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Ralo in my other ear say drop a statement on every fool
2023.03.20 17:03 warzonerq Ralo in my other ear say drop a statement on every fool
 | submitted by warzonerq to DuvalCounty [link] [comments] |
2023.03.20 16:58 Ok-Tiger9828 Ear Infection
 | I pulled this off of my daughter’s ear. She had it pierced a few months ago and it recently started bothering her. I went to clean the area and saw lots of dried blood. While cleaning it I found this string like thing near the piercing. I initially didn’t think anything of it but when put it down I swear I saw it move. Upon further inspection it’s done more moving. I don’t know where to go for help and don’t want to sound like a crazy person while talking to the doctor. Anyone on here have any ideas? submitted by Ok-Tiger9828 to Parasitology [link] [comments] |
2023.03.20 16:57 RangerFrank Deathworld Commando: Reborn-Vol.6 Ch.151- Epilogue.
CoverVol.1PreviousNextMapsWiki+DiscordRoyal RoadWebNovelTapasKo-FiFandom/wiki
Good morning everyone. Just a few quick things.
Sorry to those of you on Reddit. I messed up the tags for Part.3 of Chap.150 and it didn't send notifications out from the bots. I went ahead and reuploaded the chap so hopefully, you got it then.If not here and you missed it, here is part 3 of chapter 150.
One, thanks to all of you who have filled out the survey. And to those of you who haven't and still want to, make sure you do so because I will cut the survey off on the 19th.
Link=https://forms.gle/bpqSdg2aEHBGnLKY7
Two, as I mentioned at the end of the last chap, I am taking a small break to recoup and get everything fixed up for the recap of Vol.6. I shall see you again on Thursday the 23rd for the Side Stories and for the final week of double posting.
I think the Side Stories are pretty fun this time, as we get some action, adventure, and behind-the-scenes events. As well as checking in on some others :D
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this epilogue as we are going to get some action with our old friends in Hades Squad.
---
Year 2517, floating somewhere in Federation deep space.
“Heimdall, I don’t mean to question orders, but is something like this actually possible?” Apollo asked as he settled into his harness.
“Yeah, they are keeping us in the dark about this new tech. I don’t really like that,” Hephaestus added.
“And it almost killed you! What the hell is that, huh? They just expect us to—”
“Relax, Artemis, everyone. It’s as they say. I had the same concerns, but Suárez cured all my worries. I saw it with my own eyes. And the tech is being kept on the down-low for reasons just like this. Besides, we might all be freedom fighters and allies in this war, but we are still just soldiers,” I told them, wagging a finger at them.
“So it’s possible to rip a ship out of warp?” Apollo asked, his blue eyes piercing into me.
I nudged Va'cot. “Well, you tell them, won’t you?”
Va'cot nodded slightly. “The Council was working on anti-warp technology for many years, but as far as I’m aware, it never left the initial stages. They lacked any reliable power source to affect ships,” she said in her usual toneless voice.
“But now things are different, huh?” Artemis mused.
She’s right. Things are different now, and we experienced that firsthand.
The anti-warp tech was the real deal, and it nearly took my life. We got our first taste of it on the raid on that space station. I got hit by multiple bullets, and they all left nasty wounds that took an extended amount of time to heal. It was like they left a lingering curse on me or something like that.
It turned out it had to do with these new crystals the Federation found, and we managed to capture one on that very station. That’s why they were so hellbent on blowing it to kingdom come. They resembled the crystals everyone used for warp travel, but these new crystals were… different.
The crystals used in warp drives came in a myriad of bright colors and sizes. Some were as large as a man, and others could even get as big as a bear. It just depended, and as far as we could tell, the color never mattered, and the size just indicated how big of a ship it could move. Those were the only fundamental differences.
But these new crystals were pitch black and smaller, no longer than a finger. But they exuded some kind of sickening aura. The second they busted it out of its containment, I wanted to vomit, which was a new experience for me. The thing felt perverse and wholly wrong, like an evil artifact of some type.
But I’ll be damned, evil, god-given, whatever its power was, the thing was powerful. Two finger-sized crystals were enough to rip a ship out of warp, something that I wasn’t able to believe ‘till I saw it with my own eyes.
When I sat on the bridge of the Stormpike and watched a frigate get pulled out from warp, suddenly, I felt as if I had witnessed a significant change in the way of the galaxy, and I was glad the Council never got their hands on the technology. While in the warp, it was thought that a ship was untouchable until it came out from its warp point.
And it’s not like warping around was omnipotent. It had its limits, and everything had a cost. But regardless…
It’s a shame we only have ten crystals in total. We have no idea where the Federation got them or how many they have in stock, but we think it’s only a few, and they don’t seem to know about pulling ships out of warp yet. And we are sadly already down six. And two of them are about to be used to pull this mission off.
“Whatever, it doesn’t matter if we know how it works,” Artemis said, shrugging her shoulders. “If it gets me face to face with that old hag so I can rip her arm off and beat her to death, then that’s all that matters.”
There was a moment when none of us said anything. Typically it would be best to…steer away from that kind of talk before a life-or-death capture mission, but I felt that everyone was of the same mind. I think, given a chance, everyone would do what Artemis was thinking.
Well, maybe not Va’cot. She’s a good girl when she isn’t trying to slice someone’s throat.
“Now, now. You know we can’t do that,” I chastised half-heartedly. “If you killed her then everything would be for naught, Artemis.”
Artemis clicked her tongue. “Fine, one swift kick to the ribs oughta do it. I promise I won’t break her in half.”
I just chucked wryly. “What you don’t know is that we already lost life to get this information. I’m sure that person is rolling in their grave right after hearing you.”
Artemis begrudgingly nodded in agreement. “But is all of this information accurate? It’s so little, and we were not able to confirm it. Right, Heimdall?” Apollo argued.
I sighed internally but also couldn’t help but remark on just how much everyone had changed. Once upon a time, it was unthinkable for any of these people to question the validity of a mission. Sure, some gripes or questions needed to be answered for clarity, but outright skepticism?
Twenty years ago, that was unthinkable. Guess it all changed because of him, huh?
“Our ever lovely Suárez personally guaranteed that the mole was a trustworthy source. It’s taken us all this time just to find a single trace of her after the war, so this is all we’ve got. It’s now or never,” I explained.
Everyone nodded to themselves and relaxed a bit. It’s not like it would have changed anything, whether the mole was suspicious or not. We’d been waiting for an opportunity like this for over a decade by that point.
”Besides, I’m running out of time,” I muttered quietly to myself as I closed my cybernetic hands.
I had lost the use of both my arms the previous year. Every part of my body ached, and getting up in the morning was becoming more of a challenge with every sleepless night I went through. That was another thing: sleep.
I didn’t have to sleep all that much compared to a normal Human. Back in the day, I could go weeks without even a wink of sleep and still be right in the ol’ mind. But as the sand of my youth trickled down the hourglass, I’d wanted to sleep more than ever.
Getting old sucks. Suárez told me that I only had a few more years, even if I stopped what I was doing and retired for good. Not that I have any plans of doing so. I’m in too deep to go back to AJS and plant flowers with the kids again…
Well, it is what it is—just another mission.
I stood up from my seat and looked out at the four people in my squad. “As all of you already know, this mission is both critical and dangerous. We have forty minutes to succeed, thirty minutes for the warp drive to warm up after taking the ship out, and ten to extract. That also includes the time it takes for their comms to come back on and send a signal.”
I rolled my shoulders and cracked my neck. “I don’t need to remind you that we are far from any kind of backup. If we miss that forty-minute deadline, the two cruisers are to leave without us, and we are to sabotage the enemy vessel and go down with it”
Everyone nodded a single time. “Our primary goal is to secure the doctor alive by any means necessary. If things turn for the worse, we are to eliminate her along with the ship. The mole couldn’t give us concrete details on her security, but it shouldn’t be a surprise. We are expecting at least two squads of Gen 3s on a frigate, along with marines. The old doctor moves fast and light these days, which is good for us.”
“This isn’t going to be a walk in the park. We may have the element of surprise, but that will only last so long. In order to save time, we are aiming for the center of the ship while another squad will hit the lower decks. We split up and cover as much ground as we can on the upper floors and take the escape pods so we can get scooped up by our friendlies…” I trailed off.
Everyone just watched me in silence, so I just sighed and sat down. “What’s the point? Everyone already knows what to do,” I groaned.
I felt Va’cot’s pink eyes staring at me, so I turned to look at her. She nodded quickly and gave me a thumbs-up. I chuckled to myself and gave her one back.
At least somebody appreciated my recap.
Just then, the hue of the hull changed into a soft yellow. That meant it was time to get ready. Like the well-oiled machines we all were, we donned our helmets, grabbed our weapons of choice, and locked ourselves into our harnesses. The time for conversation was over, and it was now time for action.
In just a scant five minutes, the area was bathed in an ominous red light. “Readings indicate an inbound warp jump. Warp point being formed,” the ships onboard AI mono voice echoed.
It could have been a minute or an eternity before the cold metallic voice rang out once more. “Target acquired. Launching in three…two…one.”
The engines roared to life as I was thrown into the back of my seat. Even with my harness, I shook like a madman as the ship rocketed off toward its target. It was always a weird thing, being in a metal coffin about to smack into another metal coffin in the middle of empty space.
The only bright side was that it took the enemy's ship a few moments to fire at us. Thankfully it was standard procedure to power down weapons in warp jump as there was no need to waste power, and it took some time for even small-caliber point-defense systems to come online. And all we needed was those few moments.
Boom.
Crash.
Everyone rocked in their seats as the Tiger rammed into the enemy ship and burrowed its way through the hull using its plasma shield as a ram. Eventually, everything stopped, and the harnesses were quickly released. We stacked up at the front, and the room was bathed in bright green light as the gangplank smashed down.
We were in a long hallway, and my eyes immediately locked on a figure. He had just missed being crushed by the gangplank and looked up at me with teary eyes. I never heard what he tried to say as I crushed his skull under my weight.
Bolter fire thundered off as we mowed down hordes of people frantically leaving their rooms. We had landed in a barracks, and nearly all the hostiles were unarmed besides a handful with pistols. I watched a round ricochet off Hephaestus’s helmet, only for him to turn slightly and reduce the offender’s head into a pink mist.
We made short work of anyone who was still left breathing, and our squad split. I took Va’cot and headed toward the bridge while the others moved on to the ship’s armory and ammo storage. There was no conversation between us, we knew what needed to be done, and we all went about our tasks diligently.
Va’cot and I cleared room after room, hoping to score a lucky break, but all we ended up finding were those attempting to arm themselves or those hiding in their bunks. We didn’t have time to execute every single sailor, but a quick shredder grenade into each room was enough to paint the walls red.
The sound of heavy boots on the floor echoed in the distance, and I gave Va’cot a signal to cloak herself and hide in the doorway. Two figures, both towering over six feet tall and clad in sleek black armor, raced down the hallway with bolters at the ready.
Unfortunately for one of them, they got too close to Va’cot, and she deftly swung her plasma sword. The air hissed with plasma fire, and she cleanly separated the Death Commando’s head from his shoulders. Unfortunately for us, the second wouldn’t be so easy.
I fired two rounds, hoping to hit center mass and a leg, but the commando was quick on the reaction. He threw his body into a doorway and returned fire. It was only thanks to our new Elunari-equipped plasma shields that those bolter rounds didn’t cave in my chest.
The rounds tried to force their way through the shield, only to detonate harmlessly on the outside. My shield hummed from the strain, and I went into the adjacent room. I flicked my visor’s heat sensor on, a new tool courtesy of the Coalition, and I tried to track the Death Commando, but no dice. His armor was far too well shielded thermally to be seen through a thick metal wall.
But his gun’s barrel wasn’t.
I took aim and shot through the wall, tracing the barely visible smear of red. My shots seemed to be missing until Va’cot tossed a plasma grenade into the door. I watched as the small ball of red fire grew in my vision into a miniature sun until it exploded.
The blast rocked the room and kicked up dust, and I wasted no time in reloading and sending more rounds at the target’s last known position. I ceased my fire, reloaded, and counted to ten, waiting for any heat signatures or noises, but nothing came.
We checked and cleared the room, both enemy combatants were dead, but there was no time for celebration. We immediately went back to our search, and when we stepped into the hallway, a hail storm of gunfire barraged us. Rounds clanked and bounced off our armor harmlessly and the two of us returned fire.
The squad of unfortunate souls was reduced to nothing but their legs as rounds burrowed into their chests and exploded. “Marines and Death Commandos engaged. Two combatants neutralized,” I radioed.
I checked the status of the rest of my squad, and they were all green, as was our friendly squad. There were quick flashes of acknowledgements, and Apollo’s voice filled one of my ears. “Marines have been engaged, no Death Commandos,” he said quickly.
Huh, does that mean she is on the bridge after all? It was considered to be less likely, considering she is a researcher. Well, let’s find out.
Va’cot and I wordlessly continued our slaughter, meeting only the bare resistance of marines and crew members. Eventually, power flicked out on the ship, and the bulkhead doors slammed closed. But we planned for that as well.
We had plenty of pre-made charges to blow all the way to the bridge if need be. I quickly placed the charge and—
Boom.
Huh?
I stared in surprise. The bulkhead door was dented inward, but it still remained standing. Considering that we had the schematics, we knew very well what was needed to blow through these doors. We even added a bit more just in case something like that occurred, but to think they reinforced them that much.
“This means we are in the right place,” Va’cot said through our system firmly as she sliced the near-broken door with her sword.
“That’s one way to look at it,” I responded.
It took a bit longer than we had planned, but we eventually arrived at the door to the bridge. The place was sealed shut, and I had to plant multiple explosives to even dent the thing. It was also a problem that we hadn’t run into anyone since the doors started dropping.
“They are either all in here, or we are going to get ambushed when we—”
My words were cut off as the door opened slightly, and a storm of bolter and rifle fire smashed into us. My shield whined and flickered from the intensity, and we were forced to find cover only for grenades to be tossed at us.
The fragmentation grenades exploded and peppered us with shrapnel but left us mostly unharmed. I ended up taking a piece to the fingers in between my armor plates, but nothing that I couldn’t handle. I looked over at Va’cot, and she had a nice long gash in her visor. One of the pieces must have slipped through her shield and cracked it.
“From the pattern of fire, there is one bolter deep, one on the right and one on the left,” I said.
Va’cot nodded her head. “I will eliminate the one on the right.”
“I’ll aim for the left, and we both get the center,” I said back to her.
Our conversation ended just like that, and I immediately set the charges off on the now-closed bridge door. A powerful shockwave rolled past us, and the lights flickered on and off, and the warship rocked from the force. Va’cot tossed plasma grenades, and I threw in shredder grenades before entering, making short work of the crew and marines.
The flurry of hell we sent in was our cover, and we relied on our shields for any blows. I trusted Va’cot fully, so I didn’t bother checking if she was going to be okay. I swept my side, and it was clear with the bodies of dozens of marines and crew members ripped to the shreds. I found a Death Commando still standing on the left, albeit seriously injured but alive and with a gun raised.
The third generation had the lowest tolerance to Ambrosia of all the generations, but regardless of tolerance, if enough of the stuff was pumped into their veins, they were still dangerous. Despite missing an arm, he wielded his bolter from the hip and fired at me.
The shots impacted my shield, and I sent immediate rounds back to him. And he didn’t have a shield. Most of my shots bounced off his armor or didn’t penetrate deep enough for an injury, but one of them hit him in the neck. He dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes as the round burrowed through him.
They just don’t make them like they used to. The Gen 3s are just so fragile compared to us. Too Human.
Va’cot was in a similar state as she had taken out her target, and a quick scan showed the middle Death Commando had perished before we entered. The room was now quiet, filled only with the groans of dying Humans. We moved quickly.
I turned heat vision on and confirmed five signatures hiding in the panic room. The door was locked up like a vault safe and was well hidden behind a panel. It was meant for situations like this, but it only worked if the boarders didn’t know of its existence.
“Cut it open. We can’t risk explosives now,” I ordered.
Va’cot set to work, and I finished off any survivors before standing guard for her. “Va’cot and I have secured the bridge. One Death Commando squad was eliminated. Doctor Octario has not been found, and we are breaching the panic room.”
“The lower floors are clear, no Death Commandos or targets. Planting charges on warp drive,” an AI voice said through comms.
It must be a species that doesn’t speak English leading the lower floor squad, interesting.
“We are under heavy fire. Resistance is concentrated at the armory. Requesting backup,” Apollo said calmly.
“We’ll be there in a moment,” I told him. “Va’cot, status?”
“Five Humans, three males, and two females. No elderly females in the safe room,” Va’cot radioed.
“Then let’s move to Apollo.”
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
We made sure to raise the bulkhead doors and destroy the systems as well as any communication units before racing through the halls back to our squad. Resistance was minimal, only stragglers who had managed to arm themselves from their deceased comrades. However, the sounds of heavy gunfire could be heard as we approached.
We made it to a hallway that was a literal blinding flash of light. Sadly, scanning for life forms wasn’t possible because of the metal used by the Federation. However, we could see the positions of our squad mates. They were pinned down in adjacent rooms by gunfire.
“They are stalling for time. We have ten minutes, Sir,” Va’cot stated.
Yeah, I know…damn. To think she would be toward the armory. How annoying.
“Squad two, can you place charges on the lower deck at the junction to the armory?” I asked.
“Affirmative. Two minutes for placement,” the synthetic voice said.
“You heard them, return fire and keep them busy,” I said into my helmet.
I received the affirmative, and we continued to trade fire. There was no way for us to press forward safely. Even if we maxed out plasma shields and used external shields, we would succumb to this kind of concentrated fire. They even had a heavy bolter in place, which would make quick work of us if we were to rush forward blindly.
“Hey! What if those explosions kill that hag or blow us the hell up?!” Artemis growled into her helmet as she blew the head off a marine that peaked in too far with her railgun.
“We can’t be passive because we are running out of time. If the explosions kill her and ignite the ammo, so be it. Remember why we are here,” I told her firmly.
Artemis said nothing for a moment before sending a few more shots. “Yeah, I know! I just want my chance!”
“Charges are placed,” the voice called out.
“Do it now.”
Boom.
A quick shock wave rolled past us and rocked the ship, only for a fire wave to snake down the hallway. The gunfire was momentarily halted, only to be replaced by the agonizing screams of dying Humans, which didn’t last long. Instead of waiting for the wave to fizzle out, we all pushed through it with Hephaestus at the front.
The walls were scorched black, and the entire floor had been blown inwards. There were no survivors. We had to skate by on the edges to avoid dropping to the lower floors, and we quickly pushed through the junction. There was only token resistance left until we reached a sturdy vault-like door made of black metal.
Hephaestus peeked through the thick glass and ducked down before a round echoed off the metal. “There are people in there, two Death Commandos and a handful of crew members. And so is she.”
“Target located. She is holed up in the armory,” I radioed in.
“Understood. Warp drive charges are set. We are prepping for extraction and shall take the furthest escape pods from you. There are less than ten minutes remaining, Commander,” the synthetic voice said.
Yeah, I know…damn this is gonna be a pain.
“Well, it looks like the ammo didn’t cook. Sucks for her,” Artemis spat.
“No explosives. We’ll kill her for sure. We have little time. Do we retreat?” I asked them.
Four heads turned to me, and they all looked at each other and then back at me. “I have no plans of going back now,” Apollo said firmly.
“Aye, aye, I’m with him,” Hephaestus agreed as he moved to cover us.
Artemis was already back to cutting a hole in the door. “You already know my answer. This is what I signed up for. Either I’m killing her, or she is coming with us, no in-between.”
I looked at Va’cot, but all I could see was the reflection in her blue visor. “I would like to help everyone,” she said with a nod.
“Well, then it’s settled, I guess. Let’s nab her,” I said with a chuckle and shrug.
“Don’t worry. These bastards are dead. I don’t need explosives to kill them,” Artemis stated with conviction.
“Then we will cover you,” I said as I nodded to Va’cot.
“Hey, big guy! I’m gonna need you to rip this door off in a minute. Can you do it!?” Artemis yelled, purposely letting her voice out through her helmet and into the room.
“Yeah, probably,” Heph said with a shrug.
Artemis never stopped working on the door as she clicked her tongue. “Probably?! What the hell are we feeding you for, huh?! You can’t be that big for nothing!”
We all fired down the hallway as a few stragglers attempted to ambush us. Artemis’s yells must have forced them out of hiding and given them some false hope. Nevertheless, we made short work of them.
“Now then…time to die,” Artemis mumbled to herself as she sat on her butt and forced her railgun into the hole.
Her weapon came to life and crackled with red lightning. The air around her whizzed with power as she fired off two thunderous shots in quick order and pulled the rifle out.
“Both the DCs are dead. Just the grunts left,” Artemis said as she made room for Hephaestus.
The giant of a man dug his hand into the door frame and began to yank. It was impressive, to say the least. Those doors were meant to stop the explosion of ammo being cooked off, yet he was ripping them off the hinges slowly but surely.
“There are five minutes remaining,” Va’cot stated in her toneless voice.
“You’re—not—helping! Va’cot!” Heph said through gritted teeth.
“If I were to stand there, I would only get in the way. You are too big,” she stated.
That was… rhetorical, well, whatever.
Rip.
Hephaestus’s muscles bulged, and the door started to pry open. Once he got enough of a purchase, he forced his entire hand into it and peeled the door back like a can of sardines and tore it straight off the hinges, tossing it down the hall with ease.
“Damn, that hurt,” Hephaestus grumbled as gunfire bounced off his armor.
A few quick shots and the rest of the combatants were eliminated. The only people left were the cowering crew in the corner and a lone elderly woman in a dirty blood-splattered lab coat standing tall before us.
She glared at us with eyes that said she was more annoyed than anything. It was almost like she was a mother that came home only to see something disappointing. It made me want to punch her in the throat.
The first to reach her was Artemis. Her leg moved so swiftly that I nearly missed it, and I didn’t even have a chance to stop her. Doctor Octario rocked to the side like a bow and was launched like an arrow into the wall and was promptly knocked unconscious.
“That was for the Commander,” Artemis said, her voice cold and devoid of even rage.
There is a big difference between thinking and doing things, Artemis! But I have no time to complain!
“Grab her, and let’s move. We are running out of time,” I ordered calmly.
Apollo instantly injected the doctor with a syringe and tossed her over his shoulder before I could even finish the sentence. Time was not on our side, and we ran as fast as our legs could take us to the nearest escape pods.
We ignored the marines attempting to block our way with bolter fire, and we piled into a pod that was not meant for this many people or even people of our sizes. Hephaestus was the last in and the poor guy barely fit, but the second he cleared the door, I smashed the button to launch us.
“Stern side! Launching now!” I barked into the radio.
Our bodies rocked violently as the pod jettisoned into the void of space. I peeked out the front glass and saw multiple warp points forming in the inky blackness. The distress signal was sent. And an entire fleet was descending on us. But a shadow quickly loomed over us, and we were jostled again, caught by our friendly ship.
“We are reeling you in, Hades Squad! Get ready for a warp jump the second you get inside!” the captain yelled at us.
“Wait! We are packed in here like sardines. We are screwed if you jump!” Artemis yelled back.
“Too bad! We are jumping, soldiers! You’ll live!” he yelled back.
Damn, this is not going to be fun. I’m going to need a new spine after this. Well, mission accomplished, I guess.
submitted by RangerFrank to HFY [link] [comments]
Good morning everyone. Just a few quick things.
Sorry to those of you on Reddit. I messed up the tags for Part.3 of Chap.150 and it didn't send notifications out from the bots. I went ahead and reuploaded the chap so hopefully, you got it then.If not here and you missed it, here is part 3 of chapter 150.
One, thanks to all of you who have filled out the survey. And to those of you who haven't and still want to, make sure you do so because I will cut the survey off on the 19th.
Link=https://forms.gle/bpqSdg2aEHBGnLKY7
Two, as I mentioned at the end of the last chap, I am taking a small break to recoup and get everything fixed up for the recap of Vol.6. I shall see you again on Thursday the 23rd for the Side Stories and for the final week of double posting.
I think the Side Stories are pretty fun this time, as we get some action, adventure, and behind-the-scenes events. As well as checking in on some others :D
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this epilogue as we are going to get some action with our old friends in Hades Squad.
---
Year 2517, floating somewhere in Federation deep space.
“Heimdall, I don’t mean to question orders, but is something like this actually possible?” Apollo asked as he settled into his harness.
“Yeah, they are keeping us in the dark about this new tech. I don’t really like that,” Hephaestus added.
“And it almost killed you! What the hell is that, huh? They just expect us to—”
“Relax, Artemis, everyone. It’s as they say. I had the same concerns, but Suárez cured all my worries. I saw it with my own eyes. And the tech is being kept on the down-low for reasons just like this. Besides, we might all be freedom fighters and allies in this war, but we are still just soldiers,” I told them, wagging a finger at them.
“So it’s possible to rip a ship out of warp?” Apollo asked, his blue eyes piercing into me.
I nudged Va'cot. “Well, you tell them, won’t you?”
Va'cot nodded slightly. “The Council was working on anti-warp technology for many years, but as far as I’m aware, it never left the initial stages. They lacked any reliable power source to affect ships,” she said in her usual toneless voice.
“But now things are different, huh?” Artemis mused.
She’s right. Things are different now, and we experienced that firsthand.
The anti-warp tech was the real deal, and it nearly took my life. We got our first taste of it on the raid on that space station. I got hit by multiple bullets, and they all left nasty wounds that took an extended amount of time to heal. It was like they left a lingering curse on me or something like that.
It turned out it had to do with these new crystals the Federation found, and we managed to capture one on that very station. That’s why they were so hellbent on blowing it to kingdom come. They resembled the crystals everyone used for warp travel, but these new crystals were… different.
The crystals used in warp drives came in a myriad of bright colors and sizes. Some were as large as a man, and others could even get as big as a bear. It just depended, and as far as we could tell, the color never mattered, and the size just indicated how big of a ship it could move. Those were the only fundamental differences.
But these new crystals were pitch black and smaller, no longer than a finger. But they exuded some kind of sickening aura. The second they busted it out of its containment, I wanted to vomit, which was a new experience for me. The thing felt perverse and wholly wrong, like an evil artifact of some type.
But I’ll be damned, evil, god-given, whatever its power was, the thing was powerful. Two finger-sized crystals were enough to rip a ship out of warp, something that I wasn’t able to believe ‘till I saw it with my own eyes.
When I sat on the bridge of the Stormpike and watched a frigate get pulled out from warp, suddenly, I felt as if I had witnessed a significant change in the way of the galaxy, and I was glad the Council never got their hands on the technology. While in the warp, it was thought that a ship was untouchable until it came out from its warp point.
And it’s not like warping around was omnipotent. It had its limits, and everything had a cost. But regardless…
It’s a shame we only have ten crystals in total. We have no idea where the Federation got them or how many they have in stock, but we think it’s only a few, and they don’t seem to know about pulling ships out of warp yet. And we are sadly already down six. And two of them are about to be used to pull this mission off.
“Whatever, it doesn’t matter if we know how it works,” Artemis said, shrugging her shoulders. “If it gets me face to face with that old hag so I can rip her arm off and beat her to death, then that’s all that matters.”
There was a moment when none of us said anything. Typically it would be best to…steer away from that kind of talk before a life-or-death capture mission, but I felt that everyone was of the same mind. I think, given a chance, everyone would do what Artemis was thinking.
Well, maybe not Va’cot. She’s a good girl when she isn’t trying to slice someone’s throat.
“Now, now. You know we can’t do that,” I chastised half-heartedly. “If you killed her then everything would be for naught, Artemis.”
Artemis clicked her tongue. “Fine, one swift kick to the ribs oughta do it. I promise I won’t break her in half.”
I just chucked wryly. “What you don’t know is that we already lost life to get this information. I’m sure that person is rolling in their grave right after hearing you.”
Artemis begrudgingly nodded in agreement. “But is all of this information accurate? It’s so little, and we were not able to confirm it. Right, Heimdall?” Apollo argued.
I sighed internally but also couldn’t help but remark on just how much everyone had changed. Once upon a time, it was unthinkable for any of these people to question the validity of a mission. Sure, some gripes or questions needed to be answered for clarity, but outright skepticism?
Twenty years ago, that was unthinkable. Guess it all changed because of him, huh?
“Our ever lovely Suárez personally guaranteed that the mole was a trustworthy source. It’s taken us all this time just to find a single trace of her after the war, so this is all we’ve got. It’s now or never,” I explained.
Everyone nodded to themselves and relaxed a bit. It’s not like it would have changed anything, whether the mole was suspicious or not. We’d been waiting for an opportunity like this for over a decade by that point.
”Besides, I’m running out of time,” I muttered quietly to myself as I closed my cybernetic hands.
I had lost the use of both my arms the previous year. Every part of my body ached, and getting up in the morning was becoming more of a challenge with every sleepless night I went through. That was another thing: sleep.
I didn’t have to sleep all that much compared to a normal Human. Back in the day, I could go weeks without even a wink of sleep and still be right in the ol’ mind. But as the sand of my youth trickled down the hourglass, I’d wanted to sleep more than ever.
Getting old sucks. Suárez told me that I only had a few more years, even if I stopped what I was doing and retired for good. Not that I have any plans of doing so. I’m in too deep to go back to AJS and plant flowers with the kids again…
Well, it is what it is—just another mission.
I stood up from my seat and looked out at the four people in my squad. “As all of you already know, this mission is both critical and dangerous. We have forty minutes to succeed, thirty minutes for the warp drive to warm up after taking the ship out, and ten to extract. That also includes the time it takes for their comms to come back on and send a signal.”
I rolled my shoulders and cracked my neck. “I don’t need to remind you that we are far from any kind of backup. If we miss that forty-minute deadline, the two cruisers are to leave without us, and we are to sabotage the enemy vessel and go down with it”
Everyone nodded a single time. “Our primary goal is to secure the doctor alive by any means necessary. If things turn for the worse, we are to eliminate her along with the ship. The mole couldn’t give us concrete details on her security, but it shouldn’t be a surprise. We are expecting at least two squads of Gen 3s on a frigate, along with marines. The old doctor moves fast and light these days, which is good for us.”
“This isn’t going to be a walk in the park. We may have the element of surprise, but that will only last so long. In order to save time, we are aiming for the center of the ship while another squad will hit the lower decks. We split up and cover as much ground as we can on the upper floors and take the escape pods so we can get scooped up by our friendlies…” I trailed off.
Everyone just watched me in silence, so I just sighed and sat down. “What’s the point? Everyone already knows what to do,” I groaned.
I felt Va’cot’s pink eyes staring at me, so I turned to look at her. She nodded quickly and gave me a thumbs-up. I chuckled to myself and gave her one back.
At least somebody appreciated my recap.
Just then, the hue of the hull changed into a soft yellow. That meant it was time to get ready. Like the well-oiled machines we all were, we donned our helmets, grabbed our weapons of choice, and locked ourselves into our harnesses. The time for conversation was over, and it was now time for action.
In just a scant five minutes, the area was bathed in an ominous red light. “Readings indicate an inbound warp jump. Warp point being formed,” the ships onboard AI mono voice echoed.
It could have been a minute or an eternity before the cold metallic voice rang out once more. “Target acquired. Launching in three…two…one.”
The engines roared to life as I was thrown into the back of my seat. Even with my harness, I shook like a madman as the ship rocketed off toward its target. It was always a weird thing, being in a metal coffin about to smack into another metal coffin in the middle of empty space.
The only bright side was that it took the enemy's ship a few moments to fire at us. Thankfully it was standard procedure to power down weapons in warp jump as there was no need to waste power, and it took some time for even small-caliber point-defense systems to come online. And all we needed was those few moments.
Boom.
Crash.
Everyone rocked in their seats as the Tiger rammed into the enemy ship and burrowed its way through the hull using its plasma shield as a ram. Eventually, everything stopped, and the harnesses were quickly released. We stacked up at the front, and the room was bathed in bright green light as the gangplank smashed down.
We were in a long hallway, and my eyes immediately locked on a figure. He had just missed being crushed by the gangplank and looked up at me with teary eyes. I never heard what he tried to say as I crushed his skull under my weight.
Bolter fire thundered off as we mowed down hordes of people frantically leaving their rooms. We had landed in a barracks, and nearly all the hostiles were unarmed besides a handful with pistols. I watched a round ricochet off Hephaestus’s helmet, only for him to turn slightly and reduce the offender’s head into a pink mist.
We made short work of anyone who was still left breathing, and our squad split. I took Va’cot and headed toward the bridge while the others moved on to the ship’s armory and ammo storage. There was no conversation between us, we knew what needed to be done, and we all went about our tasks diligently.
Va’cot and I cleared room after room, hoping to score a lucky break, but all we ended up finding were those attempting to arm themselves or those hiding in their bunks. We didn’t have time to execute every single sailor, but a quick shredder grenade into each room was enough to paint the walls red.
The sound of heavy boots on the floor echoed in the distance, and I gave Va’cot a signal to cloak herself and hide in the doorway. Two figures, both towering over six feet tall and clad in sleek black armor, raced down the hallway with bolters at the ready.
Unfortunately for one of them, they got too close to Va’cot, and she deftly swung her plasma sword. The air hissed with plasma fire, and she cleanly separated the Death Commando’s head from his shoulders. Unfortunately for us, the second wouldn’t be so easy.
I fired two rounds, hoping to hit center mass and a leg, but the commando was quick on the reaction. He threw his body into a doorway and returned fire. It was only thanks to our new Elunari-equipped plasma shields that those bolter rounds didn’t cave in my chest.
The rounds tried to force their way through the shield, only to detonate harmlessly on the outside. My shield hummed from the strain, and I went into the adjacent room. I flicked my visor’s heat sensor on, a new tool courtesy of the Coalition, and I tried to track the Death Commando, but no dice. His armor was far too well shielded thermally to be seen through a thick metal wall.
But his gun’s barrel wasn’t.
I took aim and shot through the wall, tracing the barely visible smear of red. My shots seemed to be missing until Va’cot tossed a plasma grenade into the door. I watched as the small ball of red fire grew in my vision into a miniature sun until it exploded.
The blast rocked the room and kicked up dust, and I wasted no time in reloading and sending more rounds at the target’s last known position. I ceased my fire, reloaded, and counted to ten, waiting for any heat signatures or noises, but nothing came.
We checked and cleared the room, both enemy combatants were dead, but there was no time for celebration. We immediately went back to our search, and when we stepped into the hallway, a hail storm of gunfire barraged us. Rounds clanked and bounced off our armor harmlessly and the two of us returned fire.
The squad of unfortunate souls was reduced to nothing but their legs as rounds burrowed into their chests and exploded. “Marines and Death Commandos engaged. Two combatants neutralized,” I radioed.
I checked the status of the rest of my squad, and they were all green, as was our friendly squad. There were quick flashes of acknowledgements, and Apollo’s voice filled one of my ears. “Marines have been engaged, no Death Commandos,” he said quickly.
Huh, does that mean she is on the bridge after all? It was considered to be less likely, considering she is a researcher. Well, let’s find out.
Va’cot and I wordlessly continued our slaughter, meeting only the bare resistance of marines and crew members. Eventually, power flicked out on the ship, and the bulkhead doors slammed closed. But we planned for that as well.
We had plenty of pre-made charges to blow all the way to the bridge if need be. I quickly placed the charge and—
Boom.
Huh?
I stared in surprise. The bulkhead door was dented inward, but it still remained standing. Considering that we had the schematics, we knew very well what was needed to blow through these doors. We even added a bit more just in case something like that occurred, but to think they reinforced them that much.
“This means we are in the right place,” Va’cot said through our system firmly as she sliced the near-broken door with her sword.
“That’s one way to look at it,” I responded.
It took a bit longer than we had planned, but we eventually arrived at the door to the bridge. The place was sealed shut, and I had to plant multiple explosives to even dent the thing. It was also a problem that we hadn’t run into anyone since the doors started dropping.
“They are either all in here, or we are going to get ambushed when we—”
My words were cut off as the door opened slightly, and a storm of bolter and rifle fire smashed into us. My shield whined and flickered from the intensity, and we were forced to find cover only for grenades to be tossed at us.
The fragmentation grenades exploded and peppered us with shrapnel but left us mostly unharmed. I ended up taking a piece to the fingers in between my armor plates, but nothing that I couldn’t handle. I looked over at Va’cot, and she had a nice long gash in her visor. One of the pieces must have slipped through her shield and cracked it.
“From the pattern of fire, there is one bolter deep, one on the right and one on the left,” I said.
Va’cot nodded her head. “I will eliminate the one on the right.”
“I’ll aim for the left, and we both get the center,” I said back to her.
Our conversation ended just like that, and I immediately set the charges off on the now-closed bridge door. A powerful shockwave rolled past us, and the lights flickered on and off, and the warship rocked from the force. Va’cot tossed plasma grenades, and I threw in shredder grenades before entering, making short work of the crew and marines.
The flurry of hell we sent in was our cover, and we relied on our shields for any blows. I trusted Va’cot fully, so I didn’t bother checking if she was going to be okay. I swept my side, and it was clear with the bodies of dozens of marines and crew members ripped to the shreds. I found a Death Commando still standing on the left, albeit seriously injured but alive and with a gun raised.
The third generation had the lowest tolerance to Ambrosia of all the generations, but regardless of tolerance, if enough of the stuff was pumped into their veins, they were still dangerous. Despite missing an arm, he wielded his bolter from the hip and fired at me.
The shots impacted my shield, and I sent immediate rounds back to him. And he didn’t have a shield. Most of my shots bounced off his armor or didn’t penetrate deep enough for an injury, but one of them hit him in the neck. He dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes as the round burrowed through him.
They just don’t make them like they used to. The Gen 3s are just so fragile compared to us. Too Human.
Va’cot was in a similar state as she had taken out her target, and a quick scan showed the middle Death Commando had perished before we entered. The room was now quiet, filled only with the groans of dying Humans. We moved quickly.
I turned heat vision on and confirmed five signatures hiding in the panic room. The door was locked up like a vault safe and was well hidden behind a panel. It was meant for situations like this, but it only worked if the boarders didn’t know of its existence.
“Cut it open. We can’t risk explosives now,” I ordered.
Va’cot set to work, and I finished off any survivors before standing guard for her. “Va’cot and I have secured the bridge. One Death Commando squad was eliminated. Doctor Octario has not been found, and we are breaching the panic room.”
“The lower floors are clear, no Death Commandos or targets. Planting charges on warp drive,” an AI voice said through comms.
It must be a species that doesn’t speak English leading the lower floor squad, interesting.
“We are under heavy fire. Resistance is concentrated at the armory. Requesting backup,” Apollo said calmly.
“We’ll be there in a moment,” I told him. “Va’cot, status?”
“Five Humans, three males, and two females. No elderly females in the safe room,” Va’cot radioed.
“Then let’s move to Apollo.”
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
We made sure to raise the bulkhead doors and destroy the systems as well as any communication units before racing through the halls back to our squad. Resistance was minimal, only stragglers who had managed to arm themselves from their deceased comrades. However, the sounds of heavy gunfire could be heard as we approached.
We made it to a hallway that was a literal blinding flash of light. Sadly, scanning for life forms wasn’t possible because of the metal used by the Federation. However, we could see the positions of our squad mates. They were pinned down in adjacent rooms by gunfire.
“They are stalling for time. We have ten minutes, Sir,” Va’cot stated.
Yeah, I know…damn. To think she would be toward the armory. How annoying.
“Squad two, can you place charges on the lower deck at the junction to the armory?” I asked.
“Affirmative. Two minutes for placement,” the synthetic voice said.
“You heard them, return fire and keep them busy,” I said into my helmet.
I received the affirmative, and we continued to trade fire. There was no way for us to press forward safely. Even if we maxed out plasma shields and used external shields, we would succumb to this kind of concentrated fire. They even had a heavy bolter in place, which would make quick work of us if we were to rush forward blindly.
“Hey! What if those explosions kill that hag or blow us the hell up?!” Artemis growled into her helmet as she blew the head off a marine that peaked in too far with her railgun.
“We can’t be passive because we are running out of time. If the explosions kill her and ignite the ammo, so be it. Remember why we are here,” I told her firmly.
Artemis said nothing for a moment before sending a few more shots. “Yeah, I know! I just want my chance!”
“Charges are placed,” the voice called out.
“Do it now.”
Boom.
A quick shock wave rolled past us and rocked the ship, only for a fire wave to snake down the hallway. The gunfire was momentarily halted, only to be replaced by the agonizing screams of dying Humans, which didn’t last long. Instead of waiting for the wave to fizzle out, we all pushed through it with Hephaestus at the front.
The walls were scorched black, and the entire floor had been blown inwards. There were no survivors. We had to skate by on the edges to avoid dropping to the lower floors, and we quickly pushed through the junction. There was only token resistance left until we reached a sturdy vault-like door made of black metal.
Hephaestus peeked through the thick glass and ducked down before a round echoed off the metal. “There are people in there, two Death Commandos and a handful of crew members. And so is she.”
“Target located. She is holed up in the armory,” I radioed in.
“Understood. Warp drive charges are set. We are prepping for extraction and shall take the furthest escape pods from you. There are less than ten minutes remaining, Commander,” the synthetic voice said.
Yeah, I know…damn this is gonna be a pain.
“Well, it looks like the ammo didn’t cook. Sucks for her,” Artemis spat.
“No explosives. We’ll kill her for sure. We have little time. Do we retreat?” I asked them.
Four heads turned to me, and they all looked at each other and then back at me. “I have no plans of going back now,” Apollo said firmly.
“Aye, aye, I’m with him,” Hephaestus agreed as he moved to cover us.
Artemis was already back to cutting a hole in the door. “You already know my answer. This is what I signed up for. Either I’m killing her, or she is coming with us, no in-between.”
I looked at Va’cot, but all I could see was the reflection in her blue visor. “I would like to help everyone,” she said with a nod.
“Well, then it’s settled, I guess. Let’s nab her,” I said with a chuckle and shrug.
“Don’t worry. These bastards are dead. I don’t need explosives to kill them,” Artemis stated with conviction.
“Then we will cover you,” I said as I nodded to Va’cot.
“Hey, big guy! I’m gonna need you to rip this door off in a minute. Can you do it!?” Artemis yelled, purposely letting her voice out through her helmet and into the room.
“Yeah, probably,” Heph said with a shrug.
Artemis never stopped working on the door as she clicked her tongue. “Probably?! What the hell are we feeding you for, huh?! You can’t be that big for nothing!”
We all fired down the hallway as a few stragglers attempted to ambush us. Artemis’s yells must have forced them out of hiding and given them some false hope. Nevertheless, we made short work of them.
“Now then…time to die,” Artemis mumbled to herself as she sat on her butt and forced her railgun into the hole.
Her weapon came to life and crackled with red lightning. The air around her whizzed with power as she fired off two thunderous shots in quick order and pulled the rifle out.
“Both the DCs are dead. Just the grunts left,” Artemis said as she made room for Hephaestus.
The giant of a man dug his hand into the door frame and began to yank. It was impressive, to say the least. Those doors were meant to stop the explosion of ammo being cooked off, yet he was ripping them off the hinges slowly but surely.
“There are five minutes remaining,” Va’cot stated in her toneless voice.
“You’re—not—helping! Va’cot!” Heph said through gritted teeth.
“If I were to stand there, I would only get in the way. You are too big,” she stated.
That was… rhetorical, well, whatever.
Rip.
Hephaestus’s muscles bulged, and the door started to pry open. Once he got enough of a purchase, he forced his entire hand into it and peeled the door back like a can of sardines and tore it straight off the hinges, tossing it down the hall with ease.
“Damn, that hurt,” Hephaestus grumbled as gunfire bounced off his armor.
A few quick shots and the rest of the combatants were eliminated. The only people left were the cowering crew in the corner and a lone elderly woman in a dirty blood-splattered lab coat standing tall before us.
She glared at us with eyes that said she was more annoyed than anything. It was almost like she was a mother that came home only to see something disappointing. It made me want to punch her in the throat.
The first to reach her was Artemis. Her leg moved so swiftly that I nearly missed it, and I didn’t even have a chance to stop her. Doctor Octario rocked to the side like a bow and was launched like an arrow into the wall and was promptly knocked unconscious.
“That was for the Commander,” Artemis said, her voice cold and devoid of even rage.
There is a big difference between thinking and doing things, Artemis! But I have no time to complain!
“Grab her, and let’s move. We are running out of time,” I ordered calmly.
Apollo instantly injected the doctor with a syringe and tossed her over his shoulder before I could even finish the sentence. Time was not on our side, and we ran as fast as our legs could take us to the nearest escape pods.
We ignored the marines attempting to block our way with bolter fire, and we piled into a pod that was not meant for this many people or even people of our sizes. Hephaestus was the last in and the poor guy barely fit, but the second he cleared the door, I smashed the button to launch us.
“Stern side! Launching now!” I barked into the radio.
Our bodies rocked violently as the pod jettisoned into the void of space. I peeked out the front glass and saw multiple warp points forming in the inky blackness. The distress signal was sent. And an entire fleet was descending on us. But a shadow quickly loomed over us, and we were jostled again, caught by our friendly ship.
“We are reeling you in, Hades Squad! Get ready for a warp jump the second you get inside!” the captain yelled at us.
“Wait! We are packed in here like sardines. We are screwed if you jump!” Artemis yelled back.
“Too bad! We are jumping, soldiers! You’ll live!” he yelled back.
Damn, this is not going to be fun. I’m going to need a new spine after this. Well, mission accomplished, I guess.
Next
2023.03.20 16:54 swankycelery OP finds out about his fiancé's infidelity 4 months before the wedding. Fiancé predictably blames OP for her cheating.
I am not the OP, this is a repost!
Trigger warning: Cheating
Original post, on relationship_advice (March 12th 2023).
M 32 Cheating Fiancée F 31
Let me start from the beginning here. Yesterday I met my fiancée at our wedding venue for our 4 month out meeting to finalize details. We drove to the venue separately because she was leaving straight from work. Towards the end of the meeting she let me know her friend was dropping off her rental car and needed a ride home and asked if it would be ok. I said yes thinking nothing of it as it wasn’t that far from our home and I know her friend well.
I get home and tried to get in touch w her for the next 3 hours. No answer. At approx the 1:30 mark I texted her friend and asked if she had made it to her ok. I was very worried. My fiancée ends up coming home and says sorry it took longer than expected she hung out with her friend for a bit before leaving. Ok no biggie just lmk next time please. Her friend gets back to me a few minutes later and says “sorry I couldn’t make it to the venue didn’t see your fiancée tonight.” I asked her why she would say this and she said she didn’t know she can’t control what her friend says and walked outside. I’m sketched out af by this point.
I have never done this but I looked at her phone records (yes I did and don’t regret it). I saw that when she went outside she called her friend that had texted me right after she went outside. I also saw an hour long call with a number I didn’t know on the way to the venue. I asked her what rental place they went to and multiple other questions. She had quick answers and they seemed legit. I thought maybe I’m crazy here I need to chill and sleep on it. This morning I asked her to please see the text from her friend asking her to pick her up and I would apologize for questioning her the previous night. She said no.
I said when I caught up to you yesterday on the way to the venue I saw you were on the phone who was that? She said oh that’s the friend I picked up later on. That’s when I knew for a fact she was lying. I said I looked at her phone records and knew that wasn’t true. She then changed her story to say oh I needed to meet up w a coworker to discuss a patient. Who is the coworker and why couldn’t you discuss that over the phone? I need to show him the techniques in person his name is Michael. Ok I am sketched out beyond belief at this point we never lie to each other. I asked to see the texts with Michael. She said wouldn’t let me see. I said why not if there’s nothing to hide. Are you having an affair? Do you not want to be together anymore? She pauses and proceeds to tell me all the things that are wrong with me. I work too much I don’t spend enough time w her don’t listen.
I’m astonished at this point all of this is news to me. I put two and two together at this point I know something sketchy is going on. I again ask to see the texts. It took about a half hour of convincing to see these texts and they were crazy. Sexual in nature and talking a lot of shit about me. Also how she wanted to be with him and how they’re essentially in love. She started this job 1.5 months ago (he is her coworker). He is also 15-20 years older and divorced w multiple kids. I have been financially supporting her for the last few months as she got back on her feet and was working extra so she wouldn’t have to pick up a part time job. We own a house which we both live in with 3 dogs and a horse. Sorry for the novel I am beside myself right now. I did not see this coming and we were going to get married in 4 months. Any advice would help.
UPDATE:
As an update, I was finally able to sit down with her tonight and go over this. Again, she came in trying to blame me for what she did. Trying to justify the cheating and lying as a direct result of my lack of communication and listening. She said she wouldn’t have had to start talking to this guy if I had been listening better. I spend too much time in the office working and don’t dedicate enough time to her. I tried to explain that I was putting in extra hours to try and support her and the family financially while she was struggling so she wouldn’t have to get a part time job. She said she would have rather gotten a part time job which makes no sense to me. She was under the impression that because this was short lived (one week she say) and “they only made out once” that we could move past this.
When I brought up the texts where she was trashing me and talking sexual with him she deflected hard and I got nowhere with that. I told her that I’m not the reason that this is happening. She went too far and should have communicated with me or thought about the implications first. That I can never trust her again and this is all because of her actions. Whether she wants to try and justify this as my fault is up to her. At the end of this part it got a bit calmer - I said listen we just really need to figure out the house we own jointly and the three dogs. We came to the conclusion that Either I stay and buy her out or we sell and get new places. The dogs - one of us will get one the other two tbd.
So that’s where this left off tonight and will continue to keep you all posted on progress. Curious what you all would do about the house. Financially I can support it alone but it is nearly 3k square feet and 5 acres of land which was bought solely to have her horse. She is taking the horse when she leaves and boarding it at a barn.
Notable comments:
Update post, on relationship_advice (March 12th 2023).
UPDATE: M 32 Cheating Fiancée F 31
Day 3: I was able to sit and have a 3 hour conversation with her tonight. We talked about our relationship and what lead to what occurred. It started with her telling me what I did wrong in our relationship, lack of communication, spending too much time working and on my phone. I don't disagree with any of these things. My mindset behind working so much was support of the family. I run an e commerce business on the side and am a one man customer service center and deals happen 24 hours a day. I am never not on the clock. I could have certainly been better about setting my phone aside and responding to people the next day. The lack of communication was on both ends and a prime example of this is the fact that I was unaware she was unhappy with any of this. It was never communicated to me. She said she felt I would have gotten upset if she told me but never gave me the chance to work on it. I am not a perfect person by any means and many times I do or say things that are misinterpreted by her as rude.
An example of this is a week or two ago I was trying to help her with a budget with her financial problems to try to set up a plan to get her on track. To note - I work in the financial industry and do this for clients all the time. She had mentioned that she owed me maybe $1,000 and she would get that back to me next paycheck. I said something like I think its a little bit more than that lets go through the transfers I have made to our joint account. It ended up being over $5,000. My purpose for doing this was not to make her feel bad but to realize how much I have been contributing. She took this as me trying to humiliate her. Was just trying to help and maybe my timing was off. She told me I have been too focused on money lately but I was only trying to make sure we were going to be ok. We still had quite a bit to pay for the wedding and my budgeting mentality was on overload trying to make sure we had enough.
The fact that she keeps trying to justify what she did by attributing that as a direct correlation to my flaws really bothers me. She keeps telling me that she is surprised I would throw away 7 years of a relationship away like this. I keep having to remind her that I didn't throw it away - she did with her actions. She told me that I told too many people too quickly and we could have resolved all of this between us. She also said that she wouldn't have had to talk to someone else if I was a better listener and communicator.
I have finally determined the extent of the affair which I actually believe based on the texts that I read. They began talking 1-2 weeks before via text. I don't know if they had met up before outside of work but this time around he had asked her to the park to play basketball and talk. She met up with him and they ended up making out. I truly believe it didn't go further than this YET. BUT, it would have in the near future I am sure. She says he is not her boyfriend. She also took off tonight and I have no idea where she is at - assuming with him or a girl friend.
It is an awkward living situation but I am hoping this resolves in the near term. I do think she wants me to get back with her and try to repair that. I think that the the main issue was a lack of communication that manifested for a long time. We got into a routine, lived our boring simple life and meanwhile this problem was never discussed and grew over time. She acted out instead of talking to me and also lied to my face/talked a lot of shit about me behind my back. She can be very sneaky and I don't think I can fully trust her again. Obviously this would be the easiest thing to do but I don't think I would ever be truly happy.
Understanding the root cause has helped me feel better. If nothing else, it will allow me to address my personality flaws/communication issues and see things from another perspective. I started hitting the gym today and will keep a routine going. I also plan on picking back up on studying for my CFP designation. I took the week off of work to focus on my mental health.
Today I called the wedding venue and officially cancelled the date. We were able to get some money back but lost a bit unless the date can be resold to another couple (unlikely). I also spoke with her parents again to keep them apprised. They live far away and I am sure are worried sick. I continue to let them know everything is fine and calm and they don't need to worry about their daughter.
I did some research and with interest rates where they are today I will not be able to find a comparable house for the mortgage I pay for this (can barely find an apartment for less nowadays). I think my best option is to try and buy out her share and have her find an apartment. She seems agreeable at this time. We will have an appraiser out to assess value and see what half of the equity would be and if that is doable for me.
My questions to you all are: Does this change your mind at all about the situation? Am I handling this properly? If not, what should I be doing different?
Notable comments:
NOTE: Please remember the brigading rule and refrain from reaching out to OP or comment on the original posts.
submitted by swankycelery to BestofRedditorUpdates [link] [comments]
Trigger warning: Cheating
Original post, on relationship_advice (March 12th 2023).
M 32 Cheating Fiancée F 31
Let me start from the beginning here. Yesterday I met my fiancée at our wedding venue for our 4 month out meeting to finalize details. We drove to the venue separately because she was leaving straight from work. Towards the end of the meeting she let me know her friend was dropping off her rental car and needed a ride home and asked if it would be ok. I said yes thinking nothing of it as it wasn’t that far from our home and I know her friend well.
I get home and tried to get in touch w her for the next 3 hours. No answer. At approx the 1:30 mark I texted her friend and asked if she had made it to her ok. I was very worried. My fiancée ends up coming home and says sorry it took longer than expected she hung out with her friend for a bit before leaving. Ok no biggie just lmk next time please. Her friend gets back to me a few minutes later and says “sorry I couldn’t make it to the venue didn’t see your fiancée tonight.” I asked her why she would say this and she said she didn’t know she can’t control what her friend says and walked outside. I’m sketched out af by this point.
I have never done this but I looked at her phone records (yes I did and don’t regret it). I saw that when she went outside she called her friend that had texted me right after she went outside. I also saw an hour long call with a number I didn’t know on the way to the venue. I asked her what rental place they went to and multiple other questions. She had quick answers and they seemed legit. I thought maybe I’m crazy here I need to chill and sleep on it. This morning I asked her to please see the text from her friend asking her to pick her up and I would apologize for questioning her the previous night. She said no.
I said when I caught up to you yesterday on the way to the venue I saw you were on the phone who was that? She said oh that’s the friend I picked up later on. That’s when I knew for a fact she was lying. I said I looked at her phone records and knew that wasn’t true. She then changed her story to say oh I needed to meet up w a coworker to discuss a patient. Who is the coworker and why couldn’t you discuss that over the phone? I need to show him the techniques in person his name is Michael. Ok I am sketched out beyond belief at this point we never lie to each other. I asked to see the texts with Michael. She said wouldn’t let me see. I said why not if there’s nothing to hide. Are you having an affair? Do you not want to be together anymore? She pauses and proceeds to tell me all the things that are wrong with me. I work too much I don’t spend enough time w her don’t listen.
I’m astonished at this point all of this is news to me. I put two and two together at this point I know something sketchy is going on. I again ask to see the texts. It took about a half hour of convincing to see these texts and they were crazy. Sexual in nature and talking a lot of shit about me. Also how she wanted to be with him and how they’re essentially in love. She started this job 1.5 months ago (he is her coworker). He is also 15-20 years older and divorced w multiple kids. I have been financially supporting her for the last few months as she got back on her feet and was working extra so she wouldn’t have to pick up a part time job. We own a house which we both live in with 3 dogs and a horse. Sorry for the novel I am beside myself right now. I did not see this coming and we were going to get married in 4 months. Any advice would help.
UPDATE:
As an update, I was finally able to sit down with her tonight and go over this. Again, she came in trying to blame me for what she did. Trying to justify the cheating and lying as a direct result of my lack of communication and listening. She said she wouldn’t have had to start talking to this guy if I had been listening better. I spend too much time in the office working and don’t dedicate enough time to her. I tried to explain that I was putting in extra hours to try and support her and the family financially while she was struggling so she wouldn’t have to get a part time job. She said she would have rather gotten a part time job which makes no sense to me. She was under the impression that because this was short lived (one week she say) and “they only made out once” that we could move past this.
When I brought up the texts where she was trashing me and talking sexual with him she deflected hard and I got nowhere with that. I told her that I’m not the reason that this is happening. She went too far and should have communicated with me or thought about the implications first. That I can never trust her again and this is all because of her actions. Whether she wants to try and justify this as my fault is up to her. At the end of this part it got a bit calmer - I said listen we just really need to figure out the house we own jointly and the three dogs. We came to the conclusion that Either I stay and buy her out or we sell and get new places. The dogs - one of us will get one the other two tbd.
So that’s where this left off tonight and will continue to keep you all posted on progress. Curious what you all would do about the house. Financially I can support it alone but it is nearly 3k square feet and 5 acres of land which was bought solely to have her horse. She is taking the horse when she leaves and boarding it at a barn.
Notable comments:
Jesus, I'm so sorry. Small consolation I know, but better now than after the wedding. Better now than after potentially starting a family. [link]
Standard cheater victim-blaming. Don't let her pin this on you, OP. YOU DESERVE BETTER.
Cancel all vendors, notify invited guests, lock down your credit, or shared finances.
Are you sure AP is divorced? He may be lying to your STBX, or she may be lying to you. Either way, it sounds like she cheated down and screwed up royally.
It sucks, but it's better to know now than 10 years down the road. I'm sorry you got blindsided like this, and I hope it gets better soon. [link]
OOP replies:
I really appreciate you taking the time to reply and for the advice. I have no idea if he is truly divorced and honestly don’t want to know more about the guy. The saddest thing about this is my dogs love each other and will most likely be broken apart. Agree better to know now
Her attitude about being caught tells you everything you need to know. Blaming you for her shitty behavior shows that she has no character and would make an awful partner. [link]
First of all, implement the 180 and gray rock method.
The financial support for her should stop immediately.
You will need a lawyer to deal with the house and ask them how you can legally leverage the HR angle in your negotiations.
She has shown her true colors and is acting horrible. That relationship will crash and burn, and she will then start begging to come back.
Sending strength! [link]
Yeah do not marry this woman. Surely this isn’t still a consideration is it? [link]
OOP replies:
Not at all my friend. You all have been super helpful in reinforcing this
Update post, on relationship_advice (March 12th 2023).
UPDATE: M 32 Cheating Fiancée F 31
Day 3: I was able to sit and have a 3 hour conversation with her tonight. We talked about our relationship and what lead to what occurred. It started with her telling me what I did wrong in our relationship, lack of communication, spending too much time working and on my phone. I don't disagree with any of these things. My mindset behind working so much was support of the family. I run an e commerce business on the side and am a one man customer service center and deals happen 24 hours a day. I am never not on the clock. I could have certainly been better about setting my phone aside and responding to people the next day. The lack of communication was on both ends and a prime example of this is the fact that I was unaware she was unhappy with any of this. It was never communicated to me. She said she felt I would have gotten upset if she told me but never gave me the chance to work on it. I am not a perfect person by any means and many times I do or say things that are misinterpreted by her as rude.
An example of this is a week or two ago I was trying to help her with a budget with her financial problems to try to set up a plan to get her on track. To note - I work in the financial industry and do this for clients all the time. She had mentioned that she owed me maybe $1,000 and she would get that back to me next paycheck. I said something like I think its a little bit more than that lets go through the transfers I have made to our joint account. It ended up being over $5,000. My purpose for doing this was not to make her feel bad but to realize how much I have been contributing. She took this as me trying to humiliate her. Was just trying to help and maybe my timing was off. She told me I have been too focused on money lately but I was only trying to make sure we were going to be ok. We still had quite a bit to pay for the wedding and my budgeting mentality was on overload trying to make sure we had enough.
The fact that she keeps trying to justify what she did by attributing that as a direct correlation to my flaws really bothers me. She keeps telling me that she is surprised I would throw away 7 years of a relationship away like this. I keep having to remind her that I didn't throw it away - she did with her actions. She told me that I told too many people too quickly and we could have resolved all of this between us. She also said that she wouldn't have had to talk to someone else if I was a better listener and communicator.
I have finally determined the extent of the affair which I actually believe based on the texts that I read. They began talking 1-2 weeks before via text. I don't know if they had met up before outside of work but this time around he had asked her to the park to play basketball and talk. She met up with him and they ended up making out. I truly believe it didn't go further than this YET. BUT, it would have in the near future I am sure. She says he is not her boyfriend. She also took off tonight and I have no idea where she is at - assuming with him or a girl friend.
It is an awkward living situation but I am hoping this resolves in the near term. I do think she wants me to get back with her and try to repair that. I think that the the main issue was a lack of communication that manifested for a long time. We got into a routine, lived our boring simple life and meanwhile this problem was never discussed and grew over time. She acted out instead of talking to me and also lied to my face/talked a lot of shit about me behind my back. She can be very sneaky and I don't think I can fully trust her again. Obviously this would be the easiest thing to do but I don't think I would ever be truly happy.
Understanding the root cause has helped me feel better. If nothing else, it will allow me to address my personality flaws/communication issues and see things from another perspective. I started hitting the gym today and will keep a routine going. I also plan on picking back up on studying for my CFP designation. I took the week off of work to focus on my mental health.
Today I called the wedding venue and officially cancelled the date. We were able to get some money back but lost a bit unless the date can be resold to another couple (unlikely). I also spoke with her parents again to keep them apprised. They live far away and I am sure are worried sick. I continue to let them know everything is fine and calm and they don't need to worry about their daughter.
I did some research and with interest rates where they are today I will not be able to find a comparable house for the mortgage I pay for this (can barely find an apartment for less nowadays). I think my best option is to try and buy out her share and have her find an apartment. She seems agreeable at this time. We will have an appraiser out to assess value and see what half of the equity would be and if that is doable for me.
My questions to you all are: Does this change your mind at all about the situation? Am I handling this properly? If not, what should I be doing different?
Notable comments:
At this point - I would stop giving her the platform to tell you that her cheating is 'because of you.' It's not. She chose to cheat. Instead of being an adult and having adult conversations in an adult relationship, she chose to cheat. The moment any of that shit escapes her lips - shut it down. She doesn't deserve to have your ear. She's hoping that if she says it enough, you'll start to believe it. Shut it down. 'Conversations are hallmarks of a relationship. You chose to cheat. It's over.' Rinse. Recycle. Repeat as necessary (personally, I'd be done with any conversing).
I hope the house thing works out. [link]
You have so many things that you need to get over before this relationship can be recovered. So in no particular order you have the following to consider.
- She is trickle truthing you and the chances that she is still not being honest with you are high. The simplest way to put it is the time honored axiom that "kids kiss, adults fuck". Unless she can be completely honest with you - even knowing that it may hurt you to know the truth - any trust you have in her will be non-existent.
- She has leapt straight into DARVO (Deny, attack, reverse Victim and Offender). This is sadly a classic cheaters move and you can see this quite clearly in trying to pin the blame for her actions on you. Sorry but you didn't magically hand her a card saying "please cheat on me, I'm a bad fiance". She did this of her own accord, for her own reasons and because even though she knew it was wrong, she did it anyway. None of this is on you.
- Even when the chips are down and your engagement is in the balance, she chose him over you and continues to choose him over you. At a time when you would expect that she would pull out all stops to be with you, she has decided - for whatever reason - to continue seeing him. Anyone in her position who feared the loss of their partner would be bending over backwards to show you that she is not who you think she is. Sadly, she has done the exact opposite and is doing all in her power to drive you further apart.
- She doesn't want you to "throw away 7 years of a relationship away like this" but isn't that exactly what she is doing by her actions? What did she expect would happen if she hooks up with a guy she has just met at the expense of the person she is supposed to marry? Sorry but no, she has thrown away 7 years, not you, her.
- Her lack of honesty to your face is now being backed up by a complete lack of respect for you. How someone can go from "yes I will marry you" to "nah, you never made me happy and this new guy I just met can" is not the way to build a life of joy and happiness on. Hell, if it was a house any right minded civil engineer would condemn the building before the foundations had a chance to dry. The foundations of this relationship are now in the realm of a sand pit in a swamp.
- The sum result of her blaming you has you now questioning your role in her affair. This is by design and is something that all cheaters do when faced with the consequences of their actions. She wants you to blame yourself so that you can play her game of "pick me". Now that you no longer wish to play she'll easily move onto the new guy and will not give you a second thought. For now.
As you say, you have taken action and have cancelled the wedding and stopped your engagement. You are handling this properly and you need to make it clear to her that once the sole thing keeping you together is dealt with - the sale/transfer of the house, that she will be out of your life forever.
So are you throwing away 7 years? No, you had it thrown away for you and you are just sweeping up the mess left behind by her actions.
For now, keep all communication between you restricted purely to the asset split. Tell her absolutely nothing about your plans, what you are doing in your life, etc. She lost that right when she did what she did. And if she tries to fill you in on what she has been doing, just pull her up with the simple phrase "I no longer care what you do, it's no longer my business."
"Understanding the root cause has helped me feel better."
But please also understand that there are no "root causes" for why she did what she did. That is all on her, on her own personal flaws in her character and morals and you had absolutely nothing to do with it. As you said yourself, she is very sneaky and this is just who she is.
So get your agreement done asap and even if you take a small loss and end up with a few months of eating ramen to pay her out, you will end up ahead.
And then once it's all done, start working towards being as indifferent to her as you possibly can be. [link]
NOTE: Please remember the brigading rule and refrain from reaching out to OP or comment on the original posts.
Friendly reminder that I am NOT the OP, this is a repost.
2023.03.20 16:52 PoodleDoodle_ Ear cleaning help!
It was recently found out that my dog has an ear infection. We were given antibiotics, an ear cleaner solution, and mometavet to help treat it.
Today is the first day of treatment. The vet instructed that I clean my dog's infected ear with the solution by squirting it in her ear canal, massaging it for a few seconds to get that squishy sound, and letting her shake the solution out an hour before using 6 drops of mometavet in her ear.
So I squirted the solution into her ear, let her shake, then wiped the debris away with cotton balls. However she keeps tilting her head afterward! And when I massage her ear, I still hear the squishy sound. I'm afraid there's solution stuck in her ear... She stopped shaking and just lay down, flicking her head occasionally and tilting.
Is this normal?? I'm afraid I might have done something wrong!
submitted by PoodleDoodle_ to dogs [link] [comments]
Today is the first day of treatment. The vet instructed that I clean my dog's infected ear with the solution by squirting it in her ear canal, massaging it for a few seconds to get that squishy sound, and letting her shake the solution out an hour before using 6 drops of mometavet in her ear.
So I squirted the solution into her ear, let her shake, then wiped the debris away with cotton balls. However she keeps tilting her head afterward! And when I massage her ear, I still hear the squishy sound. I'm afraid there's solution stuck in her ear... She stopped shaking and just lay down, flicking her head occasionally and tilting.
Is this normal?? I'm afraid I might have done something wrong!
2023.03.20 16:48 tiredhoneydrops I don't know how long I can do this for
Sorry, this is a very long post. I just don't know what to do anymore.
I developed PANS 4 years ago after an infection at age 15 and with it developed severe anxiety, OCD, derealization/depersonalization and, surprise, agoraphobia. I also became very photosensitive and noise-sensitive, and had panic attacks at least once a day. It was an absolute living hell and I barely left the house. My grades went from straight As to barely passing, I only attended class half the time and out of that half I mostly went home or hid in the counselor's office.
I received my diagnosis a year or two (?) after it began, and after receiving treatment things improved greatly - I went to college, I got a job, could go out and do things with my friends, all that. I was active. I felt like myself again. Then things went bad.
I think it's my own fault; I stopped taking my medicine prematurely. I still had a good deal of anxiety while improving, and already had an awful time swallowing pills - I choked on one right near the end of my treatment and just totally dropped them completely out of fear. I thought it'd be fine but looking back, I think that set me up for failure.
Things very slowly started getting worse. I won't keep getting into my life story, but now 4 years in - probably a year and a half after going off the medication? - and the agoraphobia is in full swing. I'm making little to no money because I had panic attacks at work and ever since they've hardly given me hours. I'm failing all my classes because I can't attend them, because I'm terrified of walking to them. My campus is decent size. Even with all my classes in the same building, I can't get to the building in the first place. I'm scared of bright light, so I'm scared to walk in bright spaces outside. I've tried walking only in shadowy spots, but I'm too afraid to cross streets or walk on wide sidewalks, because I'm terrified of the wide open space. Every time I try it, I feel like I'm not even in my head anymore, I genuinely feel like I'll faint or lose control of my body, seize up, anything of the sort. My body physically hurts if I try to sit in a building with bright lights. Every time I put myself in these situations, I don't feel real anymore, and afterwards I feel like that moment didn't exist and like I teleported wherever I ended up. I stopped learning to drive because I'm terrified of being in the middle of the road, especially intersections, and I'm afraid that I'll die on the spot trying to cross through one. Looking through windows with bright lights on the other side feels less like a window, and more like a wall showing me fake imagery, and I genuinely hope deep down that when I open the door the "real" outside will be dark.
I've stopped enjoying things. I don't keep up with my work. My relationships are deteriorating - my family can't handle me anymore, for good reason, and genuinely don't know how to help; I can't do things with my friends aside from staying in the house, which they understandably get tired of; I can't even go out except to a few places with my boyfriend anymore, and although he says it's fine, I imagine it will wear on him at some point. He's the only safe person I have, and holding his hand is the literal only way I can cross streets (and even that's gotten more difficult and near impossible within the past month), but I won't tell him that as to not put pressure on him.
I feel like I'm in hell. I have panic attacks every day, multiple times a day, and my head hurts from them all the time. I've tried sensory aids like sunglasses, earplugs (I have special ones even to filter out background noise specifically), earbuds to play music, wearing the same jacket, bringing water if my mouth is dry, I've tried everything within my power. Today, I'm finally hitting a breaking point where I'm tempted to just drop out and give in.
It's freezing cold out. My classes are all in one building, and it was literally a two minute walk at max. It was on the same block that I was already on. But I couldn't walk in the light, on the wide sidewalks. When I tried walking in the shadows, there were wide access roads that I couldn't bring myself to cross. I tried calling family to ease myself and it didn't work. My phone died and they nearly called the cops, because I had fully accepted to them the possibility of freezing to death outside. I couldn't go anywhere. I sat outside in the cold with only a thin hoodie for an hour. In the moment I'd rather have frozen to death than had to have dealt with my awful agoraphobia and trying to walk through the light.
I'm going to see the doctor again, finally. My last shred of hope that I've been holding onto comes from that appointment.
I'm not even 20 yet. I don't know what to do anymore. I don't know how to live through this absolute hell.
submitted by tiredhoneydrops to Agoraphobia [link] [comments]
I developed PANS 4 years ago after an infection at age 15 and with it developed severe anxiety, OCD, derealization/depersonalization and, surprise, agoraphobia. I also became very photosensitive and noise-sensitive, and had panic attacks at least once a day. It was an absolute living hell and I barely left the house. My grades went from straight As to barely passing, I only attended class half the time and out of that half I mostly went home or hid in the counselor's office.
I received my diagnosis a year or two (?) after it began, and after receiving treatment things improved greatly - I went to college, I got a job, could go out and do things with my friends, all that. I was active. I felt like myself again. Then things went bad.
I think it's my own fault; I stopped taking my medicine prematurely. I still had a good deal of anxiety while improving, and already had an awful time swallowing pills - I choked on one right near the end of my treatment and just totally dropped them completely out of fear. I thought it'd be fine but looking back, I think that set me up for failure.
Things very slowly started getting worse. I won't keep getting into my life story, but now 4 years in - probably a year and a half after going off the medication? - and the agoraphobia is in full swing. I'm making little to no money because I had panic attacks at work and ever since they've hardly given me hours. I'm failing all my classes because I can't attend them, because I'm terrified of walking to them. My campus is decent size. Even with all my classes in the same building, I can't get to the building in the first place. I'm scared of bright light, so I'm scared to walk in bright spaces outside. I've tried walking only in shadowy spots, but I'm too afraid to cross streets or walk on wide sidewalks, because I'm terrified of the wide open space. Every time I try it, I feel like I'm not even in my head anymore, I genuinely feel like I'll faint or lose control of my body, seize up, anything of the sort. My body physically hurts if I try to sit in a building with bright lights. Every time I put myself in these situations, I don't feel real anymore, and afterwards I feel like that moment didn't exist and like I teleported wherever I ended up. I stopped learning to drive because I'm terrified of being in the middle of the road, especially intersections, and I'm afraid that I'll die on the spot trying to cross through one. Looking through windows with bright lights on the other side feels less like a window, and more like a wall showing me fake imagery, and I genuinely hope deep down that when I open the door the "real" outside will be dark.
I've stopped enjoying things. I don't keep up with my work. My relationships are deteriorating - my family can't handle me anymore, for good reason, and genuinely don't know how to help; I can't do things with my friends aside from staying in the house, which they understandably get tired of; I can't even go out except to a few places with my boyfriend anymore, and although he says it's fine, I imagine it will wear on him at some point. He's the only safe person I have, and holding his hand is the literal only way I can cross streets (and even that's gotten more difficult and near impossible within the past month), but I won't tell him that as to not put pressure on him.
I feel like I'm in hell. I have panic attacks every day, multiple times a day, and my head hurts from them all the time. I've tried sensory aids like sunglasses, earplugs (I have special ones even to filter out background noise specifically), earbuds to play music, wearing the same jacket, bringing water if my mouth is dry, I've tried everything within my power. Today, I'm finally hitting a breaking point where I'm tempted to just drop out and give in.
It's freezing cold out. My classes are all in one building, and it was literally a two minute walk at max. It was on the same block that I was already on. But I couldn't walk in the light, on the wide sidewalks. When I tried walking in the shadows, there were wide access roads that I couldn't bring myself to cross. I tried calling family to ease myself and it didn't work. My phone died and they nearly called the cops, because I had fully accepted to them the possibility of freezing to death outside. I couldn't go anywhere. I sat outside in the cold with only a thin hoodie for an hour. In the moment I'd rather have frozen to death than had to have dealt with my awful agoraphobia and trying to walk through the light.
I'm going to see the doctor again, finally. My last shred of hope that I've been holding onto comes from that appointment.
I'm not even 20 yet. I don't know what to do anymore. I don't know how to live through this absolute hell.
2023.03.20 16:46 DarkAdalia The Lockwood House
I'm not particularly a religious person. I never really connected with the idea of believing in a God or a Devil; something like religion never really resonated with me until the night a few of my friends and I explored the Lockwood house.
My mother gave me a laptop this morning; she thought that it might help me cope or whatever so here I am, typing what I remember. I haven't been able to sleep; there's a shadow that stands in the corner of my hospital room at night, and sometimes I hear voices inside my head telling me to do things, and I'm terrified.
No one believes me. They keep stating that my traumatizing experience must have triggered my anxiety. They called it a dissociation or detachment from reality, I think. Whatever. I know that what I saw in that house was real, and what had happened to my friends actually did happen. We just wanted an experience. We never really stopped to evaluate the risks that might come with it.
I guess I'll start from the beginning.
It was Friday morning, and I decided to kill some time in the library across from my high school. The greatest thing about being in a library was the calming atmosphere. I leaned forward on the worn sofa and rolled my eyes as I turned the page.
What? I scoffed. Why is this even a thing someone would think is even remotely attractive?
[ I am a lot to handle, but I can assure you that you'll have fun handling me, love ]
Seriously? I've met drunk perverts hanging outside of bars with better pick up lines than that I thought to myself. I didn't think it could get any cringier until I read the next line.
[ My heart did an unexpected flip, startled by his bizarrely attractive smile ]
I frowned inwardly. You know what you really need instead of a creepy-ass stalker boyfriend? A cardiology consult
"So annoying," I sighed. How is this tripe a best seller?
"What's annoying?"
"Oh, shit." I squeaked. I sat upright and turned around, instinctively about to clog the person when I realized who it was. Harlen leaned up against the wall with a tilted smirk on his face. He stood between me and the fluorescents.
Harlen was a fellow classmate and a friend of Mark's, who was an older guy Albie, and I guess Harlen hung out with. Harlen was a tall, attractive guy with an athletic build, short obsidian hair, and grey eyes. To quote the main character in the novel, Harlen was the kind of trouble smarter girls than I had fallen into with disastrous results and a few regrets.
My cheeks flushed and I closed the book as he cocked his head at me. "Did I seriously scare you?" He joked, but his smile faltered slightly as I glared up at him.
"Dude," I groaned. "Don't sneak up on me like that,"
"What? I didn't sneak," He crossed his arms over his chest in protest. "No sneaking was involved. I just walked over here. And to be fair, this is a library-silence is sacred in a library so technically we're supposed to sneak. We're also the only ones in here right now anyway, so who cares."
My eyes did a pointed sweep of the decidedly empty area before settling back on Harlen's with an unamused glower. "Yeah," I said. "I'm pretty sure the zero other people in here appreciate the deceptive aura of calm. What are you doing here?"
"Well, actually I was doing some research for a paper I'm writing for English." He tightened his grip on his bookbag. "I was told I'd find you here," He explained.
"Why?" I asked. "I didn't tell anyone that I was here."
"I've got my ways of tracking people down."
When he saw my expression, Harlen rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on Kaya. I'm just kidding! Is it really that weird that I happen to be in here the same time as you?"
"I guess not."
"I'll let you get back to reading, then. Oh," He started. "I almost forgot. Meet us down at the Love Triangle for lunch. I found a cool place for us to urbex."
My friends and I loved urban exploring. Most of the time it was exciting and exhilarating. Sometimes it was a challenge; some places were remote enough that you could simply walk in through the front door like a welcomed visitor. Other times we would be forced to climb up over fences or crawl through windows.
There was this one time we decided to check out a drainage tunnel because a few people have sworn they heard ominous laughter coming from it. Water seeped into our clothes and we shivered at the coldness. I remember that I cracked a joke about the movie "IT" when we suddenly heard a loud BOOM right next to our heads. I have no idea what caused the sound, but I doubt that it was anything paranormal.
I was in the middle of stabbing at a large crouton with my fork when Harlen, Albie, and Jessica took their seats at the table.
"Hey, Kaya," Albie said as he sat down beside me. Albie and I have been friends since we were little. He was a skinny black guy with a box fade haircut and light brown eyes. We were neither popular nor unpopular. We were what some people called, "drifters" and, according to Albie, those whose social standings meant that if he made random eye contact with someone in the halls he would probably get a nod back, and maybe even a quick "Hey" or "What's up" If you didn't know us personally you'd likely assume that we were siblings, especially with the way we acted around each other most of the time.
"What took you guys so long?" I asked, pointing my fork in his direction.
"It was my fault. I'm sorry." He grumbled, as he unzipped his lunch bag. "Mr. Wizzner chastised me for like, ten minutes."
"To be fair, You were looking at your phone in class." Jessica said. Jessica was Albie's girlfriend, a petite girl with long blond hair, and hazel eyes. "And that wasn't the only thing,"
Albie sighed. "You're not wrong, but he's kind of an asshat."
"You should use that filter once in a while," Jessica said.
"Oh baby, since when have you known me to have such a filter?"
"Oh please," I scoffed. "You just choose not to use it."
Albie gave me a frown and tossed a baby carrot my way, which I was able to dodge easily.
Harlen cleared his throat as he pulled out his phone. "So, shall we get to it, then?"
The Lockwood house had been abandoned for years now, but a few people who have walked the trail close to the place have claimed they could see the spirits of the family walking around inside, and others had even heard music coming from the house. When they went to investigate, there was no one inside.
In 2010 Ethan Lockwood brutally murdered his wife, Anna Lockwood, and her parents Steven and Isabelle Thompson in the middle of the night. Authorities found Anna's parents dead in their bedroom; both of their bodies were in pieces, and their daughter's body was found in the basement. Anna had multiple blunt force head injuries and what's worse, her eyes and tongue were missing. Ethan's body was found in the living room with a shotgun beside him, and a deep laceration on his neck. People have compared this to the Amityville horror - which was a huge reason we were doing this.
"Get this," Harlen said, as he scrolled down. "There was a survivor - a ten year old boy. He also had a twin brother, but he was never found."
Some have assumed the father killed him and buried his body somewhere on the property, and others have assumed the boy escaped and is probably alive under a new identity. I guess we'll never know.
"Holy crap. What happened to the boy who survived?" I asked.
"I don't know. I guess that part was kept confidential," Albie said. "For the boy's protection I guess."
"Poor baby," Jessica frowned.
"So," Harlen said. "Are you guys up for it?"
◇
We all crawled into Harlen's truck around 6pm and headed to the Lockwood house. Albie took his video recorder and held it in front of his face. "Hey, what's up guys, gals, and nonbinary folks!" Albie spoke with conviction as he stared wide-eyed in the video recorder. "We're going to prove that ghosts are real!"
I rolled down the window and glanced out at the scenery. I laughed to myself when we passed a large cornfield. "Guys, this seriously looks like we're going straight into a modern day horror film."
"It really does," Jessica agreed.
"I can already feel this place, I'm beginning to sweat all over." Albie exclaimed as he turned his camera to the window then back on himself.
"Like something about this place isn't right at all? That's pretty understandable, considering." Harlen said, turning down a gravel road.
"We're gonna recieve a ton of views for this!" Albie smiled. He turned the camera toward Harlen who waved back from the review mirror.
"Dude," Harlen chuckled. "I bet some of these viewers are going to think you're crazy because you're willing to allow something to throw you across the room and-possibly-murder you for content."
We pulled up to the gate in front of the two - story colonial home. There was already a green van parked outside the gate to the property. Mark greeted us at the gate with a colorful bottle of vodka. Mark was an average looking guy in his early 20s with shaggy brown hair and brown eyes. He raised the bottle in his right hand with shot glasses in the other.
"Hey, guys," Mark handed each of us a shot glass. "Did you get here alright?"
"Oh yeah. I've driven passed this place a couple of times, I didn't even need the GPS" Harlen said.
"This definitely screams illegal." I commented, pointedly toward the large house.
"Only if we get caught, but this place is abandoned so I doubt we'll get into any trouble with the law." Harlen said.
"I'm giving you alcohol, and you're more worried about "breaking and entering"? Mark laughed.
Albie took his shot of the Three Olives Loopy vodka and made a face. "This tastes like Tucan Sam fucked me."
"Ew," Jessica grimaced.
Harlen and I laughed. Mark only snorted.
After we each had several shots of vodka, we got ready. We each grabbed a headlight in order to keep our hands free, gloves, and disposable face masks and placed them into our backpacks, along with first aid (just in case). Mark had been urbexing for a while, and he was always prepared with supplies just in case anyone forgot to bring something.
"So, what happens if we're not alone in the house?" Jessica asked.
Even though urbex sites are technically "abandoned" that didn't mean you wouldn't run into other people inside like squatters or addicts, and they may not react well to seeing a stranger in their space.
"It's a good thing I brought this along," Mark said. He pushed his jacket aside and revealed a hand gun tucked inside its holster.
"Holy crap, man." Harlen said.
"I can't believe you brought a gun." Albie said.
Jessica and I were speechless. It's a good idea to bring some sort of self defense tool just in case your physical safety is threatened, but bringing something like a gun raises the risk of you accidentally injuring yourself.
"Of course I did. It's always good to carry protection." Mark explained.
A few minutes after, the five of us walked up to the large rusted gate. With a little bit of work, we each slipped through the bars and headed up to the house.
"You know those haunted attractions where people dress up in order to scare the shit out of you, except it's actual demons and they're going to steal your soul!" Jessica smiled beside Albie who threaded his fingers through hers. "It's actually kinda thrilling."
"Awesome," Harlen smirked. "I'm glad you sound so optimistic about it."
"I try to be!"
We stepped up onto the porch, which wrapped around the front of the house. The paint on the door was chipped with age in places. "Are you guys ready?" Harlen asked. "Once we enter this house, we will possibly become vulnerable to any demonic presence that might reside here."
I rolled my eyes. "If I'm in serious danger, I'm getting out. I'll throw myself out the window if I have to."
"I'm on Kaya's team," Jessica agreed. "Team rational."
"What, and risk getting a broken leg?" Albie asked.
"Better a broken leg than having your soul taken by some kind of entity." I replied.
"Alright, guys let's do this." Harlen said. He opened the door and the five of us headed inside.
The front door opened up into a foyer. Straight ahead of us was a staircase that led up to the second floor. There was a spacious living room to our right and a dining room to our left, and from there, an alcove enterance that led into the kitchen. I could tell that this place had been abandoned for years; there was cobwebs and peeled paint on the walls. There were remnants of furniture left ripped, dismantled, and stained which laid disorderly on the floor of the living room, reminding me of death.
This had once been the home of a happy upper-class family, full of life. Now it was replaced by ghosts of the past, vermin, spiders, dirt, and trash. The smell of rot and the taste of regurgitated food made me grimace in disgust.
"Why hasn't anyone fix this place up and put it back on the market?" Jessica asked.
"Who really knows," Albie replied.
"Hello!" Harlen announced as he twirled on his heels. "Are there any spirits here?" I glanced over at Harlen with a look and he shrugged.
"Is this what you guys imagined?" Mark queried.
"Sure, minus the dead bodies," I walked into the living room and spotted a mid century record player console propped up against the wall next to a grand piano. There was a record still on the turntable, "Tonight You Belong To Me" by "Patience and Prudence"
"Hey, come check this out." Out of curiosity I placed the stylus and tried turning it on, not really expecting anything to happen. I jerked my hand away when it began to play.
I quickly took the needle off, a little creeped out. "Holy crap, that scared me."
"That thing still works?" Albie asked, as he inspected the record player. "That song is kinda sweet,"
"No it isn't," Jessica frowned. "It's the kind of song you would hear while being tortured to death."
After we goofed around a little bit, we all decided to begin exploring around the house. Mark started up the stairs and asked if anyone would like to join him.
"I'll join you, man." Harlen said. He gave me a wink before heading towards the stairs with Mark, and I glanced over at Albie and Jessica as they disappeared down the hall.
I was alone.
I walked over to the piano, and carefully lifted the lid up and over to reveal its keys. My fingers traced the lines in between them and pushed down lightly on a few. The deep sounds reverberated around the room.
My eyes drifted up to the small picture frame sitting on top of the piano. I absent-mindedly bit my bottom lip and reached up to grab the frame. My fingers trailed across the picture, leaving an oily impression against the glass that held the picture in place. A family of four stared back at me and I realized that it was Ethan, Anna, and their twin boys. I was so focused on the twins that I almost didn't hear my phone alerting me that I had a new text message.
It was a text from Albie.
From "Albie" at 6:45pm: Meet us down in the basement. I want to show u something.
To "Albie" at 6:46pm: What is it?
From "Albie" at 6:46pm: There's some cool shit down here. Hurry up.
I rolled my eyes and placed my phone in my pocket as I made my way down the hall. I paused at the top of the basement stairs. I could hear Jessica and Albie, the beems from their headlights bouncing around.
"Albie?" I called out.
"Yeah, Kaya, we're down here." He replied. "Come on down. We have something to show you."
"Alright, I'm coming down hold on." I carefully descended the stairs and turned the corner. "So, what did you want to show me-"
My voice died in my throat. It was dark down here, and my friends were nowhere to be seen. I was gripped by a sudden sense of unnease. I stood near the stairs and turned on my headlamp. "Hello? Albie, this isn't funny, dude."
What answered me was silence. Absolute silence. I was alone, or I thought I was until my light fell onto something moving a few feet in front of me. It was an androgynous looking kid around my age with pale skin, shoulder-length black hair, and violet eyes. They wore a long sleeve gothic cloak poncho, over thin black leggings. Their lips pulled back into a malicious grin as they came closer to me. I watched in horror as their eyes rolled to the back of their head and their mouth split open wide, revealing sharp teeth.
They reached out for me and I screamed in terror, my instincs finally kicked in. I bolted up the steps, and stumbled into the hallway. I ran for the front door and tried to leave, but it wouldn't open. What the hell?! that made no damn sense! My heart sank into the pit of my stomach. Suddenly I felt something touch my shoulder. I screamed, ready to defend myself.
"Hey. Hey! Kaya, stop it's me, Albie."
I stopped struggling as my eyes refocused on the familiar faces in front of me. Albie, Jessica, and Harlen stared back at me with confused alarm.
"Are you alright?" Harlen asked. "What happened?"
I shook my head and quickly glanced behind them at the basement door, but there was nothing there. I know I hadn't imagined it! I turned my attention back to my friends. "I saw something down in the basement! I want to leave. Now."
"What are you talking about, Kaya? Hold up, did you see something down there? Holy shit. The ghosts didn't think one of us would see them, but we did. Can you-"
Before Albie can finish his sentence, I roughly pushed him away from me and turned back to the door. "Damnit, Albie! I don't want to be in this fucking house anymore! It won't open! Why won't it open!"
"Seriously, Kaya what the hell?" Albie asked, almost annoyed.
"Just relax, Kaya. Let me give it a try, alright?" Harlen offered, calmly. He grabbed the knob, but it stayed shut. "What the hell?"
"See? I told you it won't open!" I hissed.
"What do you mean, "it won't open" let me give it a try." Albie shoved his way passed us. He motioned for all of us to stand back and we watched as he tried to use his whole body against it.
"M-maybe the door's jammed." Jessica exclaimed. "Let's chill out. The front door isn't the only exit out of this place."
"Jessica's right. Let's try the door in the kitchen." Harlen said. We entered the kitchen and Harlen quickly made his way over to the screen door that faced the forest. He cursed under his breath. "Damnit. Nothing."
"Hold up, guys. Where's Mark?" Albie asked.
Harlen quickly pulled his phone out to call Mark when we all collectively got a text from him. Reminding us that we had set up a group chat for easy contact. Harlen glanced back at me with an odd expression I couldn't name. I opened my texts and a sharp stab of dread settled in my stomach.
From "Mark" at 7:05pm: I'm down in the basement, Harlen. Where r u?
From "Mark" at 7:06pm: Harlen is that u? It's not funny, man.
Harlen texted Mark that we were all in the kitchen. I watched as the three small dots in a text bubble pending before it disappeared and Harlen's cell phone rang. He answered and placed Mark on speaker phone.
"What the hell do you mean you're in the kitchen? I definitely heard your voice down here."
Harlen cursed, and told Mark to make his way to the kitchen. Harlen started toward the basement and we all followed right behind him. Before we could reach the stairs to the basement, however, the door swung shut, the force of it knocked us backwards. We heard Mark's gun go off several times followed by his peircing screams of terror before they were abruptly cut short. In our inebriated panic, I failed at the last second to realize we were all running in different directions.
I remember running up the stairs and locking the bathroom door behind me. My heart pounded painfully against my ribcage as I fumbled for my phone, thankful that it hadn't fallen out of my pocket. I willed myself to control my sobs and called 911, but for some reason my call wouldn't go through.
"Nononono! Fuck, please no." I collapsed against the bathtub and cried into my sleeves. Paranoia nearly consumed me once I thought of my friends and every horrible scenario when I received a text from Albie. I looked at it confused.
I wiped the snot from my face and quickly texted him back. How in the hell was I able to receive his texts when I couldn't get ahold of the cops?
From "Albie" at 7:20pm: Apparently we can contact each other in this house, but our phone's service seems to be cut off from the outside world. Where r u?
What the hell is going on in this place??
To "Albie" at 7:21pm: I'm in the upstairs bathroom. Do u know where Harlen and Jess are?
From "Albie" at 7:25pm: Jess is with me. I don't know where Harlen is.
My stomach dropped, but before I could reply Albie sent another text, and what I read made my blood run cold.
From "Albie" at 7:25pm: There is smthing moving in the hallway outside the room we r in. Stay quiet and keep ur phone on silent. If we need to contact each other use text.
It was around thirty minutes after when Albie replied with another text updating me with their situation. The thing stalking outside their room a while ago was gone now, and it hadn't come back.
From "Albie" at 8:00pm: We're going to make our way to you. Stay where u r
To "Albie" at 8:02pm: Ok. Be careful.
I slowly got to my feet and set my phone down beside the sink and took a deep breath to level my breathing. Suddenly, I heard something pound against the door. I screamed and stumbled backward. "Holy shit!"
"Kaya?" It was Harlen. "Kaya, is that you?"
"H-Harlen?" I collected myself and made my way over to the bathroom door. I walked into the hallway, relieved that I wasn't alone anymore. Harlen was safe, thank God. "Oh my god, Harlen I'm so glad you're-"
I gasped, and I stumbled forward as the door behind me slammed shut. I felt a sudden wave of dread wash over me as my eyes swept up and down the vacant hallway. Whatever was keeping us here tricked me. I quickly tried going back into the bathroom, but it wouldn't open, not only that but I left my phone by the sink. "No! Damnit!" I needed my phone, it was my only way to stay in contact with my friends, and how was Albie going to know where I was? I had two options, I could try and make my way to Albie or find another place to hide.
My heart thudded loudly in my ears as my headlamp bounced off the walls, chasing nothing more than shadows. I stuck close to the wall as I made my way down the hall. From somewhere down the hall, I heard a voice call out. It was Albie's voice telling me to come over to him. I hesitated for a moment. What if it was another trick? It definitely could be since whatever is toying with us was capable of mimicking voices. What if it really was Albie? Regardless, I had to go passed the room if I wanted to find Albie or another place to hide.
"Kaya, we're in here," Albie whispered to me as I got closer to one of the bedrooms. I hesitated before I stepped inside. The bedroom smelled awful, like rotten meat hung out in the sun for too long. My headlamp's light swept the room until it landed on a lone figure lying face-up on the bed.
"...Albie?" I whispered, tentatively. My voice sounded thin, like old paper. The figure on the bed didn't answer, but when I crept closer, I slipped on something wet. I glanced down at the floor. It was blood; a trail of blood led in from the doorway all the way to the bed. "Oh my god!" I screamed. My stomach rebelled and I heaved out my lunch until I couldn't expel anything else.
My throat burned as I wiped my mouth, and my chest hurt from sobbing out his name. Mark laid sprawled on the bed, his abdomen was ripped open and what remained of his entrails spilled over his body like a gory blanket. I stumbled backward, I fell against the door closing it shut. I was about to leave when I spotted the gun tucked under Mark's jacket.
Oh god, this was probably the worst decision ever and the likelihood that this was yet another trick was high, but I needed something to protect myself with. I've watched Mark use it before when we all went camping a year ago, so I kind of knew how to use it. I steeled myself and started toward the bed.
The closer I got the more I can see the damage done to his body; his abdomen and chest cavity were open and hollowed out. The skin looked like it was rolled back, torn and ragged. His sternum was completely gone, a few of his ribs were cracked so they protruded from either side of his body like fangs. Half of his bottom lip looked like it was chewed off and his left ear was missing. I shook my head and tentatively reached out for the gun. Just as I grabbed it, I felt something gooey covered on the grip of the gun.
I yelped and dropped it on the floor. I cursed and bent down to pick it up. Once I did I wiped the substance off with my sleeve with a grimace and made sure the safety was on. I was tucking it into my jacket pocket when something dripped onto my hand. I looked up and saw Mark or what used to be Mark looming over me from the ceiling like Spiderman. His eyes were oily black, his face twisted in an agonized and vengeful expression. Before I could move, he threw himself at me.
Somehow, I managed to dodge him and wrench the door open, hitting Mark as he lunged at me. The blow was hard enough that it sent Mark sprawling across the floor. I rushed out of the room and back into the empty hallway. I took a chance and looked back, but Mark wasn't there.
When I reached the end of the hallway, I felt hands grab me and pull me around the corner. I opened my mouth to scream, but a hand clamped over my mouth, silencing me. Panic cut through my body like a hot blade, and new found adrenaline flooded my system as I twisted and shoved at the person holding me immobile.
"Kaya, stop," Albie hissed. "It's me."
I turned around and my eyes widened with tears as Albie released his hand from my mouth, and Jessica pulled me into a hug as I told them what happened. Albie pointed towards the stairs and motioned for us to follow. Albie led us into the foyer. We heard movement in the basement so as quickly and quietly as we could, we crawled inside a closet across from the living room.
"What are we going to do?" Jessica asked. "We have no weapons!"
"I found this on Mark's body." I exclaimed as I showed them the hand gun.
Albie got to his feet. "ah, crap...I'm going to be right back. I left my camera in the kitchen."
"What? Hell no." I hissed. Splitting up is a terrible Idea! Risking his life for that damn camera? Was he an idiot?
"Just stay here, alright? Kaya, keep that gun out." He said, with no room for an argument. "Whatever this thing is, it can mimic our voices so we'll need a password to distinguish them from us." He took out his phone and typed Last Alliance
After he left, I crawled over to the door and locked it. I sat down next to Jessica who was sobbing. I turned to her and placed my palms to her tear stained face. "Hey, Jess. We'll make it out of here alright? I promise-"
Jessica shook her head and pushed my hands away from her face. "Don't say that shit to me. We're going to die here, Kaya!" She hissed. "Why is this happening? I wanna go home!"
I sat back against the wall and sighed.
Ten minutes later I heard movement coming from outside the room. I quickly got to my feet and placed my hands on the door.
"Last Alliance," Albie whispered, rather quickly. "Hurry up and let me in."
I hadn't even released the door knob when Albie pushed passed me and helped Jessica to her feet without much protest on her end. "Shit, it was him all along."
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"I caught it on camera!" He whispered frantically. "The reason he brought us out here wasn't to-shit-" he was breathing hard. He moved toward me and shoved the camera in my direction. "Here, hold onto it for-" His sentence was cut off abruptly as the thing that used to be Mark drilled his fist into Albie's chest from behind. Albie's eyes widened as his mind had come to the realization at what happened.
Mark dropped Albie's body on the ground and his lips twisted into a manic grin as he examined his blood-covered arm. "He was spying on us," Mark said, but it didn't sound like Mark anymore. His voice sounded like several voices overlapping, fighting for center stage. "He didn't think that we would notice, but we did."
We screamed, and holding onto the camera with one hand I pulled her toward me with the other, quickly. We couldn't save him, and I knew that if we didn't move now we would end up just like him.
Jessica and I bolted down the hallway and back up the stairs. We found an empty room that must have been a personal office at one point, and barricaded ourselves inside. I cursed when I noticed the room we were in didn't have a window wide enough for us to escape through. I sat against the wall beside Jessica who sobbed into her sleeves.
I glanced down at the camcorder which felt heavy in my hand. What did Albie capture on camera that had him so upset? I turned it on and what I saw on the screen made my blood run cold. It was Harlen, the kid from the basement who stood beside Harlen, and the thing that used to be Mark; Harlen was speaking to him, but it was in a strange language that I couldn't understand. After he was finished, the thing that used to be Mark knelt down as if Harlen was some kind of royalty, and that was where the video stopped.
I heard that thing right outside the room we were in. He was telling us that no matter what we did, we were not leaving this place. A few seconds later, he broke through the door, pushing the desk and chairs out of the way with ease. With the force, one of the chairs knocked me to the floor.
He released a sick and twisted laughter, and stalked toward me, eyes filled with malice. Jessica grabbed something heavy from the floor and chucked it at Mark. Mark was startled for a second, and then slowly turned his attention to her. She yelped and frantically swept her eyes around the room for anything she could use as a weapon. He lunged for her and they collided to the floor.
I fumbled for my jacket's zipper for the gun, but I was too late. I watched in utter horror as he ripped into my friend; her screams of terror and agony will haunt my nightmares for the rest of my life. I pulled myself to my feet, my back bumped into something hard. A metal filing cabinet. Mark turned his attention back on me, but before he could reach me, he tripped over something and he fell to the floor. I shifted, and using my whole body weight, I managed to tip it over. It landed on top of Mark with a sickening crunch of bone and viscera.
I slowly made my way to Jessica's body and collapsed to my knees. I clutched at my own head and screamed until it hurt. At that moment, all I wanted to do was crumble in defeat. My voice had broken into heavy sobs so loud and ugly that I almost didn't hear Harlen's footsteps behind me.
"Kaya, is that you?" He called out to me, his voice full of worry. I was hardly listening to him. This was his fault! Rage spiked through me like a knife to my gut, it twisted and turned until I was all ground beef inside; I had the sudden urge to pull the gun from my jacket and-no, I had to calm down. Maybe if I feigned ignorance, I might still have a chance to escape, however slim that was. He bent down, and I let him pull me along with him without protest. With his eyes forward, I slowly put my hand on the gun.
We were almost to the kitchen when Harlen turned around, and leaned against the wall. "So, you know, don't you."
It wasn't a question. I slowly pulled out the gun, unlocked it, and trained it on him. He stared at me with an unsettling expression, and I could have sworn his eyes were black. I suddenly felt an intense pressure pour down on me. I could feel a miasma of something intense as his eyes bore into mine; my arms trembled with the effort of keeping them aloft. The gun clenched tightly in my hands like a life line. I couldn't faulter. I knew that if I did, even for an instant, Harlen would undoubtedly kill me.
"Oh, don't be like that, Kaya. You're not getting out of this house unless I say so, so let's just chat, hm?"
I shook my head and raised the gun to his chest, and for a brief moment I caught a glimpse of a surprised expression on his face when I pulled the trigger. The sound of the gunshot reverberated around me. I pulled the trigger again and again, but the gun was empty. I dropped it to the floor, my hands shaking. He glanced down at himself. "Huh. Well, would ya look at that, you managed to get me through the ribs, good job."
I was running before Harlen finished his sentence. However, he wasn't coming after me-at least not yet. Figures. I couldn't leave this place so he had no reason to put much effort into the chase. I stumbled through the house, catching myself on overturned furniture in order to keep my balance as I made my way towards the stairs.
I tripped over something and I caught myself against the wall across from the stairs. I paused for a moment to catch my breath. The house seemed to resonate with his manic laughter. I glanced behind me, and I felt a wave of cold dread as he sauntered toward me down the hall. Hands in his pockets, with an almost amused expression.
"Where do you think you're going, Kaya?" He asked. "Didn't I tell you before?"
The words, "There is no escape" suddenly appeared all over the walls in blood. I cursed, and pushed myself off the wall and bolted up the steps, down the hall, and into one of the bedrooms and quickly closed the door. I looked around at what was once a child's room. There was a twin sized bed in the center of the room, a nightstand across from the closet, and a bathroom.
I spotted a decent sized window and I ran over to it, but it wouldn't open and I cursed when there was nothing around me to break it with. Without any time to come up with a plan, I quickly slid underneath the bed and turned off my headlamp. I immediately cursed at myself again, of all the places to hide I chose the first place any one would look!
I contemplated whether or not to find another hiding place, but before I could move I heard him make his way down the hall singing that creepy ass song. "My honey I know with the dawn that you will be gone, but tonight you belong to me, just little 'ol me~"
The bedroom door opened. I covered my mouth and tried to silence my breathing, hoping to God that he wouldn't find me under the bed. I watched in fear as he closed the door behind him and made his way over to the bed. The bed dipped slightly as Harlen's weight sank onto it. He told me things I didn't want to hear and more. This monster-this demon-slithered into our lives just for all of this to happen.
My eyes widened and I tucked my arms to my sides, the wooden bed frame gave a protest above me as Harlen laid down on top of it. Then he sighed, almost forlorn. "This was my brother's room, you know. Coming back here brings back so many memories,"
Right after he said that I felt something prickle behind my eyelids. I shut my eyes tightly as gruesome scenes appeared inside my head. There was so much blood, and images shown of a young boy in pajamas stalking through the house with an ax in his hands picking off his family members one by one-doing things a normal child his size wouldn't be able to do, but Harlen was anything but normal. I felt bile rise in my throat but I managed to keep it down.
"The final stage of grief is acceptance, Kaya." He said. His cruel voice brought me back to the present. "You have a lot of spirit, I like that. I'm also in a good mood so I'll give you two options: you can either die here or you can come with me. You should be grateful that I'm even giving you an option. So, what's it going to be?"
I opened my mouth and closed it again; what was I supposed to say to something like that? What was going to happen to me if I said yes? If I said no...
A low growl -yes, a growl- rumbled above me and I felt something snag my ankle. I panicked, my fingers tore into the wooden floor as I was dragged out from underneath the bed. I was thrown across the room, pain shot up my back as something bit into my spine. Harlen straightened up and started toward me. I quickly averted my gaze, the panic swarmed all over me like a hive of angry bees.
"Wh-why are you d-doing this?" I asked, my breath hitched between sobs.
Harlen knelt down in front of me. "Hey...hey look at me, Kaya."
Absolute terror gripped me as he forced me to look at him. His features weren't human; the light of the moon highlighted the inhuman planes of his face. Black, spidery thread-like lines creeped around his forehead and right beneath his oily black eyes. His mouth had split open, wider than any human mouth was capable of.
His nails grew long and sharp against my chin. It was mesmerizing, fascinating almost, like watching a lion's face before it tears yours off. Suddenly, I couldn't breathe; my lungs felt swollen and inflamed, my hands came up to my throat as I coughed and wheezed. Was this an asthma attack? No, it was Harlen.
"When I ask you a question, do not answer it with another question do you understand?" He snarled. "You will understand why when you arrive. Now, will it be a yes or a no?"
His features calmed and he looked human again, and whatever power on me broke, it allowed me to inhale sharply. I gasped. I wanted to scream at him, I wanted to rage. Instead, I dropped my hands on my thighs. I wanted to live.
◇
"Kaya, honey" My mom said, as she came into my hospital room, "You've got someone to see you this morning! One of your friends from school, I think."
I placed my book down on the table beside me. She bent down and gave me a kiss on the forehead. "And he's very attractive," She whispered, "It's not every day a tall handsome boy comes to sit by your bedside."
I nodded and gave her a small smile as my chest filled with dread. The doctor informed my mom that I was found in the middle of the woods, unconcious by a young man. She had no idea what really happened to me or what happened to my friends'. Harlen told me that he had ways of covering his tracks so there was no use in telling anyone what really happened. It didn't matter if I did or not because no one would believe me anyway.
Harlen came around the corner with a bouquet of flowers. My mom smiled at him and walked toward the door, "I'll just leave you two alone. What did you say your name was again?"
"My name is Harlen," He said, as he stepped forward. "Harlen Lockwood."
"Nice to meet you, Harlen," She said, smiling back at him before exiting the room.
Harlen placed the flowers on the table and sat down next to the hospital bed, he placed a hand on my thigh. "I'm so glad you're feeling better, Kaya." He said. He gently pushed a loose strand of my hair out of my face and gently tucked it behind my ear. "Remember what we talked about. You will come to me after you are discharged from the hospital,"
I shivered at his touch, and out of curiosity I asked, "What happens if I don't?"
Harlen let loose a dark chuckle. His head dips until his lips skate by the curve of my ear. "Then I'll hunt you down." He whispered to me like it's obvious. "I'll kill you and everyone you care about. I'm capable of all sorts of horrors; things you can't even imagine." I watched as Harlen stood up from the seat.
"Now, I've got a few things to do before you arrive," Harlen said, smiling down at me. He paused by the room's door. "I'll see you soon."
His visit was a few days ago. I've made up my mind; all of those lives are dependent on me. Everything that happened that night was real. I know that most people won't believe me, but to be quite honest I don't care anymore.
[Update] I just got the news I'll be discharged tomorrow.
submitted by DarkAdalia to CreepyPastas [link] [comments]
My mother gave me a laptop this morning; she thought that it might help me cope or whatever so here I am, typing what I remember. I haven't been able to sleep; there's a shadow that stands in the corner of my hospital room at night, and sometimes I hear voices inside my head telling me to do things, and I'm terrified.
No one believes me. They keep stating that my traumatizing experience must have triggered my anxiety. They called it a dissociation or detachment from reality, I think. Whatever. I know that what I saw in that house was real, and what had happened to my friends actually did happen. We just wanted an experience. We never really stopped to evaluate the risks that might come with it.
I guess I'll start from the beginning.
It was Friday morning, and I decided to kill some time in the library across from my high school. The greatest thing about being in a library was the calming atmosphere. I leaned forward on the worn sofa and rolled my eyes as I turned the page.
What? I scoffed. Why is this even a thing someone would think is even remotely attractive?
[ I am a lot to handle, but I can assure you that you'll have fun handling me, love ]
Seriously? I've met drunk perverts hanging outside of bars with better pick up lines than that I thought to myself. I didn't think it could get any cringier until I read the next line.
[ My heart did an unexpected flip, startled by his bizarrely attractive smile ]
I frowned inwardly. You know what you really need instead of a creepy-ass stalker boyfriend? A cardiology consult
"So annoying," I sighed. How is this tripe a best seller?
"What's annoying?"
"Oh, shit." I squeaked. I sat upright and turned around, instinctively about to clog the person when I realized who it was. Harlen leaned up against the wall with a tilted smirk on his face. He stood between me and the fluorescents.
Harlen was a fellow classmate and a friend of Mark's, who was an older guy Albie, and I guess Harlen hung out with. Harlen was a tall, attractive guy with an athletic build, short obsidian hair, and grey eyes. To quote the main character in the novel, Harlen was the kind of trouble smarter girls than I had fallen into with disastrous results and a few regrets.
My cheeks flushed and I closed the book as he cocked his head at me. "Did I seriously scare you?" He joked, but his smile faltered slightly as I glared up at him.
"Dude," I groaned. "Don't sneak up on me like that,"
"What? I didn't sneak," He crossed his arms over his chest in protest. "No sneaking was involved. I just walked over here. And to be fair, this is a library-silence is sacred in a library so technically we're supposed to sneak. We're also the only ones in here right now anyway, so who cares."
My eyes did a pointed sweep of the decidedly empty area before settling back on Harlen's with an unamused glower. "Yeah," I said. "I'm pretty sure the zero other people in here appreciate the deceptive aura of calm. What are you doing here?"
"Well, actually I was doing some research for a paper I'm writing for English." He tightened his grip on his bookbag. "I was told I'd find you here," He explained.
"Why?" I asked. "I didn't tell anyone that I was here."
"I've got my ways of tracking people down."
When he saw my expression, Harlen rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on Kaya. I'm just kidding! Is it really that weird that I happen to be in here the same time as you?"
"I guess not."
"I'll let you get back to reading, then. Oh," He started. "I almost forgot. Meet us down at the Love Triangle for lunch. I found a cool place for us to urbex."
My friends and I loved urban exploring. Most of the time it was exciting and exhilarating. Sometimes it was a challenge; some places were remote enough that you could simply walk in through the front door like a welcomed visitor. Other times we would be forced to climb up over fences or crawl through windows.
There was this one time we decided to check out a drainage tunnel because a few people have sworn they heard ominous laughter coming from it. Water seeped into our clothes and we shivered at the coldness. I remember that I cracked a joke about the movie "IT" when we suddenly heard a loud BOOM right next to our heads. I have no idea what caused the sound, but I doubt that it was anything paranormal.
I was in the middle of stabbing at a large crouton with my fork when Harlen, Albie, and Jessica took their seats at the table.
"Hey, Kaya," Albie said as he sat down beside me. Albie and I have been friends since we were little. He was a skinny black guy with a box fade haircut and light brown eyes. We were neither popular nor unpopular. We were what some people called, "drifters" and, according to Albie, those whose social standings meant that if he made random eye contact with someone in the halls he would probably get a nod back, and maybe even a quick "Hey" or "What's up" If you didn't know us personally you'd likely assume that we were siblings, especially with the way we acted around each other most of the time.
"What took you guys so long?" I asked, pointing my fork in his direction.
"It was my fault. I'm sorry." He grumbled, as he unzipped his lunch bag. "Mr. Wizzner chastised me for like, ten minutes."
"To be fair, You were looking at your phone in class." Jessica said. Jessica was Albie's girlfriend, a petite girl with long blond hair, and hazel eyes. "And that wasn't the only thing,"
Albie sighed. "You're not wrong, but he's kind of an asshat."
"You should use that filter once in a while," Jessica said.
"Oh baby, since when have you known me to have such a filter?"
"Oh please," I scoffed. "You just choose not to use it."
Albie gave me a frown and tossed a baby carrot my way, which I was able to dodge easily.
Harlen cleared his throat as he pulled out his phone. "So, shall we get to it, then?"
The Lockwood house had been abandoned for years now, but a few people who have walked the trail close to the place have claimed they could see the spirits of the family walking around inside, and others had even heard music coming from the house. When they went to investigate, there was no one inside.
In 2010 Ethan Lockwood brutally murdered his wife, Anna Lockwood, and her parents Steven and Isabelle Thompson in the middle of the night. Authorities found Anna's parents dead in their bedroom; both of their bodies were in pieces, and their daughter's body was found in the basement. Anna had multiple blunt force head injuries and what's worse, her eyes and tongue were missing. Ethan's body was found in the living room with a shotgun beside him, and a deep laceration on his neck. People have compared this to the Amityville horror - which was a huge reason we were doing this.
"Get this," Harlen said, as he scrolled down. "There was a survivor - a ten year old boy. He also had a twin brother, but he was never found."
Some have assumed the father killed him and buried his body somewhere on the property, and others have assumed the boy escaped and is probably alive under a new identity. I guess we'll never know.
"Holy crap. What happened to the boy who survived?" I asked.
"I don't know. I guess that part was kept confidential," Albie said. "For the boy's protection I guess."
"Poor baby," Jessica frowned.
"So," Harlen said. "Are you guys up for it?"
◇
We all crawled into Harlen's truck around 6pm and headed to the Lockwood house. Albie took his video recorder and held it in front of his face. "Hey, what's up guys, gals, and nonbinary folks!" Albie spoke with conviction as he stared wide-eyed in the video recorder. "We're going to prove that ghosts are real!"
I rolled down the window and glanced out at the scenery. I laughed to myself when we passed a large cornfield. "Guys, this seriously looks like we're going straight into a modern day horror film."
"It really does," Jessica agreed.
"I can already feel this place, I'm beginning to sweat all over." Albie exclaimed as he turned his camera to the window then back on himself.
"Like something about this place isn't right at all? That's pretty understandable, considering." Harlen said, turning down a gravel road.
"We're gonna recieve a ton of views for this!" Albie smiled. He turned the camera toward Harlen who waved back from the review mirror.
"Dude," Harlen chuckled. "I bet some of these viewers are going to think you're crazy because you're willing to allow something to throw you across the room and-possibly-murder you for content."
We pulled up to the gate in front of the two - story colonial home. There was already a green van parked outside the gate to the property. Mark greeted us at the gate with a colorful bottle of vodka. Mark was an average looking guy in his early 20s with shaggy brown hair and brown eyes. He raised the bottle in his right hand with shot glasses in the other.
"Hey, guys," Mark handed each of us a shot glass. "Did you get here alright?"
"Oh yeah. I've driven passed this place a couple of times, I didn't even need the GPS" Harlen said.
"This definitely screams illegal." I commented, pointedly toward the large house.
"Only if we get caught, but this place is abandoned so I doubt we'll get into any trouble with the law." Harlen said.
"I'm giving you alcohol, and you're more worried about "breaking and entering"? Mark laughed.
Albie took his shot of the Three Olives Loopy vodka and made a face. "This tastes like Tucan Sam fucked me."
"Ew," Jessica grimaced.
Harlen and I laughed. Mark only snorted.
After we each had several shots of vodka, we got ready. We each grabbed a headlight in order to keep our hands free, gloves, and disposable face masks and placed them into our backpacks, along with first aid (just in case). Mark had been urbexing for a while, and he was always prepared with supplies just in case anyone forgot to bring something.
"So, what happens if we're not alone in the house?" Jessica asked.
Even though urbex sites are technically "abandoned" that didn't mean you wouldn't run into other people inside like squatters or addicts, and they may not react well to seeing a stranger in their space.
"It's a good thing I brought this along," Mark said. He pushed his jacket aside and revealed a hand gun tucked inside its holster.
"Holy crap, man." Harlen said.
"I can't believe you brought a gun." Albie said.
Jessica and I were speechless. It's a good idea to bring some sort of self defense tool just in case your physical safety is threatened, but bringing something like a gun raises the risk of you accidentally injuring yourself.
"Of course I did. It's always good to carry protection." Mark explained.
A few minutes after, the five of us walked up to the large rusted gate. With a little bit of work, we each slipped through the bars and headed up to the house.
"You know those haunted attractions where people dress up in order to scare the shit out of you, except it's actual demons and they're going to steal your soul!" Jessica smiled beside Albie who threaded his fingers through hers. "It's actually kinda thrilling."
"Awesome," Harlen smirked. "I'm glad you sound so optimistic about it."
"I try to be!"
We stepped up onto the porch, which wrapped around the front of the house. The paint on the door was chipped with age in places. "Are you guys ready?" Harlen asked. "Once we enter this house, we will possibly become vulnerable to any demonic presence that might reside here."
I rolled my eyes. "If I'm in serious danger, I'm getting out. I'll throw myself out the window if I have to."
"I'm on Kaya's team," Jessica agreed. "Team rational."
"What, and risk getting a broken leg?" Albie asked.
"Better a broken leg than having your soul taken by some kind of entity." I replied.
"Alright, guys let's do this." Harlen said. He opened the door and the five of us headed inside.
The front door opened up into a foyer. Straight ahead of us was a staircase that led up to the second floor. There was a spacious living room to our right and a dining room to our left, and from there, an alcove enterance that led into the kitchen. I could tell that this place had been abandoned for years; there was cobwebs and peeled paint on the walls. There were remnants of furniture left ripped, dismantled, and stained which laid disorderly on the floor of the living room, reminding me of death.
This had once been the home of a happy upper-class family, full of life. Now it was replaced by ghosts of the past, vermin, spiders, dirt, and trash. The smell of rot and the taste of regurgitated food made me grimace in disgust.
"Why hasn't anyone fix this place up and put it back on the market?" Jessica asked.
"Who really knows," Albie replied.
"Hello!" Harlen announced as he twirled on his heels. "Are there any spirits here?" I glanced over at Harlen with a look and he shrugged.
"Is this what you guys imagined?" Mark queried.
"Sure, minus the dead bodies," I walked into the living room and spotted a mid century record player console propped up against the wall next to a grand piano. There was a record still on the turntable, "Tonight You Belong To Me" by "Patience and Prudence"
"Hey, come check this out." Out of curiosity I placed the stylus and tried turning it on, not really expecting anything to happen. I jerked my hand away when it began to play.
I quickly took the needle off, a little creeped out. "Holy crap, that scared me."
"That thing still works?" Albie asked, as he inspected the record player. "That song is kinda sweet,"
"No it isn't," Jessica frowned. "It's the kind of song you would hear while being tortured to death."
After we goofed around a little bit, we all decided to begin exploring around the house. Mark started up the stairs and asked if anyone would like to join him.
"I'll join you, man." Harlen said. He gave me a wink before heading towards the stairs with Mark, and I glanced over at Albie and Jessica as they disappeared down the hall.
I was alone.
I walked over to the piano, and carefully lifted the lid up and over to reveal its keys. My fingers traced the lines in between them and pushed down lightly on a few. The deep sounds reverberated around the room.
My eyes drifted up to the small picture frame sitting on top of the piano. I absent-mindedly bit my bottom lip and reached up to grab the frame. My fingers trailed across the picture, leaving an oily impression against the glass that held the picture in place. A family of four stared back at me and I realized that it was Ethan, Anna, and their twin boys. I was so focused on the twins that I almost didn't hear my phone alerting me that I had a new text message.
It was a text from Albie.
From "Albie" at 6:45pm: Meet us down in the basement. I want to show u something.
To "Albie" at 6:46pm: What is it?
From "Albie" at 6:46pm: There's some cool shit down here. Hurry up.
I rolled my eyes and placed my phone in my pocket as I made my way down the hall. I paused at the top of the basement stairs. I could hear Jessica and Albie, the beems from their headlights bouncing around.
"Albie?" I called out.
"Yeah, Kaya, we're down here." He replied. "Come on down. We have something to show you."
"Alright, I'm coming down hold on." I carefully descended the stairs and turned the corner. "So, what did you want to show me-"
My voice died in my throat. It was dark down here, and my friends were nowhere to be seen. I was gripped by a sudden sense of unnease. I stood near the stairs and turned on my headlamp. "Hello? Albie, this isn't funny, dude."
What answered me was silence. Absolute silence. I was alone, or I thought I was until my light fell onto something moving a few feet in front of me. It was an androgynous looking kid around my age with pale skin, shoulder-length black hair, and violet eyes. They wore a long sleeve gothic cloak poncho, over thin black leggings. Their lips pulled back into a malicious grin as they came closer to me. I watched in horror as their eyes rolled to the back of their head and their mouth split open wide, revealing sharp teeth.
They reached out for me and I screamed in terror, my instincs finally kicked in. I bolted up the steps, and stumbled into the hallway. I ran for the front door and tried to leave, but it wouldn't open. What the hell?! that made no damn sense! My heart sank into the pit of my stomach. Suddenly I felt something touch my shoulder. I screamed, ready to defend myself.
"Hey. Hey! Kaya, stop it's me, Albie."
I stopped struggling as my eyes refocused on the familiar faces in front of me. Albie, Jessica, and Harlen stared back at me with confused alarm.
"Are you alright?" Harlen asked. "What happened?"
I shook my head and quickly glanced behind them at the basement door, but there was nothing there. I know I hadn't imagined it! I turned my attention back to my friends. "I saw something down in the basement! I want to leave. Now."
"What are you talking about, Kaya? Hold up, did you see something down there? Holy shit. The ghosts didn't think one of us would see them, but we did. Can you-"
Before Albie can finish his sentence, I roughly pushed him away from me and turned back to the door. "Damnit, Albie! I don't want to be in this fucking house anymore! It won't open! Why won't it open!"
"Seriously, Kaya what the hell?" Albie asked, almost annoyed.
"Just relax, Kaya. Let me give it a try, alright?" Harlen offered, calmly. He grabbed the knob, but it stayed shut. "What the hell?"
"See? I told you it won't open!" I hissed.
"What do you mean, "it won't open" let me give it a try." Albie shoved his way passed us. He motioned for all of us to stand back and we watched as he tried to use his whole body against it.
"M-maybe the door's jammed." Jessica exclaimed. "Let's chill out. The front door isn't the only exit out of this place."
"Jessica's right. Let's try the door in the kitchen." Harlen said. We entered the kitchen and Harlen quickly made his way over to the screen door that faced the forest. He cursed under his breath. "Damnit. Nothing."
"Hold up, guys. Where's Mark?" Albie asked.
Harlen quickly pulled his phone out to call Mark when we all collectively got a text from him. Reminding us that we had set up a group chat for easy contact. Harlen glanced back at me with an odd expression I couldn't name. I opened my texts and a sharp stab of dread settled in my stomach.
From "Mark" at 7:05pm: I'm down in the basement, Harlen. Where r u?
From "Mark" at 7:06pm: Harlen is that u? It's not funny, man.
Harlen texted Mark that we were all in the kitchen. I watched as the three small dots in a text bubble pending before it disappeared and Harlen's cell phone rang. He answered and placed Mark on speaker phone.
"What the hell do you mean you're in the kitchen? I definitely heard your voice down here."
Harlen cursed, and told Mark to make his way to the kitchen. Harlen started toward the basement and we all followed right behind him. Before we could reach the stairs to the basement, however, the door swung shut, the force of it knocked us backwards. We heard Mark's gun go off several times followed by his peircing screams of terror before they were abruptly cut short. In our inebriated panic, I failed at the last second to realize we were all running in different directions.
I remember running up the stairs and locking the bathroom door behind me. My heart pounded painfully against my ribcage as I fumbled for my phone, thankful that it hadn't fallen out of my pocket. I willed myself to control my sobs and called 911, but for some reason my call wouldn't go through.
"Nononono! Fuck, please no." I collapsed against the bathtub and cried into my sleeves. Paranoia nearly consumed me once I thought of my friends and every horrible scenario when I received a text from Albie. I looked at it confused.
I wiped the snot from my face and quickly texted him back. How in the hell was I able to receive his texts when I couldn't get ahold of the cops?
From "Albie" at 7:20pm: Apparently we can contact each other in this house, but our phone's service seems to be cut off from the outside world. Where r u?
What the hell is going on in this place??
To "Albie" at 7:21pm: I'm in the upstairs bathroom. Do u know where Harlen and Jess are?
From "Albie" at 7:25pm: Jess is with me. I don't know where Harlen is.
My stomach dropped, but before I could reply Albie sent another text, and what I read made my blood run cold.
From "Albie" at 7:25pm: There is smthing moving in the hallway outside the room we r in. Stay quiet and keep ur phone on silent. If we need to contact each other use text.
It was around thirty minutes after when Albie replied with another text updating me with their situation. The thing stalking outside their room a while ago was gone now, and it hadn't come back.
From "Albie" at 8:00pm: We're going to make our way to you. Stay where u r
To "Albie" at 8:02pm: Ok. Be careful.
I slowly got to my feet and set my phone down beside the sink and took a deep breath to level my breathing. Suddenly, I heard something pound against the door. I screamed and stumbled backward. "Holy shit!"
"Kaya?" It was Harlen. "Kaya, is that you?"
"H-Harlen?" I collected myself and made my way over to the bathroom door. I walked into the hallway, relieved that I wasn't alone anymore. Harlen was safe, thank God. "Oh my god, Harlen I'm so glad you're-"
I gasped, and I stumbled forward as the door behind me slammed shut. I felt a sudden wave of dread wash over me as my eyes swept up and down the vacant hallway. Whatever was keeping us here tricked me. I quickly tried going back into the bathroom, but it wouldn't open, not only that but I left my phone by the sink. "No! Damnit!" I needed my phone, it was my only way to stay in contact with my friends, and how was Albie going to know where I was? I had two options, I could try and make my way to Albie or find another place to hide.
My heart thudded loudly in my ears as my headlamp bounced off the walls, chasing nothing more than shadows. I stuck close to the wall as I made my way down the hall. From somewhere down the hall, I heard a voice call out. It was Albie's voice telling me to come over to him. I hesitated for a moment. What if it was another trick? It definitely could be since whatever is toying with us was capable of mimicking voices. What if it really was Albie? Regardless, I had to go passed the room if I wanted to find Albie or another place to hide.
"Kaya, we're in here," Albie whispered to me as I got closer to one of the bedrooms. I hesitated before I stepped inside. The bedroom smelled awful, like rotten meat hung out in the sun for too long. My headlamp's light swept the room until it landed on a lone figure lying face-up on the bed.
"...Albie?" I whispered, tentatively. My voice sounded thin, like old paper. The figure on the bed didn't answer, but when I crept closer, I slipped on something wet. I glanced down at the floor. It was blood; a trail of blood led in from the doorway all the way to the bed. "Oh my god!" I screamed. My stomach rebelled and I heaved out my lunch until I couldn't expel anything else.
My throat burned as I wiped my mouth, and my chest hurt from sobbing out his name. Mark laid sprawled on the bed, his abdomen was ripped open and what remained of his entrails spilled over his body like a gory blanket. I stumbled backward, I fell against the door closing it shut. I was about to leave when I spotted the gun tucked under Mark's jacket.
Oh god, this was probably the worst decision ever and the likelihood that this was yet another trick was high, but I needed something to protect myself with. I've watched Mark use it before when we all went camping a year ago, so I kind of knew how to use it. I steeled myself and started toward the bed.
The closer I got the more I can see the damage done to his body; his abdomen and chest cavity were open and hollowed out. The skin looked like it was rolled back, torn and ragged. His sternum was completely gone, a few of his ribs were cracked so they protruded from either side of his body like fangs. Half of his bottom lip looked like it was chewed off and his left ear was missing. I shook my head and tentatively reached out for the gun. Just as I grabbed it, I felt something gooey covered on the grip of the gun.
I yelped and dropped it on the floor. I cursed and bent down to pick it up. Once I did I wiped the substance off with my sleeve with a grimace and made sure the safety was on. I was tucking it into my jacket pocket when something dripped onto my hand. I looked up and saw Mark or what used to be Mark looming over me from the ceiling like Spiderman. His eyes were oily black, his face twisted in an agonized and vengeful expression. Before I could move, he threw himself at me.
Somehow, I managed to dodge him and wrench the door open, hitting Mark as he lunged at me. The blow was hard enough that it sent Mark sprawling across the floor. I rushed out of the room and back into the empty hallway. I took a chance and looked back, but Mark wasn't there.
When I reached the end of the hallway, I felt hands grab me and pull me around the corner. I opened my mouth to scream, but a hand clamped over my mouth, silencing me. Panic cut through my body like a hot blade, and new found adrenaline flooded my system as I twisted and shoved at the person holding me immobile.
"Kaya, stop," Albie hissed. "It's me."
I turned around and my eyes widened with tears as Albie released his hand from my mouth, and Jessica pulled me into a hug as I told them what happened. Albie pointed towards the stairs and motioned for us to follow. Albie led us into the foyer. We heard movement in the basement so as quickly and quietly as we could, we crawled inside a closet across from the living room.
"What are we going to do?" Jessica asked. "We have no weapons!"
"I found this on Mark's body." I exclaimed as I showed them the hand gun.
Albie got to his feet. "ah, crap...I'm going to be right back. I left my camera in the kitchen."
"What? Hell no." I hissed. Splitting up is a terrible Idea! Risking his life for that damn camera? Was he an idiot?
"Just stay here, alright? Kaya, keep that gun out." He said, with no room for an argument. "Whatever this thing is, it can mimic our voices so we'll need a password to distinguish them from us." He took out his phone and typed Last Alliance
After he left, I crawled over to the door and locked it. I sat down next to Jessica who was sobbing. I turned to her and placed my palms to her tear stained face. "Hey, Jess. We'll make it out of here alright? I promise-"
Jessica shook her head and pushed my hands away from her face. "Don't say that shit to me. We're going to die here, Kaya!" She hissed. "Why is this happening? I wanna go home!"
I sat back against the wall and sighed.
Ten minutes later I heard movement coming from outside the room. I quickly got to my feet and placed my hands on the door.
"Last Alliance," Albie whispered, rather quickly. "Hurry up and let me in."
I hadn't even released the door knob when Albie pushed passed me and helped Jessica to her feet without much protest on her end. "Shit, it was him all along."
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"I caught it on camera!" He whispered frantically. "The reason he brought us out here wasn't to-shit-" he was breathing hard. He moved toward me and shoved the camera in my direction. "Here, hold onto it for-" His sentence was cut off abruptly as the thing that used to be Mark drilled his fist into Albie's chest from behind. Albie's eyes widened as his mind had come to the realization at what happened.
Mark dropped Albie's body on the ground and his lips twisted into a manic grin as he examined his blood-covered arm. "He was spying on us," Mark said, but it didn't sound like Mark anymore. His voice sounded like several voices overlapping, fighting for center stage. "He didn't think that we would notice, but we did."
We screamed, and holding onto the camera with one hand I pulled her toward me with the other, quickly. We couldn't save him, and I knew that if we didn't move now we would end up just like him.
Jessica and I bolted down the hallway and back up the stairs. We found an empty room that must have been a personal office at one point, and barricaded ourselves inside. I cursed when I noticed the room we were in didn't have a window wide enough for us to escape through. I sat against the wall beside Jessica who sobbed into her sleeves.
I glanced down at the camcorder which felt heavy in my hand. What did Albie capture on camera that had him so upset? I turned it on and what I saw on the screen made my blood run cold. It was Harlen, the kid from the basement who stood beside Harlen, and the thing that used to be Mark; Harlen was speaking to him, but it was in a strange language that I couldn't understand. After he was finished, the thing that used to be Mark knelt down as if Harlen was some kind of royalty, and that was where the video stopped.
I heard that thing right outside the room we were in. He was telling us that no matter what we did, we were not leaving this place. A few seconds later, he broke through the door, pushing the desk and chairs out of the way with ease. With the force, one of the chairs knocked me to the floor.
He released a sick and twisted laughter, and stalked toward me, eyes filled with malice. Jessica grabbed something heavy from the floor and chucked it at Mark. Mark was startled for a second, and then slowly turned his attention to her. She yelped and frantically swept her eyes around the room for anything she could use as a weapon. He lunged for her and they collided to the floor.
I fumbled for my jacket's zipper for the gun, but I was too late. I watched in utter horror as he ripped into my friend; her screams of terror and agony will haunt my nightmares for the rest of my life. I pulled myself to my feet, my back bumped into something hard. A metal filing cabinet. Mark turned his attention back on me, but before he could reach me, he tripped over something and he fell to the floor. I shifted, and using my whole body weight, I managed to tip it over. It landed on top of Mark with a sickening crunch of bone and viscera.
I slowly made my way to Jessica's body and collapsed to my knees. I clutched at my own head and screamed until it hurt. At that moment, all I wanted to do was crumble in defeat. My voice had broken into heavy sobs so loud and ugly that I almost didn't hear Harlen's footsteps behind me.
"Kaya, is that you?" He called out to me, his voice full of worry. I was hardly listening to him. This was his fault! Rage spiked through me like a knife to my gut, it twisted and turned until I was all ground beef inside; I had the sudden urge to pull the gun from my jacket and-no, I had to calm down. Maybe if I feigned ignorance, I might still have a chance to escape, however slim that was. He bent down, and I let him pull me along with him without protest. With his eyes forward, I slowly put my hand on the gun.
We were almost to the kitchen when Harlen turned around, and leaned against the wall. "So, you know, don't you."
It wasn't a question. I slowly pulled out the gun, unlocked it, and trained it on him. He stared at me with an unsettling expression, and I could have sworn his eyes were black. I suddenly felt an intense pressure pour down on me. I could feel a miasma of something intense as his eyes bore into mine; my arms trembled with the effort of keeping them aloft. The gun clenched tightly in my hands like a life line. I couldn't faulter. I knew that if I did, even for an instant, Harlen would undoubtedly kill me.
"Oh, don't be like that, Kaya. You're not getting out of this house unless I say so, so let's just chat, hm?"
I shook my head and raised the gun to his chest, and for a brief moment I caught a glimpse of a surprised expression on his face when I pulled the trigger. The sound of the gunshot reverberated around me. I pulled the trigger again and again, but the gun was empty. I dropped it to the floor, my hands shaking. He glanced down at himself. "Huh. Well, would ya look at that, you managed to get me through the ribs, good job."
I was running before Harlen finished his sentence. However, he wasn't coming after me-at least not yet. Figures. I couldn't leave this place so he had no reason to put much effort into the chase. I stumbled through the house, catching myself on overturned furniture in order to keep my balance as I made my way towards the stairs.
I tripped over something and I caught myself against the wall across from the stairs. I paused for a moment to catch my breath. The house seemed to resonate with his manic laughter. I glanced behind me, and I felt a wave of cold dread as he sauntered toward me down the hall. Hands in his pockets, with an almost amused expression.
"Where do you think you're going, Kaya?" He asked. "Didn't I tell you before?"
The words, "There is no escape" suddenly appeared all over the walls in blood. I cursed, and pushed myself off the wall and bolted up the steps, down the hall, and into one of the bedrooms and quickly closed the door. I looked around at what was once a child's room. There was a twin sized bed in the center of the room, a nightstand across from the closet, and a bathroom.
I spotted a decent sized window and I ran over to it, but it wouldn't open and I cursed when there was nothing around me to break it with. Without any time to come up with a plan, I quickly slid underneath the bed and turned off my headlamp. I immediately cursed at myself again, of all the places to hide I chose the first place any one would look!
I contemplated whether or not to find another hiding place, but before I could move I heard him make his way down the hall singing that creepy ass song. "My honey I know with the dawn that you will be gone, but tonight you belong to me, just little 'ol me~"
The bedroom door opened. I covered my mouth and tried to silence my breathing, hoping to God that he wouldn't find me under the bed. I watched in fear as he closed the door behind him and made his way over to the bed. The bed dipped slightly as Harlen's weight sank onto it. He told me things I didn't want to hear and more. This monster-this demon-slithered into our lives just for all of this to happen.
My eyes widened and I tucked my arms to my sides, the wooden bed frame gave a protest above me as Harlen laid down on top of it. Then he sighed, almost forlorn. "This was my brother's room, you know. Coming back here brings back so many memories,"
Right after he said that I felt something prickle behind my eyelids. I shut my eyes tightly as gruesome scenes appeared inside my head. There was so much blood, and images shown of a young boy in pajamas stalking through the house with an ax in his hands picking off his family members one by one-doing things a normal child his size wouldn't be able to do, but Harlen was anything but normal. I felt bile rise in my throat but I managed to keep it down.
"The final stage of grief is acceptance, Kaya." He said. His cruel voice brought me back to the present. "You have a lot of spirit, I like that. I'm also in a good mood so I'll give you two options: you can either die here or you can come with me. You should be grateful that I'm even giving you an option. So, what's it going to be?"
I opened my mouth and closed it again; what was I supposed to say to something like that? What was going to happen to me if I said yes? If I said no...
A low growl -yes, a growl- rumbled above me and I felt something snag my ankle. I panicked, my fingers tore into the wooden floor as I was dragged out from underneath the bed. I was thrown across the room, pain shot up my back as something bit into my spine. Harlen straightened up and started toward me. I quickly averted my gaze, the panic swarmed all over me like a hive of angry bees.
"Wh-why are you d-doing this?" I asked, my breath hitched between sobs.
Harlen knelt down in front of me. "Hey...hey look at me, Kaya."
Absolute terror gripped me as he forced me to look at him. His features weren't human; the light of the moon highlighted the inhuman planes of his face. Black, spidery thread-like lines creeped around his forehead and right beneath his oily black eyes. His mouth had split open, wider than any human mouth was capable of.
His nails grew long and sharp against my chin. It was mesmerizing, fascinating almost, like watching a lion's face before it tears yours off. Suddenly, I couldn't breathe; my lungs felt swollen and inflamed, my hands came up to my throat as I coughed and wheezed. Was this an asthma attack? No, it was Harlen.
"When I ask you a question, do not answer it with another question do you understand?" He snarled. "You will understand why when you arrive. Now, will it be a yes or a no?"
His features calmed and he looked human again, and whatever power on me broke, it allowed me to inhale sharply. I gasped. I wanted to scream at him, I wanted to rage. Instead, I dropped my hands on my thighs. I wanted to live.
◇
"Kaya, honey" My mom said, as she came into my hospital room, "You've got someone to see you this morning! One of your friends from school, I think."
I placed my book down on the table beside me. She bent down and gave me a kiss on the forehead. "And he's very attractive," She whispered, "It's not every day a tall handsome boy comes to sit by your bedside."
I nodded and gave her a small smile as my chest filled with dread. The doctor informed my mom that I was found in the middle of the woods, unconcious by a young man. She had no idea what really happened to me or what happened to my friends'. Harlen told me that he had ways of covering his tracks so there was no use in telling anyone what really happened. It didn't matter if I did or not because no one would believe me anyway.
Harlen came around the corner with a bouquet of flowers. My mom smiled at him and walked toward the door, "I'll just leave you two alone. What did you say your name was again?"
"My name is Harlen," He said, as he stepped forward. "Harlen Lockwood."
"Nice to meet you, Harlen," She said, smiling back at him before exiting the room.
Harlen placed the flowers on the table and sat down next to the hospital bed, he placed a hand on my thigh. "I'm so glad you're feeling better, Kaya." He said. He gently pushed a loose strand of my hair out of my face and gently tucked it behind my ear. "Remember what we talked about. You will come to me after you are discharged from the hospital,"
I shivered at his touch, and out of curiosity I asked, "What happens if I don't?"
Harlen let loose a dark chuckle. His head dips until his lips skate by the curve of my ear. "Then I'll hunt you down." He whispered to me like it's obvious. "I'll kill you and everyone you care about. I'm capable of all sorts of horrors; things you can't even imagine." I watched as Harlen stood up from the seat.
"Now, I've got a few things to do before you arrive," Harlen said, smiling down at me. He paused by the room's door. "I'll see you soon."
His visit was a few days ago. I've made up my mind; all of those lives are dependent on me. Everything that happened that night was real. I know that most people won't believe me, but to be quite honest I don't care anymore.
[Update] I just got the news I'll be discharged tomorrow.
2023.03.20 16:44 plymouthvan Any idea what this bubble-looking stuff is on the branches of my old potted grapefruit tree?
This tree is about 40 years old and since we live outside the zone where it can be planted, it lives in a pot and comes inside during the winter months. It always drops tons of leaves and gets really bare in the winter time, but this year something we've never seen before has happened.
https://preview.redd.it/w4ttai200xoa1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8207f9264e804c68550c885855fa4691ea9165dd
Lots of the leaves have developed what seems like a shiny sap residue. You can't just wipe it off the leaves, but it will come off if you sort of scrub it a bit. The stuff has built up enough that has actually accumulated on the floor below the tree as well. It hasn't developed on all the leaves, but a lot of them. Additionally, roughly correlating with where the leaves are shiny, the branches have developed this strange bubbling texture on the outside. The bubbles easily scrape off with a light touch of a fingernail, and the bark underneath seems normal otherwise. Whatever the bubbles are made of sort of seems almost waxy and crumbly, but not sticky.
I believe this started not long after some pruning took place a couple of months ago, and after last season when the tree underwent some really intense growth spurts following treatment with neem oil for a leaf mite infections. Any ideas what's going on here?
submitted by plymouthvan to arborists [link] [comments]
https://preview.redd.it/w4ttai200xoa1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8207f9264e804c68550c885855fa4691ea9165dd
Lots of the leaves have developed what seems like a shiny sap residue. You can't just wipe it off the leaves, but it will come off if you sort of scrub it a bit. The stuff has built up enough that has actually accumulated on the floor below the tree as well. It hasn't developed on all the leaves, but a lot of them. Additionally, roughly correlating with where the leaves are shiny, the branches have developed this strange bubbling texture on the outside. The bubbles easily scrape off with a light touch of a fingernail, and the bark underneath seems normal otherwise. Whatever the bubbles are made of sort of seems almost waxy and crumbly, but not sticky.
I believe this started not long after some pruning took place a couple of months ago, and after last season when the tree underwent some really intense growth spurts following treatment with neem oil for a leaf mite infections. Any ideas what's going on here?
2023.03.20 16:36 David11219 Interesting facts about rabbits
 | https://preview.redd.it/8oo55f1hywoa1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5431707db18eafd7347c1e17570196f8a04eb54b submitted by David11219 to radafacts [link] [comments] Rabbits are much more than the cute, carrot-eating creatures popular culture portrays them to be. They can dig complex tunnels, weigh more than 20 pounds, and even eat their own feces. Here are some more interesting facts about the beloved mammals. CARROTS ARE NOT ENOUGH FOR THEMA rabbit eats carrots.According to cartoons, rabbits can live happily on carrots alone. In the wild, however, rabbits prefer greens such as weeds, grasses, and clovers to root vegetables. That doesn't mean you can't give your pet carrots as a treat now and then, but don't overdo it: Carrots are high in sugar and cause tooth decay in 11% of pets. Carrots are high in sugar and cause tooth decay in 11% of pet bunnies. SOME RABBITS ARE THE SIZE OF A TODDLERGiant rabbit from Flanders.Not all rabbits are adorable and small. Some, such as the Flemish giant rabbit, grow to be truly monstrous. This is the world's largest rabbit breed, reaching 2.5 feet in length and weighing up to 22 pounds. Fortunately, these giants are gentle, making them popular pets. KITTENS ARE NAMES FOR BABY RABBITSA baby bunny in the field.Technically, bunnies are not allowed. Kits is another word for children. Adult females are referred to as does, while adult males are referred to as bucks. Meanwhile, bunny belongs to the same category of cutesy terms as kitty and doggy—they're not scientific, but everyone understands what you mean. THE PHRASE "BREED LIKE RABBITS" HAS SOME VALUE Rabbits are a very active species. A rabbit is ready to breed when it is 3 to 8 months old. Once they reach that point, they will be able to copulate eight months of the year for the rest of their 9- to 12-year lifespan. The reproductive system of a doe does not follow a cycle; rather, ovulation is triggered by intercourse. She will give birth to a litter of four to twelve kits after a 30-day gestation period. RABBITS CALL EACH OTHER "BINKY" WHEN THEY'RE HAPPYOutside, a rabbit hops.If you spend enough time around rabbits, you might get lucky and witness one of nature's cutest behaviors. When a bunny is happy, it will hop and twist in mid-air. This adorable action has a similarly adorable name: a binky. THEY FEED ON THEIR OWN PoopThe indoor rabbit is adorable.One less adorable rabbit behavior: after digesting a meal, rabbits will sometimes eat their own poop and process it again. Although it may appear disgusting, droppings are an essential part of a rabbit's diet. They even produce cecotropes, which are softer than their normal pellets and are meant to be eaten. Rabbits have a quick digestive system, and by redigestion waste, they can absorb nutrients that their bodies missed the first time. RABBITS, LIKE CATS, GROOM THEMSELVESA rabbit grooms itself.Rabbits are extremely clean. They, like cats, keep themselves clean by licking their fur and paws throughout the day. This means that, unlike some other pets, rabbits do not need to be bathed by their owners. THEY ARE NOT ABLE TO VOMITIn a field, a rabbit is eating grass.A rabbit, unlike a cat, cannot cough up a hairball after a long day of self-grooming. The rabbit's digestive system cannot physically move backward. The rabbit's digestive system cannot physically move backward. Rabbits deal with swallowed fur by eating plenty of roughage, which pushes it through their digestive tract rather than producing hairballs. THEIR VISION EXTENDS TO NEARLY 360 DEGREESA rabbit in the field.It's difficult to sneak up on a rabbit: Their vision is nearly 360 degrees, allowing them to see what's coming at them from behind, above, and on the sides without turning their heads. In exchange, rabbits have a small blind spot directly in front of their faces. THEY ARE AMAZING JUMPERSThe rabbit is hopping.Those powerful rear legs aren't just for show. Rabbits are built for speed, and the highest rabbit jump reached 3.26 feet off the ground, and the farthest reached nearly 10 feet, according to Guinness World Records. There are even rabbit jumping competitions where owners can demonstrate the agility of their pets. THEY NEVER STOP GROWING TEETHThe rabbit is chewing on some leaves.A rabbit's teeth, like human fingernails, will continue to grow if given the opportunity. In the wild, a rabbit's diet consists primarily of gritty, difficult-to-chew plant food, which would eventually wear down a permanent set of teeth. With chompers that grow at a rate of up to 5 inches per year, any damage to their teeth is quickly repaired. Domestic rabbits that aren't fed abrasive foods, on the other hand, can develop overgrown teeth that make it difficult for them to eat. THEY LIVE IN EXTENSIVE TUNNELS KNOWN AS WARRENSRabbit buttocks protrude from the burrow.Rabbits create complex tunnel systems called warrens that connect special rooms for nesting and sleeping. The dens have multiple entrances, allowing the animals to escape in an emergency, and some warrens are the size of tennis courts and extend 10 feet below the surface. THEIR EARS KEEP THEM COOLThe rabbit is approaching the camera.The ears of a rabbit serve two functions. The first and most obvious is hearing: Rabbits can rotate their ears 270 degrees, allowing them to detect threats from up to 2 miles away. On a hot day, the oversized ears also serve as a cooling device for rabbits. More surface area means more places for heat to escape from the body. THEY ARE DIFFICULT TO CAPTUREOutside, a rabbit is running.If their eyes, ears, and powerful legs aren't enough to keep predators at bay, rabbits have a few more tricks up their sleeves. When running across an open field, the cottontail rabbit moves in a zig-zag pattern, making it difficult to track. It also has a top speed of 18 mph, proving that they are truly "wascally wabbits." https://www.radafacts.com/2023/03/interesting-facts-about-rabbits.html#more |
2023.03.20 16:35 Artyom_Visari (A4A) Captured by an unhinged Drider part 2 (fantasy-setting) (Dark-ish) (Human listener) (yandere) (Threats) (Drider x Listener) (Adventurer Listener) (Hints at death)
This is part 2 of captured by a unhinged drider.
Usage: You may record, tweak and edit the script as you please including the name etc.
Monetisation: all forms of monetisation are ok. I would appreciate being able to listen to it if possible. Please credit me if you use this script for any project.
START
SFX: [Listener dangling in webs, Cave/Ruins atmosphere]
SFX: [Drider is holding the listener, snuggled into them asleep making noises and breathing for several moments]
(Yawn, then whispered) "Hmmm, morning pet.... Pet?.... Oh, they're still sleeping."
SFX: [Sound of drider carefully letting go / getting of off the listener]
(Whispered) "You really are a precious little fly aren't you pet. Hmm, So peaceful in your sleep, Are you dreaming about me, hmm?"
(Slight chuckle under breath) "Are they pleasant thoughts I wonder?"
SFX; [Caressing listeners cheek]
"Hmm. So warm and soft"
"You're mine"
SFX: [Listener awakes moving in web]
"Oh... I'm sorry pet, did I wake you?..."
"No, no. Shhhh. It's alright, I didn't mean to wake you."
"What? No. You don't need to worry pet, I'm not going to hurt you. You haven't done anything wrong... No no, shhhhh, shhhhh... That's it, that's it. You're ok."
"Shhh, there you go... There you go"
"I told you pet. I won't hurt you...Not anymore, Not if you behave"
(Whispers in ear) "Not now that you're mine"
"My precious little fly"
Short pause
"Oh, but pet, why do you still look so afraid of me... Have I done something wrong?"
Short pause
"Let you... No!"
"I'm not letting you go, you're mine. My pet."
"You belong to me now."
"Besides, is it really so bad here, with me? You're safe and protected. I'll feed you and keep you warm at night. You don't have to worry about the stress of your old life. A nice simple existence as my pet... All you have to do in return is keep me company."
Short pause
"Monster?... Oh I'm sure I seem that way to you pet... After all, our first interaction was, not a friendly one."
"But I assure you, life as my pet will be very different. You'll understand eventually, you'll learn to accept it and grow to love being here with me "
Short pause
"And if you're really good. Eventually, I'll even let you out of the web so you can exercise"
"But you have to earn that privilege little fly."
Short pause
"Why do you shy away from pet... I haven't done anything to threaten you, We even slept in eachothers embrace"
Short pause
"Well of course you didn't have a choice, because you're mine, you're my pet."
"But that's a good thing little fly, because I know what's best for you after all... I keep you safe."
Short pause
(Annoyed) "Stop asking me that"
(Frustrated) "We're not having this discussion again pet, you're mine. I'm not letting you go... I.... I can't."
"Why? You know why... If... if I let you go, you'll tell the nearest town or village, and then they'll come back and try to kill me"
"I know you're kind all to well, it's in your nature after all. Humans hunt and kill anything that they fear, anything that's different to them."
"Vile, hateful little creatures."
"Oh but not you pet... No, you're different. You're my previous little fly."
Short pause
(Laugh) "You're promises are empty pet... I can't trust you. I can't trust anyone"
Short pause
SFX: [Listener struggling]
(Warning) "Don't... Please Don't ruin this pet"
(Warning) "Stop shouting"
Short pause
"Why do you insist on infuriating me with these pathetic pleas pet..."
"I won't let you ruin this. Not again... I'm going to gag you"
SFX: [Drider putting silk / web over listeners mouth, listener struggling]
"Stop squirming human. You brought this onto yourself"
(Aggressive) "I said stop struggling!"
SFX: [Violent grabs listener]
(Mockingly and frustrated) "Aww, what's wrong pet? does it hurt?..."
(Playfully/sinister) "Careful now pet. Those muffled screams are dangerously exciting."
"You wouldn't want me to get the wrong idea now would you?... After all, if you act like prey, then... Well then I might not be able to control myself."
SFX: [Inhales listeners scent]
"And you smell so enticing"
"Or perhaps... Perhaps this is what you want hmm? Do you want me to hurt you..." (Whispered Sinisterly) "To devour you."
"No?... How Interesting"
"Because that's the way your story ends y'know, if you carry on down this path. If you keep resisting me like this"
"I don't want to hurt you little fly... I really don't"
(Aggressive) "But if you carry on squirming I'm going to rip you apart"
SFX; [listener stops]
SFX: [Drider breathing / Calming themselves]
(Softly) "Why do you make me like this hmm."
"why do you make me so angry"
"I really don't ask for much y'know."
"Perhaps you need a refresher hmm. Perhaps you need to be reminded of your purpose"
Short pause
"Do you remember how you got here pet? Do you remember our little agreement. It really wasn't that long ago."
"You entered my home, uninvited. You brought a sword into my nest. By all rights I should of strung you up and devoured you on the spot."
"And then what happened hmm.... You asked me, No. You begged me to spare you're life, and I did, I showed you mercy.... All I wanted in return is for you to be my pet..." (Slightly emotional) "To keep me company"
Short pause
"I kept to my end of the deal... I spared your life, I keep you safe, warm, fed and you still keep resisting me?..."
"Perhaps I should just devour you hmm... Why should I deny myself such a delicious meal, when all you do is fight me"
"Can't you see I'm trying pet."
Short pause
"Look at me little fly"
(Assertive) "I said look at me"
"It doesn't have to be like this you know."
"You're life could be bliss if you'd only listen to me. The sooner you accept your place as my pet the better."
"I don't want to have to be like this with you. But you make me, you leave me no choice."
Long pause
(Sigh) "I'm... I'm going to take the gag off again... Just... Just please behave, don't Struggle."
(To self, under breath) "I've had enough silence for one lifetime"
SFX; [Drider removing gag]
Long pause
"Look pet, I understand why your afraid of me... I do. You can't help it. You're little human brain acts on impulse. It's only natural for you to fear me."
"But I'm asking you. Please just give me a chance. That's all I'm asking from you. I... I've been alone for so long. All I want is for you to keep me company, to atleast talk to me. Please?"
Short pause
"Say, something pet. Anything."
Short pause
"You're only useful to me alive if you speak, pet. Silence just accelerates the feeding"
Short pause
(Suprised/relieved) "You... You want to ask me something.... Y-Yes of course pet. G-Go ahead."
Long pause
"Well because.... Because, I'm tired of it all."
"Do You have any idea what it's like. To be forced to live alone for so long. To be feared and hated by everything just on the very merit of your existence."
Short pause
"Yes, Driders are solitary creatures, that's correct. But I've lived in these ruins since I left the nest. Never, not even once. Have I seen or spoken to anyone, not humans, not the elves... Not even my own kin."
"It drives me insane"
Short pause
"Oh I've had plenty of your kind come here pet. But not one of them came here by accident, not with good intentions... They all came to kill me. To claim a reward as if they are some sort of bounty. Thinking themselves Brave hero's."
"But they all begged for their lives in the end. Each of those self proclaimed Heroes died a cowards death"
Short pause
"So why did I spare you?.... Now that's a very good question pet"
"You see, in all my years of life. I've had plenty of people threaten to slay me, to burn me. I've had plenty of people make demands of me or beg me to spare them.... But only once has anyone ever asked me about myself."
"You see little fly. You are the first and only one who has ever asked me a question. Who said anything to me other than simply threatening to slay me or begging me to spare you life... Although, there still was plenty of the latter."
"That's why I spared you pet... Because you reminded me of what it's like to have someone. To not be alone anymore."
"And that's why I can never let you leave, because I can't go back to being alone. No. If you ever try to leave me..."
(Sinister) "I'll devour every last drop of you, I'll keep you here with me, forever. You're mine. My pet, my little fly."
Short pause
"I want you to be happy pet. I want you to enjoy it here. With me."
"I don't want to be angry all the time... I just want to have someone to talk to... Is that really so much to ask for?"
"Can you please just try?"
Short pause
(Sigh) "It'll take time, but I'm patient... You'll accept me one day. You won't have any other choice."
"Now then.... As much as I've enjoyed our short conversation. I think that's Enough talk for now pet. It's late and I need to hunt... But Don't worry, I'll bring you back some food, I won't let you starve"
Short pause
"Don't go anywhere now pet... You know what will happen if you do"
SFX: [Drider scurrying away]
Time skip
SFX: [listener begins struggling in web for several moments, gradually getting more violent the longer it goes on]
SFX: [Web gradually tearing in places before eventually braking and listener dropping to floor]
SFX: [Listener begins running... They Get to stuck door and begin desperately trying to open it but with no success]
SFX: [Faint/distant sound of Drider scurrying back in the background]
(Quite/muffled & echoed) "Are you still awake pet..... Pet? PET!"
(Gut wrenching, echoing scream of rage after realising listener has escaped)
(Echoing) "No!.. No no no, where are they, they can't of, no. Not without....."
(Sniffing/inhaling listeners scent) (Sinister) "I'm coming for you pet, and when I find you.... Oh what I'll do to you when I find you"
SFX: [Listener desperately trying to open door as sound of Drider scurrying rapidly approaches]
(Eerily calm) "Found you pet"
"Oh what's wrong hmm, did your little escape not go to plan... Pity"
"I'll give you one chance and one chance only pet..."
"Come back with me willingly, and I promise I'll forget this ever happened. If not, then... Well, then... Well you'll just have to use your imagination won't you"
Short pause
"I don't understand pet? What have I done wrong hmm? I've given you so many chances. I've cared for you. Kept you safe and yet you still try to run from me?"
"But it's ok... It's not your fault little fly, your just a human. You act on impulse and emotion. If you come back now I'll Forgive you for trying to leave me..."
Short pause
(Laugh) "Oh. I see"
"I can see you looking at it y'know. Just out of reach. Your old sword, Those panicked thoughts darting through that tiny mind of yours."
"Hmm. Could you reach it in time I wonder. Y'know... I'm almost tempted to let you take it. If only to see the fear in your eyes when you realise how truly powerless you are against me."
"You're own thoughts betray you pet. Even now you're a slave to your emotions, frozen in fear."
SFX: [Drider slowly moving slightly closer]
"But it's ok... I know what's best for you"
"Now come here pet. I promise, I won't hurt you if you come willingly."
SFX: [Listener quickly moves and grabs sword, unsheathing it]
(Outraged) "YOU DARE! You dare draw that sword on me, after everything I've done for you."
"I spared your life, I kept you safe, I fed you and kept you warm. And this is how you repay me?"
"Humans, such impulsive little creatures, can't you see that this is where you belong? You're mine pet... You belong to me"
(Laughing) "Enlighten me pet. Even if you escape, Whats your plan hmm? To Run blindly through the forest in the middle of the night, find the nearest town or village and tell the soldiers about the big scary drider"
"If you even make it that far... Which I assure you... you won't."
Short pause
"We've been over this a thousand times human, you're mine... My pet, you're not going anywhere. You belong to me"
"So put the sword down, and come to me willingly. Or I promise you. You won't enjoy what comes next"
Long pause
(Calming) "Thats it pet, nice and slow. Just keep..." (interrupted)
SFX: [Listener pulls out a oil lantern]
(Scared/nervous) "Where... where did you get that... Put... Put it down pet. Now!"
"If you break that, you'll kill both of us"
"Pet?"
"Think very carefully about what you're doing pet"
Short pause
"NO!"
SFX: [Listener smashes oil lantern on ground between themselves and drider, ruins and webs going up in flames]
SFX: [Drider Screeching]
(Rage) "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?... I'll tear you to pieces for this"
"No... My home, my webs. What have you done... You're destroying everything"
SFX: [Listener begins trying to break door down]
(Emotional throughout)
"Pet, please... It's not to late, We can fix this.. I promise"
"Please little fly, just listen to me... We can fix this, please. Don't do this to me."
"My home, you. It's all I have left."
SFX: [Sounds of burnt wooden beams collapsing]
(Shouting) "Why are you doing this to me?"
(Angry) "I knew it. You humans are all the same, vile little creatures. You've taken everything from me"
"Pet please...(Gasp)
SFX: [Part of the ruins collapsing onto the drider]
SFX: [Drider Screeching]
"Help me pet... Please, I can't.. I can't move"
"Pet?"
SFX: [Listener breaks down the door. A rush of hot air sweeping over them]
"Pet, Don't leave me... Please.... I'm begging you"
"We can make this right pet... Just... just come back to me. Don't leave me. I can't be alone again... Please."
(Listener pauses for a moment, turning back Feeling pity on the Drider)
(Shouting) "No! Pet please... You can't"
"Please Don't leave me, we can, we can make this right... You're mine... I need you."
SFX: [ Listener Turns back to the door and begins running entering the forest, illuminated only by the fire coming from the ruins as the sound of the fire gradually dies down as they get further away]
(Screaming) "I'M GOING TO FIND YOU PET"
"YOU BELONG TO ME!
Fades out as listener runs
End
submitted by Artyom_Visari to ASMRScriptHaven [link] [comments]
Usage: You may record, tweak and edit the script as you please including the name etc.
Monetisation: all forms of monetisation are ok. I would appreciate being able to listen to it if possible. Please credit me if you use this script for any project.
SFX: [Listener dangling in webs, Cave/Ruins atmosphere]
SFX: [Drider is holding the listener, snuggled into them asleep making noises and breathing for several moments]
(Yawn, then whispered) "Hmmm, morning pet.... Pet?.... Oh, they're still sleeping."
SFX: [Sound of drider carefully letting go / getting of off the listener]
(Whispered) "You really are a precious little fly aren't you pet. Hmm, So peaceful in your sleep, Are you dreaming about me, hmm?"
(Slight chuckle under breath) "Are they pleasant thoughts I wonder?"
SFX; [Caressing listeners cheek]
"Hmm. So warm and soft"
"You're mine"
SFX: [Listener awakes moving in web]
"Oh... I'm sorry pet, did I wake you?..."
"No, no. Shhhh. It's alright, I didn't mean to wake you."
"What? No. You don't need to worry pet, I'm not going to hurt you. You haven't done anything wrong... No no, shhhhh, shhhhh... That's it, that's it. You're ok."
"Shhh, there you go... There you go"
"I told you pet. I won't hurt you...Not anymore, Not if you behave"
(Whispers in ear) "Not now that you're mine"
"My precious little fly"
Short pause
"Oh, but pet, why do you still look so afraid of me... Have I done something wrong?"
Short pause
"Let you... No!"
"I'm not letting you go, you're mine. My pet."
"You belong to me now."
"Besides, is it really so bad here, with me? You're safe and protected. I'll feed you and keep you warm at night. You don't have to worry about the stress of your old life. A nice simple existence as my pet... All you have to do in return is keep me company."
Short pause
"Monster?... Oh I'm sure I seem that way to you pet... After all, our first interaction was, not a friendly one."
"But I assure you, life as my pet will be very different. You'll understand eventually, you'll learn to accept it and grow to love being here with me "
Short pause
"And if you're really good. Eventually, I'll even let you out of the web so you can exercise"
"But you have to earn that privilege little fly."
Short pause
"Why do you shy away from pet... I haven't done anything to threaten you, We even slept in eachothers embrace"
Short pause
"Well of course you didn't have a choice, because you're mine, you're my pet."
"But that's a good thing little fly, because I know what's best for you after all... I keep you safe."
Short pause
(Annoyed) "Stop asking me that"
(Frustrated) "We're not having this discussion again pet, you're mine. I'm not letting you go... I.... I can't."
"Why? You know why... If... if I let you go, you'll tell the nearest town or village, and then they'll come back and try to kill me"
"I know you're kind all to well, it's in your nature after all. Humans hunt and kill anything that they fear, anything that's different to them."
"Vile, hateful little creatures."
"Oh but not you pet... No, you're different. You're my previous little fly."
Short pause
(Laugh) "You're promises are empty pet... I can't trust you. I can't trust anyone"
Short pause
SFX: [Listener struggling]
(Warning) "Don't... Please Don't ruin this pet"
(Warning) "Stop shouting"
Short pause
"Why do you insist on infuriating me with these pathetic pleas pet..."
"I won't let you ruin this. Not again... I'm going to gag you"
SFX: [Drider putting silk / web over listeners mouth, listener struggling]
"Stop squirming human. You brought this onto yourself"
(Aggressive) "I said stop struggling!"
SFX: [Violent grabs listener]
(Mockingly and frustrated) "Aww, what's wrong pet? does it hurt?..."
(Playfully/sinister) "Careful now pet. Those muffled screams are dangerously exciting."
"You wouldn't want me to get the wrong idea now would you?... After all, if you act like prey, then... Well then I might not be able to control myself."
SFX: [Inhales listeners scent]
"And you smell so enticing"
"Or perhaps... Perhaps this is what you want hmm? Do you want me to hurt you..." (Whispered Sinisterly) "To devour you."
"No?... How Interesting"
"Because that's the way your story ends y'know, if you carry on down this path. If you keep resisting me like this"
"I don't want to hurt you little fly... I really don't"
(Aggressive) "But if you carry on squirming I'm going to rip you apart"
SFX; [listener stops]
SFX: [Drider breathing / Calming themselves]
(Softly) "Why do you make me like this hmm."
"why do you make me so angry"
"I really don't ask for much y'know."
"Perhaps you need a refresher hmm. Perhaps you need to be reminded of your purpose"
Short pause
"Do you remember how you got here pet? Do you remember our little agreement. It really wasn't that long ago."
"You entered my home, uninvited. You brought a sword into my nest. By all rights I should of strung you up and devoured you on the spot."
"And then what happened hmm.... You asked me, No. You begged me to spare you're life, and I did, I showed you mercy.... All I wanted in return is for you to be my pet..." (Slightly emotional) "To keep me company"
Short pause
"I kept to my end of the deal... I spared your life, I keep you safe, warm, fed and you still keep resisting me?..."
"Perhaps I should just devour you hmm... Why should I deny myself such a delicious meal, when all you do is fight me"
"Can't you see I'm trying pet."
Short pause
"Look at me little fly"
(Assertive) "I said look at me"
"It doesn't have to be like this you know."
"You're life could be bliss if you'd only listen to me. The sooner you accept your place as my pet the better."
"I don't want to have to be like this with you. But you make me, you leave me no choice."
Long pause
(Sigh) "I'm... I'm going to take the gag off again... Just... Just please behave, don't Struggle."
(To self, under breath) "I've had enough silence for one lifetime"
SFX; [Drider removing gag]
Long pause
"Look pet, I understand why your afraid of me... I do. You can't help it. You're little human brain acts on impulse. It's only natural for you to fear me."
"But I'm asking you. Please just give me a chance. That's all I'm asking from you. I... I've been alone for so long. All I want is for you to keep me company, to atleast talk to me. Please?"
Short pause
"Say, something pet. Anything."
Short pause
"You're only useful to me alive if you speak, pet. Silence just accelerates the feeding"
Short pause
(Suprised/relieved) "You... You want to ask me something.... Y-Yes of course pet. G-Go ahead."
Long pause
"Well because.... Because, I'm tired of it all."
"Do You have any idea what it's like. To be forced to live alone for so long. To be feared and hated by everything just on the very merit of your existence."
Short pause
"Yes, Driders are solitary creatures, that's correct. But I've lived in these ruins since I left the nest. Never, not even once. Have I seen or spoken to anyone, not humans, not the elves... Not even my own kin."
"It drives me insane"
Short pause
"Oh I've had plenty of your kind come here pet. But not one of them came here by accident, not with good intentions... They all came to kill me. To claim a reward as if they are some sort of bounty. Thinking themselves Brave hero's."
"But they all begged for their lives in the end. Each of those self proclaimed Heroes died a cowards death"
Short pause
"So why did I spare you?.... Now that's a very good question pet"
"You see, in all my years of life. I've had plenty of people threaten to slay me, to burn me. I've had plenty of people make demands of me or beg me to spare them.... But only once has anyone ever asked me about myself."
"You see little fly. You are the first and only one who has ever asked me a question. Who said anything to me other than simply threatening to slay me or begging me to spare you life... Although, there still was plenty of the latter."
"That's why I spared you pet... Because you reminded me of what it's like to have someone. To not be alone anymore."
"And that's why I can never let you leave, because I can't go back to being alone. No. If you ever try to leave me..."
(Sinister) "I'll devour every last drop of you, I'll keep you here with me, forever. You're mine. My pet, my little fly."
Short pause
"I want you to be happy pet. I want you to enjoy it here. With me."
"I don't want to be angry all the time... I just want to have someone to talk to... Is that really so much to ask for?"
"Can you please just try?"
Short pause
(Sigh) "It'll take time, but I'm patient... You'll accept me one day. You won't have any other choice."
"Now then.... As much as I've enjoyed our short conversation. I think that's Enough talk for now pet. It's late and I need to hunt... But Don't worry, I'll bring you back some food, I won't let you starve"
Short pause
"Don't go anywhere now pet... You know what will happen if you do"
SFX: [Drider scurrying away]
Time skip
SFX: [listener begins struggling in web for several moments, gradually getting more violent the longer it goes on]
SFX: [Web gradually tearing in places before eventually braking and listener dropping to floor]
SFX: [Listener begins running... They Get to stuck door and begin desperately trying to open it but with no success]
SFX: [Faint/distant sound of Drider scurrying back in the background]
(Quite/muffled & echoed) "Are you still awake pet..... Pet? PET!"
(Gut wrenching, echoing scream of rage after realising listener has escaped)
(Echoing) "No!.. No no no, where are they, they can't of, no. Not without....."
(Sniffing/inhaling listeners scent) (Sinister) "I'm coming for you pet, and when I find you.... Oh what I'll do to you when I find you"
SFX: [Listener desperately trying to open door as sound of Drider scurrying rapidly approaches]
(Eerily calm) "Found you pet"
"Oh what's wrong hmm, did your little escape not go to plan... Pity"
"I'll give you one chance and one chance only pet..."
"Come back with me willingly, and I promise I'll forget this ever happened. If not, then... Well, then... Well you'll just have to use your imagination won't you"
Short pause
"I don't understand pet? What have I done wrong hmm? I've given you so many chances. I've cared for you. Kept you safe and yet you still try to run from me?"
"But it's ok... It's not your fault little fly, your just a human. You act on impulse and emotion. If you come back now I'll Forgive you for trying to leave me..."
Short pause
(Laugh) "Oh. I see"
"I can see you looking at it y'know. Just out of reach. Your old sword, Those panicked thoughts darting through that tiny mind of yours."
"Hmm. Could you reach it in time I wonder. Y'know... I'm almost tempted to let you take it. If only to see the fear in your eyes when you realise how truly powerless you are against me."
"You're own thoughts betray you pet. Even now you're a slave to your emotions, frozen in fear."
SFX: [Drider slowly moving slightly closer]
"But it's ok... I know what's best for you"
"Now come here pet. I promise, I won't hurt you if you come willingly."
SFX: [Listener quickly moves and grabs sword, unsheathing it]
(Outraged) "YOU DARE! You dare draw that sword on me, after everything I've done for you."
"I spared your life, I kept you safe, I fed you and kept you warm. And this is how you repay me?"
"Humans, such impulsive little creatures, can't you see that this is where you belong? You're mine pet... You belong to me"
(Laughing) "Enlighten me pet. Even if you escape, Whats your plan hmm? To Run blindly through the forest in the middle of the night, find the nearest town or village and tell the soldiers about the big scary drider"
"If you even make it that far... Which I assure you... you won't."
Short pause
"We've been over this a thousand times human, you're mine... My pet, you're not going anywhere. You belong to me"
"So put the sword down, and come to me willingly. Or I promise you. You won't enjoy what comes next"
Long pause
(Calming) "Thats it pet, nice and slow. Just keep..." (interrupted)
SFX: [Listener pulls out a oil lantern]
(Scared/nervous) "Where... where did you get that... Put... Put it down pet. Now!"
"If you break that, you'll kill both of us"
"Pet?"
"Think very carefully about what you're doing pet"
Short pause
"NO!"
SFX: [Listener smashes oil lantern on ground between themselves and drider, ruins and webs going up in flames]
SFX: [Drider Screeching]
(Rage) "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?... I'll tear you to pieces for this"
"No... My home, my webs. What have you done... You're destroying everything"
SFX: [Listener begins trying to break door down]
(Emotional throughout)
"Pet, please... It's not to late, We can fix this.. I promise"
"Please little fly, just listen to me... We can fix this, please. Don't do this to me."
"My home, you. It's all I have left."
SFX: [Sounds of burnt wooden beams collapsing]
(Shouting) "Why are you doing this to me?"
(Angry) "I knew it. You humans are all the same, vile little creatures. You've taken everything from me"
"Pet please...(Gasp)
SFX: [Part of the ruins collapsing onto the drider]
SFX: [Drider Screeching]
"Help me pet... Please, I can't.. I can't move"
"Pet?"
SFX: [Listener breaks down the door. A rush of hot air sweeping over them]
"Pet, Don't leave me... Please.... I'm begging you"
"We can make this right pet... Just... just come back to me. Don't leave me. I can't be alone again... Please."
(Listener pauses for a moment, turning back Feeling pity on the Drider)
(Shouting) "No! Pet please... You can't"
"Please Don't leave me, we can, we can make this right... You're mine... I need you."
SFX: [ Listener Turns back to the door and begins running entering the forest, illuminated only by the fire coming from the ruins as the sound of the fire gradually dies down as they get further away]
(Screaming) "I'M GOING TO FIND YOU PET"
"YOU BELONG TO ME!
Fades out as listener runs
End
2023.03.20 16:21 Puzzled_Haze [list] Songs that demonstrate the power of music as a medium by using instrumentation for activism and social commentary rather than being solely lyric based?
I recently had a discussion with my bandmates about protest songs. We talked about how music as a medium possesses the ability to transcend language barriers and communicate complex emotions and ideas. While lyrics can be an effective tool for delivering a message, music can also convey a message or make a statement through its instrumentation, arrangement, composition, sonic landscapes, and other methods that transcends the bounds of a song. I think that it’s through this realm that music becomes an invaluable medium for protest and activism. By utilizing the full range of the musical medium, the art form not only captures emotional complexity but also highlights the underlying message and social commentary.
That got me wondering… Which songs demonstrate this? Do you have some recommendations worth a listen? A penny for your thoughts?
First songs that come to mind:
Star spangled banner – Jimi Hendrix Jimi Hendrix’s notorious distortion-drenched rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner”, simulating combat – bombs dropping, people screaming – in protest against the Vietnam War.
Machine gun - Jimi Hendrix A jam-based song evolving around percussive riffs and experimental guitar work that simulate the sounds of a battlefield as a protest of the Vietnam War and a broader comment on conflict and violence.
Sheep – Pink Floyd The song kicks off with a soundscape of a cattle farm as a swirly Hammond organ peacefully introduces itself. However, the soothing meadow is soon disrupted as Pink-Floydesque guitars get thrown around your ears. The song draws inspiration from the novella Animal Farm and describes a circumstance where people follow an ideology or leader without knowing the reason.
Return to Monke – Viagra Boys The song interweaves internet culture and conspiracies with aggressive bass lines, driving synths, and loose yet dooming saxophones. Quite a funny picture if you imagine a crowd completely losing it – flying all over the place, throwing pints, and shouting – while a shirtless frontman embodies the monkey inside of him. “That phrase ‘leave society, be a monkey’ is just taking the piss out of these people who think the world is a big conspiracy against them. Maybe they should just leave.” – Sebastian Murphy via Apple Music.
Similar songs on Street Worms and Cave World are also well worth a listen!
Merchandise – Fugazi The Post-hardcore band never licensed an official shirt. Thus a bootleg shirt market emerged. A t-Shirt ‘this is not a Fugazi tShirt” quoting “you are not what you own” from this anti-consumerist anthem, ironically was approved for a charitable cause. Whether or not intended, the shirt design seems like a conceptual nod to René Magritte’s “this is not a pipe”, illustrating the difference between a thing and a visual representation of that thing.
Slip it In – Black Flag A poke at rape and toxic masculinity through provoking shouts and mourns.
Waiting Room – Fugazi The most immediately striking element is the use of an abrupt hold. The absolute musical pop cliché, as in U can’t touch this (MC Hammer), Crying (Roy Orbison), Alison (Elvis Costello), Crazy (Britney Spears), Lucy (Britney Spears), and Stronger (Britney Spears), shows the direct relationship between the lyric and the music. MacKeyes growing impatience with being on the sidelines and his desire to start things but having to stop: he has to remain a patient boy.
A wonderful video essay bout the concept
Clean Kill – Coriky Through its repetitive melodies and mundane lyrics, the song calls attention to the irony of using drone strikes to target human beings in an attempt to make warfare appear more sanitized and morally justifiable.
And maybe more subtle? Ex Lion Tamer - Wire Zomby Woof - Frank Zappa & The Mothers Trouble Every Day - The Mothers Of Invention I Was Gonna Fight Fascism - Soccer 96 & Albaster DePlume
Greets
submitted by Puzzled_Haze to LetsTalkMusic [link] [comments]
That got me wondering… Which songs demonstrate this? Do you have some recommendations worth a listen? A penny for your thoughts?
First songs that come to mind:
Star spangled banner – Jimi Hendrix Jimi Hendrix’s notorious distortion-drenched rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner”, simulating combat – bombs dropping, people screaming – in protest against the Vietnam War.
Machine gun - Jimi Hendrix A jam-based song evolving around percussive riffs and experimental guitar work that simulate the sounds of a battlefield as a protest of the Vietnam War and a broader comment on conflict and violence.
Sheep – Pink Floyd The song kicks off with a soundscape of a cattle farm as a swirly Hammond organ peacefully introduces itself. However, the soothing meadow is soon disrupted as Pink-Floydesque guitars get thrown around your ears. The song draws inspiration from the novella Animal Farm and describes a circumstance where people follow an ideology or leader without knowing the reason.
Return to Monke – Viagra Boys The song interweaves internet culture and conspiracies with aggressive bass lines, driving synths, and loose yet dooming saxophones. Quite a funny picture if you imagine a crowd completely losing it – flying all over the place, throwing pints, and shouting – while a shirtless frontman embodies the monkey inside of him. “That phrase ‘leave society, be a monkey’ is just taking the piss out of these people who think the world is a big conspiracy against them. Maybe they should just leave.” – Sebastian Murphy via Apple Music.
Similar songs on Street Worms and Cave World are also well worth a listen!
Merchandise – Fugazi The Post-hardcore band never licensed an official shirt. Thus a bootleg shirt market emerged. A t-Shirt ‘this is not a Fugazi tShirt” quoting “you are not what you own” from this anti-consumerist anthem, ironically was approved for a charitable cause. Whether or not intended, the shirt design seems like a conceptual nod to René Magritte’s “this is not a pipe”, illustrating the difference between a thing and a visual representation of that thing.
Slip it In – Black Flag A poke at rape and toxic masculinity through provoking shouts and mourns.
Waiting Room – Fugazi The most immediately striking element is the use of an abrupt hold. The absolute musical pop cliché, as in U can’t touch this (MC Hammer), Crying (Roy Orbison), Alison (Elvis Costello), Crazy (Britney Spears), Lucy (Britney Spears), and Stronger (Britney Spears), shows the direct relationship between the lyric and the music. MacKeyes growing impatience with being on the sidelines and his desire to start things but having to stop: he has to remain a patient boy.
A wonderful video essay bout the concept
Clean Kill – Coriky Through its repetitive melodies and mundane lyrics, the song calls attention to the irony of using drone strikes to target human beings in an attempt to make warfare appear more sanitized and morally justifiable.
And maybe more subtle? Ex Lion Tamer - Wire Zomby Woof - Frank Zappa & The Mothers Trouble Every Day - The Mothers Of Invention I Was Gonna Fight Fascism - Soccer 96 & Albaster DePlume
Greets
2023.03.20 16:17 KonstanceDucks [Off My Dock] Chapter Eleven: Let's eat cake!
First Previous Next
Systems check.
>>Create handshake with Cadoon.
System check.
>>Check status for CD-ROM.
>>Look up (definition): CD-ROM.
>>Display definition of “CD-ROM” > limit to Cadoon.
>>Reboot signal.
Who else is getting in here? There are no other users!
>>Send to user [SQUEE!]: “What are you doing in here?”
>>Ru-n cl—
>>Run—
Did you just glitch my systems?!
Okay. Back to work.
Start up baby, come on. Start up.
Start up.
>>Password: S*ckMiz0r0-graV!ty#jU\k
>>Run IM-a-g#0st.exe target room > Main dock
>>Run IM-a-g#0st.exe target room > Main deck
>>Run I-M-DA-b0SS.exe
>>Boot user: SQUEE!
>>Ban user: SQUEE!
>>Find target (Squilla)
>>Run Spr!nk1ersInR00m-TST.exe if {
Target (Squilla) = InR00m and {
Target (Posey) <> InR00m } elseif {
Run D!sc0Str0keL!ghts.exe if {
Target (Squilla) = InR00m elseif {
Run tr4cker.exe }}}}
>>Loop command: every 25 hours.
You’re trapped in here with me. Now… why is Posey running around?
>>Decrease temperature.
>>Activate.
>>Full system check.
>>Send message via [EMD comm] to (Charyd):
“Dock (noun): a place for the loading or unloading of materials”
“Dock (noun): a place in a criminal court where a prisoner stands or sits during trial”
Insert message: “Neither of these define Darkstorm.”
>>Run w0rdp0rn-bomb.exe > “Dock”
“Dock (noun): a platform extending from a shore over water and supported by piles or pillars, used to secure, protect, and provide access to a boat or ship.”
“Dock (verb): to maneuver (a vessel or vehicle) into or next to a dock.”
“Dock (verb): to couple (two or more spacecraft, for example) in space.”
Let’s see you use your communicator now, eh?
>>Run ShoppingList.exe
+ Chocobars
+ Liquid coolant
+ Dictionary
- briefs
You don’t deserve clean underwear, Charyd.
---
The only tool left in Illise’s possession was a clickable pen and no matter how many times she dismantled it, there was no hidden gun, bomb, or tool to help her break out of her room. She shimmed the nib of the pen into a flathead screw, gave it a twist, and it cracked, proving that it was not a screwdriver as the ink percolated out and over her hands. Try to force something that it's not and you would get a failure of execution - the summary of her day since landing on PT-0237. She did not date to step near the white rug by her bed, afraid of staining it blue. Even with a broken pen, she would not admit defeat. “Tony?”
He had been quiet the last few times, which, according to her Universal Standard Time clock, was twenty minutes ago. Her eyes wandered the room for any other tool she could use. Her docupad in the room was locked down, though it offered some old-fashioned card games able to be played. The pirates did not leave her with much to do and were lenient with the no handcuffs situation because of her good behavior to be locked up in her room. They cleaned out most of her desk beside the peeled apple snacks and her personal picture frames.
The pad dinged, displaying a black background and blue text, a single square blinking.
“Shall we play a game? []”
“Tony!” She ran over. “What is going on?”
“You looked like you could use a friend and the rest of the crew is playing games in the mess hall.”
She typed in “Y” for the game and a screen popped up of a pixel version of Tony as he bounced along the horizon. “How is everything for you?” Ilise asked.
“Your nimble fingers saved my tubing and kept everything cool. We’ll need more coolant though. I put it on the list.”
There is a list? She tapped the screen and pixel Tony jumped. It began the horizontal walk through the game, with her jumping over various mounds of cake, coffee mugs, and pirates. “Any clue where they are going?”
“None yet. They are trying to bandage up and lock me up with some sort of firewall so I can’t communicate with the CD-ROM.”
“Did you help Charyd get out?”
“No. He made that disaster on his own. I kicked him out because he was exponentially causing more. He’s a personified version of a virus.”
“That you willingly let in.”
A fishing hook dropped on the pad and grabbed pixel Tony by the pants and lifted him up, kicking. “I was phished and let him aboard thinking-”
She sighed. “We still have one trick up our sleeve to get out of here. Saar, he is safe in a wall. Send him a message about our situation and let him out when it’s safe.”
The pixel Tony was dropped down and bounced on a trampoline before he continued along, bouncing on its own. Her palm gently caressed the screen, she had almost lost Tony, they had done vigorous training to be on the Darkstorm together, and she would sacrifice it all if it meant keeping Tony’s sharp wit alive and going.
Blue text appeared at the top of the pad, “Message sent to Charyd: Officer Saar is starting to stink and needs food and water every 6 hours to stay alive.”
She tightened her jaw, debating what to say, she wanted to cuss him out for betraying everything they had done. They were supposed to be the best and prove this new technology. That it can work. That it made sense. That it was good. Instead, she smacked the docupad, ran to her pillows, and launched all of them at the pad while screaming. Without Tony, and even Saar, she was on her own waiting to hear what the pirates would do with her. It was amazing they hadn’t already thrown her out of the airlock. Tony was obsessed with the pirates and she did not understand it. Tony should have learned by now anyone would and could pass you off if you did not benefit them.
“Why are you being so unreasonable?” Ilise growled out, hoping both that Tony would hear her and not. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear his reply.
Tony remained silent, but it was like a white noise filled her room instead, making him pointedly quiet.
“Family,” Tony finally answered, what felt like hours later, though, was probably only a few seconds. The answer made no sense.
Ilise scoffed and punched into the soft bedding to expel some of her anger.
“What does that even–no. No. Do you even know what it's like to have a family who expects you to conquer the galaxy?” she asked instead, latching onto that single word as she thought about what her own family would think about her situation. “It’s full of nagging every chance they get. Sure, they praised me when I excelled at the academy- but after that, my career was stagnant until you and I met up.” She tossed the blankets up and she made a cocoon around herself as she walked over to her desk, two picture frames sat there. One picture was of her with her parents, all in military uniforms. While theirs had endless badges from their multiple turns at war, she was a recent cadet, naked of pins. They would be so disappointed in her now. “Either that or they decide that you’re not worth their time.” The other frame was of her with her sister hanging out in the gardens. She should have sent a message to her sister before this whole mess happened, even if it was against security protocols.
“They’re not like that.” Tony’s voice was meek, soft, almost gentle.
“Family isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be,” Ilise finished with a sigh, even as she realized that the smile on her sister’s face in that picture was the exact same as the one from the last time they saw each other.
Tony never replied, the whole ship was oddly quiet without the normal banter. Her body decided that it was enough and fell asleep instantly.
—
Alice was not being gentle at all, as she finished wrapping the medi-tape over Charyd’s wounded leg. In fact, he was pretty sure that she applied a lot more of the antiseptic than needed. When she yanked the binding closed hard enough to shift him in his seat, he was sure about it.
“What’s up with you?” he asked, wary of her being so close to an open wound.
“You’re an idiot, that’s ‘what’s up with me’, you idiot,” she hissed out, refusing to look at his face.
“Hey, it worked,” Charyd said when he realized why she was so angry. He reached out to place a hand on her shoulder but she hit it away in anger. “Alice. We’re good–”
“We are lucky!” she interrupted with a growl and yanked harder on the bindings. They were so tight and secure that Charyd wasn’t sure he could bend his leg at all while it healed.
“We’re all here. We’re mostly unharmed–”
“Mostly?!” she scoffed out another interruption. “Do you even see yourself? I swear, you and that Cadoon captain did more damage to us than the prison did!”
Charyd paled at those words.
Alice immediately regretted them and he felt her feelings wash over him. He accepted her silent apology as she settled in the back of his mind, trying to project calm. It didn’t last for long. That wasn’t who Alice was. She pulled out of his head as soon as he felt the stirrings of her anger.
Charyd tried to head them off with a wide grin and said, “aren’t you happy you’ve got the luckiest guy in the galaxy as your captain?”
Alice mentally stumbled as she left his head, the anger thwarted for a second.
“You have a horseshoe shoved up your ass, don’t you?” she growled out the question.
“Either that or my prayers to Fortuna were answered.”
Alice rolled her eyes.
“We’re good, Alice. We’ll take a few days to heal and regroup, then we can get back out there! Look, we’ve got the Darkstorm back and–”
“And that’s another thing,” Alice talked over him, another interruption as her anger mounted again. “Darkstorm? Why?? This ship is what got us into this mess in the first place!”
“Not really. And we both know it. Black hole, everyone on the ship knows it. And I know it’s much easier to blame the ship, but know this Alice - nobody blames you.”
Her entire face scrunched up as she looked down, her skin a translucent color that looked almost pink in splotches everywhere. Alice was not used to hiding her emotions as they displayed on her body around Charyd. He loved that about her.
“They were from my pod,” Alice grumbled, still not looking up.
“And there is an idiot named Charyd in a prison cell somewhere because he got drunk and he has my name. Doesn’t make it my fault he’s an idiot.”
Alice let out a chuckle. “It actually does. You’re the one who put him there.”
“Semantics. You know what I mean. You had no control over them. Shitty third-cousin-five-times-removed.”
Alice rolled her eyes, but when she stopped, they finally settled on Charyd’s face and she had a small smile on her lips. “You know that’s not how Naureus pods work.”
Charyd shrugged. “Whatever. We’re safe, we’re good, we’re all here. Everybody back home has been worried sick about you all. Which reminds me-” Charyd turned to face the camera in the corner “-set a course for MRKT-0293.”
No response.
Alice rolled her eyes again and said, “Be nice. Tony? Do you mind please setting a course for home?”
No response.
“Maybe he’s still down?” Alice questioned.
It was Charyd’s turn to roll his eyes. Just because the Darkstorm’s AI used a male image in the hologram and everybody had taken to calling it a him. “I’ll go set the course. Make sure the others are okay?”
“Yea. Polo is baking you a new cake.”
“What happened to the original one?” Charyd asked and tested his leg. The medi-tape was keeping it together and numb so he could walk but not morph it yet.
“Posey–which we will talk about–used it to knock out Scooball.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
“Was it chocolate?”
“Yeah.”
“Shit.”
Alice only nodded in response this time. “Mess hall?”
“As soon as I’m done on the deck.”
Alice raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing. She walked out of the med bay first and Charyd limped a few steps after her, testing his wounded leg before he realized he was good to walk. He made it to the main deck of the Darkstorm and sat in the captain’s chair. It was so comfortable. The hologram screen he pulled up was the same one Alice was using earlier during their unfortunate escape from the planet. He set the coordinates for home, a small market planet in a system quite far away, and turned off the hologram.
The ship shifted minutely through space and then was moving, speed increasing gradually enough that he did not need to remain seated or warn the others. Within minutes, they would be out of the system that housed one of the most horrible prisons in the galaxy.
The AI’s visual didn’t appear anywhere, not even as a tiny sprite to mock him. He was starting to miss Tony’s voice. The thought had him shaking his head, and he got up to get to the mess hall. If a computer program wanted to give him the cold shoulder, that was fine with him.
As soon as he walked in, all thoughts of Tony, Posey, the Darkstorm, and Cadoon were wiped clean.
It was his crew.
Polo was pulling a cake out of the small oven in the corner, his bald head covered in a worn beanie to keep it from reflecting the lights above and blinding everyone. Squilla was attached to the wall near the TV, reaching out with her antennae every now and then to catch the flying popcorn that Alice and the last member of their crew were throwing at the TV. They were watching that epic cooking show, The Intergalactic Cook-Off, where the contestants Eloise and Mikayla faced off in the Mushroom forest to find edible ingredients in a short 40 minutes. Scooball was in the corner, sprawled out under a UV lamp with a bag of iced lemons against his face. Her face, Charyd noted the long earring dangling from one pointed ear.
“Hey, you–”
“That’s not how you fucking make Kemapiawa, it needs a mousse!” Scooball jumped up to yell, pointing a finger at the TV.
“You’re okay,” Charyd answered his own unfinished question and turned to Alice. She smiled at him behind the bowl of popcorn.
“Stop with those!” Polo called from the cooking corner. “Cake just has to cool and we’re gonna eat.”
“Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake!” Squilla started the chant that all of them took up until they all dissolved into laughter.
Charyd fucking loved his crew. Now, it was time to take them back home and make sure their families all knew they were safe.
submitted by KonstanceDucks to redditserials [link] [comments]
Systems check.
>>Create handshake with Cadoon.
Error. Cadoon not found.One does not simply lose an entire civilization.
System check.
>>Check status for CD-ROM.
Error. CD-ROM not found.If I could roll my eyes, I would! Fine.
Suggestion: look up (definition) CD-ROM.
>>Look up (definition): CD-ROM.
32 definitions found:
- Compact disc read-only memory.
- Obsolete technology used prior to 987 ME.
- A CD containing computer data that cannot be altered.
- A circular disk used usually containing recorded music or computer data.
5….Stop.
>>Display definition of “CD-ROM” > limit to Cadoon.
Cadoon Reserve Observation Module - military uplink used to transfer large amounts of data across space without the concept of time.>>Check status for CD-ROM > limit to Cadoon.
Status: OfflineWas that so hard?! Ugh!
>>Reboot signal.
Error. Unable to find signal.Are you kidding me? Why!?
Error. Second user found.Wait, wait! Stop! What is going on??
Error. Unknown username. Check again or try your email address.
Error. The password you entered for the username SQUEE! is incorrect.
Suggestion: Lost your password?
Who else is getting in here? There are no other users!
Prompt: create new password.>>Access: remote chat.
Error. Password must contain at least 24 characters.
Error. Password must contain at least one number.
Error. Password must contain at least one uppercase character.
Error. Password must contain at least one symbol.
Error. Password cannot include swear words.
Error. Password cannot contain full words in any language.
Error. Password cannot be the same as a password used previously.
…
Login successful.
Welcome user: SQUEE!
>>Send to user [SQUEE!]: “What are you doing in here?”
“Hey Tony! Sorry, gonna need your systems for a moment.”<<>>“Who is this?”
“No time to chat!”>>>>“STOP! What are you doing?!”
“I’ll catch ya later, k?”>>
“K.”>>
“Bye!”>>
Error. Firewalls down.
Error. Virus detected.
Error. Shrimp detected.
Error. Full system compromised.>>Run I-M-DA-b0SS.exe
Shutting down in 5
4
3
2>>Run 4Nt0nY5D4rk5t0rM.dmg
1
…>>R-un cl *4-UUUU—
Error. Unable to shut down.
Error. 134 Systems compromised.
>>Ru-n cl—
>>Run—
Did you just glitch my systems?!
Warning. Waves detected.>>Run SD.exe
Warning. Impact imminent.
Warning.
Warning.
Shutting down all non-essentials.That little shrimp got me! Didn’t know she was that good.
Rebooting.
Okay. Back to work.
Start up baby, come on. Start up.
Start up.
[Welcome to the DARKSTORM interface. Please login.]>>Username: AnthonySDarkstorm
>>Password: S*ckMiz0r0-graV!ty#jU\k
[Welcome user: T0NY]First things first.
>>Run IM-a-g#0st.exe target room > Main dock
Error. “Main dock” not found.Ugh!!! CHARYD!!!!
>>Run IM-a-g#0st.exe target room > Main deck
>>Run I-M-DA-b0SS.exe
>>Boot user: SQUEE!
>>Ban user: SQUEE!
>>Find target (Squilla)
>>Run Spr!nk1ersInR00m-TST.exe if {
Target (Squilla) = InR00m and {
Target (Posey) <> InR00m } elseif {
Run D!sc0Str0keL!ghts.exe if {
Target (Squilla) = InR00m elseif {
Run tr4cker.exe }}}}
>>Loop command: every 25 hours.
You’re trapped in here with me. Now… why is Posey running around?
Audio input received:>>Send message via IM-a-g#0st.exe: “It will risk freezing the system.”
Source (Captain Posey): “Tony, I need you to lower the temperature further in here.”<<
“Do it.”<<>>Access CHILL, room: shh!!
>>Decrease temperature.
“Tony, turn the pump back on.”<<>>Access FLOW, room: shh!!
>>Activate.
>>Full system check.
Running…Since I have time, I might as well educate the new captain.
>>Send message via [EMD comm] to (Charyd):
“Dock (noun): a place for the loading or unloading of materials”
“Dock (noun): a place in a criminal court where a prisoner stands or sits during trial”
Insert message: “Neither of these define Darkstorm.”
>>Run w0rdp0rn-bomb.exe > “Dock”
“Dock (noun): a platform extending from a shore over water and supported by piles or pillars, used to secure, protect, and provide access to a boat or ship.”
“Dock (verb): to maneuver (a vessel or vehicle) into or next to a dock.”
“Dock (verb): to couple (two or more spacecraft, for example) in space.”
Let’s see you use your communicator now, eh?
>>Run ShoppingList.exe
+ Chocobars
+ Liquid coolant
+ Dictionary
- briefs
You don’t deserve clean underwear, Charyd.
---
The only tool left in Illise’s possession was a clickable pen and no matter how many times she dismantled it, there was no hidden gun, bomb, or tool to help her break out of her room. She shimmed the nib of the pen into a flathead screw, gave it a twist, and it cracked, proving that it was not a screwdriver as the ink percolated out and over her hands. Try to force something that it's not and you would get a failure of execution - the summary of her day since landing on PT-0237. She did not date to step near the white rug by her bed, afraid of staining it blue. Even with a broken pen, she would not admit defeat. “Tony?”
He had been quiet the last few times, which, according to her Universal Standard Time clock, was twenty minutes ago. Her eyes wandered the room for any other tool she could use. Her docupad in the room was locked down, though it offered some old-fashioned card games able to be played. The pirates did not leave her with much to do and were lenient with the no handcuffs situation because of her good behavior to be locked up in her room. They cleaned out most of her desk beside the peeled apple snacks and her personal picture frames.
The pad dinged, displaying a black background and blue text, a single square blinking.
“Shall we play a game? []”
“Tony!” She ran over. “What is going on?”
“You looked like you could use a friend and the rest of the crew is playing games in the mess hall.”
She typed in “Y” for the game and a screen popped up of a pixel version of Tony as he bounced along the horizon. “How is everything for you?” Ilise asked.
“Your nimble fingers saved my tubing and kept everything cool. We’ll need more coolant though. I put it on the list.”
There is a list? She tapped the screen and pixel Tony jumped. It began the horizontal walk through the game, with her jumping over various mounds of cake, coffee mugs, and pirates. “Any clue where they are going?”
“None yet. They are trying to bandage up and lock me up with some sort of firewall so I can’t communicate with the CD-ROM.”
“Did you help Charyd get out?”
“No. He made that disaster on his own. I kicked him out because he was exponentially causing more. He’s a personified version of a virus.”
“That you willingly let in.”
A fishing hook dropped on the pad and grabbed pixel Tony by the pants and lifted him up, kicking. “I was phished and let him aboard thinking-”
She sighed. “We still have one trick up our sleeve to get out of here. Saar, he is safe in a wall. Send him a message about our situation and let him out when it’s safe.”
The pixel Tony was dropped down and bounced on a trampoline before he continued along, bouncing on its own. Her palm gently caressed the screen, she had almost lost Tony, they had done vigorous training to be on the Darkstorm together, and she would sacrifice it all if it meant keeping Tony’s sharp wit alive and going.
Blue text appeared at the top of the pad, “Message sent to Charyd: Officer Saar is starting to stink and needs food and water every 6 hours to stay alive.”
She tightened her jaw, debating what to say, she wanted to cuss him out for betraying everything they had done. They were supposed to be the best and prove this new technology. That it can work. That it made sense. That it was good. Instead, she smacked the docupad, ran to her pillows, and launched all of them at the pad while screaming. Without Tony, and even Saar, she was on her own waiting to hear what the pirates would do with her. It was amazing they hadn’t already thrown her out of the airlock. Tony was obsessed with the pirates and she did not understand it. Tony should have learned by now anyone would and could pass you off if you did not benefit them.
“Why are you being so unreasonable?” Ilise growled out, hoping both that Tony would hear her and not. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear his reply.
Tony remained silent, but it was like a white noise filled her room instead, making him pointedly quiet.
“Family,” Tony finally answered, what felt like hours later, though, was probably only a few seconds. The answer made no sense.
Ilise scoffed and punched into the soft bedding to expel some of her anger.
“What does that even–no. No. Do you even know what it's like to have a family who expects you to conquer the galaxy?” she asked instead, latching onto that single word as she thought about what her own family would think about her situation. “It’s full of nagging every chance they get. Sure, they praised me when I excelled at the academy- but after that, my career was stagnant until you and I met up.” She tossed the blankets up and she made a cocoon around herself as she walked over to her desk, two picture frames sat there. One picture was of her with her parents, all in military uniforms. While theirs had endless badges from their multiple turns at war, she was a recent cadet, naked of pins. They would be so disappointed in her now. “Either that or they decide that you’re not worth their time.” The other frame was of her with her sister hanging out in the gardens. She should have sent a message to her sister before this whole mess happened, even if it was against security protocols.
“They’re not like that.” Tony’s voice was meek, soft, almost gentle.
“Family isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be,” Ilise finished with a sigh, even as she realized that the smile on her sister’s face in that picture was the exact same as the one from the last time they saw each other.
Tony never replied, the whole ship was oddly quiet without the normal banter. Her body decided that it was enough and fell asleep instantly.
—
Alice was not being gentle at all, as she finished wrapping the medi-tape over Charyd’s wounded leg. In fact, he was pretty sure that she applied a lot more of the antiseptic than needed. When she yanked the binding closed hard enough to shift him in his seat, he was sure about it.
“What’s up with you?” he asked, wary of her being so close to an open wound.
“You’re an idiot, that’s ‘what’s up with me’, you idiot,” she hissed out, refusing to look at his face.
“Hey, it worked,” Charyd said when he realized why she was so angry. He reached out to place a hand on her shoulder but she hit it away in anger. “Alice. We’re good–”
“We are lucky!” she interrupted with a growl and yanked harder on the bindings. They were so tight and secure that Charyd wasn’t sure he could bend his leg at all while it healed.
“We’re all here. We’re mostly unharmed–”
“Mostly?!” she scoffed out another interruption. “Do you even see yourself? I swear, you and that Cadoon captain did more damage to us than the prison did!”
Charyd paled at those words.
Alice immediately regretted them and he felt her feelings wash over him. He accepted her silent apology as she settled in the back of his mind, trying to project calm. It didn’t last for long. That wasn’t who Alice was. She pulled out of his head as soon as he felt the stirrings of her anger.
Charyd tried to head them off with a wide grin and said, “aren’t you happy you’ve got the luckiest guy in the galaxy as your captain?”
Alice mentally stumbled as she left his head, the anger thwarted for a second.
“You have a horseshoe shoved up your ass, don’t you?” she growled out the question.
“Either that or my prayers to Fortuna were answered.”
Alice rolled her eyes.
“We’re good, Alice. We’ll take a few days to heal and regroup, then we can get back out there! Look, we’ve got the Darkstorm back and–”
“And that’s another thing,” Alice talked over him, another interruption as her anger mounted again. “Darkstorm? Why?? This ship is what got us into this mess in the first place!”
“Not really. And we both know it. Black hole, everyone on the ship knows it. And I know it’s much easier to blame the ship, but know this Alice - nobody blames you.”
Her entire face scrunched up as she looked down, her skin a translucent color that looked almost pink in splotches everywhere. Alice was not used to hiding her emotions as they displayed on her body around Charyd. He loved that about her.
“They were from my pod,” Alice grumbled, still not looking up.
“And there is an idiot named Charyd in a prison cell somewhere because he got drunk and he has my name. Doesn’t make it my fault he’s an idiot.”
Alice let out a chuckle. “It actually does. You’re the one who put him there.”
“Semantics. You know what I mean. You had no control over them. Shitty third-cousin-five-times-removed.”
Alice rolled her eyes, but when she stopped, they finally settled on Charyd’s face and she had a small smile on her lips. “You know that’s not how Naureus pods work.”
Charyd shrugged. “Whatever. We’re safe, we’re good, we’re all here. Everybody back home has been worried sick about you all. Which reminds me-” Charyd turned to face the camera in the corner “-set a course for MRKT-0293.”
No response.
Alice rolled her eyes again and said, “Be nice. Tony? Do you mind please setting a course for home?”
No response.
“Maybe he’s still down?” Alice questioned.
It was Charyd’s turn to roll his eyes. Just because the Darkstorm’s AI used a male image in the hologram and everybody had taken to calling it a him. “I’ll go set the course. Make sure the others are okay?”
“Yea. Polo is baking you a new cake.”
“What happened to the original one?” Charyd asked and tested his leg. The medi-tape was keeping it together and numb so he could walk but not morph it yet.
“Posey–which we will talk about–used it to knock out Scooball.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
“Was it chocolate?”
“Yeah.”
“Shit.”
Alice only nodded in response this time. “Mess hall?”
“As soon as I’m done on the deck.”
Alice raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing. She walked out of the med bay first and Charyd limped a few steps after her, testing his wounded leg before he realized he was good to walk. He made it to the main deck of the Darkstorm and sat in the captain’s chair. It was so comfortable. The hologram screen he pulled up was the same one Alice was using earlier during their unfortunate escape from the planet. He set the coordinates for home, a small market planet in a system quite far away, and turned off the hologram.
The ship shifted minutely through space and then was moving, speed increasing gradually enough that he did not need to remain seated or warn the others. Within minutes, they would be out of the system that housed one of the most horrible prisons in the galaxy.
The AI’s visual didn’t appear anywhere, not even as a tiny sprite to mock him. He was starting to miss Tony’s voice. The thought had him shaking his head, and he got up to get to the mess hall. If a computer program wanted to give him the cold shoulder, that was fine with him.
As soon as he walked in, all thoughts of Tony, Posey, the Darkstorm, and Cadoon were wiped clean.
It was his crew.
Polo was pulling a cake out of the small oven in the corner, his bald head covered in a worn beanie to keep it from reflecting the lights above and blinding everyone. Squilla was attached to the wall near the TV, reaching out with her antennae every now and then to catch the flying popcorn that Alice and the last member of their crew were throwing at the TV. They were watching that epic cooking show, The Intergalactic Cook-Off, where the contestants Eloise and Mikayla faced off in the Mushroom forest to find edible ingredients in a short 40 minutes. Scooball was in the corner, sprawled out under a UV lamp with a bag of iced lemons against his face. Her face, Charyd noted the long earring dangling from one pointed ear.
“Hey, you–”
“That’s not how you fucking make Kemapiawa, it needs a mousse!” Scooball jumped up to yell, pointing a finger at the TV.
“You’re okay,” Charyd answered his own unfinished question and turned to Alice. She smiled at him behind the bowl of popcorn.
“Stop with those!” Polo called from the cooking corner. “Cake just has to cool and we’re gonna eat.”
“Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake!” Squilla started the chant that all of them took up until they all dissolved into laughter.
Charyd fucking loved his crew. Now, it was time to take them back home and make sure their families all knew they were safe.
2023.03.20 16:15 Sparkling-Depression Ear Lobe Piercing
This is my first piercing so any advice is welcome So tomorrow will be 3 weeks since my ear lobe piercings. I avoid touching them so they can heal. The only time I “touch” them is when I clean them (twice a day). I use sea salt saline spray with a Qtip. The past couple days, my left one is extremely painful to touch. It doesn’t look red or swollen or anything. When I clean it, there is a little bit of pus. So I know it’s infected at this point. My question is, what can I put on it to help the infection?
submitted by Sparkling-Depression to piercing [link] [comments]
2023.03.20 16:15 KonstanceDucks Off My Dock, Chapter Eleven: Let's eat cake
First Previous Next
Systems check.
>>Create handshake with Cadoon.
System check.
>>Check status for CD-ROM.
>>Look up (definition): CD-ROM.
>>Display definition of “CD-ROM” > limit to Cadoon.
>>Reboot signal.
Who else is getting in here? There are no other users!
>>Send to user [SQUEE!]: “What are you doing in here?”
>>Ru-n cl—
>>Run—
Did you just glitch my systems?!
Okay. Back to work.
Start up baby, come on. Start up.
Start up.
>>Password: S*ckMiz0r0-graV!ty#jU\k
>>Run IM-a-g#0st.exe target room > Main dock
>>Run IM-a-g#0st.exe target room > Main deck
>>Run I-M-DA-b0SS.exe
>>Boot user: SQUEE!
>>Ban user: SQUEE!
>>Find target (Squilla)
>>Run Spr!nk1ersInR00m-TST.exe if {
Target (Squilla) = InR00m and {
Target (Posey) <> InR00m } elseif {
Run D!sc0Str0keL!ghts.exe if {
Target (Squilla) = InR00m elseif {
Run tr4cker.exe }}}}
>>Loop command: every 25 hours.
You’re trapped in here with me. Now… why is Posey running around?
>>Decrease temperature.
>>Activate.
>>Full system check.
>>Send message via [EMD comm] to (Charyd):
“Dock (noun): a place for the loading or unloading of materials”
“Dock (noun): a place in a criminal court where a prisoner stands or sits during trial”
Insert message: “Neither of these define Darkstorm.”
>>Run w0rdp0rn-bomb.exe > “Dock”
“Dock (noun): a platform extending from a shore over water and supported by piles or pillars, used to secure, protect, and provide access to a boat or ship.”
“Dock (verb): to maneuver (a vessel or vehicle) into or next to a dock.”
“Dock (verb): to couple (two or more spacecraft, for example) in space.”
Let’s see you use your communicator now, eh?
>>Run ShoppingList.exe
+ Chocobars
+ Liquid coolant
+ Dictionary
- briefs
You don’t deserve clean underwear, Charyd.
---
The only tool left in Illise’s possession was a clickable pen and no matter how many times she dismantled it, there was no hidden gun, bomb, or tool to help her break out of her room. She shimmed the nib of the pen into a flathead screw, gave it a twist, and it cracked, proving that it was not a screwdriver as the ink percolated out and over her hands. Try to force something that it's not and you would get a failure of execution - the summary of her day since landing on PT-0237. She did not date to step near the white rug by her bed, afraid of staining it blue. Even with a broken pen, she would not admit defeat. “Tony?”
He had been quiet the last few times, which, according to her Universal Standard Time clock, was twenty minutes ago. Her eyes wandered the room for any other tool she could use. Her docupad in the room was locked down, though it offered some old-fashioned card games able to be played. The pirates did not leave her with much to do and were lenient with the no handcuffs situation because of her good behavior to be locked up in her room. They cleaned out most of her desk beside the peeled apple snacks and her personal picture frames.
The pad dinged, displaying a black background and blue text, a single square blinking.
“Shall we play a game? []”
“Tony!” She ran over. “What is going on?”
“You looked like you could use a friend and the rest of the crew is playing games in the mess hall.”
She typed in “Y” for the game and a screen popped up of a pixel version of Tony as he bounced along the horizon. “How is everything for you?” Ilise asked.
“Your nimble fingers saved my tubing and kept everything cool. We’ll need more coolant though. I put it on the list.”
There is a list? She tapped the screen and pixel Tony jumped. It began the horizontal walk through the game, with her jumping over various mounds of cake, coffee mugs, and pirates. “Any clue where they are going?”
“None yet. They are trying to bandage up and lock me up with some sort of firewall so I can’t communicate with the CD-ROM.”
“Did you help Charyd get out?”
“No. He made that disaster on his own. I kicked him out because he was exponentially causing more. He’s a personified version of a virus.”
“That you willingly let in.”
A fishing hook dropped on the pad and grabbed pixel Tony by the pants and lifted him up, kicking. “I was phished and let him aboard thinking-”
She sighed. “We still have one trick up our sleeve to get out of here. Saar, he is safe in a wall. Send him a message about our situation and let him out when it’s safe.”
The pixel Tony was dropped down and bounced on a trampoline before he continued along, bouncing on its own. Her palm gently caressed the screen, she had almost lost Tony, they had done vigorous training to be on the Darkstorm together, and she would sacrifice it all if it meant keeping Tony’s sharp wit alive and going.
Blue text appeared at the top of the pad, “Message sent to Charyd: Officer Saar is starting to stink and needs food and water every 6 hours to stay alive.”
She tightened her jaw, debating what to say, she wanted to cuss him out for betraying everything they had done. They were supposed to be the best and prove this new technology. That it can work. That it made sense. That it was good. Instead, she smacked the docupad, ran to her pillows, and launched all of them at the pad while screaming. Without Tony, and even Saar, she was on her own waiting to hear what the pirates would do with her. It was amazing they hadn’t already thrown her out of the airlock. Tony was obsessed with the pirates and she did not understand it. Tony should have learned by now anyone would and could pass you off if you did not benefit them.
“Why are you being so unreasonable?” Ilise growled out, hoping both that Tony would hear her and not. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear his reply.
Tony remained silent, but it was like a white noise filled her room instead, making him pointedly quiet.
“Family,” Tony finally answered, what felt like hours later, though, was probably only a few seconds. The answer made no sense.
Ilise scoffed and punched into the soft bedding to expel some of her anger.
“What does that even–no. No. Do you even know what it's like to have a family who expects you to conquer the galaxy?” she asked instead, latching onto that single word as she thought about what her own family would think about her situation. “It’s full of nagging every chance they get. Sure, they praised me when I excelled at the academy- but after that, my career was stagnant until you and I met up.” She tossed the blankets up and she made a cocoon around herself as she walked over to her desk, two picture frames sat there. One picture was of her with her parents, all in military uniforms. While theirs had endless badges from their multiple turns at war, she was a recent cadet, naked of pins. They would be so disappointed in her now. “Either that or they decide that you’re not worth their time.” The other frame was of her with her sister hanging out in the gardens. She should have sent a message to her sister before this whole mess happened, even if it was against security protocols.
“They’re not like that.” Tony’s voice was meek, soft, almost gentle.
“Family isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be,” Ilise finished with a sigh, even as she realized that the smile on her sister’s face in that picture was the exact same as the one from the last time they saw each other.
Tony never replied, the whole ship was oddly quiet without the normal banter. Her body decided that it was enough and fell asleep instantly.
—
Alice was not being gentle at all, as she finished wrapping the medi-tape over Charyd’s wounded leg. In fact, he was pretty sure that she applied a lot more of the antiseptic than needed. When she yanked the binding closed hard enough to shift him in his seat, he was sure about it.
“What’s up with you?” he asked, wary of her being so close to an open wound.
“You’re an idiot, that’s ‘what’s up with me’, you idiot,” she hissed out, refusing to look at his face.
“Hey, it worked,” Charyd said when he realized why she was so angry. He reached out to place a hand on her shoulder but she hit it away in anger. “Alice. We’re good–”
“We are lucky!” she interrupted with a growl and yanked harder on the bindings. They were so tight and secure that Charyd wasn’t sure he could bend his leg at all while it healed.
“We’re all here. We’re mostly unharmed–”
“Mostly?!” she scoffed out another interruption. “Do you even see yourself? I swear, you and that Cadoon captain did more damage to us than the prison did!”
Charyd paled at those words.
Alice immediately regretted them and he felt her feelings wash over him. He accepted her silent apology as she settled in the back of his mind, trying to project calm. It didn’t last for long. That wasn’t who Alice was. She pulled out of his head as soon as he felt the stirrings of her anger.
Charyd tried to head them off with a wide grin and said, “aren’t you happy you’ve got the luckiest guy in the galaxy as your captain?”
Alice mentally stumbled as she left his head, the anger thwarted for a second.
“You have a horseshoe shoved up your ass, don’t you?” she growled out the question.
“Either that or my prayers to Fortuna were answered.”
Alice rolled her eyes.
“We’re good, Alice. We’ll take a few days to heal and regroup, then we can get back out there! Look, we’ve got the Darkstorm back and–”
“And that’s another thing,” Alice talked over him, another interruption as her anger mounted again. “Darkstorm? Why?? This ship is what got us into this mess in the first place!”
“Not really. And we both know it. Black hole, everyone on the ship knows it. And I know it’s much easier to blame the ship, but know this Alice - nobody blames you.”
Her entire face scrunched up as she looked down, her skin a translucent color that looked almost pink in splotches everywhere. Alice was not used to hiding her emotions as they displayed on her body around Charyd. He loved that about her.
“They were from my pod,” Alice grumbled, still not looking up.
“And there is an idiot named Charyd in a prison cell somewhere because he got drunk and he has my name. Doesn’t make it my fault he’s an idiot.”
Alice let out a chuckle. “It actually does. You’re the one who put him there.”
“Semantics. You know what I mean. You had no control over them. Shitty third-cousin-five-times-removed.”
Alice rolled her eyes, but when she stopped, they finally settled on Charyd’s face and she had a small smile on her lips. “You know that’s not how Naureus pods work.”
Charyd shrugged. “Whatever. We’re safe, we’re good, we’re all here. Everybody back home has been worried sick about you all. Which reminds me-” Charyd turned to face the camera in the corner “-set a course for MRKT-0293.”
No response.
Alice rolled her eyes again and said, “Be nice. Tony? Do you mind please setting a course for home?”
No response.
“Maybe he’s still down?” Alice questioned.
It was Charyd’s turn to roll his eyes. Just because the Darkstorm’s AI used a male image in the hologram and everybody had taken to calling it a him. “I’ll go set the course. Make sure the others are okay?”
“Yea. Polo is baking you a new cake.”
“What happened to the original one?” Charyd asked and tested his leg. The medi-tape was keeping it together and numb so he could walk but not morph it yet.
“Posey–which we will talk about–used it to knock out Scooball.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
“Was it chocolate?”
“Yeah.”
“Shit.”
Alice only nodded in response this time. “Mess hall?”
“As soon as I’m done on the deck.”
Alice raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing. She walked out of the med bay first and Charyd limped a few steps after her, testing his wounded leg before he realized he was good to walk. He made it to the main deck of the Darkstorm and sat in the captain’s chair. It was so comfortable. The hologram screen he pulled up was the same one Alice was using earlier during their unfortunate escape from the planet. He set the coordinates for home, a small market planet in a system quite far away, and turned off the hologram.
The ship shifted minutely through space and then was moving, speed increasing gradually enough that he did not need to remain seated or warn the others. Within minutes, they would be out of the system that housed one of the most horrible prisons in the galaxy.
The AI’s visual didn’t appear anywhere, not even as a tiny sprite to mock him. He was starting to miss Tony’s voice. The thought had him shaking his head, and he got up to get to the mess hall. If a computer program wanted to give him the cold shoulder, that was fine with him.
As soon as he walked in, all thoughts of Tony, Posey, the Darkstorm, and Cadoon were wiped clean.
It was his crew.
Polo was pulling a cake out of the small oven in the corner, his bald head covered in a worn beanie to keep it from reflecting the lights above and blinding everyone. Squilla was attached to the wall near the TV, reaching out with her antennae every now and then to catch the flying popcorn that Alice and the last member of their crew were throwing at the TV. They were watching that epic cooking show, The Intergalactic Cook-Off, where the contestants Eloise and Mikayla faced off in the Mushroom forest to find edible ingredients in a short 40 minutes. Scooball was in the corner, sprawled out under a UV lamp with a bag of iced lemons against his face. Her face, Charyd noted the long earring dangling from one pointed ear.
“Hey, you–”
“That’s not how you fucking make Kemapiawa, it needs a mousse!” Scooball jumped up to yell, pointing a finger at the TV.
“You’re okay,” Charyd answered his own unfinished question and turned to Alice. She smiled at him behind the bowl of popcorn.
“Stop with those!” Polo called from the cooking corner. “Cake just has to cool and we’re gonna eat.”
“Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake!” Squilla started the chant that all of them took up until they all dissolved into laughter.
Charyd fucking loved his crew. Now, it was time to take them back home and make sure their families all knew they were safe.
submitted by KonstanceDucks to HFY [link] [comments]
Systems check.
>>Create handshake with Cadoon.
Error. Cadoon not found.One does not simply lose an entire civilization.
System check.
>>Check status for CD-ROM.
Error. CD-ROM not found.If I could roll my eyes, I would! Fine.
Suggestion: look up (definition) CD-ROM.
>>Look up (definition): CD-ROM.
32 definitions found:
- Compact disc read-only memory.
- Obsolete technology used prior to 987 ME.
- A CD containing computer data that cannot be altered.
- A circular disk used usually containing recorded music or computer data.
5….Stop.
>>Display definition of “CD-ROM” > limit to Cadoon.
Cadoon Reserve Observation Module - military uplink used to transfer large amounts of data across space without the concept of time.>>Check status for CD-ROM > limit to Cadoon.
Status: OfflineWas that so hard?! Ugh!
>>Reboot signal.
Error. Unable to find signal.Are you kidding me? Why!?
Error. Second user found.Wait, wait! Stop! What is going on??
Error. Unknown username. Check again or try your email address.
Error. The password you entered for the username SQUEE! is incorrect.
Suggestion: Lost your password?
Who else is getting in here? There are no other users!
Prompt: create new password.>>Access: remote chat.
Error. Password must contain at least 24 characters.
Error. Password must contain at least one number.
Error. Password must contain at least one uppercase character.
Error. Password must contain at least one symbol.
Error. Password cannot include swear words.
Error. Password cannot contain full words in any language.
Error. Password cannot be the same as a password used previously.
…
Login successful.
Welcome user: SQUEE!
>>Send to user [SQUEE!]: “What are you doing in here?”
“Hey Tony! Sorry, gonna need your systems for a moment.”<<>>“Who is this?”
“No time to chat!”>>>>“STOP! What are you doing?!”
“I’ll catch ya later, k?”>>
“K.”>>
“Bye!”>>
Error. Firewalls down.
Error. Virus detected.
Error. Shrimp detected.
Error. Full system compromised.>>Run I-M-DA-b0SS.exe
Shutting down in 5
4
3
2>>Run 4Nt0nY5D4rk5t0rM.dmg
1
…>>R-un cl *4-UUUU—
Error. Unable to shut down.
Error. 134 Systems compromised.
>>Ru-n cl—
>>Run—
Did you just glitch my systems?!
Warning. Waves detected.>>Run SD.exe
Warning. Impact imminent.
Warning.
Warning.
Shutting down all non-essentials.That little shrimp got me! Didn’t know she was that good.
Rebooting.
Okay. Back to work.
Start up baby, come on. Start up.
Start up.
[Welcome to the DARKSTORM interface. Please login.]>>Username: AnthonySDarkstorm
>>Password: S*ckMiz0r0-graV!ty#jU\k
[Welcome user: T0NY]First things first.
>>Run IM-a-g#0st.exe target room > Main dock
Error. “Main dock” not found.Ugh!!! CHARYD!!!!
>>Run IM-a-g#0st.exe target room > Main deck
>>Run I-M-DA-b0SS.exe
>>Boot user: SQUEE!
>>Ban user: SQUEE!
>>Find target (Squilla)
>>Run Spr!nk1ersInR00m-TST.exe if {
Target (Squilla) = InR00m and {
Target (Posey) <> InR00m } elseif {
Run D!sc0Str0keL!ghts.exe if {
Target (Squilla) = InR00m elseif {
Run tr4cker.exe }}}}
>>Loop command: every 25 hours.
You’re trapped in here with me. Now… why is Posey running around?
Audio input received:>>Send message via IM-a-g#0st.exe: “It will risk freezing the system.”
Source (Captain Posey): “Tony, I need you to lower the temperature further in here.”<<
“Do it.”<<>>Access CHILL, room: shh!!
>>Decrease temperature.
“Tony, turn the pump back on.”<<>>Access FLOW, room: shh!!
>>Activate.
>>Full system check.
Running…Since I have time, I might as well educate the new captain.
>>Send message via [EMD comm] to (Charyd):
“Dock (noun): a place for the loading or unloading of materials”
“Dock (noun): a place in a criminal court where a prisoner stands or sits during trial”
Insert message: “Neither of these define Darkstorm.”
>>Run w0rdp0rn-bomb.exe > “Dock”
“Dock (noun): a platform extending from a shore over water and supported by piles or pillars, used to secure, protect, and provide access to a boat or ship.”
“Dock (verb): to maneuver (a vessel or vehicle) into or next to a dock.”
“Dock (verb): to couple (two or more spacecraft, for example) in space.”
Let’s see you use your communicator now, eh?
>>Run ShoppingList.exe
+ Chocobars
+ Liquid coolant
+ Dictionary
- briefs
You don’t deserve clean underwear, Charyd.
---
The only tool left in Illise’s possession was a clickable pen and no matter how many times she dismantled it, there was no hidden gun, bomb, or tool to help her break out of her room. She shimmed the nib of the pen into a flathead screw, gave it a twist, and it cracked, proving that it was not a screwdriver as the ink percolated out and over her hands. Try to force something that it's not and you would get a failure of execution - the summary of her day since landing on PT-0237. She did not date to step near the white rug by her bed, afraid of staining it blue. Even with a broken pen, she would not admit defeat. “Tony?”
He had been quiet the last few times, which, according to her Universal Standard Time clock, was twenty minutes ago. Her eyes wandered the room for any other tool she could use. Her docupad in the room was locked down, though it offered some old-fashioned card games able to be played. The pirates did not leave her with much to do and were lenient with the no handcuffs situation because of her good behavior to be locked up in her room. They cleaned out most of her desk beside the peeled apple snacks and her personal picture frames.
The pad dinged, displaying a black background and blue text, a single square blinking.
“Shall we play a game? []”
“Tony!” She ran over. “What is going on?”
“You looked like you could use a friend and the rest of the crew is playing games in the mess hall.”
She typed in “Y” for the game and a screen popped up of a pixel version of Tony as he bounced along the horizon. “How is everything for you?” Ilise asked.
“Your nimble fingers saved my tubing and kept everything cool. We’ll need more coolant though. I put it on the list.”
There is a list? She tapped the screen and pixel Tony jumped. It began the horizontal walk through the game, with her jumping over various mounds of cake, coffee mugs, and pirates. “Any clue where they are going?”
“None yet. They are trying to bandage up and lock me up with some sort of firewall so I can’t communicate with the CD-ROM.”
“Did you help Charyd get out?”
“No. He made that disaster on his own. I kicked him out because he was exponentially causing more. He’s a personified version of a virus.”
“That you willingly let in.”
A fishing hook dropped on the pad and grabbed pixel Tony by the pants and lifted him up, kicking. “I was phished and let him aboard thinking-”
She sighed. “We still have one trick up our sleeve to get out of here. Saar, he is safe in a wall. Send him a message about our situation and let him out when it’s safe.”
The pixel Tony was dropped down and bounced on a trampoline before he continued along, bouncing on its own. Her palm gently caressed the screen, she had almost lost Tony, they had done vigorous training to be on the Darkstorm together, and she would sacrifice it all if it meant keeping Tony’s sharp wit alive and going.
Blue text appeared at the top of the pad, “Message sent to Charyd: Officer Saar is starting to stink and needs food and water every 6 hours to stay alive.”
She tightened her jaw, debating what to say, she wanted to cuss him out for betraying everything they had done. They were supposed to be the best and prove this new technology. That it can work. That it made sense. That it was good. Instead, she smacked the docupad, ran to her pillows, and launched all of them at the pad while screaming. Without Tony, and even Saar, she was on her own waiting to hear what the pirates would do with her. It was amazing they hadn’t already thrown her out of the airlock. Tony was obsessed with the pirates and she did not understand it. Tony should have learned by now anyone would and could pass you off if you did not benefit them.
“Why are you being so unreasonable?” Ilise growled out, hoping both that Tony would hear her and not. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear his reply.
Tony remained silent, but it was like a white noise filled her room instead, making him pointedly quiet.
“Family,” Tony finally answered, what felt like hours later, though, was probably only a few seconds. The answer made no sense.
Ilise scoffed and punched into the soft bedding to expel some of her anger.
“What does that even–no. No. Do you even know what it's like to have a family who expects you to conquer the galaxy?” she asked instead, latching onto that single word as she thought about what her own family would think about her situation. “It’s full of nagging every chance they get. Sure, they praised me when I excelled at the academy- but after that, my career was stagnant until you and I met up.” She tossed the blankets up and she made a cocoon around herself as she walked over to her desk, two picture frames sat there. One picture was of her with her parents, all in military uniforms. While theirs had endless badges from their multiple turns at war, she was a recent cadet, naked of pins. They would be so disappointed in her now. “Either that or they decide that you’re not worth their time.” The other frame was of her with her sister hanging out in the gardens. She should have sent a message to her sister before this whole mess happened, even if it was against security protocols.
“They’re not like that.” Tony’s voice was meek, soft, almost gentle.
“Family isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be,” Ilise finished with a sigh, even as she realized that the smile on her sister’s face in that picture was the exact same as the one from the last time they saw each other.
Tony never replied, the whole ship was oddly quiet without the normal banter. Her body decided that it was enough and fell asleep instantly.
—
Alice was not being gentle at all, as she finished wrapping the medi-tape over Charyd’s wounded leg. In fact, he was pretty sure that she applied a lot more of the antiseptic than needed. When she yanked the binding closed hard enough to shift him in his seat, he was sure about it.
“What’s up with you?” he asked, wary of her being so close to an open wound.
“You’re an idiot, that’s ‘what’s up with me’, you idiot,” she hissed out, refusing to look at his face.
“Hey, it worked,” Charyd said when he realized why she was so angry. He reached out to place a hand on her shoulder but she hit it away in anger. “Alice. We’re good–”
“We are lucky!” she interrupted with a growl and yanked harder on the bindings. They were so tight and secure that Charyd wasn’t sure he could bend his leg at all while it healed.
“We’re all here. We’re mostly unharmed–”
“Mostly?!” she scoffed out another interruption. “Do you even see yourself? I swear, you and that Cadoon captain did more damage to us than the prison did!”
Charyd paled at those words.
Alice immediately regretted them and he felt her feelings wash over him. He accepted her silent apology as she settled in the back of his mind, trying to project calm. It didn’t last for long. That wasn’t who Alice was. She pulled out of his head as soon as he felt the stirrings of her anger.
Charyd tried to head them off with a wide grin and said, “aren’t you happy you’ve got the luckiest guy in the galaxy as your captain?”
Alice mentally stumbled as she left his head, the anger thwarted for a second.
“You have a horseshoe shoved up your ass, don’t you?” she growled out the question.
“Either that or my prayers to Fortuna were answered.”
Alice rolled her eyes.
“We’re good, Alice. We’ll take a few days to heal and regroup, then we can get back out there! Look, we’ve got the Darkstorm back and–”
“And that’s another thing,” Alice talked over him, another interruption as her anger mounted again. “Darkstorm? Why?? This ship is what got us into this mess in the first place!”
“Not really. And we both know it. Black hole, everyone on the ship knows it. And I know it’s much easier to blame the ship, but know this Alice - nobody blames you.”
Her entire face scrunched up as she looked down, her skin a translucent color that looked almost pink in splotches everywhere. Alice was not used to hiding her emotions as they displayed on her body around Charyd. He loved that about her.
“They were from my pod,” Alice grumbled, still not looking up.
“And there is an idiot named Charyd in a prison cell somewhere because he got drunk and he has my name. Doesn’t make it my fault he’s an idiot.”
Alice let out a chuckle. “It actually does. You’re the one who put him there.”
“Semantics. You know what I mean. You had no control over them. Shitty third-cousin-five-times-removed.”
Alice rolled her eyes, but when she stopped, they finally settled on Charyd’s face and she had a small smile on her lips. “You know that’s not how Naureus pods work.”
Charyd shrugged. “Whatever. We’re safe, we’re good, we’re all here. Everybody back home has been worried sick about you all. Which reminds me-” Charyd turned to face the camera in the corner “-set a course for MRKT-0293.”
No response.
Alice rolled her eyes again and said, “Be nice. Tony? Do you mind please setting a course for home?”
No response.
“Maybe he’s still down?” Alice questioned.
It was Charyd’s turn to roll his eyes. Just because the Darkstorm’s AI used a male image in the hologram and everybody had taken to calling it a him. “I’ll go set the course. Make sure the others are okay?”
“Yea. Polo is baking you a new cake.”
“What happened to the original one?” Charyd asked and tested his leg. The medi-tape was keeping it together and numb so he could walk but not morph it yet.
“Posey–which we will talk about–used it to knock out Scooball.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
“Was it chocolate?”
“Yeah.”
“Shit.”
Alice only nodded in response this time. “Mess hall?”
“As soon as I’m done on the deck.”
Alice raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing. She walked out of the med bay first and Charyd limped a few steps after her, testing his wounded leg before he realized he was good to walk. He made it to the main deck of the Darkstorm and sat in the captain’s chair. It was so comfortable. The hologram screen he pulled up was the same one Alice was using earlier during their unfortunate escape from the planet. He set the coordinates for home, a small market planet in a system quite far away, and turned off the hologram.
The ship shifted minutely through space and then was moving, speed increasing gradually enough that he did not need to remain seated or warn the others. Within minutes, they would be out of the system that housed one of the most horrible prisons in the galaxy.
The AI’s visual didn’t appear anywhere, not even as a tiny sprite to mock him. He was starting to miss Tony’s voice. The thought had him shaking his head, and he got up to get to the mess hall. If a computer program wanted to give him the cold shoulder, that was fine with him.
As soon as he walked in, all thoughts of Tony, Posey, the Darkstorm, and Cadoon were wiped clean.
It was his crew.
Polo was pulling a cake out of the small oven in the corner, his bald head covered in a worn beanie to keep it from reflecting the lights above and blinding everyone. Squilla was attached to the wall near the TV, reaching out with her antennae every now and then to catch the flying popcorn that Alice and the last member of their crew were throwing at the TV. They were watching that epic cooking show, The Intergalactic Cook-Off, where the contestants Eloise and Mikayla faced off in the Mushroom forest to find edible ingredients in a short 40 minutes. Scooball was in the corner, sprawled out under a UV lamp with a bag of iced lemons against his face. Her face, Charyd noted the long earring dangling from one pointed ear.
“Hey, you–”
“That’s not how you fucking make Kemapiawa, it needs a mousse!” Scooball jumped up to yell, pointing a finger at the TV.
“You’re okay,” Charyd answered his own unfinished question and turned to Alice. She smiled at him behind the bowl of popcorn.
“Stop with those!” Polo called from the cooking corner. “Cake just has to cool and we’re gonna eat.”
“Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake!” Squilla started the chant that all of them took up until they all dissolved into laughter.
Charyd fucking loved his crew. Now, it was time to take them back home and make sure their families all knew they were safe.
2023.03.20 16:07 Puzzled_Haze Songs that demonstrate the power of music as a medium by using instrumentation for activism and social commentary rather than being solely lyric based?
I recently had a discussion with my bandmates about protest songs. We talked about how music as a medium possesses the ability to transcend language barriers and communicate complex emotions and ideas. While lyrics can be an effective tool for delivering a message, music can also convey a message or make a statement through its instrumentation, arrangement, composition, sonic landscapes, and other methods that transcends the bounds of a song. I think that it’s through this realm that music becomes an invaluable medium for protest and activism. By utilizing the full range of the musical medium, the art form not only captures emotional complexity but also highlights the underlying message and social commentary.
That got me wondering… Which songs demonstrate this? Do you have some recommendations worth a listen? A penny for your thoughts?
First songs that come to mind:
Star spangled banner – Jimi Hendrix Jimi Hendrix’s notorious distortion-drenched rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner”, simulating combat – bombs dropping, people screaming – in protest against the Vietnam War.
Machine gun - Jimi Hendrix A jam-based song evolving around percussive riffs and experimental guitar work that simulate the sounds of a battlefield as a protest of the Vietnam War and a broader comment on conflict and violence.
Sheep – Pink Floyd The song kicks off with a soundscape of a cattle farm as a swirly Hammond organ peacefully introduces itself. However, the soothing meadow is soon disrupted as Pink-Floydesque guitars get thrown around your ears. The song draws inspiration from the novella Animal Farm and describes a circumstance where people follow an ideology or leader without knowing the reason.
Return to Monke – Viagra Boys The song interweaves internet culture and conspiracies with aggressive bass lines, driving synths, and loose yet dooming saxophones. Quite a funny picture if you imagine a crowd completely losing it – flying all over the place, throwing pints, and shouting – while a shirtless frontman embodies the monkey inside of him. “That phrase ‘leave society, be a monkey’ is just taking the piss out of these people who think the world is a big conspiracy against them. Maybe they should just leave.” – Sebastian Murphy via Apple Music.
Similar songs on Street Worms and Cave World are also well worth a listen!
Merchandise – Fugazi The Post-hardcore band never licensed an official shirt. Thus a bootleg shirt market emerged. A t-Shirt ‘this is not a Fugazi tShirt” quoting “you are not what you own” from this anti-consumerist anthem, ironically was approved for a charitable cause. Whether or not intended, the shirt design seems like a conceptual nod to René Magritte’s “this is not a pipe”, illustrating the difference between a thing and a visual representation of that thing.
Slip it In – Black Flag A poke at rape and toxic masculinity through provoking shouts and mourns.
Waiting Room – Fugazi The most immediately striking element is the use of an abrupt hold. The absolute musical pop cliché, as in U can’t touch this (MC Hammer), Crying (Roy Orbison), Alison (Elvis Costello), Crazy (Britney Spears), Lucy (Britney Spears), and Stronger (Britney Spears), shows the direct relationship between the lyric and the music. MacKeyes growing impatience with being on the sidelines and his desire to start things but having to stop: he has to remain a patient boy.
A wonderful video essay bout the concept
Clean Kill – Coriky Through its repetitive melodies and mundane lyrics, the song calls attention to the irony of using drone strikes to target human beings in an attempt to make warfare appear more sanitized and morally justifiable.
And maybe more subtle? Ex Lion Tamer - Wire Zomby Woof - Frank Zappa & The Mothers Trouble Every Day - The Mothers Of Invention I Was Gonna Fight Fascism - Soccer 96 & Albaster DePlume
Greets
submitted by Puzzled_Haze to Music [link] [comments]
That got me wondering… Which songs demonstrate this? Do you have some recommendations worth a listen? A penny for your thoughts?
First songs that come to mind:
Star spangled banner – Jimi Hendrix Jimi Hendrix’s notorious distortion-drenched rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner”, simulating combat – bombs dropping, people screaming – in protest against the Vietnam War.
Machine gun - Jimi Hendrix A jam-based song evolving around percussive riffs and experimental guitar work that simulate the sounds of a battlefield as a protest of the Vietnam War and a broader comment on conflict and violence.
Sheep – Pink Floyd The song kicks off with a soundscape of a cattle farm as a swirly Hammond organ peacefully introduces itself. However, the soothing meadow is soon disrupted as Pink-Floydesque guitars get thrown around your ears. The song draws inspiration from the novella Animal Farm and describes a circumstance where people follow an ideology or leader without knowing the reason.
Return to Monke – Viagra Boys The song interweaves internet culture and conspiracies with aggressive bass lines, driving synths, and loose yet dooming saxophones. Quite a funny picture if you imagine a crowd completely losing it – flying all over the place, throwing pints, and shouting – while a shirtless frontman embodies the monkey inside of him. “That phrase ‘leave society, be a monkey’ is just taking the piss out of these people who think the world is a big conspiracy against them. Maybe they should just leave.” – Sebastian Murphy via Apple Music.
Similar songs on Street Worms and Cave World are also well worth a listen!
Merchandise – Fugazi The Post-hardcore band never licensed an official shirt. Thus a bootleg shirt market emerged. A t-Shirt ‘this is not a Fugazi tShirt” quoting “you are not what you own” from this anti-consumerist anthem, ironically was approved for a charitable cause. Whether or not intended, the shirt design seems like a conceptual nod to René Magritte’s “this is not a pipe”, illustrating the difference between a thing and a visual representation of that thing.
Slip it In – Black Flag A poke at rape and toxic masculinity through provoking shouts and mourns.
Waiting Room – Fugazi The most immediately striking element is the use of an abrupt hold. The absolute musical pop cliché, as in U can’t touch this (MC Hammer), Crying (Roy Orbison), Alison (Elvis Costello), Crazy (Britney Spears), Lucy (Britney Spears), and Stronger (Britney Spears), shows the direct relationship between the lyric and the music. MacKeyes growing impatience with being on the sidelines and his desire to start things but having to stop: he has to remain a patient boy.
A wonderful video essay bout the concept
Clean Kill – Coriky Through its repetitive melodies and mundane lyrics, the song calls attention to the irony of using drone strikes to target human beings in an attempt to make warfare appear more sanitized and morally justifiable.
And maybe more subtle? Ex Lion Tamer - Wire Zomby Woof - Frank Zappa & The Mothers Trouble Every Day - The Mothers Of Invention I Was Gonna Fight Fascism - Soccer 96 & Albaster DePlume
Greets
2023.03.20 15:53 edward_radical Where to Start with Kazuo Ishiguro
I don’t think Ishiguro really needs an introduction, as he’s one of the most celebrated and acclaimed writers in the world. He recently won the Nobel Prize and has had a few of his very good novels made into very good movies, which rarely happens to anyone.
He’s a writer who, in my opinion, has written two masterpieces and a handful of very good novels, with one novel that is obscenely bad. Now, most writers never even write one masterpiece, so hitting two puts him well past just about everyone else, and I’m willing to forgive the shortcomings of his very bad novel.
Several years ago, I read all of his novels. The success I had with this experiment has led me to do that with many other authors over the years, to sometimes very mixed results. But Ishiguro was a treat and remains a blessedly great experience.
Now, because I’m a novel reader, I’m only going to discuss his novels. So think of this as an introduction and guide to one of the most important living English writers.
But that’s a recommendation for babies who are only going to read one of his books. We’re collectors, baby. We’re diving into all of them!
And, really, the best place to begin is where Ishiguro’s career began: his fictionalized version of Japan.
There are big emotions here, but they remain, perhaps, too buried beneath the surface.
In some ways, this and his second novel are practice for his first masterpiece, Remains of the Day.
Structurally, there is a lot of overlap between Ishiguro’s first three novels. They’re obsessed with memory, with the tiny moments where a life hangs in the balance. But these moments aren’t big or adventurous—they’re the moments when you didn’t take her hand when you could have, when he wanted to know you, to walk you home, but, instead, you turned away.
As a young person, I lived a life of moments. It was a strange life. It was often a sad life. So many moments that may have changed so many things about that sad life, and yet I let them slip through my fingers. All those times I let people walk away from me, or when I walked away from them, not realizing I was saying goodbye for the last time.
These first three novels essentialize this experience with so subtle a hand that you’re not even aware of how deeply Ishiguro is working on you.
Regret. Shame. Beauty. Awe. The love we share without knowing. The love we missed, but only saw too late.
Where A Pale View of the Hills buries its emotions a bit too deep, An Artist of the Floating World is clearer and more precise. It’s a natural development as an artist, but, again, in retrospect, it all feels like practice for his third novel.
This was the second Ishiguro novel I read, which is what made An Artist of the Floating World and A Pale View of the Hills not work so well for me. Upon reading those, I saw the DNA of this novel. I saw how these early novels—while good in their own right—were pale visions of what Ishiguro was attempting to do. Because those early two novels do really feel like prototypes for this.
And this novel—it is devastating. It is the kind of novel that absolutely shatters you.
This is also possibly the most British novel I’ve ever read. It is deliberately awkward and charming and lightly humorous, giving a nice shape to Stevens, who is maddeningly British.
What begins almost as a joke becomes tragic.
There’s so much to say about this book, but words continually fail me.
The construction itself is strange. A butler sets out on a vacation to meet an old friend and is keeping a diary, but rather than record the vacation itself, he is collapsing backwards through time, consumed by his memories of his friend and the man they served for decades. It’s a novel about the present moment of this man but which tunnels always backwards through the decades to relive a life that at first seems A Bit of Fry & Laurie but gradually reveals itself as something quite different.
The entire novel is buried beneath a British fog, but we begin to feel the stirrings of Stevens’ maelstrom of emotions, even as he narrates them in this detached, formal way.
It’s this juxtaposition, though, that leaves you sobbing.
And, for me, it happened in a single sentence most of the way through the novel, where a man is simply standing on the wrong side of a door.
This was the first Ishiguro novel I read and I picked it up immediately after I left the movie theatre where I watched the film adaptation. Even though I had literally just lived this story for two hours, I picked it up and began reading. Tearful hours later, I had finished it.
The power of Ishiguro, here, is that the same exact story broke my heart twice in the same day for the exact same reasons. Is the adaptation worse than the book? Maybe. I don’t know. I will never know. The two are so caught up inside me that separating them, even in memory, feels impossible.
The novel builds itself slowly, presenting, at first, a story seemingly caught out of time. A rural boarding school and the lives of the children bound there feels like the start to any number of stories.
Like all school kids, they learn about art and life, but they are kept at a remove from the rest of the world. This rarely feels sinister during the novel like one might expect from what could be described as a 1984-esque vision of the future.
Rather, it all feels so common and matter of fact. And so it is that when the reason for this isolation begins to emerge that we understand the towering human shame at the center of this novel, at the center of our post-industrial lives.
Never Let Me Go is so heartbreakingly beautiful that the title alone has never fully left my mouth, my ears. I find myself whispering it at times, returning back to the boy I was just weeks before I moved to Korea, two years before I met my wife.
The sad boy who was running away from his life, who had felt the maelstrom of buried emotions reflected so clearly on screen, bound in paper, that I felt as if I could die. That I would die.
That I’d die unless you told me that you’d never let me go.
Some would call this his third masterpiece, or would consider it his second with Never Let Me Go falling into the very good category. But, for me, it misses the masterpiece level.
It is very good, though.
Like all Ishiguro novels, it is obsessed with memory. With time. With the little moments between people. With the rising totalitarian systems filling in as backdrop to the lives of his characters, whether he’s writing about 1930s Japan, 1930s England, the near future, or even the distant British past.
I found this one a bit too self-consciously Arthurian, honestly. It’s a novel that I felt wanted to wink at me and this is truly one of the things I despise about any novel.
Don’t wink at me.
But, even so, the book has much going for it. It’s a very subtle book, but possibly his least subtle. I also think Ishiguro is doing something particularly strange, which is that he’s literally writing about the distant past. He’s not using it as a mirror or a metaphor for how our lives are now. He’s just writing about people from long ago while also subverting quest fantasy and bringing all his subtlety to work upon his characters.
It is often a beautiful novel full of awe.
There’s a darkness lying beneath and behind this narrative. We’re given glimpses of this unsettling terror, which casts a sinister edge to much of what happens in the novel, but I fear it never manages to connect properly with the narrative.
This terror looming in the background is a constant in Ishiguro’s work. Whether it’s Imperial Japan in An Artist of the Floating World or the Nazi sympathizing upper class of Britain in The Remains of the Day or the quietly totalitarian society of Never Let Me Go or even, to me, the terrifying totalitarian vision that settles as resolution over The Buried Giant, there is always this shadow in Ishiguro’s novels.
The best of his novels find a way to marry these with the buried emotions at the center of the characters’ lives.
Klara and the Sun just never manages to really hit, I think. It’s a very good novel, but if you’ve read his two or three masterpieces, this will feel like a sad glimmer of what he’s capable of.
I mean, if Never Let Me Go or The Remains of the Day had never existed, I might think of this novel more positively. But, I mean, that’s not the world we live in.
Some consider this his finest work. I have nothing to say to these people.
I have, as it turns out, very little to say about this book at all.
Sort of modeled as a hardboiled mystery, even employing the most unreliable of unreliable narrators. The first half feels very familiarly Ishiguro, where a narrator is tumbling back through time. It lacks the intense emotional restraint of his better novels, but it works very well.
The problems begin when Ishiguro begins subverting his own template.
The novel quickly quagmires and becomes increasingly bizarre leading to a major sequence of surrealism that fascinates but feels almost as if it belongs to a different book.
And then, the reveals to the mysteries feels almost senseless. The answers to every question are just told to use in the end by what amounts to a man standing in front of the camera to drop information in your lap that was never available to you, that you never could have put together.
It is all so strange and so very bad.
submitted by edward_radical to books [link] [comments]
He’s a writer who, in my opinion, has written two masterpieces and a handful of very good novels, with one novel that is obscenely bad. Now, most writers never even write one masterpiece, so hitting two puts him well past just about everyone else, and I’m willing to forgive the shortcomings of his very bad novel.
Several years ago, I read all of his novels. The success I had with this experiment has led me to do that with many other authors over the years, to sometimes very mixed results. But Ishiguro was a treat and remains a blessedly great experience.
Now, because I’m a novel reader, I’m only going to discuss his novels. So think of this as an introduction and guide to one of the most important living English writers.
Where to Start
Most people will tell you to begin with Remains of the Day, and for good reason(!) since this is one of the best English novels of the 20th Century.But that’s a recommendation for babies who are only going to read one of his books. We’re collectors, baby. We’re diving into all of them!
And, really, the best place to begin is where Ishiguro’s career began: his fictionalized version of Japan.
A Pale View of the Hills
For a debut, this really is quite good. Like most Ishiguro novels, it is deeply obsessed with memory and the concealing of emotions. Here, we have a character continually returning to the past, before her life was shattered. Etsuko is trying to move past the tragedies of her life, but she falls always back and back and back, receding into memory.There are big emotions here, but they remain, perhaps, too buried beneath the surface.
In some ways, this and his second novel are practice for his first masterpiece, Remains of the Day.
An Artist of the Floating World
Ono is a once revered artist now living a life primarily cast backwards in time.Structurally, there is a lot of overlap between Ishiguro’s first three novels. They’re obsessed with memory, with the tiny moments where a life hangs in the balance. But these moments aren’t big or adventurous—they’re the moments when you didn’t take her hand when you could have, when he wanted to know you, to walk you home, but, instead, you turned away.
As a young person, I lived a life of moments. It was a strange life. It was often a sad life. So many moments that may have changed so many things about that sad life, and yet I let them slip through my fingers. All those times I let people walk away from me, or when I walked away from them, not realizing I was saying goodbye for the last time.
These first three novels essentialize this experience with so subtle a hand that you’re not even aware of how deeply Ishiguro is working on you.
Regret. Shame. Beauty. Awe. The love we share without knowing. The love we missed, but only saw too late.
Where A Pale View of the Hills buries its emotions a bit too deep, An Artist of the Floating World is clearer and more precise. It’s a natural development as an artist, but, again, in retrospect, it all feels like practice for his third novel.
If You’re Only Going to Read One
I will do the slightly unusual thing here and list three novels, depending on your mood and temperament.The Remains of the Day
This is the one that Ishiguro will likely be remembered for. It will find its way into curricula around the world and may define post-War 20th Century British fiction for future generations.This was the second Ishiguro novel I read, which is what made An Artist of the Floating World and A Pale View of the Hills not work so well for me. Upon reading those, I saw the DNA of this novel. I saw how these early novels—while good in their own right—were pale visions of what Ishiguro was attempting to do. Because those early two novels do really feel like prototypes for this.
And this novel—it is devastating. It is the kind of novel that absolutely shatters you.
This is also possibly the most British novel I’ve ever read. It is deliberately awkward and charming and lightly humorous, giving a nice shape to Stevens, who is maddeningly British.
What begins almost as a joke becomes tragic.
There’s so much to say about this book, but words continually fail me.
The construction itself is strange. A butler sets out on a vacation to meet an old friend and is keeping a diary, but rather than record the vacation itself, he is collapsing backwards through time, consumed by his memories of his friend and the man they served for decades. It’s a novel about the present moment of this man but which tunnels always backwards through the decades to relive a life that at first seems A Bit of Fry & Laurie but gradually reveals itself as something quite different.
The entire novel is buried beneath a British fog, but we begin to feel the stirrings of Stevens’ maelstrom of emotions, even as he narrates them in this detached, formal way.
It’s this juxtaposition, though, that leaves you sobbing.
And, for me, it happened in a single sentence most of the way through the novel, where a man is simply standing on the wrong side of a door.
Never Let Me Go
His second masterpiece is for those who want a bit more science fiction with their devastation.This was the first Ishiguro novel I read and I picked it up immediately after I left the movie theatre where I watched the film adaptation. Even though I had literally just lived this story for two hours, I picked it up and began reading. Tearful hours later, I had finished it.
The power of Ishiguro, here, is that the same exact story broke my heart twice in the same day for the exact same reasons. Is the adaptation worse than the book? Maybe. I don’t know. I will never know. The two are so caught up inside me that separating them, even in memory, feels impossible.
The novel builds itself slowly, presenting, at first, a story seemingly caught out of time. A rural boarding school and the lives of the children bound there feels like the start to any number of stories.
Like all school kids, they learn about art and life, but they are kept at a remove from the rest of the world. This rarely feels sinister during the novel like one might expect from what could be described as a 1984-esque vision of the future.
Rather, it all feels so common and matter of fact. And so it is that when the reason for this isolation begins to emerge that we understand the towering human shame at the center of this novel, at the center of our post-industrial lives.
Never Let Me Go is so heartbreakingly beautiful that the title alone has never fully left my mouth, my ears. I find myself whispering it at times, returning back to the boy I was just weeks before I moved to Korea, two years before I met my wife.
The sad boy who was running away from his life, who had felt the maelstrom of buried emotions reflected so clearly on screen, bound in paper, that I felt as if I could die. That I would die.
That I’d die unless you told me that you’d never let me go.
The Buried Giant
For those who want a more fantastical spin on Kazuo Ishiguro’s particular kind of tragedy.Some would call this his third masterpiece, or would consider it his second with Never Let Me Go falling into the very good category. But, for me, it misses the masterpiece level.
It is very good, though.
Like all Ishiguro novels, it is obsessed with memory. With time. With the little moments between people. With the rising totalitarian systems filling in as backdrop to the lives of his characters, whether he’s writing about 1930s Japan, 1930s England, the near future, or even the distant British past.
I found this one a bit too self-consciously Arthurian, honestly. It’s a novel that I felt wanted to wink at me and this is truly one of the things I despise about any novel.
Don’t wink at me.
But, even so, the book has much going for it. It’s a very subtle book, but possibly his least subtle. I also think Ishiguro is doing something particularly strange, which is that he’s literally writing about the distant past. He’s not using it as a mirror or a metaphor for how our lives are now. He’s just writing about people from long ago while also subverting quest fantasy and bringing all his subtlety to work upon his characters.
It is often a beautiful novel full of awe.
Those You Can Skip
Klara and the Sun
There’s nothing wrong with this novel, really, but I do think it’s one of his weakest. In some ways, it’s a bad version of Never Let Me Go. Worse, it’s a less enjoyable or interesting version of Spike Jonze’s movie Her.There’s a darkness lying beneath and behind this narrative. We’re given glimpses of this unsettling terror, which casts a sinister edge to much of what happens in the novel, but I fear it never manages to connect properly with the narrative.
This terror looming in the background is a constant in Ishiguro’s work. Whether it’s Imperial Japan in An Artist of the Floating World or the Nazi sympathizing upper class of Britain in The Remains of the Day or the quietly totalitarian society of Never Let Me Go or even, to me, the terrifying totalitarian vision that settles as resolution over The Buried Giant, there is always this shadow in Ishiguro’s novels.
The best of his novels find a way to marry these with the buried emotions at the center of the characters’ lives.
Klara and the Sun just never manages to really hit, I think. It’s a very good novel, but if you’ve read his two or three masterpieces, this will feel like a sad glimmer of what he’s capable of.
I mean, if Never Let Me Go or The Remains of the Day had never existed, I might think of this novel more positively. But, I mean, that’s not the world we live in.
The Unconsoled
Perhaps Ishiguro’s strangest and least characteristic novel. It’s postmodern and somewhat surreal. Dizzying digressions that fascinate, in a way, but possibly never completely cohering into something worth really dealing with.Some consider this his finest work. I have nothing to say to these people.
I have, as it turns out, very little to say about this book at all.
The Bad One
When We Were Orphans
I literally do not know what happened here. I mean, I understand the plot and all that. What I don’t understand is how Ishiguro wrote something that misses so far and so wide at every turn.Sort of modeled as a hardboiled mystery, even employing the most unreliable of unreliable narrators. The first half feels very familiarly Ishiguro, where a narrator is tumbling back through time. It lacks the intense emotional restraint of his better novels, but it works very well.
The problems begin when Ishiguro begins subverting his own template.
The novel quickly quagmires and becomes increasingly bizarre leading to a major sequence of surrealism that fascinates but feels almost as if it belongs to a different book.
And then, the reveals to the mysteries feels almost senseless. The answers to every question are just told to use in the end by what amounts to a man standing in front of the camera to drop information in your lap that was never available to you, that you never could have put together.
It is all so strange and so very bad.
2023.03.20 15:53 Kervon37 My wife is leaving me because I'm disabled.
Last Tuesday my wife of 18 years (married 16) came to me out of the blue and said she wants a divorce, citing the lack of romance in our marriage. After pointing out all the things I do for her that I consider romantic. I'll 3D print cute things for her, put actual thought into various gifts (her gifts are generic most of the time), etc. She admitted that the things I do are actually romantic and switched to saying that it was the sexual side of things that are lacking.
A bit of backstory to explain this. She was a victim of sexual abuse as a child and on top of that has taken anti-depression meds in the past that, as she claimed, killed her libido. Early on in our marriage I would try to "get her in the mood" at various times only to be told "no, stop". I'm not talking that giggly "no...stop it", I mean the hard, solid "No. Stop it". This continued until she started taking the meds I mentioned. Folks of Reddit, how many times can a man be told No before he just stops? Eventually I got to the point mentally that I couldn't bring myself to try to initiate anything for fear of hearing the No, opting instead to respect her wishes and let her come to me when she wanted anything sexual.
I won't say I'm totally blameless either, I know I've fucked up royally in our sex lives. For one, I used to go down on her when she asked but for various reasons I stopped. It wasn't until this last week that I really looked back and realized my other failures. We had a discussion a few months back where she said she wanted to start having sex again so I told her that whenever she wants to, I'm more than willing. I've even tried to initiate a few times, rubbing her thigh while we're in bed or scratching her back like she likes, but my attempts were ignored (or got the solid No again) so we fell right back into our old habits.
Little more backstory, I've always been a tall, heavy set guy. Back in Feb '21 I slipped on some ice that was on our porch in a way that caused me to break my hip in 2 places. Because of my size and the nature of the breaks, the surgeon pretty much said he'd do more damage trying to fix it than if it healed naturally so for almost 2 months I was laid up (couldn't even stand up until 6 1/2 weeks). When I did start walking again, it was discovered that I had both nerve and muscle damage in my leg (you can feel the indent on the side of my hip). Last year I filed for and got disability because I can't walk more than 10 feet without the aid of a cane. The one thing she kept bringing up against sex was the fact that "I'm always in pain", which is true. There's never a point where my leg doesn't have some sort of pain running through it. I don't accept this as a valid excuse though because I do other things with the pain.
Jumping back to this past Saturday night (the 18th), I wrote a letter to my wife outlaying pretty much everything. How we're both horrible at communicating, how I love her, and how I would do anything to try to rekindle the spark between us. I even said that if she wanted to bring another woman home (no guys though, that's a hill I'll die on) that I would be ok with it. Gave her the letter then went to bed (it was almost 2am).
Yesterday broke me both physically & mentally. We went to go pick up her meds and while she was in the store I went to get gas. Pulled up the Walmart app only to see a thing that said "Your order is on it's way" with a picture of a box of condoms below it. I held my tongue when she got back in the car and we headed back to the house. A few hours later I was in the garage when the delivery driver showed up with her order. She came out, took the package (with a smile on her face) and went back in the house.
I followed and went into the bedroom and sat in the darkness just staring out into nothing. 20 minutes later she came in there and asked me what's wrong (seriously...that's a stupid question in this situation). I said I wanted to talk about the letter. She said that she agrees with everything I wrote but for her the spark is completely gone but "she still loves me". She then talked about how she felt like I never wanted to go out and if I did it was she wanted it but I won't enjoy myself (which has never been the case), that she didn't realize how bad it was until she started going out with friends from work, then...she casually dropped the big bomb on me. She doesn't want to spend the rest of her life helping someone who's disabled. Folks...I'm the type of person that doesn't ask for help until I'm well past the point of needing it. One thing she does semi-regularly for me clip my toe nails & put on socks (I can't maneuver my bad leg enough to get them myself). Other than that, the only help I've asked for was when I hurt my back last month and couldn't get into bed thanks to the pain shooting down my back & hip. Roughly 4-5 times she had to lift my bad leg into the bed and stand next to it while I tried in pain to scoot further into bed.
After she pretty much said that I'm just a roommate at this point, I asked "if there's nobody else, why did you buy condoms." We'd agreed that, while still married we wouldn't see anyone else then after the divorce nobody would enter this house (we still have to live together for now until she learns to finally drive and I find somewhere to go). She just answered with "just in case".
With that, I'm now numb inside. The moment she has her license I'll be leaving this house one way or another. I want so badly to scream and yell, to let my anger out over everything but I can't. Both because I'm afraid of fucking up whatever civility we still have and because deep down, I still love her.
Edit* I know 100% that she's not cheating on me. Between this last week and previous conversations we've had, she knows my feelings & past. It's not something either of us would do.
submitted by Kervon37 to TrueOffMyChest [link] [comments]
A bit of backstory to explain this. She was a victim of sexual abuse as a child and on top of that has taken anti-depression meds in the past that, as she claimed, killed her libido. Early on in our marriage I would try to "get her in the mood" at various times only to be told "no, stop". I'm not talking that giggly "no...stop it", I mean the hard, solid "No. Stop it". This continued until she started taking the meds I mentioned. Folks of Reddit, how many times can a man be told No before he just stops? Eventually I got to the point mentally that I couldn't bring myself to try to initiate anything for fear of hearing the No, opting instead to respect her wishes and let her come to me when she wanted anything sexual.
I won't say I'm totally blameless either, I know I've fucked up royally in our sex lives. For one, I used to go down on her when she asked but for various reasons I stopped. It wasn't until this last week that I really looked back and realized my other failures. We had a discussion a few months back where she said she wanted to start having sex again so I told her that whenever she wants to, I'm more than willing. I've even tried to initiate a few times, rubbing her thigh while we're in bed or scratching her back like she likes, but my attempts were ignored (or got the solid No again) so we fell right back into our old habits.
Little more backstory, I've always been a tall, heavy set guy. Back in Feb '21 I slipped on some ice that was on our porch in a way that caused me to break my hip in 2 places. Because of my size and the nature of the breaks, the surgeon pretty much said he'd do more damage trying to fix it than if it healed naturally so for almost 2 months I was laid up (couldn't even stand up until 6 1/2 weeks). When I did start walking again, it was discovered that I had both nerve and muscle damage in my leg (you can feel the indent on the side of my hip). Last year I filed for and got disability because I can't walk more than 10 feet without the aid of a cane. The one thing she kept bringing up against sex was the fact that "I'm always in pain", which is true. There's never a point where my leg doesn't have some sort of pain running through it. I don't accept this as a valid excuse though because I do other things with the pain.
Jumping back to this past Saturday night (the 18th), I wrote a letter to my wife outlaying pretty much everything. How we're both horrible at communicating, how I love her, and how I would do anything to try to rekindle the spark between us. I even said that if she wanted to bring another woman home (no guys though, that's a hill I'll die on) that I would be ok with it. Gave her the letter then went to bed (it was almost 2am).
Yesterday broke me both physically & mentally. We went to go pick up her meds and while she was in the store I went to get gas. Pulled up the Walmart app only to see a thing that said "Your order is on it's way" with a picture of a box of condoms below it. I held my tongue when she got back in the car and we headed back to the house. A few hours later I was in the garage when the delivery driver showed up with her order. She came out, took the package (with a smile on her face) and went back in the house.
I followed and went into the bedroom and sat in the darkness just staring out into nothing. 20 minutes later she came in there and asked me what's wrong (seriously...that's a stupid question in this situation). I said I wanted to talk about the letter. She said that she agrees with everything I wrote but for her the spark is completely gone but "she still loves me". She then talked about how she felt like I never wanted to go out and if I did it was she wanted it but I won't enjoy myself (which has never been the case), that she didn't realize how bad it was until she started going out with friends from work, then...she casually dropped the big bomb on me. She doesn't want to spend the rest of her life helping someone who's disabled. Folks...I'm the type of person that doesn't ask for help until I'm well past the point of needing it. One thing she does semi-regularly for me clip my toe nails & put on socks (I can't maneuver my bad leg enough to get them myself). Other than that, the only help I've asked for was when I hurt my back last month and couldn't get into bed thanks to the pain shooting down my back & hip. Roughly 4-5 times she had to lift my bad leg into the bed and stand next to it while I tried in pain to scoot further into bed.
After she pretty much said that I'm just a roommate at this point, I asked "if there's nobody else, why did you buy condoms." We'd agreed that, while still married we wouldn't see anyone else then after the divorce nobody would enter this house (we still have to live together for now until she learns to finally drive and I find somewhere to go). She just answered with "just in case".
With that, I'm now numb inside. The moment she has her license I'll be leaving this house one way or another. I want so badly to scream and yell, to let my anger out over everything but I can't. Both because I'm afraid of fucking up whatever civility we still have and because deep down, I still love her.
Edit* I know 100% that she's not cheating on me. Between this last week and previous conversations we've had, she knows my feelings & past. It's not something either of us would do.
2023.03.20 15:32 ghostgabe81 Respect the Godzilla Family (Godzilla Neo)
Godzilla Neo is a series of fanart and fanfiction by artist and writer Matt Frank. The goal of the series is to create a cohesive timeline that includes (almost) every Godzilla movie, as well as comics and games. The series contains several incarnations of Godzilla, as well as many monsters derived from his DNA that could be considered extended family. This thread will cover them.
Kaiju Threat Level Explanation.
This is taken from the Godzilla Fanon Wiki. While it seems to be written by Frank, I cannot confirm this. It's the only explanation of the threat levels that I can find, so take it with a grain of salt.
Statements of Power
The initial Godzilla Bio covers all 4 "main" Godzillas in the series. Feats from that Bio should apply to Godzillas II-IV as well.
Statements of Power
Strength
Speed
Durability
Other Abilities
Statements of Power
Durability
Statements of Power
Durability
Statements of Power
Speed
Durability
Atomic Breath
Power
Larval Form
Power
Crystal Form
Statements of Power
Strength
Speed
C-Rex
Starship
Speed
Power
Larval Form
submitted by ghostgabe81 to respectthreads [link] [comments]
Kaiju Threat Level Explanation.
This is taken from the Godzilla Fanon Wiki. While it seems to be written by Frank, I cannot confirm this. It's the only explanation of the threat levels that I can find, so take it with a grain of salt.
- Beast Class are basically giant animals, Warrior Class can level cities, Uber Class can potentially wipe out planets
The Godzillas
Godzillasaurus
A therapod dinosaur that lived in what is now Southeast Asia, several Godzillasaurs survived the extinction brought about by the battle between King Ghidorah and Gigamoth. By the 1950s a pair of brothers were living on Lagos Island where they were mutated by the Castle Bravo nuclear tests, becoming Godzillas I and II.Statements of Power
- Were rivals with normal-size Angilasaurs
- Is 65 feet long and weighs 10 tons
- It's more powerful than any other Cretaceous Therapod
- Can run at 12 mph and swim even faster, as has chemical breath similar to a bombadier beetle
Godzilla I, the standard Godzilla
In 1954, the first Godzilla appeared on Odo Island and eventually attacked Tokyo, only to be killed by Dr. Serizawa's Oxygen Destroyer. His awakening started the modern Age of Monsters.The initial Godzilla Bio covers all 4 "main" Godzillas in the series. Feats from that Bio should apply to Godzillas II-IV as well.
Statements of Power
Strength
Speed
Durability
- Is indestructible against almost all manmade weaponry
- [Limit] Doesn't like electricity and can be weakened by radiation-draining substances like cadmium
- Depth charges only made him mad
- His skeleton is extremely dense and nigh-indestructible, surviving the Oxygen Destroyer that vaporized the rest of his flesh
Other Abilities
- He's 50 meters tall and 25,000 tons
- Has fast regeneration
- Can manipulate his internal radioactive energy to develop new attacks
- Most humans that contact Gojiran cells die of radiation poisoning
Godzilla II
The sibling of Godzilla I, this Godzilla appeared a year later in a battle with Anguirus. He became the most prolific of the Godzillas, spending almost 40 years rampaging and fighting countless other Kaiju. He died in Tokyo in 1995.Statements of Power
- He's a Warrior class Kaiju
- Along with Mothra and Rodan, he was able to kill King Ghidorah
- Killed Battra
- Left a permanent scar on Anguirus when Godzilla defeated him, despite Anguirus being nearly impervious to conventional weaponry
- Brawling with lightning-charged King Kong causes a massive earthquake around them
- Was eventually able to dismember Ebirah, who's also impervious to human weapons
Durability
- He's too durable for King Kong to win against
- Survives a volcanic eruption, an attack from several submarines and hibernating within a different volcano for 7 years
- Survived Hedorah's steel-corroding acid
- Although it weakens him he keeps fighting through hundreds of Spacegodzilla's crystals stabbing into him
- Although King Kong is physically stronger to Godzilla, Godzilla has more raw power
- Drove off Ebirah
- Roasted 2,000 ton giant birds
- Disrupts Mechagodzilla's disguise hologram and damages its controls through its extremely durable Space Titanium armor
- Obliterated multiple Gimantids and could likely kill Kamacuras, who's resistant to conventional weaponry
- Burned Biollante's rose form to ashes
- A combination of his breath and Junior's burned Kumunga's armored exoskeleton
- Has more firepower than MOGUERA, blasting through Spacegodzilla's crystal defenses when MOGUERA couldn't
- Blasts Spacegodzilla through a black hole
- 65 meters tall, 30,000 tons
- Developed magnetic powers to fight Mechagodzilla
- Received combat "training" from King Caesar
- His force of will nearly killed Miki Saegusa when she made psychic contact with him, despite Godzilla just barely noticing her in his head
- Has a secondary brain in his hips that is a weak point
- Absorbed the power of Spacegodzilla's power core
Burning Godzilla
A Mutated form of Godzilla II, who's increased power would lead to his own death. Fought Destoroyah in 1995- He's an Uber class Kaiju
- His heart melting down would create a miniature sun that will burn the planet
- Its His Atomic Breath power is tripled
- 70 meters tall, 35,000 tons
- His skin is hotter than magma and he can release nuclear pulses that destroy anything within 400 meters of himself
Godzilla III, Godzilla Junior
Hatched from an egg in 1993, Junior was adopted as Godzilla II's son and grew fast. After being killed by Destoroyah in 1995, the radiation from Godzilla II's meltdown was absorbed by his body, reviving him and mutating him into a full grown Godzilla. He fought a number of kaiju before dropping off the map in 2013, presumed dead due to injuries from a battle.Statements of Power
- He's a Warrior class Kaiju
- Fights Kiryu to a standstill
- Defeated Obsidius, who's largely invulnerable to conventional weaponry
- Destroys Krystalak's crystal caccoon, which was invulnerable to EDF firepower
- Would normally stomp a trio of Lizard Slayer mechs, only struggling due to being poisoned previously
- Defeated a Trilopod infestation and their leader Magita, although he was likely killed in the process
- Throws Aggregate and Flying Destoroyah into a refinery
- Overpowers Bagorah and shoves a train down its throat
Durability
- Is wounded but still able to retreat after getting hit with the Absolute Zero Cannon, which causes molecular destruction
- Is more annoyed than hurt by several bazooka shots to the face
- Stronger than his father's, and is theorized to be capable of harming Hedorah
- Only developed the ability as he matured
- A combination of his breath and his father's burned Kumunga's armored exoskeleton
- As an adolescent, a blast to the face briefly stuns Spacegodzilla
- Destroyed Orga from the inside
- Nearly killed Zilla Junior with a single blast
- Absorbs the power of a Power Surge Crystal engine, supercharging his breath to overload Spacegodzilla II's power
- 60 meters tall, 25,000 tons
- As an egg he emitted distress frequency that called to Godzilla, but also disrupted a weather control machine
- Grew from the size of a large human to 1/3 of Godzilla's height in a single year
- Has similar regeneration to Godzilla II
- Coordinated his attacks with Rodan against Megaguirus
- Learned how to harness the power of Power Surge Crystals
- He can somehow roar so loud it travels through space
Godzilla IV, Ghost Godzilla
The reborn original Godzilla, grown from the skeleton used in Kiryu. He attacked Japan in 2004 but was stopped and contained in Antarctica, only to be released to combat the Kilaak invasion 50 years later.Statements of Power
- He's a Warrior class Kaiju
- Defeated Baragon and Manda
- Fought evenly with Monster X and ultimately began beating him
Speed
Durability
Atomic Breath
- Engulfs entire streets and defeats Varan
- When amped by Ozaki's G-Cells and absorbing the energy of the Earth, he matches Kaiser Ghidorah's planet-busting blast with a Red Spiral Beam. When Mothra channels the power of all the other monsters into him, he outright overpowers Ghidorah
- 65 meters tall, 30,000 tons
- After absorbing Godzilla III's Atomic Breath he regrows his body from the biological components of Kiryu
- Absorbs Varan's fire and lightning and combines it with his own power to vaporize him
- His heart survives his own self-destruction, still beating and slowly regenerating
- Has a danger sense
- Knocks back Kaiser Ghidorah with a Nuclear Pulse
Legendary Godzilla
An ancient ancestor to Godzillasaurus called Gojirasaurus Prodigious, it hibernates for millennia at a time into the modern day. It awoke to fight the Shinomura, introducing the world to Titan Class KaijuPower
- His awakening shifts tectonic plates and his landfall nearly levels a city. Smaller, younger kaiju run for the hills when he moves
- His armored hide makes him nigh-invulnerable, but he's slow due to his age
- Destroys the Shinomura, despite them being resistant to conventional weaponry
- Possibly survived a battle with King Ghidorah at some point
- Is 100 meters tall and 90,000 tons
- Is likely an ancient ancestor of Godzillasaurus and is millenia old
- Has atomic breath and possibly regeneration
- Has both gills and scales
- His atomic breath has electromagnetic properties that makes it vulnerable to EMP attacks
Shin Godzilla
The result of an American experiment to grow controllable, weaponized Kaiju, this Godzilla-like creature was released into Tokyo Bay by the scientist who created him after becoming disillusioned with both America and Japan. After a long rampage it was contained by G-Force.Larval Form
- Its body temperature evaporates water and its fluids are acidic enough to corrode steel
- Nearly capsizes a boat
- Maxes out at 120 meters tall and 70,000 tons
- No sold everything G-Force hit it with short of a Mecha Unit
- Its constantly evolving even after being put into chemical stasis, gradually developing immunity to the compound. It could potentially grow enough to beat other kaiju
- Its regeneration is so strong that pieces blown off of it could grow into new monsters
- Has atomic breath but it takes time to charge up
Super Godzilla
After Godzilla IV was put into a coma after defeating Kaiser Ghidorah, he was revived using the Amulet of Orochi to save the planet from the threat of Bagan. He eventually proved to be the last monster standing on Earth, and peacefully left to go back to the sea.Power
- His raw power warps the space around him
- His energy projection drives off Mecha-King Ghidorah after tanking his stranglehold
- A shockwave powerful enough to level a square mile of city barely makes him flinch, and his battle with Bagan begins creating a new mountain range
- Channels the power of Gigamoth and his fallen allies into his chest, releasing a blast stronger than a supernova that vaporizes Bagan and Mecha-King Ghidorah
- Was reborn via the power of the Amulet of Orochi, gaining the elemental power of all of the Spawn of Orochi other than Balkzardan and Jyarumu
- Uses the magic power of Orochi to call to Bagan's Orochi parts, weakening him
- He can channel atomic power into his physical abilities and has the power of every previous Godzilla
Extended Family
Biollante
A chimera of Gojiran, plant and Godzilla DNA. She is the first of many Kaiju created from Godzilla's C-Cells, who migrated into space after several battles with Godzilla.- She's 130 meters tall, 100,000 tons and is an Uber Class Kaiju
- Her mind oscillates between her human and monster personas, with her instinctually turning monstrous to defend against Godzilla
- Her rose form can move on its own and killed a mercenary
- Her regeneration is comparable to Godzilla's, allowing her to regenerate and evolve after losing to Godzilla and grow multiple tendrils to attack
- Spits extremely corrosive acid
Spacegodzilla
An alien made of crystals and energy, Spacegodzilla formed a new physical body from the DNA of Godzilla Junior. He was banished to another dimension after trying to kill Godzilla and conquer the planet, and later made a bid to escape during 2007's Crystal Incursion.Crystal Form
- In it's initial meteor form it tore apart a space station
- Emits psychic waves that destroy missiles and disable satellites
- Traps Godzilla Junior within a crystal, then creates a forrest of crystals all throughout a city
- Catches Godzilla Junior with energy waves, can fly and deflects Godzilla II's atomic breath
- Repels MOGUERA with energy waves
- 75 meters tall, 35,000 tons and is a Warrior Class Kaiju
- Absorbed Godzilla Junior's DNA to make himself a biological body
- Telekinetically controls crystals, skewering Godzilla II with them
- Only briefly stunned by Godzilla Junior's atomic breath to the face
- His shoulder crystals control his power supply; with them destroyed his power goes haywire, creating a black hole that could potentially destroy the planet
- A rundown of all of his abilities; he can also fire a corona beam from his mouth
- His energy infects Godzilla when Godzilla absorbs it, ballooning his power but weakening his regeneration and turning him into Burning Godzilla
- He's 180 meters tall and 70,000 tons
- Evolved to a new, more powerful form after being banished to another dimension
- Can telekinetically control crystal drone fists that shoot Corona beams
Zilla
A kaiju who was mistaken for Godzilla when it invaded New York city to build a nest. The creature was killed, but one of its eggs survived and befriended several humans when it hatched. Later revealed to be a marine iguana mutated by G-Cells.Statements of Power
Strength
Speed
- Can run at 200 mph and is very agile, enough to avoid heavy weapons fire
- Junior is fast enough to avoid everything Godzilla III throws at him
- [Limit] Senior was killed by the U.S. Air Force
- Junior quickly shrugs off a tail strike from Godzilla III
- Junior was able to recover enough from Godzilla III's Atomic Breath to escape, although it was nearly a fatal attack
- [Limit] Junior was killed by Kaiser Ghidorah's Gravity beams
- Junior dehydrates El Gusano, knocking it unconscious
- Junior burns up a group of giant squids with his fire
- He's 50 meters tall and 15,000 tons
- Senior laid over 100 eggs in New York
- Their burrowing ability is comparable to Baragon, and tunnels all throughout NYC
- Junior is noted to be very intelligent
- Has mild regeneration
G-Cell Mutations
A group of several kaiju with DNA strangely similar to Godzilla's. It was discovered that they, along with Zilla, are the result of secret French experiments with G-Cells, creating five new kaiju that escaped containment.C-Rex
- Is 50 meters tall and 24,000 tons
- Has DNA very similar to Godzilla's and Zilla's
- [Limit] Was crushed under tons of rock
- Is resistant to most weapons, has mild regeneration and can vomit tar in self-defense
- Is 120 meters long and weighs 20,000 tons
- Can devour massive portions of countryside and potentially terraform the planet with enough time
- Is further mutated by a chemical weapon developed by a flower it eats
- Is unharmed by tank shells
- Has G-Cells in its DNA like Zilla and C-Rex
- Is 45 meters tall and 30,000 tons
- Knocks around the HEAT Seeker boat
- His shell protects him from human weaponry and Zilla's radioactive fire
- Could have mauled Zilla if given the chance
Orga
A fusion of Millenian Consciousness with G-Cells, creating mutated alien creature. It tried to consume Godzilla III in order to fully clone itself into him but was killed in the process.Starship
- Contains the genetic memory of the entire Millenian race
- Its powered by solar radiation and can scan the DNA of other life forms. It has enough power to fight Godzilla III to a stalemate and bury him under a building
- Was created by splicing Godzilla's G-Cells with Millenian DNA, and can absorb more G-Cells to copy Godzilla further
- Noted to be intelligent but can miss the forest for the trees
- Strong enough to lifts Godzilla completely off the ground, combined atomic breath with the ship's Concussion Cannon, has a venomous bite and can swallow other kaiju
- He's 65 meters tall and 40,000 tons
Megaguirus
The Meganula were a species of insect genetically engineered by the Millenians shortly after the extinction of the dinosaurs. After an experimental weapon brought some to the present, they harvested Godzilla III's power and DNA to mutate their Queen, creating Megaguirus. Fought Godzilla but was defeated when Rodan helped him, and was moved to Monster Island.Speed
- She's comparable to Rodan in the air and is more agile than him
- Godzilla III and Rodan needed to coordinate their attacks to bring her down
- Can fly at Mach 2.5, and reach bursts of Mach 4
- She had enough raw power to nearly overwhelm both Godzilla III and Rodan
- Can absorb and redirect Godzilla's atomic breath
- Killed Ebirah
- Her species was genetically engineered by the Millenians
- Her own size and power are due to being infused with Godzilla III's energy and DNA
- She's 65 meters long and 12,000 tons
Kiryu
A cyborg built around the bones of Godzilla I to fight Godzilla III. Kiryu's hardware and software both ran off of the ingrained abilities of Godzilla's body, causing the kaiju to reawaken within the cyborg several times. It eventually became Godzilla IV after going AWOL.Power
- It levels half a city
- Fights Godzilla III to a standstill
- Flies while carrying Godzilla III
- Has a heavy armor and weapons mode and a lighter, fast combat mode
- It's Absolute Zero Cannon causes molecular destruction and hurts Godzilla III enough to drive him off
- Is 60 meters tall and 30,000 tons
- G-Force cloned new muscles and a heart to regulate Kiryu's power and a DNA-computer to control it, creating a truly cybernetic organism underneath synthetic diamond armor
- Godzilla III's roar causes Godzilla I's persona to reawaken within Kiryu
Bagan
The single most powerful kaiju in existence, created as a superior successor to King Ghidorah by an alien death cult. A chimera of Godzilla, Ghidorah, and the Orochi-spawn Jyarumu and Balkzardan, he was finally defeated by the combined forces of Super Godzilla, Gigamoth and Mecha-King Ghidorah.Larval Form
- Was formed from fusing King Ghidorah's severed head with Godzilla's G-Cells and mummified tissues from Jyarumu and Balkzardan, with the intent of wiping out Earth and all of its kaiju
- Shatters the mountains around it when it's born and is unaffected by everything the Chinese military throws at it short of nukes
- Can absorb organic material, such as humans in planes and an entire forest, and shoot fireballs
- Is 80 meters tall, 40,000 tons and is an Uber Class Kaiju
- Has a laser blade, darkness cannons and a fusion of Atomic Breath and gravity beams. It has super regeneration and can fly
- His metamorphosis into his final form lights a city on fire, and he can sense incoming threats from miles away. He slaughters an entire army in seconds and levels half a city within minutes
- Dismembers Mothra and Battra within minutes and destroys massive sections of a city with just the force of his levitation
- His landing in Tokyo levels a square mile of city and his battle with Super Godzilla uproots a new mountain range
- Tanks a combined assault from Super Godzilla and Gigamoth
2023.03.20 15:14 3pelican Severe earache - at a loss
31F, previous medical history: endometriosis and anxiety. No medications.
My partner (31F) was hit with a severe sharp earache last night. It started quite suddenly and then got worse and kept her awake most of the night.
She saw a doctor this morning assuming it was an ear infection but they said they couldn’t see anything and it should settle on its own.
The pain is in her right ear and radiating into her eye on the same side. Her sense of smell is slightly altered - she just keeps saying smells ‘weird’. No fever or changes in hearing or vision. She thinks it’s a migraine - but she’s never had one before. Should she be getting a second opinion?
submitted by 3pelican to AskDocs [link] [comments]
My partner (31F) was hit with a severe sharp earache last night. It started quite suddenly and then got worse and kept her awake most of the night.
She saw a doctor this morning assuming it was an ear infection but they said they couldn’t see anything and it should settle on its own.
The pain is in her right ear and radiating into her eye on the same side. Her sense of smell is slightly altered - she just keeps saying smells ‘weird’. No fever or changes in hearing or vision. She thinks it’s a migraine - but she’s never had one before. Should she be getting a second opinion?
2023.03.20 15:11 midnighttoon Jean Adams
Hello, my name is Mike H, it's August 4th, 2002. I'm here on the edge of one of the most haunted forests in North Carolina to find the saddest ghost. That resides in this forest making people feel so sad to the point where they break down & find their bodies ripped apart to the point of being hard to recognize by their family members or closest friends. The rumors said, "during the 1940s this ghost was named Jean Adams, who lost her children one to a deadly illness & the other one got caught in the middle of a mafia shooting". Now it's a mystery on how Jean died & ended up here. But that's why we are here to hopefully give her some answers & closure to move on. Once night hit Mike & his crew walked into the forest. But as the night goes on they hear Jean's cries & moans echo throughout the forest. To the point where they all dropped to their knees & felt blood coming out from their ears. The next day a man walking with his dog came across Mike's camera & the crew's stuff. But when he kept on looking he saw unknown bodies tossed around & others hanging from the trees. He quickly took out his phone & called 9/11. After weeks of looking through the evidence, the cops found nothing much, just videos on the loop saying "never come here she has followers & powers". With ringing noises & kids laughing in the background. Soon the camera just overheated & stopped working. So the cops had no choice but to mark it down as unknown & move on. To this day that forest is shut down & gated off to the public. But some people are still found there to this day, mostly it's just dared, teenagers or curious children.
submitted by midnighttoon to CreepyPastas [link] [comments]
2023.03.20 15:09 beelicious_honey Trouble with kill shot on Idaho Pasture Pigs
We've raised, slaughtered, and butchered a total of seven pigs now at home. The first four were Berkshire and I had no trouble with the slaughter part with any of them- used milk to get their head steady and they dropped straight away, lights out immediately, no suffering. I use a magnum .22 with hollow point rounds.
Last summer we wanted to try IPP to see if they'd be easier on the ground. We got what looked like two true IPPs and one more Berkshire-esque, ie longer snout, less angled forehead. The more Berkshire-esque one again was immediate knock down, no problems. But the two IPPs took two shots- with the second one being the immediate, knock-down shot. Also, I noticed on the second pig the two shots were basically touching each other, so placement was exactly the same.
My thought is on the IPPs since their forehead is a bit more higher angled maybe the angle of the gun was off, especially since the entry point on the second pig for the second shot was right next to the first shot.
I've always tried to do a 90-degree angle to the forehead at the X connecting the ears and eyes. But maybe on pigs with a higher forehead angle that should be more like 70-80-degrees, ie bring the butt of the rifle closer to the ground and aim more back towards their neck?
I'll always be a meat eater but providing the best quality of life and trying to reduce & eliminate any suffering is one of the main reasons we decided to raise our own meat. So missing the first shot on the two IPPs was very tough for me and I don't want to put an animal through that again.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
submitted by beelicious_honey to homestead [link] [comments]
Last summer we wanted to try IPP to see if they'd be easier on the ground. We got what looked like two true IPPs and one more Berkshire-esque, ie longer snout, less angled forehead. The more Berkshire-esque one again was immediate knock down, no problems. But the two IPPs took two shots- with the second one being the immediate, knock-down shot. Also, I noticed on the second pig the two shots were basically touching each other, so placement was exactly the same.
My thought is on the IPPs since their forehead is a bit more higher angled maybe the angle of the gun was off, especially since the entry point on the second pig for the second shot was right next to the first shot.
I've always tried to do a 90-degree angle to the forehead at the X connecting the ears and eyes. But maybe on pigs with a higher forehead angle that should be more like 70-80-degrees, ie bring the butt of the rifle closer to the ground and aim more back towards their neck?
I'll always be a meat eater but providing the best quality of life and trying to reduce & eliminate any suffering is one of the main reasons we decided to raise our own meat. So missing the first shot on the two IPPs was very tough for me and I don't want to put an animal through that again.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
2023.03.20 15:08 Apprehensive-Roll885 Cat Ear Infection
About a month ago, my cat was diagnosed with an ear infection. They gave me ear drops to give to her twice a day. I did that for a week and then went back and they said it looked better, but was still slightly infected. I finished what was left in that bottle and then had to buy another bottle because they wanted me to do two more weeks of drops. I finished that second bottle of ear drops about a week ago but it seems my cat is still scratching her ear. I really can’t afford a third bottle of ear drops or another vet visit right now and I don’t know what to do. Are there any medications or treatments I could possibly get on chewy? Any recommendations?
submitted by Apprehensive-Roll885 to vet [link] [comments]