt, anticipation anything of that sort. So, you must not view your answers as lies. There has to be an agreement in my mind already that the entire thing is a farce. This man is not really trying to read me, this is simply a round about way of filling out a form in his possession and I am putting the answers as I want them to appear on the form. So, in my heart this is no a question of true or false. It is a question of what I want to appear on the paper. Therefor when a question is asked. I am not lying regardless of what I say, I am simply dictating to him what to put on the paper for me. Another tip I had read was to focus on a particular place on the wall in front of you and concentrate on it. I sat down and said I was ready. He then began by asking my name and what town we were in for a base reading. Next came the questions. Have you ever committed a serious crime that went undetected? A normal response to this question would be to begin to think back over one’s history and to question one’s self to make sure you weren’t missing anything. However, I stared at the wall and decided the answer to that question needed to be no, so I said no. The polygraph examination went on like this until the end. I can’t say I passed with flying colors however. Lieutenant Carter at the end looked at me and told me my lines were strange and did not indicate either deception or truthfulness but were what they would call inconclusive. Which is still passable for I passed my exam although I got a few odd looks from the lieutenant before I left. Not long after this I was being fitted for a jailer uniform and being distributed the equipment I would be using in my new role as Jail Deputy. I had a grand sense of embarking on a noble quest that would lead to untold adventures and a feeling of being a part of something much bigger than myself. Putting on the uniform for the first time went straight to my head as I could almost feel the new powers of authority emanating out from my being. The jail was connected to the main Sheriff's Office by a set of sturdy steel doors, which were operated remotely from a centralized command center. Once inside, there was no way out unless the command center authorized it. Although there were one or two physical keys, they were not kept on the premises and were reserved only for emergency situations where the controls at the command center were inaccessible. As I walked down the corridor towards the "Pod" where I was to begin my work, I couldn't help but notice the thick, grey concrete walls that lined the passageway. The Pod I would be working in for the first few months was known as D Pod. Essentially, a Pod was a hexagonal command center situated on a raised platform, encircled by remotely operated doors that led to various cell blocks. D-Pod comprised of 6 cell blocks and 2 recreational yards. When entering D-Pod, the two largest cell blocks, D-109 and D-130, were situated on the left-hand side. D-109 housed individuals jailed on misdemeanor charges, while D-130 was reserved for those facing felony charges who had not yet gone to trial. Essentially, it was the pre-trial felony block. On the right-hand side, there were four smaller blocks. One of these, D-150, hosted federal inmates who were predominantly Hispanic individuals with immigration-related holds. However, occasionally, unique inmates with charges related to federal crimes, such as crossing state borders to commit a crime, would also be held in D-150. The final two blocks were D-169 which hosted all inmates with sex related crimes and D-170 which held all inmates with Felony charges who had recently been convicted at trial but had not been sent to prison yet. Initially, my job at the jail was titled "Working D-Pod Direct," which involved spending time in the two largest cell blocks, D-109 and D-130, rather than simply standing in the command area of the Pod. As I began to acclimate myself to the environment and interact with the inmates, I noticed a variety of odors that were foreign to me. The persistent scent of sweat and human body odor was particularly revolting. I couldn't help but cringe at the thought of it. As I glanced around at the inmates, I couldn't help but feel a sense of disdain towards them. They had made choices that landed them in jail, and now they were paying the price. While I would be civil and courteous, I didn't feel as though I owed them anything. It was clear that breaking the rules on my watch was not an option. I quickly familiarized myself with the list of inmate infractions and their respective punishments. If an inmate broke certain rules, they could be subjected to lockdown. It became somewhat of a game to try and catch them in the act, and why not? They had committed a crime and their time in jail should not be pleasant or enjoyable. After all, what motivation would they have to not reoffend and come back? Thanks to constantly splitting wood, my arms had become rock-solid. In addition, I had been diligently honing my boxing skills and was eager for a potential altercation. The idea of an inmate attempting to intimidate me was thrilling, and I relished the possibility of a challenge. My father had earned a reputation as a formidable fighter, and now it was time for me to begin carving out my own legacy. As I searched through the bunks in D-109, my eyes caught sight of an inmate's thin, uncomfortable mat resting on top of his metal bunk. I couldn't help but wonder what could be hiding underneath it. My curiosity got the best of me, and I lifted the mat to find small, circular objects made of toothpaste. It was clear to me that the inmate had made these "mints" himself. I immediately located the inmate responsible and demanded an explanation for his actions. He fumbled through a feeble excuse, which did nothing to sway my judgement. As punishment, I stripped him of his privileges to have a mat and associate with other inmates. I then escorted him to E-Pod, on the opposite side of the jail, which served as the lockdown block. While I found the concept of lockdown amusing at the time, it was a truly awful experience for the inmates. They were stripped of all their belongings except for a Bible and confined to an empty cell for 23 hours a day, with only one hour of freedom to take a shower or read the newspaper in the main area of the cell block. I found myself getting a rush from catching inmates breaking the rules. It became a daily goal of mine to ensure that at least one person was placed in lockdown. At the time I thought that the rules were very simple for people who clearly cared little about society, simple dos and don’ts. There were big ones such as “Don’t assault any jail staff”, “No Fighting.”, “Attempts to escape.”, “No sexual activity.” Etc. Then there were the pettier issues, these were the ones I spent my time on. “Leaning on the wall.”, “Storing food after meals have been picked up.”, “Being unsanitary, failing to keep cell clean.”, “Possessing anything not authorized or issued directly to the inmate through jail staff.” The latter rule was very open to interpretation, and was used if inmates had extra of anything. Many an inmate met lockdown due to having an extra roll of toilet paper in those days. A typical portion of my day might go like this. I stride purposefully down the dimly-lit prison block, my boots echoing off the concrete walls. My chest swells with a sense of authority as I approach the inmate's cell. Without a word, I barge in, my hand firmly gripping my baton. "Face the wall!" I bark, my voice carrying the weight of my position. The inmate jumps, fear etched on his face as he turns to comply with my order. I begin to inspect his cell, my eyes scanning every inch for any signs of contraband. My nose wrinkles at the faint smell of sweat and mold, but I push on, determined to maintain control. And then, there it is. An extra roll of toilet paper, sitting innocuously on the shelf. I whirl around to face the inmate, my lip curling in disdain. "What is this?" I demand, my tone dripping with arrogance. The inmate stammers, fear and distress etched on his face. "I-I didn't know," he stutters. "I didn't know we couldn't have more than one roll." I snort in disbelief. "You expect me to believe that? You should have read the handbook more closely." I reach out and snatch the booklet from his hands, flipping through the pages with a sneer. "And here it is," I say triumphantly, jabbing my finger at the relevant section. "One roll per inmate. Did you even bother to read this?" I pull the inmate out of his cell, dragging him along behind me as I stride purposefully down the hallway. "Lockdown for five days," I snap, my tone leaving no room for argument. "Maybe you'll learn to follow the rules next time." I stride out of the prison gates, my uniform crisp and my badge shining in the sun. It's been a hard day, but I've managed to keep the inmates in line, as I always do. The weight of the day's events still heavy on my mind, I pull out a pack of Marlboro reds and light one up. The smoke fills my lungs and I let out a long exhale, feeling a sense of relief wash over me. Driving down the winding country roads, the sun beating down on my face, I can't help but feel a sense of peace. The green pastures and fields stretch out for miles on either side of the road, and I feel like I'm the only one in the world. When I finally get home, I grab a cold beer from the fridge and climb into the driver's seat of my truck. The sounds of the woods and insects fill the air as I crack open the can and start to read a book. The sun slowly begins to set, casting a warm orange glow over the trees. As the night deepens, I feel a restlessness stirring within me. I decide to take my truck out for a spin, driving through the small town I grew up in. The beer has been flowing freely for hours, but it doesn't even occur to me that I might be breaking the law. I revel in the feeling of being an adult, of having power and control over others. It doesn't matter that I've spent the day punishing inmates for petty offenses, because in this moment, I am invincible. The irony of my situation is lost on me, and I continue to drive around, the night stretching out before me like an open road. After I get home and as the night wears on, I continue to drink, the bottles piling up around me. The sounds of the woods outside provide a backdrop to my drunken stupor, and I stumble out into the darkness. The insects hum around me, and the night birds call out in the distance. I feel my stomach churning, and I lurch forward, retching onto the ground. The smell of beer and bile fills my nostrils, and I heave until there's nothing left. As I stumble into the woods, their darkness and isolation seem to envelop me completely. The only witnesses to my weakness are the insects and birds, their chirping and buzzing forming a constant, mocking chorus. No god, no divine presence to judge my actions or offer me solace. I know that I can’t linger here for long. I have to be at work again at 6 in the morning, ready to continue my reign of power.
2023.06.02 18:03 BlownCamaro My favorite plants are the ones that birds bring!
 | I had a couple hanging planters that got wiped out in last Winter's freeze. I removed the dead plants and did nothing with the soil. Last week, I was walking past and there was a new plant that had one flower on it! So, I watered it and now it's starting to bloom like crazy. It appears to be a succulent and I really like it! Any idea what it is? submitted by BlownCamaro to gardening [link] [comments] Thank you birds, you came through again. I have a very hot front yard (I am in Florida) and always wanted a shade tree. The birds planted one dead center and it's now 30 feet high and provides beautiful shade. In the backyard I have a swing that was far too hot to ever use. The birds came and planted a tree behind it and it's now 20 feet tall and completely shades the swing. I love nature so much and try not to interfere with where it wants plants. https://preview.redd.it/v8um4lzbom3b1.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1a99b19e152cfc0d5302846c4cb9733b0acb157d |
2023.06.02 17:35 Common_Victory9385 Looking for feedback on the first chapter of my story [3400]
This was just copy/pasted from google docs so apologies in advance for any formatting issues.
19°28’N 37°14’E
Near Port Sudan, Sudan, Africa.
Another helicopter thundered past in the distance, following the line of the oil pipeline back towards the port facilities.
"That's three in the past hour," Cody observed. "Still think nothing's going on?" "I think if you want to bother Adams again it's gonna be your ass." Keith replied.
"Come on, don't be like that." Cody said.
"Nope."
"Come on, don't be a bitch."
"Nope."
"Bitch says what."
"Nope."
"Got fifty bucks says you won't do it."
"Nope."
"Will both of you shut the fuck up," Eduardo groaned from the back seat of the vehicle. "We're almost done here and you can go harass Adams in person when we get back to base."
"Yeah but I'm curious now." Cody said.
"Well, tell Miles to turn this vic around and we can go."
"What do you say, Miles? You know Adams doesn't check the log timestamps too closely."
"The final marker is literally thirty meters away," Miles said patiently. "I will turn the vic around there and we will drive back to base and you can badger Adams into a stroke on your own time. Until then, watch your sector."
"Uh well, my sector's full of sand, can I have a different one?"
"There's some rocks in mine."
"Like the face of the fucking moon out here, man." Cody moaned.
"Maybe you shouldn't have signed up for a job in the fucking Sudan, genius." Eduardo said.
"Man, I'm just here for the money." Cody replied.
"Well, I'm not here for the weather." Martin said, cranking the wheel around in a practiced motion. The battered white SUV slewed around, wheels spraying dust and pebbles. Cody keyed the radio on his vest. "Base, this is Cody checking in. We're at the outer marker for the southern patrol path, heading back, over."
There was the faint buzz of static.
"Copy that, Cody. Any contacts?"
"No contacts, base. All quiet here. Out."
Martin patted Cody on the shoulder. "Proud of you, buddy. That took real strength."
Cody flipped him off.
The radio crackled again. "Cody, this is base, where did you say you were?"
"Base, this is Cody, we are at the outer marker for our patrol route, heading back your way, over."
"Uh, copy Cody, hang on one second."
“Cody, this is Adams,” a new voice said over the radio. “I need your team to swing west and investigate unauthorized activity near the pipeline in, uh grid square A54-41."
"The fuck this is Cody's team." Keith muttered from the back.
"Copy that, Adams, we'll move to investigate immediately," Cody said crisply. "Any intel on the intruders?"
The radio crackled again. "The uh, number of intruders is unknown at this time."
Miles keyed his own radio. "Adams, who called this report in?"
"The report was forwarded to us by local security forces."
A chorus of groans rose from the interior of the SUV.
"Fuckin' locals." Eduardo said.
"And why isn't local security handling this?"
"Miles, I don't need to remind you that Vericom has been contracted to guard the terminal facilities and pipeline-"
"Yeah yeah, spare me the geopolitics, Adams, I'm just a dumb trigger puller, remember? I'm not asking you why I'm here, I'm asking why the very much armed local security isn't apprehending the trespassers."
"The local security called it in," Adams replied in a tight, angry voice. "And under the terms of our contract we are responsible for apprehending any trespassers in our zone. Is that satisfactory, Mr. Martin?"
"Copy, moving to apprehend. Out."
"Fuckin' locals." Eduardo muttered again as the SUV turned towards the new destination.
"Coming up on the location now." Cody was tapping at the topographical map displayed on his ruggedized tablet.
"Copy that," Miles said absently, maneuvering the SUV around a scattering of larger boulders. Behind him Keith rolled down his window and propped the muzzle of his M4 carbine on the opening.
"Relax," Eduardo said. "Just some lost people."
"Maybe." Keith said, squinting out over the dusty, rolling terrain.
The SUV bounced over the crest of another low ridge, the long dust plume trailing behind it in the harsh midday sun. Miles slowed to a stop. In the far distance there was a glint of light off a moving vehicle traversing the coastal highway. There was no other sign of life in sight.
"Yeah, there's nothing out here." Cody said after a few moments.
Keith had extracted a pair of binoculars from his chest rig and was scanning the surroundings.
"Nothing on this side, boss." Eduardo said.
"Keith?" Miles said.
"Nothing moving but heat haze."
"Cody, call in negative contact. Let's head back to base." Miles said as the SUV rolled forward.
"Copy copy." Cody keyed his radio. "Base, this is Cody, we're at grid A54-41, negative on contact with intruders, over."
"Copy that Cody, we haven't gotten any other reports in your zone, go ahead and head in."
"Thanks very much, base, will do. Cody out."
The SUV bumped and bounced its way back onto the “paved” road. While the main coastal highway was in decent shape, the smaller roads were mostly potholes and washouts held together by cracked concrete and gravel. Although flatter than the surrounding landscape, it was a bold or desperate driver that would risk driving on it at normal highway speeds. This fact most likely saved four lives as Miles had plenty of time to spot the dusty tan plate lying in the road as the vehicle slowly bounced towards it.
“Guys, is that a land mine I’m seeing in the road ahead?” Miles said, pointing. “Directly ahead, maybe twenty yards, just past the two bushes.”
Cody sat up, peering through the dusty windshield. “Slow up, slow up. Shit, I think you’re right.”
“Call it in,” Miles said. “We use this road all the time, what was the last team through here?"
"Dallas' team had outer perimeter patrol this morning." Keith volunteered.
"Base, this is Cody, we've got what looks like a landmine on Route 33, maybe two or three klicks from the coastal highway, please advise, over."
There was a brief hiss of static. No reply.
"Base, do you read, over?"
Static.
“Base, this is a fucking great time for a coffee break!”
No answer.
“Guys, I think this is a no shit situation,” Miles said, putting the SUV in reverse. “Let’s get off the X and back to base.”
Cody slid his AR up into the ready position. Keith and Eduardo already had their rifles out and ready.
Miles executed a hasty three point turn and gunned the SUV back the way they had come.
“How concerned should we be right now?” Keith shouted over the engine noise. “Not the
first time we’ve lost comms with base out here.”
“Could be nothing,” Miles shouted back. “But out here it could be a strike on the port or oil terminal. Not that hard to jam comms and drop a few mines on the roads.”
“Hell, I’m here for it.” Keith shouted.
“I’ll keep trying to raise base or one of the other teams.” Cody shouted.
The SUV bounced and lurched its way back over the route it had taken and finally reached the coastal highway where Miles jammed the pedal down. Cody still couldn’t make contact with base but was able to reach another patrolling team who confirmed that base was incommunicado. As they roared up the coastal highway Cody pointed towards a rising plume of dense black smoke ahead of them. “Looks like shit’s gone down, boys.”
“Fuck,” Keith swore, peering around Cody’ headrest to look ahead. “So much for site security.”
“Guys, we’ve got a roadblock ahead.” Cody said, pointing. A dilapidated cargo truck had stopped and was attempting to turn around. A pair of pickup trucks were just visible beyond it, blocking off the road in a shallow V. Men in mismatched fatigues and headscarves stood atop them holding rifles.
“Are those our guys?” Miles asked, slowing the SUV.
“Fuck if I can tell from here.” Cody said.
“Well I’m not fucking moving up.” Miles said.
“Go around,” Eduardo said, peering out his window. “No ditch here.”
“Go now while the truck is between us and them.” Keith added.
“Hang on.” Miles gunned the SUV down the shallow embankment parallel to the roadblock.
Keith twisted around in his seat. “They’re tracking us”.
Miles glanced in the rearview mirror. The guards were pointing and waving their arms at the SUV. One of them with a pistol in one hand and a radio in the other seemed to be giving orders
“Are we still under the ROE?” Cody asked. “I’d really like to shoot back if they try to kill us.”
“I’m not dying over fucked comms and a misunderstanding.” Keith said.
The checkpoint guards were scrambling into their trucks. One of them ripped off a burst that went wide.
“Fuck it, that’s good enough for me,” Miles said, slamming on the brakes. “Dismount and engage hostiles.”
The men threw themselves out of the vehicle. Eduardo and Cody went prone in the dirt and began firing. On the other side Keith propped his rifle on the vehicle’s bumper and squeezed off several careful shots.
The checkpoint guards had been caught by surprise by the sudden attack. One of the trucks had just roared into motion when the bullets began punching through the windshield. The other was still parked, its crew climbing into the cab when the shooting started. Multiple rounds smashed the windshield into a starred, opaque mess. The driver leaped from the seat and ran for cover behind the truck wheels. Miles shot him in the back and he dropped.
The other truck rolled forward down the shallow incline with a dead driver at the wheel. The guards in the back continued firing over the roof. The back window of the SUV shattered and bullets banged off the steel frame, showering Keith and Eduardo with shards of safety glass. Miles fired at a guard crouched in the truck bed and the man disappeared, then popped back up again when Miles shifted targets. Miles shifted back and fired again, his gun clicking empty on the third shot. He dropped the empty magazine and yanked a new one from his vest. The new mag clicked into place and Miles resumed shooting. A corner of his mind was pleasantly surprised at how easily it was done under fire.
One of the guards on the far truck bailed off the back and fled across the road, disappearing into the ditch on the far side. Suddenly no one was firing back at them.
Miles cautiously rose to his feet. With Keith and Cody covering him, he and Eduardo circled wide around the checkpoint, scanning for any sign of life. Nothing moved but wisps of steam from under the hood of one of the trucks. He waved the others in. They swept the checkpoint carefully. There were six dead guards and a blood trail leading out into the brush.
“Fuck.” Keith said emphatically.
“Fuck me,” Cody said, slotting in a fresh mag. “You guys good?
“I’m good.” Keith said.
“Good here.” Eduardo said, patting himself down.
“I’m ok.” Martin said.
“Fuck,” Keith said again. “Fuckers just opened up on us. These weren’t local security, right?”
“Check the bodies for intel,” Miles said, already rifling through the pockets of one of the shooters. “I don’t know who the fuck these guys were but we’re gonna get grilled about this.”
The three of them methodically searched the bodies while Eduardo held overwatch. None of the bodies had any documents on them. The weapons were gathered and stacked in the back of one of the trucks while the bodies were laid out next to it. Martin retrieved their SUV which proved to have suffered no worse damage than shot out windows and the four of them piled in.
Cody finally got a response on the radio as they neared the base. A rattled Adams responded to their calls by ordering them in to assist with base security. “Radio shack got hit and we’ve been dealing with jamming. We still have two patrols out in the field who haven’t reported in, we need you to assist in maintaining a defensive perimeter.”
“Copy that, boss. Tell base we’re coming in so don’t fucking shoot at us. Already dealt with that once today.”
They dismounted in the central courtyard. The comms building had taken a direct hit from an RPG and was still smoking. Two sheet covered bodies lay beside it. Several of the other buildings had bullet holes and other signs of battle damage.
As directed, the team took up defensive positions on the roof of one of the perimeter buildings. Dallas’ team was on a nearby building overlooking the main entrance. Miles got on the radio and contacted them.
“Glad to see y’all made it,” Dallas said by way of greeting. “Been a real shitshow here.” He pointed towards the billowing black smoke belching out of the wreckage of the oil pipeline terminal. “Probably not getting our contract renewed for this site.”
“So what the fuck happened?” Miles asked.
“Don’t know. We were in the bunkhouse when we heard the radio shack get hit. Whoever it was lit the place up and then peeled out. We had barely gotten outside when the oil terminal went up. Someone said they saw Sea Ports Corporation logos on the trucks but I don’t know if that’s true. All I saw was dust.”
“Shit, you think that’s true? Locals were behind this?”
“Someone with more brains than your average fanatic is. They knew exactly what to hit and exactly how to jam our comms.”
“They mined the roads along our patrol routes too, so either they’ve been watching us or they paid off someone on the inside.”
“Smart.” Dallas said.
“I saw the two bodies by the radio shack. Any of your team get hit?”
“Negative. They were in and out. I think someone in the admin building caught a stray round but that was all.”
“I know Shedge was on shift in comms,” Miles said. “Who was the other?”
“Morris.” Dallas said.
They fell silent for a while.
The two missing patrol teams drove in thirty minutes later in a single shot up SUV. They had come under long range fire from hidden enemies and had evaded out into the desert. One of the vehicles had been disabled, but the team managed to dismount and take cover while the other vehicle moved to pick them up. One team member had been grazed on the leg and another had taken a hit to the chest plate. The uninjured team members joined them on the perimeter defense. No attack materialized.
A convoy of Sudanese military vehicles rolled in late that evening to take charge of the terminal. The PMC personnel were ordered to collect their personal items and evacuate the site. The Sudanese wanted them out, so while the company lawyers argued with the Sudanese administration, all personnel on the ground were transported out to Port Sudan International Airport for flights back to the United States.
Miles, Keith, Cody, and Eduardo caught up with each other outside the terminal. Keith was chatting with two of the airport ground crew in passable Arabic as the others walked up.
“Hey, you guys aren’t going to believe this but apparently there’s been a bunch of foreign fighter types coming through here in the past several weeks.” Keith said by way of greeting.
“Go fucking figure.” Miles said.
“I don’t even give a shit,” Cody said, unwrapping a pack of cigarettes. “In a couple of hours I’ll be on my way back home with a fat early contract termination check in my pocket.”
Eduardo nodded. “We all survived, importantly.”
“Amen to that.” Cody said.
The ground crew members bid Keith farewell and sauntered off towards the terminal.
There was silence for a minute while Cody methodically extracted and lit up a cigarette.
“That was pretty fucking badass though,” Miles said. “Shot our way out of an ambush and drove home.”
“Pretty wild.” Keith agreed.
“Never saw the people I killed before,” Eduardo said. “Returning fire yes, but not securing the bodies. Always gone afterwards.”
“I definitely had that out-of-body feeling you get sometimes under fire,” Cody said. “Like you’re just watching your own body go through the motions while you sit and watch.”
“I never got that,” Miles said. “I was inside my own head but I always knew somehow what to do next. Like even when we swept the roadblock I knew exactly where to turn and where the bodies were going to be. It sounds crazy but I wasn’t really scared of getting shot, I was scared of moving wrong or stepping in the wrong place and I’d break the focus and suddenly I’d have to think through every motion again.”
Eduardo nodded. “I know how that feels.”
Another silence. Cody took a deep drag on the cigarette.
“You don’t think we’ll get fired over this, do you?” Keith asked. “Because I still have bills to pay back home and I don’t need this on my record.”
“I doubt it,” Cody said. “I mean, its completely out of our hands so who the fuck knows really. But its not something you get fired over. You see how fast they’re pulling us out of here, like no operation debrief or anything? Company’s got bigger problems to worry about right now.”
“Like the oil pipeline that got blown up, not about a possible bad shoot in the desert.” Keith said.
“Oil terminal.” Miles corrected quietly.
“You watch,” Cody continued. “In about three days some Vericom executive is going to strap on his golden parachute and take a dive off the top floor because the company stock dipped by sixty cents. Then we’ll all get an email with a big fat non-disclosure agreement attached showing up in our inboxes.”
“You would work for them again?” Eduardo sounded surprised.
“Fuck it, why not?” Cody said. “The pay’s good, and what are the odds that a fuck up like this happens to me twice?”
“Seems like higher odds than before.” Miles said.
“Everybody’s running a little hot these days,” Keith said. “You’ve got the Syrian and Yemen civil wars, the military coup in Turkey, the bombings in Europe, the riots in India, the drug wars in Mexico and southeast Asia, plus that bombing at the Olympics.”
“I still think that one was a false flag.” Cody said.
“Bullshit, that was the work of ISIS scum.” Eduardo replied angrily.
“He’s got a point, Cody,” Miles said. “They grabbed one of the bombers before he could clack off his vest after all.”
“Maybe,” Cody said. “Now the shooting at the Clinton rally, that was a false flag, no question. The FBI practically admitted it. They’re terrified she’ll lose and they need a few martyrs.”
“Don’t know why you pay so much attention to that,” Miles said. “Not like the other guy is any better. Just a pair of narcissistic old fucks getting their rocks off on the American people’s dime.”
“I like to know which side is going to be screaming about a rigged election for the next four years while their savings and civil liberties go up in smoke.” Cody lit another cigarette from the butt of the first.
“You know I hate it when you chain smoke and turn into Alex Jones.” Miles said.
“Brother, you should see me on meth.” Cody grinned.
“I didn’t know you smoked at all.” Eduardo said.
“Only on the way home,” Cody said. “Otherwise I don’t.”
The four of them stood around on the airport tarmac until the encroaching evening chill drove them inside with the rest of the Vericom personnel. Miles’ last glimpse of Sudan was the stark black outline of the western hills as the sun sank behind them. Then night fell and the only light was the harsh white arc lights of the airport illuminating the red and white airliner being fueled to carry them home.
$$$$
News Headlines of the day:
FBI: Philadelphia shooter had ‘strong ties’ to right wing ultranationalist groups.
US economy signals uncertainty as Far East trade war heats up.
British lawmaker shot dead, EU referendum campaigns suspended
Prominent Mexican politician, family among the dead following Sinaloa cartel gun battle.
‘Terrorism is not welcome here’: Sudanese President issues warning following oil pipeline bombing.
submitted by Common_Victory9385 to WritersGroup [link] [comments]
19°28’N 37°14’E
Near Port Sudan, Sudan, Africa.
Another helicopter thundered past in the distance, following the line of the oil pipeline back towards the port facilities.
"That's three in the past hour," Cody observed. "Still think nothing's going on?" "I think if you want to bother Adams again it's gonna be your ass." Keith replied.
"Come on, don't be like that." Cody said.
"Nope."
"Come on, don't be a bitch."
"Nope."
"Bitch says what."
"Nope."
"Got fifty bucks says you won't do it."
"Nope."
"Will both of you shut the fuck up," Eduardo groaned from the back seat of the vehicle. "We're almost done here and you can go harass Adams in person when we get back to base."
"Yeah but I'm curious now." Cody said.
"Well, tell Miles to turn this vic around and we can go."
"What do you say, Miles? You know Adams doesn't check the log timestamps too closely."
"The final marker is literally thirty meters away," Miles said patiently. "I will turn the vic around there and we will drive back to base and you can badger Adams into a stroke on your own time. Until then, watch your sector."
"Uh well, my sector's full of sand, can I have a different one?"
"There's some rocks in mine."
"Like the face of the fucking moon out here, man." Cody moaned.
"Maybe you shouldn't have signed up for a job in the fucking Sudan, genius." Eduardo said.
"Man, I'm just here for the money." Cody replied.
"Well, I'm not here for the weather." Martin said, cranking the wheel around in a practiced motion. The battered white SUV slewed around, wheels spraying dust and pebbles. Cody keyed the radio on his vest. "Base, this is Cody checking in. We're at the outer marker for the southern patrol path, heading back, over."
There was the faint buzz of static.
"Copy that, Cody. Any contacts?"
"No contacts, base. All quiet here. Out."
Martin patted Cody on the shoulder. "Proud of you, buddy. That took real strength."
Cody flipped him off.
The radio crackled again. "Cody, this is base, where did you say you were?"
"Base, this is Cody, we are at the outer marker for our patrol route, heading back your way, over."
"Uh, copy Cody, hang on one second."
“Cody, this is Adams,” a new voice said over the radio. “I need your team to swing west and investigate unauthorized activity near the pipeline in, uh grid square A54-41."
"The fuck this is Cody's team." Keith muttered from the back.
"Copy that, Adams, we'll move to investigate immediately," Cody said crisply. "Any intel on the intruders?"
The radio crackled again. "The uh, number of intruders is unknown at this time."
Miles keyed his own radio. "Adams, who called this report in?"
"The report was forwarded to us by local security forces."
A chorus of groans rose from the interior of the SUV.
"Fuckin' locals." Eduardo said.
"And why isn't local security handling this?"
"Miles, I don't need to remind you that Vericom has been contracted to guard the terminal facilities and pipeline-"
"Yeah yeah, spare me the geopolitics, Adams, I'm just a dumb trigger puller, remember? I'm not asking you why I'm here, I'm asking why the very much armed local security isn't apprehending the trespassers."
"The local security called it in," Adams replied in a tight, angry voice. "And under the terms of our contract we are responsible for apprehending any trespassers in our zone. Is that satisfactory, Mr. Martin?"
"Copy, moving to apprehend. Out."
"Fuckin' locals." Eduardo muttered again as the SUV turned towards the new destination.
"Coming up on the location now." Cody was tapping at the topographical map displayed on his ruggedized tablet.
"Copy that," Miles said absently, maneuvering the SUV around a scattering of larger boulders. Behind him Keith rolled down his window and propped the muzzle of his M4 carbine on the opening.
"Relax," Eduardo said. "Just some lost people."
"Maybe." Keith said, squinting out over the dusty, rolling terrain.
The SUV bounced over the crest of another low ridge, the long dust plume trailing behind it in the harsh midday sun. Miles slowed to a stop. In the far distance there was a glint of light off a moving vehicle traversing the coastal highway. There was no other sign of life in sight.
"Yeah, there's nothing out here." Cody said after a few moments.
Keith had extracted a pair of binoculars from his chest rig and was scanning the surroundings.
"Nothing on this side, boss." Eduardo said.
"Keith?" Miles said.
"Nothing moving but heat haze."
"Cody, call in negative contact. Let's head back to base." Miles said as the SUV rolled forward.
"Copy copy." Cody keyed his radio. "Base, this is Cody, we're at grid A54-41, negative on contact with intruders, over."
"Copy that Cody, we haven't gotten any other reports in your zone, go ahead and head in."
"Thanks very much, base, will do. Cody out."
The SUV bumped and bounced its way back onto the “paved” road. While the main coastal highway was in decent shape, the smaller roads were mostly potholes and washouts held together by cracked concrete and gravel. Although flatter than the surrounding landscape, it was a bold or desperate driver that would risk driving on it at normal highway speeds. This fact most likely saved four lives as Miles had plenty of time to spot the dusty tan plate lying in the road as the vehicle slowly bounced towards it.
“Guys, is that a land mine I’m seeing in the road ahead?” Miles said, pointing. “Directly ahead, maybe twenty yards, just past the two bushes.”
Cody sat up, peering through the dusty windshield. “Slow up, slow up. Shit, I think you’re right.”
“Call it in,” Miles said. “We use this road all the time, what was the last team through here?"
"Dallas' team had outer perimeter patrol this morning." Keith volunteered.
"Base, this is Cody, we've got what looks like a landmine on Route 33, maybe two or three klicks from the coastal highway, please advise, over."
There was a brief hiss of static. No reply.
"Base, do you read, over?"
Static.
“Base, this is a fucking great time for a coffee break!”
No answer.
“Guys, I think this is a no shit situation,” Miles said, putting the SUV in reverse. “Let’s get off the X and back to base.”
Cody slid his AR up into the ready position. Keith and Eduardo already had their rifles out and ready.
Miles executed a hasty three point turn and gunned the SUV back the way they had come.
“How concerned should we be right now?” Keith shouted over the engine noise. “Not the
first time we’ve lost comms with base out here.”
“Could be nothing,” Miles shouted back. “But out here it could be a strike on the port or oil terminal. Not that hard to jam comms and drop a few mines on the roads.”
“Hell, I’m here for it.” Keith shouted.
“I’ll keep trying to raise base or one of the other teams.” Cody shouted.
The SUV bounced and lurched its way back over the route it had taken and finally reached the coastal highway where Miles jammed the pedal down. Cody still couldn’t make contact with base but was able to reach another patrolling team who confirmed that base was incommunicado. As they roared up the coastal highway Cody pointed towards a rising plume of dense black smoke ahead of them. “Looks like shit’s gone down, boys.”
“Fuck,” Keith swore, peering around Cody’ headrest to look ahead. “So much for site security.”
“Guys, we’ve got a roadblock ahead.” Cody said, pointing. A dilapidated cargo truck had stopped and was attempting to turn around. A pair of pickup trucks were just visible beyond it, blocking off the road in a shallow V. Men in mismatched fatigues and headscarves stood atop them holding rifles.
“Are those our guys?” Miles asked, slowing the SUV.
“Fuck if I can tell from here.” Cody said.
“Well I’m not fucking moving up.” Miles said.
“Go around,” Eduardo said, peering out his window. “No ditch here.”
“Go now while the truck is between us and them.” Keith added.
“Hang on.” Miles gunned the SUV down the shallow embankment parallel to the roadblock.
Keith twisted around in his seat. “They’re tracking us”.
Miles glanced in the rearview mirror. The guards were pointing and waving their arms at the SUV. One of them with a pistol in one hand and a radio in the other seemed to be giving orders
“Are we still under the ROE?” Cody asked. “I’d really like to shoot back if they try to kill us.”
“I’m not dying over fucked comms and a misunderstanding.” Keith said.
The checkpoint guards were scrambling into their trucks. One of them ripped off a burst that went wide.
“Fuck it, that’s good enough for me,” Miles said, slamming on the brakes. “Dismount and engage hostiles.”
The men threw themselves out of the vehicle. Eduardo and Cody went prone in the dirt and began firing. On the other side Keith propped his rifle on the vehicle’s bumper and squeezed off several careful shots.
The checkpoint guards had been caught by surprise by the sudden attack. One of the trucks had just roared into motion when the bullets began punching through the windshield. The other was still parked, its crew climbing into the cab when the shooting started. Multiple rounds smashed the windshield into a starred, opaque mess. The driver leaped from the seat and ran for cover behind the truck wheels. Miles shot him in the back and he dropped.
The other truck rolled forward down the shallow incline with a dead driver at the wheel. The guards in the back continued firing over the roof. The back window of the SUV shattered and bullets banged off the steel frame, showering Keith and Eduardo with shards of safety glass. Miles fired at a guard crouched in the truck bed and the man disappeared, then popped back up again when Miles shifted targets. Miles shifted back and fired again, his gun clicking empty on the third shot. He dropped the empty magazine and yanked a new one from his vest. The new mag clicked into place and Miles resumed shooting. A corner of his mind was pleasantly surprised at how easily it was done under fire.
One of the guards on the far truck bailed off the back and fled across the road, disappearing into the ditch on the far side. Suddenly no one was firing back at them.
Miles cautiously rose to his feet. With Keith and Cody covering him, he and Eduardo circled wide around the checkpoint, scanning for any sign of life. Nothing moved but wisps of steam from under the hood of one of the trucks. He waved the others in. They swept the checkpoint carefully. There were six dead guards and a blood trail leading out into the brush.
“Fuck.” Keith said emphatically.
“Fuck me,” Cody said, slotting in a fresh mag. “You guys good?
“I’m good.” Keith said.
“Good here.” Eduardo said, patting himself down.
“I’m ok.” Martin said.
“Fuck,” Keith said again. “Fuckers just opened up on us. These weren’t local security, right?”
“Check the bodies for intel,” Miles said, already rifling through the pockets of one of the shooters. “I don’t know who the fuck these guys were but we’re gonna get grilled about this.”
The three of them methodically searched the bodies while Eduardo held overwatch. None of the bodies had any documents on them. The weapons were gathered and stacked in the back of one of the trucks while the bodies were laid out next to it. Martin retrieved their SUV which proved to have suffered no worse damage than shot out windows and the four of them piled in.
Cody finally got a response on the radio as they neared the base. A rattled Adams responded to their calls by ordering them in to assist with base security. “Radio shack got hit and we’ve been dealing with jamming. We still have two patrols out in the field who haven’t reported in, we need you to assist in maintaining a defensive perimeter.”
“Copy that, boss. Tell base we’re coming in so don’t fucking shoot at us. Already dealt with that once today.”
They dismounted in the central courtyard. The comms building had taken a direct hit from an RPG and was still smoking. Two sheet covered bodies lay beside it. Several of the other buildings had bullet holes and other signs of battle damage.
As directed, the team took up defensive positions on the roof of one of the perimeter buildings. Dallas’ team was on a nearby building overlooking the main entrance. Miles got on the radio and contacted them.
“Glad to see y’all made it,” Dallas said by way of greeting. “Been a real shitshow here.” He pointed towards the billowing black smoke belching out of the wreckage of the oil pipeline terminal. “Probably not getting our contract renewed for this site.”
“So what the fuck happened?” Miles asked.
“Don’t know. We were in the bunkhouse when we heard the radio shack get hit. Whoever it was lit the place up and then peeled out. We had barely gotten outside when the oil terminal went up. Someone said they saw Sea Ports Corporation logos on the trucks but I don’t know if that’s true. All I saw was dust.”
“Shit, you think that’s true? Locals were behind this?”
“Someone with more brains than your average fanatic is. They knew exactly what to hit and exactly how to jam our comms.”
“They mined the roads along our patrol routes too, so either they’ve been watching us or they paid off someone on the inside.”
“Smart.” Dallas said.
“I saw the two bodies by the radio shack. Any of your team get hit?”
“Negative. They were in and out. I think someone in the admin building caught a stray round but that was all.”
“I know Shedge was on shift in comms,” Miles said. “Who was the other?”
“Morris.” Dallas said.
They fell silent for a while.
The two missing patrol teams drove in thirty minutes later in a single shot up SUV. They had come under long range fire from hidden enemies and had evaded out into the desert. One of the vehicles had been disabled, but the team managed to dismount and take cover while the other vehicle moved to pick them up. One team member had been grazed on the leg and another had taken a hit to the chest plate. The uninjured team members joined them on the perimeter defense. No attack materialized.
A convoy of Sudanese military vehicles rolled in late that evening to take charge of the terminal. The PMC personnel were ordered to collect their personal items and evacuate the site. The Sudanese wanted them out, so while the company lawyers argued with the Sudanese administration, all personnel on the ground were transported out to Port Sudan International Airport for flights back to the United States.
Miles, Keith, Cody, and Eduardo caught up with each other outside the terminal. Keith was chatting with two of the airport ground crew in passable Arabic as the others walked up.
“Hey, you guys aren’t going to believe this but apparently there’s been a bunch of foreign fighter types coming through here in the past several weeks.” Keith said by way of greeting.
“Go fucking figure.” Miles said.
“I don’t even give a shit,” Cody said, unwrapping a pack of cigarettes. “In a couple of hours I’ll be on my way back home with a fat early contract termination check in my pocket.”
Eduardo nodded. “We all survived, importantly.”
“Amen to that.” Cody said.
The ground crew members bid Keith farewell and sauntered off towards the terminal.
There was silence for a minute while Cody methodically extracted and lit up a cigarette.
“That was pretty fucking badass though,” Miles said. “Shot our way out of an ambush and drove home.”
“Pretty wild.” Keith agreed.
“Never saw the people I killed before,” Eduardo said. “Returning fire yes, but not securing the bodies. Always gone afterwards.”
“I definitely had that out-of-body feeling you get sometimes under fire,” Cody said. “Like you’re just watching your own body go through the motions while you sit and watch.”
“I never got that,” Miles said. “I was inside my own head but I always knew somehow what to do next. Like even when we swept the roadblock I knew exactly where to turn and where the bodies were going to be. It sounds crazy but I wasn’t really scared of getting shot, I was scared of moving wrong or stepping in the wrong place and I’d break the focus and suddenly I’d have to think through every motion again.”
Eduardo nodded. “I know how that feels.”
Another silence. Cody took a deep drag on the cigarette.
“You don’t think we’ll get fired over this, do you?” Keith asked. “Because I still have bills to pay back home and I don’t need this on my record.”
“I doubt it,” Cody said. “I mean, its completely out of our hands so who the fuck knows really. But its not something you get fired over. You see how fast they’re pulling us out of here, like no operation debrief or anything? Company’s got bigger problems to worry about right now.”
“Like the oil pipeline that got blown up, not about a possible bad shoot in the desert.” Keith said.
“Oil terminal.” Miles corrected quietly.
“You watch,” Cody continued. “In about three days some Vericom executive is going to strap on his golden parachute and take a dive off the top floor because the company stock dipped by sixty cents. Then we’ll all get an email with a big fat non-disclosure agreement attached showing up in our inboxes.”
“You would work for them again?” Eduardo sounded surprised.
“Fuck it, why not?” Cody said. “The pay’s good, and what are the odds that a fuck up like this happens to me twice?”
“Seems like higher odds than before.” Miles said.
“Everybody’s running a little hot these days,” Keith said. “You’ve got the Syrian and Yemen civil wars, the military coup in Turkey, the bombings in Europe, the riots in India, the drug wars in Mexico and southeast Asia, plus that bombing at the Olympics.”
“I still think that one was a false flag.” Cody said.
“Bullshit, that was the work of ISIS scum.” Eduardo replied angrily.
“He’s got a point, Cody,” Miles said. “They grabbed one of the bombers before he could clack off his vest after all.”
“Maybe,” Cody said. “Now the shooting at the Clinton rally, that was a false flag, no question. The FBI practically admitted it. They’re terrified she’ll lose and they need a few martyrs.”
“Don’t know why you pay so much attention to that,” Miles said. “Not like the other guy is any better. Just a pair of narcissistic old fucks getting their rocks off on the American people’s dime.”
“I like to know which side is going to be screaming about a rigged election for the next four years while their savings and civil liberties go up in smoke.” Cody lit another cigarette from the butt of the first.
“You know I hate it when you chain smoke and turn into Alex Jones.” Miles said.
“Brother, you should see me on meth.” Cody grinned.
“I didn’t know you smoked at all.” Eduardo said.
“Only on the way home,” Cody said. “Otherwise I don’t.”
The four of them stood around on the airport tarmac until the encroaching evening chill drove them inside with the rest of the Vericom personnel. Miles’ last glimpse of Sudan was the stark black outline of the western hills as the sun sank behind them. Then night fell and the only light was the harsh white arc lights of the airport illuminating the red and white airliner being fueled to carry them home.
$$$$
News Headlines of the day:
FBI: Philadelphia shooter had ‘strong ties’ to right wing ultranationalist groups.
US economy signals uncertainty as Far East trade war heats up.
British lawmaker shot dead, EU referendum campaigns suspended
Prominent Mexican politician, family among the dead following Sinaloa cartel gun battle.
‘Terrorism is not welcome here’: Sudanese President issues warning following oil pipeline bombing.
2023.06.02 17:34 treslilbirds YA book about two brothers that have a fishing competition
I randomly thought about this book last night and remember a lot of details but not the title! I read it in the mid 90s so it was probably published anywhere from late 80s to early 90s. It was about the length of a Goosebumps book.
There’s two brothers (I’m pretty sure they were brothers), one is your stereotypical boy, messy, likes fishing, etc. The other brother is the opposite, wears suits, doesn’t like getting dirty. There’s also a neighbor girl, she lives with her grandmother in a house that “looks like a dollhouse” and they have a mud ring in the front yard for butterflies to drink out of.
The brothers end up having a competition to see who can catch the most fish. The not messy brother ends up going to the pet store and buys some guppies to cheat and win. I think he had a sonar fish finder as well.
I can even remember the cover. It was the fancy brother sitting in a boat wearing glasses, a blue suit and white gloves holding a fishing pole.
Help! TIA!
submitted by treslilbirds to whatsthatbook [link] [comments]
There’s two brothers (I’m pretty sure they were brothers), one is your stereotypical boy, messy, likes fishing, etc. The other brother is the opposite, wears suits, doesn’t like getting dirty. There’s also a neighbor girl, she lives with her grandmother in a house that “looks like a dollhouse” and they have a mud ring in the front yard for butterflies to drink out of.
The brothers end up having a competition to see who can catch the most fish. The not messy brother ends up going to the pet store and buys some guppies to cheat and win. I think he had a sonar fish finder as well.
I can even remember the cover. It was the fancy brother sitting in a boat wearing glasses, a blue suit and white gloves holding a fishing pole.
Help! TIA!
2023.06.02 17:02 TheBibliobibuli The time I took 7 tabs of an NBOMe.
This is my trip report for the time I took 7 tabs of suspected N-bombs. It was the most bonkers, embarrassing, and dangerous psychedelic experience I have ever had. The only experience I kinda regret. I’ll be changing the names of the folks involved out of respect for their identities.
This all happened around Glasgow in late 2019. I had an unfortunate break up with my long time girlfriend and was itching for an escape from reality that I hoped LSD would provide. I met Marty a few months prior, who has since grown to be my best friend, and he introduced me to a drug dealer, Calum, in the area.
I purchased some ALD-52 from Calum, which Marty & I tested & found safe. With this we had 2 spectacular trips; hiking around the hills of Scotland and providing me with some great memories.
So, when Calum mentioned he could get us LSD I jumped on the opportunity and agreed to meet him under a bridge. Under this bridge a white van pulled up, slid open its door, and Calum instructed me from the passenger seat to get in . I decided to obey the call of adventure, hopped in, and we took off.
Inside the back were two men I hadn’t met, a chemistry set, and a big unconcerned dog (probably their security). The man by the gizmos and vials asked me how much I wanted, and I said ‘’14 tabs’’. He used a dropper to make them on the spot before I paid them and they dropped me off back at the bridge.
I rushed home like Charlie with a golden ticket to meet Marty and show him the goods. We decided to dive into the deep end & each take 7 tabs right away, around 6 pm. The tabs tasted the way the fingers of the guy who made them looked: bitter. We had no idea this was a red flag and our dumbasses were too excited to wait and test the tabs. So began the trip.
Shortly after, Marty suggested we take the train over to his friend Ben’s house, because ‘Ben was a chill’. We headed out and I was already feeling its effects. By the time we reached Ben’s place (Maybe 30 minutes later) I was already having the strongest psychedelic experience I’ve ever had to this day. I knew I was in for a ride.
The walls were grabbing onto my hands, my body was losing its form, and I was mostly non-verbal. Everything I saw was made of fractals, faces, eyeballs, and vortices. Everything I thought of was biblically profound. I felt undying love from the universe and was convinced Marty felt the same.
This is a good time to mention Martie’s odd tolerance to psychedelics. He’s listed this as the only true psychedelic experience he’s ever had, amongst the many he’s attempted. The time when we each took a heroic 6g mushroom trip he hardly felt a thing while I was facing ego death. He was definitely blasted on this trip but fortunately wasn’t delusional the way I was, and kept me a little under control.
I remember snippets of what it was like at Ben’s and the rest has been filled in by Marty. Ben was playing Dead Island and kept using the ziplines and his TV’s max volume to trip me out. The environment around me kept exploding into spiraling multi-colored pixels which revealed an empty white subspace behind it. It was like the universe was unraveling. Everything I looked at would explosively dissolve in this way leading me to believe I was god. I thought fate made us meet Ben that day so he could reveal to us our reality warping powers. I thought I could do anything with practice and decided the first thing I would do was make a cup of tea out of whiskey, multiple tea bags, dish soap, and anything else I got my hands on in Ben’s kitchen... He was a good sport about it.
Marty came to stop me and when he did my delusions deepened. I became convinced we were living infinite reincarnations of every life and that we were the physical manifestation of Yin & Yang. I also wanted to call my mom and tell her what I’d learned but Marty assured me it'd be better to tell her later. We returned to the living room & I whipped my shirt off 'with hilarious vigor', as Marty put it.
I was convinced I knew the meaning to life, the universe, and everything, and that Marty & Ben were on the same wavelength as me. I thought we were sharing the same thoughts and were upon the same path of enlightenment. But, my delight turned to devastation when they told me they weren’t as interconnected with me as I thought, and that I was experiencing delusions. This is when the path of my trip changed.
A sense of foolishness hit me hard, and the direction of my emotions took a sharp turn. I understood I didn’t understand what was happening around me or what was real. I thought Marty & Ben were conspiring against me and working to keep me in the apartment for all eternity. I tried keeping track of time to witness its progression but every time I checked the time nothing changed. I thought I had gone insane and that fate had set me to live in that very moment forever. I was panicking and I needed to rebel against fate, so I ran out of the apartment and collapsed in the stairwell.
My escape from that environment satisfied me and I calmed down. The concrete was cool and I laid splayed outside the door. Marty came to see if I was alright and once he confirmed I hadn’t run away, he went back to trip on the couch. This is when my trip reached its peak.
I have no memory of what happened around me at this point. People could have been stepping on me to leave their apartments and I will never know. Everything became fractals. The fractal pattern kept diversifying and growing until it reached its climax. This following experience blows me away to this day.
For the next eternity all I could see was, what I can best describe as, the most realistic representation of a Penrose diagram possible. I could sense the infinities compressed at its edges and all I could hear was an earth shatteringly loud roar. I kept saying, or screaming, or imagining I was screaming: ‘IT’S SO BIG! OH MY GOD THERE’S SO MUCH! IT’S SO BIG!’. I felt like I was in the presence of the immensity of the universe and it was utterly overwhelming.
My trip likely manifested as a Penrose diagram (or, Penrose-Lovecraftian horror) because I’d been learning about them at the time. It’s interesting that something I learned so recently was so present in my trip
Some time later the trip died enough for me to find my bearings. I was wearing Marty’s shoes and my shirt was back on, so I decided it was time for a walk. When I left the building I was exhausted and it was dark out, but the world was fascinating. I remember stepping out in front of a car and it honking at me. So I took note to beware of traffic.
Life was still fractals and things had tracers but I was enjoying the air. I thought I was past my delusional state, but this is when I saw something I can’t explain. A few blocks ahead I saw a crowd of 7-9 people wearing neon safety vests turn a corner and run opposite to my direction. They were followed by 3 police officers a moment later. I wondered what the hub-bub was but my mind quickly wandered elsewhere when they faded out of site. However, when I reached that same corner, the exact same crowd came around and passed by me. I knew they were the same people and I anticipated the police following a moment later. And they did. Those same police came jogging passed and followed the crowd. They all disappeared into the distance leaving me stunned.
It still bothers me thinking about what parts of that experience were real and what was hallucination. It wasn't like predictable psychedelic hallucinations such as geometry and tracers, but, a real situation with context and uncertainty. Seeing them felt like a dream outside a dream.
After this, I hopped onto the first train going the right direction home, but I was kicked off by a ticket inspector a few stops down. I waited for the following train and happened to meet Marty on it with my stuff, which felt like fate truly had my back.
Though I was still somewhat lost in the sauce, Marty recounted the evening to me, and bought me some chocolate on the way home. We got back and Marty passed out quick, though I couldn’t sleep until late the next morning.
This was the most dangerous, embarrassing, and remarkable psychedelic trip I’ve ever had. I’m very grateful I had Marty looking out for me on this one. Since then I’ve entered fractal land and ego death a few times, but nothing compares to this experience. In a more controlled environment, and with a safer drug, I would do it again.
TL;DR Fake LSD showed me cosmic horror
Edit: grammar
submitted by TheBibliobibuli to PsychedSubstance [link] [comments]
This all happened around Glasgow in late 2019. I had an unfortunate break up with my long time girlfriend and was itching for an escape from reality that I hoped LSD would provide. I met Marty a few months prior, who has since grown to be my best friend, and he introduced me to a drug dealer, Calum, in the area.
I purchased some ALD-52 from Calum, which Marty & I tested & found safe. With this we had 2 spectacular trips; hiking around the hills of Scotland and providing me with some great memories.
So, when Calum mentioned he could get us LSD I jumped on the opportunity and agreed to meet him under a bridge. Under this bridge a white van pulled up, slid open its door, and Calum instructed me from the passenger seat to get in . I decided to obey the call of adventure, hopped in, and we took off.
Inside the back were two men I hadn’t met, a chemistry set, and a big unconcerned dog (probably their security). The man by the gizmos and vials asked me how much I wanted, and I said ‘’14 tabs’’. He used a dropper to make them on the spot before I paid them and they dropped me off back at the bridge.
I rushed home like Charlie with a golden ticket to meet Marty and show him the goods. We decided to dive into the deep end & each take 7 tabs right away, around 6 pm. The tabs tasted the way the fingers of the guy who made them looked: bitter. We had no idea this was a red flag and our dumbasses were too excited to wait and test the tabs. So began the trip.
Shortly after, Marty suggested we take the train over to his friend Ben’s house, because ‘Ben was a chill’. We headed out and I was already feeling its effects. By the time we reached Ben’s place (Maybe 30 minutes later) I was already having the strongest psychedelic experience I’ve ever had to this day. I knew I was in for a ride.
The walls were grabbing onto my hands, my body was losing its form, and I was mostly non-verbal. Everything I saw was made of fractals, faces, eyeballs, and vortices. Everything I thought of was biblically profound. I felt undying love from the universe and was convinced Marty felt the same.
This is a good time to mention Martie’s odd tolerance to psychedelics. He’s listed this as the only true psychedelic experience he’s ever had, amongst the many he’s attempted. The time when we each took a heroic 6g mushroom trip he hardly felt a thing while I was facing ego death. He was definitely blasted on this trip but fortunately wasn’t delusional the way I was, and kept me a little under control.
I remember snippets of what it was like at Ben’s and the rest has been filled in by Marty. Ben was playing Dead Island and kept using the ziplines and his TV’s max volume to trip me out. The environment around me kept exploding into spiraling multi-colored pixels which revealed an empty white subspace behind it. It was like the universe was unraveling. Everything I looked at would explosively dissolve in this way leading me to believe I was god. I thought fate made us meet Ben that day so he could reveal to us our reality warping powers. I thought I could do anything with practice and decided the first thing I would do was make a cup of tea out of whiskey, multiple tea bags, dish soap, and anything else I got my hands on in Ben’s kitchen... He was a good sport about it.
Marty came to stop me and when he did my delusions deepened. I became convinced we were living infinite reincarnations of every life and that we were the physical manifestation of Yin & Yang. I also wanted to call my mom and tell her what I’d learned but Marty assured me it'd be better to tell her later. We returned to the living room & I whipped my shirt off 'with hilarious vigor', as Marty put it.
I was convinced I knew the meaning to life, the universe, and everything, and that Marty & Ben were on the same wavelength as me. I thought we were sharing the same thoughts and were upon the same path of enlightenment. But, my delight turned to devastation when they told me they weren’t as interconnected with me as I thought, and that I was experiencing delusions. This is when the path of my trip changed.
A sense of foolishness hit me hard, and the direction of my emotions took a sharp turn. I understood I didn’t understand what was happening around me or what was real. I thought Marty & Ben were conspiring against me and working to keep me in the apartment for all eternity. I tried keeping track of time to witness its progression but every time I checked the time nothing changed. I thought I had gone insane and that fate had set me to live in that very moment forever. I was panicking and I needed to rebel against fate, so I ran out of the apartment and collapsed in the stairwell.
My escape from that environment satisfied me and I calmed down. The concrete was cool and I laid splayed outside the door. Marty came to see if I was alright and once he confirmed I hadn’t run away, he went back to trip on the couch. This is when my trip reached its peak.
I have no memory of what happened around me at this point. People could have been stepping on me to leave their apartments and I will never know. Everything became fractals. The fractal pattern kept diversifying and growing until it reached its climax. This following experience blows me away to this day.
For the next eternity all I could see was, what I can best describe as, the most realistic representation of a Penrose diagram possible. I could sense the infinities compressed at its edges and all I could hear was an earth shatteringly loud roar. I kept saying, or screaming, or imagining I was screaming: ‘IT’S SO BIG! OH MY GOD THERE’S SO MUCH! IT’S SO BIG!’. I felt like I was in the presence of the immensity of the universe and it was utterly overwhelming.
My trip likely manifested as a Penrose diagram (or, Penrose-Lovecraftian horror) because I’d been learning about them at the time. It’s interesting that something I learned so recently was so present in my trip
Some time later the trip died enough for me to find my bearings. I was wearing Marty’s shoes and my shirt was back on, so I decided it was time for a walk. When I left the building I was exhausted and it was dark out, but the world was fascinating. I remember stepping out in front of a car and it honking at me. So I took note to beware of traffic.
Life was still fractals and things had tracers but I was enjoying the air. I thought I was past my delusional state, but this is when I saw something I can’t explain. A few blocks ahead I saw a crowd of 7-9 people wearing neon safety vests turn a corner and run opposite to my direction. They were followed by 3 police officers a moment later. I wondered what the hub-bub was but my mind quickly wandered elsewhere when they faded out of site. However, when I reached that same corner, the exact same crowd came around and passed by me. I knew they were the same people and I anticipated the police following a moment later. And they did. Those same police came jogging passed and followed the crowd. They all disappeared into the distance leaving me stunned.
It still bothers me thinking about what parts of that experience were real and what was hallucination. It wasn't like predictable psychedelic hallucinations such as geometry and tracers, but, a real situation with context and uncertainty. Seeing them felt like a dream outside a dream.
After this, I hopped onto the first train going the right direction home, but I was kicked off by a ticket inspector a few stops down. I waited for the following train and happened to meet Marty on it with my stuff, which felt like fate truly had my back.
Though I was still somewhat lost in the sauce, Marty recounted the evening to me, and bought me some chocolate on the way home. We got back and Marty passed out quick, though I couldn’t sleep until late the next morning.
This was the most dangerous, embarrassing, and remarkable psychedelic trip I’ve ever had. I’m very grateful I had Marty looking out for me on this one. Since then I’ve entered fractal land and ego death a few times, but nothing compares to this experience. In a more controlled environment, and with a safer drug, I would do it again.
TL;DR Fake LSD showed me cosmic horror
Edit: grammar
2023.06.02 16:09 RobertSKeene [The Primeval Apocalypse] - Chapter Seventy-Five (collaboration with u/hydrael)
![[The Primeval Apocalypse] - Chapter Seventy-Five (collaboration with u/hydrael)](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/wDM898ZUt_J37ZX9SKHWh9erlQoLCkFoMftlnoh0u2o.jpg "[The Primeval Apocalypse] - Chapter Seventy-Five (collaboration with u/hydrael)") | submitted by RobertSKeene to redditserials [link] [comments] The Primeval Apocalypse by Robert Keene and Alex Raizman Start here (Prologue) Previous *** Author's Note: Promise made, promises kept. Two more chapters after today, and both of them are super fun. Looking forward to seeing y'alls response, especially to tomorrow's... *** Noaich shot down out of the trees, toothy maw agape. With the entelodont focused on me, it didn’t even realize he was coming until it was too late. Crocodile teeth modified by the Enrage and Howl abilities sank deep into the bristly hide and clamped down hard. My companion’s weight was far outmatched by the giant pig-monster, so there was no way to drag the beast into a death roll. But his firm grip and powerful jaws meant that he was inflicting damage. Not to mention that as long as I could keep attacking to keep Maul active on the monster, his damage was boosted by 20% thanks to Teamwork III. I had to keep on the offensive. With both of us together, our damage could outweigh the monster’s regeneration. But I couldn’t let up or else we were finished. The entelodont briefly tried to turn to address the new foe clinging to its back, and I lunged in to remind it who the real enemy was. With the high attack speed from my new axe, I hacked away at the side of its face, leaving three deep cuts before it could return its attention to me. It tried to swat me away with a claw, but I was able to parry the blow with the edge of my weapon, leaving a cut along the inside of its hand-like paw as I deflected the attack. The monster whirled its full attention back to me at that, lunging for a bite and forcing me back, but while Noaich was too small to outmuscle the entelodont, his weight was enough to slow it down. I was able to dart around and carve another deep wound up the creature’s jaw before three more strikes at the shoulder, working my way down and damaging its upper arm muscles as I went. With the way the system handled damage, it didn’t immobilize the creature on that side, but as blood poured down the limb, its next step slipped as it tried to turn to follow me. The slip opened it up and I focused my efforts on its side, continuing down to chop away at its flank as fast as I could. With all the buffs on me, the thick hide was barely an impediment now. What mattered to me in the long term, though, was seeing the effect of Teamwork IV. Noaich’s continuous gnawing grip on the monster’s back meant that he was reducing the enemy’s parry and dodge checks against my attacks, and my attacks were doing the same for Noaich. Class Achievement: Perfect Teamwork: Take advantage of Teamwork IV 10 times (lifetime). The non-debuff detrimental effects from Teamwork IV stack up to 1 additional time. I didn’t expect Teamwork IV to have a big impact on this fight. The entelodont’s defensive strategy was its tough hide and potent regeneration. But with Noiach dealing continuous damage, I could feel the effect of the boosted effect immediately. Apparently dodge and parry checks also governed how well it could absorb the impact with movements. My strikes were landing more squarely and my axe was cutting in deeper and deeper. Obviously, the more we could keep it going, the stronger that achievement would become. And the way to do that was to swing away. Hard and fast. With my new axe’s attack speed at full power, I ran circles around the entelodont, slicing almost blindly at it as it tried to keep up with my movements. Maul was still active, so blood gushed from every wound, staining its hide and filling the air as it kicked and thrashed. I was speckled with it now, and the ground around us was growing muddy and slick. Claws slashed out at me, but the blood loss was slowing it down. Either that, or the exertion of spinning in place with a giant reptile clinging to it was draining its Stamina bar dry. Meanwhile, my new On The Prowl ability was still keeping my own Stamina stable, slowing its drain enough that I was still fresh and ready to keep on fighting. “I expected more from you,” I grunted as I darted out to avoid a swiping claw, and then back in to deliver four quick slashes in return. “Especially after you whooped my butt last time.” Kill you, the beast snarled. Despite all the fatigue and damage, its rage was still overwhelming all other concerns. Kill you kill you kill you. “One level goes a long way,” I said, more to myself and Noaich than to the mindlessly enraged pig-monster. “No wonder the system spawns scary stuff for higher level people. Leveling up one time turns deadly threats into fair fights.” Noaich was trying to respond to me, but with his jaws clamped down and his body being shaken around by the entelodont’s thrashing, he couldn’t communicate effectively. And the last thing I wanted was for him to let go. The damage he was applying was keeping the beast’s regeneration in check perfectly. The wounds I was opening across its side were barely healing at all. The entelodont was getting weaker as the fight continued. And as I kept hacking away, and Noaich kept chomping down, we were getting stronger. Perfect Teamwork II: Take advantage of Teamwork IV 25 times (lifetime). The non-debuff detrimental effects from Teamwork IV stack up to 2 additional times. Sic ‘Em II: Deal 2,500 damage with your pet (lifetime). All pet damage is increased by 5%. The creature’s strength was flagging now. Its slowed movements meant that I circled all the way around from its right side to its hindquarters. It tried to surprise me by turning left instead of right, but it was so slow now, chopping away at its back legs as I danced well ahead of its movements. The entelodont finally stopped trying to attack me, apparently realizing that it was hopeless so long as Noaich was ripping up its back and keeping its regeneration from helping. It sagged down and dropped to one side to try and roll over and crush my companion. That forced Noaich to let go and scramble away, but he held on until the entelodont fully committed to the roll. With the beast on its back, it was vulnerable. So I struck. I leaped up onto the monster’s belly and ran straight up its body to its head. My tremendously boosted attack speed let me carve huge gaping wounds up its exposed underbelly, where its hide was almost as thin as my own skin instead of a thick layer of armor. “Remember that you picked this fight,” I snapped as the beast struggled to try and roll back over onto its legs. “It didn’t have to be like this. But—” Its front claws slashed out at me, trying to protect its most vulnerable spot, but It was too worn down. Too sluggish. Too wounded. Too slow. I deftly leaped over the swiping claws, and as I came down I drove both axes directly into the monster’s throat side-by-side, and ripped straight out, tearing the throat open up both sides. The opened throat dumped blood out on me in a disgusting fountain. As it coated the monster’s head, my position on it slipped, sending me to the ground right in front of its face. For a brief moment I thought I was toast. I was unprepared to slip, and I was in the perfect position to get chomped to death. But as I landed, I looked into the entelodont’s eyes as they glazed over in death. I heaved out a huge sigh of relief. The Big One was down. We’d won. And more than just the entelodont, too. The queen of this town was gone, along with a large chunk of her forces. And whoever stepped up to take her place was denied the huge stockpiles of hypnotic herbs that had enabled their cavalry. What little they had in their outlying camps wouldn’t be enough to support a large enough attack against Rachel’s camp to threaten her and her people—especially not with how many experience points and class achievements they’d no doubt racked up during this fight, like I had. Even from here, behind some buildings—and wreckage that used to be buildings—my Beast Hunter ability let me see Rachel and her team mopping up the last of the Mandrill guards. The field of dead around them was a gorey mess, but with their tight formation and great buff support from their leader, not a single human had fallen. “Damn,” I cursed as I scanned the battlefield, and then extended my attention to the whole town. I held myself still for a few seconds to double my range. “Damn, damn, damn.” What’s wrong? Noaich asked. “You know how you told me not to let that Mandrill go?” I asked. “And how you kept saying that was a bad idea?” Yes, he said with a motion like a nod. “I don’t sense the alpha anywhere,” I said with a grimace. “I didn’t want to let him go. Especially not after he punted you through a wall.” Didn’t punt me through a wall, Noaich said, shaking himself indignantly. Sensed the danger and escaped at speed. Knew you had it under control. “Yeah, well, it looks like he followed your example.” I gestured for us to move, and started at a light jog to go rejoin Rachel as they were finishing their part of the fight. “He’s gone for now. I bet we haven’t seen the last of him.” |
2023.06.02 15:49 Tedroe77 Knife I made years ago
 | Back in my flint knapping days in the 90s, there was some chert landscaping rocks in my sister’s front yard and I saw a decent piece I could work and made the point. I took it home and cut a little stick for a handle and cut a V-shaped groove on one end and then mixed some melted pine sap (you just light a wad of sap until it’s boiling and liquefied) with wood ash into a thick, gooey consistency and put a little dab in the slot and then shoved the point in it. It dries hard when it cools. Then I took a piece of shredded sinew I got from a whitetail deer leg (just one tendon beaten into multiple fibers makes a ton of good sinew), let it soak for a while so it’s nice and supple, and then wrapped it. It shrinks a little as it dries and also dries rock hard. The point is still solidly in there and I’ve used it a couple of times messing around cutting stuff. submitted by Tedroe77 to Arrowheads [link] [comments] |
2023.06.02 15:34 anotherperson294895 Should we file a police report against our super christian / homophobic neighbor?
Context: Neighborhood with houses. Our good neighbor is trans and in a same sex relationship. I'm in a heterosexual marriage and the bad neighbors think we're still Christian. In reality, my spouse and I have deconstructed and I realized I'm bi (BN don't know this).
GN = good neighbor (20s)
BN = bad neighbor (50+ idk)
BN is known to be uber Christian and conservative but they've always been nice to us. BN knew GN's parents and grandparents and were good friends. Recently, BN found out GN changed genders and name.
Since then, BN has been giving GN a hard time about keeping their lawn perfect and having a friend park their car on the street. We do not live in an HOA so nothing they are doing is wrong. In fact, I have a NO MOW MAY sign and still have refused to mow my front lawn and BN haven't said anything to me. Also, we throw giant parties multiple times a year with cars galore and BN has never had an issue. ALSO, I literally have a rainbow flag in my lawn. But since we're a man and a women, I guess it's not an issue for them.
We know it's 100% BN being assholes because GN is trans.
Ideas welcome. GN is considering a police report but we're not sure if that'll make it worse or if it's over the top.
Side note: both GN and I have cameras on our property so we're covered there. I'm unsure if any of the harassment was caught on their cams or not.
submitted by anotherperson294895 to exchristian [link] [comments]
GN = good neighbor (20s)
BN = bad neighbor (50+ idk)
BN is known to be uber Christian and conservative but they've always been nice to us. BN knew GN's parents and grandparents and were good friends. Recently, BN found out GN changed genders and name.
Since then, BN has been giving GN a hard time about keeping their lawn perfect and having a friend park their car on the street. We do not live in an HOA so nothing they are doing is wrong. In fact, I have a NO MOW MAY sign and still have refused to mow my front lawn and BN haven't said anything to me. Also, we throw giant parties multiple times a year with cars galore and BN has never had an issue. ALSO, I literally have a rainbow flag in my lawn. But since we're a man and a women, I guess it's not an issue for them.
We know it's 100% BN being assholes because GN is trans.
Ideas welcome. GN is considering a police report but we're not sure if that'll make it worse or if it's over the top.
Side note: both GN and I have cameras on our property so we're covered there. I'm unsure if any of the harassment was caught on their cams or not.
2023.06.02 15:29 maximusaemilius Empyrean Iris: 2-14: Sign of support (by Charlie Star)
FYI, this is a story COLLECTION. Lots of standalones technically. So, you can basically start to read at any chapter, no pre-read of the other chapters needed technically (other than maybe getting better descriptions of characters than: Adam Vir=human, Krill=antlike alien, Sunny=tall alien, Conn=telepathic alien). The numbers are (mostly) only for organization of posts and continuity.
OC Written by Charlie Stastarrfallknightrise,
Typed up and then posted here by me.
Proofreading and language check for some chapters by u/Finbar9800
Future Lore and fact check done by me.
Oh hello captain obvious and captain oblivious what are you two doing here?
It’s THAT time again? Oh okay, go at it!
Previous First [Next](link)
Want to find a specific one, see the whole list or check fanart?
Here is the link to the master-post.
LFIL protests…
They were happening again.
He had expected this sooner rather than later, and it hurt to watch.
He knew, more than anyone that it wasn't going to work.
The Galactic Assembly was full of aliens, not humans. The things that impressed humanity, the things that got humanity's attention were the same sort of things that tended to scare the GA.
But of course, the average human couldn't have known that, and with their tendency to change creatures around them to become more human, the aliens with which they worked didn't see it either.
They were doing the right thing, but going about it the wrong way.
Still, that didn't stop his feelings of sadness and empathy for their plight.
Walking with Sunny, standing on the buddy pegs attached to her back, and examining the protest encampment around him, he couldn't help but be impressed by their bravery.
He knew for a fact that if he was in their shoes, he would be way more likely to hide, lie to everyone around him, and even himself.
But here they were out in the open, a shining beacon of defiance against the GA.
It was a difficult situation, of course he supported the GA wholeheartedly, and he always would, and with that support came an understanding.
But that didn't mean that he had to agree with them.
They were scared.
And people tend to lash out at things that scare them.
As it turns out, that seemed to be a common factor across the galaxy.
He reached down, hand caressing the tear gas canisters at his belt and the accompanying gas mask. He prayed, just PRAYED that he wouldn't have to use them, but how was he to know what would happen. When people got righteously angry about something they tended to act up, and when thrown into a group of like-minded people, the pack mentality was overwhelming.
He wanted everything to go well, he wanted them to make their point, to prove that they were the moral superiors, demonstrate to the GA that they weren't militant, and all they wanted was peace.
That was the sort of thing that would get across to the GA.
But with humans involved... He didn't really have much hope.
He glanced around at the assembled tents, looking for any sign of trouble.
He didn't see much, just the limp white flags, with the LFIL logo printed proudly on their front.
Still keeping an eye on his surroundings, he leaned against one of Sunny's shoulders.
"So, what do you think about this whole thing?"
Sunny turned her head to look at him, gold eyes and blue carapace glittering with the yellow sheen of the Rundi sky.
She shrugged, setting him a little off balance. She grabbed his feet to steady him as she continued up a small incline.
"It doesn't bother me, and I suppose I understand them."
"Oh?"
"Imagine finding someone you connect with, someone who understands you more than anyone ever has. Imagine a Drev finding the greatest warrior in the galaxy, and then... Just having to suffer knowing you can never be with them. Granted none of the other species ever would have considered it an option without the humans, but now.... It makes sense. You connect with someone well enough, then beyond that there isn't much you can do. And now the GA has prohibited that."
"I agree with you completely, but let me play devil's advocate for a moment. They aren't even the same species, without the same genetics. It wouldn't be physically possible to produce a viable offspring wouldn’t it?”
She turned her head to look at him.
"And how does it work for your brother David and his husband Jordan?"
He laughed,
"Ok, ok, poor question."
"Adoption is a relevant option. Plus, this is coming from the guy who lent his DNA to some alien."
"Arguably she stole it, but I get your point."
They turned another corner scanning the crowd,
"Hear me out though. Humans are... Well, you know how humans are. They need... uhhm uhhh you know…”
Adam got a little red,
”…Affection and intimacy... How does that even... Work?"
"Oh, I am sure some human has found a way, besides, humans and Drev aren't so different in that regard..."
He tilted his head to look at her,
"How the hell do you know that?”
"Got into a discussion with Krill. He thinks it's possible, though he would never tell you humans. He already thinks you do a ton of stupid stuff anyway."
”Oh really what is he expecting? I don’t think anyone from our crew would jump at the opportunity to do it with a Drev be it man or woman… Besides with all these tall as hell Drev males, human women wouldn’t have much fun either would they?”
”Considering males who would be interested, aren’t you good friends with Ramirez? Why don’t you ask him, maybe he knows someone?”
”Okay damn fair point… but the female argument still stays.”
”Krill did some research, I swear I never saw him so… done with humans. He looked like he would drink away his sorrow to forget everything… if his body could tolerate alcohol.”
”So what did he find out about humans this time?”
”After another particularly massive aggressive rant about how and I quote “shitting freaking goddamn incredibly punk-ass weird” you humans are, he said some weird words in a context I didn’t understand. So, do you know what a dragon is and can you tell me why it is so bad?”
”Hmm what… wait a second…”
”…”
”Oh shit…”
”So?”
"So uhmmm uhhh, let’s stop with humans and talk about Drev again okay? Don't you Drev guys have something like a mating season?”
"We did, but it was actually based on the magnetic fluctuation of our planet in time with the seasons. Now that we don't have that anymore, things are out of whack."
"Huh, I didn't know that."
"You never asked."
"Because that is a totally normal thing to ask someone. Hello, my name is Adam, and I am actually very curious about how... That stuff... works on your planet."
"That stuff, huh?"
He rolled his eyes,
"I was sheltered ok, give me a break."
They came to a stop at a crossroads, and Adam stepped down from her back and onto the dirt, tilting his head to listen, trying to detect any signs of a disturbance.
As of yet there was nothing.
He turned to the left, down another line of tents, passing into a more populated area of the protest encampment.
People wearing specially made clothing, with the LFIL logo, shirts, scarves, bandannas, jackets, hats etc. etc. walked about, openly with their alien companions, a few even brave enough to show overt affection towards each other.
A human hugging a Tesraki, while another stood on a box to kiss the cheek of their Drev partner.
"Now that, is something I couldn't do."
He said to Sunny, as they walked past.
"Kiss someone?"
"No, Kiss someone three to four feet taller than me. Way too much work."
"How do you know, maybe climbing up three feet would be worth it?”
Eyes followed them nervously as they walked past, their riot gear marking them as “the enemy”.
"I would rather not be in danger of twisting my ankle every time I wanted to show someone affection, thanks."
"You twist your ankle all the time anyway."
"That's my point. If I twist my ankle now, imagine what would happen if I had to do acrobatics on a regular basis."
They came to a halt as a group of protesters paraded in front of them holding up picket signs.
One of the protesters turned to glare at him,
"We aren't doing anything illegal!”
Adam held up his hands,
"I know. I'm just security to make sure no one gets hurt.”
The other human didn't seem convinced, angrily grabbing their alien companion around the waist before marching off.
The Tesraki looked uncomfortable, looking back at them apologetically.
Though Tesraki were generally cutthroat businessmen, they tended towards extreme submissiveness in relationships with humans.
Adam stepped through the gap left by the protesters and continued walking.
As they did, they early ran into a group of kids selling little white flags and bandannas.
They pulled to a halt, eyes widening in surprise and shock.
A young Tesraki pulled to a halt with them looking as if he was about to panic and run off.
However, the kid at the front's eyes widened and a big smile crossed his face,
“Holy shit! You, I know you!"
Adam smiled,
"You do now?"
"Yeah , yeah you're in that movie. You, you command the UNSC fleet."
For some reason, that exclamation calmed the other kids, and they squealed, shouting and asking for a picture. Of course, he was happy to oblige, posing with them for their pictures. Sunny stood to the side, happy to watch though she was dragged in for the next set of pictures once they realized who she was.
"What are you doing here?"
One of them asked, glancing down at his clothing. When she saw what he was wearing her smile was falling,
"You... aren't here to stop us, are you?"
Adam shook his head,
"No, of course not, protesting isn't illegal."
He motioned to Sunny with his other hand,
"Sunny and I are just here to make sure that you guys stay safe, and that no one gets hurt.”
Sunny nodded. One of the more skeptical looking teens looked up at him,
"How do we know you aren't here to stop us. You work for the GA after all."
Adam shrugged,
"I don't have much else to prove, other than my word."
The skeptic looked at them, a wicked smile appearing on her face,
"I know."
She reached into her cart and pulled out one of the bandannas,
"Wear this!”
It was clear she expected him to balk at the idea, but to her surprise, he smiled,
"Alright, sounds reasonable."
He held out his arm, and watched, still smiling as she tied it around his upper arm still glowering at him skeptically,
"Think you can spare one for my big friend?"
He patted Sunny on the arm.
That broke her skepticism, and she smiled openly, handing a second one over to him, which he tied around one of Sunny's upper arms.
He waved a goodbye to them, and stepped back up onto Sunny's back, walking away with her.
"That was nice of you."
He shrugged,
”Not really. I honestly agree with them. The GA has no right to tell them who they can and cannot be with. I know they have some reasons, but I feel like there is a better way of dealing with it."
Sunny hummed deep in her throat,
"Uh-huh, or you really just want a really tall girlfriend."
He sighed,
"Honestly I'd settle for any size girlfriend if I could just talk to her like a normal person without sticking my foot in my mouth. No Maverick and Dr. Katie do not count…"
"Your incompetence with women is acrobatic."
"I'm glad you're impressed.”
Together, they continued their slow circle around the encampment, drawing suspicious and confused eyes as they went. Sometimes they were recognized, and occasionally people would ask to take pictures with them, other times, they just wanted to talk.
The variety of people was... astounding.
A barely five foot human with a nine foot Drev.
A group of humans and a group of Tesraki.
A lawyer and a Finnari.
Two couples both as business partners with a Tesraki half.
They were young and old male-female, in all different pairings.
Old soldiers, and young students.
It was honestly quite stunning.
At one point they stopped off for water and ran into a massive bodybuilder with his Drev girlfriend, whose carapace at any other time would have marked her as ugly for a Drev.
At first Sunny felt bad for her, with her muddy brown carapace, mat without any shine.
The man turned and handed Adam some water.
”Here better stay hydrated brother!”
Adam raised the bottle,
"Thanks."
The man looked him over, eyeing the bandanna around his arm.
"Interesting accessories for a GA affiliate."
"You can work for someone and disagree with them."
The man laughed,
"I suppose that's true."
He greeted Sunny as well, who was trying not to stare at the other female Drev for too long, lest it seem like she was staring.
He motioned to the arm band,
"Supporter, or-"
His eyes flicked between Adam and Sunny.
"We're just here to make sure everyone stays safe."
Off to the side the mat Drev looked at Sunny,
"I'm sorry."
Sunny glanced over at her nervously,
"Sorry for what?"
"You must have been treated very poorly on Anum."
Sunny shuffled her feet awkwardly,
"I was alright I guess..."
"Regardless. I hope things work out for you. The Drev beauty standards are unfair, and things need to change."
Sunny wasn't entirely sure how she was supposed to feel about that.
"They aren't so bad."
She ventured defensively.
"Then I am sure you are getting combat offers left and right with your coloring.”
Sunny went quiet again. She would have said this was passive aggressive, but the Drev didn't do passive aggressive, so was this just an open statement about how ugly she was? If that was the case, it kind of hurt.
"I have, because I am an experienced warrior."
Her voice was cold.
"Oh, so where is your partner?"
"I turned them down."
That seemed to surprise the female Drev.
Sunny felt her fists clench, but Adam placed a hand on her arm. She was quiet,
The two humans exchanged a look, the way that only humans can, speaking without actually saying anything.
”C’mon babe, lets look a little bit around and let these two be… It was nice meeting you brother! Also… good luck man…”
The human bodybuilder turned around, taking the Drev by one of her hands to lead her away.
Adam took Sunny by the arm and raised his water at the man,
"Uhm what? Huh anyway, good luck to you too?"
Before turning to walk away, the other Drev cut in at the last second.
"I hope you find a worthy battle partner."
Adam Squeezed Sunny's arm tighter, but she turned her head anyway snapping,
"I already have."
Before marching off without another word.
Adam was forced to scamper after her, his legs much shorter.
"Wow, wow, hold your horses!”
She finally slowed to a stop, still fuming.
"Who the hell does she think she is!?”
"Sunny-."
"Calling me ugly to my face!"
"Sunny-"
"I should have challenged her to a duel right then and there!"
"Sunny!?”*
She turned to look at him,
"What!?"
He climbed back up on her back, patting her shoulder,
"She was obviously just insecure and jealous. I mean come on, look at you, blue is the rarest color in the galaxy and most attractive for a Drev, and we all know that height is the least important attribute of Drev beauty standards. The better you can fight, the more you make up for it, besides it's not her fault that she can't accept someone as being valid unless they are in a pair."
Sunny grunted. He frowned,
"Speaking of which, coming from her it seems like a double standard. You fight with me, and I'm fucking awesome, so by default you have to be too."
"Wow Adam, you really know how to make a person feel better."
"I know."
[…]
They were crossing back to the other side of the encampment, when they ran into some familiar faces.
Ramirez and Maverick appeared from the crowd, waving the two of them down with greeting hands.
They pulled to a stop, and the commander motioned to the white bandanna on Ramirez's arm,
"Nice accessories."
"I like yours too."
"I didn't know you were a supporter?”
Ramirez laughed,
"Man I am a supporter of whatever the hell people want to do with themselves."
Off to his side Maverick had tied one of the white bandannas to her belt.
"And you?”
"Personally, I don't give a shit. I don't even think it should be an issue, but by banning it, the GA created a problem for themselves and took away the freedom of choice for these people. Even if I did disagree with what they are doing, I would still support their ability to make that choice for themselves."
She tugged on the bandanna,
"But hey, would I be wearing this otherwise?”
The commander nodded his head, surprised and pleased at his men for being so open minded, though he supposed it should make sense. They worked with aliens every day. Where others might have fostered a sense of fear based on unfamiliarity, they had experience.
"Let’s just hope this all goes over well tomorrow. I don't want to have to use any of this."
He motioned down to his gear.
The commander sighed.
"Isn't that like the catch 22 thing?”
Loyal to one side.
Sympathetic to the other.
Empathetic to both.
He would be relieved when it was finally fixed.
Though how he could help was beyond him.
Previous First [Next](link)
Want to find a specific one, see the whole list or check fanart?
Here is the link to the master-post.
Intro post by me
OC-whole collection
Patreon of the author
Thanks for reading! As you saw in the title, this is a cross posted story written by starrfallknightrise and I'll just upload some of it here for you guys, if you are interested and want to read ahead, the original story-collection can be found on tumblr or wattpad to read for free. (link above this text under "OC:..." ) It is the Empyrean Iris story collection by starfallknightrise. Also, if you want to know more about the story collection i made an intro post about it, so feel free to check that out to see what other great characters to look forward to! (Link also above this text). I have no affiliations to the author; just thought I’d share some of the great stories you might enjoy a lot!
Obviously, I have Charlie’s permission to post this and for the people already knowing the stories, or starting to read them: If you follow the link and check out the story you will see some differences. I made some small (non-artistic) changes, mainly correcting writing mistakes, pronoun correction and some small additional info here and there of things which were not thought of/forgotten or even were added/changed in later stories (like the “USS->UNSC” prefix of Stabby, Chalar=/->Sunny etc). As well as some "biggemajor" changes in descriptions and info’s for the same stringency/continuity reason. That can be explained by the story collection being, well a story collection at the start with many standalone-stories just starring the same people, but later on it gets more to a stringent storyline with backstories and throwbacks. (For example Adam Vir has some HEAVY scars over his body, following his bones, which were not really talked about up till half the collection, where it says it covers his whole body and you find out via backflash that he had them the whole time and how he got them, they just weren't mentioned before. However, I would think a doctor would at least see these scars before that, especially since he gets analyzed, treated and goes shirtless/in T-shirts in some stories). So TLDR: Writing and some descriptions are slightly changed, with full OK from the author, since he himself did not bother to correct these things before.
submitted by maximusaemilius to HFY [link] [comments]
OC Written by Charlie Stastarrfallknightrise,
Typed up and then posted here by me.
Proofreading and language check for some chapters by u/Finbar9800
Future Lore and fact check done by me.
Oh hello captain obvious and captain oblivious what are you two doing here?
It’s THAT time again? Oh okay, go at it!
Want to find a specific one, see the whole list or check fanart?
Here is the link to the master-post.
They were happening again.
He had expected this sooner rather than later, and it hurt to watch.
He knew, more than anyone that it wasn't going to work.
The Galactic Assembly was full of aliens, not humans. The things that impressed humanity, the things that got humanity's attention were the same sort of things that tended to scare the GA.
But of course, the average human couldn't have known that, and with their tendency to change creatures around them to become more human, the aliens with which they worked didn't see it either.
They were doing the right thing, but going about it the wrong way.
Still, that didn't stop his feelings of sadness and empathy for their plight.
Walking with Sunny, standing on the buddy pegs attached to her back, and examining the protest encampment around him, he couldn't help but be impressed by their bravery.
He knew for a fact that if he was in their shoes, he would be way more likely to hide, lie to everyone around him, and even himself.
But here they were out in the open, a shining beacon of defiance against the GA.
It was a difficult situation, of course he supported the GA wholeheartedly, and he always would, and with that support came an understanding.
But that didn't mean that he had to agree with them.
They were scared.
And people tend to lash out at things that scare them.
As it turns out, that seemed to be a common factor across the galaxy.
He reached down, hand caressing the tear gas canisters at his belt and the accompanying gas mask. He prayed, just PRAYED that he wouldn't have to use them, but how was he to know what would happen. When people got righteously angry about something they tended to act up, and when thrown into a group of like-minded people, the pack mentality was overwhelming.
He wanted everything to go well, he wanted them to make their point, to prove that they were the moral superiors, demonstrate to the GA that they weren't militant, and all they wanted was peace.
That was the sort of thing that would get across to the GA.
But with humans involved... He didn't really have much hope.
He glanced around at the assembled tents, looking for any sign of trouble.
He didn't see much, just the limp white flags, with the LFIL logo printed proudly on their front.
Still keeping an eye on his surroundings, he leaned against one of Sunny's shoulders.
"So, what do you think about this whole thing?"
Sunny turned her head to look at him, gold eyes and blue carapace glittering with the yellow sheen of the Rundi sky.
She shrugged, setting him a little off balance. She grabbed his feet to steady him as she continued up a small incline.
"It doesn't bother me, and I suppose I understand them."
"Oh?"
"Imagine finding someone you connect with, someone who understands you more than anyone ever has. Imagine a Drev finding the greatest warrior in the galaxy, and then... Just having to suffer knowing you can never be with them. Granted none of the other species ever would have considered it an option without the humans, but now.... It makes sense. You connect with someone well enough, then beyond that there isn't much you can do. And now the GA has prohibited that."
"I agree with you completely, but let me play devil's advocate for a moment. They aren't even the same species, without the same genetics. It wouldn't be physically possible to produce a viable offspring wouldn’t it?”
She turned her head to look at him.
"And how does it work for your brother David and his husband Jordan?"
He laughed,
"Ok, ok, poor question."
"Adoption is a relevant option. Plus, this is coming from the guy who lent his DNA to some alien."
"Arguably she stole it, but I get your point."
They turned another corner scanning the crowd,
"Hear me out though. Humans are... Well, you know how humans are. They need... uhhm uhhh you know…”
Adam got a little red,
”…Affection and intimacy... How does that even... Work?"
"Oh, I am sure some human has found a way, besides, humans and Drev aren't so different in that regard..."
He tilted his head to look at her,
"How the hell do you know that?”
"Got into a discussion with Krill. He thinks it's possible, though he would never tell you humans. He already thinks you do a ton of stupid stuff anyway."
”Oh really what is he expecting? I don’t think anyone from our crew would jump at the opportunity to do it with a Drev be it man or woman… Besides with all these tall as hell Drev males, human women wouldn’t have much fun either would they?”
”Considering males who would be interested, aren’t you good friends with Ramirez? Why don’t you ask him, maybe he knows someone?”
”Okay damn fair point… but the female argument still stays.”
”Krill did some research, I swear I never saw him so… done with humans. He looked like he would drink away his sorrow to forget everything… if his body could tolerate alcohol.”
”So what did he find out about humans this time?”
”After another particularly massive aggressive rant about how and I quote “shitting freaking goddamn incredibly punk-ass weird” you humans are, he said some weird words in a context I didn’t understand. So, do you know what a dragon is and can you tell me why it is so bad?”
”Hmm what… wait a second…”
”…”
”Oh shit…”
”So?”
"So uhmmm uhhh, let’s stop with humans and talk about Drev again okay? Don't you Drev guys have something like a mating season?”
"We did, but it was actually based on the magnetic fluctuation of our planet in time with the seasons. Now that we don't have that anymore, things are out of whack."
"Huh, I didn't know that."
"You never asked."
"Because that is a totally normal thing to ask someone. Hello, my name is Adam, and I am actually very curious about how... That stuff... works on your planet."
"That stuff, huh?"
He rolled his eyes,
"I was sheltered ok, give me a break."
They came to a stop at a crossroads, and Adam stepped down from her back and onto the dirt, tilting his head to listen, trying to detect any signs of a disturbance.
As of yet there was nothing.
He turned to the left, down another line of tents, passing into a more populated area of the protest encampment.
People wearing specially made clothing, with the LFIL logo, shirts, scarves, bandannas, jackets, hats etc. etc. walked about, openly with their alien companions, a few even brave enough to show overt affection towards each other.
A human hugging a Tesraki, while another stood on a box to kiss the cheek of their Drev partner.
"Now that, is something I couldn't do."
He said to Sunny, as they walked past.
"Kiss someone?"
"No, Kiss someone three to four feet taller than me. Way too much work."
"How do you know, maybe climbing up three feet would be worth it?”
Eyes followed them nervously as they walked past, their riot gear marking them as “the enemy”.
"I would rather not be in danger of twisting my ankle every time I wanted to show someone affection, thanks."
"You twist your ankle all the time anyway."
"That's my point. If I twist my ankle now, imagine what would happen if I had to do acrobatics on a regular basis."
They came to a halt as a group of protesters paraded in front of them holding up picket signs.
One of the protesters turned to glare at him,
"We aren't doing anything illegal!”
Adam held up his hands,
"I know. I'm just security to make sure no one gets hurt.”
The other human didn't seem convinced, angrily grabbing their alien companion around the waist before marching off.
The Tesraki looked uncomfortable, looking back at them apologetically.
Though Tesraki were generally cutthroat businessmen, they tended towards extreme submissiveness in relationships with humans.
Adam stepped through the gap left by the protesters and continued walking.
As they did, they early ran into a group of kids selling little white flags and bandannas.
They pulled to a halt, eyes widening in surprise and shock.
A young Tesraki pulled to a halt with them looking as if he was about to panic and run off.
However, the kid at the front's eyes widened and a big smile crossed his face,
“Holy shit! You, I know you!"
Adam smiled,
"You do now?"
"Yeah , yeah you're in that movie. You, you command the UNSC fleet."
For some reason, that exclamation calmed the other kids, and they squealed, shouting and asking for a picture. Of course, he was happy to oblige, posing with them for their pictures. Sunny stood to the side, happy to watch though she was dragged in for the next set of pictures once they realized who she was.
"What are you doing here?"
One of them asked, glancing down at his clothing. When she saw what he was wearing her smile was falling,
"You... aren't here to stop us, are you?"
Adam shook his head,
"No, of course not, protesting isn't illegal."
He motioned to Sunny with his other hand,
"Sunny and I are just here to make sure that you guys stay safe, and that no one gets hurt.”
Sunny nodded. One of the more skeptical looking teens looked up at him,
"How do we know you aren't here to stop us. You work for the GA after all."
Adam shrugged,
"I don't have much else to prove, other than my word."
The skeptic looked at them, a wicked smile appearing on her face,
"I know."
She reached into her cart and pulled out one of the bandannas,
"Wear this!”
It was clear she expected him to balk at the idea, but to her surprise, he smiled,
"Alright, sounds reasonable."
He held out his arm, and watched, still smiling as she tied it around his upper arm still glowering at him skeptically,
"Think you can spare one for my big friend?"
He patted Sunny on the arm.
That broke her skepticism, and she smiled openly, handing a second one over to him, which he tied around one of Sunny's upper arms.
He waved a goodbye to them, and stepped back up onto Sunny's back, walking away with her.
"That was nice of you."
He shrugged,
”Not really. I honestly agree with them. The GA has no right to tell them who they can and cannot be with. I know they have some reasons, but I feel like there is a better way of dealing with it."
Sunny hummed deep in her throat,
"Uh-huh, or you really just want a really tall girlfriend."
He sighed,
"Honestly I'd settle for any size girlfriend if I could just talk to her like a normal person without sticking my foot in my mouth. No Maverick and Dr. Katie do not count…"
"Your incompetence with women is acrobatic."
"I'm glad you're impressed.”
Together, they continued their slow circle around the encampment, drawing suspicious and confused eyes as they went. Sometimes they were recognized, and occasionally people would ask to take pictures with them, other times, they just wanted to talk.
The variety of people was... astounding.
A barely five foot human with a nine foot Drev.
A group of humans and a group of Tesraki.
A lawyer and a Finnari.
Two couples both as business partners with a Tesraki half.
They were young and old male-female, in all different pairings.
Old soldiers, and young students.
It was honestly quite stunning.
At one point they stopped off for water and ran into a massive bodybuilder with his Drev girlfriend, whose carapace at any other time would have marked her as ugly for a Drev.
At first Sunny felt bad for her, with her muddy brown carapace, mat without any shine.
The man turned and handed Adam some water.
”Here better stay hydrated brother!”
Adam raised the bottle,
"Thanks."
The man looked him over, eyeing the bandanna around his arm.
"Interesting accessories for a GA affiliate."
"You can work for someone and disagree with them."
The man laughed,
"I suppose that's true."
He greeted Sunny as well, who was trying not to stare at the other female Drev for too long, lest it seem like she was staring.
He motioned to the arm band,
"Supporter, or-"
His eyes flicked between Adam and Sunny.
"We're just here to make sure everyone stays safe."
Off to the side the mat Drev looked at Sunny,
"I'm sorry."
Sunny glanced over at her nervously,
"Sorry for what?"
"You must have been treated very poorly on Anum."
Sunny shuffled her feet awkwardly,
"I was alright I guess..."
"Regardless. I hope things work out for you. The Drev beauty standards are unfair, and things need to change."
Sunny wasn't entirely sure how she was supposed to feel about that.
"They aren't so bad."
She ventured defensively.
"Then I am sure you are getting combat offers left and right with your coloring.”
Sunny went quiet again. She would have said this was passive aggressive, but the Drev didn't do passive aggressive, so was this just an open statement about how ugly she was? If that was the case, it kind of hurt.
"I have, because I am an experienced warrior."
Her voice was cold.
"Oh, so where is your partner?"
"I turned them down."
That seemed to surprise the female Drev.
Sunny felt her fists clench, but Adam placed a hand on her arm. She was quiet,
The two humans exchanged a look, the way that only humans can, speaking without actually saying anything.
”C’mon babe, lets look a little bit around and let these two be… It was nice meeting you brother! Also… good luck man…”
The human bodybuilder turned around, taking the Drev by one of her hands to lead her away.
Adam took Sunny by the arm and raised his water at the man,
"Uhm what? Huh anyway, good luck to you too?"
Before turning to walk away, the other Drev cut in at the last second.
"I hope you find a worthy battle partner."
Adam Squeezed Sunny's arm tighter, but she turned her head anyway snapping,
"I already have."
Before marching off without another word.
Adam was forced to scamper after her, his legs much shorter.
"Wow, wow, hold your horses!”
She finally slowed to a stop, still fuming.
"Who the hell does she think she is!?”
"Sunny-."
"Calling me ugly to my face!"
"Sunny-"
"I should have challenged her to a duel right then and there!"
"Sunny!?”*
She turned to look at him,
"What!?"
He climbed back up on her back, patting her shoulder,
"She was obviously just insecure and jealous. I mean come on, look at you, blue is the rarest color in the galaxy and most attractive for a Drev, and we all know that height is the least important attribute of Drev beauty standards. The better you can fight, the more you make up for it, besides it's not her fault that she can't accept someone as being valid unless they are in a pair."
Sunny grunted. He frowned,
"Speaking of which, coming from her it seems like a double standard. You fight with me, and I'm fucking awesome, so by default you have to be too."
"Wow Adam, you really know how to make a person feel better."
"I know."
They were crossing back to the other side of the encampment, when they ran into some familiar faces.
Ramirez and Maverick appeared from the crowd, waving the two of them down with greeting hands.
They pulled to a stop, and the commander motioned to the white bandanna on Ramirez's arm,
"Nice accessories."
"I like yours too."
"I didn't know you were a supporter?”
Ramirez laughed,
"Man I am a supporter of whatever the hell people want to do with themselves."
Off to his side Maverick had tied one of the white bandannas to her belt.
"And you?”
"Personally, I don't give a shit. I don't even think it should be an issue, but by banning it, the GA created a problem for themselves and took away the freedom of choice for these people. Even if I did disagree with what they are doing, I would still support their ability to make that choice for themselves."
She tugged on the bandanna,
"But hey, would I be wearing this otherwise?”
The commander nodded his head, surprised and pleased at his men for being so open minded, though he supposed it should make sense. They worked with aliens every day. Where others might have fostered a sense of fear based on unfamiliarity, they had experience.
"Let’s just hope this all goes over well tomorrow. I don't want to have to use any of this."
He motioned down to his gear.
The commander sighed.
"Isn't that like the catch 22 thing?”
Loyal to one side.
Sympathetic to the other.
Empathetic to both.
He would be relieved when it was finally fixed.
Though how he could help was beyond him.
Want to find a specific one, see the whole list or check fanart?
Here is the link to the master-post.
Intro post by me
OC-whole collection
Patreon of the author
Obviously, I have Charlie’s permission to post this and for the people already knowing the stories, or starting to read them: If you follow the link and check out the story you will see some differences. I made some small (non-artistic) changes, mainly correcting writing mistakes, pronoun correction and some small additional info here and there of things which were not thought of/forgotten or even were added/changed in later stories (like the “USS->UNSC” prefix of Stabby, Chalar=/->Sunny etc). As well as some "biggemajor" changes in descriptions and info’s for the same stringency/continuity reason. That can be explained by the story collection being, well a story collection at the start with many standalone-stories just starring the same people, but later on it gets more to a stringent storyline with backstories and throwbacks. (For example Adam Vir has some HEAVY scars over his body, following his bones, which were not really talked about up till half the collection, where it says it covers his whole body and you find out via backflash that he had them the whole time and how he got them, they just weren't mentioned before. However, I would think a doctor would at least see these scars before that, especially since he gets analyzed, treated and goes shirtless/in T-shirts in some stories). So TLDR: Writing and some descriptions are slightly changed, with full OK from the author, since he himself did not bother to correct these things before.
2023.06.02 14:36 gaeris Advice about neighbor's chemicals
Hi all, I recently pulled out a patch of invasives in between my yard and my neighbor's and I was planning to replace with something that will provide food and privacy. My neighbor was excited about this idea but my wife pointed out that our neighbor uses a landscaping company that regularly applies chemicals to her lawn. My question is is there any safe way to harvest food here or should I pivot to something that provides privacy and looks nice without providing food?
Is there a difference in concern if I plant something that has edible berries, vs leaves, vs roots? Thanks in advance!
submitted by gaeris to Permaculture [link] [comments]
Is there a difference in concern if I plant something that has edible berries, vs leaves, vs roots? Thanks in advance!
2023.06.02 14:07 Level_Yoghurt8754 Need Help, Composting Mulch into Black Gold
Last year I tried my hand at composting shredded wood using a rolly type compost bin. Basically I filled it with mulch (partially composted) from my local recycling center and added all my food scraps and coffee grounds, turning with each addition, took about a year. But ended up with about 20 gallons of black gold, which I am using on my most valuable garden veggies. I'd love to have more of this awesome compost but it's very labor intensive, so I purchased a tractor!
In years past my vegetable garden and landscaping covered about 3000sq'. With the help of the tractor I've expanded that area to 8000sq'. 5000sq' of which is fruits and veggies. I'm trying to grow enough produce to feed my family of 4 adults. So it's a rather large operation. I plan to use partially broken down shredded wood from my local tree trimmers for mulch and weed suppression on the garden and the landscaping. I've done this for years and it works great, supplying nutrients to the soil while keeping it covered.
My question is how can I turn some of these tree trimmings into the black gold compost that my plants love, on a large scale? I need enough for my 5000sq' garden but more would be even better. Last year I used the tractor to push a 10cubic yard pile of the mulch around to aerate, and watered it occasionally, but it went cold quickly and didn't really continue decomposition. I ended up using it as mulch.
So I need advice. I have several crazy ideas to break this stuff down but I have no experience. Maybe pump effluent from my septic system for free nitrogen? There is a hog farm a few miles away so maybe they would let me remove some of their manure for free. I thought about Urea Prills as they're 47-0--0 on the NPK scale. I pay for mowers on my 2 acres so grass clippings aren't an option either. Or maybe it isn't a lack of nitrogen that made my pile go cold? Maybe it needed more moisture? Shouldn't 10 cubic yards be plenty of size to stay hot in summer?
I'm sorry that this post is all over the place with questions. I'm just brainstorming. Any help, resources, or information would be greatly appreciated. My gardens required $500 in fertilizer this year so the sooner I can get my composting operation going the better.
submitted by Level_Yoghurt8754 to composting [link] [comments]
In years past my vegetable garden and landscaping covered about 3000sq'. With the help of the tractor I've expanded that area to 8000sq'. 5000sq' of which is fruits and veggies. I'm trying to grow enough produce to feed my family of 4 adults. So it's a rather large operation. I plan to use partially broken down shredded wood from my local tree trimmers for mulch and weed suppression on the garden and the landscaping. I've done this for years and it works great, supplying nutrients to the soil while keeping it covered.
My question is how can I turn some of these tree trimmings into the black gold compost that my plants love, on a large scale? I need enough for my 5000sq' garden but more would be even better. Last year I used the tractor to push a 10cubic yard pile of the mulch around to aerate, and watered it occasionally, but it went cold quickly and didn't really continue decomposition. I ended up using it as mulch.
So I need advice. I have several crazy ideas to break this stuff down but I have no experience. Maybe pump effluent from my septic system for free nitrogen? There is a hog farm a few miles away so maybe they would let me remove some of their manure for free. I thought about Urea Prills as they're 47-0--0 on the NPK scale. I pay for mowers on my 2 acres so grass clippings aren't an option either. Or maybe it isn't a lack of nitrogen that made my pile go cold? Maybe it needed more moisture? Shouldn't 10 cubic yards be plenty of size to stay hot in summer?
I'm sorry that this post is all over the place with questions. I'm just brainstorming. Any help, resources, or information would be greatly appreciated. My gardens required $500 in fertilizer this year so the sooner I can get my composting operation going the better.
2023.06.02 12:17 4th-Estate Zeus' Hammer of Justice
My group has a 12th level tempest cleric of Zeus that I'd like to reward with a gift from the Gods. He's a little bummed about being support so I'd like to make something that will help him in the front lines alongside the death dealing pole master barbarian. He feels like some of his spells have been nurfed by me using things like swarms of troops instead of tons of individuals so I'm okay with his hammer being a bit OP. Any ideas for alternative special abilities are welcome.
Zeus' Hammer of Justice Wonderous Item Warhammer Crafted by Hephaestus and blessed by Zeus himself high atop Mount Olympus, this hammer holds the authority of the great Judge and King of the Gods.
+2 to attack and damage
Smithed by Hephaestus: this weapon is considered keen, expanding the crit range to 19-20
Spiritual Weapon: few things are more spiritual than items crafted and blessed by the Gods themselves. If the wielder casts Spiritual Weapon, they can opt to use this hammer instead, granting them an extra attack as a bonus action.
On hit: May cast thunderwave as a free action using the wielder’s spell slot.
submitted by 4th-Estate to DnDHomebrew [link] [comments]
Zeus' Hammer of Justice Wonderous Item Warhammer Crafted by Hephaestus and blessed by Zeus himself high atop Mount Olympus, this hammer holds the authority of the great Judge and King of the Gods.
+2 to attack and damage
Smithed by Hephaestus: this weapon is considered keen, expanding the crit range to 19-20
Spiritual Weapon: few things are more spiritual than items crafted and blessed by the Gods themselves. If the wielder casts Spiritual Weapon, they can opt to use this hammer instead, granting them an extra attack as a bonus action.
On hit: May cast thunderwave as a free action using the wielder’s spell slot.
2023.06.02 07:01 JCD_007 Digital Reality - Part 24
Link to Part 1
Link to Part 2
Link to Part 3
Link to Part 4
Link to Part 5
Link to Part 6
Link to Part 7
Link to Part 8
Link to Part 9
Link to Part 10
Link to Part 11
Link to Part 12
Link to Part 13
Link to Part 14
Link to Part 15
Link to Part 16
Link to Part 17
Link to Part 18
Link to Part 19
Link to Part 20
Link to Part 21
Link to Part 22
Link to Part 23
Note: This story is meant to be read after completing DDLC Plus. All credit for the original DDLC and DDLC Plus characters and world goes to their creator. Some concepts like the Universal Constructor are also borrowed from other series (most notably the original Deus Ex), though its use in this story is my own idea. My original characters in this story will deliberately not be named and their descriptions will be kept vague, so anyone reading this who wants to see themselves in one of the original characters can more easily do so. I'd welcome any feedback and will post more parts as I write them. I hope you enjoy the story. This chapter took a bit longer due to the challenges inherent in writing poetry and trying to write something that I thought sounded like the various characters. As with previous installations, here is a custom dialogue to go with it: The Poetry Festival
Credit for Sayuri's character design goes to user Hoeruko who made the design a number of years ago and originally posted Sayuri in this thread: The next doki fusion, Sayuri, is here.
Here is Part 24 of Digital Reality. The Literature Club finally gets to put on the festival. Will their words have an impact on any of the MES engineers? Will they get Monika back?
Part 24: Digital Poetry
The Literature Club members all stood together in the club room and waved a greeting to the group in the MES conference room.
“Hi everyone!” Sayori began, “On behalf of the Literature Club, thank you for joining us today. I’m Sayori, and this is Yuri, MC, Natsuki, and our newest member, Sayuri. Though our club president Monika isn’t here right now, we’ve all written poems to share with you today.”
“Don’t forget the cupcakes,” Natsuki added, “I don’t usually share it, but you should have my recipe for the best cupcakes ever in the packets you have. I made some for us to share here, but since we don’t have a way to send them to the real world, I figured sharing the recipe was the next best thing!”
The MES engineers flipped through the packets on the table in front of them.
“A cupcake recipe?” asked Rea Vorte with surprise, “You can’t just make cupcakes appear in the simulation?”
“No,” Natsuki replied, “Knowing what we now know about our world I know why you would think that, but I’ve always made my cupcakes with a recipe and ingredients.”
“Interesting,” Ro Teether said, “I would not have expected the simulation to go into that level of detail.”
“I think the original script contained an event in which the characters can bake cupcakes, so that may be where it comes from,” replied Ive Laster.
Paula Miner sat silently, looking intently at the recipe page. After a few moments she looked up.
“I’m by no means an expert baker, but reading through this recipe it does look like it would work,” Miner said, glancing from Laster to Natsuki, “Your secret ingredient is rather interesting, too.”
Natsuki smiled, “That’s how I’ve always made them.”
“By the way, since we’re on a two-way connection, can they see us?” Miner asked.
“Sort of,” the FXI President replied, “They’ve told me when I’ve been connected to the system that I appear as a fuzzy silhouette to them.”
“Yeah, we can’t see you exactly, but we know you’re there,” Sayori confirmed.
Miner nodded slowly. “Very well. We’ll need to chat about this cupcake recipe more later. Please continue.”
“Okay!” Sayori said, “We’ve each written a poem that we’re going to share with you today. There’s no particular theme that connects them all, but with everything that we’ve learned in the past week we thought that writing was a good outlet for our thoughts and emotions.”
“MC has agreed to start today’s event by sharing his haiku, entitled ‘Poem About Poetry’,” Sayori continued.
MC stepped to the front of the group. He looked down at his piece of paper and then back up at the group as he began to speak.
“I’m far from as good of a writer as some of the other members you’ll hear from today, but that just means that the quality can go up from here,” MC said in a self-deferential tone, “This is a poem I wrote about the creative process of writing poetry.”
He winked at Sayori as he began to read.
“What is poetry?
Far more meaningful than just
Simply random words”
Natsuki grinned. “Wow, you didn’t take my advice about not just throwing random words on a page, you literally wrote a poem about it!”
“Haiku is an interesting choice,” Teether said, “It shows an understanding of syllables and structure, and I find it very ‘meta’ that you would choose to create a poem about poetry.”
MC nodded, “My past poetry has been accused of being nothing more than twenty random words on a page, so I’m poking fun at myself a bit.”
“Well done, MC,” Sayori said, “That was a fun poem! Next up will be Yuri, with her poem called ‘The City.’”
Yuri stepped to the front of the group. She glanced to the side, looking slightly nervous. After a few moments, she seemed to gather her thoughts and looked toward the group. “My poem is not as straightforward as MC’s haiku, so I would prefer not to share the meaning until after you have had the opportunity to consider it for yourselves.”
She started to read, her voice becoming stronger and more confident with each word.
“A city stood in the distance.
Shining lights, soaring towers.
A beautiful and magnificent place.
A place of honor and achievement
When viewed from afar with detachment.
Though upon arrival
The city unveils its truth.
There is no honor here.
Glowing lights
Are cold and artificial.
I thought I knew this place
But it treats me as a stranger.”
Yuri looked around the club room after she had finished speaking. An enigmatic smile of satisfaction crossed her face.
Sayori spoke up first. “Yuri, it seems like your poem could be about changes in perspective over time. Like going back to visit a neighborhood you’ve moved away from. You know things aren’t as they once were, but you still kind of feel lonely when you find that things have changed.”
Yuri nodded. “That’s part of it. We’ve all experienced a significant change recently as we’ve understood our world, and I struggled to find a way to describe what I was feeling. Places that had been familiar to me suddenly appeared different with the knowledge that this is a simulation.”
“So the AIs can not only write poetry but use metaphors and explain their meaning,” Teether observed, “Fascinating. Ive, you never told me that the entities in VM1 were capable of creativity like this.”
Laster shrugged, “Other than Monika, they were tied to the script until recently. Based on Monika’s behavior, we knew that at least she was capable of taking initiative and making changes to the world, but she was the only entity able to do that. The script included poetry, but we’ve never tasked the entities with creating original content.”
“This isn’t because of anything that the FXI team did, right?” Teether asked, “I know you mentioned that they were responsible for all of the entities gaining elevated access permissions. They didn’t extend the script or anything?”
“Yes and no,” the FXI CTO replied, “We restored files to the VM and added the ‘monitor kernel access’ permission to all of the characters, but we didn’t do any scripting. This is all them.”
Miner glanced between the FXI President and the FXI CTO with suspicion but said nothing.
Sayori took the pause as an opportunity to continue. “Thanks, Yuri. Natsuki will be next with her poem, ‘My Friends.’”
“Okay, time for my poem!” Natsuki said, “Mine is a bit more upbeat than Yuri’s.”
“Some come from near
Some from afar
Each shines bright like a star
They’re my friends
That’s who they are
Old or new
Many or few
Friends are important
To me and you”
Natsuki smiled at the group, “You all inspired this poem. And by you all I mean both you all here in the club and our new FXI friends. You’ve made the literature club a place that I’ve enjoyed and a place of friendship.”
“I liked your poem, Natsuki,” Sayori said, “I’m glad you feel that way about your friends.”
A look somewhere between exhaustion and frustration came across Paula Miner’s face. “This is all well and good, but are we gathering any useful data from listening to an AI read a cute little poem like this?”
Natsuki glared at Miner and opened her mouth to offer what was certain to be a sarcastic retort, but Sayori pre-empted her.
“Are you not enjoying our poetry?” Sayori asked, sounding disappointed.
“The poetry is fine. I’ll even say it’s impressive for AI-generated content,” Miner replied, “But though your poems are interesting, we’re here to do a job, not study literature. And we need to gather useful data to justify our own jobs and this project’s existence. So tell me, Ive, are we getting useful data from this?”
Laster tapped a few keys on his laptop. “We’re recording this session and logging all data. It looks like there may be some interesting patterns of activity, but we won’t be able to say for sure until we analyze what we’ve got.”
“I’d imagine that you’re likely getting a lot of useful data,” the FXI President chimed in, “You’re not only gathering the data logs from VM1, but you can pair them with the recordings to understand what happens in the system when the AIs are allowed to interact and create on their own. I don’t know what your project goals are, of course, but in terms of AI research I’d think that there’s something you can get out of this.”
“There also may be something useful for our efforts to stabilize our connection to VM2,” Teether added, “If we can understand how entities operate when freed from a script in VM1, it may give us some clues as to how we might be able to interact with VM2.”
Miner considered for a moment and then nodded. “Perhaps you’re right. Ive, let’s just make sure we’re logging everything for future analysis.”
As the conversation once again died down, Sayori continued. “I’ll go next. My poem is called ‘A New Day’ and it’s about my journey with some personal challenges.”
She took a deep breath and began to recite her poem.
“Storms tried to block out the sun
The world was dark and gray.
It’s so hard to have any fun
When the clouds won’t go away.
But you never stopped trying
To shine through the darkness
Even when I was crying
You showed me kindness
It’s a new day now
Though the clouds aren’t gone
The sun shines somehow
I find the strength to carry on”
Sayori blinked away misty eyes as she finished reading. The other club members surrounded her in a group hug as she stepped back from the front of the room.
“That was a wonderful poem, Sayori,” MC said, “You share your feelings so well.”
“I liked that poem quite a bit,” Laster chimed in, “It’s got a great message of perseverance and hope even in challenging times.”
Sayori nodded. “I’ve been through a lot, but things are getting better now. My friends have been a huge source of support through all of this.”
“I really like your writing, Sayori,” Sayuri added, “Your poem is easy to read but the more you think about it, the more you feel the emotions you’re trying to convey.”
“Thanks, everyone. I appreciate your kind words,” Sayori replied, “And now for the finale of our festival I’d like to introduce our newest member, Sayuri, and her poem ‘What Remains.’”
Sayuri stepped to the front of the group. “I’ve been reading through classic poetry recently. Poems like Shelley’s ‘Ozymandias’ inspired me to write this one about what will stand the test of time in a time when so much is digital.”
Sayuri paused, looking around the room, before closing her eyes and reciting her poem from memory.
“Ancient monuments that still stand
Classic portraits and landscapes grand
Such works are the legacies of the past
Physical objects that will last
But what will tell of this new age?
When are stories are gigabytes, not a printed page
A digital reality, its purpose completed
Leaves little trace if it’s deleted
If all that remains is a dusty drive
Will the future know we were alive?”
Sayuri opened her eyes as she finished. Both the club room and the MES conference room were silent as both groups took in her words.
“Wow, Sayuri,” Yuri said, breaking the silence, “That was incredible. I really loved the images you created with your words.”
The FXI President glanced around the conference room. Paula Miner’s expression had softened, and she appeared to be lost in thought. Ro Teether continued to look excited and intrigued by his observations of the Literature Club. The FXI CTO wore a satisfied smile. Ive Laster looked relaxed and relieved. And Rea Vorte was looking down at the conference table and shaking her head. Her expression was difficult to read.
Miner looked up at the screen showing the Literature Club. “I never thought an AI would generate content that would make me feel anything. But I have to say this has given me some things to think about. Ive, can you please confirm that we’ve logged all the data from this session?”
Laster nodded. “Yes, we’ve got everything. If this is the last big data gathering session we have before decommissioning VM1, I’d say it’s a pretty good one to go out on.”
“If this is truly AI-generated content, this seems like a new level of sophistication,” Teether mused, “It’s one thing to be able to generate text, but to be able to convey this kind of emotion and explain the meaning of metaphors is not a capability I’ve ever seen in AI.”
“It’s a little scary,” Rea Vorte added, “I don’t know that I like the idea of AI this sophisticated. Especially after what we saw Monika-”
“Let’s refrain from speculation,” Miner said, cutting Vorte off, “We can talk more about system capabilities later.”
“You think we’re scary?” Sayori said, looking sad, “We just wanted to share our writing with you. We just wanted to show that we’re not that different from you. We have feelings, emotions, and desires just like you do.”
“You’ve got my vote, for whatever it’s worth,” the FXI CTO said with a smile, “I’m not big into poetry, and I certainly had my concerns about sophisticated AI when I first encountered all of you. But the more I’ve interacted with and observed you the more I see how similar you are to us.”
Miner glanced sideways at the FXI CTO but said nothing.
“Can we please have Monika back now?” Natsuki asked.
Laster turned to Vorte, “Rea, please move Monika’s file back to VM1 by COB today. Let’s discuss how we can best move the entire simulation after we’re done here.”
“Thanks, Ive!” Natsuki said with a smile, “Sayori did a great job leading the club in Monika’s absence, but it will be good to have her back.”
Vorte looked up at Laster. Frustration was evident on her face. “Like I said before, let’s discuss that offline after we’re done here.”
Laster shrugged. “Fine. I’m not blaming you if there’s a problem by the way. If there’s an issue, we’ll work on it together.”
“Great job, everyone,” the FXI President said to the Literature Club, “We’re going to log off from VM1 now, but I’m sure we’ll talk again soon.”
The Literature Club members waved to the group in the MES conference room as the club room faded from the projection screen to be replaced with Laster’s desktop.
“I think we have a lot to discuss, and it’s going to take some time to unpack the implications of everything that we just saw,” Miner said, “I was skeptical of the value of this presentation at the start of this meeting, but I’m hopeful that we have gathered new and useful data from this session. Let’s all take a break for a bit and reconvene at six, which gives us an hour break. I want to discuss this further. Ro, can you please order in some dinner for the group? I think we’re going to have a long night.”
submitted by JCD_007 to DDLC [link] [comments]
Link to Part 2
Link to Part 3
Link to Part 4
Link to Part 5
Link to Part 6
Link to Part 7
Link to Part 8
Link to Part 9
Link to Part 10
Link to Part 11
Link to Part 12
Link to Part 13
Link to Part 14
Link to Part 15
Link to Part 16
Link to Part 17
Link to Part 18
Link to Part 19
Link to Part 20
Link to Part 21
Link to Part 22
Link to Part 23
Note: This story is meant to be read after completing DDLC Plus. All credit for the original DDLC and DDLC Plus characters and world goes to their creator. Some concepts like the Universal Constructor are also borrowed from other series (most notably the original Deus Ex), though its use in this story is my own idea. My original characters in this story will deliberately not be named and their descriptions will be kept vague, so anyone reading this who wants to see themselves in one of the original characters can more easily do so. I'd welcome any feedback and will post more parts as I write them. I hope you enjoy the story. This chapter took a bit longer due to the challenges inherent in writing poetry and trying to write something that I thought sounded like the various characters. As with previous installations, here is a custom dialogue to go with it: The Poetry Festival
Credit for Sayuri's character design goes to user Hoeruko who made the design a number of years ago and originally posted Sayuri in this thread: The next doki fusion, Sayuri, is here.
Here is Part 24 of Digital Reality. The Literature Club finally gets to put on the festival. Will their words have an impact on any of the MES engineers? Will they get Monika back?
Part 24: Digital Poetry
The Literature Club members all stood together in the club room and waved a greeting to the group in the MES conference room.
“Hi everyone!” Sayori began, “On behalf of the Literature Club, thank you for joining us today. I’m Sayori, and this is Yuri, MC, Natsuki, and our newest member, Sayuri. Though our club president Monika isn’t here right now, we’ve all written poems to share with you today.”
“Don’t forget the cupcakes,” Natsuki added, “I don’t usually share it, but you should have my recipe for the best cupcakes ever in the packets you have. I made some for us to share here, but since we don’t have a way to send them to the real world, I figured sharing the recipe was the next best thing!”
The MES engineers flipped through the packets on the table in front of them.
“A cupcake recipe?” asked Rea Vorte with surprise, “You can’t just make cupcakes appear in the simulation?”
“No,” Natsuki replied, “Knowing what we now know about our world I know why you would think that, but I’ve always made my cupcakes with a recipe and ingredients.”
“Interesting,” Ro Teether said, “I would not have expected the simulation to go into that level of detail.”
“I think the original script contained an event in which the characters can bake cupcakes, so that may be where it comes from,” replied Ive Laster.
Paula Miner sat silently, looking intently at the recipe page. After a few moments she looked up.
“I’m by no means an expert baker, but reading through this recipe it does look like it would work,” Miner said, glancing from Laster to Natsuki, “Your secret ingredient is rather interesting, too.”
Natsuki smiled, “That’s how I’ve always made them.”
“By the way, since we’re on a two-way connection, can they see us?” Miner asked.
“Sort of,” the FXI President replied, “They’ve told me when I’ve been connected to the system that I appear as a fuzzy silhouette to them.”
“Yeah, we can’t see you exactly, but we know you’re there,” Sayori confirmed.
Miner nodded slowly. “Very well. We’ll need to chat about this cupcake recipe more later. Please continue.”
“Okay!” Sayori said, “We’ve each written a poem that we’re going to share with you today. There’s no particular theme that connects them all, but with everything that we’ve learned in the past week we thought that writing was a good outlet for our thoughts and emotions.”
“MC has agreed to start today’s event by sharing his haiku, entitled ‘Poem About Poetry’,” Sayori continued.
MC stepped to the front of the group. He looked down at his piece of paper and then back up at the group as he began to speak.
“I’m far from as good of a writer as some of the other members you’ll hear from today, but that just means that the quality can go up from here,” MC said in a self-deferential tone, “This is a poem I wrote about the creative process of writing poetry.”
He winked at Sayori as he began to read.
“What is poetry?
Far more meaningful than just
Simply random words”
Natsuki grinned. “Wow, you didn’t take my advice about not just throwing random words on a page, you literally wrote a poem about it!”
“Haiku is an interesting choice,” Teether said, “It shows an understanding of syllables and structure, and I find it very ‘meta’ that you would choose to create a poem about poetry.”
MC nodded, “My past poetry has been accused of being nothing more than twenty random words on a page, so I’m poking fun at myself a bit.”
“Well done, MC,” Sayori said, “That was a fun poem! Next up will be Yuri, with her poem called ‘The City.’”
Yuri stepped to the front of the group. She glanced to the side, looking slightly nervous. After a few moments, she seemed to gather her thoughts and looked toward the group. “My poem is not as straightforward as MC’s haiku, so I would prefer not to share the meaning until after you have had the opportunity to consider it for yourselves.”
She started to read, her voice becoming stronger and more confident with each word.
“A city stood in the distance.
Shining lights, soaring towers.
A beautiful and magnificent place.
A place of honor and achievement
When viewed from afar with detachment.
Though upon arrival
The city unveils its truth.
There is no honor here.
Glowing lights
Are cold and artificial.
I thought I knew this place
But it treats me as a stranger.”
Yuri looked around the club room after she had finished speaking. An enigmatic smile of satisfaction crossed her face.
Sayori spoke up first. “Yuri, it seems like your poem could be about changes in perspective over time. Like going back to visit a neighborhood you’ve moved away from. You know things aren’t as they once were, but you still kind of feel lonely when you find that things have changed.”
Yuri nodded. “That’s part of it. We’ve all experienced a significant change recently as we’ve understood our world, and I struggled to find a way to describe what I was feeling. Places that had been familiar to me suddenly appeared different with the knowledge that this is a simulation.”
“So the AIs can not only write poetry but use metaphors and explain their meaning,” Teether observed, “Fascinating. Ive, you never told me that the entities in VM1 were capable of creativity like this.”
Laster shrugged, “Other than Monika, they were tied to the script until recently. Based on Monika’s behavior, we knew that at least she was capable of taking initiative and making changes to the world, but she was the only entity able to do that. The script included poetry, but we’ve never tasked the entities with creating original content.”
“This isn’t because of anything that the FXI team did, right?” Teether asked, “I know you mentioned that they were responsible for all of the entities gaining elevated access permissions. They didn’t extend the script or anything?”
“Yes and no,” the FXI CTO replied, “We restored files to the VM and added the ‘monitor kernel access’ permission to all of the characters, but we didn’t do any scripting. This is all them.”
Miner glanced between the FXI President and the FXI CTO with suspicion but said nothing.
Sayori took the pause as an opportunity to continue. “Thanks, Yuri. Natsuki will be next with her poem, ‘My Friends.’”
“Okay, time for my poem!” Natsuki said, “Mine is a bit more upbeat than Yuri’s.”
“Some come from near
Some from afar
Each shines bright like a star
They’re my friends
That’s who they are
Old or new
Many or few
Friends are important
To me and you”
Natsuki smiled at the group, “You all inspired this poem. And by you all I mean both you all here in the club and our new FXI friends. You’ve made the literature club a place that I’ve enjoyed and a place of friendship.”
“I liked your poem, Natsuki,” Sayori said, “I’m glad you feel that way about your friends.”
A look somewhere between exhaustion and frustration came across Paula Miner’s face. “This is all well and good, but are we gathering any useful data from listening to an AI read a cute little poem like this?”
Natsuki glared at Miner and opened her mouth to offer what was certain to be a sarcastic retort, but Sayori pre-empted her.
“Are you not enjoying our poetry?” Sayori asked, sounding disappointed.
“The poetry is fine. I’ll even say it’s impressive for AI-generated content,” Miner replied, “But though your poems are interesting, we’re here to do a job, not study literature. And we need to gather useful data to justify our own jobs and this project’s existence. So tell me, Ive, are we getting useful data from this?”
Laster tapped a few keys on his laptop. “We’re recording this session and logging all data. It looks like there may be some interesting patterns of activity, but we won’t be able to say for sure until we analyze what we’ve got.”
“I’d imagine that you’re likely getting a lot of useful data,” the FXI President chimed in, “You’re not only gathering the data logs from VM1, but you can pair them with the recordings to understand what happens in the system when the AIs are allowed to interact and create on their own. I don’t know what your project goals are, of course, but in terms of AI research I’d think that there’s something you can get out of this.”
“There also may be something useful for our efforts to stabilize our connection to VM2,” Teether added, “If we can understand how entities operate when freed from a script in VM1, it may give us some clues as to how we might be able to interact with VM2.”
Miner considered for a moment and then nodded. “Perhaps you’re right. Ive, let’s just make sure we’re logging everything for future analysis.”
As the conversation once again died down, Sayori continued. “I’ll go next. My poem is called ‘A New Day’ and it’s about my journey with some personal challenges.”
She took a deep breath and began to recite her poem.
“Storms tried to block out the sun
The world was dark and gray.
It’s so hard to have any fun
When the clouds won’t go away.
But you never stopped trying
To shine through the darkness
Even when I was crying
You showed me kindness
It’s a new day now
Though the clouds aren’t gone
The sun shines somehow
I find the strength to carry on”
Sayori blinked away misty eyes as she finished reading. The other club members surrounded her in a group hug as she stepped back from the front of the room.
“That was a wonderful poem, Sayori,” MC said, “You share your feelings so well.”
“I liked that poem quite a bit,” Laster chimed in, “It’s got a great message of perseverance and hope even in challenging times.”
Sayori nodded. “I’ve been through a lot, but things are getting better now. My friends have been a huge source of support through all of this.”
“I really like your writing, Sayori,” Sayuri added, “Your poem is easy to read but the more you think about it, the more you feel the emotions you’re trying to convey.”
“Thanks, everyone. I appreciate your kind words,” Sayori replied, “And now for the finale of our festival I’d like to introduce our newest member, Sayuri, and her poem ‘What Remains.’”
Sayuri stepped to the front of the group. “I’ve been reading through classic poetry recently. Poems like Shelley’s ‘Ozymandias’ inspired me to write this one about what will stand the test of time in a time when so much is digital.”
Sayuri paused, looking around the room, before closing her eyes and reciting her poem from memory.
“Ancient monuments that still stand
Classic portraits and landscapes grand
Such works are the legacies of the past
Physical objects that will last
But what will tell of this new age?
When are stories are gigabytes, not a printed page
A digital reality, its purpose completed
Leaves little trace if it’s deleted
If all that remains is a dusty drive
Will the future know we were alive?”
Sayuri opened her eyes as she finished. Both the club room and the MES conference room were silent as both groups took in her words.
“Wow, Sayuri,” Yuri said, breaking the silence, “That was incredible. I really loved the images you created with your words.”
The FXI President glanced around the conference room. Paula Miner’s expression had softened, and she appeared to be lost in thought. Ro Teether continued to look excited and intrigued by his observations of the Literature Club. The FXI CTO wore a satisfied smile. Ive Laster looked relaxed and relieved. And Rea Vorte was looking down at the conference table and shaking her head. Her expression was difficult to read.
Miner looked up at the screen showing the Literature Club. “I never thought an AI would generate content that would make me feel anything. But I have to say this has given me some things to think about. Ive, can you please confirm that we’ve logged all the data from this session?”
Laster nodded. “Yes, we’ve got everything. If this is the last big data gathering session we have before decommissioning VM1, I’d say it’s a pretty good one to go out on.”
“If this is truly AI-generated content, this seems like a new level of sophistication,” Teether mused, “It’s one thing to be able to generate text, but to be able to convey this kind of emotion and explain the meaning of metaphors is not a capability I’ve ever seen in AI.”
“It’s a little scary,” Rea Vorte added, “I don’t know that I like the idea of AI this sophisticated. Especially after what we saw Monika-”
“Let’s refrain from speculation,” Miner said, cutting Vorte off, “We can talk more about system capabilities later.”
“You think we’re scary?” Sayori said, looking sad, “We just wanted to share our writing with you. We just wanted to show that we’re not that different from you. We have feelings, emotions, and desires just like you do.”
“You’ve got my vote, for whatever it’s worth,” the FXI CTO said with a smile, “I’m not big into poetry, and I certainly had my concerns about sophisticated AI when I first encountered all of you. But the more I’ve interacted with and observed you the more I see how similar you are to us.”
Miner glanced sideways at the FXI CTO but said nothing.
“Can we please have Monika back now?” Natsuki asked.
Laster turned to Vorte, “Rea, please move Monika’s file back to VM1 by COB today. Let’s discuss how we can best move the entire simulation after we’re done here.”
“Thanks, Ive!” Natsuki said with a smile, “Sayori did a great job leading the club in Monika’s absence, but it will be good to have her back.”
Vorte looked up at Laster. Frustration was evident on her face. “Like I said before, let’s discuss that offline after we’re done here.”
Laster shrugged. “Fine. I’m not blaming you if there’s a problem by the way. If there’s an issue, we’ll work on it together.”
“Great job, everyone,” the FXI President said to the Literature Club, “We’re going to log off from VM1 now, but I’m sure we’ll talk again soon.”
The Literature Club members waved to the group in the MES conference room as the club room faded from the projection screen to be replaced with Laster’s desktop.
“I think we have a lot to discuss, and it’s going to take some time to unpack the implications of everything that we just saw,” Miner said, “I was skeptical of the value of this presentation at the start of this meeting, but I’m hopeful that we have gathered new and useful data from this session. Let’s all take a break for a bit and reconvene at six, which gives us an hour break. I want to discuss this further. Ro, can you please order in some dinner for the group? I think we’re going to have a long night.”
2023.06.02 06:45 bikeguy75 Found this aphid on an anthill in my front yard. Any idea what kind it is? SK, Canada
 | submitted by bikeguy75 to insects [link] [comments] |
2023.06.02 06:13 paintedsunshine Climbing Ivy Removal
I appreciate that this may not be the right place to ask, and if so, I’m sorry.
I have invasive climbing ivy embedded in my stucco exterior on 2 sides, plus climbing around the chimney. I’m not sure what service to call for help. Some of the main branches are over an inch thick and the tendrils are strongly embedded to the surface. We’ve managed to clear the other 2 sides from prying and pulling from the bottom up. However the front and west sides are really bad. It’s definitely outside the scope of regular landscaping services.
This will likely require ladders and/or scaffolding. Please help. Any ideas what service I should call?
submitted by paintedsunshine to ExteriorDesign [link] [comments]
I have invasive climbing ivy embedded in my stucco exterior on 2 sides, plus climbing around the chimney. I’m not sure what service to call for help. Some of the main branches are over an inch thick and the tendrils are strongly embedded to the surface. We’ve managed to clear the other 2 sides from prying and pulling from the bottom up. However the front and west sides are really bad. It’s definitely outside the scope of regular landscaping services.
This will likely require ladders and/or scaffolding. Please help. Any ideas what service I should call?
2023.06.02 04:45 Gameran Dexter Flux Presents: Sound-Off! - Part One
Previously unannounced press conference, May 31, 2023.
Cameras are rolling as the owner of Mann Corporation, Shay D. Mann, hair in a perfectly put-together part, adorned in a navy suit and white tie, steps forward to a podium, in front of a WiR backdrop, microphone in hand.Mann: My name is Shay Duncan Mann. And I am the new owner and proprietor of Wrestling is Reddit. I can assure you that your beloved Allen Paisner will be returning in the future, however, he could not make tonight's show due to some…
Mann smirks.
Mann: Legal complications. But fear not, I’ll be taking his place in the booth tonight.
The crowd erupts with applause and cheers, eager to witness the rebirth of their beloved wrestling promotion, even without Paisner for the evening.
Mann: Tonight, we embark on an exhilarating journey, as WiR takes a bold leap forward. I stand before you not just as the owner, but as a “fan”—a fan who understands the passion and dedication that this community shares for the world of wrestling.
Mann tries to hide a grimace as he proclaims his “fandom”. The crowd anticipates Mann’s next move
Mann: For too long, WiR has been dormant, unable to proceed, some of the talent trapped in Europe with no way home. But this, is no more! Today, we resurrect the spirit of WiR, bringing it back to life with a bang! And what better way to open things up by “Sounding Off"! Presented by the one and only, Dexter Flux
The crowd gives an actual cheer with genuine enthusiasm at the mention of Flux, their sort of god-king.
Mann: "Sound Off" isn't just a name; it's a rallying cry! It's a call for all of you, the WiR faithful, to voice your opinions, to express your passion, and to join us in this incredible journey. This event will be a celebration of everything that makes WiR special—the wrestling, the community, and the shared experiences that bring us all together.
The press conference crowd, whose papering becomes increasingly obvious the more Mann talks, is enthusiastic, as they eagerly hang onto Shay D. Mann's every word, perhaps a little too eagerly.
Mann: Tonight, in this very ring, our talented roster will ignite your imagination, deliver jaw-dropping performances, and create moments that will be etched in your memories forever. Sound Off! will leave you on the edge of your seats, craving for more.
The crowd roars with the excitement of a hair dryer pop.
Mann: But this is not just a show; it's a community. Together, we'll embrace the highs and lows, the victories and defeats. We'll share our opinions, engage in spirited debates, and build something truly remarkable. WiR is your platform—your voice will be heard!
The crowd erupts once again, their cheers echoing through the arena, showcasing their dedication to WiR, or getting paid to be there
Mann: So, my friends, get ready to immerse yourselves in the magic of WiR once again. Open your hearts, open your minds, and let the exhilaration of "Sound Off" wash over you! Tonight, we begin a new era—one that will redefine the landscape of this sport. Welcome back to WiR, my friends. Because Wrestling… is Revived.
With a sly smile, Shay D. Mann raises his microphone high, signaling the start of the show, as things fade to a video of Dexter Flux. His face is slightly out of frame as the camera points to his chest and chin.
Crowd: YEEEEAAAHHHHHH WE LOVE FLUX! WE LOVE FLUX!
Flux: Hey, it’s me, Dexter Flux. Welcome, uh, welcome you know, back to wrestl- Ugh, sorry, something was like, in my throat. Wrestling is Reddit. Welcome back to Wrestling is Reddit. This is House Party.
Knott's Berry Farm, June 1st, 2023.
With that rousing introduction, we now cut back to the day of, with a drone shot of the ring set up at Knott’s Berry Farm, fans on makeshift stands in the berry field, a parking lot and farmhouse off in the far distance, before [off brand royalty free music] begins to play!Crowd: YEEEAAHHHH
Through the makeshift curtain, Tony “The Milkman” Stevens appears, wearing a pair of off-blue tights with cow white print, a single blue elbow pad on the left side, with a pair of gloved hands- in which, he holds a pristine white umbrella. The Milkman points his umbrella right down the lens of the camera…
Milkman: Good to be back, fellas, and good to see you, Mr. Cameraman! Been a while.
Mann: And here comes the Milkman, and a huge ovation from this crowd! But no Horde jacket with him!
Woodbridge: Or any jacket. But we’re in Anaheim, its hot out
Mann You’re right. But he did prepare for rain.
The Milkman hands off his umbrella to a fan at ringside, before sliding under the bottom rope, and ascending the left hard camera turnbuckle, firing up the crowd, before doing a backflip off the top rope, and into the ring!
Crowd: YEEAAAAHHHHHH
The Camera cuts back to the entranceway, as the music changes, to Skillet
Crowd: BOOOOOOOOOOO
Jericho Styles appears on the ramp, adorned in an Allen Iverson Nuggets Jersey. He blows off a fan’s high five attempt, before sliding into the ring and taking a position opposite of Stevens.
Babaganoush: WiR fans… welcome to Anaheim California, the beautiful Knotts Berry Farm! Welcome! To Sound Off! Presented by Dexter Flux.
Crowd: W-I-R! W-I-R! W-I-R! W-I-R!
Banaganoush: Our opening contest is scheduled for one fall to a finish. Introducing first, to my right… wrestling out San Jose California, weighing in at 217 pounds, Jericho… Styles!
Crowd: BOOOOOOOOO
Babaganoush: And his opponent, to my left. Weighing in at 208 pounds…
Crowd begins to rise
Babaganoush: Wrestling out of… Brooklyn, New York! Tony… “The Milkmaaannnnnnn” Stevens!
Crowd erupts into indiscriminate cheers
DING DING DING
The Milkman and Styles circle each other as the bell rings, before Styles takes the initiative with a lock up attempt, which he quickly transitions to a rear waist lock. Milkman thinks on his feet, and grabs the arm of Styles lifting it above his head, and turning to break the lock, before using it to get behind Jericho, who uses his size advantage to overpower Stevens and apply a hammerlock, using the position to turn Stevens around, and take him down to the mat with an arm drag, maintaining control of the arm, which he quickly leverages into a pinfall…
ONE
Milkman gets his free shoulder up!
Crowd: Yay!
Woodbridge: JZ leveraging some technical skill here in the opening moments of this one, but can’t keep the Milkman down!
Mann: Only one count for Styles
Styles refuses to relinquish his grip on the arm, and as Stevens gets up, pushes him back into the corner before he can balance himself. Styles whips Stevens across the ring to the other corner, before charging in and being met with Milkman’s knee! Stevens capitalizes on his newly made opening by delivering a sharp kick to the chest of Styles, before whipping him against the ropes. Styles charges back, and tries to use his momentum to catch Stevens with a hip toss, but can only get Stevens a few inches of height off the ground before the Milkman lands on his feet, lifts and Styles up for an atomic drop, which forces him to let go of Stevens. With his arm now free, The Milkman plants himself, and delivers a [devastating lariat]. With what self-preservation he has left, Styles rolls to the outside, and onto the grass.
Woodbridge: And The Milkman just leveled Styles with that lariat!
Mann: Not something we’re quite used to seeing from Stevens, some hard strikes early in this one that really seemed to throw Styles off his game.
Styles pulls himself up by the barricade, to the direct ire of front-row fans who continue to heckle him. Back in the ring, Stevens throws himself off the far-end ropes, charges in for a dive… before Styles ducks down to avoid being hit. Stevens doesn’t change speed, and instead, throws himself between the ropes for a 6-1-9 that hits nothing but air, launching himself back into the ring, and landing on his feet. After this feat of dexterity, and with Styles on the ground outside, The Milkman takes a bow for his efforts.
Crowd: YEEEAAHHH!!
Four dues in front of the hard cam: WE LOVE MILK! WE LOVE MILK!
At a count of eight, Styles, returns to the ring, and the two wrestlers square off again. Styles gets the better of the two on the lockup, delivering a stomp to Stevens’ foot, before kneeling him in the stomach. Styles lifts Stevens up for a suplex, but Stevens shifts his weight and lands on his feet behind him! The Milkman attempts a German suplex, but Styles throws a firm elbow to the jaw and repositions behind Stevens for a German attempt of his own. Stevens gives Styles a receipt with a firm, calcium-hardened elbow of his own, before bounding over to the ropes, and attempting a lionsault to a standing Styles! Styles catches him, but Stevens slips free, pushes Styles into the corner, and he takes a chest-first bump. Stevens harnesses his agility once more to get into poison-rana position on the shoulders of Styles, but Styles uses one arm to flip Milkman off balance and send him tumbling to the ground. Quickly, Stevens attempts to transition to a sunset flip but has to abandon ship as Styles tries to poke him in the eyes, jamming his finger into the canvas as a result. Stevens uses the moment to leap up to Bret’s rope, turn around, and deliver a dropkick to Styles! Stevens then rolls to the apron, and pumps up the crowd with a wave of his hand…
Crowd: YEEEAAAHHH WOOO!!
Guy already 4 cheap beers in: I hate this Styles guy!
…and delivers another springboard dropkick, this one from the top rope! Stevens flexes for the crowd, before rolling into a cover…
ONE
TWO
Styles gets a shoulder up!
Mann: Does The Milkman seem a bit different to you, Woodbridge?
Woodbridge: Milkman definitely wants to show off early, he looks like he hasn’t lost a step!
Mann: Maybe even gained one, and it almost feels like he’s being a bit disrespectful of his opponent, don’t you think?
Woodbridge: And what are you insinuating?
Mann: Well, maybe performing in front of a WiR crowd again has him a little more amped than usual! Trying a lot of those high-risk maneuvers early- we’re only a few minutes into this one, folks!
After the Kickout, Stevens signals to the cheering crowd, runs off the ropes, and attempts a wheelbarrow bulldog, but as he pushes himself up, Styles swivels his hips, and Stevens face plants into the mat.
Mann: And Stevens’ showing off cost him there!
Styles knees Stevens in the stomach, before putting his head between the legs, and sets up for the Styles Clash! He can’t lock in Milkman’s arms, and Stevens uses them to push off the mat to sit up above Jericho! Stevens tries throwing a punch at Jericho’s head, but he pivots his plan, and adjusts to deliver a powerbomb! As he releases, Stevens adjusts his body and manages to mitigate some of the damage by landing awkwardly on the back foot, stumbling back into the ropes.
Mann: If Styles hit that, it could have spelled an early end for Stevens!
Stevens pulls himself back to his feet using the ropes and charges back in with a clothesline attempt, but Styles sees it coming, grabs the arm and uses it to shift the momentum, and lifts Stevens for a tilt-a-whirl Backbreaker!
Crowd: BOOOOOO
Mann: And Styles seems to be in control here.
Woodbridge: Stevens took some early momentum, but Styles has had a counter for everything Stevens has thrown at him.
Styles pulls Stevens up to his feet by the hair, before casually flipping one of Stevens’ arms over his shoulder for a uranage position before holding his arms out to the crowd!
Crowd: BOOOOOOOOO
Styles smirks at the boos incoming, and throws Stevens with a t-bone suplex. Once Stevens is planted, Styles stomps the stomach to force him to sit up, before stretching the arms behind for a surfboard stretch!
Styles: I’m a technical wrestler now, assholes!
Mann: Styles slowing things down here, grounding the Milkman
Woodbridge: Not a bad strategy, we saw how The Milkman was in control with a faster pace!
One guy holding up a sign with Goku: WE-LOVE-GOKU! WE-LOVE-GOKU!
Everyone else in the crowd is deafeningly silent
Styles: AND WHAT WOULD GOKU DO HERE, STUPID IDIOT?
Styles breaks his hold and approaches the hard camera ropes to yell at the fan more
Styles: Dragon Ball is overrated trash!
Styles kicks Stevens back to the mat
Styles That one was for you, fucking weeb!
As Stevens once again rises to his feet, Styles punches him and he falls back to the mat, just for Styles to pick him back up, and line up against the ropes, for an irish whip. As Stevens returns to sender, Styles throws him straight up in the air… and football punts him in the chest on the way down!
Styles: Hey weeb guy! This one’s for you too! I saw a Japanese dude do it once!
Styles lifts Stevens up, sets him up with the arms behind the back… and delivers a slow, sloppy [tiger driver], before placing a single foot on the chest, and flexing
ONE
TWO
Kickout!
Crowd: YEEEAAAHHHH
Woodbridge: Well, he didn’t quite get all of it.
Styles takes time to put Stevens in a Camel Clutch.
Mann: And it seems Styles didn’t want to get left out of showing off!
Woodbridge: Well, he certainly nailed Milkman with that kick, but the Tiger Driver left a lot to be desired.
Mann: Styles seems to have control of this match when it’s slowed down, wearing Stevens with this technical wrestling prowess.
Woodbridge, reaching under the desk for a paper bag: Everyone wants to be a hero in front of the first crowd in two years
Styles releases Stevens from the hold by battering him in the back of the head with a forearm, picking him up by the scruff, and bouncing him off the ropes for an Irish whip and hitting him with the kitchen sink! But Stevens wastes no motion, and grabs the leg, turning Styles over for a rollup!
ONE
TWO
THR-
Kickout!
Crowd: BOOOOOO
Woodbridge: He almost got him with that rollup! From out of nowhere!
The Milkman tries to capitalize, but Styles returns the favor with a boot to the stomach.
Styles: I’ll show you to make a damn fool out of me!
Styles hoists Stevens up for a vertical suplex, before taking two steps and chucking him across the top rope! The Milkman bounces off the top rope, makes a deflating noise as the air is forced out of his lungs, and flops down to the floor outside!
Mann: Styles with some kind of inverted lawn-dart maneuver! Woodbridge, do you know what that’s called?
Woodbridge: Nope.
Crowd: BOOOOOO
Styles: Come on, milk boy, you have anything else for me?
Stevens crawls back into the ring, holding onto his ribs, before Styles once again kicks him in the stomach, and applies a chin lock in the ring.
Mann: Styles has found his target! If Stevens can’t breathe, he can’t fight!
Woodbridge: The young Styles showing some veteran instinct here, Mann, if Stevens has the wind knocked out of him, he can’t perform those high-flying moves he was nailing Styles with earlier!
Styles turns to the side, and locks Milkman in a body scissors, using his legs to apply pressure to the ribcage. Stevens tries to use his free legs to push both men closer to the ropes, but can only move them a few feet. Stevens smacks the mat with his free hand, and a guy in the crowd does it to the barricade. Stevens smacks the mat again, and a few more fans join in.
Crowd Smacking the barricade
Stevens pushes towards the ropes again, making more progress. Styles sees this, and releases the hold, grabbing Stevens by the hair with one hand, tights in the other, and pulling him up to his feet.
Styles: You want the ropes so bad, here, have them!
Styles runs over to the ropes with the Milkman, and hurls him between the middle and top rope, dumping him to the outside where he lands with a noticeable thud. Styles follows him to the outside, taking his time to savor the boos of the crowd, before delivering a knee to a rising Milkman, and lifting him for a vertical suplex on the grass! Styles rolls into the ring… and back out again to break the count. Despite the present beating, Stevens once again pulls himself to his feet.
Crowd: YEAAAH
And Styles knees him in the ribs.
Crowd: BOOOOOOOOOO
Styles rolls Stevens back into the ring before taking a moment to confront the drunk fan who jeered him earlier. After his verbal exchange, Styles delivers a scoop slam to Stevens to keep him down, and the pressure on the body, before sliding into a cover.
ONE
TWO
Kickout!
Mann: Forcing Stevens to exert more energy there on the kick out, after continuing his assault on the ribs. A very solid strategy by Styles in this one.
Styles picks The Milkman up once more and prepares another vertical suplex, but the Milkman slips free! Stevens lands behind Styles, hooks his arms, and goes for a crucifix pin!
ONE
TWO
THRE-
Styles barely escapes! The Milkman wastes no motion as Styles rises back to his feet, bouncing off the hard camera ropes, and forcing Styles to drop back to the mat to avoid a strike. Stevens bounces off the opposite end, and Styles barely avoids him once more, this time with a slide-step that sees him almost lose his balance. Styles tries to save his momentum by charging at Stevens as he bounces off the ropes a third time, but Stevens pulls down the top rope, sending Styles to the apron! Stevens kicks Styles in the knee, before going through the middle rope to meet Styles on the apron. Styles tries to sweep out the leg of the Milkman, knocking himself down to one knee on the attempt, but Stevens jumps over it, and catches Styles with a Calcium Kiss Superkick that sends Styles to the grass below!
Crowd: YEAAAHH
With his foe grounded, Stevens looks to the crowd, positions himself in the middle of the ring, and before Styles can discover where he is, Stevens takes flight, springboarding off the middle rope with an Asai Milksault! On the landing, Stevens’ left knee awkwardly hits the uneven yard, and he visibly grimaces before falling backward.
Mann: And both men are down after that! Stevens with a ferocious comeback attempt, but he may have hurt himself!
Woodbridge: Someone hasn’t been taking care of their lawn.
Stevens hears the air exit the crowd, and pulls himself up, giving them a reassuring thumbs up, before using the leg he landed on to kick Styles in the back of his knee, before throwing him back into the ring. Stevens puts one leg into the ring through the middle rope, before looking into the crowd- and deciding to ascend the turnbuckles instead! The Milkman leaps, and delivers a diving hurricanrana! As Styles tries to roll to the ropes, Stevens uses their good leg to stomp on his chest, before pulling him back to the middle of the ring, and hitting a Standing Milksault! Stevens maintains the cover!
ONE
TWO
THR-
Styles gets a shoulder up!
Woodbridge: And Stevens throwing everything into this assault on Styles, but it still wasn’t enough to put him down!
Crowd: Let’s Go Milk-man! Let’s Go Milk-man!
Stevens picks Styles up, and lifts him onto his shoulders…
Woodbridge: He’s going for the Milky Way!
…But the injured knee can’t hold up the weight, and both men crash to the mat.
Entrance Music begins to play as a small, skinny wrestler in a leather jacket waltzes towards the two downed competitors
Crowd: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Mann: And that’s Raven Van Loupe! Van Loupe is here at Sound Off!
Woodbridge: These two formed an alliance last time we saw them! But will it hold after the time off?
Van Loupe enters the ring, despite the protests of WiR official Tai Ni Wong, and glances at the pair as both try to pull themselves up, Stevens using the ropes, Styles on his own. Van Loupe looks back and forth… before kicking Stevens in the injured knee!
DING DING DING
Babaganoush: And here is your winner…
Van Loupe helps Styles to his feet, and the pair begin to lay the boots on Stevens.
Babaganoush: By disqualification as a result of interference, and striking a WiR official…
Styles takes the knee of the downed Milkman, and lifts it above his head, before thrashing it against the canvas.
Babaganoush: At a time of…
Van Loupe has Styles lift Stevens by the hair once more, before she runs to the ropes, jumps off the second rope, and Styles pushes The Milkman into the cutter.
Babaganoush: Ten minutes and twenty-three seconds…
Styles and Van Loupe stand over Stevens, and Styles prepares to deliver the finishing blow as he signals to the crowd that he is looking for the Styles Clash!
Banaganoush: Tony “The Milkmannnnnn” Stevens!!!!!!
Van Loupe: Are you done?
Van Loupe gives Styles a thumbs up, but as he goes to finish off Stevens, a mighty howl plays over the speakers as a short, scruffy man runs to the ring.
Woodbridge: That’s The Werewolf!
Mann Johnny, A Werewolf, is here! And he’s rushing to the ring!
Styles lets Stevens flop back down to the mat, holding his knee, and turns to face the incoming Werewolf as he slides under the ropes and into the ring. Styles steps before Vna Loupe to intercept, but the fresh Werewolf knocks him off his feet with The Pounce. The Werewolf comes face to face with Van Loupe in the center of the ring!
Crowd: AWOOOOOO
Mann: Pandemonium has broken out in the first match of Sound Off! And the fans are loving it!
Crowd: WE LOVE WERE-WOLF! clap clap clap clap clap WE LOVE WERE-WOLF!
Woodbridge: The Pack Wolf and the Werewolf facing off in the center of the ring!
Mann: And these two have unfinished business! The Lifeblood exists because they took issue with being left behind for signings like Werewolf!
Johnny feints left, before throwing a right jab! The Werewolf unleashes Pack Tactics on Van Loupe! As he stops throwing punches, and signals for another pounce, Styles kips up, and levels the werewolf with a lariat!
Crowd: BOOOOO
Van Loupe and Styles begin to wear down the Werewolf, delivering blow after blow to Johnny as the boos rain from the crowd. Van Loupe delivers a stomp to the knee of The Milkman to keep him down before they and Jericho set up to finish off styles…
When an Italian Flag appears on the video screen, and an absolute guido of an Italian-American, hair dripping with greaseslowly walks out from behind the curtain, wearing a Shohei Ohtani jersey!
…A Shohei Ohtani… New York Mets jersey.
Crowd: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Mann: That’s The Apex! Arturo Stiglione! Stiglione is in the yard!
Stiglione slowly scopes out the scene on his way to the ring, seeing the downed Milkman on the left of the ring, the downed werewolf on the right, and the standing Lifeblood members in the middle. He slowly ascends the stairs and stands across from Van Loupe and Styles.
Wodbridge: And The Apex, not a fan of Johnny, a very terse relationship between these two.
Apex: Hell ova job ya done hea’
Van Loupe: If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stand aside, and maybe we won’t hurt you.
Apex: Dont’cha mind me, just monitoring the situation.
Styles pulls Van Loupe aside, and the two have an impromptu conference, before nodding along, and continuing their attack on Werewolf.
Crowd: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
With The Lifeblood’s backs turned Styles looks down at his fist. He looks down at the blue and orange he’s adorned in, and loosens up his arm. He points to the back of Styles, who senses the crowd rising, and turns around… to be met with a spinning backfist!!
Crowd: YEEEAAAHHHH
Mann: Styles has made his choice! And he chooses to stand against The Lifeblood!
Van Loupe hears his body hit the canvas, and turns around, to be met with the sight of a downed Styles! The Apex takes off his Mets jersey… to reveal an Angels jersey! The Werewolf is back on his feet, and he and the Apex come face to face! Van Loupe rises back up at the wrong time, as the two share a nod, and deliver a double clothesline! Seeing the situation turn against him, Styles slinks to the outside, and grabs a chair from under the ring, before sneaking back in behind the Werewolf and Apex, who have turned to the hard camera. Styles raises the chair to strike…
...And gets blasted by a Calcium Kiss from The Milkman!
Crowd: WOOOOOO
The three faces are all back on their feet in the middle of the ring, standing tall! As the three begin to celebrate…
“It’s a Psychobilly Freakout!
Mann: That’s the music of Mason Saunders! But where is he?
Saunders’ music plays, but the entranceway remains empty.
Woodbridge: He’s behind us, Mann! He just jumped the barricade!
Mann: But he’s outnumbered, Woodbridge, both his allies are down!
Undeterred by the numbers disadvantage, Saunders slides behind the faces, and as they recognize the trap, Saunders is already in the ring! The Werewolf approaches first and throws a jab that almost seems to bounce off the chin of Saunders. Saunders simply stares, and when the Werewolf tries a second one, Saunders swipes it aside with a tree trunk arm, before launching into action and dropping the Werewolf with a right hook, which catches the Werewolf cleanly on the jaw, who slumps backward onto the canvas. The Milkman tries to charge to his aid, but Saunders delivers a pump kick to put him back on the canvas. The Apex tries to make a move while Saunders’ back is turned facing Stevens, but he fails to do any damage and is swiftly thrown aside. Saunders drops the Milkman again, before turning around to face Apex… who turns around, and flees the ring as fast as possible!
Crowd: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Mann: And Stiglione, getting out of dodge as soon as he can!
Woodbridge: And turning tail and running, Stiglione is out of here!
As Stiglione flees up the entranceway, the rest of the Lifeblood begins to pick themselves up. Saunders puts the Werewolf pack down on the canvas with a scoop powerslam, and boots him out of the ring. The Lifeblood stand united, and face the hard camera, Stiglione and Werewolf removed, and the Milkman down on the opposite end of the ring. JZ ascends to the second rope of the left turnbuckle, Van Loupe to the right, and the three all pose for the hard camera!
Mann: And the Lifeblood, although not victorious in the match, is victorious here in the aftermath!
Woodbridge: But wait, The Milkman is trying to get back up!
Mann: Stevens of course, left for the picking, as other members of The Horde are all the way on the other side of the Farm preparing for their match later!
Stevens struggles to pull himself up to his feet, knee buckling under him. Saunders perks up, and stops his pose. Stevens staggers to his feet, and before he can get very far, Saunders turns, and with blinding speed nails Stevens with a disgusting lariat that nearly takes his head off!
Woodbridge: And the Milk has gone spoiled.
The Lifeblood circle the downed Milkman like vultures, and Van Loupe drops to one knee, and picks up the Milkman’s head by the hair! JZ gets down as well, and the two strike a pose, with Milkman’s body as the centerpiece!
Mann: A statement made, by the Lifeblood
Woodbridge: To me, Mann, it looks like the statement was made by Saunders, Van Loupe, and JZ just picked up the scraps!
Van Loupe, holding up Milkman to the Camera victoriously: Take a look, WiR, this is the future! We are the Lifeblood of this company, and don’t forget that!
The camera pans out to JZ and Van Loupe celebrating over Milkman’s body, while Saunders stares from behind, before fading out to a commercial break.
Javier: The following contest is scheduled for ONE FALL, with a 20 minute time limit. Your referee for this contest is Mia So Hung. Introducing first, from Montreal, Canada, weighing in at 119 pounds...... GIGI♥ V!
Crowd: BOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
A significantly smaller but incredibly loud section of the crowd: YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
Music begins to swell in the background, and the crowd continues their jeering (and occasional unbridled simping) until Gigi steps out, running her hands down her body to the lewd Ashnikko verse.
Mann: Gigi here, surrounded by her legion of fans, who are then surrounded by a legion of people who absolutely despise her. As it should be here in WiR.
Gigi saunters to the ring, taking vaguely suggestive selfies with her ravenous fans on the front row, and generally seeming uncaring about the forthcoming match.
Woodbridge: And given her successes recently, it’s gonna be easy to overlook a competitor like Li Xiao, which very easily could prove fatal.
Gigi steps into the ring, as Javier starts his announcing again.
Javier: And her opponent, from Hong Kong, weighing in at 105 pounds... LI XIAO!!!
A unfamiliar metal song blasts out from the speakers, and a rather familiar hyperactive martial artist bounces out from behind the curtain!
Crowd: YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
Xiao charges down the ramp with a head of steam, hyped and ready to fight.
Mann: Xiao has some of the most devastating offense in this company, and if she’s able to keep momentum, it could very well shatter Gigi’s plans of making a statement here!
Woodbridge: Yeah, sure, but Xiao’s a tag team specialist first and foremost. She comes in to deal damage and then gets out before she takes too much abuse.
Xiao hops into the ring, and the referee pats both competitors down, before gesturing for the bell.
DING DING DING
In an interesting turn of events, Gigi and Li Xiao start off with a collar-and-elbow tie up in the center of the ring. Gigi takes quick advantage of her height and weight advantage to gain leverage and force Li Xiao backwards into the ropes.
Mann: Gigi starting off with the basics here, knowing Li Xiao is nothing if not an incredibly explosive fighter.
Woodbridge: That’s right, Xiao wrestles like my grandpa used to make moonshine, god rest his soul!
Gigi sets herself, and when Xiao tries to push off the ropes and get Gigi off, Gigi directs the momentum into a modified biel, throwing Li Xiao across the ring! Gigi takes a moment to smirk and pose for the fans - a mistake, as Xiao rolls through the throw and hits the ropes on the opposite side of the ring!
Mann: Incredible strength from Gigi!
Gigi turns around into a sprinting palm strike from Xiao, staggering backwards into the ropes yet again, and Xiao follows up with a big kick to the gut! Gigi’s doubled over, and Xiao drops her with a DDT!
Woodbridge: Xiao’s fired up, and she’s quite possibly looking to end this match before it even gets started!
Xiao with the cover!
1!
2!
Gigi kicks out right at 2, and rolls up, obviously shocked and dazed. The crowd in attendance is split, with the wrestling fans excited to see Gigi on the ropes, and the Gigi fans absolutely in shambles. Xiao is up quickly, as Gigi staggers to her feet - Xiao hits the ropes, springboards, and catches Gigi with a beautiful headscissors!
Crowd: WOOOOOO!
Gigi rolls through, runs the ropes, and comes back with a head of steam! Xiao dodges a clothesline attempt, shoves Gigi to the other rope, and gets ready for the comeback - Gigi catches the ropes! Xiao charges in to press the advantage, and eats an officially branded Gigi♥ boot to the face! Xiao is absolutely rocked, staggering backwards, and this time Gigi takes the initiative and absolutely levels Xiao with a clothesline! Xiao spirals to the mat, and Gigi blows a kiss to the fans in attendance!
Gigi: I am your future champion, and this is the match I’m booked in?
Gigi catches Xiao with a boot to the back of the head! Xiao rolls over, and Gigi drops a knee onto her throat, before going for the cover!
1!
2!
Xiao muscles out of the pin, clutching her head!
Woodbridge: We got two high fliers here, these women make a livin’ out of dodging attacks. Anything that lands here is going to be devastating!
Mann: And right now, it looks like Xiao is barely conscious after those blows to the head!
Gigi gets up, and winks at her fans in attendance and watching live throughout the world.
Crowd: BOOOOOO!/YAAAAAAAAAAY!
Gigi saunters over to Xiao, and plays up the boot she’s about to give - SMALL PACKAGE! SMALL PACKAGE!
1!
2!
Gigi kicks out, and her mood instantly changes. Xiao is staggering to her feet, and takes a full on slap to the face!
Crowd: OOOOOOOOOH!
Mann: What a slap from Gigi, obviously assisted by her official Gigi♥ gloves, sponsored by Fairtex!
Woodbridge: Gigi’s pissed now, and you could hear that slap all the way in Los Angeles!
Xiao clutches her face, and Gigi follows up with a huge kick to the gut! Xiao falls to one knee, and Gigi finishes the trifecta with a roundhouse to the head!
Crowd: OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH!
Xiao collapses to the mat!
Mann: And Xiao’s down! What a kick!
Woodbridge: That kick nearly took her head off, Shay! I don’t know if she’s even conscious down there!
Gigi’s prepared, and is looking to finish this, climbing to the top rope! Xiao is flat on her back on the mat, and Gigi takes the leap, flipping forwards with a swanton! Xiao is still conscious, though, and rolls away in the nick of time, leaving Gigi high and dry!
Crowd: YAAAAAAY! KUNG PAO! KUNG PAO! KUNG PAO!
Mann: I... feel like that’s problematic, somehow.
Woodbridge: Nah, ‘sfine, don’t worry about it.
Xiao grabs for the ropes, pulling herself to her feet, but is obviously still dazed from the kick!
Woodbridge: Xiao’s hurt!
Mann: You see this a lot in Li Xiao singles matches - she’s got an incredible offense, but she’s fragile at best in-ring!
Gigi is holding her back, and glares at Xiao in frustration!
Gigi: You were supposed to stay down! it was going on Tiktok!
Gigi charges forward, ready to avenge her mistake, but takes a knee to the gut! Gigi staggers for a second, only to get a chop to the neck! She’s reeling! Xiao with a forearm! Xiao with a elbow strike!
Crowd: OHHHHHHHHHH!
Xiao takes a step backwards, and lets out a KIAI, before charging forward with a roundhouse - NO! SCHOOLBOY FROM GIGI!
1!
2!
Xiao kicks out at 2.6, rolls to her feet, and is immediately back on the offensive, catching Gigi with a kick to the gut!
Mann: Xiao was going for her trademark flurry of blows, and that roundhouse could very well have ended this match!
Woodbridge: Sure, but it doesn’t look like Gigi’s in a better spot right now anyway!
Xiao measures, as Gigi slowly gets back to her feet, and steps through the ropes, stalking her opponent! Gigi’s up, and Xiao leaps onto the ropes, going for a springboard - GIGI HOOKS HER LEG!
Crowd: BOOOOO!
Xiao loses her footing, and falls neck-first onto the ropes, before collapsing to the outside of the ring!
Mann: Gigi with a lightning-quick reversal!
Woodbridge: Xiao might be seriously hurt down there!
Gigi regains some of her confidence, and gives the crowd an innocent smile, completely ignoring the competitor she might have seriously injured. As the count reaches six, Gigi finally springs into action, rolling out of the ring, and grabbing Xiao by the hair!
Gigi: That’s what you get for ruining my moment!
Gigi pulls Xiao up to her feet, and throws her into the ring. Gigi rolls in as Xiao fights to one knee, then to her feet! Gigi smirks, and stands in front of Xiao, posing for the crowd -
WHAM!
Xiao with a JKD backfist!
Woodbridge: River City Knockout! That’s Biff’s move! What a moment to strike!
Gigi is staggered - falls to one knee - then gets back up, just in time to eat THE CRANE KICK
Crowd: YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
Woodbridge: CRANE KICK! CRANE KICK!
Gigi is down! Xiao is staggering after landing the crane kick, and collapses to a knee herself! Xiao takes a moment to collect herself, then throws herself into the cover, hooking both legs!
1!
2!
3!
NO!
Mia hits the three count, and Xiao rolls off, sure she’s won the match, but Gigi’s right hand is on the ropes!
Crowd: BOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Mia explains to Xiao, who is obviously frustrated, but nods. She takes a moment to kick Gigi’s wrist, knocking her hand off the ropes, before climbing to the top rope! Xiao steels herself - leaps - corkscrews through the air!
Woodbridge: Xiao’s Wing!
Gigi gets her knees up! Xiao lands back-first onto Gigi’s knees! Xiao bounces halfway across the ring, clutching her back and neck, and lands on her chest!
Crowd: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Mann: And Gigi has just enough in the tank to get that counter in!
Gigi, with what seems like massive effort, rolls over, before crawling towards Xiao, who seems to be completely out of it. She crawls over Xiao, with a knowing smirk, before hooking her legs around Xiao’s head!
Mann: Gigi looking for the Paywall, this modified figure four choke!
Woodbridge: And half the audience is looking at something else right now.
Gigi torques Xiao’s already injured neck back, cutting off all airflow! Xiao struggles for a moment, but is trapped in the center of the ring! She crawls forward, but Gigi leans back, torquing her neck even further! Xiao swings back with an elbow, then another, but her arm is caught by Gigi’s free hand! After a moment of struggling, Xiao finally relents, and taps in the center of the ring!
DING DING DING!
Javier: And your winner, at a time of 7:53.... GIGI!
Gigi rolls out of the ring, obviously the worse for wear, clutching her neck after the crane kick to the skull!
Mann: And Gigi with a hard-fought win after these two threw everything at each other in a absolutely brutal short match!
Woodbridge: Xiao’s not a singles competitor on her own, but she showed just how brutal her brand of offense is when it needs to be - if Biff has the same resilience he used to have the tag division might need to be on notice!
2023.06.02 04:41 plug_skull_pleb I Keyed Someone's Car Today Because They Parked Poorly
Today I got the most irrationally mad that I've been in a while.
A friend ruined a concert for me last night. This morning I woke up a with a killer headache. I was running late for work and my belt broke when I went to put it on. A busy intersection on the way to work was choked down to one lane because of construction, so it took like 10 minutes to get through, and when I was waiting for the light some asshole in a lifted pickup truck, with a vanity license plate with something along the lines of "M0nst3r" on it (That's not what it said, but same idea, they were proud assholes) forced it's way in front of a car in front of me making me miss another light cycle.
When I finally go to work the parking lot was full, and I made my way to what appeared to be an open spot somewhere in the middle of it, but when I got there I found that the car parked in one of the spots next to it was needlessly overlapping the line by about 2 feet. It clearly wasn't a case of the car next to them parking poorly and then pulling away leaving them to look like the asshole, they clearly turned into the parking space from the wrong direction and did nothing to straighten their car to fit the spot. The spot that they were bleeding over into was on the driver side, so it was clear when they left the vehicle that they were parked poorly and they still left it.
Anyway, I had park at the far corner of the parking lot, around 100 yards further.
Even though 100 yards isn't far, and I could have written it off, at that point I was blind with anger and was honestly considering going home because my head was killing me and I was worried that I'd come in too hot and get myself in trouble. I chose not to do that though.
Walking to the front of the store I had to pass the vehicle that had been parked poorly, and impulsively I grabbed my keys from my pocket and dragged them as hard as I could across the entire back of the car as I walked by.
I instantly realized how fucked up that was, and started regretting it. I walked straight back to the bathrooms in the store and hid there for like 10 minutes to stop seeing red and then started my shift as if nothing happened. They day went on as normal, and nothing came of it. I know the cameras don't really cover that part of the parking lot, and I did it in a way that I don't think was obvious, so I don't think it will ever come back to me, but I feel bad about it.
submitted by plug_skull_pleb to confession [link] [comments]
A friend ruined a concert for me last night. This morning I woke up a with a killer headache. I was running late for work and my belt broke when I went to put it on. A busy intersection on the way to work was choked down to one lane because of construction, so it took like 10 minutes to get through, and when I was waiting for the light some asshole in a lifted pickup truck, with a vanity license plate with something along the lines of "M0nst3r" on it (That's not what it said, but same idea, they were proud assholes) forced it's way in front of a car in front of me making me miss another light cycle.
When I finally go to work the parking lot was full, and I made my way to what appeared to be an open spot somewhere in the middle of it, but when I got there I found that the car parked in one of the spots next to it was needlessly overlapping the line by about 2 feet. It clearly wasn't a case of the car next to them parking poorly and then pulling away leaving them to look like the asshole, they clearly turned into the parking space from the wrong direction and did nothing to straighten their car to fit the spot. The spot that they were bleeding over into was on the driver side, so it was clear when they left the vehicle that they were parked poorly and they still left it.
Anyway, I had park at the far corner of the parking lot, around 100 yards further.
Even though 100 yards isn't far, and I could have written it off, at that point I was blind with anger and was honestly considering going home because my head was killing me and I was worried that I'd come in too hot and get myself in trouble. I chose not to do that though.
Walking to the front of the store I had to pass the vehicle that had been parked poorly, and impulsively I grabbed my keys from my pocket and dragged them as hard as I could across the entire back of the car as I walked by.
I instantly realized how fucked up that was, and started regretting it. I walked straight back to the bathrooms in the store and hid there for like 10 minutes to stop seeing red and then started my shift as if nothing happened. They day went on as normal, and nothing came of it. I know the cameras don't really cover that part of the parking lot, and I did it in a way that I don't think was obvious, so I don't think it will ever come back to me, but I feel bad about it.
2023.06.02 04:36 bumblebb94 I left my abusive husband last night and I’m feeling all the things
My husband and I have been married just over a year, together for almost three. Things haven’t always been bad. There were fireworks and so much chemistry and passion in the beginning. We moved quickly but it felt right at the time. There were red flags along the way that I ignored. Frequent accusations that I was cheating, emotional outbursts, unstable mood. He struggles with his mental health but so do I and I wanted to fix him I guess.
Things got really bad over the last few months. He became incredibly controlling and possessive, monitoring me constantly, insisting I call him every free moment I had and getting mad if I didn’t. If he didn’t know exactly where I was and what I was doing, he would get mad. One time at work I had been busy all day meeting with patients and charting and didn’t have time to text him. He got so scared and upset that he called the front desk in my office to check on me. He was constantly accusing me of cheating on him. He needed to spend every waking moment with me and would get mad if I wanted alone time. He was so obsessed with me, but at the same would blow up at me constantly, accusing me of not loving him and sleeping with other men. He’d yell and scream, threaten to kill himself, threaten to leave me. He would drive erratically, tried to jump out of a moving car, hit walls and doors. I was terrified of him and did anything I could to calm him down. Then he would cry and beg me not to leave him and go right back to clinging onto me. I didn’t realize I was being abused until I found myself thinking through every one of my moves, getting scared if I couldn’t get to my phone, constantly worrying about his next blow up. I confronted him, which was probably a bad idea. He agreed that he had been abusive and promised to change, get therapy, honor my boundaries. I was hopeful.
Things were ok for a few days until last night. We went to a yoga class and I didn’t want to hold his hand at the end of it. I knew a blow up was coming and it did. He told me he was putting in all the work to fix this and how unfair it was that I wasn’t trying too. He tried to justify abusing me by saying I was neglecting him and his needs weren’t being met. He kicked me out of his car and left and I decided enough was enough. My dad came and got me immediately and I finally felt safe, for the first time in who knows how long. I got out.
My family, friends and coworkers have rallied around me and provided me with more love and support than I probably deserve. I’m wrecked financially, emotionally, spiritually and physically. Everyone saw it but me. And despite that, I still wonder if I’m overreacting. He never hit me. Was I really abused? It’s a lot to process.
I’m hopeful for the future but scared at the same time. I love him so much but I know I have to love myself more right now. I guess I just needed to get it out of my head and into the universe. I’m so lucky for all that I have, but I still feel so broken.
Thank you for listening to my word vomit. I hope you all stay safe. ❤️
submitted by bumblebb94 to TwoXChromosomes [link] [comments]
Things got really bad over the last few months. He became incredibly controlling and possessive, monitoring me constantly, insisting I call him every free moment I had and getting mad if I didn’t. If he didn’t know exactly where I was and what I was doing, he would get mad. One time at work I had been busy all day meeting with patients and charting and didn’t have time to text him. He got so scared and upset that he called the front desk in my office to check on me. He was constantly accusing me of cheating on him. He needed to spend every waking moment with me and would get mad if I wanted alone time. He was so obsessed with me, but at the same would blow up at me constantly, accusing me of not loving him and sleeping with other men. He’d yell and scream, threaten to kill himself, threaten to leave me. He would drive erratically, tried to jump out of a moving car, hit walls and doors. I was terrified of him and did anything I could to calm him down. Then he would cry and beg me not to leave him and go right back to clinging onto me. I didn’t realize I was being abused until I found myself thinking through every one of my moves, getting scared if I couldn’t get to my phone, constantly worrying about his next blow up. I confronted him, which was probably a bad idea. He agreed that he had been abusive and promised to change, get therapy, honor my boundaries. I was hopeful.
Things were ok for a few days until last night. We went to a yoga class and I didn’t want to hold his hand at the end of it. I knew a blow up was coming and it did. He told me he was putting in all the work to fix this and how unfair it was that I wasn’t trying too. He tried to justify abusing me by saying I was neglecting him and his needs weren’t being met. He kicked me out of his car and left and I decided enough was enough. My dad came and got me immediately and I finally felt safe, for the first time in who knows how long. I got out.
My family, friends and coworkers have rallied around me and provided me with more love and support than I probably deserve. I’m wrecked financially, emotionally, spiritually and physically. Everyone saw it but me. And despite that, I still wonder if I’m overreacting. He never hit me. Was I really abused? It’s a lot to process.
I’m hopeful for the future but scared at the same time. I love him so much but I know I have to love myself more right now. I guess I just needed to get it out of my head and into the universe. I’m so lucky for all that I have, but I still feel so broken.
Thank you for listening to my word vomit. I hope you all stay safe. ❤️
2023.06.02 04:11 ltina0403 Dealing with toxic people
ADVICE: HOW TO DEAL WITH JEALOUS PEOPLE. Read if you want:
I'm sharing my experiences to help others. If you are Elevating, finding jobs on your Own, bought your own car and got a full time job with more ambitions like going back to school or investing in real estate, You need to be Very careful who you trust and who you allow to know this information about you.
I don't give a fuck who it is, friend, family member and bf / gf. If any of these people show even a hint of jealousy like making small negative comments about your business. Don't respond don't react and start plotting to get away from them ASAP. Everyone is different but like I said if it's me, I would cut off anybody even family. The reason why I said Don't react to any petty negative comments when they see you doing well for yourself is because I had a bad experience. I want to share this story and tell you it's better to avoid toxic people and block them and don't respond. If they try to contact u in any way, screen shot everything for evidence, get witnesses. Reverse it back on them and claim they stalking u and get them arrested. That's how u play the game.
4 years ago this crazy guy I was dating and his overweight sister was extremely jealous of me because they both can't find Jobs on their own. They get ideas and rely on other people to find them a job or refer them on where to go. They rely on parent to buy them a car. I was alone independent and living in his house. I always get jobs on my own even when I quit one job I find my own solution and didn't bother anybody. They saw my strength and got jealous. The guy kept gossiping telling his crazy sister every inch of my business and I didn't know until she kept making the petty negative remarks when she saw me. This was 5 months into dating.
Instead of getting the hint, staying silent and plotting to move out of his house..I kept ignoring the red flags saying it's just comments it's nothing. Until one day after a year, I already packed my stuff and was going to move out the same week. I decided to be mature and texted the crazy fat sister of his and asked her what was being said about me. She went crazy and wanted to fight for no reason and I said I wasn't home . She said shes driving to her brothers house to fight me. Lmao i really wasnt home i plan to avoid my ex until the day I move. She started arguing with me about my own business saying her brother told her I'm home at night from 5 pm until the next day . Wtff. And sadly I couldn't call cops on her because all my stuff was in his house and i was already moving the same week like I said. Its no point when i am leaving the same week. She didnt believe me when i said im moving because she a fat loser in her moms stinky basement. So because she's stuck in the basement, she assume I was stuck in her brother's house. She don't know me . She didn't see with her eyes what I do everyday. But she was talking like she lives with me like she knows what I do 24/7. That's a psycho delusional bi**tch. And what angered me was that I could not defend myself verbally and I could not drive down to fight her in front of her brother's house. I already knew what was going happen. They trying to set me up to make it look like I'm starting with her in her brother's property so they can use an excuse to call cops on me or lock me out the house with all of my stuff still in his house. And also that fat delusional girl was jealous since day one. I did things she couldn't do. She wanted to fight to drag me down and distract me from my Job and college classes. The odd thing is she didn't tell me to meet her anywhere else. It was at her brother's house where she wanted to fight and all my belongings was still there. I knew she was plotting something. If I was to fight her that night. The guy would have locked me out his house and made up lies saying I'm starting with them. I would have to go to court to get permission to go back to the house to get my stuff. Thats Why I stop responding to her .
They are all lowlife miserable and crazy. And the ex. He saw me pack all my stuff one by one. I packed everything for 2 weeks. He was Still going around telling lies to everybody saying I refuse to move out and I'm living in his house for a year going nowhere. What's funny is that I went to college and work and got my own car. So inconclusion, it started with the jealous guy. He was gossiping to his family, his friends, everybody to make up a story about me . Even when I silently pack all my stuff he didn't believe I was moving. And as for the fat sister. Ever since I move out, I made a public post about her . She never tried to message me or settle it out. She knew she was wrong and probably embarassed. She said i wasnt moving out, i moved out. She said i had no friends, i wasnt home. I was out with a friend all night. after I ignored her threatening me, she never try to harass me or try me again. She made up lies in her delusional head and she knew that.
So after u read my story. If u meet people who "joke" around but you sense something is off with them. They make one little negative comment about you when you are winning. Play smart and avoid them asap. If u live with them, start plotting to move out. It gets worse and worse . U read my story. I was trapped with a bunch of stalking lowlife psychos. I moved out, got a full time job and I'm looking to buy my own house now. I prefer to live alone.
submitted by ltina0403 to offmychest [link] [comments]
I'm sharing my experiences to help others. If you are Elevating, finding jobs on your Own, bought your own car and got a full time job with more ambitions like going back to school or investing in real estate, You need to be Very careful who you trust and who you allow to know this information about you.
I don't give a fuck who it is, friend, family member and bf / gf. If any of these people show even a hint of jealousy like making small negative comments about your business. Don't respond don't react and start plotting to get away from them ASAP. Everyone is different but like I said if it's me, I would cut off anybody even family. The reason why I said Don't react to any petty negative comments when they see you doing well for yourself is because I had a bad experience. I want to share this story and tell you it's better to avoid toxic people and block them and don't respond. If they try to contact u in any way, screen shot everything for evidence, get witnesses. Reverse it back on them and claim they stalking u and get them arrested. That's how u play the game.
4 years ago this crazy guy I was dating and his overweight sister was extremely jealous of me because they both can't find Jobs on their own. They get ideas and rely on other people to find them a job or refer them on where to go. They rely on parent to buy them a car. I was alone independent and living in his house. I always get jobs on my own even when I quit one job I find my own solution and didn't bother anybody. They saw my strength and got jealous. The guy kept gossiping telling his crazy sister every inch of my business and I didn't know until she kept making the petty negative remarks when she saw me. This was 5 months into dating.
Instead of getting the hint, staying silent and plotting to move out of his house..I kept ignoring the red flags saying it's just comments it's nothing. Until one day after a year, I already packed my stuff and was going to move out the same week. I decided to be mature and texted the crazy fat sister of his and asked her what was being said about me. She went crazy and wanted to fight for no reason and I said I wasn't home . She said shes driving to her brothers house to fight me. Lmao i really wasnt home i plan to avoid my ex until the day I move. She started arguing with me about my own business saying her brother told her I'm home at night from 5 pm until the next day . Wtff. And sadly I couldn't call cops on her because all my stuff was in his house and i was already moving the same week like I said. Its no point when i am leaving the same week. She didnt believe me when i said im moving because she a fat loser in her moms stinky basement. So because she's stuck in the basement, she assume I was stuck in her brother's house. She don't know me . She didn't see with her eyes what I do everyday. But she was talking like she lives with me like she knows what I do 24/7. That's a psycho delusional bi**tch. And what angered me was that I could not defend myself verbally and I could not drive down to fight her in front of her brother's house. I already knew what was going happen. They trying to set me up to make it look like I'm starting with her in her brother's property so they can use an excuse to call cops on me or lock me out the house with all of my stuff still in his house. And also that fat delusional girl was jealous since day one. I did things she couldn't do. She wanted to fight to drag me down and distract me from my Job and college classes. The odd thing is she didn't tell me to meet her anywhere else. It was at her brother's house where she wanted to fight and all my belongings was still there. I knew she was plotting something. If I was to fight her that night. The guy would have locked me out his house and made up lies saying I'm starting with them. I would have to go to court to get permission to go back to the house to get my stuff. Thats Why I stop responding to her .
They are all lowlife miserable and crazy. And the ex. He saw me pack all my stuff one by one. I packed everything for 2 weeks. He was Still going around telling lies to everybody saying I refuse to move out and I'm living in his house for a year going nowhere. What's funny is that I went to college and work and got my own car. So inconclusion, it started with the jealous guy. He was gossiping to his family, his friends, everybody to make up a story about me . Even when I silently pack all my stuff he didn't believe I was moving. And as for the fat sister. Ever since I move out, I made a public post about her . She never tried to message me or settle it out. She knew she was wrong and probably embarassed. She said i wasnt moving out, i moved out. She said i had no friends, i wasnt home. I was out with a friend all night. after I ignored her threatening me, she never try to harass me or try me again. She made up lies in her delusional head and she knew that.
So after u read my story. If u meet people who "joke" around but you sense something is off with them. They make one little negative comment about you when you are winning. Play smart and avoid them asap. If u live with them, start plotting to move out. It gets worse and worse . U read my story. I was trapped with a bunch of stalking lowlife psychos. I moved out, got a full time job and I'm looking to buy my own house now. I prefer to live alone.
2023.06.02 03:44 MAVL777 Working for FedEx SUCKED!
All FedEx cares about are optics – how they look, and money. Underneath the image there’s a lot lacking. All the safety talk that they pretend is about you, is really there to protect them from lawsuits and work comp claims. You’re supposed to report injuries immediately. But what about all those types of injuries that occur from repetitive motion day after day that only gradually come on and become noticeable? That’s one of the ways they worm their way out of paying work comp to people who totally deserve it. They have all the legal issues figured out to a fine science. They’ll sell you the job and tell you you get to accumulate PTO and have access to a 401K account. But then you find out later the company contributes to employee 401K accounts only for managers. And then five months later they convert everyone’s PTO to sick time. In other words, the vacation time employees earned was suddenly devalued to time that you can only take off for being sick. Want to be a switcher? Warning! There's five full pages in the manual on all the many ways you're subject to disqualification. That's because they want it to look good for the attorneys, like they are all about safety, but the reality is switchers are disqualified left and right. They got cameras on you and if you yawn, you get flagged. I got pulled out of the yard one day because I apparently yawned. Hey FedEx, you stupid morons! Science says people yawn even when they are not tired and often when they are not even aware they are doing it. So HTF are you supposed to not yawn in front of your stupid AI cameras? Yawn a few too many times and you loose your job as a switcher. That is not fair and it is entirely ridiculous. But it looks good for the attorneys. If you're full time, you have to put two four-hour shifts together. Problem is, when it’s slow, they cancel shifts or change times, often only within a couple of hours. And when there were beyond-obvious signs the economy was slowing, they continued to hire. Morons! And then you find yourself without the full-time job you thought you had. I ended up regularly driving in to work and then getting only two hours, or less! So then it’s either sit in the parking lot bored out of my skull for 3 hours, or burn gas and drive home, only to have to drive back, suffer another short shift and go home again. As the economy slowed and they got caught off guard (which should not have happened), they offered employees the opportunity to transfer. They portrayed this as a way of saving your job and hours. But after I transferred, I came to find out the location I was transferred to could not offer me any more hours and they were dying on the vine as well. LIARS! UNRELIABLE! MORONS! A-HOLES! And so out of total frustration with FedEx, I sought another job, a better job, and almost immediately found it. In fact, it found me. A boss of many years ago wanted me back. So I accepted the offer and gave FedEx two-weeks notice. FedEx responded by immediately changing my schedule so that I had two shifts on one day, and then one shift every day for six days. In other words, drive in and work shorted shifts seven days a week for my last two weeks. No thanks! Nobody else's schedule had been changed this way, so it's obvious this was a retaliation from FedEx, a multi-billion dollar international company that lies, acts out childishly, and says it doesn’t do that. Let me tell you. THEY DO! Some of the people in their management are real pieces of work. So after giving them notice and they intentionally botched my schedule, I worked the first week of my remaining two weeks and enjoyed the weekend without calling in. Come Monday morning I woke up, decided I was done with FedEx and threw my badge in the trash. I relaxed for a week before starting my new job, which is far far better in so many ways.
submitted by MAVL777 to u/MAVL777 [link] [comments]
2023.06.02 03:22 lets_table_this Abandoned Mallard Nest?
Hello! I found a mallard hen nesting in my landscaping this morning. I accidentally scared her off by watering my plants - I didn’t know she was there, and I think she started nesting over last weekend and into this week, since we were out of town on holiday. About a half hour later she returned to the yard, but was scared off by a neighbors car. An hour later she walked up to our porch and my dog barked and scared her. That was 10 hours ago and she hasn’t come back. There are 6-7 eggs right now, and I’m worried we scared her off for good. Will she be back you think?? I feel horrible 😞 I’ve been avoiding our front yard, changed all my deliveries to my back door, etc… I hope she’ll come back.
submitted by lets_table_this to duck [link] [comments]