Mother to son poem figurative language
Child support
2023.05.28 19:26 OnlyOnyxxx1 Child support
I am a man living in Ohio my child mother just informed me that she will be trying to put me on child support she says i dont contribute financially which is crazy we switch our child everyday he is 3 i keep him 4 days out of the week she drops him off to me on “my days” at 7am and on “her days” she doesn’t get him till like 6pm she always takes him to her moms house one of her three days i do by my son clothes and food but she’s mad i dont take him to do extra expensive activity i am struggling and at the moment living with my mom because i allowed her to keep the house after we split i guess I’m just asking do you think she would be able to put my on child support even if i have him the most she told me many of times she doesn’t want to be a mother so I’m just not understanding why she’s trying to do this to me please help any opinion are appreciated
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2023.05.28 19:25 Oculusfluffy Easter with Avocado - By Oculus (with art by Carpdime & PeppermintParchment)
 | EASTER WITH AVOCADOA tribute to Carpdime’s Avocado Featuring art by Carpdime & PeppermintParchment ~ “You’re becoming a big boy, Avo!” It was a warm day in early March when Melissa made the statement. The snow had thawed not too long ago, and the cold of winter had mostly dissipated. And indeed, Avo was now in what could be considered the adolescent phase of his upbringing. Our little green foal had been about the size of a finger as a new-born, and then the size of a hand. But having passed half a year of age, he was starting to experience the larger growth spurts. Now, Avocado was the size of a potted plant, just like one near the window. And yet, he was still the same loveable little foal Melissa knew when she first fed him that burrito all those months ago. Reflecting on his current size, Melissa felt a little inspired. “Avo!” “Yus, gwamma?” “Picture time!” she said, holding up a polaroid camera. “Oh goodie! Fwuffy wub picshas!” And indeed, Avocado loved those human things called “fotos”. Whether they magically came out of a polaroid, or if they were printed out from a computer, he was enamoured with how memories could be captured in those contraptions. He sometimes wondered, what bizarre “sains” could achieve a miracle such as this. It was very much a feat of magic. Foal by the pot (Artist: Carpdime) Grandma slowly placed Avo beside the pot. Avo was a little confused as to why Grandma picked that spot of all places, but he went with it. “Say Cheese!” Cheese!!” And with a flash, the picture was taken. The polaroid camera whirred, and a photograph came out. “Beautiful shot,” grandma beamed, as she looked at the photograph of Avocado. She then commented, “my little angel.” Angel. Avocado had heard that word before a few times, especially in a certain way. And it was at this point that Avo decided to ask a big question. “Gwamma, wai ‘ou sez fwuffy am wike a wingie-hummeh?” “Winged human? Oh, you mean, why am I comparing you to an angel?” “Yus,” Avocado nodded. “Well, my little cherub – you’ve been a good boy. You behave yourself, you listen to your daddy, as well as to your grandpa and I.” Avocado remember when his granpa told him about the winged humans. But he also reminded that period, when he was exposed to a unique name. It led Avocado to ask a rather peculiar question. “Gwamma, huu am Cheezas?” Melissa was a little taken aback. She was not sure if she was ready to answer that question. Nevertheless, she smiled, and tried her best. “Well, Jesus was a very good human. When people had the worstest sick, he healed them. When people. He was a good story teller, and he told many important stories to people he knew.” “And gwampa sez Cheezas am tawk to da wingie hummehs?” “That he talked to the angels…. Why, why yes he would. He talked to a lot of people, but I think he definitely talked to the Angels.” “Gwamma, wen babbeh had wowstest huwties, did ‘ou hab tawkies wif Cheesas?” ~ Not too long after Chapter 7Avocado was at the vet. He was still recovering from his fight with Bullsquid. Earlier, his teacher Candy and his friends had visited him. Now, he was being visited by his grandmother, Melissa. The mother of his daddeh, watching over him. “Gwamma….” “Shh… please rest Avo.” As she said this, she started to hum a song. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, That saved, a wretch, like me Who once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now, can see.” Melissa’s song was like a soothing and reassuring balm to Avo’s pain. After a while, he was able to close his eyes. And yet, the pain was preventing him from sleeping fully just yet. His senses prevailed, and it would be a while before he could fully drift into the realm of sleep. Avo could hear the words from his grandmother, saying something rather odd. “Please, please Jesus, please watch over little Avocado. He’s our special little boy.” ~ As Avocado related that memory to Melissa, she was a little astounded by the rather clear memory that Avo had. And yet, she felt a little touched. “Yes, Avo. I was talking to Jesus. I was praying.” “Pwaying”? Prayer would be a difficult word to convert into fluffspeak. Melissa had to be concise with what she meant. “Having talks with Jesus. Talking to him. Praying, its not the same as playing. But you know that words can have more than one meaning.” Melissa had not anticipated Avocado to ask such a question related to her faith. And while she tried to give answers, it led to even more questions. “Buh… Cheezas nuu dewe.” “Well, it’s like, Jesus is with us in spirit.” “Whut am spiwit?” “Spirit is like…. Spirit is like something we all have. Humans, fluffies, animals, we all have a spirit, a soul. And Jesus is with us in spirit. He doesn’t have to be there to be with us in spirit.” “Abo nah suwe ib undah-stahn. It am wike daddeh am wif us in spiwit?” “Is your dad with us in spirit…. Why yes, you could say that.” Avo was ecstatic when he heard that. “So, when daddeh hab tawkies wif Avo, den am daddeh’s spiwit!” Melissa couldn’t help but laugh as she heard that sentence. Avo was clearly mistaken, though he couldn’t be faulted. And that slight confusion also provided a chance. “It’s not quite the same thing. Also Avo, we need to go over your math lessons.” ~ The incident had left Melissa reflecting quite a bit. So much so that she ended up mentioning it to Harold after Avo went to bed. “Dear, Avo has been interested in Jesus lately.” “Oh, really?” Harold respondend nonchalantly. At that time, his mind was focused on the newspaper in his hands. “Should tell him more about Jesus? And Church?” “Do we have to? I mean, he’s a fluffy. Its not like he needs to go to church.” “Well, we did him take to church on Christmas.” “That was Christmas.” “And Harold, you’ve seen some of the community bring their fluffies to church. And those are well-behaved. And the Father has not made a fuss about it.” Deciding to give Melissa a bit more time of his day, he moved the newspaper out of his sight, as he faced her. “What are you implying?” “Why don’t we at least let Avo know a bit more about our faith?” ~ An elderly man was entering the book shop of his neighbourhood church. Earlier, he had been at the nearest fluffmart and had attempted to enquire about a specific kind of book written in fluffspeak, on a topic that he imagined some fluffies would be interested in. “I’m sorry sir, we don’t carry that kind of product here.” It was a genuine response, the kind given by a young man who was fully aware of the inventory he was tasked with, and was also merely doing his job. “Alright then, where can I find such a book?” “Have you tried your church? I heard the shops were carrying those kinds of books.” The old man was a little taken aback. It was not that he wasn’t a god-fearing man. However, he had been avoiding attendance at the local place of worship for most of the months, aside from an appearance at Easter and Christmas. Yet, he knows that his spouse would always dutifully attend the church service every week. And now, she made a request to him that, while unusual, he could not help but oblige. A few hours later he found himself at the entrance of the church. As he walked towards the entrance, he could hear the ringing of the bells and the marching of the people walking up towards the priest to received their Daily Bread. It was impromptu, perhaps even uncouth, yet our old man found himself joining the line. “Amen.” After the service had concluded, our old man made his way to the adjacent shop located near the church. It had all the religious iconography and texts one would expect from a shop like this., And yet, our old man would never imagine he’d ask for books of this specific nature. “Why yes, we do!” And as she says this, she shopkeeper brings our old man to a small but dedicated section of the church bookshop. Looking over the wares, it resembled a lot of the religious books he had read as a child, and he too had passed to his son. Filled with cartoonish imagery and gentle language. The difference, of course, was that the language was the even more simplistic fluffspeak, as these were religious books that were meant to teach the catechism in as simple a manner as possible. “I’m a bit surprised that our church carries books on this.” “Well, fluffies aren’t quite like ordinary animals, are they? They kind of speak like us, although a bit limited. And they can understand some concepts better than the average animal.” “But doesn’t the Church say that animals don’t have souls? I think one of the past Popes said that animals aren’t called to Heaven.” “Ah, but Pope John Paul II said that animals will join us in Heaven. As did Pope Benedict.” “But aren’t fluffies artificial animals? I remember they were marketed as toys.” “They do have an artificial origin, but most fluffies are born, live and die just like us. And with their ability to learn and develop, they are very humanlike. It is a complicated topic, and different religions have different says on it. Our current Pope has asked us not to discount fluffies despite their artificial origin, as they are not that different from human clones.” The old man was a little confused by the past discussion. “It just seems so different from how things were when I was younger.” “Well, times change I guess.” He had heard those words before. He remembered hearing him from his firstborn, on the day when he had opted not to go to Church anymore. Briefly flipping the pages, Harold recognized some of the stories in the book. It reminded him a lot of a similar book he passed to Mark, once upon a time. Only difference was that the language used here was in the seeming indecipherable fluffspeak, which had its own lexicon, and grammatical rules separate from “standard” English. Remembering the unique fluffspeak and the complexity of teaching fluffies to be familiar with their interactions with the human world, it prompted Harold to ask another question. “Is there a bible in fluffspeak?” “There are! But people usually don’t buy them.” “That’s odd. You’d think that, if owners are trying to get fluffies to be Christians, they’d have them read the Bible.” “Yes, but fluffies usually don’t have the attention span to manage long books. Most children’s bibles are made based on the premise that the adult reads with the child. However, not a lot of fluffies express an interest in religion beyond following what their owners tell them about the faith, or learning how to pray. Its why we don’t import a lot of the Bibles in fluffspeak.” ~ Avocado was enamoured by the book he was reading. It was written in simple fluffspeak. But it told so many different stories. There was the story of Nowa, and how he built a large boat so large that he could put his family and every animal on it. The boat helped his family survive a terrible storm of wawa that flooded the land. There was the story of Moses, who was helping his people leave a terrible place to find a new home and, with the help of Sky-daddeh, was able to part the sea into two. There was the story of Debid, a humble sheep herder who went up against the big bully Gowiat, and would later become King. And then there was Cheezas. Cheezas, who could turn water into wine. Cheezas, who healed a blind man, and allowed him to see. Cheezas, who could walk on wawa. Cheezas, the storyteller, who told many stories, including the one about the prodigal son, and how the son came back to his daddeh. And how said daddeh loved both of his sons equally, even the one who stayed loyal by his side. It was a very fun storybook. To Avo, it was just a storybook. But it had stories he wanted to share with his friends. ~ “Class, we have a special guest today. His name is Ajit.” The orange foal was different from everyone else in the class, by virtue of having a piece of cloth wrapped around his head. His owner was a big man, with a very bushy beard. And like his charge, what was just unique about him was a larger cloth that he was wearing that was wrapped around his head. “Fwuffy hab big happies to meet ‘ou aww.” “Why fwen am weawing a siwwy hat?” As Chilli asked that, the entire class giggled. Even the bearded man laughed. With a smile, Amber explained, “Ajit here, like his owner, is a Sikh.” “Fwuffy hab wowstest sickies?” “No, it’s the herd he belongs to.” Trying to explain a religion to fluffies is difficult, and trying to explain to them the existence of other religions would be even more difficult. Any person would balk at the idea of their community being compared to with a herd, but Mr Singh was familiar with the limited capacity and knowledge that fluffies had. Ajit’s week at East Side Daycare went as normally as it did for any visiting fluffy. He took part in the activities, played at lunch time, he could eat most of the food as he did not have any dietary complications nor restriction, and he generally was friendly with everybody at the daycare. But there was one little incident that affected Avo a little when it came to Ajit. And it happened during the middle of the week. Avo had been sharing with his friends about the stories from the book that’s his grandparents had given him. Almost all of his classmates had interest in the stories, and listened to him attentively. However, when Ajit started hearing about Cheezas, he merely shook his and went off to play with the blocks by himself. Avo was wondering if there was something wrong. Finishing the story about the time Cheezas walked on water, and amazed his friends, he went up to Ajit. “Hewwo, fwen.” Ajit remained silent. “Fwen?” The only response was the sound of the stacking of blocks. “Fwen am otay.” In a huff, Ajit turned out around. He did it so quickly, one of his hooves hit the stack, and the blocks claim tumbling down. “Wook. ‘ou beweib in Cheezas, but dat am yer sky daddeh. Nuh mine. Fwuffy nu beweib in yer Cheezas. Nao. Pwease weave fwuffy awone.” Avocado was a little taken aback by Ajit’s curt response. Even though it was rude, he wonder what it was about talking about Cheezas that had so offended Ajit. He wanted to apologize, but, Ajit wouldn’t listen to him. With no one else to turn to, he decided to head to the sleeping room. The Auburn was there, tending to some of the foals who were sleeping at that time. A sshe was watching over the foals, she could feel a fluffy’s hoof tapping on her leg. “Why Avo, whats the matter?” Avo tthen told the Auburn about the incident that happened that day. “There, there little Avocado. Not everybody has the same religion as you do.” “W-w-we-we-shion?” It was a big word. “Well Avo, a lot of hummehs and fluffies would believe in one type of Sky Daddy. That’s a religion. Ajit over there belongs to a different type of herd. And his owner belongs to another type of herd. And they believe in their own thoughts about Sky Daddy.” “Ooooh, so wike, they go to a diffewen pwayie pwace?” Avo was surprised to hear the word “pwayie pwace”. But she had a rough idea of what Avo meant. “Exactly! And there is a lot of religions, Avo. Not everyone has the same religion. It’s like how Buttercup prefers sports while you prefer reading.” The Auburn felt she was grossly simplifying the vast differences of religions and followings in the world. She was not sure if Avo would understand what she was saying. “Abo undahstan…. Abo thinks.” The Auburn could only smile as she heard that. Just then, Avo asked a rather expected question to her. “Do 'ou bewieb in sky daddeh, mummah Amba?” “Not really, Avo,” the Auburn said, shaking her head. “I don’t go to church.” “Wai?” “Well, I wasn’t brought up in it. As a little baby, my mommy and daddy never took me to church.” Avo was surprised as to hear that. He thought that most humans would go to this special school, this special “prayer place”, even though different herds had different prayer places. But Amber was telling her that she didn’t. “But see, I’m rather happy. Not everybody needs a to believe in sky daddeh to be happy. And If believing in sky daddeh makes you happy, that’s a good thing.” Feeling like he understood the situation a bit better, Avo could only smile cryptically. He then stated, “Fwuffy undahstahn.” ~ Soon it was Holy Week. For Avocado, it was like any other ordinary week. He went to the daycare, followed the lessons he was taught, came home, had his dinner, and slept. The exam that was to grade was about a month away, but, other then that, there was nothing special. But for Melissa and Harold, it was a different story. And Harold was adamant on a stance. “The book didn’t mention anything about Jesus dying.” “But how can Avo learn about Jesus if he doesn’t know about the Crucifixion and Resurrection?” That question left Harold a little cold. He knew where his wife was coming from. “Does he need to know? If Mark doesn’t take him to church, then there is no need for him to know more about the religion.” “But what if he asks?” “Well, that is IF he asks. If you take him on Good Friday, he’s just going to ask more questions.” Melissa was feeling dejected. Harold came up to her, and place his hands on her shoulders. “Look. I know it was difficult for both of us when Mark stopped going to church. But even though Avo is special to us, ultimately he is Mark’s pet, not ours.” Harold could feel a lump in his throat as he said that. In the months of the close bond that he developed with Avo, the fluffy definitely felt more than just a pet. Melissa sighed. She knew her husband had a point. And she also knew that she was initially hesitant to have Avo follow them to church all those months ago at Christmas. And yet, there was one thing she did want to ask. “Can we still take him on Easter Sunday?” Harold thought for a moment. “Sure.” ~ Good Friday came and went. As Avo was at the daycare for most of the day, he would have been unaware of the church service that his grandmother attended on that day. Nor would he have known about the significance of this one day in the Christian calendar. But to Avo, it was just yet another day. ~ And then, it was Easter Sunday. Avocado was dressed with a neat little green ribbon around his body, complete with a cute little bow. According to gwamma, the other fluffies that were going to the Church today were also going to wear a similar bow. And Avo was feeling a little excited – he heard there was going to be a little party at the Church. Avo wondered if it was going to be anything like the one he experienced at Christmas. It was the second time that Avocado was at the place that his grandparents called church. It was the same as he had remembered it at Christmas – a building where a lot of people gathered, and windows with a coloured glass showing a bearded man doing miracles and other things. Avo now understood that this man was Cheesas, and that the Church was what his grandmother and Melissa described as being a “pwayie pwace”, or “prayer place.” Though the one thing that Avo was not prepared for was the long talk by the silly human in silly white clothes. The speech went for so long, and used big words that it nearly made Avo fall asleep. He tried his best to understand it, and he could understand the priest was talking about “a new life” and “new beginnings”. But that was about the half of it, and the poor quality of the microphone meant that Avo could not really understand what the man was saying. Feeling a little distracted, Avo decided to look around, and see more of the statues near him. And as he looked, he saw the statue of Cheesas, on a large plan of wood, his arms outstretched, with prickly things on his head, and boo-boo juice streaming from down his face. A look of intense sadness and agony was on Cheesas’s face. It was like nothing Avo had seen before. He wondered why he had not seen this statue before. He wondered why the book that his grandma had given him had not shown this statue. It made him want to ask questions. But he was also a little terrified by the vision of it. Looking away, he then started to snuggle up to his grandmotter, Melissa. Melissa was a bit surprised by Avo laying his head on her side. However, and understanding that the church service would be rather boring to both children and fluffies, she gently patted him, and allowed the adolescent foal to rest by her side. ~ Just outside the prayer place, a number of stalls had already been erected, and people were already playing games. The Easter celebrations were here, though Avocado noted that they were rather muted. It didn’t seem to be as exciting as the celebrations for Christmas. Or for Halloween. As he was walking by his grandparents side, Avo felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around, and was met with a surprise. “Mawigowd!” Marigold was wearing a silver-coloured ribbon. She was standing next to her owners, as well as a bigger fluffy, who resembled a little, but with a reddish mane. “Fwuffy ne’er thot dat Abo gu to chuwch!” “This am secondies tiem, fwen.” “Weww, Mawi go to Chuwch with fwuffy mummam and hummeh mummah ewewy Sundae!” As she said this, she introduced her fluffy mother to Avo. “Dis am fwuffy mummah, Coppah.” “Nice to meet ‘ou, mummah Coppah,” Avo said bowing his head. “Mawigowd hab big tawkies about ‘ou. Sez ‘ou am a smawt boi!” Avo looked at the bigger fluffy sheepishly. Feeling a shy, he merely said, “Abo onwy twy am bestest.” There were not that many notable games or activities at the Easter celebration, and Avocado felt it was overall, rather boring. Not to mention that it was rather hot as it was mostly outdoors, and Avo found himself sweating after a bit. But there was one game that Avo did enjoy, which he played with the other kids and fluffies. There was an egg hunting game. The game required a group of fluffies and children to work together. They were attached to at least one adult, and they had to work together to find the eggs within a specified area of the church. Avo was in a group with Marigold and Copper, and they were attached to Melissa, who agreed to watch over the group as they combed the area. Most of the fluffies had found the missing coloured eggs, but there was one egg that was still missing. All the fluffies had been wondering where this one egg had been hidden – it had been painted green, with red spots. The picture of the egg reminded Avo of the nearby bush with the red flowers. Feeling a little intuitive, Avo went to bush, going inside it. It was an area most of the fluffies preferred not to go into, as they had not been told to be careful of entering random dark places. But luckily enough, the missing egg was there! “Atta boy, Avo!” Harold said, as he saw the little green foal return with the missing egg. Happy Easter (Artist: PeppermintParchment) After the games, the foals and fluffies were given a treat of various foods. There was a bunny-shaped chocolate that they all shared, along with various jellybeans. It was a somewhat fun experience but, perhaps not as fun as Christmas. (Or Halloween) ~ Avocado never asked again about going to Church, or Cheesas. It came as a bit of a surprise to Melissa, as she had remembered the interest he had expressed to her. However, and remembering the life choices that her own son made, she had come to accept that, as a fluffy, perhaps Avocado would not be interested in knowing more about the religion. As for Avo, he tried to forget the statue of Cheesas that he saw. It was rather disturbing, and did not seem to make sense with everything else that he had seen at the Church. But Avo had also understood from the Auburn that there were other prayer places, other herds that existed in the world. He wonder what the prayer place of Ajit’s would look like. He wondered what other kinds of Sky-daddehs there were. The world was a mysterious place, and he was hoping to learn more about it as he got older. |
2023.05.28 19:21 camiev26 Cameron Bio Mom Storyline
Okay, so I've just finished OBX (late to the game, I know) and now I'm hyperfixating on it, so bear with me.
I've been theorizing about a possible storyline with the biological Cameron mother. Apologies if this is not original and someone has already mentioned the same thing.
Naturally, people assume that Rafe, Sarah, and Wheezie's biological mother is dead. The show makes it very obvious that Rose is their stepmother (i.e., referring to her as "Rose" and their seeming indifference to her as an authority figure). But what if she isn't dead, and she just left the family at some point after Wheezie was born?
Imagine: Ward and Wife are picture perfect couple. They get married, live a luxurious life, and start their family. Rafe is born, then Sarah, and eventually Wheezie. The most obvious reason for her absence could be a psychotic break/mental health crisis. Let's say it happened shortly after Wheezie was born; maybe some type of postpartum depression, maybe she found out about Ward's quest for the gold and it sent her over the edge. Assuming Rafe is at least 8-10 years older than Wheezie, he would have been around elementary school aged when this occurred, meaning he would have cognitive memories from this time in his life. This could explain his erratic behavior as he entered his teens/early 20s. He would have been aware of what was happening to his mother and it would've been traumatic for a little boy to see this happen. Maybe mental health issues run in the family and his mother passed it on to him. That, exacerbated by the trauma he would have experienced as his family fell apart, could be an interesting way to explain his behavior.
It could also explain why Ward is so dismissive of Rafe's mental health issues. When Ward looks at Rafe, he sees what happened to his wife and it's painful for him. He sees Rafe spiraling and it brings back memories of what happened to his wife and, as opposed to helping Rafe, Ward chooses to disregard him. This would only make Rafe's issues worse. Kind of like, "You saw this happen to my mom and it destroyed us, and now it's happening to me, and you won't do anything to help." When Ward looks at Sarah, on the other hand, he sees the good things about his wife in her: young, beautiful, spirited. Ward favors Sarah because Sarah reminds him of the good memories of his wife.
I don't know if the kids would know if she's dead or if they would be aware that she just disappeared. Maybe Rafe knows she just left one day, so he's always suspected she's still out there, and maybe Sarah/Wheezie think she died. Wheezie was definitely young enough that she doesn't remember, but maybe Sarah's memories are hazy. She remembers her mother being there one day and then gone the next. Now with Ward dead (or so we think), I think this could be a cool opportunity to bring Mama Cameron into the picture. She's better now, or on her way to being better. Maybe she's always kept tabs on her kids because she wanted to make sure they're okay. Maybe she lurked in the background of sporting events/extracurriculars, but she never let herself get close enough. She heard on the news that Ward is now dead which sparks a desire in her to be there for her orphaned children. Rafe and Sarah are adults now, but Wheezie is still a minor, so they could create a Mama Cameron vs. Rose storyline about custody of Wheezie (gives us more Wheezie screen time, yay).
I'm sure they could figure out a way to fit the JJ/Sarah sibling storyline in there as well. This is a divisive issue, so it's not essential.
Anyways, this will never happen, but it was a thought that appeared in my head as I finished the most recent season and I think it would be an interesting way to introduce a new storyline while explaining some plot holes that the show is facing.
submitted by camiev26 to OuterBanksNetflix [link] [comments]
I've been theorizing about a possible storyline with the biological Cameron mother. Apologies if this is not original and someone has already mentioned the same thing.
Naturally, people assume that Rafe, Sarah, and Wheezie's biological mother is dead. The show makes it very obvious that Rose is their stepmother (i.e., referring to her as "Rose" and their seeming indifference to her as an authority figure). But what if she isn't dead, and she just left the family at some point after Wheezie was born?
Imagine: Ward and Wife are picture perfect couple. They get married, live a luxurious life, and start their family. Rafe is born, then Sarah, and eventually Wheezie. The most obvious reason for her absence could be a psychotic break/mental health crisis. Let's say it happened shortly after Wheezie was born; maybe some type of postpartum depression, maybe she found out about Ward's quest for the gold and it sent her over the edge. Assuming Rafe is at least 8-10 years older than Wheezie, he would have been around elementary school aged when this occurred, meaning he would have cognitive memories from this time in his life. This could explain his erratic behavior as he entered his teens/early 20s. He would have been aware of what was happening to his mother and it would've been traumatic for a little boy to see this happen. Maybe mental health issues run in the family and his mother passed it on to him. That, exacerbated by the trauma he would have experienced as his family fell apart, could be an interesting way to explain his behavior.
It could also explain why Ward is so dismissive of Rafe's mental health issues. When Ward looks at Rafe, he sees what happened to his wife and it's painful for him. He sees Rafe spiraling and it brings back memories of what happened to his wife and, as opposed to helping Rafe, Ward chooses to disregard him. This would only make Rafe's issues worse. Kind of like, "You saw this happen to my mom and it destroyed us, and now it's happening to me, and you won't do anything to help." When Ward looks at Sarah, on the other hand, he sees the good things about his wife in her: young, beautiful, spirited. Ward favors Sarah because Sarah reminds him of the good memories of his wife.
I don't know if the kids would know if she's dead or if they would be aware that she just disappeared. Maybe Rafe knows she just left one day, so he's always suspected she's still out there, and maybe Sarah/Wheezie think she died. Wheezie was definitely young enough that she doesn't remember, but maybe Sarah's memories are hazy. She remembers her mother being there one day and then gone the next. Now with Ward dead (or so we think), I think this could be a cool opportunity to bring Mama Cameron into the picture. She's better now, or on her way to being better. Maybe she's always kept tabs on her kids because she wanted to make sure they're okay. Maybe she lurked in the background of sporting events/extracurriculars, but she never let herself get close enough. She heard on the news that Ward is now dead which sparks a desire in her to be there for her orphaned children. Rafe and Sarah are adults now, but Wheezie is still a minor, so they could create a Mama Cameron vs. Rose storyline about custody of Wheezie (gives us more Wheezie screen time, yay).
I'm sure they could figure out a way to fit the JJ/Sarah sibling storyline in there as well. This is a divisive issue, so it's not essential.
Anyways, this will never happen, but it was a thought that appeared in my head as I finished the most recent season and I think it would be an interesting way to introduce a new storyline while explaining some plot holes that the show is facing.
2023.05.28 19:19 dizzystarrr I just need to say this and maybe get some words of encouragement because things are looking really bad
My husband and I got pregnant last year after two miscarriages, only to have our son be stillborn at the beginning of autumn. Before losing him I worked in the birth community as a postpartum doula. I had just gotten certified, was saving up for other certifications to really get my services out there to people who need them. After losing Sam (our son) I just haven’t been able to go back to doing that. I feel like I’ll be ready soon but I don’t know. Feels like some people around me are just waiting for me to “get over it” (some actual words that have been said to me).
Before we lost our son, my husband injured himself at work. Herniated disc and possible permanent nerve damage. Dealing with workman’s comp insurance is like pulling teeth. He’s only had two appointments from August to now. They only just approved him for a new MRI and physical therapy. Surgery is probably the route we’ll have to take but he might have to walk with a cane for the rest of his life because this has gone untreated for so long. He’s always in pain and I feel helpless.
So I got a job working from home recently so I could be home with him (he’s fallen a few times). But after training they reduced my hours significantly. Between his pay being less than half of what he was making originally and me not making much, we got to a point where we got behind on our car bill. The bank always said “as long as you have a payment on schedule, the account won’t be reviewed for possession”. No problem. Had a payment on the schedule. Our only car.
Now here’s where I’m really really angry: I’ve had that car for five years. At the time I co-signed with my mother. My egg donor. She offered to help me get a car and I accepted. I SHOULD NOT HAVE. I wrote a post venting about her in a different sub it’s in my post history but to keep it simple on here, she’s so petty and narcissistic. I’ve made every payment on the car, every single one. Mother’s Day the other week was a really tough day for me, and I’ve been estranged from my own mother because I decided to stand up for myself and not take her abuse anymore.
My mistake. She got pissed at me for not calling her on Mother’s Day. She has access to the account with the car because she’s on it too. She called them and canceled my scheduled payment - it went into review and I had no idea. Now it’s been repossessed. That was last week. Now I’ve gotta scramble for almost $1700 to get it back. I hate myself for taking so much time off work after losing Sam because otherwise, I’d have a better job. I’d still have savings. I’d still have our car.
Finding a different WFH job has been unsuccessful. I need a car to get to work if I get hired elsewhere. I’m angry at myself for falling behind. Angry at her for always exploiting and sabotaging and just being hurtful. I’ve cut off contact with anyone who talks to her because I just can’t risk it.
If I get the car back, how do I get her off the account so she can’t have access to that information anymore?
I’m here to vent of course but please if you can just give me some words of encouragement that’d be so helpful. I’m doing everything I can. Job applications, seeing what local resources are available to help us in any type of way. Everything and anything I can think of. But I just want to quit life because this suffering feels like forever.
If you made it this far, thanks for taking the time to read this.
submitted by dizzystarrr to venting [link] [comments]
Before we lost our son, my husband injured himself at work. Herniated disc and possible permanent nerve damage. Dealing with workman’s comp insurance is like pulling teeth. He’s only had two appointments from August to now. They only just approved him for a new MRI and physical therapy. Surgery is probably the route we’ll have to take but he might have to walk with a cane for the rest of his life because this has gone untreated for so long. He’s always in pain and I feel helpless.
So I got a job working from home recently so I could be home with him (he’s fallen a few times). But after training they reduced my hours significantly. Between his pay being less than half of what he was making originally and me not making much, we got to a point where we got behind on our car bill. The bank always said “as long as you have a payment on schedule, the account won’t be reviewed for possession”. No problem. Had a payment on the schedule. Our only car.
Now here’s where I’m really really angry: I’ve had that car for five years. At the time I co-signed with my mother. My egg donor. She offered to help me get a car and I accepted. I SHOULD NOT HAVE. I wrote a post venting about her in a different sub it’s in my post history but to keep it simple on here, she’s so petty and narcissistic. I’ve made every payment on the car, every single one. Mother’s Day the other week was a really tough day for me, and I’ve been estranged from my own mother because I decided to stand up for myself and not take her abuse anymore.
My mistake. She got pissed at me for not calling her on Mother’s Day. She has access to the account with the car because she’s on it too. She called them and canceled my scheduled payment - it went into review and I had no idea. Now it’s been repossessed. That was last week. Now I’ve gotta scramble for almost $1700 to get it back. I hate myself for taking so much time off work after losing Sam because otherwise, I’d have a better job. I’d still have savings. I’d still have our car.
Finding a different WFH job has been unsuccessful. I need a car to get to work if I get hired elsewhere. I’m angry at myself for falling behind. Angry at her for always exploiting and sabotaging and just being hurtful. I’ve cut off contact with anyone who talks to her because I just can’t risk it.
If I get the car back, how do I get her off the account so she can’t have access to that information anymore?
I’m here to vent of course but please if you can just give me some words of encouragement that’d be so helpful. I’m doing everything I can. Job applications, seeing what local resources are available to help us in any type of way. Everything and anything I can think of. But I just want to quit life because this suffering feels like forever.
If you made it this far, thanks for taking the time to read this.
2023.05.28 19:17 Necessary_Two_5570 Absent father
I (27F) have 2 kids with a guy (26M). We had them in our teens and haven’t been together since out 6 year old was a baby. He has been very inconsistent in their lives, and doesn’t support them in anyway. He sees them on holidays and birthdays, other than that he doesn’t reach out. I always update him on things going on, and send him pictures of the kids often. He has struggled with mental health and his fighting his own addictions. I have been more than lenient with him. I never talk badly about him to our kids, and I always try to tell them that he loves them he is just trying to figure his life out. My kids are in a very stable environment and have everything they could ask for and always have. Their dad and I have a pretty decent relationship despise his lack of support for the kids. I never deny him time with the kids, but I don’t go out of my way to plan times with them either because I don’t believe I should have to. We have joint custody and he’s supposed to pay support. But he hasn’t paid support since November 2021. I don’t ever say anything about it because I do well and it’s only $80/week. His living situation is less than ideal, the kids don’t have a room. The floors are caving in, the water doesn’t work in one of the bathrooms. The bathroom they are able to use is where his mom goes to smoke all her cigarettes. The kids aren’t comfortable there and so I told him that it’s best that they just visit and not stay. I know it’s not in the court order, but the way they live is not safe for the kids.
Now, with all that being said I am more than open to him having a better relationship with our kids. I would never tell him he couldn’t see them and he knows that. But now out of the blue today he messages me about us meeting his new girlfriend. I was very respectful with my response and just told him that I’d rather he form a relationship with the kids before involving another girl because last time it was really unhealthy for the kids. I told him I wasn’t trying to be rude, but they hardly know him. He is now irate with me and basically calling me a bad mom and threatening to take me back to court. And also that my jealousy is showing. Mind you, I have not felt feelings for him or been attracted to him since before our son was even born. He was very abusive to me in many ways so I am 100% not jealous. Which is fine, we can take that route again because I know the outcome wouldn’t be what he predicts. I have given my all to my children to give them a better life than I ever had, and than their dad ever has. Everything I do I have the kids best interest in mind. It hurts me for the kids that the only time he wants to be a father is when he has a new girlfriend. I just need to vent about this because I want to cuss him out and call him all kinds of names but know it won’t help the situation. So just getting it off my chest
submitted by Necessary_Two_5570 to TrueOffMyChest [link] [comments]
Now, with all that being said I am more than open to him having a better relationship with our kids. I would never tell him he couldn’t see them and he knows that. But now out of the blue today he messages me about us meeting his new girlfriend. I was very respectful with my response and just told him that I’d rather he form a relationship with the kids before involving another girl because last time it was really unhealthy for the kids. I told him I wasn’t trying to be rude, but they hardly know him. He is now irate with me and basically calling me a bad mom and threatening to take me back to court. And also that my jealousy is showing. Mind you, I have not felt feelings for him or been attracted to him since before our son was even born. He was very abusive to me in many ways so I am 100% not jealous. Which is fine, we can take that route again because I know the outcome wouldn’t be what he predicts. I have given my all to my children to give them a better life than I ever had, and than their dad ever has. Everything I do I have the kids best interest in mind. It hurts me for the kids that the only time he wants to be a father is when he has a new girlfriend. I just need to vent about this because I want to cuss him out and call him all kinds of names but know it won’t help the situation. So just getting it off my chest
2023.05.28 19:16 SepticSauces Trouble Maker: Nightmares & Visas! [10]
A special thank you to the amazing u/SpacePaladin15 for this fun world.
A thank you u/ImaginationSea3679 y u/Acceptable_Egg5560 for helping me with plot stuff.
Sunday Time! Two chapters in one today!
[Prologue][Previous][Next]
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Memory Transcription Subject: Extermination Officer Tova
Date [standardized human time]: August 24rd, 2136, Late first claw
“Dad!?”
My shout was barely loud enough to go over the noise of blaring klaxons. I skipped alongside my father, his paws clasped around mine as he tried to pull me down the hall.
“Not much farther, Tova. Your mother’s waiting for us at the brid-” A panicking venlil stormed right through the hallway, sprinting right between my father and I, sending all three of us sprawling out onto the ground! The rude man didn’t even stop to help us back up, running a stampede right back through the swarming venlil!
“RUN! RUN! THEY’RE COMING! GET ME OUT OF HERE!!! I DON’T WANNA DIE!!”
Of course, he wasn’t the only one shouting; a mother crying for her pups, venlil screaming in panic, and the cries of pain: Many venlil having been trampled in the mad dash in random directions! The general fear was merely feeding into a grander self-fueling cycle of panic!
“My arm hurts,” I whine, watching my father spring up from his fallen position. He is barely able to move before the entire ship’s hull lurches to one side, sending most venlil careening into one of the walls, but thankfully for me, the impact wasn’t hard enough to break any of my bones. My father wasn’t so lucky, clutching one of his legs with a tight grasp, and letting out a pained whimper. “Splesh…” He groaned out, grabbing tight for a brief second before correcting himself. “Gah, sorry, shouldn’t have said that in front of you.” He chuckles aloud despite the pain and does well to maintain a cool and collected gaze.
I didn’t really care if my father had said a naughty word. I was more worried about the crooked state of his leg. It was bent at an old angle, and one part that was normally straight, his upper thigh, was actually bent as well.
It looks awful!
I crawled my way over to him as quickly as I can, wrapping my two paws around his wrists. “C’mon, we need to hurry! Please get up!” I tried to tug my father up onto his paws, but due to my smaller size, I wasn’t able to be of much assistance. “Come on, Dad!”
I try again to lift my father up but to no avail. The middle-aged venlil merely hobbles one step before collapsing back onto the ground. The other venlil all begin to stand up and swarm past us. I am thankful that they don’t manage to accidentally trample us beneath their paws.
“Come on, Father! It isn’t that much farther, just about fifteen more tails or so, and we’ll be safe with Mom!” My voice breaks as it raises in pitch, crying out in anguish and desperation! I give one last firm tug to my dad’s wrists, but instead of pulling the man upwards. He gives me a small shove, sending me falling down onto my hindquarters.
The sound of more screaming venlil fills the corridor as the taint makes itself known. A brief exchange of plasma fire is heard beyond the wall, but other than that, I could only discern the fact that the arxur have boarded.
“Go! Your mother can take care of you. She’s a good woman. Just go!”
I turn tail and make a mad dash with the rest of the venlil toward the bridge’s doors, stopping to look over my shoulder upon reaching the giant mechanical doorway, peering through the now-closed window.
Arxur by this point have begun to make themselves known, coming around the corner with speed! They don’t waste any time, jumping upon downed and injured venlil, and chomping down upon limbs and arms.
Their screams fill the hallway and leak into the bridge…
My father, despite his injury, reaches for a knife he likes to carry on himself, and readies the blade, waiting for the first Arxur to approach. He doesn’t have to wait long, for one is already barreling down onto him. Its massive jaws opening wide!
“Tova!? Tova! Tova!”
And within a moment, I am jolted from my nightmarish slumber by Quilix’s paws shaking my chest. He had a tight grip on my short wool, grabbing on firmly. I could feel his grip ease up the second he noticed an eye looking back up at him. “Y-you were screaming, so I… I figured I’d… I’d check up on you.”
The small and white venlil looked like he was on the brink of crying: Tears were coating the undersides of his eyes, which appeared to be puffy and orange. I was so enthralled with my nightmare - I haven’t had nightmares in years: Not one since I have been around Quilix, that I hadn’t remembered the past two paws very well, but when I did, I placed a paw against Quilix and gave the male a weak shove, pushing him off of me with ease. “Don’t touch me, I still have not forgotten what you have done.” I take a moment to adjust my messy wool. Quilix does the same, taking a moment to adjust the scraggly mess it had become within a mere two paws.
He still appeared to be taking care of himself, at least. I couldn’t say the same for myself. Normally, I’d take a shower after grueling work claws because I often got some grease or oil in my fur, but the past two paws had left me feeling ragged.
He nods to my words. “You should take a shower, my beautiful-” - “Don’t tell me what to do.”
The sharp, bluntness within my tone cuts down whatever Quilix was going to say. He lowered his head and tail before sheepishly walking out of the room. A part of me wanted to feel bad about seeing my mate like that, but I struggled to find that empathetic bone within me. It just wasn’t easy to take his words with any meaning after having that whole fiasco dropped on my head!
The insincere guile of hiding everything from me! Then he feels bad when I learn about it!?
It actually takes some effort on my part to not slam the door when I walk into the bathroom. I waste no time turning on the water to its hottest setting and slide back over the mirror. I stare at my reflection, loathing the mess that I appear to be; split ends, unregulated wool, drooping eyes, grease stains, and oil stains that have gone uncleaned. I felt like an idiot for not taking that one shower when Arwen was still sleeping.
Why does Arwen want Quilix and I to get back together so quickly? Is this a human thing?
I briefly pause, remembering something.
I mean, it isn’t like I could break up with Quilix. My mother would kill me, and I am fairly positive Quilix’s parents would do the same.
I should have just gone with Pasala to have my mind fixed. I spehing hate this. I thought my nightmares were over with… I’m not deserving of this second chance with Arwen.
I briefly rub my tearing eyes with my paws, wiping away the dampness that had built up underneath my two eyes. I take a moment to adjust myself, scratching a few itches and doing a bit more rubbing, and then finally hop into the hot water.
My muscles and mind relax under the pouring stream for a few minutes, letting it clear my mind and thoughts away like that of a morning’s rain. Then I go through the routine of shampooing, conditioning, and cleaning out all the nooks and crannies between my paws, ears, tail, and so forth.
Eventually, I turn off the shower and finish up with the rest of my cycle; drying, brushing my teeth and brushing my wool until it’s smoothed down. Finally, I walk out and head down to our living room. I may have not eaten over the past few claws, and I can feel myself grow famished.
When I enter the living room, I take note of the fact that Quilix is reading on his tablet. Something I seldom see the small male do. Normally, he does all of his reading and writing for his books on his main computer, which he has stored away in his office, so this was quite new to me.
His expression quickly shifts the second he sees me: ears perk up highly and his tail wags against the couch, but the expression is fleeting, falling not even a moment later, for he quickly notices my sour gaze landing right back on him.
Regardless of my disappointment, I still couldn’t keep my curiosity at bay. “What are you reading?”
My belated curiosity was enough for the male to perk right back up with a hopeful ear flick. “Well, Arwen and Trivi sent us instructions on what we should say when we go to acquire our visas to Earth, and what not to say to the humans. We’d probably get in trouble, but I’d be worried more about Arwen.”
“Just forward it to my tablet and I will read it later. I’m hungry.”
“You don’t want to read it with me?” His hopeful tone tugged at my heartstrings.
“No, I said I am hungry!” And like that, he was crushed right back down.
A part of me actually did want to read it with him. He was still my mate after the fact, but that was a very small part of me. I was still upset, angry, livid, even! I was also very, very hungry.
With another annoyed tail flick, I moved my way to the kitchen and fixed myself a snack, eating it at the dining room table. Quilix continued to look at me, holding out that I would join him on the couch, but once again, I would dip back to my room to retrieve my tablet, opening up the message from Arwen and Trivi.
I only knew her for about half a paw, and within that half-paw, it was mostly filled with that massage and poem reading, so really, I didn’t even know her at all, and she still wanted to go through with this!?
Either she really wants clothes made from our wool or actually is extremely serious about forgiveness. I think… I think I am leaning toward the latter. Could also be humiliation… Wait, didn’t she agree to Quilix’s original plan…
OH BY THE SPElSHING STARS!
I calmed down rather quickly at the small realization. Arwen was probably angry and just suggested that on a moment’s notice. She probably wasn’t thinking straight and said something somewhat stupid. That’s all.
That’s what I told myself.
I hopped up from my bed, leaving my tablet behind, and walked back into the living room. Quilix was still sitting on the couch, but staring blankly at the wall. “Not going to draw or write?”
Quilix had a way of getting everyone to feel bad for him, and it wasn’t even purposeful to my knowledge. He was just so small and helpless, so when his mood shot down the drain, it was like looking at an unhappy child. His tail was limp and he had a general malaise over his posture: body laying flat across the couch with the tablet screen down on his chest. “Don’t feel like it.”
Even his tone was lower and slower than its normal high and fast pitch.
Ugh… I don’t want to deal with him.
Despite my inner thoughts, I remember what Arwen asked of us. I really didn’t want to put up with my mate, but it was probably the right thing to do.
Or at least I hope it is the right thing to do.
Memory Transcription Subject: Extermination Officer Tova
Date [standardized human time]: August 24rd, 2136, Early second claw
It wasn’t a long drive down to the UN’s little building, but it really was an awkward one. Quilix and I sat in relative silence, unsure of how to start any conversation. It made me wonder how humans dealt with mate infidelity.
Do they force the pair to stay together, or do they just split up?
I knew that splitting up wasn’t really even an option. We had both of our parents’ blessings. My mother would be displeased if we split up, and she’d probably be angry if I did: Our vyalkit was made from not just my and Quilix’s wool, but also our parents, and their parents, and then their parent’s parents! My side was almost touching sixty-three generations, and Quilix was thirty-two. To break apart would be to desecrate multiple generations of honor-bound loyalty! How could Quilix do such a thing!?
It was nearly impossible to keep myself from crying in the car, keeping myself calm with cool and steady breaths, but with every thought that came roaring through. I worried that I would burst like an over-pressured levee.
Am I, not enough?
Does he not trust me?
How would he have acted if I had done the same?
Those thoughts rattled around in my mind due to my inability to distract myself.
Quilix was unusually quieter than normal, and for a moment I caught myself hoping he’d hum a melodic tune, but no sound came from him, causing the car ride to be unnaturally quiet.
No poems read.
No songs sang.
No conversations pulled.
This car ride practically resembled our horribly damaged relationship; empty, degraded, and silent. Though to be fair, Quilix had tried a couple of times to bridge the gap, and I just wasn’t receptive. I thought about speaking several times to alleviate us of this awkwardness, but every time I tried to speak, I remembered what I did to Arwen, or what Quilix had done to me, and with a pain in my chest. I remain quiet. Thankfully, the drive comes to an end.
“Ah, welcome to the UN embassy. You must be Tova and Quilix, right?” A human with remarkably dark skin of brown coloration greeted us at the door. He didn’t have any hair on his head like any of the humans I have seen but sported hair along his jawline. A mask covered the rest of his face.
Quilix and I both nodded.
“My name is Davian Karslon, it is a pleasure to meet you. I will have you know that I got your message. Now, if you would accompany me inside.” He gestured for us to come inside.
Quilix and I followed the big, human down a few hallways before inevitably entering a small office. He beckoned us to sit down, seating himself behind a wooden desk that looked like it was just placed down within the last day.
It probably was.
“I’m a bit shocked that we already have venlil applying for a visa, and you two in particular.” The male clasped his hands in front of his stomach, leaning back in his chair.
I wasn’t expecting an interrogation! I was expecting them to be like “Oh? A venlil wants to go to Earth!? We must be making good impressions!” Speh, what did Arwen want us to say?
“Arwen suggested we can learn more about humans if we come visit her at her home. She mentioned lots of things regarding museums, and as you know, I am a poet, an artist, and a writer. Now, I am no fool, for I know you humans didn’t show us all you had done within the last few millennia. You avoid things like meat eating for our sake, and showed us the book Frankenstein, which while simple, still had a good sense of morals: Don’t judge someone based on their appearance. I wish to learn more, and I can’t do that here. I’ve already read most if not all of the books you have given us that weren’t pups’ books.” Quilix came to my rescue, for I was on the edge of having a nervous breakdown, but him speaking allowed my thoughts to coalesce.
“Marvelous, it seems someone here loves literature to quite the great degree!” Even with the mask on, I could feel the human’s gaze shift onto me. I do my best not to flinch under the hidden, but binocular gaze.
“I uh… Arwen- Well, you see the federation isn’t really fond of things I like, and Arwen told me that there are things on Earth that I can’t find on Venlil Prime, The Cradle, or Nishtal…”
“And those things are?”
I take a deep breath. “Swords.”
“Swords?” Davian repeated. “Elucidate me.”
“I’m pretty sure you see a lack of swords, right? Well, that’s because we stopped making them because they were predatory, so now they pretty much don’t exist. However, I now own my great, great, great…” I waved a paw for emphasis, “Grandfather’s sword. The only other people that know are Quilix, Pasala, and my mother, but that’s because they like me, and a couple fellow exterminators. I… want to look at more swords and donate mine, because, unlike my father. I don’t know how to take care of it. I have instructions to take care of it, and I can read it, but I don’t want to risk damaging something of such importance to me. The most I have done is clean the blade.”
“I see, and how old is this sword? What’s it made out of? How big is it?”
I take a moment to think, counting back over the number of generations the sword has been within my family. “It was pre-federation contact and for about thirty generations, so roughly eight-hundred years?” “EIGHT-HUNDRED YEARS!?”
The man’s booming voice caused Quilix and I to recoil back in shock. Thankfully, nothing happens.
“What the hell is that thing made out of!?”
“I don’t know!”
Thankfully, that answer seems to appease the man. He relaxes right back into his chair as if he had never shouted. “Sorry, that’s such a long time for a blade.”
All I can do is shrug in agreement. “Anyways, it’s about just more than one tail [twenty-four inches] in length, so I have it stored in a chest at home. Used to have it in my office, but I didn’t want anyone seeing it after a while.”
Davian clicked his tongue against the inside of his cheek a few times, thinking up his response. “That’s all wonderful to hear. I’m quite surprised.”
Yes!
“But,”
No!
“I heard from one of your fellow Exterminators that you two had a bit of an altercation. Any reason why that was filed?”
Speh! Speh! Speh! I don’t know how to respond to that!
“Well, you see, Arwen arrived early two paws ago, and well, Tova walked in on Arwen and I snuggling on the couch, and mistook that as flirtation. The miscommunication has since been cleared up.”
If it weren’t for Quilix’s ears and tail giving him away like the fibber he was. I would have been caught off guard by such a lie! He never was a good liar. Actually, he was still a poor liar.
“I see,” the human nodded to Quilix’s answer. “Well, it was pleasant to meet you two. I will go check with my agent and see if I can get your stuff sorted. Again, it was pleasant to meet you two.”
Wait, that worked?
Well, with that out of the way. That just left introducing the idea to our parents… Scorch it, I just hope they don’t kill us.
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[Prologue][Previous][Next]
Heavily inspired by the likes of…
Pack Bonding
Foundations of Humanity
Mixed Signals (NSFW)
And I snuck in some lingo from Nature of Humanity
Don't Look A Human In The Eye
I highly suggest you check them out!!
submitted by SepticSauces to NatureofPredators [link] [comments]
A thank you u/ImaginationSea3679 y u/Acceptable_Egg5560 for helping me with plot stuff.
Sunday Time! Two chapters in one today!
[Prologue][Previous][Next]
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Memory Transcription Subject: Extermination Officer Tova
Date [standardized human time]: August 24rd, 2136, Late first claw
“Dad!?”
My shout was barely loud enough to go over the noise of blaring klaxons. I skipped alongside my father, his paws clasped around mine as he tried to pull me down the hall.
“Not much farther, Tova. Your mother’s waiting for us at the brid-” A panicking venlil stormed right through the hallway, sprinting right between my father and I, sending all three of us sprawling out onto the ground! The rude man didn’t even stop to help us back up, running a stampede right back through the swarming venlil!
“RUN! RUN! THEY’RE COMING! GET ME OUT OF HERE!!! I DON’T WANNA DIE!!”
Of course, he wasn’t the only one shouting; a mother crying for her pups, venlil screaming in panic, and the cries of pain: Many venlil having been trampled in the mad dash in random directions! The general fear was merely feeding into a grander self-fueling cycle of panic!
“My arm hurts,” I whine, watching my father spring up from his fallen position. He is barely able to move before the entire ship’s hull lurches to one side, sending most venlil careening into one of the walls, but thankfully for me, the impact wasn’t hard enough to break any of my bones. My father wasn’t so lucky, clutching one of his legs with a tight grasp, and letting out a pained whimper. “Splesh…” He groaned out, grabbing tight for a brief second before correcting himself. “Gah, sorry, shouldn’t have said that in front of you.” He chuckles aloud despite the pain and does well to maintain a cool and collected gaze.
I didn’t really care if my father had said a naughty word. I was more worried about the crooked state of his leg. It was bent at an old angle, and one part that was normally straight, his upper thigh, was actually bent as well.
It looks awful!
I crawled my way over to him as quickly as I can, wrapping my two paws around his wrists. “C’mon, we need to hurry! Please get up!” I tried to tug my father up onto his paws, but due to my smaller size, I wasn’t able to be of much assistance. “Come on, Dad!”
I try again to lift my father up but to no avail. The middle-aged venlil merely hobbles one step before collapsing back onto the ground. The other venlil all begin to stand up and swarm past us. I am thankful that they don’t manage to accidentally trample us beneath their paws.
“Come on, Father! It isn’t that much farther, just about fifteen more tails or so, and we’ll be safe with Mom!” My voice breaks as it raises in pitch, crying out in anguish and desperation! I give one last firm tug to my dad’s wrists, but instead of pulling the man upwards. He gives me a small shove, sending me falling down onto my hindquarters.
The sound of more screaming venlil fills the corridor as the taint makes itself known. A brief exchange of plasma fire is heard beyond the wall, but other than that, I could only discern the fact that the arxur have boarded.
“Go! Your mother can take care of you. She’s a good woman. Just go!”
I turn tail and make a mad dash with the rest of the venlil toward the bridge’s doors, stopping to look over my shoulder upon reaching the giant mechanical doorway, peering through the now-closed window.
Arxur by this point have begun to make themselves known, coming around the corner with speed! They don’t waste any time, jumping upon downed and injured venlil, and chomping down upon limbs and arms.
Their screams fill the hallway and leak into the bridge…
My father, despite his injury, reaches for a knife he likes to carry on himself, and readies the blade, waiting for the first Arxur to approach. He doesn’t have to wait long, for one is already barreling down onto him. Its massive jaws opening wide!
“Tova!? Tova! Tova!”
And within a moment, I am jolted from my nightmarish slumber by Quilix’s paws shaking my chest. He had a tight grip on my short wool, grabbing on firmly. I could feel his grip ease up the second he noticed an eye looking back up at him. “Y-you were screaming, so I… I figured I’d… I’d check up on you.”
The small and white venlil looked like he was on the brink of crying: Tears were coating the undersides of his eyes, which appeared to be puffy and orange. I was so enthralled with my nightmare - I haven’t had nightmares in years: Not one since I have been around Quilix, that I hadn’t remembered the past two paws very well, but when I did, I placed a paw against Quilix and gave the male a weak shove, pushing him off of me with ease. “Don’t touch me, I still have not forgotten what you have done.” I take a moment to adjust my messy wool. Quilix does the same, taking a moment to adjust the scraggly mess it had become within a mere two paws.
He still appeared to be taking care of himself, at least. I couldn’t say the same for myself. Normally, I’d take a shower after grueling work claws because I often got some grease or oil in my fur, but the past two paws had left me feeling ragged.
He nods to my words. “You should take a shower, my beautiful-” - “Don’t tell me what to do.”
The sharp, bluntness within my tone cuts down whatever Quilix was going to say. He lowered his head and tail before sheepishly walking out of the room. A part of me wanted to feel bad about seeing my mate like that, but I struggled to find that empathetic bone within me. It just wasn’t easy to take his words with any meaning after having that whole fiasco dropped on my head!
The insincere guile of hiding everything from me! Then he feels bad when I learn about it!?
It actually takes some effort on my part to not slam the door when I walk into the bathroom. I waste no time turning on the water to its hottest setting and slide back over the mirror. I stare at my reflection, loathing the mess that I appear to be; split ends, unregulated wool, drooping eyes, grease stains, and oil stains that have gone uncleaned. I felt like an idiot for not taking that one shower when Arwen was still sleeping.
Why does Arwen want Quilix and I to get back together so quickly? Is this a human thing?
I briefly pause, remembering something.
I mean, it isn’t like I could break up with Quilix. My mother would kill me, and I am fairly positive Quilix’s parents would do the same.
I should have just gone with Pasala to have my mind fixed. I spehing hate this. I thought my nightmares were over with… I’m not deserving of this second chance with Arwen.
I briefly rub my tearing eyes with my paws, wiping away the dampness that had built up underneath my two eyes. I take a moment to adjust myself, scratching a few itches and doing a bit more rubbing, and then finally hop into the hot water.
My muscles and mind relax under the pouring stream for a few minutes, letting it clear my mind and thoughts away like that of a morning’s rain. Then I go through the routine of shampooing, conditioning, and cleaning out all the nooks and crannies between my paws, ears, tail, and so forth.
Eventually, I turn off the shower and finish up with the rest of my cycle; drying, brushing my teeth and brushing my wool until it’s smoothed down. Finally, I walk out and head down to our living room. I may have not eaten over the past few claws, and I can feel myself grow famished.
When I enter the living room, I take note of the fact that Quilix is reading on his tablet. Something I seldom see the small male do. Normally, he does all of his reading and writing for his books on his main computer, which he has stored away in his office, so this was quite new to me.
His expression quickly shifts the second he sees me: ears perk up highly and his tail wags against the couch, but the expression is fleeting, falling not even a moment later, for he quickly notices my sour gaze landing right back on him.
Regardless of my disappointment, I still couldn’t keep my curiosity at bay. “What are you reading?”
My belated curiosity was enough for the male to perk right back up with a hopeful ear flick. “Well, Arwen and Trivi sent us instructions on what we should say when we go to acquire our visas to Earth, and what not to say to the humans. We’d probably get in trouble, but I’d be worried more about Arwen.”
“Just forward it to my tablet and I will read it later. I’m hungry.”
“You don’t want to read it with me?” His hopeful tone tugged at my heartstrings.
“No, I said I am hungry!” And like that, he was crushed right back down.
A part of me actually did want to read it with him. He was still my mate after the fact, but that was a very small part of me. I was still upset, angry, livid, even! I was also very, very hungry.
With another annoyed tail flick, I moved my way to the kitchen and fixed myself a snack, eating it at the dining room table. Quilix continued to look at me, holding out that I would join him on the couch, but once again, I would dip back to my room to retrieve my tablet, opening up the message from Arwen and Trivi.
Hello Quilix and Tova,I do like swords… How does Arwen know that?
There’s been a small change of plans, but I won’t tell you the little details. What I do want to tell you is what you should and shouldn’t mention to the UN visa agent that came to Venlil Prime. Firstly, don’t mention the ranch, for obvious reasons…
If I were you, I’d talk about your passions, and claim that I mentioned one of them. I do recall hearing something about you liking swords, right?
Well, you could talk about some old medieval museums: St. Fagans is a good one to talk about. I’ve actually been there, but only because my father was a bit of a history buff. Hah! They have some swords on display and a really, really old sword. It’s about 1.45 Tails [870 millimeters] if I remember correctly. I figured you’d like to see it.Wait, aren’t we supposed to be treated like cattle? Was that the change of plans? Oh… Yeah, forgot about needing to sneak through.
For Quilix, there are plenty of art museums, more so than medieval-based Museums, so I am pretty sure we can find something for him as well. Anyways, I will see you later. I assume the twenty-eighth? That will be roughly four paws from now. I do suggest you get your visas, it might be a day, or not…I finally close my tablet, having finished the message. I sat there for a couple of minutes to process what I have been told. My mind wandering back and forth in trying to decipher if Arwen changed her mind, was toying with us, or was purely trying to sneak us back to Earth under a more wholesome-sounding guise.
I only knew her for about half a paw, and within that half-paw, it was mostly filled with that massage and poem reading, so really, I didn’t even know her at all, and she still wanted to go through with this!?
Either she really wants clothes made from our wool or actually is extremely serious about forgiveness. I think… I think I am leaning toward the latter. Could also be humiliation… Wait, didn’t she agree to Quilix’s original plan…
OH BY THE SPElSHING STARS!
I calmed down rather quickly at the small realization. Arwen was probably angry and just suggested that on a moment’s notice. She probably wasn’t thinking straight and said something somewhat stupid. That’s all.
That’s what I told myself.
I hopped up from my bed, leaving my tablet behind, and walked back into the living room. Quilix was still sitting on the couch, but staring blankly at the wall. “Not going to draw or write?”
Quilix had a way of getting everyone to feel bad for him, and it wasn’t even purposeful to my knowledge. He was just so small and helpless, so when his mood shot down the drain, it was like looking at an unhappy child. His tail was limp and he had a general malaise over his posture: body laying flat across the couch with the tablet screen down on his chest. “Don’t feel like it.”
Even his tone was lower and slower than its normal high and fast pitch.
Ugh… I don’t want to deal with him.
Despite my inner thoughts, I remember what Arwen asked of us. I really didn’t want to put up with my mate, but it was probably the right thing to do.
Or at least I hope it is the right thing to do.
Memory Transcription Subject: Extermination Officer Tova
Date [standardized human time]: August 24rd, 2136, Early second claw
It wasn’t a long drive down to the UN’s little building, but it really was an awkward one. Quilix and I sat in relative silence, unsure of how to start any conversation. It made me wonder how humans dealt with mate infidelity.
Do they force the pair to stay together, or do they just split up?
I knew that splitting up wasn’t really even an option. We had both of our parents’ blessings. My mother would be displeased if we split up, and she’d probably be angry if I did: Our vyalkit was made from not just my and Quilix’s wool, but also our parents, and their parents, and then their parent’s parents! My side was almost touching sixty-three generations, and Quilix was thirty-two. To break apart would be to desecrate multiple generations of honor-bound loyalty! How could Quilix do such a thing!?
It was nearly impossible to keep myself from crying in the car, keeping myself calm with cool and steady breaths, but with every thought that came roaring through. I worried that I would burst like an over-pressured levee.
Am I, not enough?
Does he not trust me?
How would he have acted if I had done the same?
Those thoughts rattled around in my mind due to my inability to distract myself.
Quilix was unusually quieter than normal, and for a moment I caught myself hoping he’d hum a melodic tune, but no sound came from him, causing the car ride to be unnaturally quiet.
No poems read.
No songs sang.
No conversations pulled.
This car ride practically resembled our horribly damaged relationship; empty, degraded, and silent. Though to be fair, Quilix had tried a couple of times to bridge the gap, and I just wasn’t receptive. I thought about speaking several times to alleviate us of this awkwardness, but every time I tried to speak, I remembered what I did to Arwen, or what Quilix had done to me, and with a pain in my chest. I remain quiet. Thankfully, the drive comes to an end.
“Ah, welcome to the UN embassy. You must be Tova and Quilix, right?” A human with remarkably dark skin of brown coloration greeted us at the door. He didn’t have any hair on his head like any of the humans I have seen but sported hair along his jawline. A mask covered the rest of his face.
Quilix and I both nodded.
“My name is Davian Karslon, it is a pleasure to meet you. I will have you know that I got your message. Now, if you would accompany me inside.” He gestured for us to come inside.
Quilix and I followed the big, human down a few hallways before inevitably entering a small office. He beckoned us to sit down, seating himself behind a wooden desk that looked like it was just placed down within the last day.
It probably was.
“I’m a bit shocked that we already have venlil applying for a visa, and you two in particular.” The male clasped his hands in front of his stomach, leaning back in his chair.
I wasn’t expecting an interrogation! I was expecting them to be like “Oh? A venlil wants to go to Earth!? We must be making good impressions!” Speh, what did Arwen want us to say?
“Arwen suggested we can learn more about humans if we come visit her at her home. She mentioned lots of things regarding museums, and as you know, I am a poet, an artist, and a writer. Now, I am no fool, for I know you humans didn’t show us all you had done within the last few millennia. You avoid things like meat eating for our sake, and showed us the book Frankenstein, which while simple, still had a good sense of morals: Don’t judge someone based on their appearance. I wish to learn more, and I can’t do that here. I’ve already read most if not all of the books you have given us that weren’t pups’ books.” Quilix came to my rescue, for I was on the edge of having a nervous breakdown, but him speaking allowed my thoughts to coalesce.
“Marvelous, it seems someone here loves literature to quite the great degree!” Even with the mask on, I could feel the human’s gaze shift onto me. I do my best not to flinch under the hidden, but binocular gaze.
“I uh… Arwen- Well, you see the federation isn’t really fond of things I like, and Arwen told me that there are things on Earth that I can’t find on Venlil Prime, The Cradle, or Nishtal…”
“And those things are?”
I take a deep breath. “Swords.”
“Swords?” Davian repeated. “Elucidate me.”
“I’m pretty sure you see a lack of swords, right? Well, that’s because we stopped making them because they were predatory, so now they pretty much don’t exist. However, I now own my great, great, great…” I waved a paw for emphasis, “Grandfather’s sword. The only other people that know are Quilix, Pasala, and my mother, but that’s because they like me, and a couple fellow exterminators. I… want to look at more swords and donate mine, because, unlike my father. I don’t know how to take care of it. I have instructions to take care of it, and I can read it, but I don’t want to risk damaging something of such importance to me. The most I have done is clean the blade.”
“I see, and how old is this sword? What’s it made out of? How big is it?”
I take a moment to think, counting back over the number of generations the sword has been within my family. “It was pre-federation contact and for about thirty generations, so roughly eight-hundred years?” “EIGHT-HUNDRED YEARS!?”
The man’s booming voice caused Quilix and I to recoil back in shock. Thankfully, nothing happens.
“What the hell is that thing made out of!?”
“I don’t know!”
Thankfully, that answer seems to appease the man. He relaxes right back into his chair as if he had never shouted. “Sorry, that’s such a long time for a blade.”
All I can do is shrug in agreement. “Anyways, it’s about just more than one tail [twenty-four inches] in length, so I have it stored in a chest at home. Used to have it in my office, but I didn’t want anyone seeing it after a while.”
Davian clicked his tongue against the inside of his cheek a few times, thinking up his response. “That’s all wonderful to hear. I’m quite surprised.”
Yes!
“But,”
No!
“I heard from one of your fellow Exterminators that you two had a bit of an altercation. Any reason why that was filed?”
Speh! Speh! Speh! I don’t know how to respond to that!
“Well, you see, Arwen arrived early two paws ago, and well, Tova walked in on Arwen and I snuggling on the couch, and mistook that as flirtation. The miscommunication has since been cleared up.”
If it weren’t for Quilix’s ears and tail giving him away like the fibber he was. I would have been caught off guard by such a lie! He never was a good liar. Actually, he was still a poor liar.
“I see,” the human nodded to Quilix’s answer. “Well, it was pleasant to meet you two. I will go check with my agent and see if I can get your stuff sorted. Again, it was pleasant to meet you two.”
Wait, that worked?
Well, with that out of the way. That just left introducing the idea to our parents… Scorch it, I just hope they don’t kill us.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
[Prologue][Previous][Next]
Heavily inspired by the likes of…
Pack Bonding
Foundations of Humanity
Mixed Signals (NSFW)
And I snuck in some lingo from Nature of Humanity
Don't Look A Human In The Eye
I highly suggest you check them out!!
2023.05.28 19:16 Necessary_Two_5570 Absent father
I (27F) have 2 kids with a guy (26M). We had them in our teens and haven’t been together since out 6 year old was a baby. He has been very inconsistent in their lives, and doesn’t support them in anyway. He sees them on holidays and birthdays, other than that he doesn’t reach out. I always update him on things going on, and send him pictures of the kids often. He has struggled with mental health and his fighting his own addictions. I have been more than lenient with him. I never talk badly about him to our kids, and I always try to tell them that he loves them he is just trying to figure his life out. My kids are in a very stable environment and have everything they could ask for and always have. Their dad and I have a pretty decent relationship despise his lack of support for the kids. I never deny him time with the kids, but I don’t go out of my way to plan times with them either because I don’t believe I should have to. We have joint custody and he’s supposed to pay support. But he hasn’t paid support since November 2021. I don’t ever say anything about it because I do well and it’s only $80/week. His living situation is less than ideal, the kids don’t have a room. The floors are caving in, the water doesn’t work in one of the bathrooms. The bathroom they are able to use is where his mom goes to smoke all her cigarettes. The kids aren’t comfortable there and so I told him that it’s best that they just visit and not stay. I know it’s not in the court order, but the way they live is not safe for the kids.
Now, with all that being said I am more than open to him having a better relationship with our kids. I would never tell him he couldn’t see them and he knows that. But now out of the blue today he messages me about us meeting his new girlfriend. I was very respectful with my response and just told him that I’d rather he form a relationship with the kids before involving another girl because last time it was really unhealthy for the kids. I told him I wasn’t trying to be rude, but they hardly know him. He is now irate with me and basically calling me a bad mom and threatening to take me back to court. And also that my jealousy is showing. Mind you, I have not felt feelings for him or been attracted to him since before our son was even born. He was very abusive to me in many ways so I am 100% not jealous. Which is fine, we can take that route again because I know the outcome wouldn’t be what he predicts. I have given my all to my children to give them a better life than I ever had, and than their dad ever has. Everything I do I have the kids best interest in mind. It hurts me for the kids that the only time he wants to be a father is when he has a new girlfriend. I just need to vent about this because I want to cuss him out and call him all kinds of names but know it won’t help the situation. So just getting it off my chest
submitted by Necessary_Two_5570 to TrueOffMyChest [link] [comments]
Now, with all that being said I am more than open to him having a better relationship with our kids. I would never tell him he couldn’t see them and he knows that. But now out of the blue today he messages me about us meeting his new girlfriend. I was very respectful with my response and just told him that I’d rather he form a relationship with the kids before involving another girl because last time it was really unhealthy for the kids. I told him I wasn’t trying to be rude, but they hardly know him. He is now irate with me and basically calling me a bad mom and threatening to take me back to court. And also that my jealousy is showing. Mind you, I have not felt feelings for him or been attracted to him since before our son was even born. He was very abusive to me in many ways so I am 100% not jealous. Which is fine, we can take that route again because I know the outcome wouldn’t be what he predicts. I have given my all to my children to give them a better life than I ever had, and than their dad ever has. Everything I do I have the kids best interest in mind. It hurts me for the kids that the only time he wants to be a father is when he has a new girlfriend. I just need to vent about this because I want to cuss him out and call him all kinds of names but know it won’t help the situation. So just getting it off my chest
2023.05.28 19:11 AutoNewspaperAdmin [Business] - Arizona mother pleads guilty to murder, child abuse after 6-year-old son died of starvation NBC
![[Business] - Arizona mother pleads guilty to murder, child abuse after 6-year-old son died of starvation NBC](https://external-preview.redd.it/iBoG0jd2Ym5PbAOK3qFmyb9OoxGD0nPAn4bqZWpDvb4.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=ca427e9b96aff75f9e7be4472820c9150df41a90 "[Business] - Arizona mother pleads guilty to murder, child abuse after 6-year-old son died of starvation NBC") | submitted by AutoNewspaperAdmin to AutoNewspaper [link] [comments] |
2023.05.28 19:10 Samosa_Aladdin Centre scraps 60-year-old award for writing in Hindi, academics regret decision
 | The Centre has abolished a six-decade-old award intended at promoting Hindi among non-Hindi speakers, causing surprise since the NDA government is widely seen as a champion of Hindi and has often been accused of trying to impose the language on non-Hindi states. submitted by Samosa_Aladdin to librandu [link] [comments] Several academics regretted the decision to scrap the annual Hinditar Bhashi Hindi Lekhak Puraskar, which honours published work in Hindi by non-Hindi speakers from non-Hindi-speaking states. The education ministry this month directed the Central Hindi Directorate (CHD) to discontinue its awards. Apart from awarding the Hinditar Bhashi Puraskar for over 60 years, the CHD has for 30 years been giving out the Shiksha Puraskar for non-fiction writing in Hindi. Sources said the decision was taken by the home ministry as part of a “rationalisation” of government awards. Ironically, home minister Amit Shah is seen as the government’s foremost champion of Hindi. Four years ago, a comment by Shah about the expansion of Hindi being a “national responsibility” and his pitch for “the entire country (to have) one language that becomes the identity of the nation” had triggered protests in Tamil Nadu against the “imposition of Hindi”. The order to the CHD said: “It has been decided to discontinue with the awards given by Central Hindi Directorate, New Delhi. In view of the above, it is requested that henceforth no action be initiated regarding awards for Hindi scholars from your organisation.” Prem Tiwari, who teaches Hindi at the Dyal Singh College, affiliated to Delhi University, said the abolition of the Hinditar Bhashi Puraskar would hamper the “expansion of the language nationally”. While the order to the CHD cited no reasons, it also remained unclear why the home ministry was looking to “rationalise” awards and which other awards it wanted scrapped. The Hinditar Bhashi Puraskar is a Rs 1 lakh award given to up to 19 writers annually in the categories of creative writing, non-fiction and translation. The Shiksha Puraskar is given for books in the natural sciences, social sciences and philosophy. Tiwari said Jawaharlal Nehru had established the CHD to promote Hindi and establish it as an all-India language through encouragement. Tiwari disagreed that the Hinditar Bhashi Puraskar could be scrapped since there were many other awards for Hindi writing. “It’s an award without parallel. It encourages non-Hindi speakers to study Hindi and compose literature in Hindi,” Tiwari said. “It seems the BJP government is driven by the objective of immediate political gain in all its decisions. The award may have been discontinued because it is not yielding any immediate political benefit.” He added: “The scheme has proved hugely effective in encouraging young, non-Hindi intellectuals to take up Hindi literature.” Chaman Lal, a retired JNU professor who had received the award in 2001 and returned it in 2016 in protest against the arrest of JNU students on sedition charges, said the award was a softer and more effective way of promoting Hindi compared with administrative methods. “For a government that takes pride in promoting Hindi, discontinuing such a prestigious award is a bit surprising. It could mean the government has dropped the idea of promoting Hindi through a soft approach,” Lal, whose mother tongue is Punjabi, said. An email sent to higher education secretary Sanjay Murthy seeking his comments on the criticism for abolishing the award had brought no answer till Friday evening. |
2023.05.28 19:08 JusticeSMD A plaque from the exhibit. I’d never heard of this before!
 | submitted by JusticeSMD to u/JusticeSMD [link] [comments] |
2023.05.28 19:05 Jcb112 Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (32/?)
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Dragon’s Heart Tower, Level 23, Residence 30. Thacea and Emma’s Bedroom. The Tent. Local Time: 0500 Hours.
Emma Booker
I fucked up.
Big time.
And I had no one else but myself to blame.
You know that feeling when you dive head-first into a project that you had zero doubts would somehow work itself out in the end?
The sudden surge of confidence that comes when you let the indomitable human spirit take the wheel?
Well that was me at 0300 hours when my eyes landed upon the hygiene module, and pictured the inevitable outcome of a steaming hot shower after an entire day of nonstop grinding.
I couldn’t help myself but to fall into the same trap as every other would-be DIY-er. I couldn’t stop the excitement, the sudden surge of energy, and the absolute hyperfixation that came with completing a project that promised nothing but endless positives, at the expense of some time and effort that would prove minimal in the grand scheme of things.
And just like every would-be DIY-er, I was this close to completing the task at hand, before finally reaching a roadblock that inevitably brought everything to a screeching halt.
FINAL STEP: REFER TO [UNDESIGNATED WATER SOURCE] FOR ATTACHMENT OF INTAKE PIPE [EIP23] TO EXTERNAL PUMPING MODULE [EPM-1].
That one, final instruction, decimated me.
Especially as I got to that final step at just shy of 0500 hours, when I finally had the entire damn module set up, only to realize that I had missed out on a vital pre-procedure checklist that I’d purposefully skipped because I’d assumed it would be a non-issue.
ENVIRONMENTAL PREREQUISITE: LOCATE, EVALUATE, AND SECURE A RELIABLE WATER SOURCE.
And that’s why I only had myself to blame for this fiasco.
Because I’d assumed that the availability of a water-source in the dorms would’ve been an open and shut case. It only made sense for me to make that assumption though, as I saw that Thacea had clearly used the dorm’s en-suite to shower just the night before.
It was because of this that I didn’t even bother checking the bathroom to begin with. I thought that whatever was in there could’ve easily fit the hyper-modular fittings of the source-intake pipe.
Things couldn’t have been further from the truth however, as what I saw within that bathroom made me question the very fabric of my own reality.
As within those four marble walls, was nothing.
Nothing, but a series of dull flat marble surfaces, and some strange wall-fittings that looked like something out of a 21st century ‘modern’ art exhibit.
There was nothing here that resembled a tap, or even hinted at the fact that there were even any pipes carrying running water behind those four bare walls.
The only other thing of note here was an unseen light source keeping the bathroom lit.
Aside from that, there was literally nothing else here.
This meant I had only one option available to me.
The most logical and straightforward option, of simply nudging the avinor princess awake just so I could ask where I could find a fucking tap.
Whilst it was the most straightforward thing to do, I just couldn’t get myself to do it.
I’d thought about going up those stairs to nudge the avian awake, to then apologize profusely for disturbing her sleep… but given everything Thacea had done for me thus far, and considering the fact that I was responsible for almost all of the headaches we were currently experiencing, it just felt wrong for me to disturb here at that hour.
So I was left with the inconvenient truth of my circumstances, and decided to just embrace the suck, toughing out the folly of my hubris…
At least, until morning came around.
At that point, I could rest easy in actually asking the princess for pointers on the enigmatic machinations of the bathroom.
Until then, I would sleep.
And hopefully, my shortsighted adventure would bear some fruit when morning rears its ugly head around.
Dragon’s Heart Tower, Level 23, Residence 30. Thacea and Emma’s Bedroom. Local Time: 1000 Hours.
Emma Booker
Good news: Half of my hard work actually paid off.
Bad news: Only half of my hard work actually paid off.
Upon waking up three hours later, forcing my carcass up and back into the suit, I’d managed to flag down Thacea just as she was getting out of bed.
The princess’ reactions to my questions were nothing short of the politeness I’d expected from her.
Which managed to put me at ease as I was getting worried I was starting to get on her nerves with my constant flurry of questions.
The bathroom turned out to be yet another demonstration of the Nexus’ completely unhinged philosophies. As it relied entirely on a mana user’s manipulation of the room to operate. Apparently, whoever designed this place took the whole concept of a modular, personalized room, and just ran with it. Making it so that every aspect of the room relied solely on the mana user to work, as they had to shape, form, and structure the otherwise blank slate before use. This was supposedly done so that the room could be made to fit the precise criterion of a person’s liking. To me however, it just felt like another bizarre concept pulled straight out of the Nexus’ seemingly endless idea-pool of zany, overkill, and mana-addled solutions to problems that sort of existed.
Thankfully, the bathroom didn’t require constant intervention from a mana-user to operate, as certain elements could be permanently turned on.
This included the water mains, which I immediately hooked up the pipes to, as the mana-contaminated water was quickly siphoned into a series of filtration units, all with the express purpose of extracting and removing every ounce of mana present within the water.
This process took about two hours to do.
But by the end of it, I was rewarded for all my troubles by one of the best showers I’ve ever had.
All of the stress, even the constant ticking of the bomb which constantly gnawed at the back of my mind, seemed to fade away for a few short minutes as the warm water washed everything away.
But that about wrapped up the good news.
The bad news however, came in the form of the little MREDD experiment from the previous night.
As I opened the triple-airlocked compartment on my side of the tent, I was met with what could only be described as ‘food’ in name and aesthetics alone.
The soft, white, fluffy loaf of bread had literally become a baton. Whilst the pancakes were now more reminiscent of a mini-frisbee that cracked and crumbled the moment I laid my fingers on them.
My immeasurable disappointment grew the longer I stood there next to the MREDD, and the longer I stared at the small stack of dust that was once a perfectly cooked stack of pancakes.
Beyond this however, I could feel a bit of anxiety seeping in, as the results of the experiment did make me a bit anxious as to the long-term food security of this mission.
Then again, I should’ve expected this result.
It was the first calibration test after all.
“I should’ve expected this, shouldn’t I?” I spoke to no one in particular, but quickly garnered the attention of the EVI who remained within the power armor that currently stood imposingly just a few feet away from me.
“That is correct, Cadet Booker. As you are already aware, the MREDD is designed with multiple calibration protocols in-effect, each which correspond to the type and densities of the foodstuffs to be desaturated. In addition to this, the systems are designed to test the maximal extraction threshold against the subjective palatability gradient with the food safety variable as an integral aspect of these tests. Thus, the first-round extraction procedures dictate that the MREDD will attempt maximal extraction settings, in order to both stress-test the components and systems, as well as to garner data on the mana-extraction process at the maximal setting.”
I blinked rapidly upon hearing the EVI’s explanation being blasted from my suit’s speakers. It felt somewhat jarring turning around to face my armor talking to me. But then again, I should’ve expected it, as I’d yet to set up any other speaker systems within the tent for it to speak through.
“I know, EVI. They already ran everything by me during the briefings. Though I would be lying if I didn’t say I sort of hoped that putting the food under full blast for 7 hours would’ve somehow miraculously resulted in something edible.” I managed out with a sigh.
“Cadet Booker, it is logical to assume that since the extraction of mana from both food and water is indeed viable, that the only point of contention is now the palatability of the foodstuffs rendered through the MREDD.”
“Yeah, well…” I trailed off as I began tapping on the loaf of bread that sounded like styrofoam when I hit it against the armor. “I think you and I have different definitions of palatable.”
“I am confident that the mana-extraction process can be optimized, Cadet Booker. It is at this point that I must ask that you assess the palatability of the designated foodstuff marked CONSUMABLE GROUP A, ITEM 1, for the purposes of data-gathering and analysis.” The AI spoke in a no-nonsense fashion, as I turned around, giving it a look of utter incredulity.
“You want me to try to eat this?” I shot back, tapping on the styrofoam bread for added effect.
“I require data on the palatability of foodstuff A-1 [BREAD] as it is a subjective dataset relying entirely on the input of the human subject.” The AI continued.
I couldn’t help but to shudder at that last line, especially with how it was delivered.
Popular media back home was currently going through another AI-apocalypse phase, with a lot of movies, both immersive and traditional, diving deep into the uncomfortable topics of human-AI relations post AI-takeover.
Being stuck in a bare, white tent, with a monotone, somewhat disgruntled-sounding VI talking to me through a suit of armor several heads taller than me all the while suddenly referring to me as subject really wasn’t doing my movie-binging gremlin brain any favors.
I hesitated for a few seconds, tentatively staring at the bread, then the armor, then back to the bread again, before finally just going for it...
CRUNCH
It did not end well.
“Cadet Booker, I did not require that you actively consume a foodstuff you consider inedible or are uncomfortable eating. I merely needed a dataset for the purposes of this experiment, even if that data-set is a refusal to consume the foodstuff in question.”
I stared back at the VI with unamused eyes and a mouthful of hard-tack currently turning my mouth into the Greater Sahara.
“Damnghit Aeevi.” I managed out with a mouth full of bland, stale bread, before reaching for the water dispenser which thankfully still had some mana-free water inside of it.
“Shall I log A-1 down as unpalatable then, Cadet?” The AI spoke with a hint of disappointment in its voice.
Though I was probably just imagining the actual tone of its voice.
Projection was a heck of a thing after all.
“Yes. And make sure you clarify your intent next time.” I snapped back, as I finished up what limited bits of housekeeping I needed to for now. Which included punting the balled-up undersuit into the washer, getting the wash and dry cycle started, before grabbing a fresh undersuit from the cargo airlock and quickly putting it on.
“I guess the next test with the MREDD includes extracting mana at a slow, sustained rate?” I spoke as I began recalibrating the different electronic components within the undersuit.
“Correct, Cadet Booker. Provided of course, that the foodstuffs are of a similar type, and contain similar properties to GROUP A.”
“Acknowledged.” I responded promptly, shuddering a bit as the haptic feedback finished its calibration cycles. “Alright then, we got a lot of work ahead of us, so let’s get going. System status, SRR?” I asked as per protocol, steadying my hand on the suit’s ‘backpack’.
“Diagnostics running… pending… All systems nominal, Cadet Booker. Status: Ready for standard operations.”
“Operator acknowledges system status after pre-mission diagnostics.” I replied dryly, and with a few final breaths I pulled myself back into the armor. “Current objectives? Preferably the ones I listed before dozing off last night?” I continued, as my eyes quickly readjusted to the constant assault on the senses that was the HUD.
“Priority Objective: Locate and Secure Container 10. Current time remaining until activation of the Denial of Sensitive Assets to Unauthorized Parties Protocols… 36 hours, 34 minutes, and 47 seconds.”
“Alright then, let’s pay a visit to our dear old friend… hopefully she’s alive and lucid enough to get us to the bottom of this little predicament.”
Dragon’s Heart Tower, Level 23, Residence 30. Thacea and Emma’s Bedroom. Local Time: 1020 Hours.
Emma Booker
Transitioning from the tent to the marble and cobblestone world of the Academy was always jarring. Opening those external protective flaps to reveal something that wasn’t more bare white paneling and drab gray composalite would probably be something I’d need to get used to.
I got into the swing of things quick enough, as I was met with the likes of Thacea who was busy reading on one of the many ornate seats that formed the mini-living room within our loft.
“Was the water to your liking, Emma?” Thacea asked with a clack of her beak.
“I managed to squeeze in a couple minutes worth of a shower, so that’s a win in my book!” I beamed out. “But with a constant stream of filtered water filling up my reservoirs now, I should be able to get something more substantial later tonight.”
The princess nodded slowly at that. “The lengths to which you need to go, just to attain what we take for granted on a daily basis, is quite remarkable Emma.”
“It is what it is, Thacea.” I shrugged in response. “The very air I breathe needs to be filtered. This whole world, or heck, even your worlds are actively hostile to human life. These measures are something that are cumbersome, and seriously draining to deal with, but it’s necessary. Besides, it’s not as if these measures are something new where I come from. My people have had a history of intrepid explorers, brave pioneers, and foolish thrillseekers who all surge forward into inhospitable domains just so they can crest the next wave, or see what’s over the next hill.” I paused for a moment, as I was tempted to strike a pose, but quickly decided against it. “I’m just furthering a legacy that’s already been established. Or at least, I hope I’m doing that. Heck if I know if I’m actually doing things right. Nine times out of ten, I feel like I’m just making the best of my situation.”
“I can’t say I can understand the appeal of this legacy of actively seeking hostile-domains.” Thacea responded with an equal mix of curiosity and genuine concern. “And I do not know what manner of civilization would result from such a culture, though I do harbor a morbid curiosity to inquire further… However, I can most certainly resonate with your latter statements, Emma. Half of the court politics I contend with simply amounts to making do with the hand you’ve been dealt, of making best of one’s situation, and doing whatever it is in your limited scope and power to maintain life, security, and perhaps some waning semblance of your own personal liberty. It’s a great game, where doubt comes naturally as a result of being a player and not the host.”
There was a small pause that followed Thacea’s response as one point in particular caught my attention more than any other.
It was unfortunate that it was so topical as well, given how if things had turned out any differently, this conversation would’ve moved right on into an hours-long exchange of life and culture.
Thacea mentioning the concept of a great game, immediately brought me back to the conversation with Ilunor the previous night.
“Thacea… would you mind if I consulted you on something?” I began, as the gears in my head began turning now at the first major issue of the day.
The princess seemed to catch on as she leaned forward in her seat intently, and nodded. “By all means.”
“Something happened last night at the workshop, and it wasn’t anything to do with the armorer… though, we can talk about that later.” I took a deep breath as I shelved that topic for another time. “Did you happen to pay any attention to Ilunor’s whereabouts after I left for the workshop?”
“Not particularly, no. Lord Rul-, erm, Ilunor had seemingly remained in his room until Thalmin and I retired to our respective rooms. After that, I simply have no recollection of anything beyond my own domicile.”
“Well, Ilunor followed me to the workshop.” I stated plainly, pausing for a moment to gauge Thacea’s reaction. Of which there really was none as she managed to keep that signature poker-face that was probably second nature to her by now.
“And I’m assuming since you managed to uncover this, that his meddling had failed in some way shape or form?” Thacea shot back coolly.
“Correct. However, here’s where things get complicated. I’ll save the bulk of the events for later, but long story short, that discount kobold decided to use some sort of a projection spell to spook me just as I was in the middle of the weapons inspection with the armorer, and the projection used wasn’t just something a random monster or anything… he purposefully chose to bring out a carbon-copy version of the null.”
Thacea’s face shifted at this, which given how difficult it was to phase her, probably meant her mind was going through the full implications of this revelation.
I pressed on as Thacea urged me to continue with a single nod. “Well, I shot it. And, no, nobody was hurt. Fast forward a chase sequence later, and the armorer eventually managed to corner and capture Ilunor. However, when we pressed him for answers about why he was there to begin with? Well… I think it’ll be better for you to see for yourself.”
It was with this that I brought out my data-pad, and began replaying the relevant scenes for Thacea to see.
Starting from the brief spats between Ilunor and the armorer, all the way to my confrontation with the diminutive lizard, Thacea’s gaze remained completely transfixed. She did flinch a bit when the footage finally went over my dealings with the lizard, and Ilunor’s sudden shift in persona as I pulled out the library card and began talking his language.
Yet despite being inundated with this sudden flood of information, with a completely unexpected tangent, she soon responded cooly and without much in the way of a delay. “This complicates matters.” She began slowly. “This entire situation calls for a complete reevaluation of the dynamics of this peer group, and how we need to approach Lord Rul-, Ilunor.” Thacea promptly corrected herself before continuing. “There’s a great number of layers to this unexpected development, each of which hints at a greater game being played here, and points at the fact that there are a great number of interested parties beyond just Ilunor.” The princess took a moment to let out an exasperated coo, her eyes finally moving away from the tablet and back to me. “You must understand as well as I, that Ilunor’s actions do not constitute a scheme of his own making, correct?”
“That I do.” I nodded simply. “The fact that he’s even bothering to do this in the first place is outside of his whole I’m above you persona. I’m not sure if the same rings true here, but where I come from, becoming a spook is not something that most people in high and mighty positions would ever stoop down to. Besides, I think we have a lead. I don’t think a student would actively defer a bit of punishment from a lower level administrator, in order to fast-track it to the highest authorities if they weren’t in cahoots with them.”
“This coincides with my observations of these developments as well, Emma.” Thacea responded with a resonant chirp. “To add to this, his knowledge of the null is most certainly not circumstantial, and considering he was absent from our adventures the previous day, his knowledge of this creature would hint to either the feeding of information via a higher benefactor, or a direct observation of our activities from afar. Either way, this does not bode well.”
“This leads me to what I wanted to consult you on, Thacea. If Ilunor’s out there waiting for us right now, would it be best if we confronted him outright in front of Thalmin or-”
“No.” Thacea interjected sharply, and with a certainty that was almost uncharacteristic of her. “Confronting Ilunor out in the open, in front of others not privy to you and the Vunerian’s current game, would be outright suicide to the dialogue you’ve managed to broker with him the previous night. You’ve managed to prove yourself as not just another pawn, but a player in the game, at least in Ilunor’s eyes. It would be wise to maintain that momentum, Emma. By continuing this line of dialogue with him in private, there is a higher likelihood the Vunerian will divulge more information as he speaks to you frankly, beyond what his current facade will allow. This is now a matter between you and the Vunerian, as Thalmin and I are not privy to these political transactions.”
I couldn’t help but to mimic the princess by gripping my forehead as well, letting out a sigh as the dread of complex court politics had begun seeping in faster than I expected. “That shouldn’t be too hard to do. I’ll just let that situation slide for now, making sure not to mention my dealings with Ilunor when he’s around, and focus instead on our other problems. It’s not like we have a shortage of other things to worry about after all.” I sighed sharply.
“That is an acceptable plan. ” Thacea responded promptly as she stood up and began straightening out her uniform. “Right then, shall we proceed?”
Dragon’s Heart Tower, Level 23, Residence 30. Living Room. Local Time: 1025 Hours.
Emma Booker
As we exited the bedroom, we were once more met with a similar sight reminiscent of the previous day’s. As there, on the couch, were the bickering pair that had seemed to have carried over their arguments from the previous night.
Except this time, the context seemed to have thankfully shifted to something new.
“Every minute I waste in this room for the sake of that Earthrealmer is another minute that I grow increasingly more famished. It is unbecoming of a noble to sit in waiting for a commoner. In fact, it should be the other way around. Or perhaps this is yet another one of your Havenbrockian reforms that test the Nexus’ patience, Prince Thalmin?” I could hear Ilunor snapping at Thalmin just as we made our way into the living room proper.
Thalmin, amazingly, resisted responding in kind as he got up as soon as we made our way towards the pair.
“We were waiting for the both of you, but it should be fine. Should we miss the breakfast, there is always an a la carte menu we can-”
“I have met the criterion for your unlawful detainment, mercenary. Thus, I shall take my leave.” Ilunor promptly jumped off from the couch and began trotting his way over to the door, his little legs were clearly attempting to generate some sort of a forceful series of thumps as he did so, but only resulted in a light series of taps given his diminutive size.
“Hold on a minute there! That wasn’t our agreement! You agreed to-”
“I agreed to wait for the Earthrealmer and the tainted one. I have no other reason to be here. Now, I must resume my extracurriculars. You lot can do whatever it is you get up to. I will be having none of it.” Ilunor turned to face the Lupinor one final time, before slamming the front door shut, and skittering off.
This made things so much simpler as it meant we were in the clear for now.
“I’m sorry princess.” Thalmin turned to face Thacea. “I thought we might be able to squeeze something out of him yet, but the Vunerian continues to be as squirmy as a prairie rodent.”
“It’s quite alright, Thalmin.” Thacea began, as she turned towards me as if to confirm whether or not I wanted her to proceed on my behalf. To which I did. “There are a few matters we must address regarding Ilunor, which I suggest we do over a short breakfast, as we have even more pressing matters following this.”
After a reluctant pause, the lupinor prince nodded in agreement, leading to both of us sitting down-
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 275% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
-and a privacy screen being brought down soon after.
“So, shall we talk about this over a brunch platter?”
The Transgracian Academy for the Magical Arts, En Route to the Healing Wing. Local Time: 1050 Hours.
Thalmin’s reactions were nothing short of what I’d expected.
There was absolute outrage, followed by an unrepentant series of growls, capped off with barks of seething anger at the same clips I’d played for Thacea earlier.
The mercenary prince was perhaps even more uncomfortable than I was at my entry into this game, as it was clear Thalmin despite his noble heritage, wasn’t really one to dabble in it at all.
“I’m telling you Emma, this is a dangerous path forward. Are you certain you are making the wisest choice?” He spoke once again, continuing the conversation from earlier, underneath yet another privacy screen Thacea was maintaining as we approached the medical wing.
“I don’t like it either, Thalmin. There’s nothing more I hate than playing politics, but it’s unfortunately a pill I have to swallow if we’re going to get to the bottom of the issues surrounding Ilunor. I mean, I overheard you guys arguing late into the night. I really don’t think confronting him normally is going to get us anywhere.”
The lupinor let out a sigh of defeat at that, as he lowered his head in my general direction. “I can’t fault that logic, Emma. Perhaps… speaking his language, as you put it, would bring us some resolution to this frankly irritating problem. However…” The Lupinor’s voice lowered, just as we were about to reach the doors to the healing wing proper. “I know how these games work, Emma. It’s dangerous, so make sure you tread lightly, and just know that I, as part of your peer group, am here to support you should the need arise.” The prince reassured me with a smirk, as we pushed past the double doors and into the medical wing proper.
Or at least, that’s what I thought, as we entered what looked to be a massive circular room with multiple branching hallways connected to it like spokes on a wheel. In typical Academy-fashion however, the room really wasn’t at all modest with its size. As it went up a solid twenty or so stories, with high pillars piercing straight up into a marble-lined rotunda with moving murals painted on it like some grand cathedral. Between these pillars were little outcroppings where several gargoyles were perched.
Gargoyles which I could swear were looking straight at us.
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 425% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
My gut was proven right again, as it only took a few seconds after our entry for these stony beasts to come to life, with multiple bursts of mana-radiation accompanying what could only be described as the sounds of cracking concrete.
Soon enough, several large gargoyles made harsh, heavy landings right in front of us. The two closest to us held out their arms, before zapping two stony spears into existence, crossing them in a clear display to stop us from going any further.
“Halt!” A voice commanded from above, as a shadowy figure landed right in front of the two gargoyles blocking our path. The figure’s face was hidden underneath an unnatural shadow casted by his hood, revealing just two trapezoidal lights where his eyes should be. “The healing wing is currently off-limits to visitors. So state your ailment, or leave where you came from.” The voice boomed, echoing throughout the large open space, as all eyes within the room now landed squarely on us.
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(Author’s Note: Hey guys! We see more glimpses of Emma's quality of life getting set up here, and we're now making our way over to the apprentice! I hope you guys enjoy! :D The next Chapter is already up on Patreon if you guys are interested in getting early access to future chapters!)
[If you guys want to help support me and these stories, here's my ko-fi ! And my Patreon for early chapter releases (Chapter 33 of this story is already out on there!)]
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Dragon’s Heart Tower, Level 23, Residence 30. Thacea and Emma’s Bedroom. The Tent. Local Time: 0500 Hours.
Emma Booker
I fucked up.
Big time.
And I had no one else but myself to blame.
You know that feeling when you dive head-first into a project that you had zero doubts would somehow work itself out in the end?
The sudden surge of confidence that comes when you let the indomitable human spirit take the wheel?
Well that was me at 0300 hours when my eyes landed upon the hygiene module, and pictured the inevitable outcome of a steaming hot shower after an entire day of nonstop grinding.
I couldn’t help myself but to fall into the same trap as every other would-be DIY-er. I couldn’t stop the excitement, the sudden surge of energy, and the absolute hyperfixation that came with completing a project that promised nothing but endless positives, at the expense of some time and effort that would prove minimal in the grand scheme of things.
And just like every would-be DIY-er, I was this close to completing the task at hand, before finally reaching a roadblock that inevitably brought everything to a screeching halt.
FINAL STEP: REFER TO [UNDESIGNATED WATER SOURCE] FOR ATTACHMENT OF INTAKE PIPE [EIP23] TO EXTERNAL PUMPING MODULE [EPM-1].
That one, final instruction, decimated me.
Especially as I got to that final step at just shy of 0500 hours, when I finally had the entire damn module set up, only to realize that I had missed out on a vital pre-procedure checklist that I’d purposefully skipped because I’d assumed it would be a non-issue.
ENVIRONMENTAL PREREQUISITE: LOCATE, EVALUATE, AND SECURE A RELIABLE WATER SOURCE.
And that’s why I only had myself to blame for this fiasco.
Because I’d assumed that the availability of a water-source in the dorms would’ve been an open and shut case. It only made sense for me to make that assumption though, as I saw that Thacea had clearly used the dorm’s en-suite to shower just the night before.
It was because of this that I didn’t even bother checking the bathroom to begin with. I thought that whatever was in there could’ve easily fit the hyper-modular fittings of the source-intake pipe.
Things couldn’t have been further from the truth however, as what I saw within that bathroom made me question the very fabric of my own reality.
As within those four marble walls, was nothing.
Nothing, but a series of dull flat marble surfaces, and some strange wall-fittings that looked like something out of a 21st century ‘modern’ art exhibit.
There was nothing here that resembled a tap, or even hinted at the fact that there were even any pipes carrying running water behind those four bare walls.
The only other thing of note here was an unseen light source keeping the bathroom lit.
Aside from that, there was literally nothing else here.
This meant I had only one option available to me.
The most logical and straightforward option, of simply nudging the avinor princess awake just so I could ask where I could find a fucking tap.
Whilst it was the most straightforward thing to do, I just couldn’t get myself to do it.
I’d thought about going up those stairs to nudge the avian awake, to then apologize profusely for disturbing her sleep… but given everything Thacea had done for me thus far, and considering the fact that I was responsible for almost all of the headaches we were currently experiencing, it just felt wrong for me to disturb here at that hour.
So I was left with the inconvenient truth of my circumstances, and decided to just embrace the suck, toughing out the folly of my hubris…
At least, until morning came around.
At that point, I could rest easy in actually asking the princess for pointers on the enigmatic machinations of the bathroom.
Until then, I would sleep.
And hopefully, my shortsighted adventure would bear some fruit when morning rears its ugly head around.
Dragon’s Heart Tower, Level 23, Residence 30. Thacea and Emma’s Bedroom. Local Time: 1000 Hours.
Emma Booker
Good news: Half of my hard work actually paid off.
Bad news: Only half of my hard work actually paid off.
Upon waking up three hours later, forcing my carcass up and back into the suit, I’d managed to flag down Thacea just as she was getting out of bed.
The princess’ reactions to my questions were nothing short of the politeness I’d expected from her.
Which managed to put me at ease as I was getting worried I was starting to get on her nerves with my constant flurry of questions.
The bathroom turned out to be yet another demonstration of the Nexus’ completely unhinged philosophies. As it relied entirely on a mana user’s manipulation of the room to operate. Apparently, whoever designed this place took the whole concept of a modular, personalized room, and just ran with it. Making it so that every aspect of the room relied solely on the mana user to work, as they had to shape, form, and structure the otherwise blank slate before use. This was supposedly done so that the room could be made to fit the precise criterion of a person’s liking. To me however, it just felt like another bizarre concept pulled straight out of the Nexus’ seemingly endless idea-pool of zany, overkill, and mana-addled solutions to problems that sort of existed.
Thankfully, the bathroom didn’t require constant intervention from a mana-user to operate, as certain elements could be permanently turned on.
This included the water mains, which I immediately hooked up the pipes to, as the mana-contaminated water was quickly siphoned into a series of filtration units, all with the express purpose of extracting and removing every ounce of mana present within the water.
This process took about two hours to do.
But by the end of it, I was rewarded for all my troubles by one of the best showers I’ve ever had.
All of the stress, even the constant ticking of the bomb which constantly gnawed at the back of my mind, seemed to fade away for a few short minutes as the warm water washed everything away.
But that about wrapped up the good news.
The bad news however, came in the form of the little MREDD experiment from the previous night.
As I opened the triple-airlocked compartment on my side of the tent, I was met with what could only be described as ‘food’ in name and aesthetics alone.
The soft, white, fluffy loaf of bread had literally become a baton. Whilst the pancakes were now more reminiscent of a mini-frisbee that cracked and crumbled the moment I laid my fingers on them.
My immeasurable disappointment grew the longer I stood there next to the MREDD, and the longer I stared at the small stack of dust that was once a perfectly cooked stack of pancakes.
Beyond this however, I could feel a bit of anxiety seeping in, as the results of the experiment did make me a bit anxious as to the long-term food security of this mission.
Then again, I should’ve expected this result.
It was the first calibration test after all.
“I should’ve expected this, shouldn’t I?” I spoke to no one in particular, but quickly garnered the attention of the EVI who remained within the power armor that currently stood imposingly just a few feet away from me.
“That is correct, Cadet Booker. As you are already aware, the MREDD is designed with multiple calibration protocols in-effect, each which correspond to the type and densities of the foodstuffs to be desaturated. In addition to this, the systems are designed to test the maximal extraction threshold against the subjective palatability gradient with the food safety variable as an integral aspect of these tests. Thus, the first-round extraction procedures dictate that the MREDD will attempt maximal extraction settings, in order to both stress-test the components and systems, as well as to garner data on the mana-extraction process at the maximal setting.”
I blinked rapidly upon hearing the EVI’s explanation being blasted from my suit’s speakers. It felt somewhat jarring turning around to face my armor talking to me. But then again, I should’ve expected it, as I’d yet to set up any other speaker systems within the tent for it to speak through.
“I know, EVI. They already ran everything by me during the briefings. Though I would be lying if I didn’t say I sort of hoped that putting the food under full blast for 7 hours would’ve somehow miraculously resulted in something edible.” I managed out with a sigh.
“Cadet Booker, it is logical to assume that since the extraction of mana from both food and water is indeed viable, that the only point of contention is now the palatability of the foodstuffs rendered through the MREDD.”
“Yeah, well…” I trailed off as I began tapping on the loaf of bread that sounded like styrofoam when I hit it against the armor. “I think you and I have different definitions of palatable.”
“I am confident that the mana-extraction process can be optimized, Cadet Booker. It is at this point that I must ask that you assess the palatability of the designated foodstuff marked CONSUMABLE GROUP A, ITEM 1, for the purposes of data-gathering and analysis.” The AI spoke in a no-nonsense fashion, as I turned around, giving it a look of utter incredulity.
“You want me to try to eat this?” I shot back, tapping on the styrofoam bread for added effect.
“I require data on the palatability of foodstuff A-1 [BREAD] as it is a subjective dataset relying entirely on the input of the human subject.” The AI continued.
I couldn’t help but to shudder at that last line, especially with how it was delivered.
Popular media back home was currently going through another AI-apocalypse phase, with a lot of movies, both immersive and traditional, diving deep into the uncomfortable topics of human-AI relations post AI-takeover.
Being stuck in a bare, white tent, with a monotone, somewhat disgruntled-sounding VI talking to me through a suit of armor several heads taller than me all the while suddenly referring to me as subject really wasn’t doing my movie-binging gremlin brain any favors.
I hesitated for a few seconds, tentatively staring at the bread, then the armor, then back to the bread again, before finally just going for it...
CRUNCH
It did not end well.
“Cadet Booker, I did not require that you actively consume a foodstuff you consider inedible or are uncomfortable eating. I merely needed a dataset for the purposes of this experiment, even if that data-set is a refusal to consume the foodstuff in question.”
I stared back at the VI with unamused eyes and a mouthful of hard-tack currently turning my mouth into the Greater Sahara.
“Damnghit Aeevi.” I managed out with a mouth full of bland, stale bread, before reaching for the water dispenser which thankfully still had some mana-free water inside of it.
“Shall I log A-1 down as unpalatable then, Cadet?” The AI spoke with a hint of disappointment in its voice.
Though I was probably just imagining the actual tone of its voice.
Projection was a heck of a thing after all.
“Yes. And make sure you clarify your intent next time.” I snapped back, as I finished up what limited bits of housekeeping I needed to for now. Which included punting the balled-up undersuit into the washer, getting the wash and dry cycle started, before grabbing a fresh undersuit from the cargo airlock and quickly putting it on.
“I guess the next test with the MREDD includes extracting mana at a slow, sustained rate?” I spoke as I began recalibrating the different electronic components within the undersuit.
“Correct, Cadet Booker. Provided of course, that the foodstuffs are of a similar type, and contain similar properties to GROUP A.”
“Acknowledged.” I responded promptly, shuddering a bit as the haptic feedback finished its calibration cycles. “Alright then, we got a lot of work ahead of us, so let’s get going. System status, SRR?” I asked as per protocol, steadying my hand on the suit’s ‘backpack’.
“Diagnostics running… pending… All systems nominal, Cadet Booker. Status: Ready for standard operations.”
“Operator acknowledges system status after pre-mission diagnostics.” I replied dryly, and with a few final breaths I pulled myself back into the armor. “Current objectives? Preferably the ones I listed before dozing off last night?” I continued, as my eyes quickly readjusted to the constant assault on the senses that was the HUD.
“Priority Objective: Locate and Secure Container 10. Current time remaining until activation of the Denial of Sensitive Assets to Unauthorized Parties Protocols… 36 hours, 34 minutes, and 47 seconds.”
“Alright then, let’s pay a visit to our dear old friend… hopefully she’s alive and lucid enough to get us to the bottom of this little predicament.”
Dragon’s Heart Tower, Level 23, Residence 30. Thacea and Emma’s Bedroom. Local Time: 1020 Hours.
Emma Booker
Transitioning from the tent to the marble and cobblestone world of the Academy was always jarring. Opening those external protective flaps to reveal something that wasn’t more bare white paneling and drab gray composalite would probably be something I’d need to get used to.
I got into the swing of things quick enough, as I was met with the likes of Thacea who was busy reading on one of the many ornate seats that formed the mini-living room within our loft.
“Was the water to your liking, Emma?” Thacea asked with a clack of her beak.
“I managed to squeeze in a couple minutes worth of a shower, so that’s a win in my book!” I beamed out. “But with a constant stream of filtered water filling up my reservoirs now, I should be able to get something more substantial later tonight.”
The princess nodded slowly at that. “The lengths to which you need to go, just to attain what we take for granted on a daily basis, is quite remarkable Emma.”
“It is what it is, Thacea.” I shrugged in response. “The very air I breathe needs to be filtered. This whole world, or heck, even your worlds are actively hostile to human life. These measures are something that are cumbersome, and seriously draining to deal with, but it’s necessary. Besides, it’s not as if these measures are something new where I come from. My people have had a history of intrepid explorers, brave pioneers, and foolish thrillseekers who all surge forward into inhospitable domains just so they can crest the next wave, or see what’s over the next hill.” I paused for a moment, as I was tempted to strike a pose, but quickly decided against it. “I’m just furthering a legacy that’s already been established. Or at least, I hope I’m doing that. Heck if I know if I’m actually doing things right. Nine times out of ten, I feel like I’m just making the best of my situation.”
“I can’t say I can understand the appeal of this legacy of actively seeking hostile-domains.” Thacea responded with an equal mix of curiosity and genuine concern. “And I do not know what manner of civilization would result from such a culture, though I do harbor a morbid curiosity to inquire further… However, I can most certainly resonate with your latter statements, Emma. Half of the court politics I contend with simply amounts to making do with the hand you’ve been dealt, of making best of one’s situation, and doing whatever it is in your limited scope and power to maintain life, security, and perhaps some waning semblance of your own personal liberty. It’s a great game, where doubt comes naturally as a result of being a player and not the host.”
There was a small pause that followed Thacea’s response as one point in particular caught my attention more than any other.
It was unfortunate that it was so topical as well, given how if things had turned out any differently, this conversation would’ve moved right on into an hours-long exchange of life and culture.
Thacea mentioning the concept of a great game, immediately brought me back to the conversation with Ilunor the previous night.
“Thacea… would you mind if I consulted you on something?” I began, as the gears in my head began turning now at the first major issue of the day.
The princess seemed to catch on as she leaned forward in her seat intently, and nodded. “By all means.”
“Something happened last night at the workshop, and it wasn’t anything to do with the armorer… though, we can talk about that later.” I took a deep breath as I shelved that topic for another time. “Did you happen to pay any attention to Ilunor’s whereabouts after I left for the workshop?”
“Not particularly, no. Lord Rul-, erm, Ilunor had seemingly remained in his room until Thalmin and I retired to our respective rooms. After that, I simply have no recollection of anything beyond my own domicile.”
“Well, Ilunor followed me to the workshop.” I stated plainly, pausing for a moment to gauge Thacea’s reaction. Of which there really was none as she managed to keep that signature poker-face that was probably second nature to her by now.
“And I’m assuming since you managed to uncover this, that his meddling had failed in some way shape or form?” Thacea shot back coolly.
“Correct. However, here’s where things get complicated. I’ll save the bulk of the events for later, but long story short, that discount kobold decided to use some sort of a projection spell to spook me just as I was in the middle of the weapons inspection with the armorer, and the projection used wasn’t just something a random monster or anything… he purposefully chose to bring out a carbon-copy version of the null.”
Thacea’s face shifted at this, which given how difficult it was to phase her, probably meant her mind was going through the full implications of this revelation.
I pressed on as Thacea urged me to continue with a single nod. “Well, I shot it. And, no, nobody was hurt. Fast forward a chase sequence later, and the armorer eventually managed to corner and capture Ilunor. However, when we pressed him for answers about why he was there to begin with? Well… I think it’ll be better for you to see for yourself.”
It was with this that I brought out my data-pad, and began replaying the relevant scenes for Thacea to see.
Starting from the brief spats between Ilunor and the armorer, all the way to my confrontation with the diminutive lizard, Thacea’s gaze remained completely transfixed. She did flinch a bit when the footage finally went over my dealings with the lizard, and Ilunor’s sudden shift in persona as I pulled out the library card and began talking his language.
Yet despite being inundated with this sudden flood of information, with a completely unexpected tangent, she soon responded cooly and without much in the way of a delay. “This complicates matters.” She began slowly. “This entire situation calls for a complete reevaluation of the dynamics of this peer group, and how we need to approach Lord Rul-, Ilunor.” Thacea promptly corrected herself before continuing. “There’s a great number of layers to this unexpected development, each of which hints at a greater game being played here, and points at the fact that there are a great number of interested parties beyond just Ilunor.” The princess took a moment to let out an exasperated coo, her eyes finally moving away from the tablet and back to me. “You must understand as well as I, that Ilunor’s actions do not constitute a scheme of his own making, correct?”
“That I do.” I nodded simply. “The fact that he’s even bothering to do this in the first place is outside of his whole I’m above you persona. I’m not sure if the same rings true here, but where I come from, becoming a spook is not something that most people in high and mighty positions would ever stoop down to. Besides, I think we have a lead. I don’t think a student would actively defer a bit of punishment from a lower level administrator, in order to fast-track it to the highest authorities if they weren’t in cahoots with them.”
“This coincides with my observations of these developments as well, Emma.” Thacea responded with a resonant chirp. “To add to this, his knowledge of the null is most certainly not circumstantial, and considering he was absent from our adventures the previous day, his knowledge of this creature would hint to either the feeding of information via a higher benefactor, or a direct observation of our activities from afar. Either way, this does not bode well.”
“This leads me to what I wanted to consult you on, Thacea. If Ilunor’s out there waiting for us right now, would it be best if we confronted him outright in front of Thalmin or-”
“No.” Thacea interjected sharply, and with a certainty that was almost uncharacteristic of her. “Confronting Ilunor out in the open, in front of others not privy to you and the Vunerian’s current game, would be outright suicide to the dialogue you’ve managed to broker with him the previous night. You’ve managed to prove yourself as not just another pawn, but a player in the game, at least in Ilunor’s eyes. It would be wise to maintain that momentum, Emma. By continuing this line of dialogue with him in private, there is a higher likelihood the Vunerian will divulge more information as he speaks to you frankly, beyond what his current facade will allow. This is now a matter between you and the Vunerian, as Thalmin and I are not privy to these political transactions.”
I couldn’t help but to mimic the princess by gripping my forehead as well, letting out a sigh as the dread of complex court politics had begun seeping in faster than I expected. “That shouldn’t be too hard to do. I’ll just let that situation slide for now, making sure not to mention my dealings with Ilunor when he’s around, and focus instead on our other problems. It’s not like we have a shortage of other things to worry about after all.” I sighed sharply.
“That is an acceptable plan. ” Thacea responded promptly as she stood up and began straightening out her uniform. “Right then, shall we proceed?”
Dragon’s Heart Tower, Level 23, Residence 30. Living Room. Local Time: 1025 Hours.
Emma Booker
As we exited the bedroom, we were once more met with a similar sight reminiscent of the previous day’s. As there, on the couch, were the bickering pair that had seemed to have carried over their arguments from the previous night.
Except this time, the context seemed to have thankfully shifted to something new.
“Every minute I waste in this room for the sake of that Earthrealmer is another minute that I grow increasingly more famished. It is unbecoming of a noble to sit in waiting for a commoner. In fact, it should be the other way around. Or perhaps this is yet another one of your Havenbrockian reforms that test the Nexus’ patience, Prince Thalmin?” I could hear Ilunor snapping at Thalmin just as we made our way into the living room proper.
Thalmin, amazingly, resisted responding in kind as he got up as soon as we made our way towards the pair.
“We were waiting for the both of you, but it should be fine. Should we miss the breakfast, there is always an a la carte menu we can-”
“I have met the criterion for your unlawful detainment, mercenary. Thus, I shall take my leave.” Ilunor promptly jumped off from the couch and began trotting his way over to the door, his little legs were clearly attempting to generate some sort of a forceful series of thumps as he did so, but only resulted in a light series of taps given his diminutive size.
“Hold on a minute there! That wasn’t our agreement! You agreed to-”
“I agreed to wait for the Earthrealmer and the tainted one. I have no other reason to be here. Now, I must resume my extracurriculars. You lot can do whatever it is you get up to. I will be having none of it.” Ilunor turned to face the Lupinor one final time, before slamming the front door shut, and skittering off.
This made things so much simpler as it meant we were in the clear for now.
“I’m sorry princess.” Thalmin turned to face Thacea. “I thought we might be able to squeeze something out of him yet, but the Vunerian continues to be as squirmy as a prairie rodent.”
“It’s quite alright, Thalmin.” Thacea began, as she turned towards me as if to confirm whether or not I wanted her to proceed on my behalf. To which I did. “There are a few matters we must address regarding Ilunor, which I suggest we do over a short breakfast, as we have even more pressing matters following this.”
After a reluctant pause, the lupinor prince nodded in agreement, leading to both of us sitting down-
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 275% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
-and a privacy screen being brought down soon after.
“So, shall we talk about this over a brunch platter?”
The Transgracian Academy for the Magical Arts, En Route to the Healing Wing. Local Time: 1050 Hours.
Thalmin’s reactions were nothing short of what I’d expected.
There was absolute outrage, followed by an unrepentant series of growls, capped off with barks of seething anger at the same clips I’d played for Thacea earlier.
The mercenary prince was perhaps even more uncomfortable than I was at my entry into this game, as it was clear Thalmin despite his noble heritage, wasn’t really one to dabble in it at all.
“I’m telling you Emma, this is a dangerous path forward. Are you certain you are making the wisest choice?” He spoke once again, continuing the conversation from earlier, underneath yet another privacy screen Thacea was maintaining as we approached the medical wing.
“I don’t like it either, Thalmin. There’s nothing more I hate than playing politics, but it’s unfortunately a pill I have to swallow if we’re going to get to the bottom of the issues surrounding Ilunor. I mean, I overheard you guys arguing late into the night. I really don’t think confronting him normally is going to get us anywhere.”
The lupinor let out a sigh of defeat at that, as he lowered his head in my general direction. “I can’t fault that logic, Emma. Perhaps… speaking his language, as you put it, would bring us some resolution to this frankly irritating problem. However…” The Lupinor’s voice lowered, just as we were about to reach the doors to the healing wing proper. “I know how these games work, Emma. It’s dangerous, so make sure you tread lightly, and just know that I, as part of your peer group, am here to support you should the need arise.” The prince reassured me with a smirk, as we pushed past the double doors and into the medical wing proper.
Or at least, that’s what I thought, as we entered what looked to be a massive circular room with multiple branching hallways connected to it like spokes on a wheel. In typical Academy-fashion however, the room really wasn’t at all modest with its size. As it went up a solid twenty or so stories, with high pillars piercing straight up into a marble-lined rotunda with moving murals painted on it like some grand cathedral. Between these pillars were little outcroppings where several gargoyles were perched.
Gargoyles which I could swear were looking straight at us.
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 425% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
My gut was proven right again, as it only took a few seconds after our entry for these stony beasts to come to life, with multiple bursts of mana-radiation accompanying what could only be described as the sounds of cracking concrete.
Soon enough, several large gargoyles made harsh, heavy landings right in front of us. The two closest to us held out their arms, before zapping two stony spears into existence, crossing them in a clear display to stop us from going any further.
“Halt!” A voice commanded from above, as a shadowy figure landed right in front of the two gargoyles blocking our path. The figure’s face was hidden underneath an unnatural shadow casted by his hood, revealing just two trapezoidal lights where his eyes should be. “The healing wing is currently off-limits to visitors. So state your ailment, or leave where you came from.” The voice boomed, echoing throughout the large open space, as all eyes within the room now landed squarely on us.
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(Author’s Note: Hey guys! We see more glimpses of Emma's quality of life getting set up here, and we're now making our way over to the apprentice! I hope you guys enjoy! :D The next Chapter is already up on Patreon if you guys are interested in getting early access to future chapters!)
[If you guys want to help support me and these stories, here's my ko-fi ! And my Patreon for early chapter releases (Chapter 33 of this story is already out on there!)]
2023.05.28 19:03 urnotmadeoftuesday Am I being unreasonable?
My SD(14) is graduating from 8th grade in about a month. I was a bit disappointed to learn that graduation would be on the same day as DH's and my anniversary, but I figured we could celebrate the next day because this is an important celebration for SD.
DH and I found out just a few minutes ago that BM told SD that she is planning on attending, too. BM lives in another state and has never really been a huge part of SD's life, but we've tried to help maintain what relationship they do have by allowing BM to come stay with us in our 2bd apartment every now and then. This is what we would be doing if BM were to attend SD graduation.
Now, I want SD to have a healthy relationship with her BM. Part of that is making sure that BM can attend events that are important to SD, and the only way to do that would be to allow her to stay on our pullout couch for a few days.
However, I'm really struggling with my relationship with BM right now. DH forgot Mother's Day when it came to me, but BM got a nice card and present -that turned into a big fight between us that we're still recovering from.
BM also has a history of making me feel less significant. When DH and I started dating, he and BM were married, but separated for 10 years. By the time I met both of them, she had been in a serious relationship for 9 years and had another kid with her boyfriend. Despite this, she still made jokes to me about how she had both a husband and a boyfriend, or make jokes in general about still being married to DH. Obviously that's no longer the case, but a few years of those kinds of "jokes" really wore on me - even with DH's assurances that she was being weird and he hadn't seen her in a romantic way in over a decade.
While she can no longer joke about being married to DH, she still makes comments that make me feel incredibly uncomfortable. When she came to visit about a month ago, she spent several hours reminiscing with DH about their shared history and would make comments such as, "Wow! I can't believe you still have that CRT TV! We used to spend hours in bed watching that, remember?" She also spent a great deal of time talking about when she was pregnant with SD to DH, which felt like a cold knife in my heart because I'm struggling with whether DH and I will even be able to have bio kids.
The kicker is that I don't feel as though I have any way to stop her from coming. She told her plans to SD without discussing it with us at all, and she's incredibly excited about her mom coming up to see her graduate middle school. There's now no way we can tell her not to come or change the dates of her coming without deeply disappointing SD, and no one can afford a hotel for BM to stay at as an alternatie.
I don't believe she has done any of this out of malice. She can be a bit socially awkward, and I haven't always been the best about vocalizing when I'm uncomfortable. But her past actions combined with the recent issues DH and I have had make me feel very uncomfortable about her coming and staying in our apartment during DH's and my anniversary - even if it is for SD's 8th grade graduation. Is this unreasonable of me? AITAH?
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DH and I found out just a few minutes ago that BM told SD that she is planning on attending, too. BM lives in another state and has never really been a huge part of SD's life, but we've tried to help maintain what relationship they do have by allowing BM to come stay with us in our 2bd apartment every now and then. This is what we would be doing if BM were to attend SD graduation.
Now, I want SD to have a healthy relationship with her BM. Part of that is making sure that BM can attend events that are important to SD, and the only way to do that would be to allow her to stay on our pullout couch for a few days.
However, I'm really struggling with my relationship with BM right now. DH forgot Mother's Day when it came to me, but BM got a nice card and present -that turned into a big fight between us that we're still recovering from.
BM also has a history of making me feel less significant. When DH and I started dating, he and BM were married, but separated for 10 years. By the time I met both of them, she had been in a serious relationship for 9 years and had another kid with her boyfriend. Despite this, she still made jokes to me about how she had both a husband and a boyfriend, or make jokes in general about still being married to DH. Obviously that's no longer the case, but a few years of those kinds of "jokes" really wore on me - even with DH's assurances that she was being weird and he hadn't seen her in a romantic way in over a decade.
While she can no longer joke about being married to DH, she still makes comments that make me feel incredibly uncomfortable. When she came to visit about a month ago, she spent several hours reminiscing with DH about their shared history and would make comments such as, "Wow! I can't believe you still have that CRT TV! We used to spend hours in bed watching that, remember?" She also spent a great deal of time talking about when she was pregnant with SD to DH, which felt like a cold knife in my heart because I'm struggling with whether DH and I will even be able to have bio kids.
The kicker is that I don't feel as though I have any way to stop her from coming. She told her plans to SD without discussing it with us at all, and she's incredibly excited about her mom coming up to see her graduate middle school. There's now no way we can tell her not to come or change the dates of her coming without deeply disappointing SD, and no one can afford a hotel for BM to stay at as an alternatie.
I don't believe she has done any of this out of malice. She can be a bit socially awkward, and I haven't always been the best about vocalizing when I'm uncomfortable. But her past actions combined with the recent issues DH and I have had make me feel very uncomfortable about her coming and staying in our apartment during DH's and my anniversary - even if it is for SD's 8th grade graduation. Is this unreasonable of me? AITAH?
2023.05.28 19:02 wgc123 Next step for 18 yo with checking, savings, Apple Pay?
My older son recently turned 18 and will be starting college in the fall, so I’m looking for advice on the next step toward helping him establish his financial life. What do you think?
Currently he has Checking and Savings account in a local credit union (6% interest in first $1k of savings!!!), jointly owned by him and his mother and I. He does not have a regular job but wants to get into education and was able to get on the substitute teacher list at a local school (when it doesn’t conflict with his school). He uses Apple Pay configured with his debit card and Apple Cash. Our goal is to help him learn good financial habits within some safeguards, while starting him on the road to financial independence.
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Currently he has Checking and Savings account in a local credit union (6% interest in first $1k of savings!!!), jointly owned by him and his mother and I. He does not have a regular job but wants to get into education and was able to get on the substitute teacher list at a local school (when it doesn’t conflict with his school). He uses Apple Pay configured with his debit card and Apple Cash. Our goal is to help him learn good financial habits within some safeguards, while starting him on the road to financial independence.
- Allowance and gifts go half Checking, half Savings.
- Checking is his to spend as he wants but we have overdraft protection disabled so if he spends too much it will be rejected. He needs to learn simple budgeting as well as paying attention to his balance
- he is not allowed to spend from savings without approval, and he knows there must be a special reason. Everyone needs some savings and to have the will power to limit what it’s used for
- for emergencies, we configured Apple Pay Cash, or I can deposit in his accounts for immediate use (although I probably let him rely too much on “Bank of Dad”)
2023.05.28 18:57 Sleaze_Guy Arizona mother pleads guilty to murder, child abuse after 6-year-old son died of starvation
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2023.05.28 18:56 Francesco767671 My Brother begin a Dick at me and the karma punished him
(before staring i want to apologize for misspelling and other grammatical errors english Is my second language, also i Wish you don't share this story in italian to avoid my Brother finding this, also i wanted to share this story, anyway let's start) During the period of late 2017 to late 2019 i got blackmailed from my bigger Brother, the stuff he used to blackmail me was Simply cuphead and bendy, because in 2018 i found out about them and since my mother Is a Little bit too much Christian She Always got a Little bit mad for "demonic" reference, (like witches, magic, Devil figures ecc.) So i was scared about my mom finding out cuphead or bendy because they included some stuff to Devil related as you guys know and because i started felling like as a idiot and start deprimating myself. When i discovered cuphead i wanted to play It but i never got It by trying to having It for free (i was 10 at that Age, now i'm 14 and my Brother Is 15 now), those moments were full of Memories and nostalgia but Memories also for the traumas. My Brother finded It out by talking about that to him, because i didn't had Friends at the time because i never knew why i was "different to them"(some months ago i found some papers with my autism diagnosis) so i had only him to talk about it , at the start he acted normal buy when It noticed that when he tried to talk about it in family and i tried to stopped him, he started to realizing a way to blackmail me (also he found out bendy in the same way). He started before saying randomly "cuphead, mugman and bendy" Just trying to stop me from begin "annoying to him" but i still ingored that and we watched or i telled them about cuphead and bendy stuff, but then It started to get worse, he treathed to Say all of cuphead and bendy ti my mom because, you know, in that Moment i started to get more and more scared about my Brother and he keep making It worse so much that i became his slave and even my Little Brother (now 9) learned the blackmail against me, making me more and more anxiosus and alone with nobody, ending even my cousins finding this about. He keeped doing this a Little bit before the start of pandemic leaving me with trust issues and diagnosed social anxiety caused by that asshole, but my Little Brother never stopped even now still saying those fucking names trying to stop me and making me more and more anxiosus, but some months during the 2019 Summer the karma stared responding back. He got kidney failure due that fact that he got from birth kidney deficiensy and got transplanted at the Age of 2 and in that Moment when he was 11 his only working kidney (the transplanted One) failed and he stayed in hospital for a big time of Summer leaving me and my Little Brother at our grandparents, then After that he got bullied at school for his support for dialisys and he got manipulated by One of his classmates (like what he did to me) and other bad stuff to him when he was 12, and when he was 13 stayed at home for the entire school year, meanwhile he started blackmailing my Little Brother by the fact he founded out fnaf fandom but my Little Brother didn't cared and punched him and insulted him also with my help. When i turned 13 i started to fell the anxiety that my Brother gaves to me, and also we founded out in a parallel way the hazbin hotel and helluva boss fandom, he didn't blackmailed me for that but instead he said that if May Be caught by our mother he would blame me. But then the the treaths became reality, by telling at my mother the entire cuphead lore, i started getting angry about this like that fucking asshole did that and he even showed cuphead to my bigger cousin and grandma and when i walked in they tell what the fuck i was watching then i started having a mental breakdown insulting my bigger Brother and then going into the bathroom crying about knowing my Life got fucked up, also the showed hazbin hotel at my mother and making me more anxiosus and depressed, ending trying to commit suicide the last May in the fields but It didn't worked, and my Brother still got the karma strike till now remaning without firends nobody to talk, bad at school and he gets mad about this, meanwhile i look at him with satisfaction in my eyes for the Revenge he got and he Is still without Friends nowdays . This was an Amazing Revenge, i fucking hate that Little asshole he still deserve this for the stress and terror he gaved to me and now when i hear those names i get mad and i end up beating my Little Brother with a puch ,i think that i got ptsd from this traumatic expierience, i don't think i l'll recover from that. (ALSO I WANT TO REMBER: DO NOT POST THIS IN ITALIAN TO AVOID HIM FINDING THIS STORY if you try via tiktok taddeo_sperduto i'll write you in dm's to remove the video)
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2023.05.28 18:55 Striking-Dress-6403 My grandma is nearing the end, don't know what to do
I'm 16F, my grandma got diagnosed when i was younger, around age 9 was when i understood what it is. She had a seizure recently and went to hospital and then a home for a few months but then the nhs decided that despite these regular seizures and dementia and severe mental health disorder she was diagnosed with earlier in life, we are able to care for her at home. I already mourned her 'death' about a year ago, as she is essentially just a vegetable now. she doesnt speak or anything. she is back at home with a new room which is downstairs by the kitchen and bathroom because she cant go to the toilet anymore and my parents have to wash feces off her clothes and her body sometimes even the walls its really gross. so every time i need to go down i walk past her room and it is the most horrible feeling ever like my heart is being yanked out of my chest. her room reminds me of when i was in hospital, it is so lifeless and she is just there and it makes me so upset. but i cant bring myself to talk to her, i dont think ive spoke to her in years and i know that is so so so horrible of me but i really dont know what to do i cant describe to you how bad i feel for her i honestly just wish she would die so that she doesnt have to suffer anymore. it is the most horrible feeling, and her presence just brings down everyone in my house, parents constantly stressed for essentially years straight. my dad (her son) used to take out his upset because of her on me so i have had my own trauma and mental issues to deal with since i was 12. its almost my summer holidays post gcse (this situation is affecting my revision as well which makes it even worse) but i dont think i will be able to enjoy it to the fullest as my mum and dad now have her to deal with and give her 24 hour care whilst both having jobs. the last time i had a summer holiday with her here i ended up suicidal because of the effect it had on my dad who then took it out on me so im very scared for it. but i cant bring myself to help them deal with her and i know its bad but i honestly dont know what to do im so lost ive never felt this helpless in my life. normally i am able to figure out solutions to my problems but this time i have nothing. Also on top of this my other grandma on my mums side got diagnosed with it recently too, i was closer to her despite the language barrier, i havent seen her since i was 12. im really stuck on how to deal with any of this and i cant find anything on the internet to help :( the fact both my grandmothers now have it is such a scary feeling because i dont want to get it id honestly rather die im so scared. if my mum or dad get it i dont think i could handle it i honestly am so lost
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2023.05.28 18:54 A-Asura How does this read? It’s from the 2nd chapter of my novel.
Seven lay on the ground, whimpering in pain. His wound had grown larger and began to throb. Though the injury wasn't serious, he couldn't think of anything but meeting the same fate as his brothers. He had learned at a young age that those carrying his true surname were followed by Death from birth.
"Death lurks around the corner for me. I don't know why, but I'm so scared. Maybe... just maybe, it'd be okay for me to let go. I miss my brothers, my mother. I miss them all, yet I'm here to suffer all alone. Haunted by this curse because of my stupid fucking name. And now some weirdos drag me into a cave. What's with my luck?" Seven said, while the pretty girl from earlier with long, silky black hair and an hourglass figure watched silently as Seven vented his frustrations into the air of the chambers.
"Hey," the girl said softly. "You're Zero, right? The first one they brought here," replied Seven, curious as to why she was speaking to him. Suddenly, she began to approach him, getting close enough that if either of them leaned forward slightly, their lips would surely meet.
Zero gently grabbed Seven by the chin with just her fingertips, caressing his chin smoothly as she looked into his eyes. "That's exactly why you must live," she said coldly yet soothingly. "You must live for the ones you lost. What gives you the right to die and face them?" She then tossed him to the ground by his face with enough force to cause the dust on the floor to rise.
"Live, become strong... stronger than anyone else. Reign supreme above all else, and then, my love, only then would I allow you to die," Zero said, standing over Seven, her conviction lingering in the air, ringing in Seven's ears as if someone had hit a drum beside them.
Hovering above him like some god, Seven couldn't help but feel pitiful. Zero reached out her hand to help Seven get up, but out of spite, Seven slapped away her hand. "I don't need pity or advice from someone like you," he said, standing up forcefully and brushing himself off. "If you ever put your hands on me like that again, you'll regret it. And who do you think you are, telling me when I can and can't die? I don't even know you!" He smacked his teeth and turned his back to walk away from Zero.
"Wait," she said, grabbing Seven by the shoulder, attempting to turn him around, but he wouldn't budge this time. "I can't let you die, Seven... No, Niro... I can't let you die because you're the key, my love."
"The key? What the fuck are you talking about? Are you drunk? And stop calling me that!" Seven replied, obviously irritated, before freezing. "Wait, how do you know... my name?"
submitted by A-Asura to fantasywriters [link] [comments]
"Death lurks around the corner for me. I don't know why, but I'm so scared. Maybe... just maybe, it'd be okay for me to let go. I miss my brothers, my mother. I miss them all, yet I'm here to suffer all alone. Haunted by this curse because of my stupid fucking name. And now some weirdos drag me into a cave. What's with my luck?" Seven said, while the pretty girl from earlier with long, silky black hair and an hourglass figure watched silently as Seven vented his frustrations into the air of the chambers.
"Hey," the girl said softly. "You're Zero, right? The first one they brought here," replied Seven, curious as to why she was speaking to him. Suddenly, she began to approach him, getting close enough that if either of them leaned forward slightly, their lips would surely meet.
Zero gently grabbed Seven by the chin with just her fingertips, caressing his chin smoothly as she looked into his eyes. "That's exactly why you must live," she said coldly yet soothingly. "You must live for the ones you lost. What gives you the right to die and face them?" She then tossed him to the ground by his face with enough force to cause the dust on the floor to rise.
"Live, become strong... stronger than anyone else. Reign supreme above all else, and then, my love, only then would I allow you to die," Zero said, standing over Seven, her conviction lingering in the air, ringing in Seven's ears as if someone had hit a drum beside them.
Hovering above him like some god, Seven couldn't help but feel pitiful. Zero reached out her hand to help Seven get up, but out of spite, Seven slapped away her hand. "I don't need pity or advice from someone like you," he said, standing up forcefully and brushing himself off. "If you ever put your hands on me like that again, you'll regret it. And who do you think you are, telling me when I can and can't die? I don't even know you!" He smacked his teeth and turned his back to walk away from Zero.
"Wait," she said, grabbing Seven by the shoulder, attempting to turn him around, but he wouldn't budge this time. "I can't let you die, Seven... No, Niro... I can't let you die because you're the key, my love."
"The key? What the fuck are you talking about? Are you drunk? And stop calling me that!" Seven replied, obviously irritated, before freezing. "Wait, how do you know... my name?"
2023.05.28 18:50 guy_fawkes6 Suryaputra Karna, the tragic hero
Mythological books offer a rich tapestry of stories that provide valuable lessons and insights into the human condition. By delving into the struggles and lives of the characters portrayed, we can gain a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world around us. These mythological narratives often explore universal themes such as love, sacrifice, power, redemption, and the complexities of human nature. Through the trials and tribulations faced by the characters, we can learn about the consequences of our actions, the importance of moral choices, and the transformative power of personal growth. The characters' virtues and flaws, their triumphs and failures, serve as mirrors that reflect our own strengths and weaknesses. By empathizing with these mythological figures, we cultivate empathy, broaden our perspectives, and develop a greater appreciation for the intricacies of the human experience. Ultimately, the lessons learned from mythological books help us navigate the challenges of life, make informed decisions, and strive to become better versions of ourselves.
Suryaputra Karna, also known as Karna, is a prominent character in the Indian epic, the Mahabharata. He is considered one of the greatest warriors in the epic and is renowned for his valor, skill in archery, and unwavering loyalty.
Karna was born to Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas, through her invocation of the Sun God, Surya. However, due to certain circumstances, Karna was raised by a charioteer family and grew up believing he was of lower birth. Despite facing societal discrimination, he exhibited remarkable prowess in various martial arts and became a formidable warrior.
Karna's loyalty aligned with the Kauravas, the rivals of the Pandavas, and he played a significant role in the Kurukshetra War, the central conflict of the Mahabharata. His rivalry with Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers and his true half-brother, is legendary. Karna's military expertise and heroism on the battlefield earned him respect and admiration from both allies and foes.
Karna is often portrayed as a tragic hero due to the challenges and injustices he faced throughout his life. His loyalty and adherence to his principles, even in the face of adversity, are celebrated. Karna's character embodies complex moral dilemmas and philosophical themes such as loyalty, honor, sacrifice, and fate.
Suryaputra Karna's life presents several philosophical dilemmas and moral conflicts that have intrigued scholars and readers for centuries. Here are a few key dilemmas associated with Karna's character and the lessons we can learn from them:
submitted by guy_fawkes6 to india [link] [comments]
Suryaputra Karna, also known as Karna, is a prominent character in the Indian epic, the Mahabharata. He is considered one of the greatest warriors in the epic and is renowned for his valor, skill in archery, and unwavering loyalty.
Karna was born to Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas, through her invocation of the Sun God, Surya. However, due to certain circumstances, Karna was raised by a charioteer family and grew up believing he was of lower birth. Despite facing societal discrimination, he exhibited remarkable prowess in various martial arts and became a formidable warrior.
Karna's loyalty aligned with the Kauravas, the rivals of the Pandavas, and he played a significant role in the Kurukshetra War, the central conflict of the Mahabharata. His rivalry with Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers and his true half-brother, is legendary. Karna's military expertise and heroism on the battlefield earned him respect and admiration from both allies and foes.
Karna is often portrayed as a tragic hero due to the challenges and injustices he faced throughout his life. His loyalty and adherence to his principles, even in the face of adversity, are celebrated. Karna's character embodies complex moral dilemmas and philosophical themes such as loyalty, honor, sacrifice, and fate.
Suryaputra Karna's life presents several philosophical dilemmas and moral conflicts that have intrigued scholars and readers for centuries. Here are a few key dilemmas associated with Karna's character and the lessons we can learn from them:
- Loyalty versus Truth: Karna's unwavering loyalty to Duryodhana, the eldest Kaurava, often conflicted with his knowledge of Duryodhana's wrongdoings. Despite recognizing the unjust actions of his friend and ally, Karna chose to remain loyal to his commitment. This dilemma raises questions about the boundaries of loyalty and the importance of truth and justice. The lesson here is to carefully evaluate our loyalties and consider the ethical consequences of our allegiances.
- Social Identity and Self-worth: Karna's struggle with his social identity is a recurring theme. As a child of lower birth, Karna faced discrimination and prejudice throughout his life. He constantly grappled with questions of self-worth and societal validation. This dilemma highlights the significance of recognizing the inherent value of each individual, regardless of social status, and the need to challenge social biases and stereotypes.
- Dharma (Righteous Duty) versus Personal Desires: Karna faced numerous instances where he had to choose between fulfilling his personal desires and adhering to his righteous duty. Despite his sympathy for the Pandavas, who were his true brothers, Karna chose to stand with the Kauravas due to his sense of loyalty. This dilemma underscores the complexity of moral choices and the sacrifices that may be required to uphold one's sense of duty and honor.
- Fate and Free Will: Karna's life is often seen as a struggle against fate. Born with immense potential and virtues, Karna faced numerous challenges and misfortunes throughout his life. Despite his virtuous qualities, he was bound by the circumstances of his birth and faced a predetermined destiny. This dilemma raises questions about the interplay between fate and free will, and the extent to which individuals can shape their own lives.
- Loyalty and honor are essential virtues, but they should not blind us to injustice or compromise our commitment to truth.
- Social status or birth should not determine one's worth, and it is crucial to recognize the inherent value of every individual.
- Moral dilemmas often require careful reflection and consideration of the consequences of our choices.
- Upholding one's dharma (righteous duty) may require personal sacrifices and difficult decisions.
- While fate may shape our circumstances, we still have the power to make choices and determine our own path.
2023.05.28 18:48 Psychological_Suit53 Redwall Rising: Eldred's Quest
 | Dear Redwall fans, submitted by Psychological_Suit53 to redwall [link] [comments] I, like many, have been using ChatGPT obsessively. LLMs are an absolute game-changer. It is certainly a flawed model for data accuracy, however, in creative applications, it really shines. And I wanted to share this exercise with you: A breathtakingly true Redwall edition we co-created. Combined with midjourney images for illustration. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I read and re-read every section GPT generated and spent hours making sure there was consistency. Criticism is encouraged and appreciated. Now presenting... Eldred "Redwall Rising: Eldred's Quest" ------------------------- BOOK SUMMARY Five centuries after the time of Martin the Warrior, Redwall Abbey is led by an aged and ailing Abbot who is well-loved but no longer able to effectively lead. The Abbot's health has been declining, and his once sharp mind has become increasingly forgetful. Decisions are often deferred or delegated to a council of elders, who unfortunately spend more time arguing amongst themselves than making meaningful decisions. Some elders are too cautious, fearing change, while others are too detached, not realizing the extent of Redwall's decline. Key positions are filled by individuals who are more interested in maintaining their own status than genuinely ensuring the Abbey's safety. In the absence of strong leadership, Redwall's once strong walls are crumbling, the verdant gardens are untended, the lush Mossflower Woods are becoming perilous and untamed, and threats are mounting from nefarious creatures skulking about the borders. The Abbey's once thriving community feels dispirited. Our protagonist is a sprightly and resourceful young mouse named Eldred. Son of Elderberry the head chef and Rillian the Abbey's historian. Eldred was expected to follow his father's footsteps and become a historian, a role he respects but has always found himself yearning for something more adventurous and impactful. In helping his father one evening, Eldred stumbles upon an ancient, dust-laden tome in the library's darkest corner. The book, a diary of Matthias, reveals the secret location of Martin's legendary sword. With a spark of hope ignited in his heart, Eldred embarks on a dangerous journey to retrieve the sword, with the dream of reviving the lost glory of Redwall Abbey. https://preview.redd.it/chr5p7v94n2b1.png?width=1024&format=png&auto=webp&s=900a8841f74b10572be0804fb6890123bb487a11 Our antagonist is a cunning and relentless wildcat named Thane Grimbane. Grimbane, the descendent of Tsarmina, has heard of Eldred's quest for Martin's sword and becomes hellbent on seizing it to reign over Mossflower. Known for his cruelty and strategic mind, Grimbane seeks to dismantle the tranquility of Redwall and create a reign of terror across the lands. Finding the sword sets off a series of calamities, with Redwall being attacked by increasingly aggressive vermin, the weather turning harsh, and internal strife reaching an all-time high. Many inexperienced residents are thrust into great responsibility. Despite the calamities, Eldred's discovery brings about a transformative change. Eldred experiences a surge of strength, courage, and growth, both physically and emotionally, making him a beacon of respect among the Redwall inhabitants. The sword's mystical abilities, infused by the spirit of Martin the Warrior and countless battles fought for justice and peace, transform Eldred and prepare him for the upcoming trials. As more newcomers and families seek refuge in Redwall, escaping Grimbane's tyranny, the Abbey begins to transform. Eldred's newfound courage and Martin's sword instill a glimmer of hope. Eldred, still adjusting to his unexpected leadership role, continues to inspire and unite the inhabitants of Redwall. An unexpected influx of refugees, fleeing from the escalating threats in Mossflower, bring a wealth of untapped skills and fresh ideas. Newly arrived families and individuals include:
https://preview.redd.it/4bggofvt6n2b1.png?width=1024&format=png&auto=webp&s=5d91ebd5f53d1145db35754cfb645e3b0e0f96af Eldred falls for a smart and beautiful mousemaid named Liana. With the sword in his hand and Liana by his side, Eldred leads Redwall into a series of victories against Grimbane, its residents united and invigorated. With each victory, their confidence grows, and the once decaying Abbey begins to regain its old glory. The final confrontation takes place when Grimbane, infuriated and desperate, decides to attack Redwall head-on. It's during this climactic battle that Eldred, wielding Martin's sword, faces Grimbane in a one-on-one duel. Eldred's bravery, combined with the unity and determination of all Redwall inhabitants, results in Grimbane's defeat. Following this victory, peace is finally restored in Redwall, which stands more robust and unified than ever. Eldred's leadership, inspired by the wisdom of Matthias and Martin the Warrior, ushers in a new era of prosperity and peace. Slowly but surely, Redwall begins to flourish once more, its halls echoing with laughter and songs, its pantry full, and its walls strong. The residents, old and new, work together, their combined efforts restoring the Abbey to its former glory and beyond. Eldred and Liana, now parents to a few lively young mice, cherish the peace they've helped achieve. Redwall Abbey, reborn, stands as a beacon of hope in Mossflower Woods, just as it did in the time of Martin the Warrior. ----------------------------- CHAPTER OUTLINE Section I: The Fading Glory https://preview.redd.it/oa8ythwn0n2b1.png?width=1024&format=png&auto=webp&s=e20bc54d3c9802eda821c83108631ce431fe17d8
Section II: The Rise of the Warrior
Section III: New Faces, New Hopes Liana
Redwall Abbey
Section IV: The Battle for Mossflower https://preview.redd.it/apytvf853n2b1.png?width=1024&format=png&auto=webp&s=238aeecad410aeca28021860f7dddd8c21d933ef
Section V: All That Glitters https://preview.redd.it/consscsk0n2b1.png?width=1024&format=png&auto=webp&s=a16e4e88265525c586aea75b9945abe8d0a5a94b
TLDR; In a time of crisis and decay, a young mouse named Eldred discovers the legendary sword of Martin the Warrior, and with newfound allies, leads Redwall Abbey on a transformative journey from impending ruin to a beacon of hope and strength. |
2023.05.28 18:43 cheese-book-tutorial [TOMT] yellow people cartoon from early 2000s?
I have vague memory of watching a cartoon or short with generic stickman figures, except they were yellow. I don’t remember much other than there were two yellow characters with white eyes and semi big black pupils? one possibly had round framed glasses. It was very simplistic 3D animation and i don’t remember the name but i do remember it having an O in the title that bounced around and moved like jelly. The last thing I can recall was seeing the yellow figure with glasses sitting on a couch talking to the other yellow figure, I think they were supposed to be father and son. this was a long time ago so I might be getting details wrong but i know for certain it was on the baby first tv channel, though. so that might help a whole lot.
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2023.05.28 18:42 AutoNewsAdmin [Business] - Arizona mother pleads guilty to murder, child abuse after 6-year-old son died of starvation
| | submitted by AutoNewsAdmin to NBCauto [link] [comments] |
2023.05.28 18:33 EnvironmentalNature2 Just watched Guardians of the galaxy 3 and boy it’s like someone wrote an allegory for my life
So when I was in primary school, I attended a private school owned by my aunt. It was not so fun, I had untreated and undiagnosed adhd, I wasn’t drinking enough water, so I basically hated school. I just managed to be average. And to make matters worse, teachers were a lot harder on me. I think they were trying to impress my aunt by showing how tough they were, but year after year, the teachers were harder on me. Anyway I changed schools, moved to another private school. Here, nobody knew me. No pressure, no crazy teachers trying to impress. I was top of my class. I was now representing my school in academic competitions. At such competitions my friends and teachers from my old school were often surprised to see me representing my new school. In a particularly dramatic competition I was the one who helped my new school win over my old school. I still had ADHD, but It was a lot easier. Now I had a GC sister who was always top of her class, (gc only for academic related reasons, everything else she treated her like crap). So this new dynamic of having two kids topping their respective classes was new to her. She didn’t know how to react. I wasn’t following the script. I remember a particular end of a term where my teacher was praising me, she looked at me with this look, like pride mixed with shock, but I thought nothing much of it. That’s how The high evolutionary looked at rocket when he figured out the solution to make the species “normal”. Surprised by that this thing he viewed as beneath him could be way smarter than him. Years later we were casually discussing how my academic situation flipped when I changed schools, my own mother said “it doesn’t really matter, they were all dumb in that new school “. Imagine that, a mother willing to believe that an entire school was full of stupid kids, than to believe that her own child was actually intelligent . One of her favorite things to say is “I want you to be a better person”. But in the words of Rocket “She didn’t really want things to be perfect, she just hated the way things were and wanted to continue hating them.
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