DRAG RACE!
Chronologica struts the runway wearing a Spider-Man suit, and long red wig.
Hello world!
Welcome to Drag Race.
Princess Papaya, you’re back! How are you going?
“Fabulously.” Papaya grins, touching the back of her head. “OH!”
What?
“Nothing.” Papaya smiles.
Rachelle, are you a lover?
“Always.” Rachelle smirks. “We were lovers.”
Once!
Floss, are you a lover?
“I’m a fighter, bitch.” Floss smirks. “I’ve survived snipers, baby.”
For our Challenge, our racers were tasked with competing in Duos in Lovers: The Musical.
And on the runway, they’ll be wearing Royal Couture.
It’s TIME!
~
Category is… Royal Couture!
Yasmin strides confidently onto the runway in a super-elegant Irene Galitzine cream shift dress, with a structured dress collar, built-in pockets, and a subtle black geometric pattern, accessorized with sleek black boots, black gloves, a neat blonde bob, triangular cream glasses, and a simple tiara studded with black diamonds.
“I’m hungry.” Papaya laughs.
Aguacate struts, jade scepter first down the runway. She is covered in a bronze robe, and her face is concealed by a jade mask reminiscent of Pakal the Great. At the end of the runway, she removes the mask, revealing a mug that is beat for the Mayan Gods.
“Ooooh….” Floss eyes light up.
Zazu Nova enters the stage in a fitted bodice adorned with intricate beading and lace in a regal royal blue, a voluminous skirt made of silk, structured with hoops to create a dramatic effect and an oversized collar, made of beads with metallic accents to add the final touch.
Beaded for the GODS.
Fiore Stravaganza struts out in a pearl coloured ballgown, with layer upon layer of white pearls upon her chest, structured around her gown. She has a stark painted face in a clown white, with a huge updo that itself has pearls wrapped around it, with a crown in white to add the final touch.
“A pearl necklace? Gross!” Papaya yells.
Jaslene Bangus has become Cinderella! In a gorgeous blue gown, Jaslene spins around, her dress glittering in the shining light. Her hair is placed up in a shining blonde, with a blue ribbon headpiece wrapped around it as she smiles.
Cinderella’s Ball.
King Omari Star enters the stage as an African King! He’s got a huge bronze cape, with a suit in a shining gold with geometric shapes throughout. Around his neck are various beads and jewels, along with a huge top hat in the same embroidered fashion as his cape as he proudly stomps through the stage.
“Power, baby.” Floss grins.
~
Hi Racers.
Let us chat.
Starting with… Aguacate & Yasmin.
The two grin.
What a fun combination. You both are really campy Queens, and you brought it this week.
“We always do.” Aguacate winks.
“I feel like you aren’t SINGERS.” Papaya adds. “But, you really had the confidence and skill in the delivery that brought yourself forward. For that, you should be pleased.”
“Thank you.” Yasmin nods. “I wanted to fight for this, and I believe collectively, we did.”
Good work.
Jaslene and Fiore.
The two stand tall.
“First of all. You look amazing- both of you.” Rachelle says.
Jaslene grins, and Fiore nods.
“Princesses.” Fiore smiles.
“I feel as if the vibe, though- the two of you, together, didn’t really work like I wanted to. Jaslene, you are a performer, and that was shown, through and through.”
“Thank you.” Jaslene responds.
“Fiore, I wanted so much more then what you did.” Rachelle responds. “This competition- we’re almost at the tail end, I need you to give us more. You struggled.”
“I did.” Fiore purses her lips. “But I did try-”
“Is that enough?” Rachelle adds. “I don’t know.”
Fiore looks at Rachelle. “Okay.”
Finally, Zazu and Omari.
“Pisces.” Zazu winks.
“You two bring such a fun chemistry, baby.” Floss smiles. “When it’s bad, it can be bad.”
“No more hosting.” Omari smirks.
“But when it’s good, it’s fucking good.” Floss grins. “I loved ya’ll.”
“Thank you!” Zazu smiles.
“There was such a level of fun, such a level of entertainment- you were stars on the main stage, and I loved to see it.” Floss grins. “Well done.”
The two look happily.
Thank you, racers. Whilst we deliberate, you may untuck backstage in the Crystal Lounge, sponsored by Princess Papaya Tropical Drinks.
Papaya winks.
~
The racers enter the Crystal Lounge.
“The final countdown…” Aguacate sings. “Da do do da… da da dee da da…” Aguacate grabs her drink. “The top 6.”
“It feels fantastic.” Yasmin grins. “Also because I am surviving another week.”
Fiore and Jaslene, at the other side of the room, both roll their eyes at the back.
“I feel as if-” Omari purses his lips. “This week, I was challenged, I felt as if at times- I couldn’t do it. But not only did I fight, have fun- but I engaged with my truth with a fantastic partner.”
“Me?” Zazu looks over in surprise.
Omari chuckles. “Yes, you.”
Zazu blushes. “I just wanted to enjoy this. I know I am not- the most mind blowing, the most talented artist but I love to perform. That’s what is in my heart.”
“I think that’s-” Yasmin tears up. “Beautiful. Because all of us here, we’re all fighting something and giving our all. And you’re a survivor, girl.”
Zazu smiles.
“We’re all survivors.” Aguacate wipes a tear and nods. “That’s what makes us powerful.”
Jaslene and Fiore look at each other.
"Well." Fiore purses her lips.
"Well, this has been quite the journey, hasn't it?" Fiore says, breaking the silence between them.
…
"Well, what?" Jaslene raises an eyebrow.
Fiore takes a deep breath. "Look, Jaslene, I may not have been the easiest person to work with, and I apologize for my behavior. I let my competitiveness and my desire to win cloud my judgment and affect our partnership. I didn't give you the respect and support you deserved."
Jaslene looks surprised and nods. "Thank you for saying that, Fiore. I appreciate it… And I'm sorry too. I let my frustration get the best of me, and I didn't always handle our conflicts in the best way either. We both made mistakes, but it's not too late to make amends."
Fiore's voice cracks slightly as she continues, "I know we don't have the best relationship anymore, and I can't promise that everything will suddenly be perfect between us. But I don't want us to be at each other's throats anymore. We're both here for a reason, and we should focus on supporting each other, rather than tearing each other down… and I have honestly missed our friendship these past few weeks.”
“Me too, girl.” Jaslene nods, also becoming emotional.
“…and I hope we can eventually go back to how we were." Fiore sighs.
Jaslene smiles, extending her hand towards Fiore. "Truce?"
Fiore hesitates for a moment, then reaches out and shakes Jaslene's hand. "Truce." She says with a small smile.
…
"Aww, look at them. They're having a moment." Yasmin whispers to the group, as the two walk over to the mirrors.
Omari smiles. "Seems like they've finally found some common ground. It's about time."
Zazu raises her glass. "To growth and second chances. May they slay this lip sync and leave the past behind."
"Go out there and show them what you're made of, skanks!" Aguacate yells.
"You've got this, ladies!" Yasmin adds with a supportive nod.
~
Welcome back, racers.
King Omari Star and Zazu Nova, this week, you were amazing- and I was living- no, LOVING it. Condragulations, you are the winners of this week’s challenge!
“AHHH!” Zazu cheers, hugging Omari, who chuckles.
King Omari Star: “A win, and damn does it feel good.”
…
…
…
Aguacate and Yasmin, you’re safe.
The two grin.
Fiore and Jaslene look at each other.
That means Jaslene Bangus and Fiore Stravaganza, I’m sorry my dears, but you are up for elimination.
The time has come… for you to lip sync to your life!
**You Belong with Me by Taylor Swift starts to play**
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuNIsY6JdUw
Good luck… and don’t fuck it up!
Fiore and Jaslene both look at the other and sigh.
Aguacate: “Two frenemies, lip syncing for their lives… oh this will be delicious.” Aguacate chuckles.
~
Next Time!
Racers, it’s time for The Gods Ball!
This is our FINAL challenge before our grand finale!
Aguacate: “There’s no way I am NOT going to win this challenge before the finale. I want that SPOT!”
“Am I serving?” Yasmin looks at her garment.
“Something.” Zazu says, awkwardly.
“This is it, racers….” Omari smirks. “Who’s gonna take it?”
~
Stats
Voting
Spreadsheet

The entire plot of the killers in Scream 6 was to frame Sam for the killings of 5.
(un)Fortunately, the plan fails, and Sam remains exonerated.
However...
​
Sam should have been successfully framed at the end of Scream 6.
The killers' plan should have worked. Here's why...
​
- You can still kill off the Ghostfaces at the end of 6 and have police still arrest her to sort everything out. This doesn't require the killers to "win" by living... they're still dead.
- There's never been a Scream film that ends on a cliffhanger. It would actually cover new ground in terms of horror franchise tropes.
- A "bad end" is more in step with modern horror movies, anyway, and could be even more commentary. Mindy saying, "Oh, shit... it's a downer ending..." right before credits roll.
- You want odd Star Wars references in your Scream movie? Here's your Empire Strikes Back moment.
- Scream 7 would then take place around the trial of Sam Carpenter.
- It's a media circus that dwarfs ALL past movie scenes. Tons of reporters, hundreds of protestors, massive scale spectacle. Police vans FULL of idiot "Ghostfaces" who came to cause trouble are carting them away constantly.
- Every surviving cast member comes back, but they actually have a good reason this time. They're witnesses. They have to be here by law, and have no choice. Recorded depositions aren't being considered because of the Ghostface killings having a long-standing connection to edited video, faked evidence, "victims" turning out to be the murderer, etc.
- The opening kill seems like it's Tara Carpenter, being escorted by two officers, but through film-making trickery, it's revealed to actually be a body double that's murdered - the case is so high-profile, they had three "Taras" going to court to confuse any would-be killer... and Ghostface got one of them, remarking "Looks like I got the stand-in" before killing her. (Bonus points if she's played by Jenna's actual stand-in.)
- Kills taking place around court, city hall, the police station, and even prison would be amazing, especially when it comes time to reveal how the killer(s) pulled it off.
- We'd get all-new types of characters. For example - The prosecutor REALLY needs Sam to be found guilty because they botched their last case and need the win to avoid going down in disgrace. Maybe they're killing Sam's witnesses to secure the victory? That, or maybe it's the weirdo who came to the trial from across the country and keeps asking for Sam's autograph - which she won't give him?
- This would also bring back echos of Mickey's plan in Scream 2. Media circus trial, becoming the center of the nation's attention - but in this case, the defendant DOESN'T want it.
- Since it's almost a requirement to tie back to old films, there's evidence NOBODY has seen yet, and it's coming to light now that this trial is taking place. It's been locked away, kept secret, for fear of the ramifications if this evidence ever came to light publicly... Billy and Stu's tapes, showing them picking out which mask to use at a Halloween store... running through trials of how they would carry out specific complex killings from Scream 1, etc. It's all shakey-cam, old VHS quality, mostly featuring Billy with Stu as the camera man - so all you'd need is Lillard's voice-overs and an occasional moment when Billy's face is on the constantly moving camera view. It's being brought out and used now so the prosecution can draw a better connection between Sam and Billy's "methods".
​
Anyway, I'm sure you get enough of an idea, now, so I'll stop.
​
I really think it was a missed opportunity, and they should've "let the bad guys win", posthumously, at the end of Scream 6... it would've been so much more interesting than a clean wrap-up, IMHO.
​

Need advice (product management). Bad mental state
Need some advice. Having some mental issues
New account to post this. I am in TX, have ~6 YOE operating in general management / analytics / product roles. Have been playing more of a traditional product role the last 2 years. Work at a very large public company. Have been at the same company for 6 years and have been a consistent top performer earning multiple promotions over the years.
I lead 2 product teams consisting of ~20 engineers, some designers, data engineers, data scientists and have a few product managers under me. Base salary is ~$170K with $20K bonus. Product I own is a portion of the user facing website.
I am not a traditional product manager. I was thrown into this position some time back due to being in the right place at the right time and the scope has grown significantly over the two years. All of that was fine until the last few months where macroeconomic factors are putting a ton of pressure on talent and we are pretty much forcing out the bottom 15%. It’s been a real punch in the gut sitting through these performance review sessions with stack ranking. Usually it’s pretty obvious who the bottom performers are, now the bar is arbitrary (but “rising”… whatever that means). We’ve started to hire Amazon execs in our product org and I can feel the culture shifting.
Here is my worry - I browse this subreddit and I am not like many of the folks here. I am not passionate about product, I don’t obsess about it. I am good at it, in my opinion due to my analytical skills & strong soft-skills & business judgment which usually leads to strong results. But now I’m starting to worry our culture is shifting and we will start bringing in talent that is just better than me. Maybe I am over reacting , but with the current economy I can’t help but look at our roadmap and wonder if any of this really even matters at year end, because if it doesn’t generate a bunch of money, who cares? It’s never really felt that way before.
All this to say, I’ve been working probably 70 hours/ week for the last year managing this department. Generally I am not very happy at work, but it hasn’t always been this bad in my 6 years.. who’s to say it won’t turn around once the economy is better (?). It’s gotten so bad that I had a pretty bad mental breakdown recently and I am starting to question my entire career path. I have talked with my manager and my performance is actually still very good, but at the cost of what? And will it be good enough going forward? It’s a lot of pressure. I used to be very happy at this company. The money is nice, it provides a nice life for me and my wife. But I’m beginning to wonder if it’s worth it.
I have started to talk to my manager about switching to software engineering within the company. I have programmed on the side for a while now, but I would expect to be demoted quite a bit. Probably bringing my base salary down to ~120-130K. I have no doubt if I can build the technical skills that I can move up in tech as in product my life is filled with meetings, presentations, stakeholder management. Etc.. all things our engineers get constant feedback on that they need to improve. I also notice the WLB of our engineers is much better, most don’t work more than 40 hours per week. I like programming, it’s fun building things and I don’t have to think about business strategy and how to generate millions of dollars on a daily basis.
This is all probably just stress and I need to vent. I don’t know. I have never felt unsure and incompetent about my abilities before, but I don’t feel great right now.
If you read this whole story - thanks for taking the time
EDIT: I originally wanted to post this in product management but couldn’t. So references so see to that sub are because of that.

FYI, this is a story COLLECTION. Lots of standalones technically. So, you can basically start to read at any chapter, no pre-read of the other chapters needed technically (other than maybe getting better descriptions of characters than: Adam Vir=human, Krill=antlike alien, Sunny=tall alien, Conn=telepathic alien). The numbers are (mostly) only for organization of posts and continuity.
OC Written by Charlie Stastarrfallknightrise,
Typed up and then posted here by me.
Proofreading and language check for some chapters by u/Finbar9800
Future Lore and fact check done by me.
Its space Sirens y’all! Coming to lull you in and take your life away!
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Here is the link to the master-post.
He was so hungry, lying on the floor of the cage, his hand dangling through the bars, he listened as his stomach left off a round of mournful gurgling.
The mournful gurgle turned into a low grumble and then a distinctive angry howl. His mouth was dry, and he did his best to wet his lips with his tongue.
He could only imagine what the others had been feeling when he first arrived.
No one had been feeding them, and here he was, lying around in a pathetic heap, though he was still watered and fed to some degree. Arguably the amount should have been sustainable if he hadn't been sharing with the other prisoners. He knew it would only cause more problems for all of them in the long run, but he couldn't bring himself to eat while others starved.
Below them on the Prodigum's open floor, Sunny lay curled up against one wall with a line of other prisoners. He had no doubt that she could have broken out by now, but she wouldn't, not as long as he was here at least.
Adam rolled onto his back to stare up at the ceiling of the cage. A plan had been forming in his head, though whether he could get a message to Sunny was a different matter. He mostly hoped that she would be smart enough to go along with it, or smart enough to go along with it and help with her own plan, if his plan failed.
What was his plan?
Well, that was an entirely different matter…
Honestly it was a pretty stupid plan, designed based on complete conjecture and hope on his part.
Not only that but it pretty much required that Sunny had the ability to read minds, which in itself was stupid, considering their only mind reader was most likely a couple million light years away.
He sighed.
"Ready to start again, commander?”
He closed his eyes against the voice and tried not to groan. He did not want to keep going with this, but he knew he had to.
He rolled onto his knees and looked over at the other cages, where the voice coach and the drummer were watching him. The two of them had been there longer than him and were much closer to the verge of death, though since his arrival they were at least getting something small to eat and drink.
"I'm ready."
His voice was hoarse, and He was forced to clear it.
At least his throat didn't hurt today, a fact that he owed all to the voice coach.
"Remember keep your posture straight, but not strained, breath all the way down and into the belly, don't rely on the chest. The posture of the mouth is the most important aspect of a good singing voice."
He leaned his head against the bars with a sigh.
This was not something he ever thought he would need to learn how to do, especially not in order to save his own life.
There were plenty of other things he had imagined needing to learn. On the floor below them, he watched as Sunny watched him, her sharp gold eyes curious as she watched the two of them working.
She would have no idea what his plan was, and he couldn't tell her. It was known that there were members of the serving staff who were loyal to the Prodigum, whether it be out of fear, Stockholm syndrome, or loyalty.
He idly wondered what the others were thinking.
He wondered what Sunny was thinking.
He wondered if tonight would be his last night alive.
If he would die he would make at least sure that it would be to save Sunny.
[…]
The clients began filtering into the room.
Slaves were brought forward for auction, most of them rather worthless, burned out from ears and years of use, but occasionally he would throw in a piece from his own stock knowing that the perceived value of one slave would drive up the price of another.
Lights began to flash and pulse around them at his behest.
He liked the flashing lights, they tended to confuse some of the other species, making them dumber and more likely to buy irrational purchases.
It was the same with the music, though speaking of which… where was his music?
In anger, he turned in his place, shuffling his great bulk over the floor with great halting movements of his arms and the shuffling of his back legs.
The little tentacles below his chin waved in the air, tasting it. He could taste the human, so it's not like the creature was out of his sight.
Ah there it was, in its cage as usual.
It was standing defiantly looking down at him. The ugly little creature glowered at him, its tight skin stretched over bone and lumpy muscle skeletal and strange with its flexible rubbery body.
He hated humans, though they were at least good for one thing.
…
Singing.
He wasn't entirely sure how they did, but he was more than jealous.
He really wished Prodigum could sing…
Though he was already working in one of the backrooms on a little project to help with that hinderance…
Of course, he didn't know this, but the Prodigum were more readily affected by human species than a lot of the others.
Where it targeted the Vrul's sense of pattern recognition and overloaded their brain, it directly impacted the emotional cortex of the Prodigum.
Singing to him was an addiction.
One that he had not yet admitted to himself or anyone else.
The human still stared at him its slimy white and green eye, blinking once or twice. He shivered in disgust, but slowly turned to look at the blue Drev. She would fetch a nice price if he were ever to sell her, and he hoped the human understood his intentions.
They were at least smart enough for that on most occasions.
He saw the human shoulders sink just a bit.
Then without further urging, it began to sing.
The Prodigum leaned back slightly, as the sound washed over him bringing with it a wave of melancholy and sadness.
It felt so good,
The fold of his face trembled with delight.
All around him the other clients stopped to look up at the human.
Was it just them or had its voice gotten better, more hypnotic?
[…]
Behind the Prodigums back Sunny flexed her hands.
She was ready for whatever Adam was planning, for she knew based on the looks and small gestures he had been giving her over the past few days that he was planning something.
However, the night went on, and although Adam's singing voice had markedly improved, she sensed nothing changing.
She shifted nervously in her cage, looking over to where the Prodigum sat on his back haunches, his large arms resting beside him, a glassy expression on his face, or at least as glassy as an expression could get when it looked like a pile of melted dough.
…
That was strange…
She glanced around at the others, aliens in various stages of debauchery, sort of lethargic and wobbly.
She glanced up at Adam…
He looked down at her, letting the last note of the song he was using fade off.
She nervously shifted as the aliens began to shift and move.
Then the quiet human in the far cage began tapping his hand against the bars. Adam cleared his throat. The female human began to hum softly.
How interesting…
The effect was almost immediate.
Adam took one deep breath and made eye contact with Sunny.
And then he opened up his voice, cutting through the fading clamor like a blade made of diamond–rising from the upper chest and throat in a way she didn't think him capable, quivering at the top as the others accompanied him.
His voice was full, but filled with pain as he poured in emotion like a damn, breaking to spill water into a canyon. The drummer beat out a soft rhythm behind him.
As he continued to sing the voice was so sad, so pained, that it almost made Sunny want to cry.
He gripped the bars with white knuckled hands, his face contorting with the words not bothering to mask whatever emotion he had dredged up to make a sound like that.
Beautiful and sad.
He dropped low into his chest his voice ringing powerfully over the walls before dropping into softness.
He leaned his head against the bars.
She had a tough time looking away.
What did someone have to be thinking about to make a sound like that?
The beat stopped behind him, leaving just his clear voice ringing out through the room.
She was forced to shake herself from her reverie.
When that song ended, the next one began his voice –quiet– filling the room as she slowly stepped back out of line of sight from the others.
No one was paying attention to her.
If she could just make it to the door, then maybe she would be able to find a way to get a signal out to the others.
Her movement almost notified someone, but at that moment Adam dropped his voice low, adding such a powerful hint of sadness in it that it nearly broke turning his voice to a soft rasp.
The creature could barely keep its feet.
Off to her side the Prodigum had practically melted onto the floor.
She had almost reached the door, and he brought his voice higher, the rasp still in it. It took everything she had to keep moving towards the door, and not to turn around, to be captured in the pain and sadness that he used to glue the others to their places.
Again, she couldn't help but wonder what kind of memories you had to dredge up to sing like that.
It was almost painful.
She had made it to the door.
She reached out to open it as the door opened and light spilled inward, he again reached upwards with his voice, cracking the barrier between him and the others. His voice began to splinter, but not unintentionally, actually quite on purpose, fracturing like ice.
She ran out into the hall.
She froze in place for a second, running face-first into another Prodigum.
It looked as if it was about to attack her, but when the voice washed over it, there was nothing it could do but follow the sound.
As the voice filtered out into the hallway, the same effect remained true. Others began following the sound in a dazed trance barely acknowledging her as they searched for the sad voice, so clear and powerful.
[…]
He leaned into it, eyes closed, trying to dredge up the emotion he needed. He needed to give Sunny time to work. He needed to keep their attention. But the more he thought about keeping his voice in place, the harder it was to hold.
So, he tried to ignore the need, instead allowing the emotion to roll into his body strong enough to make his face tingle and shivers to run down his face.
Tears sprung to his eyes, and he tried to hold that feeling allowing his voice to crack at just the right moments occasionally looking down at a slowly growing crowd absolutely entranced.
Behind him, the others were trying hard to keep up.
The door had opened long ago, but there were still forms trickling in.
How long would he have to hold this before someone noticed that Sunny was missing?
He tried tor as long as he could, he really did, but carrying that amount of emotion was difficult, and eventually it faded away. He still kept their rapt attention with his voice, but they were moving again, looking around at each other with confused expressions as if they were trying to figure out what had happened. The Prodigum lay almost passed out on the floor looking on in a strange mixture of confusion and contentment.
Like he was high as hell.
He had no idea how Sunny was going to do this worried that she had gone to her death.
Someone would notice her eventually, wouldn't they?
He wasn't sure how long he was going, hours or not, but eventually he lost the strength of his voice and the surrounding room went back to its normal routine using him as a simple background.
He had done all he could, now it was time to find out if Sunny had made it or not.*
[…]
”If it would be up to me, that bastard would be so fucking dead, like series bullshit, fucking laws! Why can’t we just off this motherfucking motherfucker!?”
The door hissed open, and the Prodigum turned his groggy head towards the light spilling across the floor.
He was surprised at that moment as a small shape scuttled into the room.
”And all this bullshit about I how I should stay logical, I don’t FUCKING care! I’m sick of this bullshit! The marines get to kill people all the time, but if I ask if I could bathe a goddamn Prodigum in acid and they say “nooo you can’t to that its unethical”… Fuck off!”
A Vrul?
But those didn't come here?
Number one they couldn't stand music, and number two, they were never involved in the slave market.
”Fuck off goddamn ethical laws, its not like they uphold them!”
The strange sight pulled him out of his trance enough to get up and scoot in that direction, to find out more about this uninvited guest.
It was a small creature, a brownish grey in color with large orange prismatic eyes.
He wondered how it was still walking, but then noticed the large noise-canceling headphones it wore.
”Really I am so fucking done! Fine have it as you want I will NOT kill him… there are other ways to give him what he deserves…”
It scuttled closer to him, pausing at his feet before looking up.
”Hey asshole!? Yes I am talking to you!”
That was strange, it didn't seem scared?
But the Vrul were always scared!?
"Are you the proprietor of this fine establishment?"
The Prodigum was totally baffled about what was going on and just answered truthfully.
"I am."
"Jolly good."
The creature said, reaching out with a hand and gently tossing something in his direction.
The Prodigum flinched for a moment as the tiny devices stuck to his arms legs and face.
"What is that?"
”What you deserve bitch!”
The little creature raised a hand and pressed something with a click.
His world erupted in pain, as lightning and electricity surged through him.
And then the world turned black.
[…]
Dr. Krill stood over him, hand still, still every now and then pressing the button as humans and Drev erupted into the room from all angles.
”I hate the fact that because of YOU Adam got captured AGAIN!”
He pressed the button again.
**”I hate the fact that because of you I had to captain a FUCKING human ship for two weeks, you hear me!? TWO WEEKS!!!”
Another button press, followed by more painful twitching from the Prodigum.
”But do you want to know what I hate most of all?”
He leaned down to the twitching Prodigum, holding down on the button.
"I…”
”HATE…”
”Fieldwork!"
He looked up from where he stood,
"You are ALL under arrest."
Another Prodigum hissed:
”You can’t just do that!”
”Oh, what I can’t do is surgically cut you a thousand times and then bathe you in salt, because SOMEONE apparently decided the Geneva convention should also apply to scumbags like you. But what I can do is arrest you fuckers! Just watch me!”
”Wait what was that first part?”
"Thank your gods I didn't have final jurisdiction."
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OC-whole collection
Patreon of the author
Thanks for reading! As you saw in the title, this is a cross posted story written by starrfallknightrise and I'll just upload some of it here for you guys, if you are interested and want to read ahead, the original story-collection can be found on tumblr or wattpad to read for free. (link above this text under "OC:..." ) It is the Empyrean Iris story collection by starfallknightrise. Also, if you want to know more about the story collection i made an intro post about it, so feel free to check that out to see what other great characters to look forward to! (Link also above this text). I have no affiliations to the author; just thought I’d share some of the great stories you might enjoy a lot!
Obviously, I have Charlie’s permission to post this and for the people already knowing the stories, or starting to read them: If you follow the link and check out the story you will see some differences. I made some small (non-artistic) changes, mainly correcting writing mistakes, pronoun correction and some small additional info here and there of things which were not thought of/forgotten or even were added/changed in later stories (like the “USS->UNSC” prefix of Stabby, Chalar=/->Sunny etc). As well as some "biggemajor" changes in descriptions and info’s for the same stringency/continuity reason. That can be explained by the story collection being, well a story collection at the start with many standalone-stories just starring the same people, but later on it gets more to a stringent storyline with backstories and throwbacks. (For example Adam Vir has some HEAVY scars over his body, following his bones, which were not really talked about up till half the collection, where it says it covers his whole body and you find out via backflash that he had them the whole time and how he got them, they just weren't mentioned before. However, I would think a doctor would at least see these scars before that, especially since he gets analyzed, treated and goes shirtless/in T-shirts in some stories). So TLDR: Writing and some descriptions are slightly changed, with full OK from the author, since he himself did not bother to correct these things before.

I’ve reviewed a lot of resumes on here that asked to be roasted and have even helped a few people who DMed me their resume for private critiques. (No, I don’t charge, but I don’t always have the time to help when asked.) I also tend to do well on interviews: my last three face-to-face interviews resulted in three job offers. But I still get flustered, frustrated and impatient with the application to interview process. Should it be useful, and I hope it is, I’ve decided to share my reflections on my current campaign for better employment.
Mini bio. 2 years as an FA at F500 tech company, plus multiple stints in accounting at mid-sized companies. Total comp at an SFA level for my region, which is typical for tech. Bored, skills underutilized, and looking for an opportunity to add greater value.
Resume. I did multiple tests in April and May to see if my resume was effective. Each time, I applied to a dozen or so positions that I was qualified for and got 3-5 interview requests. All of them came within a week of applying, so I would assume more than two weeks without an interview request means the company isn’t interested.
Applications. LinkedIn is a garbage dump when it comes to their “Easy Apply” job postings. 95% of those postings are from external recruiters for jobs that may or may not exist. Their general listings for SFA have been light of late and I’ve had to page through pages of “related opportunities” that aren’t. Having said that, I have gotten almost as many interview requests from LinkedIn applied positions as from Indeed. Also, I have a couple thousand connections on LinkedIn, so odds are there’s a 1st connection at the company who I can inmail my resume and that I applied for the position: if you are a 1st connection with an HR director or manager, there’s a greater chance of getting an interview request within one day of your inmail.
Indeed’s “make your resume public” option got me one decent outreach from a company when I first did this, but since then it’s just been emails from recruiters pitching random crap. It’s a useful app and I appreciate that they show the estimated salary range for most positions: a lot of interesting opportunities if money wasn’t a concern, but it definitely is.
Company applications can cause me to pass on completing them. I got an email reminder this morning to complete a 45 minute assessment they give to all applicants, regardless of the position or whether you’ll even get a phone screen. Hard pass. It doesn’t have to be an Indeed easy apply application but ffs be reasonable.
Interviews. I started interviewing this week.
The first interview was for a Senior [Business Unit] Analyst and was heavy on preparing reports and effectively communicating data to drive business decisions over the business unit. I therefore used the “Tell me About Yourself” question to provide examples from each job of how I effectively used different communication approaches (emails, spreadsheets, visualizations) that resulted in better business decisions or needed action. It’s all about selling from the first minute. (They wanted to bring me in for an interview but when I found out that the pay for this “senior analyst” was equivalent to the high-end of an FA pay range, I passed.)
The second interview was with a software company. It was for an FA role, but it was tech and they reached out to me on LinkedIn, so I figured the comp might be acceptable. The incoming phone number said “Scam likely,” which wasn’t a promising sign. The HR recruiter said they’d already hired a half dozen FAs in the past month, which is never a good sign: either there was a mass exodus of staff or everyone’s new and it will be the blind leading the blind. The nail in the coffin was the extremely low salary range and only a 6% annual bonus.
Rejections. I’ve gotten some lovely rejection emails from some very fine companies. Not exactly sure why companies bother with this: it used to be extremely demotivating to receive these earlier in my career. Now I just file them and may search for them if I’m applying again to the company and want to know how long it’s been since my last application.

So I work in a factory of a major corporation and I knew that when I started that they required you to shave if you’d have to wear a respirator. Well I’ve worked here for 5 years and other then n95 dust masks I’ve never seen anyone use a different type of respirator. So it’s really odd that they are suddenly going to force everyone to clean shave to be fit tested for one. Well I’m on at least a 30 days streak right now and I feel better about it then I have in so long. I thought I could get around shaving if someone here was preforming the test. Well yesterday I found out it’s an actual company and that clean shave was required to take the test. So I was forced to email my safety manager and tell him about my Trich and tell him flat out that I was not going to clean shave. Because even though it seems logical to shave my face if I pull the hair it’s actually worse because it gets irritated. And I get awful ingrown hairs. I’m transgender and almost everyone here knows and I expressed to him that this was more embarrassing then that and to not tell anyone he doesn’t have to :/ i hope I don’t have to go through the trouble of getting my psychiatrist to write a whole letter out about it but we will see when he answers my email Monday.

So, first of all, hello, to any possible artists. This is the second request I'm putting up here, just for the record. His name is Zeppy, he's a Changeling Jester, the original class was way of the drunken master monk, for the flavor of his fighting. Now, I'm bringing him back with a homebrew subclass that allows illusionary duplicates of himself, which he can attack through, which only do psychic damage, but it takes your action to do so. I'm not gonna explain everything it can do, but the duplicate ability is probably important. Now, going to the description: Despite the vivid colors of his typical court jester outfit, which he removed the jingle balls from, he is quite stealthy. As he never really removes his mask, he always looks like a changeling, until he decides to take the form of a more demonic version of himself(no powerup to do that, it's mainly flavor for intimidation). Due to this, the face under that classic comedy mask is always the near pure white of a changelings skin, with the eyes not having pupils, as with other changelings. The hair is usually the messy but neat bedhead type, he's around 30, as the DM allowed him to come from that original campaign, through a shared world thing. As for height, he's 5'9", he wields a couple of daggers that he hides in the outfit, and a rapier, which is clear to see, but he doesn't have it on him during Performing. If it matters, he has 10 strength, 20 dexterity, 14 constitution, 14 intelligence, 14 wisdom, and 18 charisma.
Even if you don't decide to draw it, thank you for reading this. If you'd like to contact me for more communication, or just to get some more details, send a friend request to Alex 2.0#5830 on discord. If I'm not supposed to put that there I'm sorry, but I didn't see anything for accounts.
Have a good day/night, know that you're loved, and don't push yourself. If you're sleepy, please take a nap.

I need help finding a mask like the one that prowler miles wears. I've looked for led face masks that cover your whole face, but all the ones I find don't use the full display.
https://preview.redd.it/j8cpcmti595b1.jpg?width=853&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d7e421f60add42b7dd39fefe0a37b047020739cf

Namesake: CheerS from Cells at Work
User: Alyssa “Aloe” Vernon
Often also called “Shiny Lily” due to her wearing colours that are the opposite of the colour wheel of Looper Lily.
Their experiences are also very similar, relentlessly bullied and pushed down a high place. However, Alyssa took another route than Lily: instead of becoming a tough and borderline feral person, Alyssa became extremely shy and withdrawn.
Despite of, or because of this, Lily and Alyssa are good friends! With both having healing powers as a non-Stand ability and all. The two often trade advice and Alyssa is included as part of the Evertree Alliance despite only joining AFTER the main WTSC users immigrated to the UK for Evertree to sort out its issues - with them being prime targets, they need to in order for the school to sort out the issues without new incidents. (Lina is also a UK WTSC friend.)
Alyssa has a crush on Corey and can get a bit overboard on it. Sylvia blames herself (the Mind Breaker Pheromones).
Appearance: What seems to be a Cells at Work Neutrophil wearing a gas mask, a samurai breastplate, a turtle shell and with capsules on its gloves similar to Purple Haze
Stats: * Power: A. Has a very destructive ability. * Speed: C. * Range: 5m from user, ability can reach 20m from Stand. * Durability: C. * Precision: C. * Potential: A.
Ability: Pathogenic Gas
“Ironic, isn’t it? My Stand looks like a Neutrophil and is named after Cells at Work but spreads disease!”
When in combat, Alyssa can think of any pathogen of her choice, in which the capsules on the gloves will glow as they fill up with the pathogens over 2 seconds. After that, the capsules can be used in several ways: punching the foe to break the capsule; throwing the capsule and creating a lingering cloud of pathogen; and Alyssa EATING the capsule and hold the pathogen gas in her mouth, breathing it into her foe’s face. When used, the capsules take 5 seconds to reform empty ones.
As a result Alyssa is immune to any pathogen for the third tactic to be used efficiently.

Willing to bundle for the items I want.
GT: MADDL007
——Weapons for trade——
AA/50crit/25 Plasma Rifle
AA/50crit/25 Crossbow {mule}
B/50crit/15crit The Fixer
B/50crit/15crit Handmade
B/50crit/15crit Handmade {mule}
B/E/1A Handmade {mule}
B/50crit/25 Radium Rifle
B/50crit/25 Railway Rifle {mule}
B/50crit/25 Tesla Rifle {mule}
B/E 50 Cal Machine Gun (2 Star) {mule}
B/E Gatling Gun (2 star) {mule}
B/50crit/Break Gatling Plasma {mule}
B/50crit/25 Harpoon Gun
B/E Light Machine Gun (2 star) {mule}
B/FF90 Light Machine Gun {mule}
B/FSS/Break Chainsaw
B/FSS/1S Death Tambo {mule}
EXE/E/25 Railway Rifle {mule}
F/FF90 Gatling Plasma {mule}
GS/E/25 The Fixer {mule}
Junkie/FFFR 50 Cal Machine Gun {mule}
Junkie/40PA/1S Chainsaw {mule}
MUT/E/25 Handmade
MUT/E/25 Railway Rifle {mule}
MUT/E/FR Light Machine Gun
Q/E/DRWA The Fixer
Q/AP/25 Handmade
Q/E Handmade (2 star)
Q/E Handmade (2 star) {mule}
Q/E/Stealth Handmade
Q/50crit/FMSWA Railway Rifle {mule}
Q/E Railway Rifle (2 Star)
Q/FFR Railway Rifle (2 star) {mule}
Q/FFR Tesla Rifle (2 Star)
Q/50crit/25 Flamer {mule}
Q/E/1P Gatling Gun {mule}
Q/E/90 Gatling Gun {mule}
Q/E Light Machine Gun (2 star)
TS/50vhc Alien Blaster (2 Star)
TS/AP/Stealth Alien Blaster {mule}
TS/E/FR The Fixer
TS/E Handmade (2 star)
TS/E/1P Handmade
TS/E/1P Gatling Gun {mule}
V/FFFR Alien Blaster
V/FF25 Gatling Laser
V/FFBreak Gatling Plasma {mule}
V/E Light Machine Gun (2 star) {mule}
V/E Minigun (2 star) {mule}
V/25DAM/1S Chainsaw {mule}
V/40PA/Block Chainsaw
V/AP/90 Chainsaw
Enclave Plasma Rifle #1 w/ Automatic Barrel, Stabilized Stock, Reflex Sight
Enclave Plasma Rifle #2 w/ Stabilized Splitter, Stabilized Stock, Reflex Sight
Enclave Plasma Rifle #3 w/ Aligned Automatic Barrel, Stabilized Stock, Standard Sights
Enclave Plasma Rifle #4 w/ True Flamer Barrel, Stabilized Stock, Reflex Sight
Enclave Plasma Rifle #5 w/ Stabilized Flamer Barrel, Stabilized Stock, Reflex Sight
Enclave Plasma Rifle #6 w/ True Automatic Barrel, Stabilized Stock, Reflex Sight {mule}
Enclave Plasma Rifle #7 w/ Aligned Automatic Barrel, Stabilized Stock, Reflex Sight {mule}
Fancy Pump Shotgun AA/LD/DRWA
Fancy Revolvers: Assassin, Berserker, Executioner, Mutant x2, Troubleshooter x3
Dross, Pearly Peepers, Red Fireworks Mine, Troglocide
——Plans & Recipes for trade——
I may have others, just ask:
Plan: Backpack Armor Plated Mod {mule}
Plan: Backpack High Capacity Mod {mule}
Plan: Backpack Insulated Mod
Plan: Backpack Refrigerated Mod
Plan: Bear Arm
Plan: Bear Arm Heavy Mod
Plan: Camo Backpack
Plan: Deputy’s Hat {mule}
Plan: Nuka-World Cowboy Duster {mule}
Plan: Pepper Shaker {mule}
Plan: Poker Set {mule}
Plan: Protective Lining Raider Underarmor
Plan: Radioactive Barrel
Plan: Scorchbeast Queen Plushie
Plan: Sheriff’s Hat
Plan: T-60 BOS Knight Paint {mule}
Plan: Tomb Stones
Plan: Townsfolk Cutouts {mule}
Plan: TV Aquarium {mule}
Plan: Ultracite Calibrated Shocks {mule}
Plan: Vintage Water Cooler
Plan: Wild West Show Entrance Sign
Recipe: Carnival Pie {mule}
Recipe: Fried Scorpion On A Stick {mule}
Recipe: Healing Salve (Mire) {mule}
——Armor & Other items for trade——
OE/1P/WWR Forest Scout Armor Right Arm
UNY/1L/WWR Metal Chest Piece 51DR 11ER {mule} [armor from my want list only please]
UNY/1P/WWR Urban Scout Armor Right Arm {mule} [armor from my want list only please]
UNY/1S/WWR Leather Left Leg 21DR 51ER {mule} [armor from my want list only please]
UNY/AP/SENT Combat Armor Left Arm 27DR 37ER {mule}
UNY/AP/WWR Combat Armor Right Leg 27DR 37ER {mule} [armor from my want list only please]
UNY/AP/WWR Forest Scout Armor Right Leg [high end apparel bundle or armor from my want list only please]
UNY/AP/WWR Urban Scout Armor Right Leg [high end apparel bundle or armor from my want list only please]
UNY/Fire/WWR Marine Armor Right Arm 19DR 14ER {mule}
UNY/HungeWWR Urban Scour Armor Left Arm {mule} [armor from my want list only please]
W/AP/WWR Raider Left Leg 17DR 8ER
All 8 Holotape Mini Games
All Non-Rare apparel available - just ask
Misc Items: ask me for my list
———
———
——Items I want——
B/50crit/25 Fixer or Handmade
Q/E/25 Fixer or Handmade or Railway
TS/50crit/25 Alien Blaster (Will consider other third star: prefer 15crit, faster reload, or any of the +1)
V/40PA/40PA Chainsaw (Will consider other third star: prefer Break, 90rw, or any of the +1)
Baseball bats level 45 - indigo, pink, yellow
Enclave Plasma Gun Aligned Flamer Barrel Mod (one or multiple)
UNY/AP/WWR Forest Scout Armor Chest Piece and Left Arm
UNY/AP/WWR Urban Scout Armor Left Leg and Right Arm
Plan: Meat Tenderizer
Asylum Worker Uniform Forest
Asylum Worker Uniform Red
Asylum Worker Uniform Yellow
Blue Ridge Caravan Gas Mask (will pay caps)
BOS Jumpsuit
Fasnacht Brahmin Mask
Fasnacht Buffoon Mask
Fasnacht Crazy Guy Mask
Fasnacht Deathclaw Mask
Fasnacht Demon Mask
Fasnacht Fiend Mask
Fasnacht Hag Mask
Fasnacht Loon Mask
Fasnacht Raven Mask
Fasnacht Winter Man Mask
Forest Camo Jumpsuit
Forest Scout Armor Mask
Leather Coat
Prototype Hazmat Suit Level 50
Radicals Face Mask
Responder Fireman Helmet
Responder Fireman Uniform
Tattered Field Jacket
Traveling Leather Coat
Urban Scout Armor Mask
White Powder Jumpsuit
I’m really only after the items listed above, make me an offer. No caps, flux, or junk offers please.

35 year old Female. 135 lbs 5’5 Midwest, USA. I have health anxiety due to my cardiology history (see my last post). Hx of congenital heart disease and open heart surgery.
I have not been assigned this particular patient but they tested positive for resistant TB and the Doctor who spent 15 minutes in the room wore PPE I have not seen before; a type of tube with an entire face mask that connects to a backpack. Also a gown, and gloves.
The patient was actively coughing. When I have been fitted for PPE the mask has to be precise and completely smug to not inhale the aspirin tasting dust.
The Duck looking masks are really finicky and I have a small bone structure and narrow face. If I am wearing a gown, gloves, and a duck mask; what is the risk of exposure if my hair is exposed in a pony tail and later touches my eyes or mouth? What is the exposure risk if the mask does not fit properly and I am spending 15-30 min in the room helping the patient get cleaned up?
Thank you

Introduction: The development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has led to major transformations in various industries, including the legal sector. AI technology has shown immense potential in automating many legal tasks, such as document analysis and review, contract management, and legal research. As this technology continues to evolve, many are wondering if AI will eventually replace lawyers. In this article, we will explore the benefits and limitations of AI in the legal sector and consider the possible scenarios that may unfold.
Benefits of AI in the Legal Sector: One of the significant advantages of AI in the legal sector is its ability to automate tedious and time-consuming tasks that lawyers face daily. AI-powered software can analyze thousands of documents within minutes, enabling lawyers to identify patterns and trends that would have been hard to detect manually. Moreover, this technology reduces the risk of human error, which is often associated with manual processes. AI can also help automate contract management, improving the accuracy and speed of contract review and drafting. This technology is a game-changer when it comes to legal research. Instead of going through volumes of books and papers, AI-powered search engines can analyze vast amounts of data to provide lawyers with relevant and updated information.
Limitations of AI in the Legal Sector: Despite the benefits of AI, there are also limitations that make it unlikely that AI will replace lawyers entirely. One of the challenges is the lack of nuanced understanding and analysis that humans can provide. While AI can analyze data and identify patterns, it cannot understand context, culture, and emotional intelligence. These are vital skills that lawyers need when dealing with complex legal cases. Also, AI technology is limited to recognizing patterns based on existing data. If a new case arises that does not fit within the existing data, it may not provide accurate results, requiring human intervention.
Possible Scenarios for AI in the Legal Sector: With these limitations in mind, it is unlikely that AI will replace lawyers entirely. However, it is likely that lawyers will rely more on AI technology to automate repetitive tasks, improve efficiency, and reduce costs. This symbiotic relationship between AI and lawyers will provide an opportunity for lawyers to focus more on providing strategic counsel to clients, rather than spending time on tedious tasks. AI technology may also create new job opportunities in the legal sector, such as designing and managing AI systems. As AI becomes more advanced, it may also provide a new avenue for dispute resolution, enabling parties to resolve disputes faster and more efficiently.
Conclusion: In conclusion, while AI technology has the potential to revolutionize the legal sector, it is unlikely to replace lawyers entirely. While AI can automate some tasks and improve efficiency, it cannot replace the nuanced analysis and emotional intelligence that humans bring to legal cases. Rather than seeing AI as a threat, lawyers should embrace this technology as an opportunity to improve their practice, increase efficiency, and provide better services to clients. As AI technology continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how it shapes the legal sector and creates new opportunities.

1. TFA releases June 19th
2. TLJ in June
3. TROS somewhere later this year

Why later this year? This changelist is not final and can change, if you have feedback I would very much like to hear it, because it is a very difficult movie to get right. I am happy with how it is now, but its not great and many shots don't look good yet. I am also still trying to get certain changes to work, I began working on this one much later than TFA and TLJ and it is a slow process, that is why this one takes longer.
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I would like to say before you read the changelist that I kept the planet killing Star Destroyers. As much as I don’t like the concept, when removed the stakes fall flat. The second act does not feel very hopeless and everything that happens feels more like an inconvenience than a real threat. Also, going forward, everything that Star Wars will release in the future surrounding the rise of Skywalker will have the destroyers be planet killing weapons. You can already see this in the Darth Vader comics for example. We see that Palpatine's plan will be written so that it was his back up plan for years before his first death at the death star. So that is why it stays in this edit.
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Next up I have the changelist below, again, please give suggestions, tell me what you like and dislike, I will read all comments and consider everything and see if it works.
Here is my work in progress opening scene for anyone interested
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• Opening scene’s until the resistance meeting:

Added a new crawl, WORK IN PROGRESS, the original crawl is just awful
Added 6 new establishing shots for mustafar, slowing the opening scene down a bit, (Vaders castle, Two volcano eruptions, and Kylo Rens ship approaching) For the last shots Massive Thanks to Seize The Frame for sending me their original High Quality files, If you don’t know them, check out their amazing Fan Film here https://youtu.be/owrmLeX20CY
Added Vaders castle behind Kylo Ren as he holds the wayfinder
Changed Snoke clones to Palpatine clones
Moved the falcon scene to after the training
Moved the Leia and Luke fighting sequence to right after the Exegol scene extending it using deleted material from the documentary, this way the movie starts of ‘grander’ like the conclusion of the Skywalker Saga should, and it perfectly flows into the training scene with Rey and Leia, it also slows the start of the movie down a bit
Removed line “I’m gonna run the training course” and changed the order of the small dialogue, it feels more natural now
Removed Kylo Ren interfering with Rey’s training
Added a new vision for Rey, it is about Rey’s parents and her darkness, because that is her story this movie and this sets it up clearly
Added the falcon scene to after the training and before the falcon gets back to the base, it flows much better since they just talked about the falcon in the previous scene
Removed the chess scene, it is moved to the end of the movie
Added falcon leaving lightspeed
Removed Boolio
Removed line “Last shot maybe forever”, I honestly have no idea why Poe would say this, he is a good pilot and should be confident so if he is afraid to crash that is weird
Added a wipe to Rey reading the Jedi texts
Added a small scene showing the Falcon all in smoke, little bit less claustrophobic scene this way
Removed line “attacks start in 16 hours”, what happens in this movie can NOT happen in 1 day and it is weird to have the big final Skywalker movie play out in one day
​

• The gang leaving until crashing in the sinking fields:

Removed line “It’s what you would do”, I feel like she says this because Carrie passed away, but for the sake of the movie IDK why she would say that
Added Kylo Ren’s vision to after the gang leaves the planet, this scene gives Kylo Ren a reason to rebuild his helmet, he feels guilty about killing han, he cant go back to leia, and rey refused him
Added Coruscant in the background of the First Order meeting
Removed lines “Well done and I like it” about Kylo Ren’s mask, it makes the first order less intimidating if they joke around
Removed line “That is an excellent name”, who says this??? She now immediately says Im Rey
Moved Kylo Ren finding out where Rey is to when they are in the vehicle with Lando, splits the scene up on a better point and thus slows the pace a bit
Removed Pryde looking suspicious to Kylo Ren, it only adds confusion to this cluttered movie, I want to keep is focused
Added pieces of the original much better speeder chase music
Colour graded some drone shots that look very different to other shots
Removed line “Ive seen that ship before”
Added instead two quick shots of young rey and the ship leaving
Removed line “Rey I need to tell you something”, it never pays off (I know Finn is force sensitive, but that is still hinted at without this line and removes confusion)
​

• The cave with the snake until leaving Kijimi:

Moved the joke with Leia to remove dialogue about the “I need to tell you something”
Removed line “I don’t like bones”, it sounds very childish
Added sith whispers to the dagger
Removed line “this dagger has done terrible things”, we can hear through the screams
Removed Poe wanting to shoot the snake, he should trust rey and not be dumb
Removed a shot in Ochi’s ship, because it is used later
Added voice lines to the Knights of Ren giving them a personality
Removed a shot of Kylo Ren’s approaching ship, this way it is a bit more obvious that Finn senses something instead of the audience already knowing, and it makes the “Reveal” of Kylo Ren’s ship more exiting during the extended sequence
Added trailer shots, extending the Rey Kylo face off as long as possible
Removed the explosion of Kylo Rens fighter, he can’t survive it unharmed
Added the ship leaving Pasaana as Kylo Ren watches, slowing the pace down a bit
Changed line from “And me” to “Me” after Finn asks who sits on the throne, because in the vision it is just rey
Removed the Chewie reveal, but left in the Hux and Pryde scene, Hux is otherwise barely in the movie and in this scene he shows his annoyance of Kylo Ren
Added a shot that was removed earlier of Poe flipping some switches, it makes the scene flow better
Removed Finn shouting “LETS DO THAT”, why would he say it so happily after 3PO saying it is something bad, Poe now just says “I know a black market droid smith”, and 3PO turns around
Added a transition going to Kijimi
Removed line “I want to see your brain in the snow”, silence works better
Removed lines “You were a …”, they are under fire and it is a tense moment, why is there room for banter?
Removed line “Don’t Jakanka”, it is not very funny and Poe has absolutely no authority, it also makes Rey a bit more aggressive
Moved Finn and Poe dodging Rey, now they are startled of Rey’s aggresion instead of it being a joke
Removed the interaction between Rey and Zorri, Rey now just reaches out with her hand offering peace, no cliché badass line of I think you’re okay
Added a voice line to a Knight of Ren, they look for Rey
Added a remix of the Cantina band from A New Hope to the Kijimi bar scene
MIGHT BE DELETED IN FINAL CUT Added an extended scene showing the bar on Kijimi
Removed lines about R2D2 making a backup, it is cluttering the scene for no reason removing any consequences from the movie even before the memory wipe has even happened
Removed line “Sad” from D-O, why say sad during a sad scene, we know how to feel as humans
Added a small scene with D-O and Rey and the squeaky wheel, it is one of the few moments in this movie where we slow down and are with the characters and their feelings, it is a nice scene
Changed the colour of Kylo Rens fighter from red to yellow indicating his other fighter being destroyed and this being a new one
​

• Everything on the star destroyer:

Removed lines “which way? I have no Idea follow me”, they now just shoot the two stormtroopers and it cuts to marching stormtroopers, they enter the destroyer with a big battle? Nobody else comes until Pryde sees the ship? Why follow Finn when he doesn’t know which way to go? It also builds a bit more rest in the movie when not every scene has a blaster fight or something like that
Rearranged the Chewie rescue to not have three people kill 20 or so stormtroopers
Removed line “Hey guys, and chewie laughing”, they are literally captured by 30 troopers and Poe was shot…
Moved Pryde telling to terminate Poe Finn and Chewie to before the Rey and dagger scene
Added Sith whispers from the dagger calling to Rey
Removed line “You are hard to get rid of”, Rey just ignores Kylo Ren now silence works better
Moved line “I never lied to you”. It’s a cheap retcon of TLJ, he now says it later in the scene and he seems more confident
Removed awkward stance after the first vision of rey during the duel
Removed line “rey, I know what happened to them” and added line “Rey, I never lied to you”, after Rey tells Kylo to stop talking
Removed the interruption of the Pryde and Poe and Finn and Chewie scene, we now have the focus on Rey and Kylo
Removed Kylo Ren asking Rey where she is again, and telling her she doesn’t know the story again
Removed line “she isn’t on Jakku”, its just dumb they didn’t find her after Rey’s mother says this
Cut a few frames to make Rey more aggressive after the second vision
Removed lines “you know why Palpatine wants you dead?”, instead Kylo ren says he has her now, Kylo Ren’s objective is to get Rey to join him so that is where his mind is at
Removed lines about Finn telling Rey something while under fire……….
Changed the colour of Kylo Ren’s starfighter to yellow
Reordered a few shots before Kylo tells Rey about Palpatine to not cross the 180 degree rule (This causes disorientation for the viewer)
Removed line “Why did he want to kill a child? Tell me”, the previous set up for this line was cut
Removed lines “you’re his granddaughter, and my mother was the daughter of Darth Vader”, we understand how bloodlines work and we are told three times in a few seconds Rey is Palpatine’s granddaughter
Added line “But”, to bridge Kylo Ren’s sentence
Removed line “and take the throne”, now Kylo Ren just offers Rey to kill Palpatine together, it’s a much more tempting offer to her now
​

• Death star 2 wreckage until resistance speech:

Removed lines “What is that? It’s the death star”, we can see that for ourselves
Added sith whispers to the dagger
Removed the dagger fitting on a place on the death star from where they are standing
Changed line “why is there never an R2 unit when you need one” instead of “Is every day like this to people like you? Madness”, we know 3PO’s memory is wiped, he doesn’t need to remind us like this, he can make a joke about R2 instead
Added more Sith whispers luring Rey to the dark side vault
Recut the Lightsaber fight, many little changes to fasten the pace, big changes are: Removed Rey and Kylo looking at the first wave while both having the opportunity to kill each other, Kylo Ren now instantly runs after Rey when she jumps, shortened Rey and Kylo looking at each other for a long time again, Removed Rey force blocking Kylo…….Most changes are to make Kylo Ren appear stronger and Rey more aggressive (thinking about adding music here)
Added the medal shot from the trailer
Moved line “I did want to take your hand, bens hand” to before healing, giving her the reason before and leaving Kylo Ren in silence after the healing
Changed Kylo Rens fighter colour from Red to yellow
Rearranged scenes to make it seem like there is more time passing instead of everything happening so fast
After Lando scene we go to ahch-to
We start at early morning on ahch-to and it slowly gets lighter indicating the passing of time
Added wipe and extra establishing shot with flying porgs, slows the pace down and shows porgs!!!
Added more Porg sounds than only one shot, now it feels like they live there again instead of being shown once
Added an extra establishing shot breaking the scene up between Luke catching the lightsaber and Rey and Luke talking
Luke’s hair is now thinner
Added another establishing shot slowing the pace down and indicating passing of time
Removed the flashback to Luke and Leia training, it is used at the beginning of the movie
The Finn and D-O scene is placed after the R2 and 3PO scene, now it feels like much time has passed
Removed Lines “Palpatine wanted Rey alive”, Palpatine wanted Rey dead the entire movie, even in TLJ Snoke wanted Rey dead, so it makes no sense to suddenly want her alive, he can change his plan now as he said to pryde, but he can not always have wanted Rey dead, now the big thing Finn wants to tell Poe is that they can get much information about Exegol through D-O
​

• Exegol scenes and ending:

Changed the colour of every bolt fired from a star destroyer throughout the battle from green to blue because Pride says to fire Ion cannons
Removed Finn seeing the signal transmitter before Rey enters the sith cave, now the resistance just enters Exegol first
Added Finn seeing the signal transmitter to after Rey entered the wall thing, now we have a set up and instantly go to the signal transmitter
Removed Pryde ordering to change the signal to their ship, now Finn discovers it with us at the same time suggesting his Force abilities better
Removed lines “I never wanted you dead, I wanted you here”, same reasoning as before his original plan was not to want her alive in the movie and trilogy
Added voice lines to the Knights of Ren humiliating him
Cut some shots of Rey fighting the Red guards because the movie uses the exact same scene twice…
Added music during Palpatine discovering the Dyad of the Plagueis scene in Episode 3, as a callback
Made the Jedi voices louder
Added Jon h’s force ghosts during the final battle with Palpatine and Rey, now it is a conclusion to the Skywalker saga
Changed I am all the Jedi to I am a Jedi, and Recut the scene to not have it be the exact same as thanos vs iron man
Added coruscant to the victory montage
Zoomed the lesbian kiss in a bit, I feel like if you want to do it as Disney you also should have the balls to show it properly and not have it flash by far away in a shot
Added the chess scene to the Tatooine sequence, showing them moving on to the future together not just Rey
Added Ben Solo force ghosts, OF COURSE he should be there

This transcript is from the livestream called "OMG Let's Beeze" instead of a Highlight.
skin looks bad where's my filters and there we go hi babe you're first hello
hi Lulu you're so early - yeah I know it's just all us now...the beezers, the beezers are first babe is first king Beezer. Gemini gem, what's new and exciting ? guess who's back...Lynn the pig and Grandma's back, back again...warmly...I know I'm terrible sorry you know just have a lot going on...Marissa 24 months you are the loyalist of beezers, I swear! radiation, you deserve every arm shake of that, I call them girl...hi shoot kickers and rats Ava hi, hi beezers
oh my God it's hot in this room.. why, why is it hot in this room? oh yeah so don't fear don't fret
um I'm in the spare room with the door shut there's no pets in here and I don't know if it's because it's vapor but uh this dissipates like instantly. it's not like lingering. tobacco smoke like two minutes later, you would not be able to smell anything in this house of... any kind of tobacco at all. you'll bring the fan really I would, so. appreciate that, honestly
Golden Girl, one year ~oh my gosh~ you deserve that too loyal Beezer ~~ Ready, Set! when did you guys all start watching me? I need to know... I'm curious what caught you onto my channel hi Carolina [Music]
these are... do I look like a virtuous woman? don't answer that... I will follow him, follow him, wherever he may go... I don't want to have that in my head all of a sudden [laughs] and on my hijab... style is kind of weird today. it looks like I have like a floppy chin. you know? like, three years ago no way...I can't believe I've been on YouTube for how long now
sanela, hi...
how long has it been? foodie Beauty days. Beauty foodie days... a couple of you now you get to see me in my marriage Arc. I'm very, very thankful for that. when I look back on some parts of my life, I'm, like, still, like, sometimes... I still wake up and I'm, like, I can't believe I'm here in the Middle East married to a wonderful man, you know? it's crazy. it's, like, surreal almost. I don't know
yeah, it is warm in this room. I don't know why... they're just, like, well... it's well ventilated but I don't know... maybe just because I'm so used to having the fan on me all times. you love the henna ink? thank you ~ yeah it's um very dark... I chose the black. they're like, do you want black or do you want red? so I'm like a half black but um... it's very nice you know?
my lovely angel, hey baby, oh you have to show them your beard cut! you had a beard trim... if I searched Amber... thank you so much for bringing that to me because.... oh wait.. the.. she said... yeah, it should be okay right? yeah, yeah the reality
[foreign]
the content room.... the content room needs to be a few... a few uh degrees lower, okay? nice... yeah, thanks... that's perfect. thanks for making me comfortable, my sweet love... you're welcome honey
sir, on YouTube during the Amber and Johnny Trail... Amberly came up? no way hi visas ~ oh my God ~ doesn't he look like 20 years younger? surprise...we could really see her mouth no more beard hair. you're still my handsomest man...handsomest man.... handsomest man
you guys...you guys are used to him with his beard now, huh, but whenever we met each other, this is, like, the look he had this one called the Summer Style. yeah it's too hot...yeah it's too hot for all the facial hair right? does it make a difference? yes, yes
he's too handsome - careful Chantel he's not going anywhere right? yeah
thank you guys oh I missed a bunch of comments okay
baby I'll keep using with them...yeah thank you, babe/ okay guys see you in the chat yeah and uh, they'll come live with me one of these days soon and do his own streams
hey I forgot the lights look better in the dark...is there two lights in here or one? [Music] turn one off...Okay, thanks. not all of them yeah...
hello Beezus foreign [Laughter]
[Laughter] thanks baby
[Music]
creepy spooky looks good with your hair, looks dark and handsome
[Laughter]
oh yeah...if you got a new mask [Laughter] it's spooky. that's cool.. it looks cool. I like it thank you honey [Laughter] happy Halloween everybody! eyesight shot yes my favorite movie actually. besides The Shining. which are both Kubrick movies... by the way, okay, which lighting makes me look nicer? the other one? I think this one wait check try the other one again.
I love you, honey pinch
whoa~ this one.. yeah, this one. the other one reminds me of a bait my basement. when I was a kid we had this...okay let me catch up here ...I travel mayonnaise [Laughter]....okay see you later alligator! someone... someone has to sound bite that [laugh] I've got that one there sorry, guys. I'm gonna be gonna contain my chin... and also... okay let me catch up here... I swear.
okay, um ,thanks Golden Girl...yeah, this is the henna but it goes like to here. I usually don't show you guys my wrists but you can see for the the purpose of the henna. so I washed my hands a bunch of times and it's still... I did the dishes. it's still on strong so I'm happy about that. are you going to address? uh, did you tip the artist? what what a weird question, duh... Whitney, actually tips are not very common here, but yeah I did. um, what are you looking for honey?
my phone? I think you see it you left your phone here no in the bedroom maybe yeah. um are you going to address all the fires in your home country?the fire...? there's fires in Canada right now? oh really?! yeah, in Quebec... Quebec area. I think eh.. um.. yeah, in specific, uh, area or what? yeah, I have to look it up. I'm not really sure. like, I know in Quebec region but was like five years ago.. it's fine, I think, yeah, I don't know ...like how severe it is... but there's, like, it's causing a lot of smog like in the US as well.. it's like going everywhere is all that I know.
[Note: some regions of Canada and the US had highest impurity rates globally from the particles in the air making the air dangerous for some people]
Michelle, they will be safe, yeah. thanks for the super chat. um, are they gonna start blaming me for the wildfires? yeah, I don't know. I mean, want to hold a vigil or what you like? the trim? it's a lot of the hair. yeah, the beard trim, yeah. thank you, uh Ali L, welcome to put your feet already [ __ ]. please, um, what in the kinky's going on okay?
we're in a room... welcome to budget piece and we're just like beeze, oh, I'm really behind... basic basic, it was smoky in Toronto. the air is bad really? well, I heard that it's bad.. like the small the the smoke or whatever...we got Eyes Wide Shut... that reminds me Andre Marie that was, like, one of my favoritest movies. favoritest movies ever! I love it. this is a weird hijab style... it was just like I had to get ready fast. so, I'm in the spare room right now. hi Ali L, welcome, welcome!
I know I haven't been going live really but ~oh my gosh~ we have so much going on in our lives and the new the pets are keeping me really busy. I have, like, a whole routine like I don't know how people do it with kids... like, I think I would die. like, I don't know if it's just like mentally I'm just not able to cope, with, like, too many responsibilities. because like taking care of home and then taking care of, like.... has been taking care... he takes care of me too... but you know what I mean? and then, like, Howie I have to spend time with Howie in a room by himself. he's he's in a room by himself now and the cat's in a room right now with her, like, food and water because we don't smoke with the pets.
like, you know at all... so um, so, then I have to like get up and like spend some time with howie... give him his vegetables, let him run around kiss him a thousand times and then Julia wakes up. Julia, yeah... welcome back guys! sorry I'm poor, that's okay... it's going to Wisconsin?
Julia cats are good at sneaking. I swear! I swear, she's snuck in the room when I was like coming in to see Howie. I didn't even know she was right behind me so she came in and she kind of just like just stared at him. but I think she...I don't know... she did one thing kind of weird like once, but it never happened again, so I'm okay with it, you know? I'm like, I hope it doesn't become a problem. she doesn't ...I don't think she likes the door being closed and me coming in here and paying attention to him. so one time that she was outside and I wasn't here she like pooped right up front of the door. I think it was like to say, like, "hey this is my territory this is my home, you little rodent" kind of thing but then ever since then she hasn't done it. like, she only did it once, I think, to like, assert her territory and then she just never did it again. she just, like, you know, poops in her box fine and she pees in her box fine and yeah... so far so good, mashallah. like. knock on wood but she's very very loving. she's like. I should have named her shadow she will not...if she's awake she will not...she, like, will not leave your side. like, she's the most loving cat. and if you, just like, you can... she's like a rag doll. like, you can just grab her and and hold her and just, like, and just like, she's just like... floppy and just loves attention and she's constantly....constant, constantly purring but she's also kind of naughty.
like, she's....when she gets the Zoomies, she freaks out and runs around everywhere, jumps all over the place and, like, she plays with things she shouldn't be playing with, you know? so it's like at that age she's, like a kitten right? so we have to like, um, you know, we have to, like, hold on. there we go... we have to feel uncentered. we have to, like, teach her you know? but she's... I say, you know, a lot, but she's like, she's so loving you know?
Hi Megan! so you think you can cats too well? yeah... my solid. what? well, my cheese salad? yeah hi pnv! yes, I hope you're having a good day at work. hi turbo toots! yo guys, yo Salah baby, baby... so yeah she's baby. how are you? do you love Julia? so she's adopting very well. my female cat gets mad at my own Grandma cat and she'll pee in the litter box extra messy. like, I won't even squat...makes a mess, yeah.... cats have strange Behavior sometimes you know? but yeah, I don't know. like, she's she's very hyper sometimes because she's just a kitten right? so I have to make sure to play with her a lot with her feather toy and, like, I have to like daily scoop out toys under the couch because she always gets them lost in there.
[Note: it seems Salah is teaching her basic cat care like a child]
sometimes if I open a bottle of water, like the cap, I'll just throw it. like, hey here's another toy that's not under the couch right now because and she just loves it!
foreign first class falcon getting a hair transplant... where in Turkey? you've always wanted to try that henna? thank you... yeah. it's really cool. I'm glad I tried it out. maybe next time I get it, um, I'll just get the uh,... it's like having a tattoo. like, it's a really cool... like, it looks like a really cool tribal tattoo or something I don't know? when I was watching her do it and it didn't take long at all. she's just, like, you know....
the Kitty's in another room while I'm smoking. and howie do have.... we the other day... I thought he was stuck in his tunnel but he was like, just listening or something... I don't know... because he put a bunch of his corn kernels in the tunnel overnight and he was just sitting in the tunnel, like, this like, like, stiff, like, a mannequin. so I started freaking out. I was like Howie! Howie! so I took all the tunnel apart and I'm holding it like this and he's in it and I'm like trying to go like this and he finally woke up and went... I hear horror stories you people scare me or like he could get stuck in a tunneling so here I am thinking oh my God he's stuck in the tunnel but no he can still, he still has so much room! he can turn around but ~uh oh my gosh~. anyway, I freaked out. that's like, the most exciting thing going on right now. actually Julie is the sweetest Beezer.
she's sleeping.... yeah, [reading comments in live chat] "my daughter has four cats and they were so picky that they each needed their own litter box". yeah... like, when I had the other cats like. we had that big litter box upstairs and then we had another one downstairs and because I was thinking like bbj's old, like, what if she can't make it? like, she had accidents a lot. because, you know, like, mostly starting when she got older. other than that, she was like a good cat her whole life, you know? and Sam no problems. but they ended up just using one litter box, so you know...
my fiance as a kid that honestly don't like... he doesn't even cover his poop. honestl?y Julia doesn't really either. she just goes and leaves it but so I go and I, like, cover it and then I scoop it. it avoids mess on the scooper. but she she gets the worst Zoomies after she goes to the bathroom. I always know when she goes and it's like, "okay, time to go get the scoop the Box" because she, um, I guess I'm keeping everything ultra clean now. and especially, like, you know, we have a smaller... it's smaller than my old place. so it's like you know if you don't ...the smell will just permeate as well. so yeah... she like runs around freaks out
I hear her go like she's so I'm going to the bathroom. people don't put leashes on their dogs. I want to go out. you had a Nashi zombies? yeah? wait... now she's are available right now in Canada, I'm missing out! no, the only matches I find here are coleslaw in them. like, Burger King is the only nashie. like, the Zoomies, I had to explain like salah never had a pet before, right? so this is all new to him so I had to explain what this is... Zoomies were... so I'm looking up Tick Tock videos of Zoomies. Like, he's like, is something wrong with her? I'm like, no, this is normal. check it out and, like, some cats get like the really bad zoomies, you know? it just happened in Florida? young and mischievous, yeah young and full of energy so...
I find smoking shisha makes you um thirsty. yeah, I'm going live a little earlier today because it's like 10 30 here and we're kind of tired. I don't know if you can tell, but I'm a little sleepy. so I don't know how long I'll be on but I wanted to say "hey" because I missed you guys. like, if I don't feel like if I don't go live for a little while, I feel weird. like, oh my God! I missed you guys! you know?
[Note: Chantal has pretended her chats and followers are her second family when she makes them dispensable and has a high turnover. It's a false audience relationship in this regard.]
I can't believe they have the the Nashi in Florida! what the hell?! that's so weird.... it's quarter after 11 here already. that's crazy! as you can see I haven't been able to quit shisha and I don't think I did I didn't do uh\, I didn't do a good mukbang today. so, I'm not gonna put it out. it was kind of boring. I don't know.... maybe I will.... maybe I won't... we'll see.
sorry for always adjusting this....these chiffon ones I could never... I love how they look the most but I could never fix them properly. they never stay in place.. even if I like put them here under my chin see? can you get lavender to smoke, relax you? [reading comments] I don't know can you get lavender shisha... but I think it's only fruit flavors... but I'm not really sure. the water looks good. yeah, these are the water towers in Kuwait. yeah, I just drink a lot of water. like, this is the water bottle water we drink. we buy, like, our whole wall is like full of like water bottles. even if we have a filter, it's like the water in Kuwait in the summer, like, I wanted to have a coldish shower right? I put the water on the coldest setting it was hot. Like I couldn't even shower it was that hot. it was like, so hot I had to wait till evening time to have a shower because the water cools down in the evening. but in the daytime if you want to shower be prepared for the hottest water! it's so hot it was like it felt like 45 degrees today. so... but the AC and the new car is really nice.
Michelle.. and um, we, had like a slush today but I'm not sure about the lavender. Golden Girl, good question... um what did I have for dinner? actually I ate KFC because I was craving it and they have this new flavor of like chicken it's like Flamin Hot Lays and they have chicken tenders...and I had these twisters... and you know I tried to mukbang but I was just, like, in one of those moods where I'm like, what does it look like I'm wearing? shoulder pads? what the heck does it look like I'm wearing shoulder pad?....um, just like a really tired,hot.... not in a really talkative mood. kind of, like, I am now... so I'm like, I should probably do a live stream, you know? I don't know ....I, I really, just yeah.... I wasn't really in the mood. so I was just, like eating kind of quietly and I think most people um.... what was I gonna say? like, like, conversation with my videos, you know what I mean?
what month does it start getting the hottest? um, I don't know.... babe, what like month, like April... no the hottest actually probably like June? July? like it's gonna be like now but it's gonna get like I think even hotter.
[Note: Useless fact: The longest day of sunlight is on or around 20 June. It takes the earth 30 days to absorb and emit the heat so hottest days in many regions in the northern hemishperes is on or around 20 July]
so why he jumped his face like as big as FFG?!! LMAO! not even close! [Laughter] sorry... but it's true... this is, like, this is material all bunched up by the way but yeah I have a double chin.
July, August, September... um September too? oh great so we have... so here it's like reversed in Canada. the longest season is winter and here is summer [Note: Wait until Chantal learns about the equator]
thanks Golden Girl! thank you! remember this lip gloss... it's the...you guys remember when I went to buy this the Estee Lauder one? um will be 50 to 60. does it hit 60 like every summer? oh my God! I can't imagine... like, I have to go outside even for just a minute to experience what 60 degree weather is like... and we have to do like a test... like, I want to do that fried egg test. we have to put an egg on the pavement and see if it fries... but you know I can go peek my head out come right back in the building because the building is well air conditioned...like even downstairs in the lobby.
I don't know where people get this idea that we don't we don't have AC. it's not like...it's not a third world country um...there's AC everywhere and actually there's, like, um, I don't know like people put charity water tanks all over the town, like, different parts of each City. so, so, like, you can have clean drinking water and then there's like tunnels with like AC so people can have a break and walk through the tunnels instead of being outside. so there's, like, a lot of Refuge... is it respite Refuge? I don't know what word I'm looking for.... there's a lot of.... like, you get a break from the Sun.... if you even just going into malls, like, all the malls are very well air conditioned. um, so I would not be able to, yeah that's hot... I would not be able to survive here without AC. even Salah you will test it and we'll be grilled.
I remember one morning where one morning we woke up and he opens the curtain... actually, we do this every morning, like mashallah, I have to say it...we, we open the windows and we see the the beautiful ocean view.. and I'm like, one time I was like okay.. let's go out and he was like if you go out at this time you will be Chicken on coal! so, we have to wait until a certain time like after 4 or 4 30. I'll melt like cheese.
I wonder if I put cheese out if it will melt... hi Anastasia! sunblock will be useful...yeah, I need to get some, babe, true. creepy comfort and crime, [reading live chat] oh I just seen you... I just saw you ready...welcome, welcome to the very important users! thanks for becoming a Beezer!
yeah and I don't think that I'll be experiencing a winter, you know? not an all gun wood for like the next long while so I don't know when I'll go back to Canada for a visit.... but if I do go back, I'll be like a tourist right? because I don't have a place there anymore so, well it'll be weird be like a a Canada tourist.
[Note: Chantal doesn't understand her own citizenship status with Canada because she doesn't have a physical mailing address or residence. However, she is still a Canadian citizen].
cheese melted 'michelted'... you want to watch a horror movie, babe? I don't know... I might fall asleep but that's okay... what's a good horror movie from like the 2000s that we have? I don't know...
we tried finding "the ring" [horror movie] but we couldn't. why don't we last watch? oh, escape room one and two? those are good movies there's Escape rooms here but they're expensive I tried it several times to fry an egg here in Kuwait and it was successful. really?! no way?! you just leave the egg thereafter and like animals will eat? [reading live chat comments] a day when I lived in Vegas when I was in high school, I fried an egg in the street... no way! it gets hot like that? and it's just, like, are there some states where it gets super hot like Texas... say in Vegas.... I guess Death Valley is one of the hottest place... is quite hotter than Death Valley.. I'm happy to not see you in winter in Canada again.
yeah ...that's true... you leave a for the winter that's smart... that's what, yeah, my, I have family members who do that. Anna, hi dream! Insidious is good.. he watched... I don't think he liked Insidious. I don't know why... he likes more gross movies we watched a really gross zombie movie called "yummy"... oh my God... but it was pretty good movie, I guess. but just like one of those movies I'd only watch Once... don't ask me about security emoji. I can't believe the last horror movie watch was The Exorcist and it's like in the 70s that's so long ago...
[reading live chat again] it gets really hot in Vegas... really? like over a hundred? The Descent, oh, is that about a monster? I'm Chucky hi I'm Chucky you want to play no Chucky I want to burn you in fire and lava seriously I would drive and throw him in a volcano and then you go home and he's on your bed I'll burp I'm waiting to murder you God The Descent I think I watched it a long time ago you know what's really creepy? okay, the catacombs, like stories about the catacombs freak me out... like, all those tunnels under Paris? imagine getting lost in there! you'd be dead...you slept with your parents? I used to get scared and sleep with my mom too... she was like come on now there's nothing! you know, your parents get annoyed? no wonder... they probably want to break from us. I don't blame them. it's about the group of girls in a cave... ah but there's like a monster right? I think should I tell the Tank Engine ~oh my God~ that is my favorite picture! can you send it to me by emails? like, and [laugh] oh my God ~ actually the Crypt ~oh babe look at the picture [Music]
oh my God! that made my day! my potato face, choo choo, that, you know, what Thomas the Tank Engine used to be my one of my favorite shows as a kid... and Babar, potatoes ~ oh my God you're living like 15! oh I live in central California and it can get to 112. you that's hot! we will watch Descent movie... okay that I think that's I saw, that movie oh
Cassie oh my God! I need to quit smoking... I can't even [laugh] no oh my God that's so funny! all righ,t that's a perfect picture. I love that! I don't know if that was meant to be hate, but it made me laugh. so like my magnet, I found one of my abayas that's been missing. it was in the suitcase. we haven't unboxed yet. I keep forgetting ...do you unpack this one suitcase finally? did it you know... the hardest part of um putting together your home is organizing. I like finding, like, nice containers and all this stuff. I got um these nice little baskets, little baskets to put under the TV so we can put all our stuff in there you know? like watches and stuff like tha...t Chargers and especially we have to cat proof the home so, like, every, lik,e even this.
I'm not gonna put it take it off and I'm not gonna put it somewhere because the cat will lose it... remember I used to have that problem with the bees or Cuts I had with um with Sam and BBJ with my earrings? I would always only have one... yeah hi Cassie! did you uh forget your biscuit again? yeah ,thank God my family's okay now... but uh you know I'm kind of worried... like, I don't know the fires are getting bad eh?
pretty sure what New York looked like yesterday from the smoke... no, I have to look at all this up. I guess I've just been really self-absorbed. I haven't really been paying attention, but yeah are there wildfires like every year in California or like, the Wildfire is just like, remember how bad they were in Australia a couple years ago... a few years ago? I had a lot of beezers and viewers then in Australia. I was worried... about there's a lot of school and outside activities canceled? oh wow! that's bad! I'm sure the kids love that! hi blacks,hey long time no see! I missed you guy,s you know ?I used to pray for some kind of natural disaster when I was in school years... anything to get out of going, you know, like, are you sure the buses are not canceled today? you're still going I'm getting great, like, one before my mom had a car I'm getting Grandpa to drive you ...no I don't want to go to school [Laughter]
I used to pray for any illness... I know it's bad, but any cold any flu you... now I even remember like being in class with some kid who would be sneezing and you could tell they're getting sick and I'd be, like, you know, they'd be, like, okay, pick a partner for your for your uh project? okay, I want to go with the sick kid so I can catch his flu so I don't I can miss school. uh anything I hated, I hated going... I hated getting up in the morning since I was born. I was even late coming out of the womb, like, my mom had to have a C-section. I didn't want to come out... I was late... I was supposed to come out... mine was I supposed to be born I think the 26th... Kelly's pretty bad but it's been cool, like a cucumber...really how much snow? oh, it has to be like 30 centimeters or more for them to cancel school well it has to be a lot.
[Music] oh the flyers in Nova Scotia
[Laughter] the other options of school was wishing for a disaster... yeah, I was like please give me the flu! everyone's getting the flu but me, I swear it must have been the Papaya juice my mom used to give me in my lunches. I hated Papaya juice. I don't think I ever told her and just suffered in silence... a lot of vitamin C... give me the Capri Sun! it's very smoky where I am in Northern Ontario jeez lemon mint, cough, hey where were you I've already been... I've already been.
coughing what the [ __ ] I swear... I ate it going to school like, honestly, whenever, like, my mom would check and I had a fever, I was like "yes" because like when you're young, you think you're Immortal... you don't care if you have a cold, you know what I mean? you don't care if you have a fever... you're like, whatever, I can survive this now. well now I worry a bit... you know? I was born at uh yeah warmly I have a dark sense of humor .I was born at 4 30 in the morning. I blame that! I'm being a night owl, yeah... I was born just after midnight explains a lot. Julia's so cute! how is she? I know everyone is going through it but I'm going through it. you only... oh we're always setting you positive energy blocks... hope you're okay, what's up? you can share with us
um Julia is amazing she's just a Beezer she's a bit of a Beezer and uh but she's so cute and she's so cuddly. like, he's probably the the cuddly she's even more cuddly than BBJ if that's possible. early morning babies are babies born between 4 AM and 8 AM grow up to be persistent. they are generally intelligent and always prepared for different situations. they might face... wow do you know what time you were born babe? that I'm not in that category at all... so I was born what who has a dark web passport what the heck I'm so out of the loop
oh what did Golden say? oh Southern Ontario it is really widespread? yeah, that's what I heard but I didn't know how bad... oh my gosh! it's your husband's birthday? happy birthday zero support! that can be tough.. we're here for you... honestly, like, I like ,to beeze and like why not? we're all humans we all go through hard things. even though we're on the internet doesn't mean that we can't share and you know, be here for each other. you don't even have to explain what's going on all you need to say is you have you're having a hard time you know? to be born during business hours you're, like, I'm not being born during business hour,s mom you got to make those bucks! oh okay, since you've had a date, uh are you like the type that doesn't, you know ,what? getting a babysitter is not that easy... I know, I remember my mom trying to get a babysitter sometimes for me. it was hardened the babysitters I was left with. sometimes remember I told you my story times about one babysitter Beth. ew. yeah
I had some bad babysitters I always tattled on them and never had to see them again. though, so that was good, but yeah it's not as easy you know, it's not as easy as that what people are displaced oh my God. well Canada is really big... there's a lot of places to go but not if the fire's spreading that far. that's crazy !I really hope that everything people stay safe and everything goes well "we have two kids and one special needs so hard I just need a flip a couple of hours sometimes I just don't get that I love my girls but I hope no one takes that out" [reading live chat again]. yeah hey that's totally understandable.. it's very overwhelming... you know, you do your best but he got burnt out. like, caregiver burnout is a real thing... and actually when I worked in healthcare, we used to have a lot of people who would go into homes just to help with respite for people who were burnt out, you know? so at least you recognize that maybe there's some kind of like organization like that you know......Tracy, 18 months? oh my gosh! hi Tracy! I'm glad to see all you beezers here these stats are not accurate but we have to say it yeah, yeah, babe...you set her hair on fire oh my gosh that's Criminal! did you go on a group home after that?
I'm so protective too so that doesn't help uh you just don't let anyone go in yeah I understand. that, you know, you're leaving like loved ones in the care of strangers so it's hard.
hello Tracy! oh that's sweet babe! Maya lobby with your side and bless you sweets. parenting is hard yeah, like you know, I couldn't even imagine! I'm having a you know, like, being a pet mom is challenging. sometimes, honestl,y I couldn't imagine because some universities provide daycare at affordable rates.. that's true... my University had a daycare... excuse me, um I'm glad I never had to visit you know? something about daycare is creep me out... I remember being in daycare, like, I remember the smell of like old microwave dinners the cots... the cots that we had to take naps on. I had to go to a daycare after school and they made us have a nap every, every, every class. I went to as a young kid. there's always a kid who pukes. I don't know why, but there's always a pukey kid. sometimes I was a puke kid on the bus and then they always made us play with this like water and cornstarch mixture daycare. oh I'm glad I'm an adult as much, as... as much as life could be crap when you're an adult I don't miss being a child.
hi Katie Katie! she lost a few strands thank you guys, to see each event! hey, you're in the right place the hen is not itchy like thank goodness. you know, because I did look it up and apparently people have more issues with the block. which I didn't know... but they made me sign a waiver and I was wondering why. but now I know allergies... but oh thank goodness. yeah "I love being a mom but it can sure be hard not having any yeah not having any support" is definitely tough for sure, thanks Fox! yeah permanent is harder for sure... you'll have to replay later yeah I've been on for about 47 minutes.
what's Loch key, hey Chloe ,Tabor! am I saying that right? welcome, welcome! We're Gonna Save beeze hello! oh yeah Ali's a new Beezer. I missed the economy when I was a child. now I'm working everything... ye,s you're right. the economy was and it seemed people back then like in the 80s you know, um, from the I was born in the 80s... so old oh my gosh, everything was different, you're right. like, people had, like, you know? were able to sustain a life with jobs. you know, like, I don't know the quality of things just seemed better. I don't know how to explain it... like, even I don't know... maybe I'm not remembering that right. whenever you're a kid everything is just like the world is like mysterious. now when you start learning everything about it... it's like, you know,... well before I became like, religious, there was a huge period of time where everything just felt hopeless and meaningless... and I was like atheist for a point and I was like what the heck is the point of this, you know?
it's so mundane and tedious and you know... and now it's not like that wine and grapes come.. company yeah bringing up children because you're always having to dedicate all of your time to them. like, you're responsible for the bringing up of a whole human! like, that just terrifies me... like, even having a cat... hi witchy! hi beaters! sommelier! that's what it's called... nice that's interesting but if you can, you're strong you seem very strong .blacks so, if anyone can do it, it's you. I don't believe God gives us anything more than we can handle and honestly? even though it tests our limits, like, I don't know if people just think everything is just going to be sunshine and rainbows all the time. like, life is how can we be tested as people, if we don't go through hard things, you know, so it's just I see things in a very different perspective than I did even just last year, you know? and just getting rid of that hopeless feelings um helps me deal with depression in a lot of ways... there's a lot of ways I try to deal with my depression. um instead of ignoring it, uh, there's still a lot of things and tools I could use... but I find that my faith medication and just proper self-learning techniques of how to deal with anxieties and things, you know ,more emotional intelligence... that I'm really trying those things have been really, really, really hard to learn.
oh my gosh! yeah, I heard they're insane on me. that's what we've been saying! just bought Resident Evil 4, Jack ...nice have you been playing? have you started playing? I didn't know you were a gamer... no, I don't go to therapy here. therapy is ridiculously expensive here ridiculous like I think well from what a research I did it's like very very expensive like very but not just that um it's I guess I just cope with like learning like watching a lot of videos... reading a lot about emotional intelligence, coping techniques. like, this social media can be very useful for educational things. like, that um also I you know pray a lot and turn to my faith read the Quran and just, I don't know ...I feel like I've matured a little bit in that way, you know? an online therapist? that's like, yeah, I keep forgetting about that... move a TV? oh my gosh it must be strong! I think one therapist I checked was like 500 K.D that's like two thousand dollars, unless I got that wrong. maybe it was 500... I don't know... definitely give that to the when I when it piles on. just gets a lot it... does health issues it just piles on? yeah it seems insufferable. so like, uh, insurmountable sometimes content over meditation how you cope with negativity that's a good idea, thanks, Jack. thanks guys for noticing... he used to be a gamer what's your favorite all time? I don't know if I'm... in a minute... I'm gonna check it out again, actually and see. because I was a while ago. I checked... I don't even know if I have it right. but I remember being expensive a lot more than Canada.
Korean Pizza what's on that? I have an online there like uh Korean Fried Chicken. I have an online therapist and it's been good not sure how much it would be in Kuwait. though yeah I'd have to check the Korean. I've heard of sushi Pizza, that sounds gross to me. has anyone have sushi Pizza? reading the Bible, yeah whatever.... reading whatever religious text that you follow can be very calming, yeah... even just like when you're praying... it's like calming. Resident Evil 2 right here... another Resident Evil fan! Salah your favorite is Resident Evil 4 right? because you love Ashley so much. Sushi burritos, whoa, "you can't take care of others with an empty cup" that's true, yeah... that's why they say you have to take care of yourself first, but I mean how realistic is that? it's so hard to do ,you know, to find time for yourself when it's just constantly like, you know....
I can't even compare but even with a kitten like I forget how much work they are because I was so used to having adult cats, you know? for a long time but I remember, even BBJ was a Beezer. Sam was a Beezer, you know ,and you have to cat proof your house. you have to keep an eye on them when they're awake, and sometimes when she's sleeping, I'm like oh finally! you know? like, she's not busying because like I have to like get up so many times to like make sure she doesn't get to the through. Like I have to hide every wire.. every everything, everything in the house. but she's worth it... actually gross, okay Golden Girl, no problem. short rib pizza? oh my gosh! that sounds so good! yum! yeah happy birthday to him... I'm so proud of you having a higher power and seeing purpose. do you drink ever at all or no drinking? a Mormon? oh really Chloe oh you were Mormon? um no I don't drink anymore... um any kind of um mind-altering substance you know is is like forbidden it in Islam. but um CBD is... is okay though because it's not like mind-altering. but drinking is definitely... drinking is like illegal here. you won't find... you won't find out any legal alcohol here. I don't know about illegal... I don't know anything about that... but you won't find any legal alcohol here. you know,
oh my God ,what did you do all day? well it depends on the day lemon mint. I mean, like, a regular domestic day? is that what you mean? because it just depends you know, like, I... I'm planning on doing some day in the life of videos. Maybe. you know but you know, it just depends. depends on the day. um regular domestic stuff most days you know taking care of the pet the pets keep me busy um you know cleaning just stuff. like, that doing videos talking to family. we go out sometimes, go run errands. go get coffee. go get dinner. whatever. go to the movies ,stuff like that. how's the beezing kitties? she's so mischievous I do give her already some kind of chicken Pate she loves it... hi baby...alcohols... yeah, I believe that too. more dangerous than media need a Beezer membership buddy. yeah, I really haven't can't believe I haven't come up with merch yet.
hey babe, hi baby... what's up for you, baby? oh did she give me a creepy chocolate. hi, I miss you... you're so handsome. I love math thank you, honey. I think it looks cool. what kind of mask is this guys? is this the Anarchy mask? I like your hair guys.. don't tell her it's Secret [Laughter] it's that V for Vendetta mask isn't it? you ever see that movie V for Vendetta? no, foreign Edition? ah, yeah, I think it is vendetta. The Purge has started. chocolate creepy chocolates, thanks babe. I didn't know we had any more of these. I thought we ~I~ ate them all. I'm kidding! are you alone there without me? yes, I'll come soon. software on it, love you, love you most, love you mostly look pretty. Tracy we were actually... we were out shopping and he's like what do you think of this mask? it was like a store with all masks in it. this is a milk. have you ever had these? they're good. I'm gonna try.. I'm not really hungry. I had too much to eat but hmm I put your tea and sasqually... my God she's a pig... foreign I go through like two of these a day! it's not diabetes I should do a review of Quake snacks, yeah. because they do have a lot of different ones. like, you've seen some of them in my grocery hauls you know the pop pops? they have a lot of like a lot of things... a lot of things are flavored with zatar you guys know what that is? around oh.
[Laughter] Julius here hi!
hi baby, oh, oh she doesn't want to be held right now. hi, honey... she looks like church... hi baby... let me holder better.. okay. honey it's okay. it's okay. it's okay.... she might be scared of your man... she's purring. oh really? oh baby girl
hi sweetie oh you're a sweet girl here oh poor girl okay yeah yellow.. say bye. say bye! yeah I sing to her. you kno,w the song, um the queen hi! to me vintage SO thanks Chloe! my shisha's done anyways. so you want a Calico? she looks like church from um pet cemetery. her eyes the same color. she's so she's so cute anyway.s um oh yeah so you want a fat ginger cat and call him Garfield? zatar is like a seasoning made out of like Thyme and like I think sesame seeds. I don't know, lik,e exactly what's in it... but it's mostly made of thyme so it's really tasty. actually I want to go cuddle Julia now. she's... but she eats a lot. she eats a lot mashallah. she eats a lot she has a good appetite on her. she's so small. I think kittens eat more right? because they're growing but we feed her wet and dry and I give her some cremo treats. those creamy treats, she really loves those. so yeah that's Julia next time I'll show you Halloween Howie try sumac yeah, I have tried sumac before. like, in babba ganoush and stuff. it's like sour a bit. eh or something.. I don't know... I know what I know what it tastes like... I need to whiten my teeth or just wear red lipstick. look what you have here Harry he's here on this side is here on this side. hi Emily! let me grab him for the cage
[Music] hi Emmy here he is oh you big boy Hey Big Boy
[Music] oh Howie don't fall out there's a cat now! I'm kidding! hi everyone! rattler I love you so much, you big fat boy! damn son, he's cute. say "bye, hello, bye-bye yellow" back to your home. he doesn't want to get off my hand yeah it looks like a final grumpy Haggard rat freak and oil thanks, babe. vitamin C, really? I didn't know that, she's cut...e you don't want to come off my hand because he doesn't want to go back in the cage. is that a rat? I'm gonna tease him now. are you a rat are you a mouse are you a hamster? I always say that to him he's a hamster. but he looks like a mouse. I don't know he's a freak of nature. I don't know what to say but yeah he's um he's so cute. I love him he's my big boy, Howie! I let him run around and he was Beason... he got he kind of got stuck under the door but no not actually stuck but he was trying to get out. he's a ratster. oh my God, yes... are you a register? he looks like a hamster to me, yeah. he's like a big chubby hamster and he likes to just like, we this is the second wheel we get him. so we got him a wheel and we moved all the hang out of the way and it's turning fine. you know, the guy at the store was even like, this moves really well. so we put the new wheel inside and remember, whenever we got first got him, he was in that little cage? he was playing on that little wheel but this feels way bigger instead. of he doesn't like that it moves. he doesn't like that it moves so he went out of his way to move the hay, all the hay I took the trouble of moving out for him he put it all back to so that the wheel would be stationary because he likes to sit in the wheel and clean his bum, so he likes to have a clean bum cleaning station and it has to be stationary. he's got his own little like hamster rap personality. he likes to go to the bathroom in one corner. um he chooses wood. he loves his corn. any I have a medley a hamster food medley with like all different nuts and seeds but he only eats certain things. and I could tell when he's had it like I have to replenish his food because only these little grain. he doesn't .I think there's like quinoa... I'm not sure. there's like these tiny little circle pellets he doesn't like them. so he leaves them. he only eats the the certain things inside the medley. he's so picky and weird. I don't know he's a weirdo. That's What I Love About Pets. they all have their own like different little personality. you know personalities? chinchillas they're so cute... yeah they had some at the pet store. I couldn't believe some of the animals they had there! like they had meerkats. they had tucans, like, some people have pet tucans. they're very demanding like, like, having having an exotic pet like that?
anyways guys I think I'm gonna go because it's like late here and I want to go to bed and you know, relax. getting some coffee PJs? oh excuse me... Birds scare the crap out of you, really? I love birds. you have weasels? get out of here! like, the weasels from um Roger rabbits? does Harry still get to run? yeah like he's most of the time in this room, I only came in here to smoke but I don't have my shisha... finish I think it's finished um other than that every day like twice a day. first I come in replenish his, like, spot clean, give him some fruits and vegetables. replenish his Kibbles. then I take him out. he always comes out of his little hay hen and goes like he knows I'm in here. and then I let him run around. and there's like still Parcels in here from moving and stuff. he likes to climb them like they're Mount Everest for him. he's weird. I don't know who he climbs but he likes to run around and then I put him back in attend to Julia. then I come back at night and let him play a bit, you know? but I have to stay in here like I don't.. I could let him stay but I don't know I prefer to just ever since he tried to get up the bottom of the door. I watch him now that I'm in here. he can't be unsupervised he's not trusted. he lost my treasury, so I just set up the gaming station and just watch videos or whatever preferable. if Julia's asleep because she gets very Territorial and like, jealous if I'm in here with the door closed. so kind of thing, anyway... it was nice chatting with you guys um thanks for watching me play with my hijab for an hour uh yeah so what was I gonna say.
I guess that's it, I'm tired. so um thanks for beezing and I hope all of you guys days get better and easier and we'll chat next time. I guess, yeah, um maybe next stream I'll try to think of something fun to do. I like just coming on here and just chatting though really I don't know I like just talking and socializing it's like a form of socialization for me I guess but yeah my beezers so guys thanks for a reason without a reason that's what I'll call it be then without a reason um and I'll see you in my next video or my next live stream so toodaloop, bye guys.

We decided to go for a drive in the countryside one Saturday morning. I’m the type of person who usually plans everything, leaving nothing to chance. I’m not spontaneous at all and it gets on my wife’s nerves. This was going to be different. It was all my idea and I assured Tammy we were just going to ‘wing it’. She rolled her eyes. She knows me. She realizes even my ‘spontaneous’ excursions are planned, somehow.
The truth is, it bothers me to not have a game plan. I’m usually the one driving on these rogue adventures and I have to decide to turn left or right if there’s no predetermined path or destination. I hate doing that with a passion but I wanted to prove to her I could drive without advance research or scouting. Inside it was going to kill me, but I had to pretend to be ok with it. You know how couples can get. I had to prove her ‘wrong’.
We loaded up the car with a couple of bottles of water and snacks before steering toward the rural part of the state. In the beginning, I’d been to parts of the area, but the longer we drove, the further I left behind my comfort zone. Tammy was loving it. I’d glance over at her occasionally and she’d have this genuine glow of contentment from the random drive. I sincerely think part of the enjoyment was relishing in my discomfort, but I wasn’t about to let on. Regardless, I wasn’t much of an actor and we both knew I was a bundle of knots inside.
Every few miles we’d see an old farmhouse or weathered barn with cows in the pasture. The scenery was lush and picturesque. The weather itself was beautiful too. All in all, for a random drive in the country being officiated by an obsessive planner, it was pretty darn enjoyable. I didn’t feel the crippling apprehension which usually came over me when I was trying to find a specific location in the dark. It was easier to be ‘lost’ in the daylight, with no set agenda. You might even say I was adjacent to enjoying myself.
The deeper Tammy and I drove into ‘Nowheresville’, the more we started noticing some odd little things. There were weird symbols painted on the side of the houses and barns visible from the old county road. They weren’t anything either of us was familiar with, but clearly they meant something to the locals. The first few didn’t register as anything to take note of, but eventually it became an obvious thing which stood out, in an otherwise idyllic country drive. I found myself anticipating them with each new home we approached. All of the symbols were somewhat different in ‘character’ formation, but they were similar enough to be related.
Neither of us spoke about them at the time but those strange markings troubled us, deeply. It was definitely on our minds when we stopped at a small country store for supplies, and to use the bathroom. As is usually the case with folks in the countryside, the store owners were very friendly. We must’ve stood out like sore thumbs, because they asked where we were from. We bought food and drinks for the road, and yukked it up with them for a couple minutes.
That is, until I summoned the courage to ask what the symbols on the buildings meant. Immediately their whole demeanor changed. It was night and day. Tammy noticed it too. She looked at me with a side-eyed glance as their mood darkened. To their credit, they didn’t try to change the subject. That would’ve been too obvious; but they did look down the aisles first to make sure there were no other customers within earshot, before answering. That definitely raised our hackles. It was creepy as hell. The truth was apparently something ‘outsiders’ like us weren’t supposed to know.
Suddenly it felt like we were about to be sucked into the middle of a rural conspiracy. They leaned over and whispered: “You folks seem real nice. Please don’t ask anyone else about them. It’s for ‘protection’, and for heaven’s sake, don’t be around here once the sun goes down. There’s a full moon tonight and they prefer the dark.”
I looked at Tammy’s mortified face. Her reaction was probably the same as my own. The suspense widened. We kept waiting for them to burst out laughing about winding up the big city folks, but the grins never came. They just handed us our receipt and told us to have a safe trip back home. There was a strong emphasis on us leaving soon. Like a couple of traumatized school kids, we thanked them for their prior hospitality and walked out. It was already dusk, and we were halfway across the state. We’d been seeing those bizarre markers for fifty miles or more.
Was it some secret sect? Tammy dared to take a photo of one of the ‘protection markers’ with her phone as we drove back toward home but the internet service in the boonies was spotty, at best. Since it was some deeply held rural secret, she hoped an image search would tell us what they meant. The country store proprietors acted like it was blood painted on the door of their homes to signal for the Biblical Angel of Death to pass them by.
Night fell quickly, with us still being in the middle of ‘Nowheresville’. We were definitely spooked and needed fuel for the car. Predictably, there were no stations around and the needle was below ‘E’. My OCD nerves were kicking way in. I was tempted to lash-out about why THIS is the reason I didn’t like to be spontaneous, but I held my tongue. It wouldn’t have helped. The image lookup netted very little helpful information. The only thing she could find was that it was somehow tied to ‘a secretive society of occult Freemasons’.
What? There were too many of them for it to be an ‘inside joke on city folks exploring the backroads’. We wouldn’t have thought there would be anything other that devout religious people living in that isolated section of the county. Not only that, but what did the shop owner’s vague statement mean? ‘They prefer the dark’? They made it sound like there were bloodthirsty werewolves roaming the woods. As laughable as it sounded, they weren’t laughing when they said it, and they didn’t appear to be kidding either.
They warned us to be completely out of the area before nightfall, and yet here we were, running on fumes and hoping to find a gas station before we were stranded like sitting ducks. The wind picked up until it blew our little car around like a sailboat in a churning sea. If there was any good from our unplanned misadventure, it was that all the dust we’d picked up from the long drive would hopefully be blown off the car.
It was barely 9pm on a Saturday night but every house we passed was as dark as could be. Not a single light shone in any of their windows. Either they went to bed early in the country, or they didn’t want to invite strangers to their doors after dark. Intellectually I knew rural folk were known to sleep early, but I couldn’t help but hear the shopkeepers conspiratorial words echo again in my ears. I couldn’t see Tammy’s face well but I know her. She was dwelling on it too. Under the circumstances it would’ve been impossible to ignore.
As growing nightmares tend to do, the car began to shudder. It was choking on its last few ounces of fuel left in the line. I wanted to shake the steering wheel in terrified frustration but it’s an inanimate object. I’m the damn fool goaded into ‘proving how unprepared I could be’. This was my ‘reward’. I was going to have to walk in the dark with a gas can until I found the next house. Then I was going to have to beat on their front door and hope they would take mercy on us. It was the perfect checkbox list of ‘NO!’ for me.
Walk alone in the dark. The FULL MOON dark.
Traverse a rural two lane blacktop where I didn’t know a single soul.
Ask for help from total strangers that could have been avoided if I’d just used my damn head in the first place.
And the ‘piece de resistance’:
Be on the lookout for ‘werewolves’ or Moses’ Angel of Death sent to kill the firstborn sons.
My own anger generated a certain level of false bravado which I needed to ‘get it done’. I cursed myself for not having gas already in the fuel can in the trunk but the truth is, I would’ve been afraid it was an explosion risk. It’s hell being an over-thinker. Tammy had the audacity to ask where I was going. I just turned toward her with a disgruntled scowl. She didn’t mean it the way it came out. It was obvious I had to go for help. She just didn’t want to be alone in the car. I think she felt bad for all of her past attempts to ‘loosen me up’ about over-planning things. Perhaps on the eve of our mutual doom, I might’ve won one. Ah, the bittersweet irony.
The two of us held hands. We’d started the journey together and we’d finish it together. Whatever that meant. Like a gentleman, I placed her away from the roadway but it was mostly a symbolic gesture. There were no other cars driving by. She was the first to notice how quiet it was as we walked. There was only the sound of our shoes clacking the pavement. In a place with all manner of wild animals living in nature, it was deathly silent. She gripped my hand tightly. It seemed like we’d walked a long way but the truth is, we were relatively lucky. The nearest farmhouse was less than a mile from our stranded vehicle.
Like the rest, it had one of those arcane symbols painted right on the front door. Also like the others, there wasn’t a single light shining in their windows but the driveway had three cars. They were definitely home but I had my doubts they would answer us. We didn’t want to be shot for startling them so we tried to make some unsubtle noises on the doorstep to announce our benevolent presence. Country folks like their twelve gauge shotguns. I hoped they would realize we were harmless and in need of help.
We both heard sounds of lamentation coming from inside. If anything, they were more frightened than we were. I’d characterize it as terrified. I spoke up in my friendliest voice to reassure them.
“Hello there. We’re terribly sorry to bother you folks so late at night. We’re just passing through from out of town and our car ran out of gas. Do you happen to have some? We’d be happy to reimburse you. I’ve got a hundred dollar bill. I can slide it under your door as compensation.”
A man on the other side spoke up. There was a noticeable tremor in his voice. He appeared to be trying very hard to balance his innate sense of politeness and hospitality, with a crumbling wall of courage. It didn’t bode well to reassure either of us.
“I’m terribly sorry for your trouble mister, but there’s something very evil lurking in these parts you don’t want to encounter. They come out at night time and for that precise reason, we don’t dare open the front door, for anyone. I’d be happy to siphon some of my own gas for you; but I won’t set foot out there until daylight. I have to protect myself and my family. I hope you understand. Now, run back to your car and lock the doors. Quickly! Cover up the windows and take this and put it on the hood of your vehicle in a conspicuous place. It’ll save your lives.”
In the unnatural quietness of the night air, I heard the electronic whirl of an inkjet printer running inside their home. A piece of letter-sized paper slid under the door jamb. It contained one of those strange symbols.
“Leave your fuel can on the porch. I’ll bring some gas, first light. I promise. If they come for you, do not look them in the eye. Go!”
We did exactly as instructed. To the letter. I gotta tell ya, the missus and I would’ve been ‘husband and wife, three-legged race’ winners if we’d entered such a competition. Both of us sprinted at a pace I hardly thought possible. I could barely keep up with her. Then I scrambled to get the keys to open the door. It might’ve been comical if we weren’t racing for our lives. Inside, we located a sun-visor and blankets to block off the windows as best we could. An old paper road map and catalogs from the glove compartment served to complete the job, in record time.
We were almost in the clear when I realized the most important part of the plan wasn’t in place. The protection sign was still in the car with us! I didn’t have any masking tape so there was no way to secure it to the window or hood. Using a rock as a paperweight would’ve blocked it from being visible. In a flash of invention I had an idea. The SUV was so dusty from the county roads that I scrawled the symbol as large as I could into the dirt of the windshield, hood and trunk with my fingers. I hoped that would suffice to spare us from the fury of whatever frightening creatures roamed the hillsides during the full moon.
I jumped back inside just in time. First the smell hit us. It was positively rank and the source of the stench was very, very large. We could feel ‘them’ walking around the car inspecting it. There were tiny voids in our hasty wallpapering of the windows but I didn’t dare look through the cracks. I was too scared I’d make eye contact. We heard them pulling on the door handles to see if they were unlocked. I have absolutely no doubt anything that huge could’ve simply ripped them open but that apparently wasn’t the point. They were checking to see if we’d taken the precaution of locking them.
Tammy had to stifle a scream as the whole vehicle shook back and forth violently. I thought the intent was to flip it upside down. She looked at me in wide-eyed terror. I’d love to suggest she drew strength from my calm masculinity but that would be a bold-faced lie. It was all I could do to keep from squealing like a toddler myself. The things on the other side of the car were definitely not natural. That much was clear to us. Then one of them spoke with a ‘voice’, not of this earth.
“You drew our sacred sigil of mercy on your vehicle, incorrectly. You have parts of the character backwards but we have decided to forgive your ignorance, this time. Leave our home and never return again. Our patience is limited.”
“Thank you!”; We both cried out in unison. Without response, they finally left us, but we dared not leave the impotent ‘safety’ of the car to confirm their departure; even to use the bathroom. Leftover drink cups temporarily served that purpose.
In the morning, the farmer came just as he’d promised. He brought us fuel and something to eat. Not that either of us had an appetite. He saw the evidence of our nocturnal visitors and remarked how fortunate we were, especially with my botched depiction of the ‘sigil’, as they had referred to them. We thanked the man again and we’re on our way. Neither of us breathed a sign of relief until we reached the suburbs.
I drove through an automated car wash to blast off the layers of dirt from our terrifying ordeal, but it didn’t do anything about the savage claw marks and unnatural dents to the sheet metal. I told my coworkers it was from a grizzly bear attack. That would’ve been horrific enough story, but the truth was infinitely worse. These so-called ‘grizzly bears’ could speak, read, and took considerable umbrage to my poorly drawn protection sigils.
My insurance agent demanded to inspect the damage first. He asked me where it occurred. I told him and he adopted the same pale demeanor change as the country store owners. He knew what we faced that night. Obviously there had been other claims like ours over the years. Without acknowledging what we both knew, he said: “You two are lucky to be alive. Don’t go back there again. Your claim will be covered in full. And one more thing, that sigil should look like this.”
He pointed to the clean area of the windshield where I had drawn it. Despite it being washed, you could still see the remnants of my ‘artwork’ on the glass. He took his finger and reversed one of the vertical marks in the middle. Now I know the correct way to draw it. More importantly, Tammy doesn’t try to stop me from planning out all the details of our trips anymore. She finally sees the benefit of NOT being spontaneous. Win-win.