Kratos falling meme
treeavolodeathcount
2019.11.28 15:35 crinklecrumpet treeavolodeathcount
We all know that Diavolo will die forever. But how will he live? In each life, no matter how brief, he did something. What are the adventures of Diavolo in his lives. Perhaps they still end in death, but the journey might make it worth it. Or a legendary meme. Also Trees. If you can't think of a Diavolo life meme, post a fallen tree. Covered with moss in a forest, or abandoned in the middle of a desert. Be adventurous with your trees. (If high quality, trees in the act of falling are allowed.)
2021.03.25 13:40 MaoZeDeng Who must go?
Sub to post examples of people failing before those they criticize. Inspired by the meme of people criticizing Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and later falling from grace/leaving office before he does.
2020.02.02 23:30 ChevalierT Bolt Action memes
Hey Guys! Welcome to Bolt Action Memes, the page for Jokes, Humour, & Memes related to our favourite wargame. We do have a few guidelines to keep the group from falling into total anarchy: 1) We recommend you shitpost & meme to your hearts content, but please ensure it’s about Bolt Action, World War 2 or Wargaming in general.
2023.06.05 02:20 JohnWarrenDailey Full review of Prehistoric Planet
Follow-up to my last post:
An Attenborough documentary on dinosaurs with the same CGI that made The Jungle Book so lifelike? I couldn't think of a greater sell. But was it worth it? Would it give me the same sense of wonder that I felt when Walking with Dinosaurs came out 22 years earlier?
The first episode, "Coasts", is overall the strongest episode of season 1. Starting immediately with a swimming t-rex (Tyrannosaurus rex) leading his children to an island where he smelled a dead archelon (species unknown, as no Maastrichtian-age archelon was ever found in the fossil record), that first scene showed the promise of the show as a whole. Seeing CG baby t-rexes interacting with live-action baby turtles is both concerning (as sea turtles are currently endangered) and entertaining, as they are demonstrated pretty goofily. But after that, we are done with dinosaurs for the rest of the episode.
We cut to the one scene that, while endearing with a riveting soundtrack by power couple Anže Rozman and Kara Talve, does give me pause. The pterosaurs featured in that episode were based on bones so fragmentary that they couldn't be diagnosed. How can we be sure that Barbaridactylus was a member of the antlerwing family, Phosphatodraco a member of the simurgh family, or even Tethydraco a member of the pteranodon family? How do we even know what Alcione even looked like? Also, the score doesn't really match the slower, less urgent movements of the pterosaurs.
The next scene was described as "the sunken continent of Zealandia", which is a refresher to see the lost continent bearing recognition for a change. Here, a family of plesiosaurs (Tuarangisaurus keyesi) comes to the coast to gulp themselves on anti-buoyant rocks, while the males ceremoniously poke their long, heavy necks up to the surface, the only good moment in an otherwise generic sequence.
After a quick focus on coral, we get treated to a Hoffmann's mosasaur (Mosasaurus hoffmanni) relying on fish and shrimp to give him a good, proper scratch, only to be pushed out of turn by a younger male. This sequence sticks out to me because it shows mosasaurs being portrayed as animals, not as monsters to shadow Nigel Marven or kaijuified Blackfish bootlegs.
The next scene shows a dazzling, mesmerizing mating ceremony of ammonites ("scaphitids", they were called, but that doesn't determine specific species, as it was a very huge family). They glow in the dark and mate very particularly. If the male's flashes don't sync with those of the female, he'd be rejected. Complimenting this alien but still soothing scene is Rozman and Talve's equally alien and soothing score.
Back in Zealandia, we end with plesiosaur pod mentality, as the whole group defends a pregnant mother from a kaika taniwha (Kaikaifilu hervei). As with the previous plesiosaur scene, it wasn't a scene that I got too crazy about.
The next episode, "Deserts", isn't really as impactful as the Planet Earth episode of the same name, both in regards to execution and the musical score, and it was riddled with confusing scene decisions. The first scene demonstrates a lek of dreadnoughts (Dreadnoughtus schrani) acting like a combination of elephant seals and frigatebirds, right down to the pops on their necks. The score in that sequence is definitely memorable, as it (literally) highlights the weights that the males take to demonstrate their fitness to attract the gaggle of girls in the audience. Though I'm left wondering--did the upstart beat the veteran because he was stronger, or because he popped one of the veteran's neck balloons, as male frigatebirds would do to ditch the competish?
Once the sauropod show is over, we now move to what was presumed to be Nemegtia, but it was portrayed to be as dry as Djadochta, which leads to the next problem. While there was evidence of Maastrichtian-age velos in Central Asia, calling them "Velociraptor" is just wrong. I grew up watching Walking with Dinosaurs, which means I watched "Giant of the Skies", which featured Utahraptor in the wrong place at the wrong time. And while the American cut justifies this with a demonstration of a land bridge that connected North America to Europe, I don't know how much water that holds, and that doesn't seem to be relevant anyway, for the damage has already been done. So having in Velociraptor, a genus of velos that went extinct 71 million years ago, in Nemegtia, which was set 66 million years ago, is just a rehash of that previous mistake. In short, Prehistoric Planet has Utahraptor'd the Velociraptor. And besides, hasn't the picture of pack-hunting raptors already been discarded?
The next scene, the one with the Nemegtian mononych (Mononykus olecranus), is cute but not top-notch memorable, and its color choice is teetering way close to the point of plagiarism.
Afterwards, the brief but violent rains have created a watering hole in the middle of the desert, luring in dinosaurs and pterosaurs from miles around, including a wandering khan (Tarbosaurus bataar). The reason that scene is so low was that it was just a near-identical rotoscope of the Water Truce sequence from The Jungle Book, right down to the herbivores making a clearing for the khan.
Then we go high up to see more Barbaridactylus. This scene I wasn't aware was a problem until Unnatural History Channel brought it up in his video, but the females were shown to be oddly consensual towards the similar-looking sneaky males, who use their feminine appearances to sneak past the larger, more impressive males. This is a problem, apparently, because the more extreme the sexual dimorphism, the more likely the sneaky male will be rejected and therefore resort to assaulting the females.
The last scene is an interesting one, albeit one that suffered an unmemorable score in the soundtrack. Apparently, salty southern duckbills (Secernosaurus koerneri) can thrive on dunes of gypsum, but when rains hit the coast, they rely on both their tenacity and their know-how of the sky to get to more productive grazing. This scene stands out to me because I question why any large animal would choose to thrive on such a taxing environment. It'd make sense for an animal as small as the cryptile, the scrofa and the gryken from The Future is Wild, but not for a duckbill bigger than 16 feet long.
It is unanimously agreed upon that "Freshwater" is the weakest episode in the first season. Apart from the humpbacked false duckbill (Deinocheirus mirificus) getting a scratch in the swamps of a more accurate Nemegtia and the devil frog (Beelzebufo ampinga) making a snack out of a baby whacktooth (Masiaksaurus knoplferi), the habitat itself has been relegated to the backseat, which is why the mating scene of the t-rex and the laying magnificent simurgh (Quetzalcoatlus northropi) are on the C tier, good scenes that have been damaged by simply being in the wrong episode. Speaking of the latter, memes have popped up in which the faces of dinosaurs have been pasted over two shots of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, with either Masiakasaurus or the Planet Dinosaur model of Majungasaurus being Galahad and the Quetzalcoatlus being the French taunter ("What are you doing in Africa?" "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!") when, really, that meme is more applicable to Velociraptor being in the Maastrichtian. On that topic, not only is it STILL in the wrong time, there is another problem, one I didn't pay attention to until Unnatural History Channel brought it up on his video. Instead of showing audiences raptor prey restraint (or "RPR"), the storytellers relied instead on mountain cats to show the velos hunting the pterosaurs (species unknown). Like the Deserts episode, Planet Earth has a far stronger "Freshwater" episode.
"Ice Worlds" didn't excite me as much as "Spirits of the Ice Forest" did, which is a shame, because dinosaurs in the snow is a refresher by default. We start at Prince Creek, which I couldn't ask for a worse place to start because the cast list is very fragmentary. In the opening scene, a pack of raptors (species unknown, though modeled after the pitbull raptor), shadows a herd of ugrunaaluk (Edmontosaurus sp.) for a long-delayed meal. Again, the picture of raptors hunting in packs has been debunked for a very long time now. Why insist on resorting to old cliches?
The Ornithomimus scene (can't think of a vernacular for them), while the designs look cool and add distinction to overall character, is still just a rotoscope of the Adelie penguin sequence from "Frozen Planet". Next.
The sequence with the swanneck (Olorotitan arharensis) is even less impressive. Are horsetails really more nutritious than grass? If so, then why have grasslands been the dominant plains since the Miocene?
The reason the scene with the tro-o is relatively low on the tier list is that it should have been longer, because a dinosaur with the intellect of a fire hawk is a very interesting prospect. But the final scene was just too short and too bland to show off any real gold.
We have spent so much time in the north that I question the necessity of a quick detour to Antarctica, rendering the scene with the polar macahutiul (Antarctopelta oliveroi) my least favorite of the series.
The final scene demonstrates the predator-prey dynamic between the northern boss (Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum) and the nanook (Nanuqsaurus hoglundi). The scene is great, the score has some very rhythmic moments, but what puts it low on the B tier are the nanooks themselves. From a distance, they look as good as most of the others. But in closeup, they look kind of fake, especially when they're running. Which brings up to the next problem--the story is based on fossil footprints of different lines pointing in the same direction. But how do we know that those parallel tracks were made at the same time and not separated within hours, days or even weeks of each other? And while it is true that nanooks were smaller than t-rexes, their portrayals in the show were just too small. More recent consensus shows that one nanook could easily match a boss in size, if not overtop it.
"Forests" is an everywhere kind of episode. The opening scene with the austroposeidon (Austroposeidon magnificus) is not long enough to get me invested.
Then a herd of trikes (Triceratops, species unknown) visits a cave to visit a clay lick to neutralize the poisons from their plant food. But why clay? Why not salt? Herbivores can clearly deal with poisonous plants without problem, but plants lack sodium, which is why the elephants of Mount Elgon (the inspiration behind that scene) scrape the caves not for clay, but for salt.
This next scene has gotten everyone talking. A male minotaur (Carnotaurus sastrei) clears the stage to wave his arms around to impress an impossibly stoic female. Everything about that scene--from the choreography to the score--is very goofy, and that is what makes it work so well.
While it is nice to finally see the Pinocchio-rex (Qianzhousaurus sinensis) in the flesh, its hunt for bright blue corythoraptors (Corythoraptor jacobsi) is not a scene I'd be in a hurry to revisit.
The fire scene is oddly slow, the only memorable moment in the whole sequence being my first official introduction to Atrociraptor marshalli...literally just one short week before Jurassic World: Dominion predictably ruined it.
The scene with the baby Therizinosaurus is passable. While it is cute to imagine babies having a taste for honey, it just wasn't executed memorably.
The final scene, the one set on Hateg Island, slogs on in pace, with the greatest focus being a bunch of odd-looking baby zalmos (Zalmoxes robustus) running and hiding from the real star of the episode, the robust simurgh (Hatzegopteryx thambena), looking more proper than how it looked in Planet Dinosaur. One question, though--weren't pterosaur wings supposed to be rounded at the tip? Sure, they've got the hands pointing backwards, but the pointed wingtips is now believed to be an outdated picture.
So it goes without saying that years of watching a moderate quantity of Attenborough documentaries has made the watching experience of Prehistoric Planet, at least in comparison to the original Walking with Dinosaurs, a bit numb. The creature designs are good, the CGI has not faltered in its photorealism from The Jungle Book, and even the soundtrack has enough of a score to make it memorable. But it's the stories that amount to the overall numbness of the first season. They hadn't opened my eyes in the way that Walking with Dinosaurs did.
When season 2 was announced literally one year after season 1, I had my doubts. Planet Earth 2 came out literally a decade after the first Planet Earth, and the differences in filming technology and musical score clearly show that. Same for the 16 years that separate The Blue Planet from Blue Planet 2. Dynasties 2, by contrast, came way too soon after the first Dynasties, and the end result is sloppy, from the stories being set at the tedious start rather than at the steady prime to the score from the first Dynasties being reused so often that the only episode to have any new music was "Meerkat". So to find Prehistoric Planet 2 come out literally one year after Prehistoric Planet, I was concerned that it'd be as shorthanded as Dynasties 2 was. The opening episode, "Islands", kind of suffered that, but it thankfully wasn't as severe a problem.
The first segment of that episode struck me as odd because the adult zalmo looks weirdly identical to the baby model from last episode.
While it is cool to see the robust simurgh being expanded upon, I personally wish we'd stayed at Hateg Island, where they'd hunt the Transylvanian dwarf duckbill (Telmatosaurus transylvanicus) and not the funky combbill (Tethyshadros insularis).
One of season 1's most recurring complaints is "no crocodiles", which is pretty apt when you consider how diverse they were during the Cretaceous period. So to see the Malagasy armadillo (Simosuchus clarki) at all, let alone stand up against a mahjong (Majungasaurus crenatissimus), is one to remember for the ages.
This next scene is actually pretty interesting, in which we see Adalatherium, which wasn't a true mammal, but rather something hovering closely outside the taxonomic boundaries. It's a long sequence, which is just as well, because this is as new a clade to me now as the cynodont was when Walking with Dinosaurs came out.
As with in "Ice Worlds", a quick detour to Antarctica doesn't seem necessary to me, as the hunt between the Imperobator and the Morrosaurus feels more like a skim.
The last scene in the episode is my personal favorite, in which a male robust simugh stands on a sandbar to do whatever it takes to impress a mate.
"Badlands" stands out in that there are only two settings. The first one is the strongest because of how the Deccan Traps, long reputed to be the co-culprit to the fall of the dinosaur empire, has been repurposed into prime nesting estate for a herd of sauropods (Isisaurus colberti). The journey seems reckless, but volcanic sand is hot and toasty, something that a modern species of dinosaur, the megapode, also exploits as it lays its egg in the hot volcanic sand of the Solomons.
The next scene hasn't fixed on last year's problems, in which Velociraptor is still there and it still hasn't performed RPR--it just kicks an herbivore off a cliff, and that was that.
The nesting Corythoraptor scene didn't interest me, but what really bugged me was that the antagonist of that sequence was a kuru (Kuru kulla), a raptor who, like the pterosaurs on the "Coasts" episode, was based on incomplete, fragmentary specimens.
The sequence with the tarchias (Tarchia, species unknown), is a refreshing detour from the previous sequence because we have a better idea as to what they would have looked like. And to see them slog around for an oasis is a second highlight (next to the Deccan nursery).
This next scene has nothing new added from either "Time of the Titans" or "Alpha's Egg", in which a herd of baby sauropods gets picked on by larger predators on their way to the safety of the forest.
The majority of the "Freshwater" sequences I feel fit better in "Swamps". The same unnamed pterosaurs from "Freshwater" have reappeared, this time trying to fly past an approaching population of alligators (Shamosuchus djadochtaensis).
The next episode features a grizzly bear gathering of austroraptors (Austroraptor cabazai) hunting gar. It stands out as highly as it does because it shows a species of raptor that looks and acts differently from the usual velo or nych. Plus, we know many miles more about austroraptors than we do about Spinosaurus, so that is a relieving plus.
The devil frog stands out in this episode, and to see a grumpy male try to fight off a herd of goavambe (Rapetosaurus krausei) is humorous. It also deviates from the usual picture of "the frog that eats dinosaurs".
This next sequence I was very concerned the moment I saw it in the ads. Thanks to Jack Horner, the poorly-known family Pachycephalosauridae has been under very hot fire with the notion of bone sponginess being a taxonomically viable method of identification, which it really isn't because all amniotes have spongy bones in their teens. But very thankfully, this sequence does not resort to Hornerism. It shows that older males do get longer horns on the backs of their heads, not the other way around. Also, new evidence has shown that the domes may have been covered in shiny skin, so this has me asking--is the dome a boys-only trait? Could that dracorex (Pachycephalosaurus hogwartsia) skull that I saw at the Black Hills Museum just be a girl entering her sweet 16 when she died? Could those stygimoloch (Pachycephalosaurus spinifer) skulls just be those of high school footballers?
"Swamps" ended on a high note with a couple of t-rexes hunting an anatotitan (Edmontosaurus annectens) in the dark. One just walks to the duckbill, and the animal, in its panic, goes right in the direction of the other t-rex in hiding. This perfectly reflects the current understanding that t-rexes exchanged fast running for better walking. Now can we see some duckbills fighting back, please?
On May 26, The Little Mermaid came out in theaters. A day earlier, "Oceans" came out. If I were to choose, I'd stick to the latter, simply because we're treated to fresh new stories with a wider variety of mosasaurs and ammonites than any of the Walking with programs ever did. The scene with the hesperorns chasing bait fish only to have themselves be chased by bulldog fish (Xiphactinus) is a classic, but a good one. However, "X-fish"? What's wrong with "bulldog fish"? But the highlight, no doubt, is the final sequence, in which a Hoffmann's mosasaur killed a juvenile plesiosaur simply by ramming it great white style.
"Freshwater" was weak due to being sorely unfocused. "North America", by contrast, is even weaker for being too rushed. Also, the "scars make the man" narrative with the trikes bugs me the most. What justification is there for that?
This has been a very exhaustive review of Prehistoric Planet, and it's way too early for me to worry about a season 3 coming out, if there is going to be one.
submitted by JohnWarrenDailey to Dinosaurs [link] [comments]
An Attenborough documentary on dinosaurs with the same CGI that made The Jungle Book so lifelike? I couldn't think of a greater sell. But was it worth it? Would it give me the same sense of wonder that I felt when Walking with Dinosaurs came out 22 years earlier?
The first episode, "Coasts", is overall the strongest episode of season 1. Starting immediately with a swimming t-rex (Tyrannosaurus rex) leading his children to an island where he smelled a dead archelon (species unknown, as no Maastrichtian-age archelon was ever found in the fossil record), that first scene showed the promise of the show as a whole. Seeing CG baby t-rexes interacting with live-action baby turtles is both concerning (as sea turtles are currently endangered) and entertaining, as they are demonstrated pretty goofily. But after that, we are done with dinosaurs for the rest of the episode.
We cut to the one scene that, while endearing with a riveting soundtrack by power couple Anže Rozman and Kara Talve, does give me pause. The pterosaurs featured in that episode were based on bones so fragmentary that they couldn't be diagnosed. How can we be sure that Barbaridactylus was a member of the antlerwing family, Phosphatodraco a member of the simurgh family, or even Tethydraco a member of the pteranodon family? How do we even know what Alcione even looked like? Also, the score doesn't really match the slower, less urgent movements of the pterosaurs.
The next scene was described as "the sunken continent of Zealandia", which is a refresher to see the lost continent bearing recognition for a change. Here, a family of plesiosaurs (Tuarangisaurus keyesi) comes to the coast to gulp themselves on anti-buoyant rocks, while the males ceremoniously poke their long, heavy necks up to the surface, the only good moment in an otherwise generic sequence.
After a quick focus on coral, we get treated to a Hoffmann's mosasaur (Mosasaurus hoffmanni) relying on fish and shrimp to give him a good, proper scratch, only to be pushed out of turn by a younger male. This sequence sticks out to me because it shows mosasaurs being portrayed as animals, not as monsters to shadow Nigel Marven or kaijuified Blackfish bootlegs.
The next scene shows a dazzling, mesmerizing mating ceremony of ammonites ("scaphitids", they were called, but that doesn't determine specific species, as it was a very huge family). They glow in the dark and mate very particularly. If the male's flashes don't sync with those of the female, he'd be rejected. Complimenting this alien but still soothing scene is Rozman and Talve's equally alien and soothing score.
Back in Zealandia, we end with plesiosaur pod mentality, as the whole group defends a pregnant mother from a kaika taniwha (Kaikaifilu hervei). As with the previous plesiosaur scene, it wasn't a scene that I got too crazy about.
The next episode, "Deserts", isn't really as impactful as the Planet Earth episode of the same name, both in regards to execution and the musical score, and it was riddled with confusing scene decisions. The first scene demonstrates a lek of dreadnoughts (Dreadnoughtus schrani) acting like a combination of elephant seals and frigatebirds, right down to the pops on their necks. The score in that sequence is definitely memorable, as it (literally) highlights the weights that the males take to demonstrate their fitness to attract the gaggle of girls in the audience. Though I'm left wondering--did the upstart beat the veteran because he was stronger, or because he popped one of the veteran's neck balloons, as male frigatebirds would do to ditch the competish?
Once the sauropod show is over, we now move to what was presumed to be Nemegtia, but it was portrayed to be as dry as Djadochta, which leads to the next problem. While there was evidence of Maastrichtian-age velos in Central Asia, calling them "Velociraptor" is just wrong. I grew up watching Walking with Dinosaurs, which means I watched "Giant of the Skies", which featured Utahraptor in the wrong place at the wrong time. And while the American cut justifies this with a demonstration of a land bridge that connected North America to Europe, I don't know how much water that holds, and that doesn't seem to be relevant anyway, for the damage has already been done. So having in Velociraptor, a genus of velos that went extinct 71 million years ago, in Nemegtia, which was set 66 million years ago, is just a rehash of that previous mistake. In short, Prehistoric Planet has Utahraptor'd the Velociraptor. And besides, hasn't the picture of pack-hunting raptors already been discarded?
The next scene, the one with the Nemegtian mononych (Mononykus olecranus), is cute but not top-notch memorable, and its color choice is teetering way close to the point of plagiarism.
Afterwards, the brief but violent rains have created a watering hole in the middle of the desert, luring in dinosaurs and pterosaurs from miles around, including a wandering khan (Tarbosaurus bataar). The reason that scene is so low was that it was just a near-identical rotoscope of the Water Truce sequence from The Jungle Book, right down to the herbivores making a clearing for the khan.
Then we go high up to see more Barbaridactylus. This scene I wasn't aware was a problem until Unnatural History Channel brought it up in his video, but the females were shown to be oddly consensual towards the similar-looking sneaky males, who use their feminine appearances to sneak past the larger, more impressive males. This is a problem, apparently, because the more extreme the sexual dimorphism, the more likely the sneaky male will be rejected and therefore resort to assaulting the females.
The last scene is an interesting one, albeit one that suffered an unmemorable score in the soundtrack. Apparently, salty southern duckbills (Secernosaurus koerneri) can thrive on dunes of gypsum, but when rains hit the coast, they rely on both their tenacity and their know-how of the sky to get to more productive grazing. This scene stands out to me because I question why any large animal would choose to thrive on such a taxing environment. It'd make sense for an animal as small as the cryptile, the scrofa and the gryken from The Future is Wild, but not for a duckbill bigger than 16 feet long.
It is unanimously agreed upon that "Freshwater" is the weakest episode in the first season. Apart from the humpbacked false duckbill (Deinocheirus mirificus) getting a scratch in the swamps of a more accurate Nemegtia and the devil frog (Beelzebufo ampinga) making a snack out of a baby whacktooth (Masiaksaurus knoplferi), the habitat itself has been relegated to the backseat, which is why the mating scene of the t-rex and the laying magnificent simurgh (Quetzalcoatlus northropi) are on the C tier, good scenes that have been damaged by simply being in the wrong episode. Speaking of the latter, memes have popped up in which the faces of dinosaurs have been pasted over two shots of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, with either Masiakasaurus or the Planet Dinosaur model of Majungasaurus being Galahad and the Quetzalcoatlus being the French taunter ("What are you doing in Africa?" "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!") when, really, that meme is more applicable to Velociraptor being in the Maastrichtian. On that topic, not only is it STILL in the wrong time, there is another problem, one I didn't pay attention to until Unnatural History Channel brought it up on his video. Instead of showing audiences raptor prey restraint (or "RPR"), the storytellers relied instead on mountain cats to show the velos hunting the pterosaurs (species unknown). Like the Deserts episode, Planet Earth has a far stronger "Freshwater" episode.
"Ice Worlds" didn't excite me as much as "Spirits of the Ice Forest" did, which is a shame, because dinosaurs in the snow is a refresher by default. We start at Prince Creek, which I couldn't ask for a worse place to start because the cast list is very fragmentary. In the opening scene, a pack of raptors (species unknown, though modeled after the pitbull raptor), shadows a herd of ugrunaaluk (Edmontosaurus sp.) for a long-delayed meal. Again, the picture of raptors hunting in packs has been debunked for a very long time now. Why insist on resorting to old cliches?
The Ornithomimus scene (can't think of a vernacular for them), while the designs look cool and add distinction to overall character, is still just a rotoscope of the Adelie penguin sequence from "Frozen Planet". Next.
The sequence with the swanneck (Olorotitan arharensis) is even less impressive. Are horsetails really more nutritious than grass? If so, then why have grasslands been the dominant plains since the Miocene?
The reason the scene with the tro-o is relatively low on the tier list is that it should have been longer, because a dinosaur with the intellect of a fire hawk is a very interesting prospect. But the final scene was just too short and too bland to show off any real gold.
We have spent so much time in the north that I question the necessity of a quick detour to Antarctica, rendering the scene with the polar macahutiul (Antarctopelta oliveroi) my least favorite of the series.
The final scene demonstrates the predator-prey dynamic between the northern boss (Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum) and the nanook (Nanuqsaurus hoglundi). The scene is great, the score has some very rhythmic moments, but what puts it low on the B tier are the nanooks themselves. From a distance, they look as good as most of the others. But in closeup, they look kind of fake, especially when they're running. Which brings up to the next problem--the story is based on fossil footprints of different lines pointing in the same direction. But how do we know that those parallel tracks were made at the same time and not separated within hours, days or even weeks of each other? And while it is true that nanooks were smaller than t-rexes, their portrayals in the show were just too small. More recent consensus shows that one nanook could easily match a boss in size, if not overtop it.
"Forests" is an everywhere kind of episode. The opening scene with the austroposeidon (Austroposeidon magnificus) is not long enough to get me invested.
Then a herd of trikes (Triceratops, species unknown) visits a cave to visit a clay lick to neutralize the poisons from their plant food. But why clay? Why not salt? Herbivores can clearly deal with poisonous plants without problem, but plants lack sodium, which is why the elephants of Mount Elgon (the inspiration behind that scene) scrape the caves not for clay, but for salt.
This next scene has gotten everyone talking. A male minotaur (Carnotaurus sastrei) clears the stage to wave his arms around to impress an impossibly stoic female. Everything about that scene--from the choreography to the score--is very goofy, and that is what makes it work so well.
While it is nice to finally see the Pinocchio-rex (Qianzhousaurus sinensis) in the flesh, its hunt for bright blue corythoraptors (Corythoraptor jacobsi) is not a scene I'd be in a hurry to revisit.
The fire scene is oddly slow, the only memorable moment in the whole sequence being my first official introduction to Atrociraptor marshalli...literally just one short week before Jurassic World: Dominion predictably ruined it.
The scene with the baby Therizinosaurus is passable. While it is cute to imagine babies having a taste for honey, it just wasn't executed memorably.
The final scene, the one set on Hateg Island, slogs on in pace, with the greatest focus being a bunch of odd-looking baby zalmos (Zalmoxes robustus) running and hiding from the real star of the episode, the robust simurgh (Hatzegopteryx thambena), looking more proper than how it looked in Planet Dinosaur. One question, though--weren't pterosaur wings supposed to be rounded at the tip? Sure, they've got the hands pointing backwards, but the pointed wingtips is now believed to be an outdated picture.
So it goes without saying that years of watching a moderate quantity of Attenborough documentaries has made the watching experience of Prehistoric Planet, at least in comparison to the original Walking with Dinosaurs, a bit numb. The creature designs are good, the CGI has not faltered in its photorealism from The Jungle Book, and even the soundtrack has enough of a score to make it memorable. But it's the stories that amount to the overall numbness of the first season. They hadn't opened my eyes in the way that Walking with Dinosaurs did.
When season 2 was announced literally one year after season 1, I had my doubts. Planet Earth 2 came out literally a decade after the first Planet Earth, and the differences in filming technology and musical score clearly show that. Same for the 16 years that separate The Blue Planet from Blue Planet 2. Dynasties 2, by contrast, came way too soon after the first Dynasties, and the end result is sloppy, from the stories being set at the tedious start rather than at the steady prime to the score from the first Dynasties being reused so often that the only episode to have any new music was "Meerkat". So to find Prehistoric Planet 2 come out literally one year after Prehistoric Planet, I was concerned that it'd be as shorthanded as Dynasties 2 was. The opening episode, "Islands", kind of suffered that, but it thankfully wasn't as severe a problem.
The first segment of that episode struck me as odd because the adult zalmo looks weirdly identical to the baby model from last episode.
While it is cool to see the robust simurgh being expanded upon, I personally wish we'd stayed at Hateg Island, where they'd hunt the Transylvanian dwarf duckbill (Telmatosaurus transylvanicus) and not the funky combbill (Tethyshadros insularis).
One of season 1's most recurring complaints is "no crocodiles", which is pretty apt when you consider how diverse they were during the Cretaceous period. So to see the Malagasy armadillo (Simosuchus clarki) at all, let alone stand up against a mahjong (Majungasaurus crenatissimus), is one to remember for the ages.
This next scene is actually pretty interesting, in which we see Adalatherium, which wasn't a true mammal, but rather something hovering closely outside the taxonomic boundaries. It's a long sequence, which is just as well, because this is as new a clade to me now as the cynodont was when Walking with Dinosaurs came out.
As with in "Ice Worlds", a quick detour to Antarctica doesn't seem necessary to me, as the hunt between the Imperobator and the Morrosaurus feels more like a skim.
The last scene in the episode is my personal favorite, in which a male robust simugh stands on a sandbar to do whatever it takes to impress a mate.
"Badlands" stands out in that there are only two settings. The first one is the strongest because of how the Deccan Traps, long reputed to be the co-culprit to the fall of the dinosaur empire, has been repurposed into prime nesting estate for a herd of sauropods (Isisaurus colberti). The journey seems reckless, but volcanic sand is hot and toasty, something that a modern species of dinosaur, the megapode, also exploits as it lays its egg in the hot volcanic sand of the Solomons.
The next scene hasn't fixed on last year's problems, in which Velociraptor is still there and it still hasn't performed RPR--it just kicks an herbivore off a cliff, and that was that.
The nesting Corythoraptor scene didn't interest me, but what really bugged me was that the antagonist of that sequence was a kuru (Kuru kulla), a raptor who, like the pterosaurs on the "Coasts" episode, was based on incomplete, fragmentary specimens.
The sequence with the tarchias (Tarchia, species unknown), is a refreshing detour from the previous sequence because we have a better idea as to what they would have looked like. And to see them slog around for an oasis is a second highlight (next to the Deccan nursery).
This next scene has nothing new added from either "Time of the Titans" or "Alpha's Egg", in which a herd of baby sauropods gets picked on by larger predators on their way to the safety of the forest.
The majority of the "Freshwater" sequences I feel fit better in "Swamps". The same unnamed pterosaurs from "Freshwater" have reappeared, this time trying to fly past an approaching population of alligators (Shamosuchus djadochtaensis).
The next episode features a grizzly bear gathering of austroraptors (Austroraptor cabazai) hunting gar. It stands out as highly as it does because it shows a species of raptor that looks and acts differently from the usual velo or nych. Plus, we know many miles more about austroraptors than we do about Spinosaurus, so that is a relieving plus.
The devil frog stands out in this episode, and to see a grumpy male try to fight off a herd of goavambe (Rapetosaurus krausei) is humorous. It also deviates from the usual picture of "the frog that eats dinosaurs".
This next sequence I was very concerned the moment I saw it in the ads. Thanks to Jack Horner, the poorly-known family Pachycephalosauridae has been under very hot fire with the notion of bone sponginess being a taxonomically viable method of identification, which it really isn't because all amniotes have spongy bones in their teens. But very thankfully, this sequence does not resort to Hornerism. It shows that older males do get longer horns on the backs of their heads, not the other way around. Also, new evidence has shown that the domes may have been covered in shiny skin, so this has me asking--is the dome a boys-only trait? Could that dracorex (Pachycephalosaurus hogwartsia) skull that I saw at the Black Hills Museum just be a girl entering her sweet 16 when she died? Could those stygimoloch (Pachycephalosaurus spinifer) skulls just be those of high school footballers?
"Swamps" ended on a high note with a couple of t-rexes hunting an anatotitan (Edmontosaurus annectens) in the dark. One just walks to the duckbill, and the animal, in its panic, goes right in the direction of the other t-rex in hiding. This perfectly reflects the current understanding that t-rexes exchanged fast running for better walking. Now can we see some duckbills fighting back, please?
On May 26, The Little Mermaid came out in theaters. A day earlier, "Oceans" came out. If I were to choose, I'd stick to the latter, simply because we're treated to fresh new stories with a wider variety of mosasaurs and ammonites than any of the Walking with programs ever did. The scene with the hesperorns chasing bait fish only to have themselves be chased by bulldog fish (Xiphactinus) is a classic, but a good one. However, "X-fish"? What's wrong with "bulldog fish"? But the highlight, no doubt, is the final sequence, in which a Hoffmann's mosasaur killed a juvenile plesiosaur simply by ramming it great white style.
"Freshwater" was weak due to being sorely unfocused. "North America", by contrast, is even weaker for being too rushed. Also, the "scars make the man" narrative with the trikes bugs me the most. What justification is there for that?
This has been a very exhaustive review of Prehistoric Planet, and it's way too early for me to worry about a season 3 coming out, if there is going to be one.
2023.06.05 02:00 CryptoDaily- Daily General Discussion - June 5, 2023 (GMT+0)
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2023.06.05 01:15 alcatraz250 Repost of MY meme from the main subreddit
 | submitted by alcatraz250 to StardewMemes [link] [comments] |
2023.06.05 00:30 Trash_Tia Camp Redwood are running out of counselors! These children ARE NOT CHILDREN. Update: our counsellors are not who they say they are.
Welcome to Camp Redwood! The feel-good camp for ALL AGES.
We toast marshmallows around the fire, tell spooky ghost stories, and hide in random secret military bunkers under the campgrounds! Because SOMETHING IS HERE WITH US.
Camp Redwood is the PERFECT PLACE for a summer getaway where we start EVERY DAY with a CAMP REDWOOD SMILE. Where our counselors disappear every five minutes, and our campers disembowel us for funsies! Did I forget to mention our littles aren’t actually eight years old, but fully grown adults?
We hope you enjoy your fucking stay!
We are also not responsible for any counselors revealing they are not who they said they are—and not who they appear to be.
...
So. There’s a LOT to tell you and not a lot of time to tell it.
Right now, I suppose you could say we are under lockdown—if that is the word. I want to go over the last several days to get you up to date. That’s all I can do right now. I can hope and pray the thing with Teddy’s voice does not get in here, and once again cry out for help—that I know is not coming. Not from the authorities, at least. But hey, if any of you fancy coming to rescue us, we’re in the middle of the Canadian wilderness. The closest rest-stop is maybe three fucking hours away. So have fun. Has it really almost been a week since I posted? Well, we’re still here!
And surprise, surprise, help is not coming. So, please excuse the salt. I am seventeen years old and I have been abandoned by the adults who were supposed to be looking after us.
Who were supposed to act under protocol if something like this happened. I know they were waiting for it—there are specific fucking guidelines on an emergency evacuation for counselors if this ever happened. But then the little shits took over before we could do anything. I guess I’ll start by letting you know that there are two of us left. (three, if we count Rowan, but I’m not). What I thought was going to be a quiet summer getaway with kids my age has turned into a nightmare.
For one, we have been cornered inside the head counselor’s underground secret bunker. If you want to know why she has a secret military bunker, I guess you should keep reading.
Because shit gets weirder than animal crackers having the power to turn adults into kids, and vice versa. When I made my first post, I thought that was it for us. I thought for sure there must have been a self-destruct somewhere—which meant whoever was running this camp was waiting for something like this. I was sure we were going to die, so after making the post, I have to admit with ya’ll—I just slept. I curled up, tried to ignore Harry and Carmel calling our names through childish laugher, and went to sleep with the thought in my head that I was completely at peace with what I had done with my life.
Sure, I was young. Seventeen years old is too young to be ripped apart by littles who are in fact grown adults. But as I was falling into slumber and allowing myself to fall, with my head resting in my lap, my head turned towards a separate pile of files on the other side of the room—I realized I really wanted to know how this was possible. There was so much I needed to know. Why did eight-year-old Eleanor Summers have a file where here birthday dated back to 1979? Why had supposedly innocent sugary snacks turned our adorable littles into mini psychopaths?
These kids were not kids, somehow. But how? How was that even possible? Could it be that the files were wrong?
1979 was definitely 45.
But Eleanor Summers couldn’t be 45 years old. I knew what 45 looked like. I knew that they thought like. They spent half of their time on Facebook laughing at outdated memes, and the other half… I don’t know, working? They have job’s! They’re happily married with kids, maybe soon grandkids! That was not Eleanor Summers. Because Eleanor Summers was most definitely eight years old. I had played several rounds of teddy-bears picnic, and spent hours reassuring her that Harry's ghost stories were in fact not real, enough times for me to know that this little kid was little—and a kid.
But something was bothering me. More than the secret military bunker, and magic age-regressing animal crackers. When I first signed up to Camp Redwood, one of the tag-lines to gain attraction had been, “Solve mysteries in the woods in the dead of night, with nothing but a flashlight and your fellow campers!” I had no idea I would be solving this thing on my own, trapped inside a bunker.
“What are you doing?” Rowan, who was still looking through Allison’s dinosaur laptop, turned to me with half lidded eyes, when I slowly got to my feet, careful not to make too much noise, and crept over to the pile of separate files which seemed to be crumbling apart from age. He kept his voice low, but it sounded almost like a whine. He could have been scared, but from the way he was sitting, cross-legged with a frowny face, I figured something must have been going on with him. The guy looked tired. More tired than normal.
The bags under his eyes were practically shadowing his face, and were an odd contrast to unusually ashy colored cheeks and slightly dilated eyes. Still though, Rowan refused to look vulnerable. I caught glimpse of Harry’s raybans sitting on his head, pinning back thick dark brown curls from falling in front of sleepy eyes. Maybe he was finally losing his cool and breaking out of the well-constructed façade he had been hiding behind since Teddy disappeared.
We had just narrowly escaped a crowd of psycho littles high on age-regressing sugary snacks who were doing who-the-fuck knows to the other counselors who had been captured, so I didn’t blame him looking like that. I guess he couldn’t look me in the eye, because in Rowan’s mind, he was the reason why this happened. He was the leader, and the camp had fallen to psychopathic little eight year olds who had taken half of the counselors hostage, and the other half—most likely taken apart in the physical sense, after what we had witnessed in Cassie’s cabin. Still though, it wasn’t Rowan’s fault. He could sit there and pull a face all he wanted, it’s not like I was going to blow up at him for getting us stuck down here. He actually saved us.
And trapped us, judging from the footsteps upstairs, Carmel and Harry still bouncing around looking for us.
It was a game in their heads. The little’s thought it was cat and mouse. Harry and Carmel were the oblivious cats prowling, while we were the mice, hoping to fucking GOD we weren’t caught and eaten. Ignoring Rowan, I glimpsed what looked like a box full of DVD’S—all of which were labelled with dates and names. I saw familiar ones, my heart racing into my throat. Phoebe. Eli. Cassandra.
Each DVD had one of the kid’s names scribbled on the front, as well as a date.
I found Eleanor’s right at the back of the box.
Eleanor Summers.
08/05/2021. (PM)
Before I could hesitate and think what I was doing, I slid the DVD into the portable player attached to the MacBook. Rowan, to my surprise, didn’t move. But he did make an acknowledging noise when the screen flickered to what looked like video footage. Peering at the screen, I found myself staring at a small white room. There was no door. Only a wooden desk and a chair, and sitting on it was a middle aged woman with dark blonde curls tied into a strict ponytail. She was wearing what looked like a prison jumpsuit.
Her eyes were eerily glued to the camera, unblinking. Her wrists were cuffed in front of her. Though from the look on her face, she saw the restraints as a game. Her eyes lit up with intrigue and I could practically see the cogs in her mind starting to turn as she struggled with them.
As soon as I saw this woman, I felt all of my nerve endings set alight. I wanted to turn the screen off, or look away. But once I was looking at the screen, I couldn’t bring myself to tear my eyes away. “Let’s try this again.” There was a woman offscreen. She sounded young. Too young to be in that kind of authority. I figured there was no way teenagers were being hired as special ops agents, but I guessed I was wrong. She cleared her throat. “It is 4:35 exactly. August 5th 2021. My name is Agent Lemrac,” she stated. “I am asking once again for you to comply with us. As I have said several times, the court are willing to lessen your sentence if you plead guilty with insanity.”
The woman surprised me with a snorting laugh. She seemed to come alive, leaning forward with animated features, her brow reaching her hairline. She was acting like a child, bouncing up and down in the seat, her lips stretching into a wider grin. “What did you just say?”
There was a pause. I could tell the woman was intentionally antagonising the interviewer.
“It means you have been legally declared insane,” the interviewer stumbled over her words slightly. “Mrs Summers, it would be in your best interest to work with us to lessen your current sentence which at the moment is standing at,” the sounds of shuffling paper crackled through the speakers. The interviewer cleared her throat again rustling paper. “Thirty six years. Without parole.”
The woman didn’t speak, only continued to smile—and the interviewer delved further into the sentence. “If you do in fact plead guilty with declared insanity, you will be sentenced to a program which is in the process of supporting and rehabilitating people with your…” she caught herself for a moment. I could tell this interviewer had a biased opinion and it was definitely showing through her interviewing style. I could hear the rapid intakes of her breath as she hurried through what seemed to be a script she was reading from. “Conditions.” She finished. “The Redwood program aims to help people exactly like you.”
Redwood? I thought.
Like… Camp Redwood?
Rowan whistled behind me. I guess I could call that a reaction. The guy was probably still in shock after seeing Café de Teddy splattered all over little Cassie’s cabin floor. I should have known those little bitches weren’t playing Operation for eight hours straight. Turning my attention from Rowan and back to the screen, the woman in the jumpsuit appeared to have changed tactics. Her expression twisted into nonchalance. She leaned back in her chair. “I am not pleading insane because I am not insane.”
“Mrs Summers—”
The woman cut her off. “I am not crazy.” She raised her hands “I am doing what needs to be done.” She leaned forward. “Humanity suffers in the skin. We age and die— and how is that fair? What if we want to see the next millennium? And the next two millennia after that? Why should our bodies dictate our lifespan? Why should we sit here and wait to rot and wither and die when we have the intelligence and mindset to do it? If nobody else is willing to throw ethics aside to take a step forwards in human evolution, I should do it myself.” She folded her arms across her chest, again, like a child. “I did what was to be done.”
“Dr. Summers.” The interviewer’s tone grew stiff. “You and your colleagues conducted illegal and unethical procedures on your family and friends—as well as four other victims.”
The woman inclined her head. “You have a daughter, am I correct? I have a son.”
“A child you killed, Dr Summers.” The interviewer retorted in a hiss which was definitely expressing emotion. She ignored the mention of her daughter, but I could tell it had rattled her to her core. Her voice had cracked. This case was close to her.
That was obvious. Without seeing the interviewer herself, I could sense how uncomfortable she was, shuffling in the chair. Every so often I would hear the sound of her rubbing her hands on her knees and tapping her shoe against the chair leg. She oozed anxiety, not just from her tone of voice, but the way the frame seemed to move with her. “Dr. Summers, you used your son in your research, along with several of his friends. This was not science.” Her voice shook. I heard her sharp inhale. Unprofessional, but very human. Instead of staying stoic and keeping to script, this agent was cracking apart. “It was murder.”
“Agent Lemrac, concentrate on the interview only.” An official voice crackled through what sounded like an intercom on screen.
“Got it.” She spoke through her teeth.
The woman was finding wounds and pressing on them. She was scanning the interviewer for vulnerabilities and preying on every insecurity. She leaned back speaking through a sigh. “Without my son’s sacrifice we wouldn’t have created an answer to death. To growing old and dying, and leaving loved ones behind.” Her voice softened into a murmur, but I didn’t trust it.
After identifying the shattering pieces of this interviewer which were very clear visible in her view, the woman was taking advantage.
“Agent Lemrac, you have a daughter. Am I correct in saying her name is Mari?
“That… that is not relevant.”
“Glioblastoma.” Dr. Summers lips curved into a sickening smile hidden behind mocking sympathy. “A sickness of the brain--which, unfortunately, I cannot fix. If your daughter’s brain was in my hands, I would try. However, not even a brand new body would help her. One which would never age or grow sick. And for that, I am deeply, deeply sorry.” She reached her cuffed hands forwards. “My condolences, Agent Lemrac. Honestly. I have to hand it to you. You are incredibly brave for coming here today and talking to me while abandoning your sick child.” She shook her head.
“Your daughter is dying of an incurable illness, suffering inside fragile skin which will break and fall apart and be unable to keep her standing for much longer. While my son will live on forever. He will see every millennia, a planet which will crumble and build itself back together. And maybe the end of the universe itself.” There was a twitch in her expression and a glitter in her eye I did not recognise. Insanity.
She was fucking insane. I was seeing the pure of it, the depraved and disgusting gleam in eyes empty of remorse and regret. This woman did not care what she had done. I could tell from the look on her face. If she had the chance, she would do this again.
But there was no way they were trying to say her cruelty and complete disregard for her son’s life was due to insanity.
“You are sick, Dr. Summers.” The interviewer said after a moment of gathering herself.
The woman shook her head with a chuckle. “I told you. I am not sick--”
“Sick in the head!” The interviewer’s voice exploded through the speakers in a shriek—a terrified cry she had been trying to hold in. I finally saw her—or at least the back of her. She was a young woman with light blonde hair falling loose on her shoulders. She was trembling. Slamming her hands down on the table, she screamed at the orange jumpsuit woman.
“You are psychologically fucked in the head! You psycho bitch! That is my sister!” She spoke through strangled sobs rattling her whole body. “Mari is my little sister. She is not my child.”
Her breaths were strangled and harboured. I noticed figures looming in the background, but she was continuing. “You killed your own fucking son,” she spat. “You are not legally insane, you are sick!” she shrieked. “You planned and put this together! You sit there and you talk about your son like he’s a… like he’s a tool! You deserve to rot. Do you hear me?” I noticed the orange jumpsuit woman was still smiling, satisfied with the interview’s reaction. Her words were spoken in a vicious poison as she leaned forward and spat directly in orange jumpsuit’s face.
“Agent Lemrac!” Whoever her superiors were—were panicking. “I told you not to turn it off. I knew this was going to happen. Can we stop the demonstration, please? Human emotions present inside an Aceville soldier are too powerful—"
Voices were murmuring in the background, and Agent Lemrac raised her hands. “I want to stop.” She choked out, her hands trembling. She spoke like she still had control over the situation and wasn’t being apprehended. “I want to stop. Do you hear me?” The interviewer was crying, I realized. “Stop the recording! I can’t do this. Oh god, I think I’m going to be sick—”
When the footage ended in a burst of static, I found myself backing away, something slimy creeping its way up my throat.
The woman in the orange jumpsuit who had murdered her son and countless others in what sounded like an attempt at playing god, was Eleanor Summers. I thought back to Teddy’s corpse, and the surgical precision of every organ’s removal. The young interviewer had mentioned colleagues of Eleanor.
Was it possible that Camp Redwood was in fact nothing more than a rehabilitation camp for murderous criminals? There was a loud bang from above, and I was torn from my thoughts.
I turned to Rowan, who had been unusually quiet. And I realized why, when I twisted around to find him three inches from my face, his laboured breath tickling my cheek.
The boy jumped back with a chuckle—like me noticing him was some kind of game, before diving back into the chair. I did notice something odd, as my thoughts spiralled. Rowan couldn’t sit still. Slumped in the leather spinning chair, he fingers tapped a rhythm on the armrests while his feet jumped up and down. In the dim light of the bunker, I glimpsed a sheen of sweat glistening on his forehead and the flesh of his neck. He looked to be… feverish—and now that I was looking at him properly, all of my attention on the boy, I noticed small things which seemed… off about him.
For one, he wasn’t coming up with a plan. Rowan always had a plan. Even if he wasn’t completely sure of it, or was completely winging it. This time though, he was strangely quiet. I found my voice when he stuck out his tongue at me. “What are you looking at?”
“Rowan.” I spoke softly, careful not to garner attention from above us where Harry and Carmel were still clamouring around, playing games. “Are you… feeling okay?” I asked, when he turned back to the laptop, manically biting his fingernails.
“I dunnnooooo, Josie! Am I feeeeeeling okaaaaaayyyyy?” He surprised me with an uncharacteristic laugh.
But I did know it.
I knew it from earlier when he reacted to Allison’s bunker and I had been too freaked out to realize that I was dragging along the enemy with me.
Because the fucking idiot had consumed animal crackers. I had seen him for myself earlier, pouring a pack into his mouth for a snack. Which meant either the ‘kids’ had intentionally dosed him with mind altering sugary snacks, or the more likely, he could not resist those preservatives which was the equivalent of caffeine. It’s not like I could blame him when he harboured the weight of an entire camp, but come on, did he really have to sacrifice his own fucking mind to keep himself awake?
Rowan wasn’t just biting. His nails. He was gnawing. Which he previously thought was a filthy habit. He had yelled at a camper for chewing on her nails a few days earlier.
Now that I was noticing it, I couldn’t… stop noticing it. The boy’s whole demeanour had changed; the way he was sinking into the chair, instead of sitting up straight like usual—- I used to call it having a stick up his ass. The boy started typing on the laptop, ignoring me. But when I watched the pattern of his fingers, he was just typing gibberish. Footsteps pounded above us, Harry and Carmel acting as the kid’s’ brainwashed foot-soldiers. Or, more likely somehow, if the animal crackers had caused the littles, or I guess, the fully grown forty year old criminals, to relapse in age-- then maybe it was possible for the same thing to happen to us. To Rowan.
I could feel myself starting to back away, but there was nowhere to run. I just slammed into a cupboard. My gaze flicked to Rowan again, who was tapping a beat on the laptop tracking pad, swaying back and forth, his eyes elsewhere before his gaze found mine. “Marcoooooo!” Harry shouted from above, giggling with Carmel.
I had to guess their mental age had to be at least 8-10 years old. Which meant I wasn’t just dealing with a camp full of forty-year-old psycho’s, I was also dealing with mentally relapsed counselors acting like toddlers.
Rowan seemed to jolt in the chair, twisting his head around, his eyes suddenly incredibly childlike and playful, and very Un-Rowan, were finding the ceiling, his mouth stretching into a smile, like he was seeing butterflies. His eyes flashed to me, and I caught a twitch in his lip. I knew that look. It was the look on my seven year old sister, who knew mom was mad at me, and wanted to make it even worse.
His cheeks were starting to blossom scarlet from what must have been the overwhelming urge to laugh. Rowan pressed his lips together and held in a breath like a hamster, and the asshole was fucking with me. Waiting for me to beat him to it by accident. Kids were fucking ruthless, but there was something terrifying about an 18 year old with a little kid’s mind.
I lifted my index to my lips, miming for him not to even try, but the boy just mimicked me, bugging out his eyes and pressing his finger to his grinning mouth. “Don’t you fucking dare.” I managed to whisper. The boy was definitely playing his own game, moving in twitching movements, baiting me. When he cupped his mouth, I almost let out a cry, but then he dropped his arms with a giggle, as if to say, “I’m just kidding!”
Slowly, I turned around, grabbed the salt I’d found in Allison’s cupboard, and a flat can of soda. Without making too much movement, I poured a handful of salt into the can. But Rowan seemed to know exactly what I was doing. Because in the time it was taking me to advance towards him with the can of salty soda, one arm shakily ready to grab hold of him, and put him into a headlock, he was cupping his mouth, all logic and everything adult, everything he had been as our leader, igniting in playful eyes, leaving me the last one standing.
“Pollloooooo!”
By the time Rowan had managed to reveal our hiding place in a spluttered laugh, I had hold of the squirming boy, one arm wrapped around his neck, my other forcing the can of soda into his mouth. I had definitely miscalculated his strength. During camp Redwood activities, he was always the last one to come back from the trail, holding his knees and panting. I figured he was unfit. However, I was wrong. Underneath his shirt, the guy had some serious muscles.
It was like attacking a brick wall. However, Rowan was mentally a kid. So, I had my intelligence and logic on my side. When it became obvious I wasn’t going to get anywhere with brute strength, I resorted to tickling him, which made him squirm, squeaking out a laugh. When he opened his mouth to yell at me to stop, I took my chance, thrusting the can into his lips and holding his nose so he swallowed it down.
“No!” His laughter turned into muffled yelling, as he batted his fists at my chest. “No, no, no! Get off, get off!”
His body convulsed as the salt did its job, causing the boy to lurch to his knees and choke up forbidden animal crackers in a gooish sludge which turned my stomach. By the time Rowan seemed half himself and half not, still kneeling, his head pressed against the floor, Harry was poking his head through the door with a goonish grin. “Found you!” He giggled, before forcing the door open, allowing Carmel and Callen, freshly caught and mentally turned into littles, to advance down the stairs with equally terrifying grins. There was something wrong with Harry’s face, and I only realized it when the guy himself was hauling me from the bunker, Carmel dragging a barely responsive Rowan. There was nothing in Harry’s expression, only blind childish excitement at winning the game. When he dragged me out of Allison’s cabin and threw me to the ground, I realized he too had insane strength I had not been expecting. But that thought quickly retracted when I was seeing his face in the light of a crescent moon lighting up the sky an eerie glow. Harry’s cheeks were puffy and swollen, his right eye way bigger than it should have been.
When he spoke, his voice was more of a lisp. This was something far more realistic than magical animal crackers fucking with his brain.
“He needs help!” I managed to choke out when Carmel wrapped jump-rope around my wrists. Next to me, Rowan was refusing to get up, still choking up salty soda, groaning into his hands. Every time Callen tried to restrain him, he hissed out like an animal.
“Do you hear me?!” I struggled violently. “Harry needs—”
BANG.
Is what it felt like. The feeling of something—what felt and sounded like a toy car—colliding with my temples, sent me onto the ground, my head spinning itself off of its axis. I remember lying on my back and frowning at the moon which almost looked like it was getting closer to me, blurring into a white ball of light—before reality sunk in, and it was in fact Carmel’s converse coming down to finish me off. I didn’t stay knocked out for long. But I did dream.
I think you can call it a dream? I was lying in bed at home; my room drowned in the dark. I was cosy, curled up in my blankets, when a clammy hand slammed over my mouth, rousing me from slumber. There were two figures in my room. They didn’t have faces. They just existed as shadows, silhouettes. Before one of them raised something above their head, and… impact.
It was the same impact as the toy car hitting me, snapping me back to that night. It wasn’t a dream. Because I remembered his clammy fingers over my mouth, and his hisses for me to shut up as he dragged me from my room.
My parents stood in front of me with expressions of sympathy. Basked in warm light, my mom and dad looked almost otherworldly. “For the best.” Was what they mouthed when my own phantom screams slammed into me. I asked them why, and they didn’t reply, allowing him to pull me further and further from what I knew, from my life as I knew it. But.. that couldn’t be real. I had memories of getting on the bus to camp Redwood. I could recall the whole journey. So, why… why was my tangled mind saying otherwise?
When I gathered myself, the first thing I realized was I was sitting down. I was outside, cool night air grazing my bare arms. There was something attached to me, jerking violently, And it took me several disorienting blinks to understand that I was tied back to back with Rowan. My head pounded, and something wet and warm dripped down my temple. Great. I could add head injury to the long list of things to worry about.
“Let me go you little fucking witch.”
Rowan was back to himself, though from the muffled hissing and the sound of choking—I had to guess he was being force-fed animal crackers.
“Let me—mpphmmm. little…. fucking… mphmmphhmhppmm!”
“Rowan.” I managed to get out in a croak. Through flickering eyes, I caught glimpse of a familiar figure dancing around us. Shivers rocketed down my spine, and I wrenched at the jump-rope restraints, but they did a surprisingly job of restraining my arms behind my back.
Eleanor was with Rowan, while Eli was knelt in front of me. Looking at him, the boy had definitely aged in the face—and I couldn’t help wondering what exactly he had done as a forty something year old to be sent to this place.
“Josie!” Rowan responded in a wail. “Josie. Wake the FUCK up.”
“Stop swearing.”
Eleanor spoke with the cold tone of her actual age.
“Oh, yeah?” Rowan spluttered. “Fuck you.” The boy’s laugh was still rough from almost vomiting his insides out from too much salt intake. “I’m sorry, you were a fucking boomer all along?!” He wriggled in the restraints, lunging forwards, which sent me backwards.
“Stop swearing, Rowan.” Was all the girl responded with calmly.
“Like I’m going to listen to you!” He sneered. “Fuck, fuck, fuckity, fucking fuck!” What are you going to do, huh? Bite me with your false teeth?” The sound of saliva hitting skin made me wince. He was pissed. I had no doubt his completely rational anger was going to get us killed. Rowan was also somehow getting mixed up between forty and eighty. Though he was unwillingly snacking on mind bending sugary goodness.
“Fudge, Rowan.” Eleanor spoke in a giggle.
“What?!”
“Say fudge. Not fuck.”
“No.”
His hiss of pain caught me off guard. I don’t know what she was doing to him, but it was hurting him.
“You fudging fudge! I’m going to fudging kill you when I get out of these fudging ropes—“ his manic cursing became a muffled yell.
“Say fudge,” Eleanor hummed, followed by his hiss when the palm of her hand skinned his cheek. “Fuck is a bad word. You even said so yourself and you’re my favourite counselor.”
He heaved out a breath.
“You fudge,” Rowan spat. “When I get out of this, I am going to fudging kill you, you fudging—” His manic ranting morphed, once again, into muffled yelling, after another fistful of animal crackers were forced into his mouth. When I risked twisting around, I could see his rebellion slowly starting to simmer out as he relaxed slightly. I wanted to yell at him to keep a clear head before cold fingers were dipping under my chin and forcing my head around where I found myself face to face with Eli.
“I like you, Josie,” he said, before untying me and pulling me to my feet. Now at the age of nine or ten, he was a lot stronger. When I tried to pull away, the cruel blade of a knife grazed my gut. I caught his grin. “But we don’t need you.” Eli pointed to Rowan.
“We just want them.”
I followed his pointer finger which went from Rowan to Harry and Carmel, who were just standing there like fucking idiots, probably awaiting the next game. Harry’s face was getting redder. It looked like he was suffocating, and yet his grin was growing wider and wider, splitting his lips apart. “Rowan Atlas.” Eleanor said, dragging him to his feet. Something was stapled to his forehead head, which caused him to howl in pain, hissing another strangled line of “Fudge”. but I couldn’t read what it was.
“Camp leader. Intelligent, and problem solving skills.”
“Harry Carlisle.” Eli nodded his head with a smile. “Quick thinker. Strong minded.”
“Carmel Locke.” Cassie spoke behind me. She had her arms folded, a wry smile on her lips. “Smarter than she makes out—- an independent learner, and can work well under pressure.”
Looking at these kids, I felt sick to my stomach. They were planning something—and had the intelligence of renowned scientists, which was what I gathered from the footage on the MacBook. “What?” was all I could hiss out, as Eli prodded the blade of the knife into my back, ushering me to walk. “What are you talking about?”
“Duh.” He spoke in a more tweeny giggle. “Like I said, Miss Josie. You’re my favorite counselor but we don’t need you, so I’m going to use you for parts.” He laughed when a shiver spiderwebbed down my spine. “See! I told you I was going to show you my collection!”
“But… what do you need them for?”
Eli pressed his index finger to his lips with a laugh before forcing me to face forwards. “That’s a secret!”
When I didn’t, or couldn’t move, he shoved me into a stumbling power-walk, and I managed to turn my head quickly, making feverish eye contact with Rowan.
“Rowan.” I said calmly through the gutter in my throat. “Get…. Get help.”
If I was going to die, I needed him to get a hold of himself and somehow alert the outside world what was going on.
“From whom, Josie?!” He wailed back—and as I was dragged away, I could once again sense the childish undertones in his voice.
I had no choice but to obey Eli’s orders. If I didn’t want a knife in my back. He took me to the main lunch cabin, which, when I set foot inside, almost sent me to my knees.
Something lurched inside me, and I was screaming with no voice, staggering backwards, only to be shoved onto my face. In front of me was what had been the lunch hall, fully converted into the beginning of a laboratory.
What had been cafeteria tables were fashioned into makeshift gurney’s and beds, and I was looking at all of the missing counselors. Yuri and Noah had been skinned completely, their faces laid out on a makeshift surgical table. Joey had been ripped open, his heart and brain removed, a glittering metallic substance creeping its way across his forehead. It was then when I remembered Eleanor Summers words.
She wanted to prevent death and preserve the human mind. Looking at what was in front of me, this was the start of it. There was equipment I had never seen before. Lily’s body was empty, carved out completely, tubes forced inside her. When I glimpsed her fingers move and begin to ball into a fist, I saw red. I saw fucking red. The exit was so close and yet Eli, fucking Eli, wielded his knife. I think that is when part of me gave up. My brain just stopped. It short circuited. Seeing my friends murdered and yet somehow being kept alive through playing god, my body slumped to the ground. I was numb. Completely numb.
I’m not sure what would have happened if those bloody saws and instruments which had been used on my friends were used on me too.
Luckily, that did not happen. Before Eli could get his slimy hands on me, he crumpled to the ground in an almost cartoon-like fashion, and standing over me was Harry. Who was looking better. When he grasped hold of me and helped me up, I only had one word. “Out.” And he was nodding, his eyes glistening as he drunk in our friends’ fate.
“How?” I managed to sputter out, when we made it out of the cabin, ducking behind a tree. Harry turned to me, motioning for me to shut up. There was a group of now ten to eleven year olds already running around, searching for what I guessed was him.
“I’m allergic to peanut butter,” Harry murmured, his grasp tightening on my wrist as he led me across the camp, the two of us stumbling.
“What, and you just magically healed?”
He didn’t respond to that, which bothered me.
“The bunker is our best shot,” I hissed out. “I think we can get in contact with someone down there.” I paused, unable to stop myself. “What makes you so important?”
“Dunno. Maybe I’m their favorite.”
When we found Allison’s cabin, which was more of a safehouse (an exposed safehouse) I found Rowan sitting on the wooden porch with his legs swinging over the side. “Rowan!” Harry groaned. I found it hard to believe their roles had been switched. Now he was the one yelling at the camp-leader. “I told you to stay inside!”
He ushered the boy inside, before barricading the door with some hefty looking equipment. I could tell from the grin on his face that our so-called leader was once again no longer himself.
I had to bite back a groan. “You’re kidding.” I said, pointing to Rowan, who buried his head in his knees and blew a raspberry. “Does he look and act like our leader right now?!”
“It’s Rowan, Josie.”
“He’s a liability.”
“He’s our friend! Wouldn’t Rowan do the same?”
Yes, he would. But. He would also realize we’re lost causes.
“Gag him with something.” I said. “If he makes any more noise, we’re dumping him.”
“He’s a kid!”
“Just the mind of one.”
I don’t know how animal crackers worked, but his age seemed to be progressively younger. This time he just sat with wide eyes watching us.
Harry almost tore apart the place looking for means of communication, before an old fashioned ringing sound made me jump.
“What was that?” Harry turned to me with his lip curled.
“How am I supposed to know?!” I hissed. “Keep looking!” But when I ducked under the table, my hands crawled under the desk, finding a wire—and attached to that, an ancient looking phone which looked straight out of a 1940’s movie, a bright green rotary phone.
Hesitantly, I answered it, lifting the phone to my ear. “Hello?”
“Did you awaken the subjects, Agent Salta?"
The voice on the other end was a woman, an oldish sounding woman with the tinge of a British accent.
“What?” I shot a look at Harry before shaking my head. “No. My name is Josie Greenfield. We’re at Camp Redwood, and we need help.”
The woman paused.
“Where is Agent Salta?” She cleared her throat. “This line is reserved for communication with agents only.”
“I don’t know who the fuck you’re talking about!" I squeaked out. “My name is Josie, and whatever is happening here, we need help!”
“Josie. Did you awaken the subjects?”
I paused after a moment, shooting Harry a look when he tried to take the phone off of me. “Yes.”
“And… are our agents unavailable?”
“I don’t understand.”
“When a health and safety breach is activated, our agents are awakened to deal with the Project Spearhead subjects if they were to ever go rogue, or become conscious enough to think. Josie, can you tell me what is in front of you? Describe it to me.”
I held my breath. Next to the hidden phone under the desk was what looked like mismatched wires, all of which had been severed. I lowered myself slowly, poking at mess. “Wires. I see… cut up wires.” I whispered. “Does this mean they know about you?”
She hummed. “Ah…That makes sense. The only way to activate our sleeper handlers would be to send out the signal. You appear to have been sabotaged. Unless activated manually, our agents cannot help you. I am sorry. They are your problem now.” The woman paused.
“If I were you, I would hope and pray they have not sabotaged the self-destruct. If you find that, then you may be able to save yourselves and find peace.” She cleared her throat. “Thank you for your service, Josie Greenfield.”
“Wait.” I managed to get out. “Wait, no! You can’t just… you can’t leave us! We need help!”
I found myself yelling at nothing when the phone went dead. The dull tone of the dead ringtone was clanging in my ears before footsteps from up above. “Fuck this.” Harry picked up a lead pipe. “They’re still little kids, right? I mean, their head must still be partly kids—- so let’s fucking beat their heads in.”
He noticed something, then, starting forwards towards the mess of files I had left earlier. Harry knelt on the ground and picked up Eli’s file, his eyes wide. But he wasn’t staring at the dates confirming the little boy’s age.
Instead, Harry pointed at the bottom of the file. “I don’t want to freak you out, Josie,” he whispered. Initially, I didn’t know what he was trying to show before I glimpsed notes scrawled at the bottom of the file, followed by a signature. “But I’m pretty sure that is my fucking writing.”
Harry was right.
I pulled the paperwork off of him, flicking through each file before turning my eyes to him. “Who the fuck are you?”
A clanging sound from above broke the tension, and whatever Harry was about to reply with was strangled in his throat. He slammed a hand over his mouth.
“Guys?”
The voice twisted me up inside, threatening to release a shriek from my mouth I had managed to clamp shut.
Teddy.
“Are you down here?” His voice was strained, and had an odd tone to it. “I can’t… I can’t see you.”
…
Can someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?! It’s been a blur of a week. We’ve managed to stay down here, surviving off of Allison’s rations. Rowan isn’t getting any better. He seems to have stopped mentally de-ageing at the age of maybe six. Harry has spent the last few days trying to get in contact with anyone, but it’s like they are IGNORING US.
I’ve been looking through everything I can find on Project Spearhead, but nothing points to Harry being involved. So. How is his signature all over the files? How is it possible that two friends I thought I knew several days ago, are now complete strangers?
Teddy keeps coming back.
He’s crying out to us.
I think he’s… in pain.
My god, I can’t stand this anymore. Please. CAMP REDWOOD NEEDS HELP.
submitted by Trash_Tia to TheCrypticCompendium [link] [comments]
We toast marshmallows around the fire, tell spooky ghost stories, and hide in random secret military bunkers under the campgrounds! Because SOMETHING IS HERE WITH US.
Camp Redwood is the PERFECT PLACE for a summer getaway where we start EVERY DAY with a CAMP REDWOOD SMILE. Where our counselors disappear every five minutes, and our campers disembowel us for funsies! Did I forget to mention our littles aren’t actually eight years old, but fully grown adults?
We hope you enjoy your fucking stay!
We are also not responsible for any counselors revealing they are not who they said they are—and not who they appear to be.
...
So. There’s a LOT to tell you and not a lot of time to tell it.
Right now, I suppose you could say we are under lockdown—if that is the word. I want to go over the last several days to get you up to date. That’s all I can do right now. I can hope and pray the thing with Teddy’s voice does not get in here, and once again cry out for help—that I know is not coming. Not from the authorities, at least. But hey, if any of you fancy coming to rescue us, we’re in the middle of the Canadian wilderness. The closest rest-stop is maybe three fucking hours away. So have fun. Has it really almost been a week since I posted? Well, we’re still here!
And surprise, surprise, help is not coming. So, please excuse the salt. I am seventeen years old and I have been abandoned by the adults who were supposed to be looking after us.
Who were supposed to act under protocol if something like this happened. I know they were waiting for it—there are specific fucking guidelines on an emergency evacuation for counselors if this ever happened. But then the little shits took over before we could do anything. I guess I’ll start by letting you know that there are two of us left. (three, if we count Rowan, but I’m not). What I thought was going to be a quiet summer getaway with kids my age has turned into a nightmare.
For one, we have been cornered inside the head counselor’s underground secret bunker. If you want to know why she has a secret military bunker, I guess you should keep reading.
Because shit gets weirder than animal crackers having the power to turn adults into kids, and vice versa. When I made my first post, I thought that was it for us. I thought for sure there must have been a self-destruct somewhere—which meant whoever was running this camp was waiting for something like this. I was sure we were going to die, so after making the post, I have to admit with ya’ll—I just slept. I curled up, tried to ignore Harry and Carmel calling our names through childish laugher, and went to sleep with the thought in my head that I was completely at peace with what I had done with my life.
Sure, I was young. Seventeen years old is too young to be ripped apart by littles who are in fact grown adults. But as I was falling into slumber and allowing myself to fall, with my head resting in my lap, my head turned towards a separate pile of files on the other side of the room—I realized I really wanted to know how this was possible. There was so much I needed to know. Why did eight-year-old Eleanor Summers have a file where here birthday dated back to 1979? Why had supposedly innocent sugary snacks turned our adorable littles into mini psychopaths?
These kids were not kids, somehow. But how? How was that even possible? Could it be that the files were wrong?
1979 was definitely 45.
But Eleanor Summers couldn’t be 45 years old. I knew what 45 looked like. I knew that they thought like. They spent half of their time on Facebook laughing at outdated memes, and the other half… I don’t know, working? They have job’s! They’re happily married with kids, maybe soon grandkids! That was not Eleanor Summers. Because Eleanor Summers was most definitely eight years old. I had played several rounds of teddy-bears picnic, and spent hours reassuring her that Harry's ghost stories were in fact not real, enough times for me to know that this little kid was little—and a kid.
But something was bothering me. More than the secret military bunker, and magic age-regressing animal crackers. When I first signed up to Camp Redwood, one of the tag-lines to gain attraction had been, “Solve mysteries in the woods in the dead of night, with nothing but a flashlight and your fellow campers!” I had no idea I would be solving this thing on my own, trapped inside a bunker.
“What are you doing?” Rowan, who was still looking through Allison’s dinosaur laptop, turned to me with half lidded eyes, when I slowly got to my feet, careful not to make too much noise, and crept over to the pile of separate files which seemed to be crumbling apart from age. He kept his voice low, but it sounded almost like a whine. He could have been scared, but from the way he was sitting, cross-legged with a frowny face, I figured something must have been going on with him. The guy looked tired. More tired than normal.
The bags under his eyes were practically shadowing his face, and were an odd contrast to unusually ashy colored cheeks and slightly dilated eyes. Still though, Rowan refused to look vulnerable. I caught glimpse of Harry’s raybans sitting on his head, pinning back thick dark brown curls from falling in front of sleepy eyes. Maybe he was finally losing his cool and breaking out of the well-constructed façade he had been hiding behind since Teddy disappeared.
We had just narrowly escaped a crowd of psycho littles high on age-regressing sugary snacks who were doing who-the-fuck knows to the other counselors who had been captured, so I didn’t blame him looking like that. I guess he couldn’t look me in the eye, because in Rowan’s mind, he was the reason why this happened. He was the leader, and the camp had fallen to psychopathic little eight year olds who had taken half of the counselors hostage, and the other half—most likely taken apart in the physical sense, after what we had witnessed in Cassie’s cabin. Still though, it wasn’t Rowan’s fault. He could sit there and pull a face all he wanted, it’s not like I was going to blow up at him for getting us stuck down here. He actually saved us.
And trapped us, judging from the footsteps upstairs, Carmel and Harry still bouncing around looking for us.
It was a game in their heads. The little’s thought it was cat and mouse. Harry and Carmel were the oblivious cats prowling, while we were the mice, hoping to fucking GOD we weren’t caught and eaten. Ignoring Rowan, I glimpsed what looked like a box full of DVD’S—all of which were labelled with dates and names. I saw familiar ones, my heart racing into my throat. Phoebe. Eli. Cassandra.
Each DVD had one of the kid’s names scribbled on the front, as well as a date.
I found Eleanor’s right at the back of the box.
Eleanor Summers.
08/05/2021. (PM)
Before I could hesitate and think what I was doing, I slid the DVD into the portable player attached to the MacBook. Rowan, to my surprise, didn’t move. But he did make an acknowledging noise when the screen flickered to what looked like video footage. Peering at the screen, I found myself staring at a small white room. There was no door. Only a wooden desk and a chair, and sitting on it was a middle aged woman with dark blonde curls tied into a strict ponytail. She was wearing what looked like a prison jumpsuit.
Her eyes were eerily glued to the camera, unblinking. Her wrists were cuffed in front of her. Though from the look on her face, she saw the restraints as a game. Her eyes lit up with intrigue and I could practically see the cogs in her mind starting to turn as she struggled with them.
As soon as I saw this woman, I felt all of my nerve endings set alight. I wanted to turn the screen off, or look away. But once I was looking at the screen, I couldn’t bring myself to tear my eyes away. “Let’s try this again.” There was a woman offscreen. She sounded young. Too young to be in that kind of authority. I figured there was no way teenagers were being hired as special ops agents, but I guessed I was wrong. She cleared her throat. “It is 4:35 exactly. August 5th 2021. My name is Agent Lemrac,” she stated. “I am asking once again for you to comply with us. As I have said several times, the court are willing to lessen your sentence if you plead guilty with insanity.”
The woman surprised me with a snorting laugh. She seemed to come alive, leaning forward with animated features, her brow reaching her hairline. She was acting like a child, bouncing up and down in the seat, her lips stretching into a wider grin. “What did you just say?”
There was a pause. I could tell the woman was intentionally antagonising the interviewer.
“It means you have been legally declared insane,” the interviewer stumbled over her words slightly. “Mrs Summers, it would be in your best interest to work with us to lessen your current sentence which at the moment is standing at,” the sounds of shuffling paper crackled through the speakers. The interviewer cleared her throat again rustling paper. “Thirty six years. Without parole.”
The woman didn’t speak, only continued to smile—and the interviewer delved further into the sentence. “If you do in fact plead guilty with declared insanity, you will be sentenced to a program which is in the process of supporting and rehabilitating people with your…” she caught herself for a moment. I could tell this interviewer had a biased opinion and it was definitely showing through her interviewing style. I could hear the rapid intakes of her breath as she hurried through what seemed to be a script she was reading from. “Conditions.” She finished. “The Redwood program aims to help people exactly like you.”
Redwood? I thought.
Like… Camp Redwood?
Rowan whistled behind me. I guess I could call that a reaction. The guy was probably still in shock after seeing Café de Teddy splattered all over little Cassie’s cabin floor. I should have known those little bitches weren’t playing Operation for eight hours straight. Turning my attention from Rowan and back to the screen, the woman in the jumpsuit appeared to have changed tactics. Her expression twisted into nonchalance. She leaned back in her chair. “I am not pleading insane because I am not insane.”
“Mrs Summers—”
The woman cut her off. “I am not crazy.” She raised her hands “I am doing what needs to be done.” She leaned forward. “Humanity suffers in the skin. We age and die— and how is that fair? What if we want to see the next millennium? And the next two millennia after that? Why should our bodies dictate our lifespan? Why should we sit here and wait to rot and wither and die when we have the intelligence and mindset to do it? If nobody else is willing to throw ethics aside to take a step forwards in human evolution, I should do it myself.” She folded her arms across her chest, again, like a child. “I did what was to be done.”
“Dr. Summers.” The interviewer’s tone grew stiff. “You and your colleagues conducted illegal and unethical procedures on your family and friends—as well as four other victims.”
The woman inclined her head. “You have a daughter, am I correct? I have a son.”
“A child you killed, Dr Summers.” The interviewer retorted in a hiss which was definitely expressing emotion. She ignored the mention of her daughter, but I could tell it had rattled her to her core. Her voice had cracked. This case was close to her.
That was obvious. Without seeing the interviewer herself, I could sense how uncomfortable she was, shuffling in the chair. Every so often I would hear the sound of her rubbing her hands on her knees and tapping her shoe against the chair leg. She oozed anxiety, not just from her tone of voice, but the way the frame seemed to move with her. “Dr. Summers, you used your son in your research, along with several of his friends. This was not science.” Her voice shook. I heard her sharp inhale. Unprofessional, but very human. Instead of staying stoic and keeping to script, this agent was cracking apart. “It was murder.”
“Agent Lemrac, concentrate on the interview only.” An official voice crackled through what sounded like an intercom on screen.
“Got it.” She spoke through her teeth.
The woman was finding wounds and pressing on them. She was scanning the interviewer for vulnerabilities and preying on every insecurity. She leaned back speaking through a sigh. “Without my son’s sacrifice we wouldn’t have created an answer to death. To growing old and dying, and leaving loved ones behind.” Her voice softened into a murmur, but I didn’t trust it.
After identifying the shattering pieces of this interviewer which were very clear visible in her view, the woman was taking advantage.
“Agent Lemrac, you have a daughter. Am I correct in saying her name is Mari?
“That… that is not relevant.”
“Glioblastoma.” Dr. Summers lips curved into a sickening smile hidden behind mocking sympathy. “A sickness of the brain--which, unfortunately, I cannot fix. If your daughter’s brain was in my hands, I would try. However, not even a brand new body would help her. One which would never age or grow sick. And for that, I am deeply, deeply sorry.” She reached her cuffed hands forwards. “My condolences, Agent Lemrac. Honestly. I have to hand it to you. You are incredibly brave for coming here today and talking to me while abandoning your sick child.” She shook her head.
“Your daughter is dying of an incurable illness, suffering inside fragile skin which will break and fall apart and be unable to keep her standing for much longer. While my son will live on forever. He will see every millennia, a planet which will crumble and build itself back together. And maybe the end of the universe itself.” There was a twitch in her expression and a glitter in her eye I did not recognise. Insanity.
She was fucking insane. I was seeing the pure of it, the depraved and disgusting gleam in eyes empty of remorse and regret. This woman did not care what she had done. I could tell from the look on her face. If she had the chance, she would do this again.
But there was no way they were trying to say her cruelty and complete disregard for her son’s life was due to insanity.
“You are sick, Dr. Summers.” The interviewer said after a moment of gathering herself.
The woman shook her head with a chuckle. “I told you. I am not sick--”
“Sick in the head!” The interviewer’s voice exploded through the speakers in a shriek—a terrified cry she had been trying to hold in. I finally saw her—or at least the back of her. She was a young woman with light blonde hair falling loose on her shoulders. She was trembling. Slamming her hands down on the table, she screamed at the orange jumpsuit woman.
“You are psychologically fucked in the head! You psycho bitch! That is my sister!” She spoke through strangled sobs rattling her whole body. “Mari is my little sister. She is not my child.”
Her breaths were strangled and harboured. I noticed figures looming in the background, but she was continuing. “You killed your own fucking son,” she spat. “You are not legally insane, you are sick!” she shrieked. “You planned and put this together! You sit there and you talk about your son like he’s a… like he’s a tool! You deserve to rot. Do you hear me?” I noticed the orange jumpsuit woman was still smiling, satisfied with the interview’s reaction. Her words were spoken in a vicious poison as she leaned forward and spat directly in orange jumpsuit’s face.
“Agent Lemrac!” Whoever her superiors were—were panicking. “I told you not to turn it off. I knew this was going to happen. Can we stop the demonstration, please? Human emotions present inside an Aceville soldier are too powerful—"
Voices were murmuring in the background, and Agent Lemrac raised her hands. “I want to stop.” She choked out, her hands trembling. She spoke like she still had control over the situation and wasn’t being apprehended. “I want to stop. Do you hear me?” The interviewer was crying, I realized. “Stop the recording! I can’t do this. Oh god, I think I’m going to be sick—”
When the footage ended in a burst of static, I found myself backing away, something slimy creeping its way up my throat.
The woman in the orange jumpsuit who had murdered her son and countless others in what sounded like an attempt at playing god, was Eleanor Summers. I thought back to Teddy’s corpse, and the surgical precision of every organ’s removal. The young interviewer had mentioned colleagues of Eleanor.
Was it possible that Camp Redwood was in fact nothing more than a rehabilitation camp for murderous criminals? There was a loud bang from above, and I was torn from my thoughts.
I turned to Rowan, who had been unusually quiet. And I realized why, when I twisted around to find him three inches from my face, his laboured breath tickling my cheek.
The boy jumped back with a chuckle—like me noticing him was some kind of game, before diving back into the chair. I did notice something odd, as my thoughts spiralled. Rowan couldn’t sit still. Slumped in the leather spinning chair, he fingers tapped a rhythm on the armrests while his feet jumped up and down. In the dim light of the bunker, I glimpsed a sheen of sweat glistening on his forehead and the flesh of his neck. He looked to be… feverish—and now that I was looking at him properly, all of my attention on the boy, I noticed small things which seemed… off about him.
For one, he wasn’t coming up with a plan. Rowan always had a plan. Even if he wasn’t completely sure of it, or was completely winging it. This time though, he was strangely quiet. I found my voice when he stuck out his tongue at me. “What are you looking at?”
“Rowan.” I spoke softly, careful not to garner attention from above us where Harry and Carmel were still clamouring around, playing games. “Are you… feeling okay?” I asked, when he turned back to the laptop, manically biting his fingernails.
“I dunnnooooo, Josie! Am I feeeeeeling okaaaaaayyyyy?” He surprised me with an uncharacteristic laugh.
But I did know it.
I knew it from earlier when he reacted to Allison’s bunker and I had been too freaked out to realize that I was dragging along the enemy with me.
Because the fucking idiot had consumed animal crackers. I had seen him for myself earlier, pouring a pack into his mouth for a snack. Which meant either the ‘kids’ had intentionally dosed him with mind altering sugary snacks, or the more likely, he could not resist those preservatives which was the equivalent of caffeine. It’s not like I could blame him when he harboured the weight of an entire camp, but come on, did he really have to sacrifice his own fucking mind to keep himself awake?
Rowan wasn’t just biting. His nails. He was gnawing. Which he previously thought was a filthy habit. He had yelled at a camper for chewing on her nails a few days earlier.
Now that I was noticing it, I couldn’t… stop noticing it. The boy’s whole demeanour had changed; the way he was sinking into the chair, instead of sitting up straight like usual—- I used to call it having a stick up his ass. The boy started typing on the laptop, ignoring me. But when I watched the pattern of his fingers, he was just typing gibberish. Footsteps pounded above us, Harry and Carmel acting as the kid’s’ brainwashed foot-soldiers. Or, more likely somehow, if the animal crackers had caused the littles, or I guess, the fully grown forty year old criminals, to relapse in age-- then maybe it was possible for the same thing to happen to us. To Rowan.
I could feel myself starting to back away, but there was nowhere to run. I just slammed into a cupboard. My gaze flicked to Rowan again, who was tapping a beat on the laptop tracking pad, swaying back and forth, his eyes elsewhere before his gaze found mine. “Marcoooooo!” Harry shouted from above, giggling with Carmel.
I had to guess their mental age had to be at least 8-10 years old. Which meant I wasn’t just dealing with a camp full of forty-year-old psycho’s, I was also dealing with mentally relapsed counselors acting like toddlers.
Rowan seemed to jolt in the chair, twisting his head around, his eyes suddenly incredibly childlike and playful, and very Un-Rowan, were finding the ceiling, his mouth stretching into a smile, like he was seeing butterflies. His eyes flashed to me, and I caught a twitch in his lip. I knew that look. It was the look on my seven year old sister, who knew mom was mad at me, and wanted to make it even worse.
His cheeks were starting to blossom scarlet from what must have been the overwhelming urge to laugh. Rowan pressed his lips together and held in a breath like a hamster, and the asshole was fucking with me. Waiting for me to beat him to it by accident. Kids were fucking ruthless, but there was something terrifying about an 18 year old with a little kid’s mind.
I lifted my index to my lips, miming for him not to even try, but the boy just mimicked me, bugging out his eyes and pressing his finger to his grinning mouth. “Don’t you fucking dare.” I managed to whisper. The boy was definitely playing his own game, moving in twitching movements, baiting me. When he cupped his mouth, I almost let out a cry, but then he dropped his arms with a giggle, as if to say, “I’m just kidding!”
Slowly, I turned around, grabbed the salt I’d found in Allison’s cupboard, and a flat can of soda. Without making too much movement, I poured a handful of salt into the can. But Rowan seemed to know exactly what I was doing. Because in the time it was taking me to advance towards him with the can of salty soda, one arm shakily ready to grab hold of him, and put him into a headlock, he was cupping his mouth, all logic and everything adult, everything he had been as our leader, igniting in playful eyes, leaving me the last one standing.
“Pollloooooo!”
By the time Rowan had managed to reveal our hiding place in a spluttered laugh, I had hold of the squirming boy, one arm wrapped around his neck, my other forcing the can of soda into his mouth. I had definitely miscalculated his strength. During camp Redwood activities, he was always the last one to come back from the trail, holding his knees and panting. I figured he was unfit. However, I was wrong. Underneath his shirt, the guy had some serious muscles.
It was like attacking a brick wall. However, Rowan was mentally a kid. So, I had my intelligence and logic on my side. When it became obvious I wasn’t going to get anywhere with brute strength, I resorted to tickling him, which made him squirm, squeaking out a laugh. When he opened his mouth to yell at me to stop, I took my chance, thrusting the can into his lips and holding his nose so he swallowed it down.
“No!” His laughter turned into muffled yelling, as he batted his fists at my chest. “No, no, no! Get off, get off!”
His body convulsed as the salt did its job, causing the boy to lurch to his knees and choke up forbidden animal crackers in a gooish sludge which turned my stomach. By the time Rowan seemed half himself and half not, still kneeling, his head pressed against the floor, Harry was poking his head through the door with a goonish grin. “Found you!” He giggled, before forcing the door open, allowing Carmel and Callen, freshly caught and mentally turned into littles, to advance down the stairs with equally terrifying grins. There was something wrong with Harry’s face, and I only realized it when the guy himself was hauling me from the bunker, Carmel dragging a barely responsive Rowan. There was nothing in Harry’s expression, only blind childish excitement at winning the game. When he dragged me out of Allison’s cabin and threw me to the ground, I realized he too had insane strength I had not been expecting. But that thought quickly retracted when I was seeing his face in the light of a crescent moon lighting up the sky an eerie glow. Harry’s cheeks were puffy and swollen, his right eye way bigger than it should have been.
When he spoke, his voice was more of a lisp. This was something far more realistic than magical animal crackers fucking with his brain.
“He needs help!” I managed to choke out when Carmel wrapped jump-rope around my wrists. Next to me, Rowan was refusing to get up, still choking up salty soda, groaning into his hands. Every time Callen tried to restrain him, he hissed out like an animal.
“Do you hear me?!” I struggled violently. “Harry needs—”
BANG.
Is what it felt like. The feeling of something—what felt and sounded like a toy car—colliding with my temples, sent me onto the ground, my head spinning itself off of its axis. I remember lying on my back and frowning at the moon which almost looked like it was getting closer to me, blurring into a white ball of light—before reality sunk in, and it was in fact Carmel’s converse coming down to finish me off. I didn’t stay knocked out for long. But I did dream.
I think you can call it a dream? I was lying in bed at home; my room drowned in the dark. I was cosy, curled up in my blankets, when a clammy hand slammed over my mouth, rousing me from slumber. There were two figures in my room. They didn’t have faces. They just existed as shadows, silhouettes. Before one of them raised something above their head, and… impact.
It was the same impact as the toy car hitting me, snapping me back to that night. It wasn’t a dream. Because I remembered his clammy fingers over my mouth, and his hisses for me to shut up as he dragged me from my room.
My parents stood in front of me with expressions of sympathy. Basked in warm light, my mom and dad looked almost otherworldly. “For the best.” Was what they mouthed when my own phantom screams slammed into me. I asked them why, and they didn’t reply, allowing him to pull me further and further from what I knew, from my life as I knew it. But.. that couldn’t be real. I had memories of getting on the bus to camp Redwood. I could recall the whole journey. So, why… why was my tangled mind saying otherwise?
When I gathered myself, the first thing I realized was I was sitting down. I was outside, cool night air grazing my bare arms. There was something attached to me, jerking violently, And it took me several disorienting blinks to understand that I was tied back to back with Rowan. My head pounded, and something wet and warm dripped down my temple. Great. I could add head injury to the long list of things to worry about.
“Let me go you little fucking witch.”
Rowan was back to himself, though from the muffled hissing and the sound of choking—I had to guess he was being force-fed animal crackers.
“Let me—mpphmmm. little…. fucking… mphmmphhmhppmm!”
“Rowan.” I managed to get out in a croak. Through flickering eyes, I caught glimpse of a familiar figure dancing around us. Shivers rocketed down my spine, and I wrenched at the jump-rope restraints, but they did a surprisingly job of restraining my arms behind my back.
Eleanor was with Rowan, while Eli was knelt in front of me. Looking at him, the boy had definitely aged in the face—and I couldn’t help wondering what exactly he had done as a forty something year old to be sent to this place.
“Josie!” Rowan responded in a wail. “Josie. Wake the FUCK up.”
“Stop swearing.”
Eleanor spoke with the cold tone of her actual age.
“Oh, yeah?” Rowan spluttered. “Fuck you.” The boy’s laugh was still rough from almost vomiting his insides out from too much salt intake. “I’m sorry, you were a fucking boomer all along?!” He wriggled in the restraints, lunging forwards, which sent me backwards.
“Stop swearing, Rowan.” Was all the girl responded with calmly.
“Like I’m going to listen to you!” He sneered. “Fuck, fuck, fuckity, fucking fuck!” What are you going to do, huh? Bite me with your false teeth?” The sound of saliva hitting skin made me wince. He was pissed. I had no doubt his completely rational anger was going to get us killed. Rowan was also somehow getting mixed up between forty and eighty. Though he was unwillingly snacking on mind bending sugary goodness.
“Fudge, Rowan.” Eleanor spoke in a giggle.
“What?!”
“Say fudge. Not fuck.”
“No.”
His hiss of pain caught me off guard. I don’t know what she was doing to him, but it was hurting him.
“You fudging fudge! I’m going to fudging kill you when I get out of these fudging ropes—“ his manic cursing became a muffled yell.
“Say fudge,” Eleanor hummed, followed by his hiss when the palm of her hand skinned his cheek. “Fuck is a bad word. You even said so yourself and you’re my favourite counselor.”
He heaved out a breath.
“You fudge,” Rowan spat. “When I get out of this, I am going to fudging kill you, you fudging—” His manic ranting morphed, once again, into muffled yelling, after another fistful of animal crackers were forced into his mouth. When I risked twisting around, I could see his rebellion slowly starting to simmer out as he relaxed slightly. I wanted to yell at him to keep a clear head before cold fingers were dipping under my chin and forcing my head around where I found myself face to face with Eli.
“I like you, Josie,” he said, before untying me and pulling me to my feet. Now at the age of nine or ten, he was a lot stronger. When I tried to pull away, the cruel blade of a knife grazed my gut. I caught his grin. “But we don’t need you.” Eli pointed to Rowan.
“We just want them.”
I followed his pointer finger which went from Rowan to Harry and Carmel, who were just standing there like fucking idiots, probably awaiting the next game. Harry’s face was getting redder. It looked like he was suffocating, and yet his grin was growing wider and wider, splitting his lips apart. “Rowan Atlas.” Eleanor said, dragging him to his feet. Something was stapled to his forehead head, which caused him to howl in pain, hissing another strangled line of “Fudge”. but I couldn’t read what it was.
“Camp leader. Intelligent, and problem solving skills.”
“Harry Carlisle.” Eli nodded his head with a smile. “Quick thinker. Strong minded.”
“Carmel Locke.” Cassie spoke behind me. She had her arms folded, a wry smile on her lips. “Smarter than she makes out—- an independent learner, and can work well under pressure.”
Looking at these kids, I felt sick to my stomach. They were planning something—and had the intelligence of renowned scientists, which was what I gathered from the footage on the MacBook. “What?” was all I could hiss out, as Eli prodded the blade of the knife into my back, ushering me to walk. “What are you talking about?”
“Duh.” He spoke in a more tweeny giggle. “Like I said, Miss Josie. You’re my favorite counselor but we don’t need you, so I’m going to use you for parts.” He laughed when a shiver spiderwebbed down my spine. “See! I told you I was going to show you my collection!”
“But… what do you need them for?”
Eli pressed his index finger to his lips with a laugh before forcing me to face forwards. “That’s a secret!”
When I didn’t, or couldn’t move, he shoved me into a stumbling power-walk, and I managed to turn my head quickly, making feverish eye contact with Rowan.
“Rowan.” I said calmly through the gutter in my throat. “Get…. Get help.”
If I was going to die, I needed him to get a hold of himself and somehow alert the outside world what was going on.
“From whom, Josie?!” He wailed back—and as I was dragged away, I could once again sense the childish undertones in his voice.
I had no choice but to obey Eli’s orders. If I didn’t want a knife in my back. He took me to the main lunch cabin, which, when I set foot inside, almost sent me to my knees.
Something lurched inside me, and I was screaming with no voice, staggering backwards, only to be shoved onto my face. In front of me was what had been the lunch hall, fully converted into the beginning of a laboratory.
What had been cafeteria tables were fashioned into makeshift gurney’s and beds, and I was looking at all of the missing counselors. Yuri and Noah had been skinned completely, their faces laid out on a makeshift surgical table. Joey had been ripped open, his heart and brain removed, a glittering metallic substance creeping its way across his forehead. It was then when I remembered Eleanor Summers words.
She wanted to prevent death and preserve the human mind. Looking at what was in front of me, this was the start of it. There was equipment I had never seen before. Lily’s body was empty, carved out completely, tubes forced inside her. When I glimpsed her fingers move and begin to ball into a fist, I saw red. I saw fucking red. The exit was so close and yet Eli, fucking Eli, wielded his knife. I think that is when part of me gave up. My brain just stopped. It short circuited. Seeing my friends murdered and yet somehow being kept alive through playing god, my body slumped to the ground. I was numb. Completely numb.
I’m not sure what would have happened if those bloody saws and instruments which had been used on my friends were used on me too.
Luckily, that did not happen. Before Eli could get his slimy hands on me, he crumpled to the ground in an almost cartoon-like fashion, and standing over me was Harry. Who was looking better. When he grasped hold of me and helped me up, I only had one word. “Out.” And he was nodding, his eyes glistening as he drunk in our friends’ fate.
“How?” I managed to sputter out, when we made it out of the cabin, ducking behind a tree. Harry turned to me, motioning for me to shut up. There was a group of now ten to eleven year olds already running around, searching for what I guessed was him.
“I’m allergic to peanut butter,” Harry murmured, his grasp tightening on my wrist as he led me across the camp, the two of us stumbling.
“What, and you just magically healed?”
He didn’t respond to that, which bothered me.
“The bunker is our best shot,” I hissed out. “I think we can get in contact with someone down there.” I paused, unable to stop myself. “What makes you so important?”
“Dunno. Maybe I’m their favorite.”
When we found Allison’s cabin, which was more of a safehouse (an exposed safehouse) I found Rowan sitting on the wooden porch with his legs swinging over the side. “Rowan!” Harry groaned. I found it hard to believe their roles had been switched. Now he was the one yelling at the camp-leader. “I told you to stay inside!”
He ushered the boy inside, before barricading the door with some hefty looking equipment. I could tell from the grin on his face that our so-called leader was once again no longer himself.
I had to bite back a groan. “You’re kidding.” I said, pointing to Rowan, who buried his head in his knees and blew a raspberry. “Does he look and act like our leader right now?!”
“It’s Rowan, Josie.”
“He’s a liability.”
“He’s our friend! Wouldn’t Rowan do the same?”
Yes, he would. But. He would also realize we’re lost causes.
“Gag him with something.” I said. “If he makes any more noise, we’re dumping him.”
“He’s a kid!”
“Just the mind of one.”
I don’t know how animal crackers worked, but his age seemed to be progressively younger. This time he just sat with wide eyes watching us.
Harry almost tore apart the place looking for means of communication, before an old fashioned ringing sound made me jump.
“What was that?” Harry turned to me with his lip curled.
“How am I supposed to know?!” I hissed. “Keep looking!” But when I ducked under the table, my hands crawled under the desk, finding a wire—and attached to that, an ancient looking phone which looked straight out of a 1940’s movie, a bright green rotary phone.
Hesitantly, I answered it, lifting the phone to my ear. “Hello?”
“Did you awaken the subjects, Agent Salta?"
The voice on the other end was a woman, an oldish sounding woman with the tinge of a British accent.
“What?” I shot a look at Harry before shaking my head. “No. My name is Josie Greenfield. We’re at Camp Redwood, and we need help.”
The woman paused.
“Where is Agent Salta?” She cleared her throat. “This line is reserved for communication with agents only.”
“I don’t know who the fuck you’re talking about!" I squeaked out. “My name is Josie, and whatever is happening here, we need help!”
“Josie. Did you awaken the subjects?”
I paused after a moment, shooting Harry a look when he tried to take the phone off of me. “Yes.”
“And… are our agents unavailable?”
“I don’t understand.”
“When a health and safety breach is activated, our agents are awakened to deal with the Project Spearhead subjects if they were to ever go rogue, or become conscious enough to think. Josie, can you tell me what is in front of you? Describe it to me.”
I held my breath. Next to the hidden phone under the desk was what looked like mismatched wires, all of which had been severed. I lowered myself slowly, poking at mess. “Wires. I see… cut up wires.” I whispered. “Does this mean they know about you?”
She hummed. “Ah…That makes sense. The only way to activate our sleeper handlers would be to send out the signal. You appear to have been sabotaged. Unless activated manually, our agents cannot help you. I am sorry. They are your problem now.” The woman paused.
“If I were you, I would hope and pray they have not sabotaged the self-destruct. If you find that, then you may be able to save yourselves and find peace.” She cleared her throat. “Thank you for your service, Josie Greenfield.”
“Wait.” I managed to get out. “Wait, no! You can’t just… you can’t leave us! We need help!”
I found myself yelling at nothing when the phone went dead. The dull tone of the dead ringtone was clanging in my ears before footsteps from up above. “Fuck this.” Harry picked up a lead pipe. “They’re still little kids, right? I mean, their head must still be partly kids—- so let’s fucking beat their heads in.”
He noticed something, then, starting forwards towards the mess of files I had left earlier. Harry knelt on the ground and picked up Eli’s file, his eyes wide. But he wasn’t staring at the dates confirming the little boy’s age.
Instead, Harry pointed at the bottom of the file. “I don’t want to freak you out, Josie,” he whispered. Initially, I didn’t know what he was trying to show before I glimpsed notes scrawled at the bottom of the file, followed by a signature. “But I’m pretty sure that is my fucking writing.”
Harry was right.
I pulled the paperwork off of him, flicking through each file before turning my eyes to him. “Who the fuck are you?”
A clanging sound from above broke the tension, and whatever Harry was about to reply with was strangled in his throat. He slammed a hand over his mouth.
“Guys?”
The voice twisted me up inside, threatening to release a shriek from my mouth I had managed to clamp shut.
Teddy.
“Are you down here?” His voice was strained, and had an odd tone to it. “I can’t… I can’t see you.”
…
Can someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?! It’s been a blur of a week. We’ve managed to stay down here, surviving off of Allison’s rations. Rowan isn’t getting any better. He seems to have stopped mentally de-ageing at the age of maybe six. Harry has spent the last few days trying to get in contact with anyone, but it’s like they are IGNORING US.
I’ve been looking through everything I can find on Project Spearhead, but nothing points to Harry being involved. So. How is his signature all over the files? How is it possible that two friends I thought I knew several days ago, are now complete strangers?
Teddy keeps coming back.
He’s crying out to us.
I think he’s… in pain.
My god, I can’t stand this anymore. Please. CAMP REDWOOD NEEDS HELP.
2023.06.05 00:17 Known_Purpose2493 How many autistic anecdotes
Should I relate to before I start to consider I might have autism?
36 male here; recently my ex was diagnosed with autism and it got me thinking (falling down a rabbit hole of autism reddit/youtube/memes)
And I have related to a lot.
So I took the AQT, RAADSR, and CATQ, scoring above the threshold for all three (CATQ by a significant margin)
I took the Apsie as well but results were a mixed bag.
I started compiling a list of possible evidence as well as possible alternative causes (e.g. not liking clothes shopping due to low self esteem instead of because the sensations of it upset me) I was an exceptional reader from an early age, was labelled "gifted", got moved up a grade.
But I have no social issues, no real sensory issues. I get social anxiety in unfamiliar or crowded situations.
Any evidence for the affirmative can be explained by something else. Any childhood meltdown could be the result of a troubled home life etc.
Is it all just in my head? Am I just looking for something because I want there to be something?
I know this isn't enough to go off, not that anyone needs to I just ...
I dunno, I just need to vent I guess
submitted by Known_Purpose2493 to AutismTranslated [link] [comments]
36 male here; recently my ex was diagnosed with autism and it got me thinking (falling down a rabbit hole of autism reddit/youtube/memes)
And I have related to a lot.
So I took the AQT, RAADSR, and CATQ, scoring above the threshold for all three (CATQ by a significant margin)
I took the Apsie as well but results were a mixed bag.
I started compiling a list of possible evidence as well as possible alternative causes (e.g. not liking clothes shopping due to low self esteem instead of because the sensations of it upset me) I was an exceptional reader from an early age, was labelled "gifted", got moved up a grade.
But I have no social issues, no real sensory issues. I get social anxiety in unfamiliar or crowded situations.
Any evidence for the affirmative can be explained by something else. Any childhood meltdown could be the result of a troubled home life etc.
Is it all just in my head? Am I just looking for something because I want there to be something?
I know this isn't enough to go off, not that anyone needs to I just ...
I dunno, I just need to vent I guess
2023.06.05 00:07 CryBabyDoesntCare (M4A) Between Gods and Mortals.
Hi there! So this is new even for me! I have the bare bones of an idea that I would love to flesh out with somone. Worldbuild, lore, characters etc (which I'm still a little new to as well. I have written Supernatural themed roleplays in the past but not like this, if you can call it that? The idea? A God falling in love with a human. Is the human a faithful worshipper? Are they a stubborn non believer? Is their belief wavering? How long has this God had their eye on this human? I have no idea how this is going to work out or who I'd write but I would love to work things out! This rp would obviously be a romance but could possibly have darker themes too (e.g scarifices, death, blood and gore etc). There can be smut but it won't be the main focus.
But, how do you know if we'll write well together? Heres a little about me for you to see! I'm Z. I'm 25 there for I will not write with anyone under the age of 18, due to it feeling weird espicially with some of the themes that can be added to the rp. I use He/Him/Them/They pronouns. I write between 2-6 chunky paragraphs at a time, often going over Discords word limit. I love to chat ooc and bring art, playlists and memes to the server. I aim to do at least one or two replies a day when working but more when work is slow (which it is now so, lots of replies!)
So, if you think we can write together, please don't be afraid to message me! Thank you for reading ☺️
submitted by CryBabyDoesntCare to RoleplayPartnerSearch [link] [comments]
But, how do you know if we'll write well together? Heres a little about me for you to see! I'm Z. I'm 25 there for I will not write with anyone under the age of 18, due to it feeling weird espicially with some of the themes that can be added to the rp. I use He/Him/Them/They pronouns. I write between 2-6 chunky paragraphs at a time, often going over Discords word limit. I love to chat ooc and bring art, playlists and memes to the server. I aim to do at least one or two replies a day when working but more when work is slow (which it is now so, lots of replies!)
So, if you think we can write together, please don't be afraid to message me! Thank you for reading ☺️
2023.06.05 00:06 CryBabyDoesntCare (M4A) Between Gods and Mortals.
Hi there! So this is new even for me! I have the bare bones of an idea that I would love to flesh out with somone. Worldbuild, lore, characters etc (which I'm still a little new to as well. I have written Supernatural themed roleplays in the past but not like this, if you can call it that? The idea? A God falling in love with a human. Is the human a faithful worshipper? Are they a stubborn non believer? Is their belief wavering? How long has this God had their eye on this human? I have no idea how this is going to work out or who I'd write but I would love to work things out! This rp would obviously be a romance but could possibly have darker themes too (e.g scarifices, death, blood and gore etc). There can be smut but it won't be the main focus.
But, how do you know if we'll write well together? Heres a little about me for you to see! I'm Z. I'm 25 there for I will not write with anyone under the age of 18, due to it feeling weird espicially with some of the themes that can be added to the rp. I use He/Him/Them/They pronouns. I write between 2-6 chunky paragraphs at a time, often going over Discords word limit. I love to chat ooc and bring art, playlists and memes to the server. I aim to do at least one or two replies a day when working but more when work is slow (which it is now so, lots of replies!)
So, if you think we can write together, please don't be afraid to message me! Thank you for reading ☺️
submitted by CryBabyDoesntCare to roleplaying [link] [comments]
But, how do you know if we'll write well together? Heres a little about me for you to see! I'm Z. I'm 25 there for I will not write with anyone under the age of 18, due to it feeling weird espicially with some of the themes that can be added to the rp. I use He/Him/Them/They pronouns. I write between 2-6 chunky paragraphs at a time, often going over Discords word limit. I love to chat ooc and bring art, playlists and memes to the server. I aim to do at least one or two replies a day when working but more when work is slow (which it is now so, lots of replies!)
So, if you think we can write together, please don't be afraid to message me! Thank you for reading ☺️
2023.06.05 00:06 CryBabyDoesntCare (M4A) Between Gods and Mortals.
Hi there! So this is new even for me! I have the bare bones of an idea that I would love to flesh out with somone. Worldbuild, lore, characters etc (which I'm still a little new to as well. I have written Supernatural themed roleplays in the past but not like this, if you can call it that? The idea? A God falling in love with a human. Is the human a faithful worshipper? Are they a stubborn non believer? Is their belief wavering? How long has this God had their eye on this human? I have no idea how this is going to work out or who I'd write but I would love to work things out! This rp would obviously be a romance but could possibly have darker themes too (e.g scarifices, death, blood and gore etc). There can be smut but it won't be the main focus.
But, how do you know if we'll write well together? Heres a little about me for you to see! I'm Z. I'm 25 there for I will not write with anyone under the age of 18, due to it feeling weird espicially with some of the themes that can be added to the rp. I use He/Him/Them/They pronouns. I write between 2-6 chunky paragraphs at a time, often going over Discords word limit. I love to chat ooc and bring art, playlists and memes to the server. I aim to do at least one or two replies a day when working but more when work is slow (which it is now so, lots of replies!)
So, if you think we can write together, please don't be afraid to message me! Thank you for reading ☺️
submitted by CryBabyDoesntCare to discordroleplay [link] [comments]
But, how do you know if we'll write well together? Heres a little about me for you to see! I'm Z. I'm 25 there for I will not write with anyone under the age of 18, due to it feeling weird espicially with some of the themes that can be added to the rp. I use He/Him/Them/They pronouns. I write between 2-6 chunky paragraphs at a time, often going over Discords word limit. I love to chat ooc and bring art, playlists and memes to the server. I aim to do at least one or two replies a day when working but more when work is slow (which it is now so, lots of replies!)
So, if you think we can write together, please don't be afraid to message me! Thank you for reading ☺️
2023.06.04 23:33 Just4TheSpamAndEggs No idea how to feel better
I am constantly miserable. I'm just functioning. But, I have no one, which is making this all worse. I really, badly, just need a chance to vent and get it all out. Please don't comment if you are just going to make me feel worse. No comments at all are fine. I just need to get it out.
My life has been unfortunate. It could have been worse. It could have been better. But for many many years now it has just been nothing but stress, disappointment, and frustration. I have reached a point where I no longer have anything to get me excited for the future, nothing to look forward to, this is just my life now and I'm trying to figure out how to be okay with that.
Years ago my children were still young and sweet. They loved me. Every time they saw me they were happy and I was a good and active mom. I went back to school. I did well in school. I started working outside the home again. I wasn't in phenomenal shape but I was at least average and could do this like take my kids to the pool. I had such high goals and dreams for myself. I knew I just had to work hard and I was ready! I have always had strong work ethic.
But, everything has been an unfortunate series of events ever since with very little happiness in between. My career and school goals were totally derailed. Originally my husband was studying for an additional certification that would have made major changes for us. But, he decided to "let me" have my time in school instead. He ended up having a bad accident and was bedbound or close to it for many years afterward. It became impossible for me to finish my original career path and school AND work AND keep up with the kids, house, pets, yard, etc. So, I settled for a lesser certification and not an additional degree so I could focus on family.
I found a job that I was in love with. They made me think I was going to go so far. Constantly told me I was their "star employee". I loved my position. But, I quickly started to see the overturn rate, that management gossiping a lot, and that it was a toxic environment to work in. I still tried. I tried SO hard. I was a great employee. I really wanted to prove that I could be the employee tough enough to take it and still shine. But when someone else at work grabbed me "as a joke" and then I was belittled for going to management about it and told I encouraged it? It was time to quit. Really, I don't think my mental health has ever recovered from my time there.
I quit my job. I went to work in a different type of environment hoping it would give me a positive change. I hated it. LOATHED it. I was good at it but I hated every moment of it. After my husband was walking again and able to help with the kids I brought up going back to school. I shifted my focus since my health won't let me work the way I used to. I worked really hard... only to find that my chosen degree won't get me anywhere in my state. Due to all my state guidelines I basically do not have a degree that relates that anything I would be happy doing.
Currently, I went back to work at the place I was last content. I can't stretch as far as saying, "happy". Those days still had struggles. It isn't the same. I know I eventually need to find another job but I have no idea where to look or what to do. I feel like I can't find anything and whatever recruiters are contacting me for pays terrible and I know I would be so unhappy doing. I have 0 direction. No idea what to do. I can't work part-time forever.
My kids are growing. They don't want to spend time with mom anymore unless I'm giving them money or taking them somewhere. I try to have fun and joke around with them like we used to and they just get irritated with me now. I lost all my friends. How could I not? It has been years since I have been able to go do "fun" things. My responsibility level was too high. I have no one to talk to. I used to call one of my parents but now they are dying so that really isn't an option and also another huge source of stress.
My physical and mental health are greatly deteriorating. It is getting harder and harder to just live day to day. I'm a robot just completing actions with no real goal. Once my husband was healthy I encouraged him to get out and about since he was stuck for so long. I was worried about the quality of his life. He is back working out, has lost a tremendous amount of weight, he is buying himself new name brand clothes, has new hobbies, goes out with friends, and has continued to recieve raises and promotions at work on a steady basis. Although, admittedly he hates his current position. But, constantly reminds me of interviews or offers he has from other countries and the significant salaries that will go with it.
I try to open up to him about how I'm feeling and he gets mad. He gets frustrated with me. He snaps or yells and tells me to stop making him feel guilty for having a life. That I CAN go out. I CHOOSE not to. Even though I keep trying to remind him that I don't have any friends to do things with. He throws out names of people that I barely know, haven't spoken to in years, or his friend's wives like they would just immediately accept me. If I'm frustrated about work he tells me to just suck it up and find a position, get experience, and figure the rest out later. That he makes enough money anyway so I can take the pay cut. Or when he's really mad, "God, you need help."
I have put on weight. I look disgusting. Most days I'm embarrassed to even be seen in public because I have just let myself go so bad. I panic having to go to events, especially with people I know, trying to seem "normal" at events puts me in a depression for days. I have managed to only have to go places once or twice a year. Mainly just things like funerals. I can't stand that people can just look at me and know that I am a failure in life. I don't want people to ask me how I'm doing, how is school (I didn't tell anyone I graduated because I'm embarrassed by my degree), how is my marriage, how are my kids, how is work? I don't have a good answer for any of it. I just try to do the basic hugs and hello and then find a way to put myself back in a corner and try not to be noticed or put the focus on the other person.
My house is falling apart and I'm struggling to keep up with the home repair but we can't afford to have other people come fix stuff. My mind just isn't good. I can't take most medications because of my health issues. I take what I can. I take supplements. My job is physical. I'm trying to get back into working out but my family is always around and I'm too embarrassed to work out in front of them. I cook healthy meals. I have leftovers available. I have a music Playlist that I listen to that helps me get through my emotions or at least let's me cry because I fight crying so much. My sex life is definitely going downhill. He has a million excuses why when I can tell the reason is just that he is sick of me.
I'm tired. I'm sad. I'm hopeless. I have 0 idea what to do. Therapy does not work for me. I have tried it so many times and it routinely makes me feel significantly worse than better. I have tried to join groups to make friends and just end up with creepy dudes wanting to talk and within 5 lines it is just sex. I try to plan going out but can't find anyone to go with. Any time for "hobbies" is spent doing home repair.
Like... what do I do? How do I get back having hope this will get better? I know things aren't getting better from here. At the age that I'm at in not going to magically become more pretty. Even if I do exercise I'm never going to be "thin". No, I can't go back to school again. We physically cannot afford it again. I can't force my children to spend time with me. I can't fault my husband for being sick of being stuck with the ugly, depressed, burr of a wife he has stuck to him, which is why I encourage him to go do things away from me. I can keep chipping away at my house, but that is just chores. I'm basically just trying to fix it up well enough to sell. I listen to Hz frequency music for mood elevation. I try to watch funny animal videos or save funny memes.
I don't know what to do. I'm just lost. I'm just tired of being me.
submitted by Just4TheSpamAndEggs to Advice [link] [comments]
My life has been unfortunate. It could have been worse. It could have been better. But for many many years now it has just been nothing but stress, disappointment, and frustration. I have reached a point where I no longer have anything to get me excited for the future, nothing to look forward to, this is just my life now and I'm trying to figure out how to be okay with that.
Years ago my children were still young and sweet. They loved me. Every time they saw me they were happy and I was a good and active mom. I went back to school. I did well in school. I started working outside the home again. I wasn't in phenomenal shape but I was at least average and could do this like take my kids to the pool. I had such high goals and dreams for myself. I knew I just had to work hard and I was ready! I have always had strong work ethic.
But, everything has been an unfortunate series of events ever since with very little happiness in between. My career and school goals were totally derailed. Originally my husband was studying for an additional certification that would have made major changes for us. But, he decided to "let me" have my time in school instead. He ended up having a bad accident and was bedbound or close to it for many years afterward. It became impossible for me to finish my original career path and school AND work AND keep up with the kids, house, pets, yard, etc. So, I settled for a lesser certification and not an additional degree so I could focus on family.
I found a job that I was in love with. They made me think I was going to go so far. Constantly told me I was their "star employee". I loved my position. But, I quickly started to see the overturn rate, that management gossiping a lot, and that it was a toxic environment to work in. I still tried. I tried SO hard. I was a great employee. I really wanted to prove that I could be the employee tough enough to take it and still shine. But when someone else at work grabbed me "as a joke" and then I was belittled for going to management about it and told I encouraged it? It was time to quit. Really, I don't think my mental health has ever recovered from my time there.
I quit my job. I went to work in a different type of environment hoping it would give me a positive change. I hated it. LOATHED it. I was good at it but I hated every moment of it. After my husband was walking again and able to help with the kids I brought up going back to school. I shifted my focus since my health won't let me work the way I used to. I worked really hard... only to find that my chosen degree won't get me anywhere in my state. Due to all my state guidelines I basically do not have a degree that relates that anything I would be happy doing.
Currently, I went back to work at the place I was last content. I can't stretch as far as saying, "happy". Those days still had struggles. It isn't the same. I know I eventually need to find another job but I have no idea where to look or what to do. I feel like I can't find anything and whatever recruiters are contacting me for pays terrible and I know I would be so unhappy doing. I have 0 direction. No idea what to do. I can't work part-time forever.
My kids are growing. They don't want to spend time with mom anymore unless I'm giving them money or taking them somewhere. I try to have fun and joke around with them like we used to and they just get irritated with me now. I lost all my friends. How could I not? It has been years since I have been able to go do "fun" things. My responsibility level was too high. I have no one to talk to. I used to call one of my parents but now they are dying so that really isn't an option and also another huge source of stress.
My physical and mental health are greatly deteriorating. It is getting harder and harder to just live day to day. I'm a robot just completing actions with no real goal. Once my husband was healthy I encouraged him to get out and about since he was stuck for so long. I was worried about the quality of his life. He is back working out, has lost a tremendous amount of weight, he is buying himself new name brand clothes, has new hobbies, goes out with friends, and has continued to recieve raises and promotions at work on a steady basis. Although, admittedly he hates his current position. But, constantly reminds me of interviews or offers he has from other countries and the significant salaries that will go with it.
I try to open up to him about how I'm feeling and he gets mad. He gets frustrated with me. He snaps or yells and tells me to stop making him feel guilty for having a life. That I CAN go out. I CHOOSE not to. Even though I keep trying to remind him that I don't have any friends to do things with. He throws out names of people that I barely know, haven't spoken to in years, or his friend's wives like they would just immediately accept me. If I'm frustrated about work he tells me to just suck it up and find a position, get experience, and figure the rest out later. That he makes enough money anyway so I can take the pay cut. Or when he's really mad, "God, you need help."
I have put on weight. I look disgusting. Most days I'm embarrassed to even be seen in public because I have just let myself go so bad. I panic having to go to events, especially with people I know, trying to seem "normal" at events puts me in a depression for days. I have managed to only have to go places once or twice a year. Mainly just things like funerals. I can't stand that people can just look at me and know that I am a failure in life. I don't want people to ask me how I'm doing, how is school (I didn't tell anyone I graduated because I'm embarrassed by my degree), how is my marriage, how are my kids, how is work? I don't have a good answer for any of it. I just try to do the basic hugs and hello and then find a way to put myself back in a corner and try not to be noticed or put the focus on the other person.
My house is falling apart and I'm struggling to keep up with the home repair but we can't afford to have other people come fix stuff. My mind just isn't good. I can't take most medications because of my health issues. I take what I can. I take supplements. My job is physical. I'm trying to get back into working out but my family is always around and I'm too embarrassed to work out in front of them. I cook healthy meals. I have leftovers available. I have a music Playlist that I listen to that helps me get through my emotions or at least let's me cry because I fight crying so much. My sex life is definitely going downhill. He has a million excuses why when I can tell the reason is just that he is sick of me.
I'm tired. I'm sad. I'm hopeless. I have 0 idea what to do. Therapy does not work for me. I have tried it so many times and it routinely makes me feel significantly worse than better. I have tried to join groups to make friends and just end up with creepy dudes wanting to talk and within 5 lines it is just sex. I try to plan going out but can't find anyone to go with. Any time for "hobbies" is spent doing home repair.
Like... what do I do? How do I get back having hope this will get better? I know things aren't getting better from here. At the age that I'm at in not going to magically become more pretty. Even if I do exercise I'm never going to be "thin". No, I can't go back to school again. We physically cannot afford it again. I can't force my children to spend time with me. I can't fault my husband for being sick of being stuck with the ugly, depressed, burr of a wife he has stuck to him, which is why I encourage him to go do things away from me. I can keep chipping away at my house, but that is just chores. I'm basically just trying to fix it up well enough to sell. I listen to Hz frequency music for mood elevation. I try to watch funny animal videos or save funny memes.
I don't know what to do. I'm just lost. I'm just tired of being me.
2023.06.04 23:30 Mariners_bot Post Game Chat 6/4 Mariners @ Rangers
Please use this thread to discuss anything related to today's game. You may post anything as long as it falls within stated posting guidelines. You may also post gifs and memes, as long as it is related to the game. Please keep the discussion civil.
Discord: Seattle Sports
Game ended at 2:30 PM.
submitted by Mariners_bot to Mariners [link] [comments]
Discord: Seattle Sports
Line Score - Game Over
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | LOB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 6 |
| TEX | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 15 | 0 | 8 |
Box Score
| TEX | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | BA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2B | Semien | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .303 |
| SS | Seager | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .349 |
| SS | Smith, J | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .217 |
| 1B | Lowe, N | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .280 |
| RF | García, Ad | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .260 |
| 3B | Jung | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .294 |
| C | Heim | 4 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | .293 |
| C | León | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .135 |
| DH | Garver | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .310 |
| LF | Grossman | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .239 |
| CF | Jankowski | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .301 |
| TEX | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | P-S | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eovaldi | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 87-56 | 2.24 |
| Hernández, J | 0.2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 26-18 | 6.65 |
| Burke | 1.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 19-15 | 2.96 |
| King | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7-5 | 6.75 |
| SEA | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | BA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LF | Kelenic | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .270 |
| CF | Rodríguez, Ju | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .242 |
| 1B | France, T | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .269 |
| C | Raleigh | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .226 |
| 3B | Suárez, E | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .211 |
| RF | Hernández, T | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .241 |
| DH | Ford, M | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .167 |
| PH | Haggerty | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .190 |
| SS | Caballero | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .250 |
| 2B | Wong, Ko | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .159 |
| SEA | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | P-S | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miller, B | 2.1 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 61-38 | 4.46 |
| Speier | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17-12 | 2.53 |
| Brash | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 19-15 | 4.24 |
| Gott | 1.0 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 27-17 | 3.38 |
| Festa | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 24-14 | 6.75 |
| Topa | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22-16 | 3.18 |
Scoring Plays
Highlights
| Description | Length | Video |
|---|---|---|
| Bullpen availability for Texas, June 4 vs Mariners | 0:07 | Video |
| Bullpen availability for Seattle, June 4 vs Rangers | 0:07 | Video |
| Fielding alignment for Texas, June 4 vs Mariners | 0:11 | Video |
| Breaking down Bryce Miller's pitches | 0:08 | Video |
| The distance behind Corey Seager's home run | 0:14 | Video |
| Corey Seager's home run through bat tracking data | 0:09 | Video |
| Jonah Heim: Home Run Statcast Analysis | 0:15 | Video |
| Jonah Heim's home run through bat tracking data | 0:09 | Video |
| Breaking down Nathan Eovaldi's pitches | 0:08 | Video |
| Nathan Eovaldi's outing against the Mariners | 0:23 | Video |
| Jonah Heim rips a two-out two-run single in the 1st | 0:22 | Video |
| Teoscar Hernández rips a triple to center field | 0:21 | Video |
| Corey Seager drills a long home run to deep center | 0:24 | Video |
| Adolis García doubles to center, scoring Lowe | 0:24 | Video |
| Mitch Garver sends an RBI double into the gap | 0:20 | Video |
| Robbie Grossman smacks a two-run double off the wall | 0:26 | Video |
| Bryce Miller strikes out two in his start vs. Rangers | 0:19 | Video |
| Travis Jankowski makes a leaping catch at the wall | 0:25 | Video |
| The Rangers score five runs in the bottom of the 3rd | 1:28 | Video |
| Corey Seager lines an RBI double down the line | 0:23 | Video |
| Josh Jung lines a run-scoring single to center | 0:14 | Video |
| Jonah Heim crushes a three-run HR off the foul pole | 0:28 | Video |
| Jose Caballero's RBI single | 0:20 | Video |
| Eugenio Suárez rips an RBI double | 0:23 | Video |
| Kolten Wong's RBI single | 0:20 | Video |
| Eovaldi strikes out seven across six one-hit innings | 0:46 | Video |
| The Rangers add to their lead scoring 5 in the 6th | 1:02 | Video |
Decisions
| Winning Pitcher | Losing Pitcher | Save |
|---|---|---|
| Eovaldi (8-2, 2.24 ERA) | Miller, B (3-3, 4.46 ERA) |
| Attendance | Weather | Wind |
|---|---|---|
| 74°F, Roof Closed | 0 mph, None |
| HP | 1B | 2B | 3B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andy Fletcher | Erich Bacchus | Laz Diaz | Mike Estabrook |
2023.06.04 23:00 Shattered_Neutrality Day 559 of posting MyStreet memes till it returns Okay, when was the last time I memed Aaron falling
 | submitted by Shattered_Neutrality to aphmaufandom [link] [comments] |
2023.06.04 22:08 HorseRadish98 Host your own community if Reddit's API rules go into effect
Hi everyone, with the new API limitations possibly taking effect at the end of the month, I wanted to make a post about a self-hosted Reddit alternative, Lemmy.
I'm very new to their community and want to give a very honest opinion of their platform for those who may not know about it. I'm sure some of you have already heard about it, and I've seen posts of Lemmy(ers?) posting that everyone neeeeeeds to switch immediately. I don't want to be one of those posters.
Links if you do want to find out more of what's happening
Apollo Developer explaining how it will effect his one app
Mod post on how these changes will effect their communities
Hour long interview with Apollo Dev for more detail
Long story short, you can subscribe to as many communities (subreddits) as you want from wherever you are.
The downside is that it's confusing as hell to wrap your head around, and for most users it requires explaning. The developers know this, Mastadon had to release a special wizard to help people join, and I think Lemmy will need to do something similar.
So essentially, there are communities (analogous to subreddits) that live on instances (analogous to servers). People can sign up for any instance they want, and subscribe not only communities on that instance, but any Lemmy instance. To me, that's pretty neat, albeit complicated.
This is where selfhosting comes in. Those communities don't fit well on other instances because those instances are busy managing their own communities. For example, there are several gaming communities, but there are no specific communities for specific games. No Call of Duty, no Mass Effect, no Witcher, etc. Someone could run an RPG specific instance and run a bunch of specific RPG communities. Same with any other genre.
This is where I see Lemmy headed, most people join the larger instances, but then bring in communities they care about.
If the hammer falls I see a mild migration to Lemmy. I don't think it'll be like the Digg migration, but I think there could be many users who give up on Reddit and I want them to have a stable landing place. Communities I've come to love I want to be able to say "Hey, I'm over here now, you're welcome to join me."
There are several million 3rd party app users who access Reddit through 3rd party apps. If only 10% of them decide to switch to an alternative once they are no longer able to access Reddit, that means a couple hundred thousand people will be looking for new homes. I think we have an opportunity to provide them.
I'm coming up on character limit, so if anyone is interested - the only requirements are a domain name and a host. Everything is dockerized, and I'm happy to share my docker compose with anyone. I followed the guide here but there were a lot of bumps and bruises along the way. I'm happy to share what I learned.
Anyway, thanks for reading all this way. I recognize this may not be for everyone, but if you ever wanted to run your own community, now is your chance!
GitHub Project
Installation Guide
Edit: Lots of formatting
submitted by HorseRadish98 to selfhosted [link] [comments]
I'm very new to their community and want to give a very honest opinion of their platform for those who may not know about it. I'm sure some of you have already heard about it, and I've seen posts of Lemmy(ers?) posting that everyone neeeeeeds to switch immediately. I don't want to be one of those posters.
Why would we want an alternative?
I won't go into all of the details here, as there are now dozens of posts, but essentially Reddit is killing off 3rd party apps with extremely high pricing to access their data. To most of us who have been with Reddit for years, this is just the latest in a long line of things Reddit has changed about the site to be more appealing to Wall Street. I don't want to argue here if the sky is falling or if people should or shouldn't be leaving Reddit, I'm simply here showing an alternative I think has promise.Links if you do want to find out more of what's happening
Apollo Developer explaining how it will effect his one app
Mod post on how these changes will effect their communities
Hour long interview with Apollo Dev for more detail
What is it?
Lemmy is a "federated" Reddit alternative. Meaning there is no "center" server, servers interconnect to bring content to users. If you use Mastadon, it's exactly like Mastadon. I view it like Discord, where there are many servers (they call them instances) and inside those servers are different communities. You can belong to a memes community on one server and another server. The difference is these communities are in a Reddit forum format, and you pick your own home screen, meaning you can subscribe to communities from other servers.Long story short, you can subscribe to as many communities (subreddits) as you want from wherever you are.
The downside is that it's confusing as hell to wrap your head around, and for most users it requires explaning. The developers know this, Mastadon had to release a special wizard to help people join, and I think Lemmy will need to do something similar.
So essentially, there are communities (analogous to subreddits) that live on instances (analogous to servers). People can sign up for any instance they want, and subscribe not only communities on that instance, but any Lemmy instance. To me, that's pretty neat, albeit complicated.
Pros so far:
- The community is extremely nice so far, it feels like using Reddit back in the early 2010s. No karma farming, cat pictures are actually just pictures of cats, memes are fun, people seem genuinely happy to be there
- Work is being done to improve it actively, new features are on the board and work is being done consistently
- Federated is a cool thing, there's no corporate governance to decide what is okay or not (more in cons)
- It's honestly the best alternative I've seen so far
Cons so far:
- As mentioned it's confusing just getting started. This is the number 1 complaint I read about it, and it is. Sounds like the devs hear this and are challenging themselves to get an easier onboarding process up and running.
- The reason for this post, second biggest complaint, missing niche communities. I'm hoping some people here help resolve this issue
- Not easy to share communities. Once created, instance owners have to do quite a bit of evangelizing. There's join-lemmy.org where if you have an instance, an icon, and a banner image it will start showing, but beyond that you have to post about your instance in relevant existing communities that you exist, and get people to join.
- It's very early. The apps are pretty bare bones, it's in it's infancy. I think it's growing though, and I think this will change, but there's definitely been a few bugs I've had to deal with.
- Alt-right/Alt-left instances. Downside of being federated, anyone can create an instance. There are already some fringe communities. You do have power to block them from your instance though, but they're offputting when you first get there, it takes a bit to subscribe to communities and block out the ones that are... out there.
Sure, but how does SelfHosted come in?
Since Lemmy is "federated", these instances come from separate servers. One thing I see about Lemmy right now is that there are a lot of "general" instances, each with a memes community, a movies, music, whatever, but there aren't a lot of the specific communities that brought people to Reddit. Woodworking, Trees, Art, those niche communities we all love are missing because there is not a critical mass of people.This is where selfhosting comes in. Those communities don't fit well on other instances because those instances are busy managing their own communities. For example, there are several gaming communities, but there are no specific communities for specific games. No Call of Duty, no Mass Effect, no Witcher, etc. Someone could run an RPG specific instance and run a bunch of specific RPG communities. Same with any other genre.
This is where I see Lemmy headed, most people join the larger instances, but then bring in communities they care about.
What's it like running an instance?
Right now most communities there are very tiny, my personal instance has about 10 people on it. That is quite different from the subreddit alternative, but I see that as a positive personally. I'm hoping to grow my fledgling community into something neat.If the hammer falls I see a mild migration to Lemmy. I don't think it'll be like the Digg migration, but I think there could be many users who give up on Reddit and I want them to have a stable landing place. Communities I've come to love I want to be able to say "Hey, I'm over here now, you're welcome to join me."
There are several million 3rd party app users who access Reddit through 3rd party apps. If only 10% of them decide to switch to an alternative once they are no longer able to access Reddit, that means a couple hundred thousand people will be looking for new homes. I think we have an opportunity to provide them.
I'm coming up on character limit, so if anyone is interested - the only requirements are a domain name and a host. Everything is dockerized, and I'm happy to share my docker compose with anyone. I followed the guide here but there were a lot of bumps and bruises along the way. I'm happy to share what I learned.
Anyway, thanks for reading all this way. I recognize this may not be for everyone, but if you ever wanted to run your own community, now is your chance!
GitHub Project
Installation Guide
Edit: Lots of formatting
2023.06.04 20:56 dickles_pickles 26 [M4F] - New Jersey/East Coast/USA - Closeted goth "gamer" guy and tall girl appreciator looking for love. Open to relocation, pictures included!
This is a little bit of a read, but you can think of it as a high effort post from someone who means business. I've clearly marked and categorized everything, so feel free to skim the parts that interest you.
What brings me to reddit for dating: For the short of it, I've been doing online dating for about 7 years, and could only describe my experience as a sisyphean struggle. With more traditional dating platforms having beenabsolutely worthless and a complete waste of time less than productive, I'm hoping this might give me a breakthrough.
Age: 26, open to 18-32~. I’m less about age, more about attraction.
Appearance: 5'8", medium length blond hair (pictures are from when it was short), blue eyes, white skin, slim fit body type. I dress almost exclusively in black if I can help it, hence "closeted goth". I've been told I'm fairly handsome, but I'm including a few (poorly taken) pictures, so you can decide for yourself whether or not I've been lied to!
(Imgur seems to be having problems lately so if you're getting an error that's why. My posts tend to get automatically removed if I include any other image hosters but if you message me I can send alternatives no problem.)
Face: https://imgur.com/a/ykiCkwQ
Body (Warning: Shirtless): https://imgur.com/a/zO96e63
Interests: Many of my interests fall into the "nerd" category. Games (video and tabletop), anime, music, art, sci-fi and fantasy stuff of all varieties. I enjoy a lot of RPG's, and some of my favorite game series include kingdom hearts, fire emblem, dark souls, and a fair few others. I play a lot of league at a fairly high level, but I'm not exactly proud of that because the game damages my sanity at times.
In general, I like to keep in shape, play games with friends, share music I think is great, watch tv/movies/anime (horror and psychological stuff especially), share memes, read, and do some amateur writing. I'm also rather intelligent/insightful and enjoy some nuanced discussion.
Location: Currently in central NJ, somewhere in the no man's land between nyc and philly. I'd prefer someone local who I can meet in person, but won't pass up someone great online who's willing to eventually relocate or that I can eventually relocate to.
Looking For: Monogamous relationship, ideally something serious. I feel that what I'd like the most is to find someone very special to me, who I can love with all my heart and spend my life with. It'd probably be my greatest joy in life to be able to do that, and have someone do so in return. That said, this is just a description of my ideal scenario, not what I'd expect out of every relationship.
Traits I'm Looking For: Kind, loving, trustworthy, understanding. Good sense of humor, emotionally intelligent, communicates well. In this regard, I wouldn't ask for anything I don't freely give. I also very fond of women who are dominant/aggressive in a playful way, as well as role reversal dynamics.
Personality: Generally cool headed, laid back, and kind. Introverted, but can be extroverted when I'm in my element and otherwise comfortable. Deceptively intelligent despite how incredibly basic my pictures look, but I also tend to clown around a lot so that's not easy to discern at first. I’m also very reasonable, with a strong preference for peacefully resolving issues, so you can expect very little to no drama and good communication. Oh, and according to a myers briggs test, I'm an INFJ?
Fun facts: I have a deep and sexy voice which many people don't expect, and a great many people tell me I should get into radio or voice acting. I'm also a bit dead on the inside but that's probably because there's a skeleton living inside me.
Partner preferences: I'm a big fan of goth/alt girls, as well as tomboys. I also really like short hair, usually between pixie and neck length, and have a sizable interest in women that are taller than me. But these aren't dealbreakers! As long as I find you attractive, everything is fine.
Dealbreakers/Requirements: Similar interests are pretty important for me. I tend to play a lot of games in my free time for entertainment, so having a partner that I can do that together with is my ideal. I do have a strong preference for body type that I unfortunately can't get past, with that preference being the thinner end of the spectrum when it comes to proportions/body fat. So basically petite/slim/fit/muscular. PLEASE DON'T BE A SOCIOPATH, OR ACT LIKE ONE!
If you have any questions about anything I mentioned (or didn't), just ask and I'll absolutely answer them for you. I'm very friendly so absolutely feel free to come talk to me.
submitted by dickles_pickles to ForeverAloneDating [link] [comments]
What brings me to reddit for dating: For the short of it, I've been doing online dating for about 7 years, and could only describe my experience as a sisyphean struggle. With more traditional dating platforms having been
Age: 26, open to 18-32~. I’m less about age, more about attraction.
Appearance: 5'8", medium length blond hair (pictures are from when it was short), blue eyes, white skin, slim fit body type. I dress almost exclusively in black if I can help it, hence "closeted goth". I've been told I'm fairly handsome, but I'm including a few (poorly taken) pictures, so you can decide for yourself whether or not I've been lied to!
(Imgur seems to be having problems lately so if you're getting an error that's why. My posts tend to get automatically removed if I include any other image hosters but if you message me I can send alternatives no problem.)
Face: https://imgur.com/a/ykiCkwQ
Body (Warning: Shirtless): https://imgur.com/a/zO96e63
Interests: Many of my interests fall into the "nerd" category. Games (video and tabletop), anime, music, art, sci-fi and fantasy stuff of all varieties. I enjoy a lot of RPG's, and some of my favorite game series include kingdom hearts, fire emblem, dark souls, and a fair few others. I play a lot of league at a fairly high level, but I'm not exactly proud of that because the game damages my sanity at times.
In general, I like to keep in shape, play games with friends, share music I think is great, watch tv/movies/anime (horror and psychological stuff especially), share memes, read, and do some amateur writing. I'm also rather intelligent/insightful and enjoy some nuanced discussion.
Location: Currently in central NJ, somewhere in the no man's land between nyc and philly. I'd prefer someone local who I can meet in person, but won't pass up someone great online who's willing to eventually relocate or that I can eventually relocate to.
Looking For: Monogamous relationship, ideally something serious. I feel that what I'd like the most is to find someone very special to me, who I can love with all my heart and spend my life with. It'd probably be my greatest joy in life to be able to do that, and have someone do so in return. That said, this is just a description of my ideal scenario, not what I'd expect out of every relationship.
Traits I'm Looking For: Kind, loving, trustworthy, understanding. Good sense of humor, emotionally intelligent, communicates well. In this regard, I wouldn't ask for anything I don't freely give. I also very fond of women who are dominant/aggressive in a playful way, as well as role reversal dynamics.
Personality: Generally cool headed, laid back, and kind. Introverted, but can be extroverted when I'm in my element and otherwise comfortable. Deceptively intelligent despite how incredibly basic my pictures look, but I also tend to clown around a lot so that's not easy to discern at first. I’m also very reasonable, with a strong preference for peacefully resolving issues, so you can expect very little to no drama and good communication. Oh, and according to a myers briggs test, I'm an INFJ?
Fun facts: I have a deep and sexy voice which many people don't expect, and a great many people tell me I should get into radio or voice acting. I'm also a bit dead on the inside but that's probably because there's a skeleton living inside me.
Partner preferences: I'm a big fan of goth/alt girls, as well as tomboys. I also really like short hair, usually between pixie and neck length, and have a sizable interest in women that are taller than me. But these aren't dealbreakers! As long as I find you attractive, everything is fine.
Dealbreakers/Requirements: Similar interests are pretty important for me. I tend to play a lot of games in my free time for entertainment, so having a partner that I can do that together with is my ideal. I do have a strong preference for body type that I unfortunately can't get past, with that preference being the thinner end of the spectrum when it comes to proportions/body fat. So basically petite/slim/fit/muscular. PLEASE DON'T BE A SOCIOPATH, OR ACT LIKE ONE!
If you have any questions about anything I mentioned (or didn't), just ask and I'll absolutely answer them for you. I'm very friendly so absolutely feel free to come talk to me.
2023.06.04 20:56 dickles_pickles 26 [M4F] - New Jersey/East Coast/USA - Closeted goth "gamer" guy and tall girl appreciator looking for loving relationship. Open to relocation, pictures included!
This is a little bit of a read, but you can think of it as a high effort post from someone who means business. I've clearly marked and categorized everything, so feel free to skim the parts that interest you.
What brings me to reddit for dating: For the short of it, I've been doing online dating for about 7 years, and could only describe my experience as a sisyphean struggle. With more traditional dating platforms having beenabsolutely torturous and a complete waste of time, with me rarely ever finding matches and those I do get ending up being ghosts or people who just don't respond less than productive, I'm hoping this might give me a breakthrough.
Age: 26, open to 18-32~. I’m less about age, more about attraction.
Appearance: 5'8", medium length blond hair (pictures are from when it was short), blue eyes, white skin, slim fit body type. I dress almost exclusively in black if I can help it, hence "closeted goth". I've been told I'm fairly handsome, but I'm including a few (poorly taken) pictures, so you can decide for yourself whether or not I've been lied to!
(Imgur seems to be having problems lately so if you're getting an error that's why. My posts tend to get automatically removed if I include any other image hosters but if you message me I can send alternatives no problem.)
Face: https://imgur.com/a/ykiCkwQ
Body (Warning: Shirtless): https://imgur.com/a/zO96e63
Interests: Many of my interests fall into the "nerd" category. Games (video and tabletop), anime, music, art, sci-fi and fantasy stuff of all varieties. I enjoy a lot of RPG's, and some of my favorite game series include kingdom hearts, fire emblem, dark souls, and a fair few others. I play a lot of league at a fairly high level, but I'm not exactly proud of that because the game damages my sanity at times.
In general, I like to keep in shape, play games with friends, share music I think is great, watch tv/movies/anime (horror and psychological stuff especially), share memes, read, and do some amateur writing. I'm also rather intelligent/insightful and enjoy some nuanced discussion.
Location: Currently in central NJ, somewhere in the no man's land between nyc and philly. I'd prefer someone local who I can meet in person, but won't pass up someone great online who's willing to eventually relocate or that I can eventually relocate to.
Looking For: Monogamous relationship, ideally something serious. I feel that what I'd like the most is to find someone very special to me, who I can love with all my heart and spend my life with. It'd probably be my greatest joy in life to be able to do that, and have someone do so in return. That said, this is just a description of my ideal scenario, not what I'd expect out of every relationship.
Traits I'm Looking For: Kind, loving, trustworthy, understanding. Good sense of humor, emotionally intelligent, communicates well. In this regard, I wouldn't ask for anything I don't freely give. I also very fond of women who are dominant/aggressive in a playful way, as well as role reversal dynamics.
Personality: Generally cool headed, laid back, and kind. Introverted, but can be extroverted when I'm in my element and otherwise comfortable. Deceptively intelligent despite how incredibly basic my pictures look, but I also tend to clown around a lot so that's not easy to discern at first. I’m also very reasonable, with a strong preference for peacefully resolving issues, so you can expect very little to no drama and good communication. Oh, and according to a myers briggs test, I'm an INFJ?
Fun facts: I have a deep and sexy voice which many people don't expect, and a great many people tell me I should get into radio or voice acting. I'm also a bit dead on the inside but that's probably because there's a skeleton living inside me.
Partner preferences: I'm a big fan of goth/alt girls, as well as tomboys. I also really like short hair, usually between pixie and neck length, and have a sizable interest in women that are taller than me. But these aren't dealbreakers! As long as I find you attractive, everything is fine.
Dealbreakers/Requirements : Similar interests are pretty important for me. I tend to play a lot of games in my free time for entertainment, so having a partner that I can do that together with is my ideal. I do have a strong preference for body type that I unfortunately can't get past, with that preference being the thinner end of the spectrum when it comes to proportions/body fat. So basically petite/slim/fit/muscular. PLEASE DON'T BE A SOCIOPATH, OR ACT LIKE ONE!
If you have any questions about anything I mentioned (or didn't), just ask and I'll absolutely answer them for you. I'm very friendly so absolutely feel free to come talk to me.
submitted by dickles_pickles to r4r [link] [comments]
What brings me to reddit for dating: For the short of it, I've been doing online dating for about 7 years, and could only describe my experience as a sisyphean struggle. With more traditional dating platforms having been
Age: 26, open to 18-32~. I’m less about age, more about attraction.
Appearance: 5'8", medium length blond hair (pictures are from when it was short), blue eyes, white skin, slim fit body type. I dress almost exclusively in black if I can help it, hence "closeted goth". I've been told I'm fairly handsome, but I'm including a few (poorly taken) pictures, so you can decide for yourself whether or not I've been lied to!
(Imgur seems to be having problems lately so if you're getting an error that's why. My posts tend to get automatically removed if I include any other image hosters but if you message me I can send alternatives no problem.)
Face: https://imgur.com/a/ykiCkwQ
Body (Warning: Shirtless): https://imgur.com/a/zO96e63
Interests: Many of my interests fall into the "nerd" category. Games (video and tabletop), anime, music, art, sci-fi and fantasy stuff of all varieties. I enjoy a lot of RPG's, and some of my favorite game series include kingdom hearts, fire emblem, dark souls, and a fair few others. I play a lot of league at a fairly high level, but I'm not exactly proud of that because the game damages my sanity at times.
In general, I like to keep in shape, play games with friends, share music I think is great, watch tv/movies/anime (horror and psychological stuff especially), share memes, read, and do some amateur writing. I'm also rather intelligent/insightful and enjoy some nuanced discussion.
Location: Currently in central NJ, somewhere in the no man's land between nyc and philly. I'd prefer someone local who I can meet in person, but won't pass up someone great online who's willing to eventually relocate or that I can eventually relocate to.
Looking For: Monogamous relationship, ideally something serious. I feel that what I'd like the most is to find someone very special to me, who I can love with all my heart and spend my life with. It'd probably be my greatest joy in life to be able to do that, and have someone do so in return. That said, this is just a description of my ideal scenario, not what I'd expect out of every relationship.
Traits I'm Looking For: Kind, loving, trustworthy, understanding. Good sense of humor, emotionally intelligent, communicates well. In this regard, I wouldn't ask for anything I don't freely give. I also very fond of women who are dominant/aggressive in a playful way, as well as role reversal dynamics.
Personality: Generally cool headed, laid back, and kind. Introverted, but can be extroverted when I'm in my element and otherwise comfortable. Deceptively intelligent despite how incredibly basic my pictures look, but I also tend to clown around a lot so that's not easy to discern at first. I’m also very reasonable, with a strong preference for peacefully resolving issues, so you can expect very little to no drama and good communication. Oh, and according to a myers briggs test, I'm an INFJ?
Fun facts: I have a deep and sexy voice which many people don't expect, and a great many people tell me I should get into radio or voice acting. I'm also a bit dead on the inside but that's probably because there's a skeleton living inside me.
Partner preferences: I'm a big fan of goth/alt girls, as well as tomboys. I also really like short hair, usually between pixie and neck length, and have a sizable interest in women that are taller than me. But these aren't dealbreakers! As long as I find you attractive, everything is fine.
Dealbreakers/Requirements : Similar interests are pretty important for me. I tend to play a lot of games in my free time for entertainment, so having a partner that I can do that together with is my ideal. I do have a strong preference for body type that I unfortunately can't get past, with that preference being the thinner end of the spectrum when it comes to proportions/body fat. So basically petite/slim/fit/muscular. PLEASE DON'T BE A SOCIOPATH, OR ACT LIKE ONE!
If you have any questions about anything I mentioned (or didn't), just ask and I'll absolutely answer them for you. I'm very friendly so absolutely feel free to come talk to me.
2023.06.04 20:00 PaladinsRobot Vora - Champion of the Week (4th June 2023)
Welcome to /Paladins' Champion of the Week, a place to celebrate the Champions of the Realm. Share your fan-art, gameplay videos, and memes. Tell your funniest and most exciting stories! Talk about the best card loadouts and strategies, and tell us why you love the Champion of the Week! This week, we're celebratingDying is the easy part.
Vora
The Harbinger
Lore:
A life, once devoted to Io, the Moon Goddess. Her sacred martial order was one tasked with protecting the ancient seals, but even they did not know the extent of the chaos beneath. Feeling forsaken by her Goddess, surrounded by unanswered prayers and broken bodies, she has chosen to embrace that chaos. The Realm is on the path of self-destruction, but she will deliver it from that fate. She brings the end... of those wars, of that suffering - an end to everything. Those who know of her dread her coming, for she is Vora, Harbinger of the End of the Realm; and they are not prepared.
Health: 2000
Abilities:
| Name | Skill Type | Description | Cooldown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deadly Scythe | Direct Damage | A Scythe that sends out projectiles that deal damage over a short duration. Its attack chain is: Medium, Light, Light, Heavy.Light: 300 damage every 0.35s.Medium: 470 damage every 1s.Heavy: 680 every 1.2s.Passive: Hits with your scythe provide a Darkness stack to you. Using Dark Siphon or Obliteration will consume all Stacks, Healing you for 100 over 1s per Stack and augmenting the ability if at 5 Stacks. You can have a maximum of 5 Stacks. | - |
| Obliteration | Area Damage / Crowd Control | Jump up and slash down around you, dealing 500 damage and applying a small Knockback to enemies hit. While using this ability, you are Immune to Damage and Crowd Control.Using this ability with 5 Stacks of Darkness deals an additional 300 damage and Slows enemies hit by 30% for 2s. | 12s |
| Dark Siphon | Direct Damage / Crowd Control | Launch a vicious projectile from your Scythe, dealing 200 damage on hit and an additional 400 damage over 1.5s. Hitting an enemy causes you to Regenerate 300 Health over 2s.Using this ability with 5 Darkness Stacks will Cripple the enemy hit for 1.5s. | 6s |
| Tendril | Mobility | Manifest your will, propelling yourself towards your target with a tendril. Can hit players to pull you to them. | 10s |
| Harbinger's Wrath | Direct Damage / True Damage | Channel your wrath to hunt your enemies, increasing your Movement Speed by 60% and decreasing the damage you take by 40%.Select a target in range with | - |
| Name | Ability | Description | Cooldown |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Default] Unyielding Pressure | Unknown | Your Dark Siphon now deals an additional 10% of the target's maximum Health as damage over 1.5s. | - |
| [Level 2] Relentless Presence | Tendril | Tendril gains a second charge, but its Cooldown is increased by 2s. | - |
| [Level 8] Deafening Silence | Obliteration | Obliteration now Silences enemies hit for 1.65s. | - |
| A Broken Path | Dark Siphon | Increase the Healing received from Dark Siphon by {50/50} health. | - |
| A Change of Faith | Dark Siphon | Reduce the Cooldown of Tendril by {0.6/0.6}s after hitting an enemy with Dark Siphon. | - |
| Crimson Ascent | Dark Siphon | Reduce the Cooldown of Dark Siphon by {1/1}s if it fails to hit a target. | - |
| Unified in Purpose | Dark Siphon | Reduce the damage you take by 10% for {1/1}s after hitting an enemy with Dark Siphon. | - |
| Broken Promises | Obliteration | Heal for {60/60} for each enemy hit with Obliteration. | - |
| Deadly Dance | Obliteration | Generate {1/1}% Ultimate charge for each enemy hit by Obliteration. | - |
| Inevitability | Obliteration | Reduce the Cooldown of Dark Siphon by {0.4/0.4}s after hitting at least one enemy with Obliteration. | - |
| Ruthless Elegance | Obliteration | Increase the effect of the Knockback applied by Obliteration by {8/8}% of its base value. | - |
| Dance with Fate | Tendril | Reduce the cooldown of Tendril by {0.6/0.6}s. | - |
| Elegant Paring | Tendril | Reduce the Cooldown of Dark Siphon and Obliteration by {0.4/0.4}s after activating Tendril. | - |
| Otherworldly Tether | Tendril | Gain a {75/75} Shield for 5s after activating Tendril. | 8s |
| What May Come | Tendril | Reduce the damage you take by {4/4}% for 3s after activating Tendril. | - |
| False Idol | Armor | Increase your Movement Speed by {5/5}% and gain {5/5}% Lifesteal for 2s after falling to or below 40% Health. | 15s |
| New Purpose | Armor | Increase your maximum Health by {50/50}. | - |
| Sharpened Resolve | Weapon | Consuming Darkness stacks Heals you for an additional {10/10} per stack. | - |
| The Maw's Embrace | Weapon | Increase your Movement Speed by {6/4}% for 1s after hitting anything with Deadly Scythe. | - |
Join us next week when we talk about Willo!
2023.06.04 19:31 MMark_2023 Exploring "Crypto FlyerZ": A Game Bridging Meme-coins and Financial Charts
https://www.mmark.org/crypto-flyerz
Introduction:
The world of cryptocurrency has seen the rise and fall of numerous meme-coins, capturing attention with their viral appeal and sometimes fleeting popularity. However, as the buzz around these meme-coins diminishes, the question arises: what happens to them? How can we utilize their lifespan to educate and engage users about financial charts and their significance? Enter "Crypto Flyerz," a game that aims to bridge the world of meme-coins with the understanding of financial charts.
Understanding the Lifespan of Memecoins:
Memecoins, often characterized by their meme-inspired names and quirky marketing, tend to experience cycles of excitement and attention followed by rapid declines. Many investors and enthusiasts have witnessed the volatile nature of these coins, where their value can skyrocket during pump-and-dump schemes or when social media hype reaches its peak. However, as the attention wanes and the frenzy subsides, the value of meme-coins often plummets.
The Role of "Crypto Flyerz":
"Crypto Flyerz" steps into the scene as an innovative game that provides a platform for users to interact with the concept of meme-coins and gain insights into financial chart analysis. By combining gameplay elements inspired by the popular "Flappy Bird" and incorporating the dynamics of meme-coins, the game creates an engaging and educational experience.
Financial Chart Analysis in Action:
Within "Crypto Flyerz," players navigate their digital assets, represented by flying creatures known as Flyerz, through obstacles and challenges. However, instead of solely focusing on dodging barriers, players encounter various financial charts representing the lifespan of different meme-coins. These charts depict the price movements and trends associated with the meme-coins over time.
Educational Gameplay Mechanics:
As players progress through the game, they are presented with opportunities to analyze the charts and make predictions about the meme-coin's future movements. By incorporating interactive elements, such as providing hints or mini-challenges that require chart analysis, players learn how to interpret financial charts effectively. The game encourages players to make informed decisions based on chart patterns and trends, mirroring real-world trading scenarios.
Bridging Entertainment and Learning:
The aim of "Crypto Flyerz" is to strike a balance between entertainment and educational value. While players have fun navigating the obstacles and competing for high scores, the game also cultivates an understanding of financial chart analysis. By merging the concept of meme-coins with gameplay mechanics centered around chart interpretation, users are introduced to the significance of charts and their role in making informed trading decisions.
Conclusion:
"Crypto Flyerz" offers a unique approach to merging the world of meme-coins with financial chart analysis. By gamifying the process, users can learn about the dynamics of chart patterns and gain insights into how they can affect the lifespan of meme-coins. This innovative game not only provides entertainment but also serves as an educational tool for individuals interested in cryptocurrencies and trading.
As the cryptocurrency landscape continues to evolve, "Crypto Flyerz" demonstrates the potential for combining gamification and financial education, creating an engaging way to understand the intricacies of financial charts and their impact on digital assets.
submitted by MMark_2023 to MMark [link] [comments]
Introduction:
The world of cryptocurrency has seen the rise and fall of numerous meme-coins, capturing attention with their viral appeal and sometimes fleeting popularity. However, as the buzz around these meme-coins diminishes, the question arises: what happens to them? How can we utilize their lifespan to educate and engage users about financial charts and their significance? Enter "Crypto Flyerz," a game that aims to bridge the world of meme-coins with the understanding of financial charts.
Understanding the Lifespan of Memecoins:
Memecoins, often characterized by their meme-inspired names and quirky marketing, tend to experience cycles of excitement and attention followed by rapid declines. Many investors and enthusiasts have witnessed the volatile nature of these coins, where their value can skyrocket during pump-and-dump schemes or when social media hype reaches its peak. However, as the attention wanes and the frenzy subsides, the value of meme-coins often plummets.
The Role of "Crypto Flyerz":
"Crypto Flyerz" steps into the scene as an innovative game that provides a platform for users to interact with the concept of meme-coins and gain insights into financial chart analysis. By combining gameplay elements inspired by the popular "Flappy Bird" and incorporating the dynamics of meme-coins, the game creates an engaging and educational experience.
Financial Chart Analysis in Action:
Within "Crypto Flyerz," players navigate their digital assets, represented by flying creatures known as Flyerz, through obstacles and challenges. However, instead of solely focusing on dodging barriers, players encounter various financial charts representing the lifespan of different meme-coins. These charts depict the price movements and trends associated with the meme-coins over time.
Educational Gameplay Mechanics:
As players progress through the game, they are presented with opportunities to analyze the charts and make predictions about the meme-coin's future movements. By incorporating interactive elements, such as providing hints or mini-challenges that require chart analysis, players learn how to interpret financial charts effectively. The game encourages players to make informed decisions based on chart patterns and trends, mirroring real-world trading scenarios.
Bridging Entertainment and Learning:
The aim of "Crypto Flyerz" is to strike a balance between entertainment and educational value. While players have fun navigating the obstacles and competing for high scores, the game also cultivates an understanding of financial chart analysis. By merging the concept of meme-coins with gameplay mechanics centered around chart interpretation, users are introduced to the significance of charts and their role in making informed trading decisions.
Conclusion:
"Crypto Flyerz" offers a unique approach to merging the world of meme-coins with financial chart analysis. By gamifying the process, users can learn about the dynamics of chart patterns and gain insights into how they can affect the lifespan of meme-coins. This innovative game not only provides entertainment but also serves as an educational tool for individuals interested in cryptocurrencies and trading.
As the cryptocurrency landscape continues to evolve, "Crypto Flyerz" demonstrates the potential for combining gamification and financial education, creating an engaging way to understand the intricacies of financial charts and their impact on digital assets.
2023.06.04 18:20 dudeyspooner Why do apps (Snapchat, IG, FB) have to be each other now?
I made new snapchat account recently. I havent done anything with it yet so I shouldnt get notifications but you know apps be these days. So I go to swipe away whatever "please use me" message and I see a notification that looks like it came from TikTok or IG. It said "Hey, check out this video of gummy worms melting!" What? On snapchat?
I recently watched this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZ_7A9nh7V0) that explains why instagram has realized that it wants to be more like reddit and push people to see like, cute pictures of cats and random videos of people falling or whatever. Makes sense to me. Anybody can enjoy this type of content. Its part of why reddit got to be so mainstream IMO.
But why snapchat? People my age use snapchat as a texting service and the best thing about it is that you can just choose not to engage with the ~features~ and use it as texting. Whats the plan here? Are all of these apps just gunna become worse versions of other apps?
Everything is reels and short form video now. I get that tiktok has had a huge influence. But it seems all these apps are willing to be second rate versions of each other and I dont understand it. If I wanted that kind of content I would go to IG, Tiktok, Youtube, or Facebook.... I go to snapchat for texting so its just... Idk how to word it but it feels like they're selling out their own brand to capture a percentage of what other apps can?
Does this make sense? Like at this point I'm expecting my calendar app to send me a notification that says "Hey check out this satisfying video of paint being mixed!" or something. They're all in an arms race to see who can dumb down their content the fastest until every app is just a scroll feed of shitposts, memes, cat videos, political bait... I dont understand it. It has real "You dont remember what it was that made you blow up, do you?" energy to me.
(fun fact, in the time it took my to write this post snapchat send me another video it wants me to see)
submitted by dudeyspooner to NoStupidQuestions [link] [comments]
I recently watched this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZ_7A9nh7V0) that explains why instagram has realized that it wants to be more like reddit and push people to see like, cute pictures of cats and random videos of people falling or whatever. Makes sense to me. Anybody can enjoy this type of content. Its part of why reddit got to be so mainstream IMO.
But why snapchat? People my age use snapchat as a texting service and the best thing about it is that you can just choose not to engage with the ~features~ and use it as texting. Whats the plan here? Are all of these apps just gunna become worse versions of other apps?
Everything is reels and short form video now. I get that tiktok has had a huge influence. But it seems all these apps are willing to be second rate versions of each other and I dont understand it. If I wanted that kind of content I would go to IG, Tiktok, Youtube, or Facebook.... I go to snapchat for texting so its just... Idk how to word it but it feels like they're selling out their own brand to capture a percentage of what other apps can?
Does this make sense? Like at this point I'm expecting my calendar app to send me a notification that says "Hey check out this satisfying video of paint being mixed!" or something. They're all in an arms race to see who can dumb down their content the fastest until every app is just a scroll feed of shitposts, memes, cat videos, political bait... I dont understand it. It has real "You dont remember what it was that made you blow up, do you?" energy to me.
(fun fact, in the time it took my to write this post snapchat send me another video it wants me to see)
2023.06.04 18:00 dherealmark28 I (25) am in a relationship with my partner (29F)for 3.5years and need advice navigating Boundaries without being controlling
tl;dr We were apart. My partner met guy at dance party. He initially hit on her. She lied abiut her status to avoid hurting him. Told him the truth the next day. I argued why she had to lie. Read her texts. Found an inappropriate comment he made aboug having a dream where they danced and then did more (implying sex). She laughed it off and shared unholy Sam smith song. But didn't engage further. I'm angry and dissapointed she doesn't see that as a red flag. And u comfortable with her having douce bags as friends especially as she doesn't have many straight guy friends.
I'd like advice on dealing with specifically setting boundaries by sharing my feelings. I plan to share your opinions with her, so please be honest but objective and respectful.
Full version
We're in a long term monogamous relationship for 3.5 years and both love kizomba, and bachata (sensual dances). She's beautiful and very good dancer so most men are smithen by her. Now, while I trust her and know it's just a dance, I sometimes feel uneasy watching her dance intimately with strangers. I'm working on it, but I own it as ofcourse I'll get triggered when other men dance intimately with my love
The incident:
Last month, while we were apart, she met a very friendly guy at a social event whom she initially thought was gay. She's bi and loves connecting with LGBTQ community so naturally let her guard down and shared her lovely side. She's a great listener and has ability to have great conversations. Which probably drove this guy to fall for her even more.
On a lunch date, she realized he had romantic intentions. To spare his feelings, she sent him a text saying she's physically attracted to him but she's started to develop feelings for another guy. And that she had to think a lot to communicate the same.
(Basically she lied to avoid letting him down too strong.)
She did try to tell me a little of what happened over the phone. But started with, "I met a guy" and smiled/blushed and proceed to explain what had happened. That she lied initially and then told him the truth. To which he said something like, "I'm proud I decided to be friends with my crush."
She's a shy girl and doesn't tend to meet guys often so was perhaps just shy to admit a guy liked her.
But, I was uncomfortable with that lingo so I didn't dive deep and changed the topic and didn't pay much attention to the details. English isn't her first lingo and dismissed it as a bad use of words. I see now, how I should've clarified further and learned more about it then to advise better. My fault here.
Later when we met again, we argued about why she had to create an elaborate lie vs just being upfront. She said she didn't want to be that meme girl that screams, "I have a bf" everytime a friendly guy hits on her. So, although I'm very hurt, I kinda get her here. Although I want her to just be upfront from now on and say things like, " me and my bf" in conversation like how I rô.
But in that moment, things didn't add up for me. I was very emotional and I saw her texts. Ik this is bad on my end. I don't do this and will work on the trust issue.
What I saw:
I saw they met a bit. And it was friendly so all good. But what really triggered me was when I saw this section:
Him: Hey, I had a dream about you.
Her: Oh, tell me.
Him: Well, it started with us dancing bachata and then moving to us doing intimate things.
Her: Haha. I was listening to Sam Smith's "Unholy" (link) at that time.
Him: Oh yeah, that was the vibe!
Her: I'm honestly flattered that you're being honest....
(I don't know if she realized unholy is about cheating. I'm pretty sure she didn't but I'll ask her to confirm)
After seeing this message, I flipped out. Firstly, I wouldn't say this to another women I admire especially after learning she's in a relationship. I think super sleazy and inappropriate. Not something I'd say it if l'd like to be just friends.
Especially because he remained her friend after that and invited her to other dance parties which involve drinking, sensual dancing and the parties go on till late. I'm fine with this as long as its a real friend that is respectful and not trying to manipulate my lady cause she's nice. And the last day left, he was all nice and said she was the best thing about his trip, etc..
What's more, Later on her sent her texts like, "I miss your face." To which she replied, " aww that's so sweet. You're only one hour flight away."
This is okay to say to a genuine friend but I feel like she should'nt not encouraged him so much knowing that obviously has intimate interests with her. Especially if he's to become a good friend that we both can hang out with (which I'd definitely like.
Now, although she didn't respond further or engage with him as much, it bothered me that she didn't draw the line when faced with such comments. And didn't consider how I'd feel hurt vs her. She told me she kept an open mind and was fine because he was at least being honest.
We argued about the above but we were in a limbic state which concluded with her having a me vs you mindset. She said, "I shouldn't worry as she's done nothing wrong."
Thinking now, that's the wrong conclusion. We're a team and it's us vs the problem. Not each other. So we can't agree to disagree on this situation. She needs to realize her man's discomforts should affect her. And maybe I can share perspectives and advice about men in ways she can't understand.
This guy might be genuinely trying to be a close friend. But Imo calling him out then and there would be perfect to test his true intentions. After all, he would 100% not say that when I'm around.
I would like her understand guys aren't saints. Especially single guys. They have nothing to lose and when sharing comments like that are most likely being sleazy.
I'm afraid she's trying so hard not to be that meme girl and becoming the other meme gf stringing along bffs that are clearly into her and not genuine friends. Like I have really good girl friends who I openly chat about my gf and have never crossed the line with me. I'd just like my partner to feel we're a team and not battling each other.
I don't want to come off as a control freak as part of me is afraid of coming off as one. So would like advice on sharing my perspective and feelings in a constructive way.
submitted by dherealmark28 to relationships [link] [comments]
I'd like advice on dealing with specifically setting boundaries by sharing my feelings. I plan to share your opinions with her, so please be honest but objective and respectful.
We're in a long term monogamous relationship for 3.5 years and both love kizomba, and bachata (sensual dances). She's beautiful and very good dancer so most men are smithen by her. Now, while I trust her and know it's just a dance, I sometimes feel uneasy watching her dance intimately with strangers. I'm working on it, but I own it as ofcourse I'll get triggered when other men dance intimately with my love
Last month, while we were apart, she met a very friendly guy at a social event whom she initially thought was gay. She's bi and loves connecting with LGBTQ community so naturally let her guard down and shared her lovely side. She's a great listener and has ability to have great conversations. Which probably drove this guy to fall for her even more.
On a lunch date, she realized he had romantic intentions. To spare his feelings, she sent him a text saying she's physically attracted to him but she's started to develop feelings for another guy. And that she had to think a lot to communicate the same.
(Basically she lied to avoid letting him down too strong.)
She did try to tell me a little of what happened over the phone. But started with, "I met a guy" and smiled/blushed and proceed to explain what had happened. That she lied initially and then told him the truth. To which he said something like, "I'm proud I decided to be friends with my crush."
She's a shy girl and doesn't tend to meet guys often so was perhaps just shy to admit a guy liked her.
But, I was uncomfortable with that lingo so I didn't dive deep and changed the topic and didn't pay much attention to the details. English isn't her first lingo and dismissed it as a bad use of words. I see now, how I should've clarified further and learned more about it then to advise better. My fault here.
Later when we met again, we argued about why she had to create an elaborate lie vs just being upfront. She said she didn't want to be that meme girl that screams, "I have a bf" everytime a friendly guy hits on her. So, although I'm very hurt, I kinda get her here. Although I want her to just be upfront from now on and say things like, " me and my bf" in conversation like how I rô.
But in that moment, things didn't add up for me. I was very emotional and I saw her texts. Ik this is bad on my end. I don't do this and will work on the trust issue.
I saw they met a bit. And it was friendly so all good. But what really triggered me was when I saw this section:
Him: Hey, I had a dream about you.
Her: Oh, tell me.
Him: Well, it started with us dancing bachata and then moving to us doing intimate things.
Her: Haha. I was listening to Sam Smith's "Unholy" (link) at that time.
Him: Oh yeah, that was the vibe!
Her: I'm honestly flattered that you're being honest....
(I don't know if she realized unholy is about cheating. I'm pretty sure she didn't but I'll ask her to confirm)
Especially because he remained her friend after that and invited her to other dance parties which involve drinking, sensual dancing and the parties go on till late. I'm fine with this as long as its a real friend that is respectful and not trying to manipulate my lady cause she's nice. And the last day left, he was all nice and said she was the best thing about his trip, etc..
What's more, Later on her sent her texts like, "I miss your face." To which she replied, " aww that's so sweet. You're only one hour flight away."
This is okay to say to a genuine friend but I feel like she should'nt not encouraged him so much knowing that obviously has intimate interests with her. Especially if he's to become a good friend that we both can hang out with (which I'd definitely like.
Now, although she didn't respond further or engage with him as much, it bothered me that she didn't draw the line when faced with such comments. And didn't consider how I'd feel hurt vs her. She told me she kept an open mind and was fine because he was at least being honest.
We argued about the above but we were in a limbic state which concluded with her having a me vs you mindset. She said, "I shouldn't worry as she's done nothing wrong."
Thinking now, that's the wrong conclusion. We're a team and it's us vs the problem. Not each other. So we can't agree to disagree on this situation. She needs to realize her man's discomforts should affect her. And maybe I can share perspectives and advice about men in ways she can't understand.
This guy might be genuinely trying to be a close friend. But Imo calling him out then and there would be perfect to test his true intentions. After all, he would 100% not say that when I'm around.
I would like her understand guys aren't saints. Especially single guys. They have nothing to lose and when sharing comments like that are most likely being sleazy.
I'm afraid she's trying so hard not to be that meme girl and becoming the other meme gf stringing along bffs that are clearly into her and not genuine friends. Like I have really good girl friends who I openly chat about my gf and have never crossed the line with me. I'd just like my partner to feel we're a team and not battling each other.
I don't want to come off as a control freak as part of me is afraid of coming off as one. So would like advice on sharing my perspective and feelings in a constructive way.
2023.06.04 17:19 aclownandherdolly TIFU By Reading a Spooky Book Before Bed
Technically this happened last night, of course; I'm also on mobile so I'll do my best with spacing.
So I'm at a convention right now, mostly here to hang with a best friend I met through this fandom almost 10yrs who has become a prominent person in my life. It's been boring, it's a small con, not interested in many panels, but one of my buddy's friends happens to ask if we'd like to have dinner after her panel.
We agree! She was AWESOME! Lots in common, definitely a new friendship is being formed and we feel the con has been saved! We had dinner at Panera; nothing special but I tried their Fiji Apple Cranberry Lemonade.
You might be wondering, "What the heck does any of this have to do with you reading a spooky book before bed?"
Well, to cut to the chase, I was absolutely wired after dinner. It was about 10pm by the time my buddy and I went back to the hotel room to sleep. My usual sleep schedule, despite the minor time difference right now, is bed by 10/11 and up around 6/7am. I'm a morning person lol
However, I don't know if it was the energizing conversation or if maybe there was caffeine in the drink but by midnight I was still practically bouncing off the damn walls. Then I think to myself, "What always helps me sleep? Reading!" So, I grab the current book I'm reading which happens to be the uncut version of The Stand by Stephen King.
I've been reading King since I was 11yrs old and my dad introduced me to him and this particular book hasn't been anything I'd necessarily call scary yet. I won't spoil it but the basic plot is: super virus kills most people in the US so let's follow the stories of the few surviving.
However, last night happened to be me reading chapter 35. A chapter that involves a character walking through the Lincoln Tunnel in New York.
I don't know if it was my overactive imagination, my absolute immersion of reading in the dark by dim light, the way King writes the character's paranoia in a very relatable way, or all of the above but the time I was ready to sleep (2am) I couldn't.
I was sufficiently spooked. Every little sound in the hotel, every movement of my buddy in the opposite bed, all I could think about was corpses, the living dead, creatures in the dark.
I probably didn't fall asleep until closer to 3am and my body, ever reliable, still woke me up at 7am.
Now I'm very tired, groggy, and probably not going to be fully present on the last day of the con. I have some coffee but it's so far not doing much other than making me feel like the shaky skeleton meme 🙃
Thanks for reading and maybe commiserating if you also get affected by books as a fully adult 32yr old
TL;DR Activated my imagination and became afraid of the dark again because a few words in a book were spooky
submitted by aclownandherdolly to tifu [link] [comments]
So I'm at a convention right now, mostly here to hang with a best friend I met through this fandom almost 10yrs who has become a prominent person in my life. It's been boring, it's a small con, not interested in many panels, but one of my buddy's friends happens to ask if we'd like to have dinner after her panel.
We agree! She was AWESOME! Lots in common, definitely a new friendship is being formed and we feel the con has been saved! We had dinner at Panera; nothing special but I tried their Fiji Apple Cranberry Lemonade.
You might be wondering, "What the heck does any of this have to do with you reading a spooky book before bed?"
Well, to cut to the chase, I was absolutely wired after dinner. It was about 10pm by the time my buddy and I went back to the hotel room to sleep. My usual sleep schedule, despite the minor time difference right now, is bed by 10/11 and up around 6/7am. I'm a morning person lol
However, I don't know if it was the energizing conversation or if maybe there was caffeine in the drink but by midnight I was still practically bouncing off the damn walls. Then I think to myself, "What always helps me sleep? Reading!" So, I grab the current book I'm reading which happens to be the uncut version of The Stand by Stephen King.
I've been reading King since I was 11yrs old and my dad introduced me to him and this particular book hasn't been anything I'd necessarily call scary yet. I won't spoil it but the basic plot is: super virus kills most people in the US so let's follow the stories of the few surviving.
However, last night happened to be me reading chapter 35. A chapter that involves a character walking through the Lincoln Tunnel in New York.
I don't know if it was my overactive imagination, my absolute immersion of reading in the dark by dim light, the way King writes the character's paranoia in a very relatable way, or all of the above but the time I was ready to sleep (2am) I couldn't.
I was sufficiently spooked. Every little sound in the hotel, every movement of my buddy in the opposite bed, all I could think about was corpses, the living dead, creatures in the dark.
I probably didn't fall asleep until closer to 3am and my body, ever reliable, still woke me up at 7am.
Now I'm very tired, groggy, and probably not going to be fully present on the last day of the con. I have some coffee but it's so far not doing much other than making me feel like the shaky skeleton meme 🙃
Thanks for reading and maybe commiserating if you also get affected by books as a fully adult 32yr old
TL;DR Activated my imagination and became afraid of the dark again because a few words in a book were spooky
2023.06.04 15:51 Billy_Maximoff_ To all the 23tards and former JEE/NEETards, thank you
A little about me - I was a class topper till 10th, and was genuinely interested in computers, so I opted for JEE. My JEE journey didn't start off smoothly due to some reasons. In the first few months of 11th, I burnt myself out. Lost all interest in studies. My scores in tests were not bad, but I just felt like running away from JEE. Even most of my batchmates were selfish people, and the few that were okay considered me competititor first, friend next. I felt lonely all the time. I made the mistake of giving up all hobbies, all non academic things I did before 11th and only study all the time. I rejected the offer to get promoted in the star batch of my coaching, and had almost accepted that I was mediocre. Then I realised the importance of taking breaks, doing things that I love doing and knowing that the whole "16-18 hours of studying" is a big fat lie. Slowly I did regain interest in studying, and eventually I started to have fun. But who knew that the real hell was about to start.
One fine day in the middle of my 11th, I and my mother suddenly found out about my father's extramarital affair. Before this, I had lots of respect for my father, I wanted to be like him - honest and hardworking. I was even worried that I would end up to be a disappointment for him. I consider that day the end of my childhood. This was followed by fights in the house every other day, hurtful words being thrown around at each other between my parents. I was already having a hard time accepting what I had just found out about my father, and all this just broke me on the inside. Every single day. How was I supposed to focus on my studies while my family and and my life broke apart? This went on for more than a year. There were times I wanted to just end my life, just wanted to run away from my house, but I was a coward to even do that. I was scoring good in tests, but JEE wasn't even my most important target in life. I just yearned for peace and a happy family. Two days before my January attempt of JEE Mains, I remember my face was buried in my pillow, and I was weeping, at a time when I was supposed to keep myself calm and only focus on my exam. Now that I look back, I made a few mistakes too. Of letting myself get overly affected by all this. Of falling in deep spirals of overthinking. Of getting severely distracted by all this. There were countless sleepless nights, nightmares, nights when I cried badly, panic attacks and what not. I am really very glad all of it is over today. But why am I thanking you guys?
I found this sub around the time JEE dates were announced. I didn't have a Reddit account but used to occasionally visit. Many of the things you posted, be it motivational posts, AMAs, just rants, exam updates, memes, resources - I can't express how much all of it helped me survive and feel less lonely. It made me realise that I wasn't really alone in feeling horrible and terrible by this mentally exhausting preparation. That there were so many people who felt what I felt. So thank you very, very much for making me feel a little less lonely.
A big big big thank you to u/VLintheRatRace , for sharing your JEE story here. Your story opened my eyes and made me realise that no one in this world has a life with zero problems. Before reading that, I genuinely thought everyone except me were truly happy in life, without any problems or hardships or struggles. Now I know that problems come and go, but one is supposed to overcome them and become stronger. Thank you very much for inspiring me not to give up and work hard.
I know he can't read this, but thank you u/thewickedkarma . For telling me that JEE really isn't everything. I know you fought both of your life's wars like a warrior. You made me realise that I have many things to cry about, but far more things to be grateful for. Rest in peace, man.
And a special thank you to u/Maths___Man. I scored the same as you in first Mains (248) but had a bad score in Maths. I had almost accepted that Maths, the subject I used to love and adore, was now way out of my reach. Then I saw your 100 percentile. I wasn't jealous, but I thought to myself - If someone scoring the same as me can get 100 percentile in maths, then maybe it's not impossible for me either. And then I did it - scored 100 percentile in maths in April attempt!
I got a miraculously good rank in Mains - something I had never even dreamed of. I'm happy that all my hardwork and struggle didn't go to waste. I am glad Advanced is now over too. I hope I get a good rank in that too. In a few months I'll move out of my house for college, something I have been desperately waiting for since the last 2 years. Things are not the same at home, but at least better than the worst. As of now, I am tired of life, very very tired. I see many flaws in myself. But the last 2 years have taught me an important lesson - to not give up no matter how bad the circumstances are, irrespective of whether I succeed or not. Just work hard because something good will definitely come out of it. I have a new source of motivation now - to give my mother, World's best mother, the life filled with happiness that she deserves and doesn't have at the moment.
So long story short - Thank you very very much to all of you.
submitted by Billy_Maximoff_ to JEENEETards [link] [comments]
One fine day in the middle of my 11th, I and my mother suddenly found out about my father's extramarital affair. Before this, I had lots of respect for my father, I wanted to be like him - honest and hardworking. I was even worried that I would end up to be a disappointment for him. I consider that day the end of my childhood. This was followed by fights in the house every other day, hurtful words being thrown around at each other between my parents. I was already having a hard time accepting what I had just found out about my father, and all this just broke me on the inside. Every single day. How was I supposed to focus on my studies while my family and and my life broke apart? This went on for more than a year. There were times I wanted to just end my life, just wanted to run away from my house, but I was a coward to even do that. I was scoring good in tests, but JEE wasn't even my most important target in life. I just yearned for peace and a happy family. Two days before my January attempt of JEE Mains, I remember my face was buried in my pillow, and I was weeping, at a time when I was supposed to keep myself calm and only focus on my exam. Now that I look back, I made a few mistakes too. Of letting myself get overly affected by all this. Of falling in deep spirals of overthinking. Of getting severely distracted by all this. There were countless sleepless nights, nightmares, nights when I cried badly, panic attacks and what not. I am really very glad all of it is over today. But why am I thanking you guys?
I found this sub around the time JEE dates were announced. I didn't have a Reddit account but used to occasionally visit. Many of the things you posted, be it motivational posts, AMAs, just rants, exam updates, memes, resources - I can't express how much all of it helped me survive and feel less lonely. It made me realise that I wasn't really alone in feeling horrible and terrible by this mentally exhausting preparation. That there were so many people who felt what I felt. So thank you very, very much for making me feel a little less lonely.
A big big big thank you to u/VLintheRatRace , for sharing your JEE story here. Your story opened my eyes and made me realise that no one in this world has a life with zero problems. Before reading that, I genuinely thought everyone except me were truly happy in life, without any problems or hardships or struggles. Now I know that problems come and go, but one is supposed to overcome them and become stronger. Thank you very much for inspiring me not to give up and work hard.
I know he can't read this, but thank you u/thewickedkarma . For telling me that JEE really isn't everything. I know you fought both of your life's wars like a warrior. You made me realise that I have many things to cry about, but far more things to be grateful for. Rest in peace, man.
And a special thank you to u/Maths___Man. I scored the same as you in first Mains (248) but had a bad score in Maths. I had almost accepted that Maths, the subject I used to love and adore, was now way out of my reach. Then I saw your 100 percentile. I wasn't jealous, but I thought to myself - If someone scoring the same as me can get 100 percentile in maths, then maybe it's not impossible for me either. And then I did it - scored 100 percentile in maths in April attempt!
I got a miraculously good rank in Mains - something I had never even dreamed of. I'm happy that all my hardwork and struggle didn't go to waste. I am glad Advanced is now over too. I hope I get a good rank in that too. In a few months I'll move out of my house for college, something I have been desperately waiting for since the last 2 years. Things are not the same at home, but at least better than the worst. As of now, I am tired of life, very very tired. I see many flaws in myself. But the last 2 years have taught me an important lesson - to not give up no matter how bad the circumstances are, irrespective of whether I succeed or not. Just work hard because something good will definitely come out of it. I have a new source of motivation now - to give my mother, World's best mother, the life filled with happiness that she deserves and doesn't have at the moment.
So long story short - Thank you very very much to all of you.
2023.06.04 15:25 Educational_Pool_107 Having the feeling of not belonging in a groupchat
so, my friend invited me to this groupchat with his other friends who im not as close with. been there for like a month and a half now, and honestly i just feel weird whenever i think about it. like when i see my friend chat there, he does and says things ive never seen him do, like he switched his personality around. and when i talk to him in the gc he apologizes for not speaking how we normally do in DMS which i dont know, makes me feel awkward cause im not used to it like everyone else is in the gc.
now uh FYI, i havent been in gcs, not usually invited to them. dont have good experinces with them but i suddenly wanna be apart of them and just see what my friends are doing together without me. i hate to say it but i feel like ive started feeling like a stalker or something, im just worried about missing out or getting gate kept from certain things and what they think of me and yadi yada.
now everytime i try to socialize in the groupchat, the conversation has like a 100% chance of turning out awkward. cause i dont really have anything much in common with them besides they slightly know what pizza tower is. like the conversation seems promising at first but then falls silent in like a few minutes, until someone interrupts with a funny meme or something. they're all 3D artists and im not, im more of a traditional artist so thats also getting in the way. they all praise and like get obsessed over this charcter which is all cool and stuff to them, and.. i just feel eh around it? i keep trying to have something to relate to them but i usually end up failing.
they also interact in a server where they roleplay as charcters and stuff, hey i like roleplaying i might as well do some there!.. IT ALWAYS ENDS UP BEING SO SLOW THAT WE FORGET ABOUT IT OR ITS JUST SO AIMLESS. i just cant bring myself to be active there either. and i just feel like im not as a great friend as they are, like they are open and they were welcoming when i first joined. but now i just feel like im in the background, and whenever i join in on a convo because i cant for like the life of me make one. i either just feel like an annoying dick, or its just brushed off and we move on.
i dont want to leave the groupchat either, i just have these HUGE FOMO (Fear of missing out) vibes. and i want to be a better buddy to hangout with
((dont know how to use the flairs or anything but uhh, i need advice on what to do i guess))
submitted by Educational_Pool_107 to socialskills [link] [comments]
now uh FYI, i havent been in gcs, not usually invited to them. dont have good experinces with them but i suddenly wanna be apart of them and just see what my friends are doing together without me. i hate to say it but i feel like ive started feeling like a stalker or something, im just worried about missing out or getting gate kept from certain things and what they think of me and yadi yada.
now everytime i try to socialize in the groupchat, the conversation has like a 100% chance of turning out awkward. cause i dont really have anything much in common with them besides they slightly know what pizza tower is. like the conversation seems promising at first but then falls silent in like a few minutes, until someone interrupts with a funny meme or something. they're all 3D artists and im not, im more of a traditional artist so thats also getting in the way. they all praise and like get obsessed over this charcter which is all cool and stuff to them, and.. i just feel eh around it? i keep trying to have something to relate to them but i usually end up failing.
they also interact in a server where they roleplay as charcters and stuff, hey i like roleplaying i might as well do some there!.. IT ALWAYS ENDS UP BEING SO SLOW THAT WE FORGET ABOUT IT OR ITS JUST SO AIMLESS. i just cant bring myself to be active there either. and i just feel like im not as a great friend as they are, like they are open and they were welcoming when i first joined. but now i just feel like im in the background, and whenever i join in on a convo because i cant for like the life of me make one. i either just feel like an annoying dick, or its just brushed off and we move on.
i dont want to leave the groupchat either, i just have these HUGE FOMO (Fear of missing out) vibes. and i want to be a better buddy to hangout with
((dont know how to use the flairs or anything but uhh, i need advice on what to do i guess))
2023.06.04 15:05 dherealmark28 Want perspectives on how my partner engaged with an admirer who turned into a friend
Hello men,
I'm reaching out to you for different perspectives on how you'll would approach men hitting on your lady and then befriending you'll. Especially when you'll are in a relationship.
Especially because this will help navigate a traumatic incident between me (M25) and my partner (F29). I want to learn how to handle similar situations in the future, taking into consideration her reaction and overall approach. I plan to share your objective opinions with her, so please be honest in your responses.
Here goes...
We're in a long term relationship for 3.5 years and both love kizomba, and bachata (sensual dances). She's beautiful and very good dancer so most men are smithen by her. Now, while I trust her and know it's just a dance, I sometimes feel uneasy watching her dance intimately with strangers. I'm working on it, but I own it as ofcourse I'll get triggered when other men dance intimately with my love
So the incident:
Last month, while we were apart, she met a very friendly guy at a social event whom she initially thought was gay. She's bi and loves connecting with LGBTQ community so naturally let her guard down and shared her lovely side. She's a great listener and has ability to have great conversations. Which probably drove this guy to fall for her even more.
On a lunch date, she realized he had romantic intentions. To spare his feelings, she sent him a text saying she's physically attracted to him but she's started to develop feelings for another guy. And that she had to think a lot to communicate the same.
(Basically she lied to avoid letting him down too strong.)
She did try to tell me a little of what happened over the phone. But started with, "I met a guy" and smiled/blushed. I was uncomfortable with that lingo so I didn't dive deep and changed the topic and didn't pay much attention to the details. English isn't her first lingo and dismissed it as a bad use of words. I see now, how I should've clarified further and learned more about it then to advise better. My fault here.
Later when we met again, we argued about why she had to create an elaborate lie vs just being upfront. She said she didn't want to be that meme girl that screams, "I have a bf" everytime a friendly guy hits on her. So, although I'm very hurt, I kinda get her here. Although I want her to just be upfront from now on and say things like, " me and my bf" in conversation like how I rô.
But in that moment, things didn't add up for me. I was very emotional and I saw her texts. Ik this is bad on my end. I don't do this and will work on the trust issue.
What I saw:
I saw they met a bit. And it was friendly so all good. But what really triggered me was when I saw this section:
...
Him: Hey, I had a dream about you.
Her: Oh, tell me.
Him: Well, it started with us dancing bachata and then moving to us doing intimate things.
Her: Haha. I was listening to Sam Smith's "Unholy" (link) at that time.
Him: Oh yeah, that was the vibe!
Her: I'm honestly flattered that you're being honest....
...
After seeing this message, I flipped out. Firstly, I wouldn't say this to another women I admire especially after learning she's in a relationship. I think super sleazy and inappropriate. Not something I'd say it if l'd like to be just friends.
Especially because he remained her friend after that and invited her to other dance parties which involve drinking, sensual dancing and the parties go on till late. I'm fine with this as long as its a real friend that is respectful and not trying to manipulate my lady cause she's nice. And the last day left, he was all nice and said she was the best thing about his trip, etc..
What's more, Later on her sent her texts like, "I miss your face." To which she replied, " aww that's so sweet. You're only one hour flight away."
This is okay to say to a genuine friend but I feel like she should'nt not encouraged him so much knowing that obviously has intimate interests with her. Especially if he's to become a good friend that we both can hang out with (which I'd definitely like.
Now, although she didn't respond further or engage with him as much, it bothered me that she didn't draw the line when faced with such comments. And didn't consider how I'd feel hurt vs her. She told me she kept an open mind and was fine because he was at least being honest.
We argued about the above but we were in a limbic state which concluded with her having a me vs you mindset. She said, "I shouldn't worry as she's done nothing wrong."
Thinking now, that's the wrong conclusion. We're a team and it's us vs the problem. Not each other. So we can't agree to disagree on this situation. She needs to realize her man's discomforts should affect her. And maybe I can share perspectives and advice about men in ways she can't understand.
This guy might be genuinely trying to be a close friend. But Imo calling him out then and there would be perfect to test his true intentions. After all, he would 100% not say that when I'm around.
I would like her understand guys aren't saints. Especially single guys. They have nothing to lose and when sharing comments like that are most likely being sleazy.
I'm afraid she's trying so hard not to be that meme girl and becoming the other meme gf stringing along bffs that are clearly into her and not genuine friends. Like I have really good girl friends who I openly chat about my gf and have never crossed the line with me. I'd just like my partner to feel we're a team and not battling each other.
So men, wdyt?
submitted by dherealmark28 to AskMenAdvice [link] [comments]
I'm reaching out to you for different perspectives on how you'll would approach men hitting on your lady and then befriending you'll. Especially when you'll are in a relationship.
Especially because this will help navigate a traumatic incident between me (M25) and my partner (F29). I want to learn how to handle similar situations in the future, taking into consideration her reaction and overall approach. I plan to share your objective opinions with her, so please be honest in your responses.
Here goes...
We're in a long term relationship for 3.5 years and both love kizomba, and bachata (sensual dances). She's beautiful and very good dancer so most men are smithen by her. Now, while I trust her and know it's just a dance, I sometimes feel uneasy watching her dance intimately with strangers. I'm working on it, but I own it as ofcourse I'll get triggered when other men dance intimately with my love
So the incident:
Last month, while we were apart, she met a very friendly guy at a social event whom she initially thought was gay. She's bi and loves connecting with LGBTQ community so naturally let her guard down and shared her lovely side. She's a great listener and has ability to have great conversations. Which probably drove this guy to fall for her even more.
On a lunch date, she realized he had romantic intentions. To spare his feelings, she sent him a text saying she's physically attracted to him but she's started to develop feelings for another guy. And that she had to think a lot to communicate the same.
(Basically she lied to avoid letting him down too strong.)
She did try to tell me a little of what happened over the phone. But started with, "I met a guy" and smiled/blushed. I was uncomfortable with that lingo so I didn't dive deep and changed the topic and didn't pay much attention to the details. English isn't her first lingo and dismissed it as a bad use of words. I see now, how I should've clarified further and learned more about it then to advise better. My fault here.
Later when we met again, we argued about why she had to create an elaborate lie vs just being upfront. She said she didn't want to be that meme girl that screams, "I have a bf" everytime a friendly guy hits on her. So, although I'm very hurt, I kinda get her here. Although I want her to just be upfront from now on and say things like, " me and my bf" in conversation like how I rô.
But in that moment, things didn't add up for me. I was very emotional and I saw her texts. Ik this is bad on my end. I don't do this and will work on the trust issue.
What I saw:
I saw they met a bit. And it was friendly so all good. But what really triggered me was when I saw this section:
...
Him: Hey, I had a dream about you.
Her: Oh, tell me.
Him: Well, it started with us dancing bachata and then moving to us doing intimate things.
Her: Haha. I was listening to Sam Smith's "Unholy" (link) at that time.
Him: Oh yeah, that was the vibe!
Her: I'm honestly flattered that you're being honest....
...
After seeing this message, I flipped out. Firstly, I wouldn't say this to another women I admire especially after learning she's in a relationship. I think super sleazy and inappropriate. Not something I'd say it if l'd like to be just friends.
Especially because he remained her friend after that and invited her to other dance parties which involve drinking, sensual dancing and the parties go on till late. I'm fine with this as long as its a real friend that is respectful and not trying to manipulate my lady cause she's nice. And the last day left, he was all nice and said she was the best thing about his trip, etc..
What's more, Later on her sent her texts like, "I miss your face." To which she replied, " aww that's so sweet. You're only one hour flight away."
This is okay to say to a genuine friend but I feel like she should'nt not encouraged him so much knowing that obviously has intimate interests with her. Especially if he's to become a good friend that we both can hang out with (which I'd definitely like.
Now, although she didn't respond further or engage with him as much, it bothered me that she didn't draw the line when faced with such comments. And didn't consider how I'd feel hurt vs her. She told me she kept an open mind and was fine because he was at least being honest.
We argued about the above but we were in a limbic state which concluded with her having a me vs you mindset. She said, "I shouldn't worry as she's done nothing wrong."
Thinking now, that's the wrong conclusion. We're a team and it's us vs the problem. Not each other. So we can't agree to disagree on this situation. She needs to realize her man's discomforts should affect her. And maybe I can share perspectives and advice about men in ways she can't understand.
This guy might be genuinely trying to be a close friend. But Imo calling him out then and there would be perfect to test his true intentions. After all, he would 100% not say that when I'm around.
I would like her understand guys aren't saints. Especially single guys. They have nothing to lose and when sharing comments like that are most likely being sleazy.
I'm afraid she's trying so hard not to be that meme girl and becoming the other meme gf stringing along bffs that are clearly into her and not genuine friends. Like I have really good girl friends who I openly chat about my gf and have never crossed the line with me. I'd just like my partner to feel we're a team and not battling each other.
So men, wdyt?