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David Goggins

2018.02.20 16:03 PascalsLager David Goggins

David Goggins is a former Navy SEAL, ultra-endurance athlete, former 24hr pull up record holder, and author. His 1st memoir, "Can't Hurt Me," was released in 2018, and his 2nd memoir, "Never Finished," was released in 2023. This subreddit is about all and anything having to do with David Goggins and related topics.
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2014.06.16 06:15 Janeyjo Information and resource sharing for subscribers to the Optimum ISP owned by Altice

This is an unofficial, informal discussion forum about Optimum, where you can share concerns and information, and organize to advocate for better service! Disclaimer: This sub is not affiliated with Optimum or Altice USA in any way. If you want a response from the company it is best to contact Customer Support. For a list of helpful threads please check the sidebar on old.reddit.com/optimum. This sub DOES NOT VERIFY Altice/Optimum employees except for u/ItsOptimum. Do not ask or give PII.
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2012.08.01 12:15 jspmartin Super Furry Animals

A subreddit devoted to the band Super Furry Animals and their various side-projects.
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2023.05.29 16:59 Hour_Carob_2891 Work & Gaming PC (All White) $1500

Hi, I'm looking to build my first PC for work and gaming, really need some help with a setup please. My budget is around $1500 for the parts. I also need a monitor, no more than $300. I want an all white setup. Only part requirement is 32gb of ram. Hopefully what I want isn't outrageous for my budget. Please let me know :) Thank you.
I do live near a Micro Center if that helps.
submitted by Hour_Carob_2891 to buildmeapc [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 16:58 lilfeccibrae airdrop heist

I was playing valley solo earlier today when I noticed that the air drop was landing near me. It landed on a path between two hills, there was a team of two on the hill opposite me...one approached the airdrop and I fired shots at him, hit him enough times to wound him....they didn't know where I was cause my vector was suppressed and I was prone in the bushes, I noticed his team mate on the hill poking trying to find me then I fired shots at him wounding him too...the other guy managed to retreat back to the hill from his cover at a truck but not before I emptied a clip on him......at this point we were at a stalemate and I hat no bullets left so I switched to the revolver I looted of a militant And fired there shot at their general direction then began to crawl towards the airdrop...as i reached the airdrop I could hear their footsteps, I looted everything in it and dipped...went straight for extract..they probably stayed there for a couple of minutes thinking I was still there... didn't get any player kills but got a cool modified sks and armor out of it....but damn it felt good
submitted by lilfeccibrae to ArenaBreakoutGlobal [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 16:58 Western_Ebb_1027 26 [F4A] Pampanga

Heyy, friends!
Baka naman may gusto maging friends/kaladkarin friends/ long time friends dyan.
Me: Wfh, kaladkarin.Magastos, Laging Gutom
You: not looking for one time thing lang, around my age 24-31, kaladkarin rin or gusto makaladkad haha
Hope to see you soon!
submitted by Western_Ebb_1027 to PhR4Friends [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 16:58 folklore0014 Homeless and on MLOA waiting for paperwork to be approved and haven't been paid for weeks. I hate to ask for help but I'm truly desperate.

I am homeless and full time at amazon but I've been on medical leave for a bit and I'm waiting for my doctors paperwork to be approved. Is there anyway someone would be able to loan me money to get my other medication and for food/gas. I will prove I work for amazon and on leave, I really hate asking for help but I don't know what to do at this point. One of the medications is for mental health and the other is a medication I take due to seizures I've had since I was a kid. I live in my car and my gas light just came back on. I haven't been paid in a few weeks. I've tried applying for the brightside loan but they stated they are not doing anymore in my state right now, and none of the cash advance apps will approve me since I haven't had a steady paycheck in a few weeks. I've tried to apply to churches and local places but no help so far.
I had posted the other day but my account got banned, I'm not sure if it's for posting or what I did so I had to make a new account.
I was able to get one of my medications and food for a day thanks to someone helping me about 5 days ago.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and feel free to message me.
Edit: I tried the apps like Dave and stuff but since I haven't had a paycheck the last view weeks they won't approve me. I do not have a 401k as I've had to have every penny of my pay to try and improve my situation. I tried brightside but they are not accepting applications for loans in my state, and I tried the 100 dollar advance with opening the checking account but it has been pending approval for the account to be open. I have contacted HR and they gave me the resources for living number and all they could offer was mental health help.
submitted by folklore0014 to FASCAmazon [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 16:57 BrumHarr What’s it worth?

What’s it worth?
Considering selling my 2019 DGM STi. Stock outside of AWE track exhaust. 24,500 miles. Compression and leak down test came back perfect and most importantly, not burning any oil as i do regularly check it. Car is professional ceramic coated and is a commuter car for me. Let me know your thoughts cause for me, it’s hard to gauge the market
submitted by BrumHarr to WRX [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 16:57 BoozeHound36 Mattress Advice Please!

I'm debating about replacing my mattress. I've currently got a Leesa memory foam one that is now 4 years old. Got it on the advice of a friend who loved his. My problem with it (and nearly all memory foam mattresses) is that it is way too soft - especially at the edges, and... I'm a stomach and side sleeper - can't sleep on my back due to sleep apnea. Also, I deal with tension in my shoulders and lower back pain.
I've got a platform bed with slats, and am thinking of trying out a much thinner mattress that lets me leverage the bed frame a bit more for support - thinking something like a futon mattress. I like the aesthetic of those (think the mattress of Bond's bed in Jamaica in the movie No Time to Die). Is that going from one extreme to another - from too soft to ultimate firm? Not entirely sure what to look for or how to go about finding a reputable mattress here.
TIA.
submitted by BoozeHound36 to Mattress [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 16:57 zaplakalomk [For Hire] Get A+ Papers

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submitted by zaplakalomk to freelance_forhire [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 16:57 savepoints Odysseus' Profile from FGO Material X

Odysseus

Class: Rider True Name: Odysseus Gender: Male Source: Greek mythology Region: Europe Alignment: Neutral Good Height: 179cm Weight: 63kg
 
Parameters Rank
Strength C
Endurance A+
Agility D
Mana B+
Luck EX
Noble Phantasm B
 
Scenario writer: Hikaru Sakurai Character illustrator: redjuice CV: Kirimoto Takuya
Main appearances: Fate/Grand Order
 

Class Skills

Magic Resistance: B Cancel magecraft performed with a chant of below three verses. Even if targeted by greater magecraft or rituals, it is difficult for them to be affected. The rank is originally C, but it has been increased due to the effects of the Aegis.
 
Riding: B+ Can handle most vehicles and mounts. Unable to handle Phantasmal Species.
 

Personal Skills

Insight of the Cunning General: B++ A skill representing the knowledge Odysseus displayed, not only during the Trojan war, but throughout all his adventures. Those acting with Odysseus on their side will surely be victorious.
 
Single-Mindedness (Love): A A most focused state of mind...the source of his unwavering will. His devotion to his loving wife Penelope will never sway. Calypso the nymph, the witch Circe of Aeaea, the ephemeral Queen Nausicaa...all these women fell for Odysseus. Even the blessings he received from Athena were likely an indication that she too had fallen for him. While Odysseus seemed to be a lady-killer, he himself was fully devoted to his love. It's just that during his long voyage back home to his Penelope, for some reason he kept encountering women. (At least that's how he sees it.)
 
Divine Body Bounded Field: A The crystallized armor of the gods, combining defense and offense in one. It is a skill-version of the Noble Phantasm of the same name.
 
Grace of the Gods: B+ A skill that represents the grace received from the gods of Olympus. It can create numerous different effects. Because Athena's love was especially intense, Odysseus was given a special allowance to use the Noble Phantasm Aegis, the gods' own defense. (Fundamentally not utilized as a skill in FGO.)
 

Noble Phantasm

Colossal Trojan Horse of Obliteration Rank: B++ Type: Anti-Nation Range: 2-80 Maximum Targets: 400 people
Troia Híppos. Near the end of the Trojan War, Odysseus arranged for a large wooden horse that would be brought within the impregnable walls of Troy, hiding numerous Greek soldiers (Achaeans) within this "offering." Ultimately, the Trojans brought their enemies inside, and were defeated by getting in the resulting ambush, leading to the Achaean army's victory. According to literature, it was said that Odysseus was among those inside the wooden horse, and that he fought alongside these warriors.
The Noble Phantasm's wooden horse is in fact a giant mount covered in divine steel armor that suggests it has the blessings of the Aegis thanks to Athena. After its True Name is revealed, the wooden horse becomes a titanic being that annihilates everything around it in a demonstration of the fierceness of the Trojan War.
 
Divine Body Bounded Field Rank: A Type: Bounded Field Range:Maximum Targets: 1 person
Aegis. A defensive armament created by the gods of Olympus. It is said to be armor or shield, and an extraordinary powerful bounded field, a conceptual defense mechanism of divine creation. However, Odysseus is able to don it as a physical armor, likely thanks to Athena's deep affection for him, granting him an invincible suit of armor made of divine steel, possessing conceptual defenses.
A Noble Phantasm that is continuously active. It is expressed as a skill in FGO.
 
Love's Radiant Stringless Bow Rank: C Type: Anti-Unit Range: 0-50 Maximum Targets: 1 person
Penelope. A Noble Phantasm named after his beloved wife. Odysseus, in proving his complete love for Penelope, made a show of effortlessly stringing his bow, which no one else was able to. In other words, Odysseus is someone adept at handling stringless bows. As a Noble Phantasm, it manifests as Odysseus shooting an "arrow of light" using neither string nor even a bow, in an act reminiscent of the gods of Olympus. It is a continuously active Noble Phantasm, and in FGO, releasing its True Name has no additional effect.
 

Character

Pronouns used: First person: Ore (俺) Second person: Omae (おまえ) / Anata (あんた) / Using their name without honorifics Third person: They/them (奴) / Using their name without honorifics
 
Personality A man with an unwavering will, a hero of the Trojan War, and one of the greatest adventurers in Greek mythology. He went on numerous adventures and overcame countless adversaries, and there is no question of why his name became the basis for the word "odyssey."
Even were he boasting, he could back up his claims. If he says he'll take down Troy, that is what he'll do. If he says he'll flee from a scene of carnage, that is what he'll do. If he says he'll defeat monsters and Demonic Beasts, that is what he'll do. And if he says he'll head home to reach his beloved Penelope, that is what he'll do...one day.
At first glance he might appear overly confidant, but in reality he has a perfect grasp on his own abilities and capabilities. He never acts with arrogance, always directly accepting the truth that he "just narrowly seized victory and glory" or "if the slightest thing changed, he would have met with death".
 
Motivation and Attitude toward Master: He views the Master as someone on their own journey; an adventure of constant hardships. In a way, he sees in them the part of himself that once wandered the world in the hopes of reuniting with their loved one.
 
Dialogue Examples: "There is nothing I cannot accomplish. Might as well give it a try." "In your great adventure of saving Pan-Human History, let me be of some assistance." "How heavy and painful even a single step forwards can be...I know a bit about that." "I'll overcome every single one of these challenges. Indeed, I shall remain by your side." "Aegis!"
 
Historical Image and Character: A hero of ancient Greek mythology. The protagonist of Homer's famed epic "The Odyssey." His role in the Trojan War is recorded in "The Iliad."
Odysseus was the Achaeans' greatest strategist during the Trojan War. Following the death of Achilles, it was Odysseus who came up with the idea for the Trojan Horse, which directly led to the fall of Troy. After the war, he sailed for home to return to his beloved Penelope. His journey was complicated by many obstacles, among which were: a vicious cyclops, Poseidon's curse, temptation at the hands of Circe the witch and Calypso the nymph, the enchanting song of the sirens, the dread monster Scylla, the wrath of the sun god Helios, and myriad other hardships. Eventually, though not without sacrifice, Odysseus overcame these many trials and made it home.

In Atlantis of the Fifth Lostbelt, he manifested as a Servant from Pan-Human History, going up against the Lostbelt Odysseus who sided with the gods. Both were neck and neck, but for a brief moment it looked like the Odysseus of Pan-Human History had the upper hand. However, the Klironomia granted by Zeus were activated, ultimately granting the Lostbelt Odysseus victory.
While the memories of the battle in the Lostbelt should not have been retained by the Odysseus summoned to Chaldea, he actively searched through Chaldea's records, and so there's reason to believe that he knows what happened. Despite having a different upbringing and end than his own, the great debt his Lostbelt self owed to Charlotte Corday is something that he will never forget, and he vows to repay her one day.
 
Standard Weapons: Arrow of light, via his Noble Phantasm "Love's Radiant Stringless Bow".
 
Related Characters:
Circe: (Quietly smiles and nods intently)
Achilles/Prince Paris: (Smiles broadly while patting them both on the back)
Ajax: (Smiles with nostalgia)
Hector: (Closes one eye after greeting him, and then, without saying anything, makes a toast)
Medea: (Smiles as if seeing something he cares for)
Penthesilea: (Gives a nod of admiration)
Jason/Caenis: (Smiles and pats them both on the back twice)
Charlotte Corday: (Folds his arms, thinking about what's the matter)
Europa: (Scratches his head with a troubled look)
Penelope: (Looks up at the night sky, calling her name out loud)
 
 

Comment from Illustrator:

He was a great hero who, during the span of 10 years, travelled more than an air distance of 300km (some theories say the total distance travelled was more than 3000km) to return to his hometown of Ithaca. A tactician and a great man alike. He would fundamentally be a good-looking guy, but he had so many funny episodes, like when he washed up on the beach stark naked, when he was turned into an old man, and when he was tied to the mast of the ship. Because of this, I was worried about how how to really flesh out his design. About the "chest hole" which became a popular topic...I thought it would be necessary to have something like an exhaust vent for the pheromones produced by his unmatched chad energy, so I made that opening. I was also happy to see the implementation of a simple costume with the helmet being made playable. Oh, and I also designed the transforming robot horse. I would have never imagined it would be launched from a catapult, though... (redjuice) ~~~~
submitted by savepoints to FGOGuide [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 16:57 Asarum_canadense Daisy + Pachysandra?

Daisy + Pachysandra?
Can anyone tell me what this plant is? It looks like a combination of some sort of daisy on foliage that looks very similar to Pachysandra (Japanese Spurdge). This photo was taken at the botanical gardens in Niagara Falls, Ontario and the plant appears to be somewhat woody but short. Photo was taken recently near the end of May 2023.
Thank you!
submitted by Asarum_canadense to PlantIdentification [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 16:57 itsjustajoke1832 I have little to no problems. Why do I still want to die?

I’m 28 with a stable job. I live with my parents (common practice in my country) and I have little or no financial responsibilities for them, aside from chipping in for utilities and food. My job isn’t necessarily hard, rarely do I work overtime, and the people at work are generally nice. I have a good set of friends whom I talk to semi-regularly. I’ve some fair share of trauma (sexual), but I think I’ve managed to get good progress on processing it. I can’t pinpoint one thing that may be the cause of my episode this time around. Usually I know my triggers and I have appropriate action plans to keep myself from doing stupid shit. But these past few months thinking of killing myself has been more regular. I have a noose hung near my bathroom just as a reminder I can do it anytime. But I know I can’t. Plus, I know there is no sufficient reason to do so. But I still feel so shit. I cry every other day, sometimes for no apparent reason other than the fact that I feel so shit. I used to schedule bi weekly tomes when I could cry so as to get it out my system but lately it hasn’t been enough. I’ve been to therapy and the therapist told me I had a good grasp on my depression and knew what triggers it and how to avoid making it worse. I’ve done all my past techniques and I still feel so shit. Should I go back to therapy? I feel like I would just rationalize all my feelings (or lack thereof). Would meds work?
submitted by itsjustajoke1832 to SuicideWatch [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 16:57 Temporary-Emotion-96 Salvaging a bad second impression?

I(35f) met this guy(28m) through mutual friends, a married couple. The four of us met up for drinks last Wednesday. The couple retired early and we stuck around and got to know each other better. He ended up sleeping over at mine. I hadn't been laid in three months so it was much needed, lol. He texted me after we parted ways, and thanked me for a lovely evening, etc. We continued chatting for the next couple of days. I had a birthday thing to go to on Saturday and said he could come along, and he eventually joined us and met a few of my friends. The thing is, I was pretty drunk by the time he arrived and I don't remember if I was jolly/fun drunk or obnoxious/bratty drunk. We separated from the group at some point, had a drink at another bar, and then he was walking me home. I think I was expecting him to come over and he said he'll go back to his, to which I responded something along the lines of: that's clearly an inferior choice. He just moved from Europe to my city in North America, and is staying on his cousin's couch while he gets settled. The cousin's long distance boyfriend is visiting so I argued that wouldn't he rather sleep at mine and give them some privacy? He said that even though we slept together the first night, he'd rather not again anytime soon and that he wants to take it slow. I don't remember how I responded to that. Right now, I actually really love that he wants a steady pace, and that this will be good for both of us. But what did drunk-me do? I vaguely remember agreeing that that's a good idea, though not immediately perhaps. I think it was a does-not-compute moment for me. I also shared with him that I'm on anti-anxiety meds, which isn't a big deal but still private and if I could go back in time I'd keep it to myself for a few more weeks/months.
Anyway, this was our conversation the next morning
Me: Hey good morning Me: Thank you for walking me home Him: Hellooo it’s normal I’d never let you go there alone ahaha. Even if it’s X-city(we live in a safe city). Me: 😊 The world could use more gentlemen like you [he hearted this message]. Me: Did you get home okay? Was I very drunk 🙈 Him: Yes you were but it was your Saturday night Me: Haha yes. How's your day going, what do you all have planned? Him: Everything’s on track like foreseen. I’m not gonna lie it’s quite difficult since I’m still half asleep ahahaha Him: You ? Me: My friend and her husband are hosting a picnic/bbq in the park with their new baby, I might go over and say Hi
And that was it. It's been almost 24 hours and we haven't been talking, so I'm gonna take that as a hint that he's not interested anymore. On the one hand, I can choose not to care. On the other, I do see potential in us, and do we give up on things too easily these days? Dating is so hard and it's so difficult for me to like someone. Should I send a text in a few days if I don't hear from him? Either, "Could you remind me what we talked about that night?" or "Apologies if I was being annoying that night, I'm not usually like that. I'd like to get to know you better as you said, at a pace that's comfortable for the both of us. I'd love it if we gave us a chance but wish you best if you feel otherwise. Thanks for everything."
Please I request you not to lecture me on my drinking, I already know and am working on it. I'm usually good at handling it well. I think it was a combination of that one specific evening and my upcoming period that can tend to make me like that a bit. I wasn't even sure he was coming, it was kind of a last-minute show-up from his end. We'd been talking about it earlier in the day and when he said he'll be in touch with me after eh's done hanging out with the cousin and her bf. When it's a play-it-by-ear situation, I usually (rightfully-so) assume that it's not gonna happen so him showing up was a pleasant surprise, in a way.
submitted by Temporary-Emotion-96 to dating_advice [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 16:56 Pristine_Advance5555 I approach a guy for the first time and ask him out, but I regret it....

I moved to Canada 3 years ago from the Middle East, i'm a good looking woman with a petite figure.
It has been so hard for me to date anyone! I tried dating apps but all the men I met just wanna f*ck right away!! I got sick and tired if these apps so I deleted themfor good.
I tried to meet people in rl. And had a crush on this guy I met in university, but he didn't make any moves or asked me out and lots of my friends here have been telling me that men here appreciate it more when more approach them first, so I asked him out and we met, everything was fun till he start to be touchy around me and tried to hug me twice till I said 'no i don't like this' he stopped.
It's kinda sad because I liked him and I was really interested and genuinely just wanted to know more about him.
But he probably thought i wanna hookup with him or f*ck him right away! Is it because I showed interest first!! Idk
Anyway it's kinda sad that people here in Montréal don't know how to date anymore, and they just wanna f*ck 24/7, which is okay but can we know each other first? Jesus
submitted by Pristine_Advance5555 to dating_advice [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 16:56 bimbo_wannabe_ [I Accidentally Joined The Mafia In South Brooklyn] Chapter 6: On The Organizational Habits of Unrested Spirits and The Taste of Demon's Blood, Part 1.

[I Accidentally Joined The Mafia In South Brooklyn] Chapter 6: On The Organizational Habits of Unrested Spirits and The Taste of Demon's Blood, Part 1.
Previous Part: https://www.reddit.com/redditserials/comments/13trg6g/i_accidentally_joined_the_mafia_in_south_brooklyn/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Becca invited me to her apartment when we made it back, sent me through the alley behind the building to keep the prying eyes at the minimum. That was fine with me as I was a lot more noticeable than I liked to be, at the moment. I had already lit a cigarette by the time she opened the back door of the stairwell to let me in. It was the last in the pack, and I'd only opened it this morning. The temperature on my phone screen had finally hit zero.
"You're gonna have to give me a second, B, I don't wanna smoke around you in your condition but I really need one."
She gave me another watery grin.
"Little too much blood in the nicotine system, huh?"
"Exactly, my young friend, exactly that."
She propped the door open and sat herself down on the ground. I could tell the high heels were starting to hurt her because she kicked them off and set them neatly to the side, though I knew the concrete had to be freezing her feet off. She tucked her skirt between her legs and sat with her back against the wall, her elbow propped on her bent knee, the other leg stretched out straight before her. It was exactly how what was left of Antoni had been sitting beside me less than two hours ago.
I was getting a little tired of all the patterns appearing in my life these days.
I flipped to my news app, as was my habit. There was an article at the top of page about the preparations the SDNY were making to get ready for the coming storm, but frankly I didn't really give a fuck so I just kept scrolling.
"Your old neighborhood is in the news, B."
"You ain't had enough bad news?" Beccs asked with a rueful laugh.
"Eh, I like to stay abreast of current events. I mean, you got me pegged, B. I'm a nosy fuck. But, uh, fifteen years on the inside, you learn that it pays to pay attention to the shit other people don't notice, cause you never know when the information you pick up is going to end up being the information you need."
She gave me a look that said she had to yield to my point.
"So what's the news from Koreatown?".
"Somebody shot a wedding up, apparently. Says seven were killed, including the bride and groom and the bride's father, as they was leaving the reception. You know, most of these names are Rhees. Ain't nobody you know, is it? Kinda feel like you've had enough death for the day, kid."
There was another look on her face, one I couldn't quite read even with all my people-watching prowess.
"Lemme take a wild stab at it. Two of those names are Rhee Seong-Min and Rhee Bong-Cha."
"Yeah," I nodded. "You do know 'em. I'm sorry, B."
She gave a low, almost rumbling, chuckle. It gave me a little shiver, not from the cold, and not one of enjoyment, either. She flashed a sign, one I'd seen her flash before, but it wasn't from any gang I knew personally, and lacking any official affiliation of my own, I'd dealt with my fair share of different gang members in the Upstate Correctional Facility. Double E's, one backwards, one forwards, three quick shakes of each hand.
"God bless old K-town. But you ain't got to worry about it. I'll not shed a tear over any of them. They's family, but they ain't exactly family, you know. I might tell you about it one day."
The last sentence had a note of finality to it, so I didn't ask any further questions in that regard, but I was still as curious as always.
"If all your family has Korean names, how the hell did you end up as Rebecca and your Dad as Sam?"
"My Dad's name is Park Kyung-Sam. Just Sam was easier to tell people and he, uh, he wanted me to have the same benefit of blending in in American society, and he liked the name Rebecca. So, Rhee Rebecca Hyo-Jin. My Mom's name was Rhee Chung-Cha, but everybody just called her ChaCha, like from Grease."
"So your Mom was the Rhee?"
She made an affirmative noise and nodded.
"She didn't exactly wanna give up her family name, and… my Dad didn't exactly give a fuck cause he was in love with her crazy ass. You know, that's where I get this from. Except my Moms, if she was still around she'd make me look like I grew up to be a calm, quiet girl."
I'd hate to see what was worse than Beccs.
"You done?" Becca asked. I nodded, tossed my cigarette into the sand-filled bucket we kept here for just that purpose. I followed B inside and we climbed the stairs to the third floor. I leaned against the wall as she pulled a ring of keys from her coat pocket and waited while she unlocked the knob and the three deadbolts on her door.
"Pretty serious about your home security, B?"
She shot me a look but didn't say anything as she opened the door. A steady beeping greeted us, and Becca stopped just inside and punched in a code on a security panel. As I stepped around her and entered the apartment, I understood why.
Do you know that part in Coming To America where Akeem comes home to his dilapidated Queens apartment and realizes Semmi has filled it with expensive furniture? Well, it was exactly like that. Becca locked the door back behind her, threw her stilettos onto the shoe rack, and hung her coat on the brass tree beside it. I did the same, removed my boots to place them on the rack as well.
"Jesus Christ, B, this place looks amazing."
There was a gray suede sectional in the center of the living room, a 152 inch Panasonic plasma bolted to the wall. The coffee table, the wool Oriental rug beneath it, and the end tables looked antique, as well as the green velvet chaise set near one window. There were three ornately-carved bookcases set against the far wall between the two windows facing the street, one filled with DVDs, and on the other two almost all the books were old and leather bound. The kitchen was open to the room, separated by a butcher block bar from the living room, all matching stainless steel appliances and black marble countertops. All along the walls were family pictures dotted between massive paintings held in golden Baroque style frames.
They were… stunning was the only word I could think to describe them. Most of them were portraits done in a slightly impressionist style, impasto if my memory served me, seemingly random strokes of thick paint that somehow managed to form the perfect images of faces and a few nudes.
"Jesus Christ, these paintings must have cost a fortune alone."
Becca stepped beside me, her arms crossed over her chest as she surveyed the painting I was looking at. It was done in mostly black and red, the image of a sleeping nude man, one arm tucked behind his head, his other draped across his stomach, his hips and legs covered with a sheet. If I touched it, I could have felt the wrinkles in the bunched fabric. There was something oddly familiar about it.
"They didn't cost shit," she answered.
That made me look away from the painting and back to Beccs.
"What the hell? Did you rob a gallery?"
"No, you mook, I painted them. They didn't cost anything but the price of the canvas and the paint, which, you know, I stole most of that from school."
"You painted them," I repeated, looking back.
As I looked closer at the canvas, I realized why it was familiar. The sleeping man was our dear friend Antoni Zabrowska. I had mistaken his tattoos for shadows, though I had to admit I had never seen him look quite so relaxed. As I glanced around the room, I realized I recognized many of the paintings. I was able to pick out her father's face, Rossi's, and I realized the model for the two female nudes was none other than Nia Bianchi. There was one of a woman in white with bloody skeletal wings that bore a strong resemblance to Becca and I imagined that was the infamous ChaCha.
"That's what I go to Columbia for. Visual Arts."
"You're a goddamn genius, B."
She scoffed.
"No, I'm fucking serious, kid. My sister collects art, and she refuses to go for the big names. Shit like this, she pays 10 to 20 grand for a painting half this size, more if it's one of the artists she likes."
Now she snorted.
"What? Your sister got a money tree?"
"No, my older sister Aurie's a writer. She wrote her first book when she was ten. She's published 20 so far, but she's got 30 or 40 more in backlog that she's still tweaking. She's kind of a perfectionist when it comes to writing, but I guess it pays off. Her books sell like fucking hotcakes everytime she puts one out, two of her series got picked up by Netflix, and Lion's Gate turned her seventh book into a movie. She even got to be involved in the productions.
"She's got a penthouse on the Upper East Side that she bought about six years ago. That's where I lived when I got out of the Upstate. Aurora, she's a fucking Saint, you know. I mean, I had a shitty PO that was up my ass every five minutes but Aurie never said a word about it. She just… always told me she was glad I was home, which, you know, was nice to hear considering that according to my grandparents I died 19 years ago. She was the one that helped me get this place down here, paid in full for a two year lease."
Becca raised an eyebrow at me.
"No offense, Tony, I can tell you're crazy about her, but she couldn't have picked a better place for you than this hell hole?"
I laughed as softly as I could, to save the muscles in my stomach.
"I picked this place myself, B. Cheapest apartment I could find in any of the boroughs, and it even had three bedrooms. I was thinking about having space for a library and a home gym."
Becca snorted.
"Yeah, it's cheap cause the fucking place is about 90 years old. Nobody's been able to get a hold of the slumlord who owns it for repairs in 8 months, but I bet you the motherfucker still collects the rent checks we deposit in his fucking bank account every month."
"Yeah, I figured that out just about as soon as I moved in, but beggars can't be choosers. Besides, Antoni always used to help me out whenever something broke."
Becca gave a small smile.
"They did that for everybody. I used to call them the apartment elves, cause instead of making shoes they were skittering around fixing fucking toilets and sinks, and rewiring burned up outlets and bringing in new refrigerators and stoves when shit broke in everybody else's places. And they bought it all with their own money. Everybody tried to pay them, but they never took a dime for any of it. Ironically enough, Pops used to talk about Antoni all the time because of all the money he'd spend over there every week. Said he had a good heart, just no good sense when it came to what was his responsibility and wasn't. You know, I had my own opinions about Antoni's heart, but I kept them to myself."
"I really wish I had paid more attention when Antoni was working on the boiler, though. Instead of just passing him tools and running my mouth."
"Yeah, you're good at that," she replied with a smirk.
"And fuck you, too, Miss Rebecca. You might be the strong type, but you're not exactly silent yourself."
She laughed.
"Make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back."
I nodded and obeyed as she exited into what I saw was the bathroom as she opened the door and closed it behind her.
The sectional was goddamned heaven, and she'd said make myself comfortable so I kicked out the recliner and leaned back. I closed my eyes for a moment and sighed, and when I opened them I nearly jumped out of my skin. I barely managed to stop myself from letting out a yell as I jerked back up to sitting.
Antoni's corpse was standing by the picture wall, looking intently at a photo of a child Becca wearing a ruffled, cream colored dress with a ribbon in her long black hair. It was the picture of her first Communion.
"Goddamn, you can't give somebody a warning before you do that?"
He neither answered me nor turned to look at me because he was using the stumps of his wrists to adjust several of the frames back straight again.
"Fucking neat freak," I laughed. "She wasn't lying."
He finally turned toward me.
You ever seen a corpse try to look annoyed when he's missing about a quarter of his face? I mean, what am I saying, you probably haven't, but suffice to say, it's pretty fucking funny. He raised his left wrist, and if he had hands, he'dve been shooting the bird.
Almost hysterical laughter burst out of me as Becca exited the bathroom.
"Least the pipes ain't frozen yet," she muttered.
She gave me a strange look.
"Who are you talking to out here? And what's so funny?"
I glanced back to Antoni, but he was gone again.
"Don't mind me, B, I'm pretty sure I got a concussion. I'm pretty much seeing pink elephants at this point." Or, you know, the mutilated corpse of my best friend, but it's probably best I leave it at elephants.
"Yeah," she answered, and crossed the room to hand me something. "Speaking of."
It was a mouth guard.
"What is this for?"
She didn't answer me, but headed to the kitchen and opened a cabinet, withdrawing a cut crystal scotch glass and then opening the refrigerator and withdrawing… two bags of blood. Nia's blood, to be exact. She unscrewed the cap at the bottom of one, punctured the seal with a fresh insulin needle, and to my supreme discomfort squeezed some into the glass. The mouth guard suddenly made sense. It was so I wouldn't break my teeth or bite my tongue off when the convulsions started and my jaw locked down from consuming demon blood.
"Oh no, B, I don't want that."
"Yeah. That's why I didn't tell you why I wanted you over here, cause I knew you was gonna be a pussy about it."
I tried one more last-ditch effort.
"You need that more than me, B."
"I can just take my next dose early, but you, you can't go down and see Ma looking like that. She's gonna ask too many questions."
That one stopped me.
"I've had enough of interrogations for one day, B."
"There ain't no interrogation when it comes to Ma. She just puts it in your head that you ain't got no choice but to tell her the truth, and you do. She's made state witnesses get up on the stand and confess their own crimes, pleading the fifth be damned."
She screwed the cap back onto the bag and carried them and the glass over to the coffee table and set them down. She walked over and opened a closet door, pulling out an IV pole with a little box attached to it, and grabbed a small cardboard box from off a shelf and what looked like a tackle box. She set it on the coffee table after she pulled the pole over to the sectional and plugged it into the wall, opened the cardboard box and removed a cassette from inside and inserted it into the box on the pole.
"What's that?"
"It's a blood warmer for rapid transfusions, so I don't go into hypothermia or hemolysis. Little bastard cost 137 thousand, but at least you can buy them online. You put a fresh cassette in every time, the blood runs through it, by the time it gets to my arm it's body temp."
She opened the tackle box and removed two fresh lines, attaching one to the bottom of the warmer and one to the top, hanging the bags of blood but not connecting the first of them yet. The top had a drip chamber with a filter, and the bottom held the flow regulator and the hypodermic needle with the cannula inside.
"You know, it's not fucking fair, B, you shouldn't have dealt with half the shit in your life that you have."
She snorted and her lips pursed with anger as she sat down beside me.
"You sound like Rossi with that shit. That's why he wouldn't let me die, said it wasn't fair. I was ready to go into hospice, fuck it, I was ready to see my Mom again. But I'll tell you the same thing I told his stupid old ass. Life ain't fair. Cause if it was I'd have my mother and my baby's father and Jimmy's ass would be the one laying in the morgue. You think it's fair you almost lost a finger because of what he ordered?"
I laughed.
"No, I actually think that's pretty fair. That's karma, B. I was usually the one doing the beating. How do you think I ended up in prison?"
She looked hard at me for a moment.
"I mean, you never told me. You were pretty open about having gone to prison, but you never said why."
"Well, I learned to be open about it. Some people get real upset when they find out they're dealing with someone who's been through the system, so I didn't really wanna go through that again. So now I just tell people up front, let them decide for themselves if they wanna deal with me or not. That way they can't throw it back in my face, say I lied to them."
Becca let out a bitter chuckle.
"So what's your story?"
"Well, we still ain't finished your story, yet, but we'll take a detour. The whole thing started my Senior year of high school. First game of the year, I blew my knee out, big as a bitch, tore everything there was to tear, shit was basically hanging on by the skin alone. Orthopedics said I had two choices, keep playing football or, retain the ability to walk on that leg, so… there went all my big dreams of college ball and making it onto the Giants."
"Linebacker?"
I nodded. "Middle linebacker. I was good at it. 6'7, 265 pounds but light on my feet, all muscle. Back then I was running 7 percent body fat, and wasn't even trying. Shit just… all came natural to me. It all blew up in my face. Shitloads of surgery and physical therapy, and then one day the pain pills stopped but the pain didn't. Everyday, every night, I was still hurting."
She nodded.
"I know about bone pain. I could always tell when I needed to up the dose when my bones started hurting. When I started out all it took was an insulin needle. Now I take so much, I'm not even sure I qualify as human. But I guess I won't be much longer. That's always been the plan. Just keep me alive till 30 and Ma's gonna make me like her. That's the preferred age for the Entrance, something to do with the Trinity."
I nodded.
"I started asking around school if anyone knew where to get some Percs but pain management keeps that shit so tight I could only get a few at a time. Not only was they expensive, it wasn't enough. I got hooked up with this kid named Alessandro, he told me if I really wanted to control the pain, he could get me something better and cheaper. He took me to meet his uncle, Colombian guy named Marco. First shot is free and it was… it was beautiful. Everybody always gets sick the first time, but I didn't. And then after that, all my free money from my after school job started going to horse, and uh, I got my last six months off school. I already had all the credits I needed from AP classes, started working full time. They didn't piss test. But, my tolerance was rising faster than my income was."
I took a deep breath.
"I'd been buying enough that Marco was offering me fronts but I never took it. So next time I went, I asked him for my usual and I asked how much it would be for two O's on the front, cause I knew a lot of other users and I was thinking of starting to sell myself. So, he told me he'd give me a pound, and we could settle up at the end of the month."
"Jesus Christ, if you were selling a pound a month you must have been making bank."
I shook my head.
"I wasn't in it for the money. I was in it to keep myself supplied. If I kept my prices right, I could use for free, and I had enough left over to pay my portion of the rent and help pay for the groceries. I got good at it, I'd take a shot, and nod out for a few minutes, then get up and start walking the streets."
Becca snorted.
"You wasn't standing on a street corner?"
"Fuck no. Too visible. I did all my business by phone. I had a burner and gave everyone the number, and when they needed some they'd give me a call and I'd meet them or they'd meet me. I had ethics. I used to have people offering me fucking blowjobs for a bag, but I always said no, shit felt wrong. All they had to do was pay me by the end of the month but, sometimes…"
She gave a grin.
"But sometimes, 'Bitch, where's my money?'"
"Yeah, sometimes people would try to skip out, so I had to apply a little pressure to persuade them to pay. I never killed nobody, it's hard as hell to get money out of a dead man. But, black a few eyes and break a few bones and suddenly they had money they didn't before. Being my size, there wasn't many of them that could fight back. But, I fucked up the wrong lowlife.
"There was this prick, he'd been dodging me for weeks. He owed me like two grand, I'd given him that much because I knew he had money, so when I finally caught up to him, I was pretty mad and, the bitch, he told me he wasn't going to pay me. Thought he was better than me, thought he could fuck me and get away with it. So I beat the mortal hell out of him, took his wallet. He had five grand in there but I figured, 3K surcharge for wasting my time."
I shook my head.
"But I should have done some better research on who I was going after. Turned out the little prick had a socialite for a mother and his Daddy was a hedge fund manager and… I'd hurt him pretty bad. First three months, not only was I dealing with DTs, I was waiting to see if they were going to add Murder to my charges. He was in a coma for that long, and when he woke up, he had to learn to walk again, how to feed himself. I beat him so bad I gave him brain damage."
"Goddamn, Tony."
"Apparently his parents knew their son's habits and knew exactly who I was, cause they went straight to the police, and two days later SWAT showed up, turned the house upside down. I smashed my phone into pieces, flushed it so they couldn't get my contacts, but I didn't think about the fact I still had the wallet with his driver's license in it. My grandparents disowned me, right then and there. I had just reupped so they caught me with 14 ounces, all it takes is 8 for Class A felony possession. I spent 13 months in Rikers, but my sister got me a good lawyer, he knew the judge and the prosecutor personally, golfed with them, so he got me a plea deal. I was looking at life in prison, but he argued that I was a good student that had made a bad mistake because of a chronic pain issue, and they were both first offenses, so if I pled guilty, agreed to go through a substance abuse program and anger management, then they'd give me the minimum sentence.
"15 years, Class A Felony Drug Possession, 3 years, Class B felony First Degree Assault, intentionally causing grievous bodily harm while in the commission of another felony. But, at my sentencing, the judge said I was a big guy, with a big anger problem. I hadn't killed anyone, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Said I was a danger to society, so when I got to the UCF, they put me in dark red."
"Supermax?"
I nodded.
"23 hours a day in a box by myself, no visitors, barely saw the guards. But, I stayed quiet, made no problems. Prison was overcrowded so I ended up with a cellmate, and I was glad to see him. It could have been Hannibal Lecter and I would have gave him a hug. He might have been a murderer but he was actually a decent guy. Him and his crew had knocked over some jewelry stores in Manhattan, last job went bad. He'd killed three cops, so he wasn't never getting out. Neither was his wife. Life in Bedford Hills."
"That's where they was gonna send me if Ma hadn't got the jury to give me a Not Guilty verdict."
I knew Becca had a tendency to get in trouble because beside the cheerleading pictures in the bodega, there was also a mugshot.
"What did you do?"
She gave a bitter chuckle again.
"Unlike you, I killed someone. 2021, this fucking crackhead tried to rob the store. He shot the customer that was in there, old guy named Mickey, killed him. He used to live in your apartment. Tried to shoot me, too, but the gun jammed and I had the aluminum baseball bat under the counter. I just started swinging. He went down, but I jumped the counter, and hit him again. Blood lust is a real thing. Once I saw he was bleeding, I wanted to see more. I beat his brains out, literally, he was dead long before the cops ever got there. Bat looked like a toothpick when I was done.
"They arrested me, and the DA himself showed up at my arraignment. Said self defense didn't apply, sent me straight up to Murder 2, requested I be denied bail because I had a passport and plenty of money so I was a flight risk. But we all knew the truth. He was still pissed that he hadn't been able to send Rossi away for longer, and I was the next best thing. Ma had to pull a lot of strings to make sure I still got my transfusions when I was in lockup. I was in Rikers for four months, had my eighteenth birthday sitting in the Singer Unit."
"Goddamned patterns," I muttered, then raised my voice again. "You, me, and Antoni all got that in common, except he wasn't like us. He was already in prison. That's what the rose meant, turned eighteen in prison. Life sentence, triple murder."
"He told you that?" She looked betrayed, so I was quick to answer.
"No, the tattoos told me that. Google is my best friend, B. That's what the skull and crossbones, and the coffins on his arm meant."
She swallowed, and nodded again.
"But, I moved down," I continued. "Went to orange when they moved me to Gen Pop, and I had friends waiting for me. Marco was very appreciative of me keeping quiet about my source at trial, so outside Abuela Bogota's was where I hung out the most. But I had friends all over. My sister was smart. She always put way more in my account than I could spend, so whenever I heard that somebody needed something, I'd go to the canteen and buy it myself and pass it to 'em. Nobody had to owe me shit. All I wanted was to be left alone, so I had people watching my back from all sides. I ended up in blue, got moved to the dormitory, started working in the kitchen, ended up running it, cause I was a 'model prisoner.'"
"You ever fool around with any of your cellmates?" Becca asked with a grin. "Cause I did."
I gave an uncomfortable laugh.
"I mean, yeah. 15 years is a long time to be alone. I don't consider myself bisexual even, but if somebody offers, you know…" I shrugged.
"I think the word you're looking for is heteroflexible. That's how Antoni referred to himself. He had a thing for you, you know."
That stopped me dead.
"You're fucking with me, B."
"Nope. He asked me once if I'd mind if he ever got the chance to hook up with you, and I told him no, as long as he didn't mind I still hooked up with my old girlfriends from high school. But he never asked you, said he loved you too much, was afraid of ruining your friendship."
"Jesus Christ," I shook my head, finally decided I needed time to process that, and moved on. "But, my last year there, Covid hit, and, I volunteered to work in the infirmary, but pretty soon the infirmary was filled, they started keeping people in the hallway, and finally they just ended up leaving them in their beds, I was all over the place. People dropping like flies. Everytime someone coughed or sneezed, everbody'd get nervous. I been smoking since I was 16, so I cough my lungs out every morning.
"People was looking at me like I was Death Incarnate. But I never caught it, not even once. And I was all around the sick, I was taking the bodies out to the truck outside the gate. Could've run but I didn't. Only had a few years left. It worked in my favor. They cut the last three years off my sentence, put me on supervised release and now, here I am, 36 years old, and just starting my adult life."
"Rossi got let out of lockup right before lockdown, poor bastard. Me, him, and my Dad all quarantined at Ma's, but of course, you know, me and Dad was essential workers so at least I got to get out of the house everyday. I graduated early, at 16, been working seven days a week since."
I glanced at the glass on the table.
"So let's get back to your story."
She shook her head, lips pursed again.
"Uh-uh, you're not wasting anymore time. Take the blood, but first," she reached out, quicker than I could even register, and used her thumbs to set my broken nose back straight.
I let out a yell, momentarily unable to see as my eyes filled with tears.
"Jesus wept, Becca, fucking hell, goddamn."
"Sorry. It would've hurt more if you'd known it was coming. Besides, you're a good looking guy, Tony, you don't wanna ruin your face."
"Thanks, B," I muttered as I pressed the toilet paper back to my freshly bleeding nose, tears streaming down my cheeks. "Need a haircut though."
"Nah, you oughta keep it. It's very The Dark Knight Joker, just black, not blonde and green."
I laughed quietly.
"Not sure that's the best association, B. A little too psychotic and violent."
She raised an eyebrow at me.
"Alright, alright. It's probably an accurate association, just a little less arson and murder." I sighed and looked at the scotch glass. "So how do I do this, B?"
"Think about it like a tequila shot. Take the shot and then slip the guard in quick. Then sit back, try to relax."
I nodded and grabbed the glass before I lost my nerve. I raised it in her direction.
"Saluti."
"Geonbae." She responded.
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2023.05.29 16:56 girl_from_the_crypt Stuck on earth and looking for a job: There's something in the caves

I spent the remainder of the evening after the "hike" sorting out my thoughts. Trying to, at any rate. Writing it all down helped, but I was still exhausted and confused.
I woke up in Frankie Preston's bed the following morning. I instantly knew it wasn't mine due to the lack of Dorito crumbs in the sheets. Even so, it took me a while to come to. Once I'd rubbed my eyes and untangled myself from the blanket, I found the man himself sitting upright beside me, fully dressed with his shoes on, presently reading a book. "Morning, Sunshine," he muttered, not looking up. "There's water on the nightstand for you. A muffin, too. I wasn't sure what to get."
I let out an incoherent murmur to which he huffed a laugh and rested his hand on the side of my face. "You were still as a rock, you know."
"I'm sorry for messing up last night," I said, my voice cracked and dry from sleep. "I shouldn't have gone looking for trouble. I should've stayed low and just watched those two."
"What's with that tone? I'm not about to lecture you. I get wanting to take revenge. You did fine as far as I'm concerned. And I think Markov is okay with everything, too. After all, any proceedings against the Collective are highly legitimate now or whatever. Plus, she got that lady cultist in custody now, and she's looking forward to the interrogation. She called and explained it to me on the phone earlier, but I wasn't paying attention." He shrugged to himself and I reached up to tug aside his book's cover. "It's Wuthering Heights," he told me, gently removing my hand. I tried to grab it again, but he pulled it out of my reach. "Oh!" He sounded amused as he finally set the book aside to hug me. "You could have just said something."
"Don't you have to work today?"
"I called in sick. Of course, my six moms know I don't actually get sick so they'll suspect something's up. They're probably gonna be all over me."
"You never get sick?" I inquired.
"No. It's one of the nicer aspects of inhuman nature."
"I'm still not getting any answers on that?"
"Don't worry, you will. Sooner or later."
We went out and took a walk in the park, which was equally weird and nice. It seemed such a normal thing to do. It was a bright, nearly windless day, and the sun shining down on us provided a gentle warmth. The previous days' rain had left the trees heavily laden with drops of water. Occasionally, some would dislodge from the leaves and branches they occupied and plop down on our heads.
I asked Frankie whether he would be alright with checking in on Nettie Peterson together. He chuckled, joking that she would probably just love to see him, but ultimately agreed. Once my best friend was due to be off work, we went around to her house.
Strangely enough, the most drastic changes in other people seem to happen without me really being there to witness them. Kit Sutton had somehow turned into a somewhat responsible roommate without me even noticing. Before I knew it, we had become friends. When my savior human opened the door for us, I felt distinctly reminded of that other development. Nettie, not unlike a butterfly emerging from whatever they call that odd little sleeping bag caterpillars make for themselves, had apparently come out of her dark state of mind all by herself. Her eyes lit up when she saw me and she wheedled us inside with much the same enthusiasm I was used to. She had us sit down in the garden while she tended to her flowers.
I watched her closely. Her skin had regained much of its healthy glow, her hair was washed and shiny, the clothes she wore clean—a flowing blouse, mom jeans and sneakers. She had clearly picked them out with care, like she normally did. It was good to see her restored to her old self, but I couldn't help but feel like something was wrong.
"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked.
"I have to be, don't I?" she replied, her cheerful tone coming out more forced than she'd likely intended. She was cutting away crushed and wilted leaves from one of her small bushes, shaping it in the process. "It's over. Life goes on."
"Does it?" I tilted my head at her.
"Can we talk about anything else? Literally anything?" The snapping movements of her garden shears came faster; more forceful. Frankie Preston and I exchanged uncomfortable looks. Figuring it would make for an interesting topic, I proceeded to tell Nettie about our exploits the night before. Halfway through my story, she had ceased her plant styling activities, blankly staring at me from where she sat on the ground. By the time I was done, she had taken off her rubber gloves and was slowly massaging her temples.
"One of these days, Eva. One of these days, you're gonna give me a heart attack. I don't even want to ask about what you get up to anymore, I think. I'm afraid of the answer." She threw Fran a grateful glance. "Thank you for getting her out of there safely."
The waiter smiled placidly. "Sure." Turning to me, he added in a whisper, "So we're not going to mention that you saved me from the FunFlair guys twice before this?"
I grinned mildly and shook my head before assuming a more serious tone. "Nettie, it's great that you're all better, but you were really down before. If this is just an act, I'd prefer you didn't put it on."
"It's not an act," she said sternly, raising her hands to her hips. "I've resigned myself. That's all. There's nothing to be done, I've accepted it and I've moved on."
"That can't be healthy," Frankie remarked. "You know what would help? Punishing the world in some way. You could take it out on your kindergarteners. Tell them a scary story so their parents have to stay up all night with them. Incite a dirt throwing fight and send them home all muddy. Set up a boxing ring and have them go at each other like in a dog fight. Wouldn't that be far more rewarding than sucking it up?"
Nettie Peterson looked unimpressed. Her dark eyes roamed the young man like she was trying to gauge whether or not he was serious. "You're some kind of sociopath, aren't you?"
That she shouldn't have said. Frankie's serene expression morphed into his customer service smile. I don't know when I started deciphering this being's voice and countenance, but there I was, picking up on the spiteful undertone in what he said next.
"I'm just saying, if the woman I fancied disappeared in such a way, I'd find outlets for my grief." His eyes darted over to Nettie as if to ensure she'd heard him correctly before settling on me, observing my reaction. All I could do however was stare at my best friend.
Her glossy lips had parted. She met my gaze, her thick, expressive brows rising a good deal. "I…" she began, faltering and starting to fumble for words. "That's to say, Kit was… we, um…"
"Oh, Eva didn't know?" Frankie asked, perfectly flat and monotonous. "I had no idea it was a secret. I'm sorry, it wasn't my place to say. I wouldn't have mentioned it, really."
Something about that sent a chill down my spine. I shot him a glare, to which he drew himself up and turned away. Meanwhile, Nettie finally broke from her stupor and blurted out, "We were together, okay?"
For a moment, I sat quietly. “Frank, please go home,” I said at length, not quite looking at him. “We’ll talk later. We will.
He looked like he wanted to say something, but quickly thought better of it, rising to his feet and storming off. Ignoring the queasy feeling in my stomach, I walked over to Nettie and plopped down on the ground beside her. “So that’s what this was about,” I began.
My savior human nodded meekly. “We… we didn’t want to tell you. Not for the time being, at least. We hadn’t defined the relationship yet, i-it was all so new and weird, I felt weird, but it was good, you know? I just wasn’t ready to think about it that way yet. And you’ve only ever seen me date guys, I didn’t know what you’d think…”
“I wouldn’t have thought anything,” I replied. “How long has this been going on?”
“Not long. She called me up before she came back to you a couple weeks ago. That’s kind of when we started seeing each other in… in that way.”
“Romantically?”
“Yes.”
I hesitantly extended a hand to caress her upper arm, locking eyes with her. There was a profound sadness in her expression, a watery gleam. She took a deep breath. “Before that, we used to text back and forth occasionally. I always felt kind of weird about her. Somehow, she got under my skin everytime she was goofing off, what with her little jokes and all. We kept talking, though. I was always so irritated when she was around, and that’s so unlike me, I just ended up wondering… And then when she showed up here, it all kind of came together. W-we did. She stuck around and we spoke and everything simply made sense all of a sudden. I didn't know she liked me, too.” She swallowed audibly, her voice brittle and husky as she went on. “Kit isn't like anyone else I’ve ever had feelings for.”
“Not like anyone else, as in… a woman?” I prompted, raising a brow.
Nettie grunted. “Oh, shush! Don't make me feel guilty for being hesitant at first. I know it’s not a big deal to you, but try going through life believing you’re straight and suddenly running into some cute ditzy punk girl and realizing you’re not. It’s all sorts of confusing, believe me. I was scared it was gonna be weird because it was my first time with a woman but Kit somehow made it easy. It was a bit of a whirlwind, sure, but it felt natural and… just good.”
“Did you tell Eli?”
“No. But I think he suspected. That man knows me like the back of his hand. We’re basically siblings, remember? He was always tactful, never really pressured me into admitting anything, but he made a couple puns here and there, so… I do believe he knew.” She fumbled with her limp gloves, fixing me with a wavering smile. “So?”
“So what?”
“What do you say?”
“Is there something you want me to say?” I shrugged. “I’m only glad I understand now. I wish you’d told me sooner, but that’s your business. Also, I didn’t tell you that I’ve been running around with our waiter, so I guess we’re essentially even. By the way, I’m sorry he put you on the spot like that. You didn’t deserve that. How did he know about you two anyways?”
Nettie pursed her lips. “He might have seen us around the diner or something. I’m not sure. I’m, uh, not gonna comment on whatever you two got going on. You know what you’re doing. Hopefully.”
“Ah, thanks. Then I won’t be giving my opinion on whether or not I consider that deadbeat dork Kit to be worthy of you.”
My savior human snorted. “Much appreciated. Though I guess it’s not really an issue anymore either way.”
I shook my head. “Don’t think like that. We can’t let her go. I certainly won’t, not after this.”
“What do you mean?”
I rose to my feet. “I’m going to drag her blue ass back out of the ocean and have her make an honorable woman of you.”
I don’t believe she thought I was serious. The realization had set in by the time I’d dragged her down to the beach with me, though. We had taken Wammawink for the drive. Wammawink is the name of Nettie’s pastel pink motor scooter. It has a sidecar, which she straps me into with great care whenever we ride. It took her about twenty minutes to get us down to the shore. The more I talked about possibly retrieving my roommate, the brighter and realer the shine in her eyes became. Hope was not yet dead, that much was for certain. I led her down the cliffside and past the rocky expanse to where the concert had been held. It seemed ages ago. Some wistful part of me thought I could hear the faint sound of Kits singing above the gentle murmur of the waves.
The beach was golden in the afternoon sunlight. The sleepy tide sent water steadily dribbling into the sand beneath our feet, the drier patches giving way ever so slightly as we walked along. The faint outline of a plan had taken shape in my mind. We headed for the grotto.
"It makes sense now," I thought aloud. "The creature we fought at the concert was targeting you. The deep ones must have known that you two had a bond."
"I guess so," she replied uncertainly, eyeing the maw that opened up in the natural stone wall before us. "Going spelunking will help us how, exactly…?"
"I figure it tried to take you in there for a reason. This place has to be special. If you want, you can always wait here, but I'd prefer to have you with me. I only want to look around a bit. Maybe there's a clue of sorts on how we can contact Kit."
She sighed. "Now I know why you wanted me to bring my flashlight." She produced the object in question and handed it over before linking arms with me. "Of course I'll stick with you."
The inside of the cave was far too quiet for comfort. The eerie silence was only broken by the occasional plinking of water dripping from the walls and ceiling. We made an effort to step around the puddles glittering on the bumpy ground as we proceeded into the dimness. The sunlight threading through the grotto's mouth didn't reach very far, so we were glad for the bright beam of our torch. I let it travel the hollowed rock, the light crinkling oddly as it reflected off the pools of water that seemed to grow larger the further we got. Nettie Peterson was hanging onto my arm, her grip growing a little tighter with every passing minute. Her face was a set mask of grim determination, belied by the nervous twitch of her eyelid and the occasional quiver of her lower lip.
My own discomfort was undeniable as well. My heart was thundering in my chest and clammy beads of perspiration were running down my face. Every step we took caused a dull thud, the echo of which bounced off the rough stone walls to be funneled by the length of the cave. There were several smaller passages leading off into all directions, but Nettie and I agreed on always picking the largest entrance. This way, the path we took was far easier to memorize and there was little possibility of getting lost. After the third or fourth time we ducked through one of the doorframe-like archs, we were met with an imposing sight. A large room with high ceilings opened up before us. There was natural light seeping through several small cracks overhead. Stringy, pale plant life hung down or clung to the walls. A round lake filled up its entire bottom half.
Both Nettie and I stopped in our tracks. There was no solid ground to walk on anymore. On top of that, the beauty of this subterranean body of water had literally stunned us. Ripples were rolling off the center of its surface, casting a faint shimmer onto the ceiling. The stone-filtered light from outside set the lake aglow, bright speckled dancing across it like sprightly wisps. All I could do was taken in a soft, reverent breath while the very thoughts running through my head escaped Nettie's trembling lips.
"Have you ever seen something so beautiful?"
I would have told her yes, but I truly could not remember when. Unfortunately, the lake also appeared to form something of a dead end. I considered turning and checking out another passage, only for my savior human to point out a ledge running along the side of the room. It was narrow, but no doubt wide enough for the two of us to walk it single-file. We clambered up the shelf-like protrusion and, hand in hand, began to move along. It was bumpy and wet, and I almost regretted continuing this way. I couldn't seem to properly place my feet, my soles slipping a few inches with every step. Glancing over my shoulder, I could tell from Nettie's grim expression that she was experiencing similar difficulties. My pulse was racing, my lower lip caught between my teeth as I attempted to focus on safely making it across.
The cold sweat that leaves my palms was actively working against me at this point, and before I could react, the flashlight had slipped through my shaking fingers. It bounced off a bump in the shelf, then rolled off the edge entirely to disappear in the dark water with a thick, loud plop. I cursed, turning to Nettie with an apologetic expression.
"It's fine," she assured me, squeezing my hand. "It's bright enough here as it is and we'll still have our phones for light later."
I smiled gratefully, about to take my next step when a deep, guttural gurgle came rumbling up from the depths of the lake. The sound hovered in the damp, salty air for a moment or two. My best friend and I froze in place, her grip on my hand turning into an iron vice. For a split second, I believe even my own heartbeat stilled.
"What was that?" Nettie Peterson whispered, her voice barely audible over the sudden charged hum of the water below. Her question would not remain unanswered for long. The droning noise of vast water masses shifting began to fill the air as from deep, deep beneath, something made its way up. My savior human and I helplessly pressed our backs up against the wall, trying to keep steady against the force of the vibration shuddering through the rock. The ledge we were standing on was quaking as though the cave itself had come alive and was trying to throw us into this growling, cold abyss.
Within seconds, the thing broke the surface, causing enormous splashes and sending countless drops of water raining down on us. I blinked them out of my eyes just in time to see it unfurl.
It was not a living being in its entirety, merely part of one. That however only made the sight before us all the more terrifying. Simply put, it was a human arm. Just not of any human I had ever encountered. It was enormous; every webbed finger of the hand it ended in was about my size. There were six of them, each bending in far too many places—I thought I could count as many as eight joints on the longest one. Its nails were more like claws, long and sharp with what looked like barnacles growing underneath them. The thin, nearly translucent skin between its fingers was stony gray, just like the rest of it. The hand slowly began to grope around, searching the walls of the cave. I knew right then and there that I couldn't possibly fight it. If it came to it, I'd try to hold it off with everything I had, but something this huge couldn't possibly be defeated. We had to flee, as long as we still could.
"Oh God," Nettie breathed. "Oh God, oh God, oh God…" Her hand was trembling in mine.
"Quick," I hissed. "Turn around, we gotta get out of here!"
She nodded helplessly, her eyes blown wide in terror. When she began her retreat from the ledge, she nearly took up running. I pulled her close just in time to prevent her from slipping. "Watch out!" I uttered, unable to suppress the fear in my tone. "Don't slip, we're dead if we fall in."
My savior human let out a whine, then took a deep breath and bit her lip. Slowly but steadily, she placed each foot in front of the other, leading us off the ledge. My ears were ringing. I couldn't tear my gaze away from the gigantic arm as it blindly felt along the walls, its nails coaxing a grating sound as they scratched upon the rocks. It was getting closer and closer, the side of its thumb nearly brushing the top of my head for a split second before I could withdraw. I had to press my eyes shut for a moment as my chest tightened painfully. Finally, we had reached the end of the shelf and wasted no time in jumping off.
We didn't even bother with any cell phone flashlights. As soon as we were on solid ground again, we darted through the entrance of the room, back through all of our carefully chosen passages before finally staggering out the mouth of the cave into the sunlight. We were panting like dogs; Nettie was forced to crouch down and sit still for a while to catch her breath. Meanwhile, I was seeing stars. Colorful dots and sparks of lightning seemed to dance before my inner eye as I blinked furiously into the afternoon sun.
"What the fuck was that?" my best friend, having regained her ability to speak, rasped out.
I turned to face her, my knees wobbling like jello. "I have no idea."
"You think it… you think that fish person from the concert was trying to take me there? Dump me into that lake?" She lowered her voice. "It would have fed me to that giant thing, wouldn't it."
I held her gaze, my mind racing. "I don't know. Maybe the giant's different."
"What do you mean?"
"I think we might have just seen Kit's father."
X
1
2: deadbeat roommate
3: creepy crush
4: relocation
5: beach concert
6: First date
7: Temp work
8: roommate talk
9: a dismal worldview
10: warehouse
11: staircase
12: explanation
13: hurt
14: hospital
15: ocean
16: diner
17: government work
submitted by girl_from_the_crypt to nosleep [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 16:56 RespondMediocre6511 Replen/merch managers vs Framing managers

I am wondering if this situation is just in my store or across the company.
I work for a level E store in California. I am the current Replen/Merch manager. (Yes both roles)
I am currently being paid a little over $18 an hour with a shit ton of responsibilities.
Our framing manager who basically does jack shit and has little to no responsibilities is making about $24 an hour.
So my question is.. when should I quit and make a scene? Cuz this is complete bullshit. Especially with the part time CEM making about $0.30 less than me also.
submitted by RespondMediocre6511 to MichaelsEmployees [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 16:55 SecretlyHiddenSelf First and last round of the day (M.R.Solos)

It was so ridiculously bad. Not for my part… I still managed 11 kills, but my god is this game broken. No loadout drop, sound artifacts (I kept hearing the squishing noise like when you run through mud), and the hit detection… holy SHIT.
Chased a player and put damned near every round of my 45 round mag in their spine and cracked armor, then a second mag and they would not go down! I stuck them with a friggin Semtex, and it STILL didn’t down them. They literally turned around and looked at me as I opened up with a ground loot Lachlan Sub (3 attach) from about 15 feet. Then the just fucking blasted me with a dusting from a base Kastov.
Hopefully they fix this utter dogshit tomorrow. I’m off to the pool the rest of the day.
submitted by SecretlyHiddenSelf to CODWarzone [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 16:55 cruisingNW Foundations of Humanity 26 (First Impressions) - an NoP fanfic

Foundations of Humanity 26 (First Impressions) - an NoP fanfic
Thank you u/SpacePaladin15 for establishing the Nature of Predators Universe, and for allowing Fanfics to flourish!
Thank you again, u/Braquen, u/Acceptable_Egg5560, u/Liberty-Prime76 and u/BiasMushroom721 for proofreading! This is my side of the Nature of a Giant crossover!
Huu boi this got to 34k characters, so had to split the chapter. Hooray making a backlog!
First - Previous - [Next]
Memory transcription subject: Valek, Venlil tourist
Date [standardized human time]: Sept 11th, 2136. Middle of 3rd Claw
I thought of happy memories of the last time my class and I had visited, “I couldn’t figure it out last time, but I was just a pup with a bunch of other pups back then. I know it has something to do with reattaching lines in the right configuration, but every time I got close--”
A black mass. A yawning, toothy pit! Hungry barks! “Teeth! TEETH! PREDATOR!”
I could see the beast’s gaping maw crawling forward to swallow me whole! I couldn’t let it get me! It would eat me! I couldn’t stop my momentum; I just kept getting closer to the inky void and gnashing teeth! I collided with the predator and thrashed and flailed against its wild mane, before my back legs found purchase and I launched myself back from whence I came.
Maeve’s voice shouted from behind just before her arm wrapped around me and halted my retreat, “What the hell, Valek? There’s no Predators he-EOLY SHIT!”
Finding sanctuary against my mate, I found my voice once more. “Big! Teeth! Call the Exterminators! Help! Teeth!” I thrashed in Maeve’s arm, trying to scratch at my prowling assailant.
A voice echoed from near the threat as another form appeared. “What happened?” A human? Another threat? He’s near the predator! He was looking at us! “Y’all okay?” His head turned toward the beast. “You okay?”
“I’m fine! Mostly surprised!” It imitated a Venlil with its movements, but I knew better! “It’s okay! I’m not here to hurt you!”
It was toying with us! Trying to get us off-guard! “Don’t eat us!” Protect your mate! “She’s dealt with Predators already! You’ll be sorry!”
I suddenly felt Maeve shake me. “That’s enough, Valek; get a hold of yourself.”
Get a hold of myself? Doesn’t she realize the threat? The-
“You forgot to say I should be set on fire, or that I’m a freak of nature.” I heard the beast say, now grabbing the edges of the hallway. “In case you need suggestions for insults.”
My voice faltered as I tried to understand it. The words were there, but my mind just couldn’t accept them. Maeve fell silent above me, but continued to hold me fast.
The other human brought itself beside the giant, “Oh my! ‘Nother human! Howdy there!” He raised his hand to his head, touching two fingers to his forehead, then flicking them in our direction. A gesture of greeting.
My ears snapped to the human as I tried to reconcile the friendly gesture amid my panic. Maeve, however, was undeterred and floated past me, coming closer to the monster. Alvi held my shoulder, and supported us against a nearby rope.
“Wow! You… You’re huge!” She had that same wonder in her voice that she always had when she found something new.
In response, I heard the familiar whistle of a Venlil laugh. It was coming from the… it’s a Venlil? “Yes. It’s a condition.”
Maeve continued her approach. She didn’t look the least bit afraid. Even though her arm remained in a cast; a cast given to her by the last predator she tangled with. But continue, she did. “I didn’t know Venlil could display gigantism! That’s incredible!”
I blinked. Gigantism? The translator was unhelpfully vague, something about making things big. The giant seemed similarly confused, “I’m sorry, my translator didn’t quite get that. Display what?”
Maeve reached back to us and I took her hand, and Alvi’s in my other, before she pulled us with her along the corridor. “Gigantism. It’s when a tumor grows on the pituitary gland controlling growth hormones, which causes it to overproduce. It can cause people to grow extremely tall.”
The creature’s confusion seemed to grow, though its body wobbled along with its tail; excitement? “Humans have Marklen-Jauntes syndrome??” Maeve asked for clarification before it continued, “Marklen-Jauntes Syndrome, named after twin giants. Its symptoms are basically exactly what you described!”
Maeve clapped her hands together with a quiet snap, “Oh! It sure sounds like it!”
The giant pushed off from the doorway, and Maeve pulled us into the boxy junction. Their conversation faded in my ears as the realization hit me. It was a syndrome. A medical condition. Maeve had moved to float around the giant as she and the other pair began talking in earnest. I felt Alvi squeeze my paw. “Valek. You okay there?”
My ears fell in worry, “I… I don’t know. I mean look at it! How can Maeve not be terrified of that?”
Alvi ran her paw through the fur on my shoulder, “I think she may have seen worse by now.”
The memory of those shadestalkers on the ground, and Maeve’s shriek of furious pain on the wind sent a chill down my spine. “But shouldn’t that make her more cautious? Make sure that doesn’t happen again?”
Alvi tapped the tuft of her tail against me, a lilt of humor on her voice, “If Maeve were cautious, do you think she would have joined the program? Or came to the Berrypatch?”
I pulled Alvi tighter against me; she was absolutely right. My attention drifted back to their conversation; they were talking about the medical issues of giants. I fully focused on what they were saying as Maeve was finishing her thought,
“... Hopefully, with the Venlil's help, that will change!"
The giant’s ears fell in...shame? It has shame? “You would have to keep it secret. If it was known it was to help giants, the Venlil might refuse.”
Hold on, we would gladly help! “W-we wouldn’t!” The giant’s eyes and ears focused on me, while Maeve and the other human turned to face me. "Our people wouldn't keep secrets like that just because they're big! We may not be the ones in the clinic, but we would gladly offer medicine and equipment.”
The giant let out a deep huff, as if I told a bad joke! “Sir… I’m guessing you haven’t heard of me. Is that correct?”
“N-no?” My tail curled around Alvi and I at my admission. “Should I…?”
The giant’s massive tail swayed behind them, “I guess introductions are in order. My name is Tarlim.”
“The Venbig!” The human announced with a flourish while he slowly floated past ‘Tarlim’s’ front, while the latter whistled in amusement.
“Yes. The ‘Venbig.’ And the Texan there is Jacob.” I saw his tail wag at the name. A sign of fondness for a friend. “May I know who all of you are?”
“I am Maeve, a pleasure to meet you,” She nodded, as she shifted her grip on the rope to reveal Alvi and I behind her. “This is Valek, my exchange partner,” I reflexively flicked my ears in acknowledgment, “And this is Alvi, a close friend of ours.”
Alvi hadn’t moved much beyond floating. She had one eye turned to stare fully at the giant, but otherwise seemed to have locked up, as she had before.
The giant, Tarlim, returned our greeting with a polite bow as he steadied himself on some overhead netting. “Good to meet you. Now, the reason I asked is this: I was imprisoned in a correctional facility before I was able to escape.”
Escape?! I exclaimed, in thought and in voice, “Y-You escaped??”
The giant tried to deceive us, but it couldn’t keep its condition a secret! I put myself between it and Alvi, “Get away from him! He’s dangerous!”
Maeve tried to be kind, “Valek if he’s here I would hardly think-”
But she didn’t know what that meant! We made a promise that we would teach each other about our people, even the bad parts. I had to warn her about it! “Correctional Facilities are where we put dangerous Venlil! People with Predator Disease who have shown themselves to be a threat to the Herd! We try to teach them how to live with the Herd, but if he escaped? He's gotta be dangerous if he had to break out!” I kept the threatening beast in my sight as I put myself between them and my herd.
The beast crouched threateningly, Fixing me with a predatory stare as its ears locked onto me, “Dangerous? Do you know what they put me through in there? The people running those places are monsters!”
“They help people!” I protested, amazed that someone could see their own care as harmful. “They treat people so they are safe around the herd!”
“Oh, HA!” The beast’s face cracked in an angry snarl, “You must feel so safe when we’re strapped into chairs and electrified! Or jammed into rooms where the only safe floor is too small for everyone! It must be soooo perfect to hear about that!”
“Th… That…” They WHAT?! No! “No! Even if that were true, it would be to teach you to stick together! They… They wouldn’t do something like that if it didn’t work!” …right?
A tiny voice spoke behind me, but the beast bore down on my senses, “Stick together! Suuuure!” It’s tail lashed behind it. It was going to pounce! “That’s why they tried to kill me for making sure more people could fit in the Circle! And obviously the electric chair was for proper fear response! That's why they commissioned a chair with enough voltage to fry me from the inside out!”
“Electric chair? You were in an electric chair?” That same tiny voice. Alvi’s words pulled me from my maelstrom and I reached for salvation. I needed Maeve.
“Yes!” The Giant had turned his attention to Alvi as I flew towards my human. “I have been put in that-”
“I saw you on the TV!”
I was wrapping myself around Maeve when Alvi said that. She… saw him? He was on TV? All of us had fallen silent to watch her, including the giant.
“Which part?” It asked with a heavy breath. “The final judgment? The election debates?” I heard a whimper coming from its throat. “When… when my father…?”
Father? It had a father? Wait, why is that a surprise? They were born, so they must have had one.
Alvi spoke with what kindness she could, “I don’t remember much. I was still just a pup when the trial started, but I remember seeing your photo on the TV. My parents didn’t let me watch it after that. I started to research it after I moved out, that’s when I saw the Chair.”
I heard the giant growl. “That Brahking photo! They were so proud to hold me up even though I couldn’t!” Their attention swung back to me. “I don’t suppose, mister Valek, that was also justified?”
I stood tall at the challenge. This… They would not get past me. “I…! I don’t know about any photo! My Family doesn't have a TV, just a radio.”
They flicked their ears dismissively, before bringing them back to Alvi. Was it… kinder? When it was addressing her? “So you saw the chair.” They sighed. “It was only shown after the trial was done. Then you had to have seen what that management did. Instead of letting the place be investigated, they drove all the inmates outside so they could cause chaos! And slipped away while everyone was trying to figure out what happened!” It whistled a derisive laugh, “What about the crimes revealed? Producing and testing drugs to sell on the streets? How the sessions were altered for higher voltage? Oh! And do I even need to mention what happened to the women there?”
Its eye never left me, and I shrunk beneath it while Alvi spoke behind me, “No. No you don’t. What happened there was terrible, there’s no grooming that!”
“Worthy of the Arxur!” It huffed again. “What a title for that place. And you know what the worst part is?” It pointed directly at me with its primary claw; the insult clear in its seething voice. Singling me out as outside of the Herd. “I was in there because of that! Not some test, not Predator Disease, just stupid people Scared. O-Of. My. Size!!”
The rage in its throat was broken by its sobs, as its eyes bubbled with gathered tears, unable to fall for lack of gravity. This thing was crying? It had family, and it cried from remembered pain?
Maeve pushed off of her line, and drifted to the giant, her hand curling around their pointed claw and putting its paw back to their chest. Her words were quiet, a sharp contrast to the giant’s anguish. “I think that’s enough of that. I’m sorry that we had a rough start. We were in the wrong, and it wasn’t, and isn’t, ok for us to react like we did.”
We weren’t wrong! Look at it! How can we be wrong to be careful around something that could eat us without a thought?
I bet your dad thought the same thing.
The thought stopped my heart and flared my wool. When I saw it - No. Saw Him. - when I saw him I scratched and kicked, and I came out unscathed. He hadn’t so much as taken a single step toward us. Only talking. What happened? Why was I so afraid…
Maeve’s voice continued as my thoughts swirled, “We… are sorry for what happened, and want to make it right. I don’t want to intrude any more on your day with your partner, but can we treat you to something here? Valek tells me they have really good fried veg? I’ve never had Venlil Tempura before.”
Why is this familiar? What about this fear… The Meetup.
It-He… Tarlim? Heaved and hacked against waning sobs, barely croaking, “Y-You…you can’t make it right,” the words were only a whisper; barely captured at this distance. “This, all this, just made you more afraid of me. E-Every moment would be forced and shamed. Not genuine.”
This is the same fear I felt when I met Maeve. The same fear that was wrong. Fundamentally and completely. This fear…
Maeve answered without pause, “I think we could surprise you. But I won’t press it. Before I let you go, I’d like to end on a good…noooote…” Maeve checked her empty pockets, as her voice grew a more boisterous timbre, “ah man, I left my pad in the locker. Anyway, you’re way fluffier than the average Venlil, aren’t you? Well, humans have recorded something else called Hypertrichosis; Jacob may know it as Werewolf Syndrome. It manifests in humans as rapid and thick hair growth over their entire body! Jacob can show you when you get back to your pads. ”
Tarlim’s tail thrashed in distrust, but it-NO! HIS! ears fluttered, giving away their conflict. Maeve turned away and pulled herself back down the corridor we came from, scooping up Alvi and I as she passed. But I pulled away from her hand, meeting the eye of the giant.
Nothing about this fear is real. Who I am and what I do is MY CHOICE, and I had the gall to forget that.
“I reacted to you the same way I reacted to seeing Maeve for the first time - well, her hair, anyway. I’ve tried to be better, but I mess up sometimes. I’m… I’m sorry I messed up with you.”
I pushed off down the hall, and met my herd before we continued on.
“Wait!” We found our anchors, and turned to meet the bellowed plea. Tarlim dried his tears on his wool, before looking back at us. “There's a food court near the arcade.” Barely a pause as Tarlim took another breath; the same one I take when I make a Choice. “If we see each other there maybe… maybe we can start over…”
My mouth cracked in a human smile, and my tail swayed at the invitation. “I think I’d like that.”
Tarlim returned our kindness as we floated back down the corridor.
I wanted to just get back to having fun. I had come here with Maeve and Alvi to get away from reactions like that! Not… Not Be the reaction! This was- this was a vacation! Please just…
Breathe.
In. and Out. The Paw is not gone. We can make this work.
“Hey, Valek?” It was Maeve. My love, and my Choice. Her mask met my eye as I spun to meet her. “Are you OK?”
“I will be. I’m sorry for how I reacted.” I feigned a joyful flick and invited them to follow, “Come on! We can take another path and find something fun that way.” I floated ahead of my herd and led the way.
I checked behind me at the next turn and they were following a distance behind. Alvi showed her concern with her tail, while Maeve was unreadable through her mask. It was ok, we can put this behind us once we find something else to occupy us.
Well that was a disaster.
The Maze was more of a problem then I expected it to be. The maze itself was easy enough, but the ‘puzzle rooms’ turned out to be all of the rooms, but they were randomly activated. Sometimes we would fly into a room and it would shift color, pulling the supports into the wall and starting to list the game rules. The last room before we got out kept shifting the gravity, so by the time we made it to the exit we were exhausted in mind and body. Well, Alvi and I were. I don’t believe I had seen Maeve so energized.
“Wanna go again?!” Her voice was bubbling with sarcasm, and she couldn't contain her mischievous cackle when Alvi and I met her mask and signaled an emphatic No! In unison.
She pulled Alvi against her and asked her to hold on, quickly doing the same to me. She pushed off from the Maze exit to the open air in the center. She did the same kick as back in the maze and we started to spin, at which Maeve let go of the two of us to slow our inertia. We spun there together, holding paws and hands, before I spoke into the space between us.
“I’m sorry that I ruined the day. I thought we could go back to having fun, but I spoiled the mood.”
Maeve spoke first, “It’s alright Valek,”
Then Alvi, “It may not have been the best start, but he offered to try again.”
Maeve squeezed my paw and met my eye, “And I look forward to it. That's all we can really do: move forward.” She pulled us back into a tight hug, “Thank you, both of you, for a wonderful day.”
An angry gurgle bubbled up from our embrace, and Maeve continued, “But I could really do with a proper meal. Valek, you mentioned something about fried veg?”
I pulled away and looked around at the various signage, pointing at the exit we had entered from. “The food court connects with the Visor Arcade, so we can go out the way we came in.”
“Alright! Alvi, you hold on, and Valek? Don’t.”
“What?”
Maeve kicked her legs again and set us spinning quickly, before flinging me in the direction of the exit, and she and Alvi the opposite way. I may or may not have squealed in terror during my hasty flight.
I was able to catch a support line as I passed. I looked out to see that Maeve had done the same, and was just pushing off to come my direction; Alvi was completely wrapped around her torso, like she was caught out in Galetime.
My tail thrashed behind me in admonishment when Maeve was in ear-sense. “You evil woman! You could have killed me!”
I could hear her - no, Alvi! - giggling as they floated over! She was having the time of her life! Maeve defended herself breathlessly, “Oh, come on, that was barely a brisk walk. I knew you’d correct yourself, that’s why I threw you instead of Alvi.”
I hit the pad and opened the bulkhead as they met me, Maeve barely correcting against a passing line to float cleanly through the threshold. Alvi disengaged once we were all inside. “Also because I’m her favorite.”
I flattened my ears in playful anger while she stuck her tongue out at me, and Maeve spoke up from the button. “Now, now, children, I love you both equally. One is just a little more biblical than the other.”
A little more religious? What?
“But I think it is time to come back to earth.” her hand hovered over the button while Alvi and I found our supports.
A button pressed, a growing hum, and our feet met the floor … Eventually. We had forgotten to remember that the floor was White, so we all collapsed on the semi-soft ground head-first. Thank the Sun for padding!
“Okay!” I heard Alvi comment, “Seems we’ve been re-educated on where the ground is.” She stood, shaking her wool. “Wish it hadn’t been a crash course.”
Maeve cackled from the floor as I stood, “HaHa! Multilingual pun! I love it!”
She was still giggling when we walked over to help her up. We were just dusting ourselves and flattening errant tufts when the exit hatch opened, and we stepped outside.
Alvi was last to step over the bulkhead, nearly tripping as her paw caught its lip. Having recovered, she asked, “Anything else you would like to do before lunch Maeve?”
Maeve took a quiet breath as we all waved an excited goodbye to Shishi, cold can of Sprunk in paw. “Speaking from experience, if we wanna do VR, and I kinda do, eating before may be unwise.”
Having reached our locker, I waited for Maeve to don her burka, “The Visor Arcade is on the way, and I’d love to show you this quick sightseeing game. It’s pretty basic, but it will show a few other Federation Homeworlds too!”
Maeve’s voice lit up, and I regretted that her eyes were hidden, as I knew they were shining! “I can see More worlds?! Yes, please! Let’s do that!” Maeve bounded forward almost to around the corner. “Uh… Where is it?”
I flicked my tail teasingly, “It is where we are going. You shouldn’t go running off, you know how strangers are.”
Maeve stood at the corner with her good hand on her hip, “Well then be a good boy and lead the way!”
I could feel my snout quickly blooming.
Oh, that’s not fair.
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submitted by cruisingNW to HFY [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 16:54 RealJaxx Why cant i get rid of lice??

Alright, so ive had lice for around a month or two, and ive used the nix “shampoo” cream (and a lot of it too) atleast 3 times all one week apart and my head will feel great for 2-3 days after treatment and then get all itchy again after that point. I cannot find nits in my hair no matter how hard i look, and the only time ive ever combed out an actual lice was before the first treatment. I dont have a lice clinic near me, and i dont have anyone to comb out nits. Any advice?
submitted by RealJaxx to Lice [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 16:54 hottypotty124 Is second year uni harder than an HND at college?

So both are the same level academically from anybody that has experienced both I’m keen on your thoughts.
I ask this as I’ve been out of education a while and recently jumped back in and just completed my HNC and I’m looking to jump into second year uni doing ux design instead as ux design don’t offer HND college courses near me. My concern is the level of support as I do have adhd and lecturers have been excellent with me
submitted by hottypotty124 to UniUK [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 16:53 ehheadaches Exploring The Effectiveness Of Chiro Care For Cluster Headaches

Exploring The Effectiveness Of Chiro Care For Cluster Headaches
https://preview.redd.it/d7yul8sras2b1.jpg?width=730&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c3a4d4746b70aea831498056cfb546bc6925218c
Headaches can trigger people anytime and anywhere. Mostly they don’t last long, but the time they stay is enough to ruin the mood to do any constructive work. However, people who regularly face headaches may manage to work with it. Cluster headache is a kind of headache that also disturbs people with its annoying and unbearable pain in the head. However, Chiropractic Treatment can help to reduce headaches. Chiropractic Care has conventionally been used to treat illnesses like back pain. Still, studies have also examined how well it works to treat cluster headaches, a painful and incapacitating type. However, you must care for an expert like Dr Brian Nantais to get the best results.
If you opt for a Chiropractor Near Me in Canada, contact Dr Brian Nantais from Nantais Family Chiropractic at Elevation Health. He is an expert chiro and can offer top-notch care.
#DrBrianNantais
#NantaisFamilyChiropractic
#Windsor
#Ontario
#Canada
submitted by ehheadaches to u/ehheadaches [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 16:53 jollyspiffing Weekly Wildcard League Report - GW38

Weekly Wildcard League Report - GW38 Entries remain open, join code: 62bcum
The weekly wildcard league is a league with unlimited free-transfers trying to nail the dream team each week - see the joining details below.
This week in the fantasypl Weekly Wildcard League the Team Of The Week was 'Mansplaining FPL' managed by 'u/drearyDusk ⠀' with a GW score of '78'
Top scouts this GW
rank id team_name manager GW_points GW_transfers
1 3310022 Mansplaining FPL u/drearyDusk 78 7
2 7592633 Weekly Wanderers Mike Laskey 78 16
3 5010893 YOLO Sindre Haugen 77 14
4 456494 BEST ELEVEN James D Soh 76 7
5 16985 Catch me if you Kane SlipperySimplicity / 72 10
6 1274664 Areola’s Areolas Max Basta 71 3
7 4698648 Hits n Giggs Jimmy B 70 7
8 5069626 Born 2 be Wildcard Wildcard Sam 70 13
9 5705467 Vancouver Titans CHRISTOPHER GRAHAM 67 3
10 3091427 Liverpoops Alex Chen 67 21
11 1416472 Boly magas Parikshit CH 65 15
12 7596049 Savage vs Scout u/ Savage9645 65 9
13 1968231 Dream Team Tiago Costa 62 7
14 439319 Scouting for goals Scout Master 62 12
15 3273078 Harvardsportsblog Harvardsports. blogspot.com 61 10
16 1795393 PG Tips FC Steve Webb 60 6
17 8786569 Eberechi's Ebonies FMDK00 ( ͡❛ ͜ʖ ͡❛) 59 7
18 5796 WILDCARD BOYZ u/ Rembata37 58 14
19 7551062 YOLO Sindre Haugen 58 11
20 7022949 Official scout Official Scout 56 9
21 4199657 Sterling Effort Faust R. Peggi 56 8
22 9329092 La Casa Del Rey Don Oussama 51 6
23 8108322 The Misanthrope Victor Shawn Awatt 50 3
24 1110323 Flat Balls Thomas Illescas 49 11
25 406656 lacroix Charbel Bou Khalil 48 3
26 10118082 Borussia Teeth Idrees Awais 47 3
27 708428 Wildcard FC u/ chibibabymoon 42 4
28 259370 HaaLund ke Baal Jaggu WC 40 13
29 6304618 BaduRanciu George Bebeselea 36 3
30 4238920 AGP Max u/ Esseth 33 7
31 154428 Lollypop FC Olga Silbery 28 10
32 529864 stillTrashAtFPL Mwai Chatha 26 4
Favourite picks this GW
name selected captained gw_pts
Alexander-Arnold 28 0 4
Salah 24 11 5
Kane 22 6 16
Fernandes 15 2 10
Álvarez 14 1 2
Rashford 13 3 2
Eze 12 1 2
Ødegaard 11 1 3
Trippier 11 0 0
De Gea 10 0 7
Son 10 1 5
Wilson 9 1 1
Watkins 9 0 9
Tarkowski 9 0 8
Mahrez 7 0 2
Mitoma 6 0 1
Estupiñán 5 0 1
Gabriel 5 0 6
Maddison 5 1 2
Rodrigo 5 0 2
White 5 0 6
Guéhi 4 0 2
Ederson 4 0 3
McNeil 4 1 3
Ramsdale 4 0 6
Isak 3 0 2
Jesus 3 0 12
Pickford 3 0 5
Schär 3 0 2
Firmino 3 1 5
Castagne 3 0 2
Ramsey 3 0 9
Iheanacho 3 0 5
Johnstone 2 0 3
Saka 2 0 6
Garnacho 2 0 2
Alisson 2 0 0
Mbeumo 2 0 5
Dalot 2 0 2
Groß 2 0 5
Barnes 2 0 7
Andersen 2 0 2
Tsimikas 2 0 -1
Lewis 2 0 2
Mitrović 2 0 -1
Steele 1 0 2
Pinnock 1 0 15
Botman 1 0 3
Mac Allister 1 0 2
Foden 1 0 2
Mina 1 0 8
Aké 1 0 8
Casemiro 1 0 2
Arrizabalaga 1 0 3
Van Dijk 1 0 0
Wissa 1 0 2
Havertz 1 0 1
Henry 1 0 7
Enciso 1 0 2
Lindelöf 1 0 2
Douglas Luiz 1 0 7
Willian 1 0 5
Almirón 1 0 2
Ayling 1 0 0
Iversen 1 0 2
Keane 1 0 0
Bowen 1 0 1
Jones 1 0 1
Dubravka 1 0 3
Diogo Jota 1 0 13
Kelleher 1 0 2
Kiwior 1 0 13
Sergio Gómez 1 0 2
Martínez 1 0 3
Trossard 1 0 9
Palmer 1 0 2
Cash 1 0 1
Emerson Royal 1 0 2
Gibbs-White 1 0 4
Sancho 1 1 9
A.Doucouré 1 0 11
Overall weekly wildcard League:
rank id team_name manager total_score total_transfers
1 3310022 Mansplaining FPL u/drearyDusk 2605 234
2 8786569 Eberechi's Ebonies FMDK00 ( ͡❛ ͜ʖ ͡❛) 2571 374
3 7592633 Weekly Wanderers Mike Laskey 2563 329
4 456494 BEST ELEVEN James D Soh 2544 257
5 5705467 Vancouver Titans CHRISTOPHER GRAHAM 2534 98
6 7596049 Savage vs Scout u/ Savage9645 2506 302
7 16985 Catch me if you Kane SlipperySimplicity / 2486 224
8 8108322 The Misanthrope Victor Shawn Awatt 2476 86
9 406656 lacroix Charbel Bou Khalil 2469 130
10 4199657 Sterling Effort Faust R. Peggi 2443 317
11 3273078 Harvardsportsblog Harvardsports. blogspot.com 2440 193
12 439319 Scouting for goals Scout Master 2434 359
13 5069626 Born 2 be Wildcard Wildcard Sam 2428 283
14 708428 Wildcard FC u/ chibibabymoon 2426 211
15 1968231 Dream Team Tiago Costa 2425 167
16 5796 WILDCARD BOYZ u/ Rembata37 2419 261
17 4698648 Hits n Giggs Jimmy B 2417 276
18 7022949 Official scout Official Scout 2408 254
19 3091427 Liverpoops Alex Chen 2407 96
20 1416472 Boly magas Parikshit CH 2401 97
21 1274664 Areola’s Areolas Max Basta 2387 95
22 529864 stillTrashAtFPL Mwai Chatha 2365 154
23 1110323 Flat Balls Thomas Illescas 2348 238
24 4238920 AGP Max u/ Esseth 2295 172
25 1795393 PG Tips FC Steve Webb 2245 143
26 259370 HaaLund ke Baal Jaggu WC 2225 180
27 7551062 YOLO Sindre Haugen 2134 318
28 5010893 YOLO Sindre Haugen 2133 326
29 10118082 Borussia Teeth Idrees Awais 2114 83
30 6304618 BaduRanciu George Bebeselea 2061 159
31 154428 Lollypop FC Olga Silbery 2006 223
32 9329092 La Casa Del Rey Don Oussama 1969 89
Join the scout league:
The aim is to make a secondary FPL team to try and get the most points from your 1st XI each week, with no restrictions on transfers: - Transfers will not count against your "scout league" score (they will still be counted on the official site) - Points are only scored for the first XI each week, subs don't count. - Captain only, Vice-Captain will not be counted - Auto-subs will not be counted. - Chips will not be counted (you can play them if you want, but they won't affect your score)
I'm still confused how does this work? People in this league create a secondary team and try and pick the best XI each week without caring about transfer costs/hits. Scoring is done manually to exclude any transfers costs and also excludes bench players. The score/rank on the official site will usually be terrible because of the many transfers, but that's not what counts for this ML, it's what gets posted in the table above that counts.
submitted by jollyspiffing to FantasyPL [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 16:53 DrSeussFreak [NM] Mandalorian Fang Fighter vs TIE Interceptor (75348) / 69 Spots at $2/ea

DO NOT ADD A COMMENT TO YOUR PAYMENT; IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE MESSAGE ME BEFORE PAYING;
Item name: Mandalorian Fang Fighter vs TIE Interceptor (75348)
Set Price: $100 + $10 tax + $28 shipping
Justification: LEGO.com
Shipping: UPS Ground 3 lbs. 14 oz. 19x13x4 from 60035 to 98597
Price: $138
Call spots? Yes
Spot limit per person? N
Duration of spot limit? N/A
Location(Country): USA
Will ship international? Yes, outside CONUS, APO and PO pays the difference
Timestamp/pics: https://imgur.com/a/8sqnI7h
Description: Mando vs Tie, 2 awesome ships for any SW fan to have in their collection. Very small scuff mark on 1 side of box, pictured in timestamp.
Payment required w/in 10 minutes of raffle filling. 5 minutes for drama.
DM me for PayPal or GPay info.
DO NOT ADD A COMMENT TO YOUR PAYMENT; IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE MESSAGE ME BEFORE PAYING;

PayPal Info:
Cash App Info: https://cash.app

Tip BlobAndHisBoy
Number of vacant slots: 69
Number of unpaid users: 0
Number of unpaid slots: 0
This slot list is created and updated by The EDC Raffle Tool by BlobAndHisBoy.
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submitted by DrSeussFreak to lego_raffles [link] [comments]