Extended stay america novi phone number
Need help for dealing with parents - started with a vaccination battle and has progressed. Am I an asshole?
2023.05.30 23:28 Heavy-Conflict-4656 Need help for dealing with parents - started with a vaccination battle and has progressed. Am I an asshole?
Hi all, I need a reality check with a stressful situation.
Background:
- Wife was pregant with our second child and has since given birth four months ago
- First child was born three years ago with a congenital heart defect, which required a few surgeries and hospital stays, but thankfully healthy now
While my wife was pregant with our first child, we requested my parents get vaccinated for whooping cough as per every doctor's recommendation. My mom is not quite a full-blown antivaxxer, but pretty close. I suspect she is getting a healthy dose of misinformation from Facebook. My mom, and in turn my dad, refused to get vaccinated. Ultimately, given they were quarantining for COVID at the time, decided to not force the issue and allow them into the bubble for visits.
When we were expecting our second, we again requested, and now that no one is COVID quarantining, mandated that they get a whooping cough vaccination. This caused my mom to go into hysterics, rant and rave at me about how she can't believe I'm bringing this up again, and go as far as to say I should consider herself dead to me and she'll never see her grandchildren again (followed by hanging up the phone).
My dad started out as a bit more rational and said he didn't care either way, but he's going to choose solidarity with my mom over this issue. Which is funny because they both hate each other and have a very toxic marriage. He's also a MAGA nutjob who has anger issues. Regardless, I made my request for vaccination clear. I've never said they cannot visit their first grandchild, but if they didn't get a vaccine for whooping cough, they could not visit my second child.
I've sent to them plenty of materials from the CDC, other doctors, etc. on the need to get this vaccination if around newborns. They refuse to read it and pass it off as me being unreasonable and not properly calibrating risk. I've stood my ground and rationally explained all the reasons I would hope they do this for my family, including:
- I've already had one sick child with months of hospital stays; I really wanted this go-round to be easier on the family and not risk any unncessary illnesses.
- I've put myself on the line for them previously, including all of their grocery orders during the height of the pandemic. I feel like they are not paying it forward to me.
- I've exlained "tail risk" to them, and while probability of catching and spreading whooping cough is low, it's not non-zero and potentially has a fatal implication for a newborn.
- I've offered to pay if the vaccines cost money and make their appointments.
- Their refusal in the past caused marital discord for my sister who requested this same thing when she was pregnant. Ultimately, my sister caved and dropped the request given my parents' refusal. My other sister is an antivaxxer and has done nothing but stoke the fire.
My parents told me what an ungrateful son I am, and they can't believe I turned out this way. My dad, in a chance encounter at the grocery store, proceeded to tell me I was "fucking stupid" over and over again. I asked if they had a legitimate medical reason, but the only explanation I've gotten is that they are older and don't want to put anymore chemicals into their bodies. My dad went as far as to say my mom has been in hysterics the past month and that I'm killing her. He actually said I'm driving her to the grave. They've said I'm oppressing them, cheating them out of seeing their grandchildren, and not to come crying to their funerals, and then went as far as to say they wish me a peaceful rest of my life and don't bother responding.
To me, this is completely irrational and hurtful. No parent should talk to their child in this way. I concluded by saying that if roles were reversed, and my daughters come to me in 25 years to ask the same request of me, my only response would be "When and where do I get the vaccine?". I can't understand how my parents choose this battle. My mom, in particular, has always been selfish and spiteful and this just takes the cake. The more I've reflected, the more I've come to understand just how toxic some of her past behavior towards me has been.
We've fought off and on prior to my second daughter being born, and it even resulted in kicking my parents out of my house when they visited because they said "they would do anything for me." This infuriated me and I shot back - "except get a vaccine." It led to a big blowup and I said they had to go because my dad was yelling and cursing in front of my child.
Now that my second daughter is 4 months old and has had her second whooping cough vaccine, I've tried to extend an olive branch to my parents. They refuse to have anything to do with me unless I apologize to them. My dad proceeded to call me fucking stupid again, and my mom won't even look at me and tells me how much she's been grieving these past few months. She's a spiteful, selfish old italian woman and has been my entire life. She will never be able to move on off this. Both said they're going to die from the stress.
I refused to apologize, told them they both needed therapy, defended my behavior again, and said I'm willing to move past it for the sake of my children having a relationship with them - but I will never forgive them and will never apologize. I said this battle extends far beyond just a vaccine request now but includes their attitudes towards me.
I'm sure I've not been a perfect son, but I've been loyal and tried to be helpful my whole life to them. Am I being an asshole here and how should I try to mend this going forward?
submitted by Heavy-Conflict-4656 to askatherapist [link] [comments]
Background:
- Wife was pregant with our second child and has since given birth four months ago
- First child was born three years ago with a congenital heart defect, which required a few surgeries and hospital stays, but thankfully healthy now
While my wife was pregant with our first child, we requested my parents get vaccinated for whooping cough as per every doctor's recommendation. My mom is not quite a full-blown antivaxxer, but pretty close. I suspect she is getting a healthy dose of misinformation from Facebook. My mom, and in turn my dad, refused to get vaccinated. Ultimately, given they were quarantining for COVID at the time, decided to not force the issue and allow them into the bubble for visits.
When we were expecting our second, we again requested, and now that no one is COVID quarantining, mandated that they get a whooping cough vaccination. This caused my mom to go into hysterics, rant and rave at me about how she can't believe I'm bringing this up again, and go as far as to say I should consider herself dead to me and she'll never see her grandchildren again (followed by hanging up the phone).
My dad started out as a bit more rational and said he didn't care either way, but he's going to choose solidarity with my mom over this issue. Which is funny because they both hate each other and have a very toxic marriage. He's also a MAGA nutjob who has anger issues. Regardless, I made my request for vaccination clear. I've never said they cannot visit their first grandchild, but if they didn't get a vaccine for whooping cough, they could not visit my second child.
I've sent to them plenty of materials from the CDC, other doctors, etc. on the need to get this vaccination if around newborns. They refuse to read it and pass it off as me being unreasonable and not properly calibrating risk. I've stood my ground and rationally explained all the reasons I would hope they do this for my family, including:
- I've already had one sick child with months of hospital stays; I really wanted this go-round to be easier on the family and not risk any unncessary illnesses.
- I've put myself on the line for them previously, including all of their grocery orders during the height of the pandemic. I feel like they are not paying it forward to me.
- I've exlained "tail risk" to them, and while probability of catching and spreading whooping cough is low, it's not non-zero and potentially has a fatal implication for a newborn.
- I've offered to pay if the vaccines cost money and make their appointments.
- Their refusal in the past caused marital discord for my sister who requested this same thing when she was pregnant. Ultimately, my sister caved and dropped the request given my parents' refusal. My other sister is an antivaxxer and has done nothing but stoke the fire.
My parents told me what an ungrateful son I am, and they can't believe I turned out this way. My dad, in a chance encounter at the grocery store, proceeded to tell me I was "fucking stupid" over and over again. I asked if they had a legitimate medical reason, but the only explanation I've gotten is that they are older and don't want to put anymore chemicals into their bodies. My dad went as far as to say my mom has been in hysterics the past month and that I'm killing her. He actually said I'm driving her to the grave. They've said I'm oppressing them, cheating them out of seeing their grandchildren, and not to come crying to their funerals, and then went as far as to say they wish me a peaceful rest of my life and don't bother responding.
To me, this is completely irrational and hurtful. No parent should talk to their child in this way. I concluded by saying that if roles were reversed, and my daughters come to me in 25 years to ask the same request of me, my only response would be "When and where do I get the vaccine?". I can't understand how my parents choose this battle. My mom, in particular, has always been selfish and spiteful and this just takes the cake. The more I've reflected, the more I've come to understand just how toxic some of her past behavior towards me has been.
We've fought off and on prior to my second daughter being born, and it even resulted in kicking my parents out of my house when they visited because they said "they would do anything for me." This infuriated me and I shot back - "except get a vaccine." It led to a big blowup and I said they had to go because my dad was yelling and cursing in front of my child.
Now that my second daughter is 4 months old and has had her second whooping cough vaccine, I've tried to extend an olive branch to my parents. They refuse to have anything to do with me unless I apologize to them. My dad proceeded to call me fucking stupid again, and my mom won't even look at me and tells me how much she's been grieving these past few months. She's a spiteful, selfish old italian woman and has been my entire life. She will never be able to move on off this. Both said they're going to die from the stress.
I refused to apologize, told them they both needed therapy, defended my behavior again, and said I'm willing to move past it for the sake of my children having a relationship with them - but I will never forgive them and will never apologize. I said this battle extends far beyond just a vaccine request now but includes their attitudes towards me.
I'm sure I've not been a perfect son, but I've been loyal and tried to be helpful my whole life to them. Am I being an asshole here and how should I try to mend this going forward?
2023.05.30 23:28 kasutori_Jack 2023 r/basbeall Power Rankings -- Week 9 : Tuesday Ranks Bring Rangers Threatening Top Spot, Mariners and San Francisco Ride Giant Seas, Cardinals Lose Altitude, If Rooting for Reds Voter They Get +1
Hey Sportsfans — it's time for Week 9 of baseball Power Rankings: It may be Tuesday, but still thought about how much we dislike your favorite team 8 Days a Week. Also pool side blackjack is now my favorite part of Las Vegas. John Fisher, please ignore.
Every voter has their own style / system and the only voting instructions are these:
New Voter Chance: Are you a fan of the Dodgers? Why? We have a new voter oppening. Please see the info in threa ddetails that will be posted shortly and a link added here. when up.
If something is a little messed up, feel free to pester me let me know.
Total Votes: 28 of 29. So close.
submitted by kasutori_Jack to baseball [link] [comments]
Every voter has their own style / system and the only voting instructions are these:
"To an extent determined individually, you must take into account how strong a team is right now and likely to be going forward. You must, to some degree, give weight to the events and games of the previous week."TRANSPARENCY: This link will show you who voted each team where and has added neat statistics!
Total Votes: 28 of 29. So close.
| # | Team | Δ | Comment | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rays | 0 | Everyone's favorite myliobatiformes played another good week of baseball with the return of Tyler Glasnow. The Rays took an exciting series against the Dodgers after recharging during a weird mid-series rest day against the Blue Jays. Wander Franco is making his case to be starting SS in the All-Star Game, just make sure you don't accidentally vote for one of his brothers. It's still super weird to watch the offense carry while the bullpen struggles, but with guys coming back it should be f--, wait, Fairbanks is hurt again. | 39-17 | |
| 2 | Rangers | +1 | Series wins against both the Pirates and Orioles the last week has the club holding the 3rd best overall record in the majors. Go Stars. We're still having fun. | 34-19 | |
| 3 | Braves | -1 | 3-4 last week and we started this week off with a loss against the Oakland "Triple A's" which is not good Bob. On the VERY brightside, we saw Soroka pitch from an MLB mound for the first time in almost 3 years. He pitched well and we need him to perform as we are absolutely depleted by injuries. Riley is starting to come to life. We hold a 4 game lead on the scond place MARLINS. Our division doesn't want to take advantage of our recent struggles, that's fine by me. | 32-22 | |
| 4 | Dodgers | +1 | 33-22 | ||
| 5 | Orioles | -1 | A few weeks ago, I said if the Orioles can go at least .500 in May then they are for real. They wrapped up a winning month yesterday and have three games to go. They continue to play well, even though they lost the series against the Rangers, and seem to play better away from Camden Yards. They did, however, send Grayson Rodriguez down this week to AAA. He just has some stuff to figure out. He was getting crushed in his past few starts, and it was the right move to make. This solidifies the fact they need a frontline starter if they are going to make a serious push to get to and make noise in the post-season. | 34-20 | |
| 6 | Astros | 0 | Jose Abreu finally hit a home run. All is right with the world. Unless the world's name is Lance McCullers Jr., who had another discomforting setback and we have no idea when we will see him this year. I still blame his hair. Anyway, our other Jose hit a grand slam at MMP this weekend. Where have we heard that before? | 31-22 | |
| 7 | Yankees | 0 | It certainly would’ve been nice to take 2/3 from Baltimore, but it’s very hard to be mad at the Yankees’ month of May. Since May 1, the Yankees are 18-9, a huge turnaround from a .500 April. As we enter the dog days of summer, the top of the AL East is tightening up, but the Yankees don’t face either of the teams ahead of them again until July. The Yankees have to keep playing at this pace, and a Stanton (and maybe Rodon??) return could seriously help that. | 33-23 | |
| 8 | D-Backs | +1 | The Diamondbacks had a decent week, barely missing out on a sweep of the Phillies before dropping a series to the Red Sox. The offense gets on base but has been allergic to driving in RISP, and the starting rotation continues to be a merry-go-round, as none of the rookie pitchers on the team seem to be able to string together several good starts in a row without getting blown up once or twice. | 31-23 | |
| 9 | Blue Jays | +1 | The Jays' first series win since May 14th pulled us out of a bad-vibes tailspin the likes of which this fanbase hasn't seen since, well, the last time everybody freaked out over a losing streak. The usual suspects' continued confounding slow starts (Manoah, Kirk, Varsho, etc) have dropped us 10 games back from TB, last place in the best division in baseball. And YET, hope springs. Berrios (3 or fewer ER in 8 of his last 9 starts) finally appears to be pitching to the level expected of him when he was signed, and is pumping out quality starts along with Gausman and Bassitt. Kikuchi has slipped as Kikuchi does but has been very solid for a #5. We don't have the depth to send Manoah down for some needed alone time, but he's pushing it. Vladdy has been scuffling, Springer is heating up, and Bichette is an MVP candidate. With a little bit of lucky regression to the mean with abysmal RISP numbers, this team is just a few turns away from being very good. As long as we don't have to play too many games vs AL East teams. That should be fine. | 28-26 | |
| 10 | Twins | -2 | 28-26 | ||
| 11 | Mariners | +4 | Just what the doctor ordered - 6-1 in the homestand so far. Some momentum is just what this team needs before two big series with teams they're chasing for playoff spots. If the M's can handle business over the next week, they'll be right back in the thick of it. Bryce Miller, do your thing. Up next: 3 vs. Damn Yankees, 3 @ Globe Life | 28-26 | |
| 12 | Red Sox | -1 | Scoring four runs total while getting swept by the Angels isn't a great look. This team is in many ways aggresively mediocre, always making sure that every win streak is followed up by an equally painful gut-punch. This is mainly due to the reliance on the offense to carry us to victory (2-17 when scoring <=3 runs), when the bats get cold, you're safe to turn off the game. Whitlock returning from injury and Bello/Sale both stepping up their game in May (2.74/2.42 ERA respectively) are good steps towards this team becoming Actually Good™ though. We'll see what June brings us... | 28-25 | |
| 13 | Brewers | -1 | Taking two of three from the Astros was nice. Barely avoiding a sweep from the Giants was not so sweet. Milwaukee has some issues with hitting in "close" situations. The Brewers either lose after having multiple opportunities to tie it up, or get absolutely blown out. | 28-25 | |
| 14 | Angels | 0 | Did I travel out of state and all the way to Anaheim just to watch the team get swept by the Marlins? Perhaps. Was that objectively worse than what the Reds voter is going through? It's impossible to say. | 29-26 | |
| 15 | Mets | -2 | The Mets, who I proclaimed to be "good at baseball" last week, ended up dropping 2 of 3 against the Cubs and doing the same against the Rockies. I just don't know what to believe anymore. The only thing I know for sure is that Francisco Alvarez has got that fucking dawg in him, he's GOATed, he's him, he's on fleek, he's poggers, he's a proper legend, he's got an .885 OPS, he's a top bloke, he's got swag, he's fresh, he's Gen Z Mike Piazza, he's lit, he's making me feel old because he was born after 9/11, he's Francisco Alvarez. | 27-27 | |
| 16 | Gigantes | +4 | The Giants won yesterday, but strictly talking about last week, they went 5- 2 on an extremely acceptable road trip without any off days. Defeating two competent teams like the Twins and Brewers should feel good. On both losses, they gave up 7 runs, on every win they gave up 3, 1, or 0 runs. So, they threw two games out of 7 – that’s allowed. In the bad news department, Joc, Joey, and Thairo all not expected back until June 6th. I think we’re okay with more Bailey Patrick and this also means another look at unpredictable slugger David Villar. Slater continues covering for Joc. Let’s look a the numbers: 13th in MLB in Run Diff (+6 spots), 12th in RS / G (+6), 15th in RA / G (+2), 23rd in Bullpen ERA (+5). All of that is good and especially the bullpen is promising recently. The Giants continue at home vs the Pirates and wrap the homestand with 3 against our orange and black brothers in Baltimore. | 28-26 | |
| 17 | Pirates | -1 | Would I have been happy to learn on Opening Day that the Pirates would be around .500 at the end of May? Yes. But if you told me they got there after starting 20-8 I would be pretty disappointed. Here's hoping the pendulum swings the other way in June. | 26-27 | |
| 18 | Marlins | +3 | Yet another appearance of sweepy, the meme that was promised. After a rough series against the rox, we sweep the angels to settle into the third NL wild card spot. Our starting pitching is coming along after a bumpy start to several of our starters. Eury perez is gonna be a stud, just wanna remind yall. Also, shout out to Jorge Soler, who has been crushing baseballs the last week and change. In other miami sports related news, boston is the first city ever to lose two game 7s at home in both the NHL and NBA playoffs in the same year. Go Heat and go Panthers! | 28-26 | |
| 19 | Phillies | -2 | After losing 2 to the Diamondbacks and going down 5-0 in the 3rd game, the Phillies season looked as bleak as it could in late May while only being 4 games under .500. However, the team rallied and Trea Turner tied it in the 9th before going onto win it in 10. Then, they went down to Atlanta and split a 4 game series. It could've gone far worse. The Phillies most pressing need is now seemingly a 5th starter who isn't a guaranteed loss, as this week they trotted out Dylan Covey, who hadn't started a game since 2019. He got 2 outs and gave up 7 runs. He took the spot of Bailey Falter who, after a surprisingly productive 2022, started the season 0-7. Falter is the far better option, but Dave Dombrowski will likely be looking to upgrade until Andrew Painter can finally return. This week, the NL East road trip continues with their first 3 games against the Mets and 3 in Washington. Here's hoping June Schwarber shows up again this year. | 25-28 | |
| 20 | Padres | -1 | My Dad tells me it’s ok that the Dad’s lost 2 / 3 to NY; the Dodgers lost 2 / 3 to the Rays! The Pads aren’t in the same stratosphere as the Dodgers right now, though. 5 games under .500, 10th in the NL standings, 3 games out of the last wildcard slot. Of course there’s quite a bit of time to change it, there’s plenty of time to go on a run, or a slow and steady good month to gain ground. With every day that passes however, that goal becomes a bit harder to reach; I don’t think Pads fans were hoping for a wildcard spot by the end of this season, but that’s the position the team has to get to before even thinking of catching LA. The Padres are 4th in the NL West, and only a half game out of last. | 24-29 | |
| 21 | Cardinals | -3 | 2-2 @ CIN; 1-2 @ CLE; 0-1 v KCR; another struggle week for the Cards. The fandom's been a bit kneejerk because of two good weeks before this. Their mistake. I'll say it a third time, the Cards playing at or beyond their expected level doesn't change the rotten FO. Yeah Marmol's pretty close to being fired, that's not a fix when the problem is John Mozeliak. | 24-32 | |
| 22 | Tigers | +2 | The most fun part of this past week has been watching the resurgence of Akil Baddoo. His energy is infectious and adds an exciting dimension to the lineup. As we head into the last few days of May, Baddoo has sported a .302/.405/.508 slash and a 155 wRC+ this month. Although he's still been hitting mostly in the 6 hole, if this keeps up he might find himself much higher in the order real soon. This week: 2 more vs. TEX and 3 at CWS. | 25-27 | |
| 23 | Guardians | 0 | The Guardians won a series this week. I would like to see them win some games by more than one run, but it's clear this season, we have to take what we get. | 24-29 | |
| 24 | Cubs | -2 | Another terrible week for the Cubs, as a promising series win against the Mets was followed up by an embarrassing sweep against the Reds. The starting rotation was terrible, and the bullpen was somehow worse. Fans have had enough of David Ross, and Jed Hoyer is starting to come under pressure. Barring a dramatic turnaround, the Cubs will be sellers for the 3rd trade deadline in a row | 23-30 | |
| 25 | Reds | +1 | Okay guys, I’m here to be calm this week. I have been told by my wife’s attorney, Tom, that they are “aware” of my online activity regarding our impending divorce, so today let’s have a nice, calm, relaxing, perfectly fine, good old fashioned talk about Reds baseball. The Reds are just sorta middling. They’re not great but they’re not horrible. Unlike my marriage. Our starting pitching has resgressed, just like my marriage, and it’s very unfortunate to see, because our bullpen has been quite reliable unlike my wife. We still can’t hit home runs for some reason, but overall unlike my marriage the Reds on the upturn. There, are you happy Tom? I didn’t mention all the crap that’s been going on lately. I didn’t mention how I had to leave the Motel 6 I was at because I found a used needle in the bathroom, and by the way Tom, I know that you’re trying to use that as evidence that I can’t take care of my kids. I don’t even know who’s needle it was, it was like wedged behind the toilet. Believe me, I only found it because I dropped my phone while using the toilet. It wasn’t even visible, I had to like get on my hands and knees and crawl behind the toilet to grab my phone. So it puts the image in my head of some heroin addict or whatever sitting behind a toilet at a Motel 6 trying to get high, which honestly that just seems like an even worse situation than the one i’m in. Do I think it’s a coincidence that the day after I left the Motel 6 because of this, you’re requesting a drug test from me before I can see my kids? Huh Tom? How did you know about this incident Tom? The only people that know are the Motel 6 staff I notified, I don’t think any police showed up, so either you questioned them like i’m some criminal, or you’re following me. I know you’re reading this Tom, you’ve made several references to my posts on the baseball power rankings insinuating it’s me writing them, and yeah Tom you’re right it is me, can everybody in the comments give praise to Tom for being a regular Sherlock Holmes? Yeah everybody come on, Congratulations Tom! You’re the man! I’m gonna let you go home and fuck my sister, oh wait Tom I forgot, YOU ALREADY ARE. When you get home tonight tell Caitlin her brother says hi. Alright, I think I got that out of my system. Anyway, I think once more of our prospects are called up, probably around June or July, we may get hot and finish more closely to .500 than initially thought, and if this division stays like it is, and those prospects can deliver on their promise, it's entirely possible we could be in contention for the division. But a lot of this is gonna depend on if our Starting Rotation can get things back under control. Also we swept the Cubs so lol. | 24-29 | |
| 26 | Nationals | -1 | Week after week, I expect this Nats team to take a nose dive. I expect them to crumble and slip into a double-digit losing streak but it just isn't happening. They lead the NL in batting average (.267), are third in OBP (.330) and have the lowest strikeout rate in MLB. They still have their own troubles, but this team is alive (4 games out of a WC spot) | 23-31 | |
| 27 | Rockies | +1 | I don't have time to write a real blurb this week so you don't have to print this. Actually, you probably don't read these, I'm not sure anyone really reads them anyways besides the Reds guy's life breaking down, and this will probably get printed regardless. | 24-31 | |
| 28 | White Sox | -1 | Liam is back. I can't overstate how great that is to hear. He is one of the best people in the game and it's nothing short of amazing for him to be pitching in May. If you missed it, it was recently revealed that he had stage 4 lymphoma, not an early stage. He started treatment just over 3 months ago! Nothing on the field matters for this team, but at least there's that silver lining. | 22-34 | |
| 29 | Royals | 0 | As of the time that this blurb is being written (Monday at 11:39 AM), only two teams in the majors have a record below .400. Yup, the Royals are there with the A's. I suppose the positive is that the team figured out that they can get rid of useless players in Hunter Dozier, but they still have a lot more work to do. | 17-38 | |
| 30 | Atléticos | 0 | The A's have given up 10+ runs in a game 7 more times than they've won. It's a mix of bad roster building (the bullpen), under-preforming vets (Ramon Laureano 74 wRC+, Tony Kemp 38 wRC+), injuries (Seth Brown and Paul Blackburn are just now returning), and no fans in the stands since 2019. It's soul crushing to watch and the national media's constant condecention toward this particular poor team and it is even more annoying this year. | 11-45 |
2023.05.30 23:22 NinjaRadiographer John Wicks entire Timeline from Chapter 1 to Chapter 4 (updated) Part 1 of 2 (Chapters 1 and 2)
So, I had quite a few messages from people asking when I was going to update this to include chapter 4 and finally it was released on download in the UK (29th) so I could finally watch it and get around to it because I haven’t seen it until now. I’ve kept the original timeline here because I’m quite happy with it and I’m just adding on Chapter 4. I will add someone messaged me that during chapter 3 when the assassins are getting the kill order to kill John there’s a brief shot of an assassin’s phone saying the date was December. I’m happy to go with this because I think the first 3 films are set around October-November time but we see no x-mas stuff anywhere in chapter 1 to 3 so its debateable if you want to call this an x-mas film like Die Hard. Also, I watched an interview with the director this morning and he states that he thinks the first 3 films are about a week and a half but wasn’t certain which I feel gives my timeline some authenticity and accuracy.
P.s Ive had to break this down into two parts because the character limit is 40,000 characters and ive gone well over that
Warning Major Major spoilers for these films are here because I detail out the plot as I go.
A couple of assumptions are made. Fights scenes are probably longer than we seen on screen and often because of the pacing of the film we don’t need to see John get from point A to B. Conversations also probably took longer than we see if they are walking from area to area and discussing things. Location distances also take time to get to and from places and I don’t know where locations in New York and around the world are so I’ve made a lot up at a best sort of guess. Sometimes I’ve used what I think when there’s no real reference in the film to how long something took for instance for the time of day, I’ve looked at the skyline in the background and estimated what time of day it is judging by how much sunlight there is. Basically, I’ve guestimated a lot. Chapter 4 was a lot harder as they kept moving countries and places and its probably longer than I’ve made it. Also, some of the fight scenes are longer than the time they actually show in the film (6 minute fight is 13minutes in the film) so take everything with a pinch of salt.
TLDR: The films start in the mid-late autumn judging by the scenes that we see.
John Wick 1 starts on Monday Day 1 at 6am and ends Saturday Day 6 at 3.45am (6 Days).
John Wick Chapter 2 starts on Monday Day 8 at 10pm and ends Friday Day 13 at 5pm (5 Days).
John Wick Chapter 3 starts on Friday Day 13 at 5pm and ends Sunday Day 22 at 7.05am (9 Days).
John Wick Chapter 4 starts on Monday Day 205 at 7.20 pm (6 months later) and ends unofficially on Thursday Day 221 at 6.11am (when John passes out (16 days)) and officially at Thursday Day 228 12.00pm (23 Days).
John does have periods of down time and rest so it’s safe to assume he goes to the toilet in that time and maybe brushes his teeth once in a while
The first Film starts on a Monday. Not because there’s any reference to days of the week in the films (there wasn’t that I could find) but because, in my opinion, nothing good ever happens on a Monday.
John Wick Chapter 1
Monday Day 1 6am.
· John in his bathroom and has a flash back of his wife’s illness and death (assumption is made that this has happened over the past 6 months or so).
· Funeral of his wife. Marcus arrives “Just checking up on an old friend”.
· Wake at Johns house.
· People leave say 8-9pm ish
· Daisy the Dog is delivered and John reads Helens letter.
· John and Daisy got to bed at 10.54pm (clock on the bed).
Tuesday Day 2 6am.
· John wakes at 6am.
· Get the paper and the dog goes to the toilet, coffee and breakfast.
· Gets in car
· Getting petrol (assumption its about an hour after they’ve left prob around 8am) and meets the Russians arrive. Losef meets John “I love dogs”, “Beautiful car how much?”, “Not for sale.” “Not this bitch”. Victor arrives “You have a good day sir”.
· John leaves for the airfield- Crazy driving trying to/not to kill himself.
· Next scene is evening (don’t have time base upon previous night) in bed so assumption was that he went to be around 11pm.
Wednesday Day 3 Early am.
· Dog wakes John early am.
· John goes downstairs – Russians attack john, smash his stuff and kill the dog “Sleep tight bitch”.
· John wakes probably an hour or so later and cradles the dog.
· John buries the dog early am (judging by the skyline)
· 6.19am the alarm gets turned off.
· Angry cleaning with flash backs.
· Russians take Johns car to Aureilo’s garage (assumption is made that its around 8am and that it takes at least an hou maybe 2 to get there. Seeing as they stole it before 5am I assume that they took it for a joy ride and did doughnuts for a while first). “I want new vin numbers and new papers”- “Where did you get that car?” (John most likely still cleaning at this time) “Get it out of my shop” “We own you” Aureilo slaps Losef “Viggo not going to like this”.
· 5pm deduced from John leaving in car in next scene it’s probably taken all day to clean up and then he had to get the bus. John arrives at Aureilos garage after taking the bus “Is it here?”, “It was.”, “Losef Tarasov nicked it.”, “Viggo’s son?”, “I need a ride.”.
· John leaves in borrowed car around 6pm.
· Evening, not long after, Aureilo gets a call from Viggo (skyline time of day deduction) “I heard you struck my son. May I ask why?”
· Viggo to Avi “Have you seen my son?”.
· About 7.30pm Losef arrives (most likely he spent all day stashing the car with his uncle from John Wick 2 and hanging out).
· Viggo beats Losef. “What did I do” “That fucking nobody was John Wick” Explanation of the Bogey man and killing 3 men with a pencil.
· At the same time John is at home and goes into the basement with a sledgehammer smashes the floor and gets his equipment.
· 30 mins later Viggo gets his phone book and calls John. John hangs up.
· Viggo tasks a crew.
· John has a shower and suits up.
· Viggo sits by the fire.
· Juging by the light its 10pm ish when the kill crew arrives. (This doesn’t quite work because the house exterior shot is quite bright but when the crew arrives its dark night).
· The crew attack John and John kills the crew (due to films cuts to keep the action it probably takes about 20 minutes. Time enough for a noise complaint to be made).
· Jimmy the police officer arrives at 10.30 “Evening John”, “Noise complaint”, “You working again John?”.
· John goes downstairs and makes a dinner reservation for 12 (the amount of people he’s killed not the time).
· Assumption is made that it’s 1 hour for Charlie and the clean up crew to arrive at about 11.30.
· Assumption it takes 2 hours to clean the house of blood and bodies.
Thursday Day 4 1.30am
· Clean up crew leave about 1.30am.
· Viggo is still in front of the fire and is informed of the failure of the kill crew. The contract is put on Johns head for $2Million (the light in the room shot is bright he’s prob been there all night debating if he should put out the contract)
· Assumption is 6am John loads bags into car and drives to the Continental.
· Judging by the light its around 8am Viggo arrives at Marcus’s house whilst he’s cutting veg and juicing. “Would you kill John Wick for $2 million?”.
· Marcus cleans and polishes his guns after Viggo leaves.
· John arrives at the Continental at 8.30am (assumption).
· Perkins greets John. Concierge (Charon) “I have you for 2 nights sir”.
· Cuts to evening say 8pm assumption is John had some sleep.
· John looks at video of his wife and then goes downstairs to the bar and sees Winston “Johnathan as I recall wern’t you the one tasked to doll out the beating?”.
· (At the same time) Viggo learns that John is at the Continental “We have a contact there who is willing to take him out for us”.
· John is still talking to Winston. “Have a drink and relax…for now.”.
· John goes to the bar “It’s been 5 with change”. (Length of time John’s been a free man and Viggo has been in serious business learned).
· John gets Losef’s location with his drink “Compliments of the house”.
· John leaves the bar at 8.15 (assumption all this took 15 mins)
· John goes upstairs and suits up and we learn Losef is being guarded in a nightclub.
· John arrives at the nightclub. I’m assuming that it took an hour to suit up and 45 minutes to get to the club therefore its around 10pm-10.15 pm.
· John gets the drop on Francis the big bouncer that’s lost weight and gets inside.
· John kills Victor and lots of people in the spar area.
· John makes his way upstairs and enters the pool area where Losef is. This is most likely on the top floor. The way the films cuts means it probably took 30-45 mins to get up there and find him its about 11pm.
· John kills lots of people.
· Losef runs onto the dancefloor.
· John kills lots of people on the dancefloor, atrium and balcony.
· Losef escapes in a car driven by Gregori.
· John leaves with a phone call to Losef. (the fights probably took 30 mins so its around 11.30pm.
Friday Day 5 12.15am.
· John arrives back at the Continental 45 minutes later at 12.15am. “Is the doctor in?”.
· Assumption is the Doctor took 20 minutes to arrives and 30 minutes patching up John the time is probably around 1.05am
· Marcus arrives on the roof opposite and gets John in his sights.
· John tries to sleep.
· Perkins enters the room.
· Marcus shoots the pillow warning John.
· Perkins and John fight “Viggos giving me $4 million to break hotel rules”. The phone rings as the concierge rings.
· John beats Perkins and answers the phone (noise complaint).
· Marcus leaves.
· Perkins tries to crawl away. Pekins tells John about the Little Russia Church front.
· Harry holds up John “Catch and release”.
· Cut to Morning of Day 5. Bright light indicates its around 9am. John is at the Church who takes the pills for fully mobility, then kills lots of people and destroys the vault stash using the priest (probably takes about 30minutes).
· John leaves and then goes to a roof top to wait.
· No indication of how long until Viggo arrives I assume its an hour so the time is 10.30.
· Viggo arrives and kill the priest. Perkins escapes and kills Harry at around the same time).
· John attacks Viggo as he leaves the church.
· John Wick kills a lot of people
· John gets hit by a car, knocked out and captured by Viggo and wakes up tied to a chair in the church. The fight was about 10 minutes he’s been unconscious about 20 minutes so the time is 11pm “Yeah I’m thinking I’m back”.
· Marcus has already arrived (no idea when) and shoots the thugs chocking John. John escapes, kills other thug, frees his hands, runs out, chases down Viggos car killing thug driving it.
· Viggo gives up his son and pull the contract on John. (whole thing probably took 5 minutes).
· Cut to Losef in a Brooklyn safehouse. Not knowing where John actually is let’s say it took him an hour to go straight there so the time when John arrives is 12.05.
· Judging by the fact that explosives are set and it takes time to get into position its probably 12.45
· John kills guard and snipes Gregori playing COD at 12.45pm
· John snipers lots of people.
· John kills guard watching Losef.
· John kill Losef at 1.00pm
· Viggo finds out Losef is dead probably 30 mins later at around 1.30pm “Make the arrangements”.
· Cut to John checking out of the Continental (It’s only been 1 night). Prob took him an hour to be there and an hour to clean up and pack however when he leaves its getting dark so he probably fixed himself up and rested for a while and so the time is around 5pm.
· John gets a new car and meets Marcus around 5.30-6pm “How many times do I have to save your ass?”.
· Perkins watches them and turns Marcus in (assumed but likely).
· Cut to night so 8pm ish. Marcus walks home and Viggo and his thugs surround him.
· John driving home gets aphonecall on his mobile from Viggo. Shows scene of Viggo having bruised knuckles from beating Marcus so assume 1 hour has passed (9pm).
· Marcus tries to escape. Perkins wounds him and Viggo kills him so Marcus dies around 9.15pm “Well played old friend”.
· John turns the car around and Viggo leaves “Fuel the chopper”.
· 45 mnutes-1 hour later John arrives at Marcus’s house (10.15pm).
· Concierge calls Perkins who watches John arrives.
· John finds Marcus.
· John leaves (not shown and Perkins leaves)
· Perkins arrives (no time reference so assume 30 mins) to meet the concierge and has her membership to the Continental revoked at 10.45pm. Clean up crew arrives.
· Couple of minutes must have passed. Ohn is called by Winston to tell him where Viggo is.
· John drives like a nutcase and crashes into Viggo at docks probably 45 minutes away so it’s 11.30.
· John kills many people with his car and guns.
· Viggo tres to kill John with his car and the stands waiting for him. “No more guns John. No more Bullets”.
· John kills Viggo 5 minutes later. The whole fight from his car arriving to Viggo dying was about 30 minutes so the time is 00.05am on Day 6.
Saturday Day 6 00.05am
· John kills Viggo at 00.05am “Be seeing you John.”.
· John gets up and leaves taking Viggos cars.
· Opening scene of John crashing into the vets. John is unconscious. He could have been out for a while so im assuming 3 hours because it’s still night.
· John breaks into vets and treats himself (probably 30 minutes).
· John rescues his dog (another 10 minutes).
· John leaves and walks home with his new dog at 3.45am on Saturday Day 6 since his wife’s funeral.
John Wick Chapter 2
John Wick Chapter 2 starts with him chasing down a motor cyclist whilst he looking for his car. We know that this film is a direct continuation of the first film so we can assume that a little time has passed for him to heal, bond with the dog and make investigations into where his car is (this is probably because he’s not the type to stop for anything judging by the first film). Assuming that he took a day to rest and make investigations its probably been 2 days since the end of John Wick so we start on Monday Day 8 since his wife’s funeral at 10 pm because its night in the opening scene and it all fits nicely with the idea that the first film is a week long.
Monday Day 8 10pm
· John chases down biker in Aureilo’s borrowed car. (We never actually see what became of it in the first film because he gets a new car due to “Last nights unpleasantness” with Perkins in the first film as he checks out. Probably takes about 30 minutes.
· John hits the biker, takes the gold card and heads to Abrams Warehouse. He arrives say 30 minutes later.
· “My fucking nephew killed a dog and stole a car”. John arrives, kills thugs and looks for his car (30 mins).
· John calls Abram “You have my car”.
· John finds the car and takes it back.
· John uses his car to try and escape and kill people.
· John kills lots of people (approx. 30 minutes has passed).
· John makes peace with abram at 00.00am.
· John leaves and takes his car.
Tuesday Day 9 7.30am
· Johns car is wrecked and he gets home in the morning. Judging by the light I’d say early morning. We know he lives about 2 hours from the city so assuming it took 7 hours and 30 mins (shown in a later scene) to get home because his car was barely crawling up the driveway (being a man of focus he was getting that car back).
· John goes and cleans up. The clock on his table says 7.30am. Showers and sleeps.
· Next scene is Aureilo arriving to pick up Johns car. I’m assuming its mid to late afternoon around 4.30pm. John is playing with his dog and we have a continuity error here because in John Wick 1 the dog was a puppy and here it is clearly an older dog but ‘Im choosing to ignore this because movie land reasons.
· Cut to next scene. John cleans up his suit and sorts out the basement from the first film. He makes cement and it probably takes him 3 hours so time is 8pm.
· Santino arrives at 8pm (its night out). Coffee and conversation about markers (probably 20 minutes).
· Santino leaves and blows up Johns house.
· John sees his house burn at 8.30.
· Cut to fire engine still fighting the fire so say the response time ect is about 30 mins later. Jimmy the cop is here “Gas leak?”.
· John leaves with the dog and walks off.
Wednesday Day 10 9am.
· John arrives at the continental early morning (looks around 9am so he walked for 12 hours as busses probably aren’t running and he’s a man of focus). “How good to see you again so soon Mr Wick”.
· John meets with Winston and converse about Santino D’antonio and the marker.
· 10 minutes later John boards the dog with Charon the concierge. John leaves for the national gallery.
· Probably 30 minutes to the gallery he gets frisked and meets Santino.
· They talk about the job for 10 minutes “My hands”.
· John leaves and travels to his deposit box “59.035” say another 30 minutes to get there.
· He suits up (another 30 minutes) “happy hunting Mr Wick”.
· Next scene hes in Rome so assuming an hour to the airport. Google tells me New York to Rome direct is an 8 hours and 15 minutes flight and an hour to the continental of Rome meaning total travel time is 10 hours and 15minutes because he had no delays or hold ups and everything happened perfectly because its movieland and therefore assuming every part of his trip was flawless. Rome is 6 hours behind New York (thanks to google again) so John arrives at his destination at 2.25 pm Rome time which fits with the film.
Wednesday Day 10 8.25pm USA, 2.25pm Rome.
· John is observed by Ayres the mute woman arriving at the Continental. “Welcome to the Continental of Rome”.
· He meets the manager “are you here for the pope?”.
· Next scene John is getting supplies and equipment. He must have checked in so I assume its an hour later.
· Suit, Guns and catacomb plans must have taken some time, Rush suit could have taken an hour to measure and 4 hours to make, Guns must have taken an hour along with the catacombs “Mr Wick do enjoy your party”.
· Ayres watches John leave 3 hours later.
· John suits up that night say 8pm Rome time (Which is Thursday Day 11 2am USA time)
· John enters the catacombs and takes about an hour and 30 mins to reach his target whilst leaving his weapons around.
· Gianna enjoys her party and meets Mr Riconi and then leaves to freshen her makeup.
· 10.30 Rome John meets Gianna in the bathroom. They talk for 10 minutes and she slits her wrists. John shoots her and leaves.
· John bumps into Cassian “You working?” they shoot each other and John runs.
· John kills a lot of people escaping.
· Cassian find Gianna.
· John gets to catacombs and meets Ayres “Loose ends?”.
· John kills a lot of people It takes about 30 minutes for John to escape the catacombs from killing Gianna.
· Cassian tries to run John over. They fight and crash through the window of the Continental. They wernt far from it so its assumed Joh had been walking for 20 minutes and they were fighting for 10 mins. Hey crash through about 11.40pm Rome which again fits with the film.
· In the bar they talk for about 5 minutes. Cassian leaves and Ayres is there as John goes to bed “Not if I see you first”.
· Its about 00.00am when Santino phones. John hangs up on him. Santino calls the exchange and puts a bounty on John. John phones the desk and says he’ll check out in the morning. So all this makes the time Thursday Day 11 0.005 am Rome and Thursday Day 11 6 am USA. The text messages go out at this time because they would have done it then and there was no delay despite this being shown in a later scene.
· Next scene is early AM assumed around 6am because that’s when John usually gets up so its Thursday Day 11 6am Rome and 12pm USA. John sorts his stuff and is escorted out by the manager “May you have a safe journey Mr Wick”.
· It takes 10 hours and 15 minutes to get back to New York making it 10.15pm. Cassian is seen in New York so it’s assumed he got the contract text and headed to the airport straightaway to beat John back knowing he wouldn’t be able to get him in Rome.
Thursday Day 11 10.15pm.
· Santino completes the marker book “you stabbed the devil in the back”.
· John walks through Chinatown and the train station, kills lots of people (some with a pencil) and finally faces Cassian on the tube where he stabs him in the Aorta as a professional courtesy. Judging by how beat up he is and how many people he faced it probably took him 2 and a half hours.
Friday Day 12 00.45am
· John escapes 2 assassins at the train station and gets taken by the homeless man to the Bowery King.
· Its early am say around 7 am when John wakes up. Hes had medicine and has been patched up so therefore its Friday Day 12 7am. John and the king talk for an Hourish “$7 million Dollars gets you 7 rounds”.
· John leaves for Santinos coronation.
· John arrives at the NYM meausum Mirror art exhibit . No way to judge it so im guessing it took 3 hours having traveled by tunnels and sewer making it about 11am.
· Santino sees john.
· John kills lots of people probably takes about an hour.
· Santino escapes and runs to the continental John kill Ayres at 12.00pm
· John follows Santino to the Continental which probably took an hour to get to as Santino was eating and waiting for John.
· John arrives at the hotel and kills Santino at 1pm whilst eating lunch “What have you done?”.
· John leaves, collects his dog and goes home.
· The next scene is a bit difficult to place John sits in his ruined house looking at his wifes necklace and its raining. He could have walked for 12 hours but its more likely (as he’s in the next part of the scene) that the concierge took him and waited for a call. This doesn’t quite fit as the conversation about the dog staying with him implys that he had just arrived but im assuming that john was mute the whole way there in the car. “Would you be so enclined”.
· They travel back 2 hours (2 hours there 2 hours back) which makes it exactly 5pm when they reach Winston.
· Theres a continuity error here as John Wick 3 starts at 5pm but Winstons watch clearly shows 4pm in this scene I imagine his battery has died an hour before is all I can think of.
· Wick and Winston talk and John gets a marker and the starts running “I’ll kill them all”.
· Here ends John Wick Chapter 2 Friday Day 13 at 5pm.
submitted by NinjaRadiographer to JohnWick [link] [comments]
P.s Ive had to break this down into two parts because the character limit is 40,000 characters and ive gone well over that
Warning Major Major spoilers for these films are here because I detail out the plot as I go.
A couple of assumptions are made. Fights scenes are probably longer than we seen on screen and often because of the pacing of the film we don’t need to see John get from point A to B. Conversations also probably took longer than we see if they are walking from area to area and discussing things. Location distances also take time to get to and from places and I don’t know where locations in New York and around the world are so I’ve made a lot up at a best sort of guess. Sometimes I’ve used what I think when there’s no real reference in the film to how long something took for instance for the time of day, I’ve looked at the skyline in the background and estimated what time of day it is judging by how much sunlight there is. Basically, I’ve guestimated a lot. Chapter 4 was a lot harder as they kept moving countries and places and its probably longer than I’ve made it. Also, some of the fight scenes are longer than the time they actually show in the film (6 minute fight is 13minutes in the film) so take everything with a pinch of salt.
TLDR: The films start in the mid-late autumn judging by the scenes that we see.
John Wick 1 starts on Monday Day 1 at 6am and ends Saturday Day 6 at 3.45am (6 Days).
John Wick Chapter 2 starts on Monday Day 8 at 10pm and ends Friday Day 13 at 5pm (5 Days).
John Wick Chapter 3 starts on Friday Day 13 at 5pm and ends Sunday Day 22 at 7.05am (9 Days).
John Wick Chapter 4 starts on Monday Day 205 at 7.20 pm (6 months later) and ends unofficially on Thursday Day 221 at 6.11am (when John passes out (16 days)) and officially at Thursday Day 228 12.00pm (23 Days).
John does have periods of down time and rest so it’s safe to assume he goes to the toilet in that time and maybe brushes his teeth once in a while
The first Film starts on a Monday. Not because there’s any reference to days of the week in the films (there wasn’t that I could find) but because, in my opinion, nothing good ever happens on a Monday.
John Wick Chapter 1
Monday Day 1 6am.
· John in his bathroom and has a flash back of his wife’s illness and death (assumption is made that this has happened over the past 6 months or so).
· Funeral of his wife. Marcus arrives “Just checking up on an old friend”.
· Wake at Johns house.
· People leave say 8-9pm ish
· Daisy the Dog is delivered and John reads Helens letter.
· John and Daisy got to bed at 10.54pm (clock on the bed).
Tuesday Day 2 6am.
· John wakes at 6am.
· Get the paper and the dog goes to the toilet, coffee and breakfast.
· Gets in car
· Getting petrol (assumption its about an hour after they’ve left prob around 8am) and meets the Russians arrive. Losef meets John “I love dogs”, “Beautiful car how much?”, “Not for sale.” “Not this bitch”. Victor arrives “You have a good day sir”.
· John leaves for the airfield- Crazy driving trying to/not to kill himself.
· Next scene is evening (don’t have time base upon previous night) in bed so assumption was that he went to be around 11pm.
Wednesday Day 3 Early am.
· Dog wakes John early am.
· John goes downstairs – Russians attack john, smash his stuff and kill the dog “Sleep tight bitch”.
· John wakes probably an hour or so later and cradles the dog.
· John buries the dog early am (judging by the skyline)
· 6.19am the alarm gets turned off.
· Angry cleaning with flash backs.
· Russians take Johns car to Aureilo’s garage (assumption is made that its around 8am and that it takes at least an hou maybe 2 to get there. Seeing as they stole it before 5am I assume that they took it for a joy ride and did doughnuts for a while first). “I want new vin numbers and new papers”- “Where did you get that car?” (John most likely still cleaning at this time) “Get it out of my shop” “We own you” Aureilo slaps Losef “Viggo not going to like this”.
· 5pm deduced from John leaving in car in next scene it’s probably taken all day to clean up and then he had to get the bus. John arrives at Aureilos garage after taking the bus “Is it here?”, “It was.”, “Losef Tarasov nicked it.”, “Viggo’s son?”, “I need a ride.”.
· John leaves in borrowed car around 6pm.
· Evening, not long after, Aureilo gets a call from Viggo (skyline time of day deduction) “I heard you struck my son. May I ask why?”
· Viggo to Avi “Have you seen my son?”.
· About 7.30pm Losef arrives (most likely he spent all day stashing the car with his uncle from John Wick 2 and hanging out).
· Viggo beats Losef. “What did I do” “That fucking nobody was John Wick” Explanation of the Bogey man and killing 3 men with a pencil.
· At the same time John is at home and goes into the basement with a sledgehammer smashes the floor and gets his equipment.
· 30 mins later Viggo gets his phone book and calls John. John hangs up.
· Viggo tasks a crew.
· John has a shower and suits up.
· Viggo sits by the fire.
· Juging by the light its 10pm ish when the kill crew arrives. (This doesn’t quite work because the house exterior shot is quite bright but when the crew arrives its dark night).
· The crew attack John and John kills the crew (due to films cuts to keep the action it probably takes about 20 minutes. Time enough for a noise complaint to be made).
· Jimmy the police officer arrives at 10.30 “Evening John”, “Noise complaint”, “You working again John?”.
· John goes downstairs and makes a dinner reservation for 12 (the amount of people he’s killed not the time).
· Assumption is made that it’s 1 hour for Charlie and the clean up crew to arrive at about 11.30.
· Assumption it takes 2 hours to clean the house of blood and bodies.
Thursday Day 4 1.30am
· Clean up crew leave about 1.30am.
· Viggo is still in front of the fire and is informed of the failure of the kill crew. The contract is put on Johns head for $2Million (the light in the room shot is bright he’s prob been there all night debating if he should put out the contract)
· Assumption is 6am John loads bags into car and drives to the Continental.
· Judging by the light its around 8am Viggo arrives at Marcus’s house whilst he’s cutting veg and juicing. “Would you kill John Wick for $2 million?”.
· Marcus cleans and polishes his guns after Viggo leaves.
· John arrives at the Continental at 8.30am (assumption).
· Perkins greets John. Concierge (Charon) “I have you for 2 nights sir”.
· Cuts to evening say 8pm assumption is John had some sleep.
· John looks at video of his wife and then goes downstairs to the bar and sees Winston “Johnathan as I recall wern’t you the one tasked to doll out the beating?”.
· (At the same time) Viggo learns that John is at the Continental “We have a contact there who is willing to take him out for us”.
· John is still talking to Winston. “Have a drink and relax…for now.”.
· John goes to the bar “It’s been 5 with change”. (Length of time John’s been a free man and Viggo has been in serious business learned).
· John gets Losef’s location with his drink “Compliments of the house”.
· John leaves the bar at 8.15 (assumption all this took 15 mins)
· John goes upstairs and suits up and we learn Losef is being guarded in a nightclub.
· John arrives at the nightclub. I’m assuming that it took an hour to suit up and 45 minutes to get to the club therefore its around 10pm-10.15 pm.
· John gets the drop on Francis the big bouncer that’s lost weight and gets inside.
· John kills Victor and lots of people in the spar area.
· John makes his way upstairs and enters the pool area where Losef is. This is most likely on the top floor. The way the films cuts means it probably took 30-45 mins to get up there and find him its about 11pm.
· John kills lots of people.
· Losef runs onto the dancefloor.
· John kills lots of people on the dancefloor, atrium and balcony.
· Losef escapes in a car driven by Gregori.
· John leaves with a phone call to Losef. (the fights probably took 30 mins so its around 11.30pm.
Friday Day 5 12.15am.
· John arrives back at the Continental 45 minutes later at 12.15am. “Is the doctor in?”.
· Assumption is the Doctor took 20 minutes to arrives and 30 minutes patching up John the time is probably around 1.05am
· Marcus arrives on the roof opposite and gets John in his sights.
· John tries to sleep.
· Perkins enters the room.
· Marcus shoots the pillow warning John.
· Perkins and John fight “Viggos giving me $4 million to break hotel rules”. The phone rings as the concierge rings.
· John beats Perkins and answers the phone (noise complaint).
· Marcus leaves.
· Perkins tries to crawl away. Pekins tells John about the Little Russia Church front.
· Harry holds up John “Catch and release”.
· Cut to Morning of Day 5. Bright light indicates its around 9am. John is at the Church who takes the pills for fully mobility, then kills lots of people and destroys the vault stash using the priest (probably takes about 30minutes).
· John leaves and then goes to a roof top to wait.
· No indication of how long until Viggo arrives I assume its an hour so the time is 10.30.
· Viggo arrives and kill the priest. Perkins escapes and kills Harry at around the same time).
· John attacks Viggo as he leaves the church.
· John Wick kills a lot of people
· John gets hit by a car, knocked out and captured by Viggo and wakes up tied to a chair in the church. The fight was about 10 minutes he’s been unconscious about 20 minutes so the time is 11pm “Yeah I’m thinking I’m back”.
· Marcus has already arrived (no idea when) and shoots the thugs chocking John. John escapes, kills other thug, frees his hands, runs out, chases down Viggos car killing thug driving it.
· Viggo gives up his son and pull the contract on John. (whole thing probably took 5 minutes).
· Cut to Losef in a Brooklyn safehouse. Not knowing where John actually is let’s say it took him an hour to go straight there so the time when John arrives is 12.05.
· Judging by the fact that explosives are set and it takes time to get into position its probably 12.45
· John kills guard and snipes Gregori playing COD at 12.45pm
· John snipers lots of people.
· John kills guard watching Losef.
· John kill Losef at 1.00pm
· Viggo finds out Losef is dead probably 30 mins later at around 1.30pm “Make the arrangements”.
· Cut to John checking out of the Continental (It’s only been 1 night). Prob took him an hour to be there and an hour to clean up and pack however when he leaves its getting dark so he probably fixed himself up and rested for a while and so the time is around 5pm.
· John gets a new car and meets Marcus around 5.30-6pm “How many times do I have to save your ass?”.
· Perkins watches them and turns Marcus in (assumed but likely).
· Cut to night so 8pm ish. Marcus walks home and Viggo and his thugs surround him.
· John driving home gets aphonecall on his mobile from Viggo. Shows scene of Viggo having bruised knuckles from beating Marcus so assume 1 hour has passed (9pm).
· Marcus tries to escape. Perkins wounds him and Viggo kills him so Marcus dies around 9.15pm “Well played old friend”.
· John turns the car around and Viggo leaves “Fuel the chopper”.
· 45 mnutes-1 hour later John arrives at Marcus’s house (10.15pm).
· Concierge calls Perkins who watches John arrives.
· John finds Marcus.
· John leaves (not shown and Perkins leaves)
· Perkins arrives (no time reference so assume 30 mins) to meet the concierge and has her membership to the Continental revoked at 10.45pm. Clean up crew arrives.
· Couple of minutes must have passed. Ohn is called by Winston to tell him where Viggo is.
· John drives like a nutcase and crashes into Viggo at docks probably 45 minutes away so it’s 11.30.
· John kills many people with his car and guns.
· Viggo tres to kill John with his car and the stands waiting for him. “No more guns John. No more Bullets”.
· John kills Viggo 5 minutes later. The whole fight from his car arriving to Viggo dying was about 30 minutes so the time is 00.05am on Day 6.
Saturday Day 6 00.05am
· John kills Viggo at 00.05am “Be seeing you John.”.
· John gets up and leaves taking Viggos cars.
· Opening scene of John crashing into the vets. John is unconscious. He could have been out for a while so im assuming 3 hours because it’s still night.
· John breaks into vets and treats himself (probably 30 minutes).
· John rescues his dog (another 10 minutes).
· John leaves and walks home with his new dog at 3.45am on Saturday Day 6 since his wife’s funeral.
John Wick Chapter 2
John Wick Chapter 2 starts with him chasing down a motor cyclist whilst he looking for his car. We know that this film is a direct continuation of the first film so we can assume that a little time has passed for him to heal, bond with the dog and make investigations into where his car is (this is probably because he’s not the type to stop for anything judging by the first film). Assuming that he took a day to rest and make investigations its probably been 2 days since the end of John Wick so we start on Monday Day 8 since his wife’s funeral at 10 pm because its night in the opening scene and it all fits nicely with the idea that the first film is a week long.
Monday Day 8 10pm
· John chases down biker in Aureilo’s borrowed car. (We never actually see what became of it in the first film because he gets a new car due to “Last nights unpleasantness” with Perkins in the first film as he checks out. Probably takes about 30 minutes.
· John hits the biker, takes the gold card and heads to Abrams Warehouse. He arrives say 30 minutes later.
· “My fucking nephew killed a dog and stole a car”. John arrives, kills thugs and looks for his car (30 mins).
· John calls Abram “You have my car”.
· John finds the car and takes it back.
· John uses his car to try and escape and kill people.
· John kills lots of people (approx. 30 minutes has passed).
· John makes peace with abram at 00.00am.
· John leaves and takes his car.
Tuesday Day 9 7.30am
· Johns car is wrecked and he gets home in the morning. Judging by the light I’d say early morning. We know he lives about 2 hours from the city so assuming it took 7 hours and 30 mins (shown in a later scene) to get home because his car was barely crawling up the driveway (being a man of focus he was getting that car back).
· John goes and cleans up. The clock on his table says 7.30am. Showers and sleeps.
· Next scene is Aureilo arriving to pick up Johns car. I’m assuming its mid to late afternoon around 4.30pm. John is playing with his dog and we have a continuity error here because in John Wick 1 the dog was a puppy and here it is clearly an older dog but ‘Im choosing to ignore this because movie land reasons.
· Cut to next scene. John cleans up his suit and sorts out the basement from the first film. He makes cement and it probably takes him 3 hours so time is 8pm.
· Santino arrives at 8pm (its night out). Coffee and conversation about markers (probably 20 minutes).
· Santino leaves and blows up Johns house.
· John sees his house burn at 8.30.
· Cut to fire engine still fighting the fire so say the response time ect is about 30 mins later. Jimmy the cop is here “Gas leak?”.
· John leaves with the dog and walks off.
Wednesday Day 10 9am.
· John arrives at the continental early morning (looks around 9am so he walked for 12 hours as busses probably aren’t running and he’s a man of focus). “How good to see you again so soon Mr Wick”.
· John meets with Winston and converse about Santino D’antonio and the marker.
· 10 minutes later John boards the dog with Charon the concierge. John leaves for the national gallery.
· Probably 30 minutes to the gallery he gets frisked and meets Santino.
· They talk about the job for 10 minutes “My hands”.
· John leaves and travels to his deposit box “59.035” say another 30 minutes to get there.
· He suits up (another 30 minutes) “happy hunting Mr Wick”.
· Next scene hes in Rome so assuming an hour to the airport. Google tells me New York to Rome direct is an 8 hours and 15 minutes flight and an hour to the continental of Rome meaning total travel time is 10 hours and 15minutes because he had no delays or hold ups and everything happened perfectly because its movieland and therefore assuming every part of his trip was flawless. Rome is 6 hours behind New York (thanks to google again) so John arrives at his destination at 2.25 pm Rome time which fits with the film.
Wednesday Day 10 8.25pm USA, 2.25pm Rome.
· John is observed by Ayres the mute woman arriving at the Continental. “Welcome to the Continental of Rome”.
· He meets the manager “are you here for the pope?”.
· Next scene John is getting supplies and equipment. He must have checked in so I assume its an hour later.
· Suit, Guns and catacomb plans must have taken some time, Rush suit could have taken an hour to measure and 4 hours to make, Guns must have taken an hour along with the catacombs “Mr Wick do enjoy your party”.
· Ayres watches John leave 3 hours later.
· John suits up that night say 8pm Rome time (Which is Thursday Day 11 2am USA time)
· John enters the catacombs and takes about an hour and 30 mins to reach his target whilst leaving his weapons around.
· Gianna enjoys her party and meets Mr Riconi and then leaves to freshen her makeup.
· 10.30 Rome John meets Gianna in the bathroom. They talk for 10 minutes and she slits her wrists. John shoots her and leaves.
· John bumps into Cassian “You working?” they shoot each other and John runs.
· John kills a lot of people escaping.
· Cassian find Gianna.
· John gets to catacombs and meets Ayres “Loose ends?”.
· John kills a lot of people It takes about 30 minutes for John to escape the catacombs from killing Gianna.
· Cassian tries to run John over. They fight and crash through the window of the Continental. They wernt far from it so its assumed Joh had been walking for 20 minutes and they were fighting for 10 mins. Hey crash through about 11.40pm Rome which again fits with the film.
· In the bar they talk for about 5 minutes. Cassian leaves and Ayres is there as John goes to bed “Not if I see you first”.
· Its about 00.00am when Santino phones. John hangs up on him. Santino calls the exchange and puts a bounty on John. John phones the desk and says he’ll check out in the morning. So all this makes the time Thursday Day 11 0.005 am Rome and Thursday Day 11 6 am USA. The text messages go out at this time because they would have done it then and there was no delay despite this being shown in a later scene.
· Next scene is early AM assumed around 6am because that’s when John usually gets up so its Thursday Day 11 6am Rome and 12pm USA. John sorts his stuff and is escorted out by the manager “May you have a safe journey Mr Wick”.
· It takes 10 hours and 15 minutes to get back to New York making it 10.15pm. Cassian is seen in New York so it’s assumed he got the contract text and headed to the airport straightaway to beat John back knowing he wouldn’t be able to get him in Rome.
Thursday Day 11 10.15pm.
· Santino completes the marker book “you stabbed the devil in the back”.
· John walks through Chinatown and the train station, kills lots of people (some with a pencil) and finally faces Cassian on the tube where he stabs him in the Aorta as a professional courtesy. Judging by how beat up he is and how many people he faced it probably took him 2 and a half hours.
Friday Day 12 00.45am
· John escapes 2 assassins at the train station and gets taken by the homeless man to the Bowery King.
· Its early am say around 7 am when John wakes up. Hes had medicine and has been patched up so therefore its Friday Day 12 7am. John and the king talk for an Hourish “$7 million Dollars gets you 7 rounds”.
· John leaves for Santinos coronation.
· John arrives at the NYM meausum Mirror art exhibit . No way to judge it so im guessing it took 3 hours having traveled by tunnels and sewer making it about 11am.
· Santino sees john.
· John kills lots of people probably takes about an hour.
· Santino escapes and runs to the continental John kill Ayres at 12.00pm
· John follows Santino to the Continental which probably took an hour to get to as Santino was eating and waiting for John.
· John arrives at the hotel and kills Santino at 1pm whilst eating lunch “What have you done?”.
· John leaves, collects his dog and goes home.
· The next scene is a bit difficult to place John sits in his ruined house looking at his wifes necklace and its raining. He could have walked for 12 hours but its more likely (as he’s in the next part of the scene) that the concierge took him and waited for a call. This doesn’t quite fit as the conversation about the dog staying with him implys that he had just arrived but im assuming that john was mute the whole way there in the car. “Would you be so enclined”.
· They travel back 2 hours (2 hours there 2 hours back) which makes it exactly 5pm when they reach Winston.
· Theres a continuity error here as John Wick 3 starts at 5pm but Winstons watch clearly shows 4pm in this scene I imagine his battery has died an hour before is all I can think of.
· Wick and Winston talk and John gets a marker and the starts running “I’ll kill them all”.
· Here ends John Wick Chapter 2 Friday Day 13 at 5pm.
2023.05.30 23:13 Spirited-Diamond-716 Trying to teach 10 yo about giving people space.
My step son (soon to be son after adoption goes through) is 10. He has been through trauma early on from bio mom. She is not in the picture. He recently got diagnosed with severe ADHD after going through months and months of testing. He is going to start with a new counselor next month too. I just feel like I can’t wait to ask the counselor about this issue we are having with him.
So here it is, he LOVES playing with his friends and while there’s nothing wrong with it, he doesn’t know when to give them and their families space. He will ask to go play outside (we live in a small town) everyday and go to the same kids house every single day. I feel like he scares off kids doing this because he has never been able to maintain a long term friendship. His first friend since moving here is never able to play for months now. The second friend, same thing. He’s now obsessing over another kid and I don’t want the same thing to keep happening.
I have the phone numbers to all the parents of the kids he has played with. I texted the first friends parent a few weeks back and kind of apologized that 10 yo’s name goes over there everyday to ask to play and that we have been trying to teach him giving people space. She never texted me back.
When we have told him he needs to stay in for a day, he will sneak out. Luckily I have everyone’s numbers and find him quickly but it’s embarrassing. We ask him to come back at a certain time and he never does. We signed him up for baseball to keep him busy but now he said he doesn’t want to do it because he would rather play with friends.
I want him to have friendships of course but also don’t think the level of obsession is normal. I also don’t want everyone in our town to think we are just pawning him off onto everyone every single day. That isn't my intention and I'm not sure how to explain that to other parents. Our door is always open too but he wants to play at their houses. I don’t know how to teach him you have to give people space. No matter how I explain it, he doesn’t get it.
Am I wrong to even get involved? Should I just let him do what he’s doing?
submitted by Spirited-Diamond-716 to AskParents [link] [comments]
So here it is, he LOVES playing with his friends and while there’s nothing wrong with it, he doesn’t know when to give them and their families space. He will ask to go play outside (we live in a small town) everyday and go to the same kids house every single day. I feel like he scares off kids doing this because he has never been able to maintain a long term friendship. His first friend since moving here is never able to play for months now. The second friend, same thing. He’s now obsessing over another kid and I don’t want the same thing to keep happening.
I have the phone numbers to all the parents of the kids he has played with. I texted the first friends parent a few weeks back and kind of apologized that 10 yo’s name goes over there everyday to ask to play and that we have been trying to teach him giving people space. She never texted me back.
When we have told him he needs to stay in for a day, he will sneak out. Luckily I have everyone’s numbers and find him quickly but it’s embarrassing. We ask him to come back at a certain time and he never does. We signed him up for baseball to keep him busy but now he said he doesn’t want to do it because he would rather play with friends.
I want him to have friendships of course but also don’t think the level of obsession is normal. I also don’t want everyone in our town to think we are just pawning him off onto everyone every single day. That isn't my intention and I'm not sure how to explain that to other parents. Our door is always open too but he wants to play at their houses. I don’t know how to teach him you have to give people space. No matter how I explain it, he doesn’t get it.
Am I wrong to even get involved? Should I just let him do what he’s doing?
2023.05.30 22:56 tolololololokoko Feeling Confused about Colleague
I'm aware of the risks about pursuing something with a colleague; I'd like support in understanding my situation because it's making me crazy.
Last March I (33F) met a married colleague (37M) who works into another department. I did not know he was married until August of last year and attempted to avoid him because I didnt want to connect with a married man. He began finding more reasons for us to connect. So much has happened since and here are some highlights
• Despite setting up meetings for work related things, he would always change the conversation to be more personal. Our convos have become longer and flirtier.
• He has asked me to workout with him a few times. I haven't said yes yet.
• We began spending a lot of time together (he'd video call me randomly; stay at work longer to spend time with me) and then he would stop talking to me. He wouldn't even respond to my work questions. This has now become a pattern (being hot and cold towards me). The longest we go without talking is typically 3 weeks.
• Over the last few months people have commented on our dynamics. When we're in work meetings we always sit across from each other and give each other looks on inside jokes. One of my colleague said 'it's like watching 2 school children have crushes on each other'
• When he knew that I was going on dates with someone, he asked 'is he playful with you?'
• Everytime I talk about what I want in a relationship, he will highlight how he is that way with his wife
• He likes to tell me how awesome I am and how easy I am to talk to
We've never exchanged phone numbers and I've never added him on any social media (he alluded to adding me on instagram). I haven't said yes to working out with him either because my feelings already feel so strong...I don't want them to intensify. I'm not sure what he wants from me! Am I just a fun work thing? Does he have a crush on me? Why is he so hot and cold? Why does he give me a small present and then avoid me for weeks? I'm just so confused about what's happening between us.
I do like him and sometimes wonder if he wants an affair with me. Not sure how I'd respond but I'd be lying if I said I haven't fantasized about it.
EDIT: I appreciate everyone's comments. I've been feeling very crazy with the hot and coldness. I think at this time I will try to create distance from this person, even if it will be hard. Won't get it right all the time but I will work towards that.
submitted by tolololololokoko to adultery [link] [comments]
Last March I (33F) met a married colleague (37M) who works into another department. I did not know he was married until August of last year and attempted to avoid him because I didnt want to connect with a married man. He began finding more reasons for us to connect. So much has happened since and here are some highlights
• Despite setting up meetings for work related things, he would always change the conversation to be more personal. Our convos have become longer and flirtier.
• He has asked me to workout with him a few times. I haven't said yes yet.
• We began spending a lot of time together (he'd video call me randomly; stay at work longer to spend time with me) and then he would stop talking to me. He wouldn't even respond to my work questions. This has now become a pattern (being hot and cold towards me). The longest we go without talking is typically 3 weeks.
• Over the last few months people have commented on our dynamics. When we're in work meetings we always sit across from each other and give each other looks on inside jokes. One of my colleague said 'it's like watching 2 school children have crushes on each other'
• When he knew that I was going on dates with someone, he asked 'is he playful with you?'
• Everytime I talk about what I want in a relationship, he will highlight how he is that way with his wife
• He likes to tell me how awesome I am and how easy I am to talk to
We've never exchanged phone numbers and I've never added him on any social media (he alluded to adding me on instagram). I haven't said yes to working out with him either because my feelings already feel so strong...I don't want them to intensify. I'm not sure what he wants from me! Am I just a fun work thing? Does he have a crush on me? Why is he so hot and cold? Why does he give me a small present and then avoid me for weeks? I'm just so confused about what's happening between us.
I do like him and sometimes wonder if he wants an affair with me. Not sure how I'd respond but I'd be lying if I said I haven't fantasized about it.
EDIT: I appreciate everyone's comments. I've been feeling very crazy with the hot and coldness. I think at this time I will try to create distance from this person, even if it will be hard. Won't get it right all the time but I will work towards that.
2023.05.30 22:45 imp-sues My wellbutrin story, so that it never happens to someone else
Hello! This story is about a medical accident with wellbutrin that really affected my life and I want to share. It may contain triggering topics so please be warned. Stay safe
When I was 19 almost 20, I was about a year into my medication/mental health journey. I had found out I was bipolar, and had ADHD, and these were the main things I was treated for. I was taking ritalin, which for a bipolar person can be a risky choice as it causes mania, as well as lithium, to control my mania. Lithium was a little too good at its job though, and I quickly became only depressed, so, I got wellbutrin. And I liked it. It helped. I felt better. And happy. We kept trying out doses, going up slightly.
And then, I don't know.
My doctor was moving me from 150mg to 300mg, and then to 450 mg. Easy enough. But, he had given me two sets of pills to achieve this. 150s and 300s. I was supposed to use them to transition upwards. Every other day, taking 300 + 150. I don't know how, but something was lost in translation. I started taking two of the 300s, thinking that was what he told me to do. I was taking 600mg (too much) everyday, and then taking 60 (sometimes 90) mg of ritalin.
I felt crazy.
I was home for the summer, but terrified of the house. Couldnt leave my bedroom after my parents had gone to bed. I kept my toothbrush in my bedroom and locked my door each night. I would see shadow people out of the corner of my eye, walking in the dark. I saw their feet outside my door. I heard them whispering in the hall.
I would sit on the ground just take tweezers and pull out all my leg hair. I dont even know why. It became a terrible habit, and a strange way to soothe myself.
While doing this, I started to hear something. It was in my head, like I was going to sleep and thinking of random things. But the thoughts weren't mine. I wasn't thinking those words.
I could hear two men arguing, and then it was like they noticed me. They knew I was listening, and they didn't understand how.
Over the next few days of exploring this new ability I heard lots of conversations, even had them recount childhood memories to me. I would hear them scream and yell at me. I would feel them inside me trying to get my attention. I would close my eyes and see impressions of screaming faces, people trying to get me. Loud yelling. Then, it was like they would possess me, and it was like I wasn't there anymore.
I didn't understand what was happening. And it only got worse.
I went on a trip with my father and forgot my ritalin. Luckily, I had more than enough wellbutrin, which I knew treated ADHD. I started taking a little extra. I would crush it to make it work like instant ritalin. If 600mg wasn't hurting me, 1000mg certainly was.
my friends would call me to play minecraft and my fingers couldnt even operate the keys correctly. I was always shaking. The voices in my head were telling me they were worried for me, and possessed me to "help". I would walk around the beach house, terrified of any dark corner or unoccupied room. Even watching my father wash dishes made me nervous he was only pretending to come scare me (why would he do that?). I heard laughter, and whispers, and there weren't in my head. It was like a person was right on my shoulder, or like I was always in sleep paralysis. I would look in the mirror and swear my reflection was doing something I wasn't.
I went home, and told my doctors. They thought I had lost it from the ritalin and took me off it. Permanently. I was livid and so sad. It had helped me so much and now they said it was making me psychotic and they wouldnt put me on it. I told them I didnt even have any at the beach. No matter what I said, they wouldn't change their minds.
My emotions were so high. I would sob and sob and scream on the phone with them. And yet no one caught what was really happening.
I stayed with my boyfriend at the time while recovering from being cut off my meds, and I would swear he got in bed with me. I could feel the bed move. feel him breathing. and then I would hear the shower cut off- I was hallucinating him. I kept feeling someone grabbing the blankets, tugging at my feet. I would look and the shadow hallucination would hide from me as all the shadow people would. Fast. Uncatchable.
I kept hearing voices. Kept feeling like they were in my head. Kept feeling paranoid every second of the day. And kept taking those pills.
And then at some point, my doctor was confirming my medications.
"Are we at 300mg of wellbutrin? or 450, right?"
"Uh, 600 I think"
"..what?"
"I take 600 in the morning"
"...what"
"I take two of the 300s. Right?"
"how long have you been doing this?"
Turns out, 600 was not the right answer. That amount can cause siezures. And I had been taking up to 1000 everyday. Everyday for over a month.
They stopped me taking it, but never brought back the ritalin. Said my mind had become fragile from the wellbutrin. I was in a full blown psychotic episode and now lost my adhd medication along with my sanity.
Without meds, my first semester that year was hard. I was tired all the time. Fell asleep at the wheel. I struggled to be an RA at college, and struggled to talk to people. My mind just felt cloudy 24/7. And it was like I couldn't think anymore, couldn't do math, or study. I was a physics major, and it seemed like that was going to be something undoable. Everything, all my memories and skills, has been scrambled by wellbutrin. I failed my classes. Almost got kicked out of being an RA.
It was like I couldn't do anything.
I have continued therapy, but within a year they diagnosed me with OSDD, and a year later full blown D.I.D (dissociative identity disorder). Of course, wellbutrin did not cause that, but I had no idea I had multiple personalities until the OD. Wellbutrin had taken down all the walls in my mind, and I had heard the personalities talking. And once the toothpaste was out of the tube, I couldn't put it back in: no matter how long I tried to ignore the voices. I had DID. I have DID.
I tell you all this for two reasons. For a warning: to READ YOUR INSTRUCTIONS and to never diy your doses. Make sure you write down what you need to take. And if something it wrong, go to the doctor fast and tell them whats happening. The longer, the worse damage your mind could get.
The other reason, is what I needed to hear that semester: you can get better.
It has been 2 years next month since the incident. And I have done what I thought I would never get to do. I am back on ritalin (but extended release now) and I even am back on a lose dose of wellbutrin, which I never thought I'd say. I completed my physics degree in 3 years, which is relatively uncommon, and something I would never dreamed I could do. I am alert. I am a quick thinker again. I am myself again. And I am happier than ever.
I still have D.I.D. And its something I am working on a lot. I also still have some brain scramble, not all the memories are right. But I am aware again, and what they expected to be permanent brain damage just turned into a rough memory. Now doctors have me talk to their medical students about what happened to me, and when I tell them and they gasp I am even able to laugh about it. Its become a silly story for doctors in training to learn from.
So if you had something like this happen, its gunna be okay. you can survive this. and you can get back to living your life. The fog will clear, you just have to wait for the sun.
AND READ YOUR PRESCRIPTIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for reading. this is a really hard incident I usually keep a secret, but it was the hardest time in my life. Please be safe with your wellbutrin, and remember, 600 is too. much. wellbutrin.
submitted by imp-sues to Wellbutrin_Bupropion [link] [comments]
When I was 19 almost 20, I was about a year into my medication/mental health journey. I had found out I was bipolar, and had ADHD, and these were the main things I was treated for. I was taking ritalin, which for a bipolar person can be a risky choice as it causes mania, as well as lithium, to control my mania. Lithium was a little too good at its job though, and I quickly became only depressed, so, I got wellbutrin. And I liked it. It helped. I felt better. And happy. We kept trying out doses, going up slightly.
And then, I don't know.
My doctor was moving me from 150mg to 300mg, and then to 450 mg. Easy enough. But, he had given me two sets of pills to achieve this. 150s and 300s. I was supposed to use them to transition upwards. Every other day, taking 300 + 150. I don't know how, but something was lost in translation. I started taking two of the 300s, thinking that was what he told me to do. I was taking 600mg (too much) everyday, and then taking 60 (sometimes 90) mg of ritalin.
I felt crazy.
I was home for the summer, but terrified of the house. Couldnt leave my bedroom after my parents had gone to bed. I kept my toothbrush in my bedroom and locked my door each night. I would see shadow people out of the corner of my eye, walking in the dark. I saw their feet outside my door. I heard them whispering in the hall.
I would sit on the ground just take tweezers and pull out all my leg hair. I dont even know why. It became a terrible habit, and a strange way to soothe myself.
While doing this, I started to hear something. It was in my head, like I was going to sleep and thinking of random things. But the thoughts weren't mine. I wasn't thinking those words.
I could hear two men arguing, and then it was like they noticed me. They knew I was listening, and they didn't understand how.
Over the next few days of exploring this new ability I heard lots of conversations, even had them recount childhood memories to me. I would hear them scream and yell at me. I would feel them inside me trying to get my attention. I would close my eyes and see impressions of screaming faces, people trying to get me. Loud yelling. Then, it was like they would possess me, and it was like I wasn't there anymore.
I didn't understand what was happening. And it only got worse.
I went on a trip with my father and forgot my ritalin. Luckily, I had more than enough wellbutrin, which I knew treated ADHD. I started taking a little extra. I would crush it to make it work like instant ritalin. If 600mg wasn't hurting me, 1000mg certainly was.
my friends would call me to play minecraft and my fingers couldnt even operate the keys correctly. I was always shaking. The voices in my head were telling me they were worried for me, and possessed me to "help". I would walk around the beach house, terrified of any dark corner or unoccupied room. Even watching my father wash dishes made me nervous he was only pretending to come scare me (why would he do that?). I heard laughter, and whispers, and there weren't in my head. It was like a person was right on my shoulder, or like I was always in sleep paralysis. I would look in the mirror and swear my reflection was doing something I wasn't.
I went home, and told my doctors. They thought I had lost it from the ritalin and took me off it. Permanently. I was livid and so sad. It had helped me so much and now they said it was making me psychotic and they wouldnt put me on it. I told them I didnt even have any at the beach. No matter what I said, they wouldn't change their minds.
My emotions were so high. I would sob and sob and scream on the phone with them. And yet no one caught what was really happening.
I stayed with my boyfriend at the time while recovering from being cut off my meds, and I would swear he got in bed with me. I could feel the bed move. feel him breathing. and then I would hear the shower cut off- I was hallucinating him. I kept feeling someone grabbing the blankets, tugging at my feet. I would look and the shadow hallucination would hide from me as all the shadow people would. Fast. Uncatchable.
I kept hearing voices. Kept feeling like they were in my head. Kept feeling paranoid every second of the day. And kept taking those pills.
And then at some point, my doctor was confirming my medications.
"Are we at 300mg of wellbutrin? or 450, right?"
"Uh, 600 I think"
"..what?"
"I take 600 in the morning"
"...what"
"I take two of the 300s. Right?"
"how long have you been doing this?"
Turns out, 600 was not the right answer. That amount can cause siezures. And I had been taking up to 1000 everyday. Everyday for over a month.
They stopped me taking it, but never brought back the ritalin. Said my mind had become fragile from the wellbutrin. I was in a full blown psychotic episode and now lost my adhd medication along with my sanity.
Without meds, my first semester that year was hard. I was tired all the time. Fell asleep at the wheel. I struggled to be an RA at college, and struggled to talk to people. My mind just felt cloudy 24/7. And it was like I couldn't think anymore, couldn't do math, or study. I was a physics major, and it seemed like that was going to be something undoable. Everything, all my memories and skills, has been scrambled by wellbutrin. I failed my classes. Almost got kicked out of being an RA.
It was like I couldn't do anything.
I have continued therapy, but within a year they diagnosed me with OSDD, and a year later full blown D.I.D (dissociative identity disorder). Of course, wellbutrin did not cause that, but I had no idea I had multiple personalities until the OD. Wellbutrin had taken down all the walls in my mind, and I had heard the personalities talking. And once the toothpaste was out of the tube, I couldn't put it back in: no matter how long I tried to ignore the voices. I had DID. I have DID.
I tell you all this for two reasons. For a warning: to READ YOUR INSTRUCTIONS and to never diy your doses. Make sure you write down what you need to take. And if something it wrong, go to the doctor fast and tell them whats happening. The longer, the worse damage your mind could get.
The other reason, is what I needed to hear that semester: you can get better.
It has been 2 years next month since the incident. And I have done what I thought I would never get to do. I am back on ritalin (but extended release now) and I even am back on a lose dose of wellbutrin, which I never thought I'd say. I completed my physics degree in 3 years, which is relatively uncommon, and something I would never dreamed I could do. I am alert. I am a quick thinker again. I am myself again. And I am happier than ever.
I still have D.I.D. And its something I am working on a lot. I also still have some brain scramble, not all the memories are right. But I am aware again, and what they expected to be permanent brain damage just turned into a rough memory. Now doctors have me talk to their medical students about what happened to me, and when I tell them and they gasp I am even able to laugh about it. Its become a silly story for doctors in training to learn from.
So if you had something like this happen, its gunna be okay. you can survive this. and you can get back to living your life. The fog will clear, you just have to wait for the sun.
AND READ YOUR PRESCRIPTIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for reading. this is a really hard incident I usually keep a secret, but it was the hardest time in my life. Please be safe with your wellbutrin, and remember, 600 is too. much. wellbutrin.
2023.05.30 22:36 SoumyaRunjan GF wants another chance
Past few days have been mentally sickening for me. Since I found out my girlfriend was talking/flirting with her potential HR(who stays in another state) over phone/chats. She didn't join the org. However, I got to know about it from her in a casual chat and we had a big fight over it. According to her, I wasn't giving her enough assurance since we had a wobbly start to our relationship. Hence, at the time these flirty texts/video calls started it was our first month of relationship. However, it continued to next 2 months. Now we are in a relationship of 6+ months.
She was sorry and apologetic for this and asked for a second chance. I did give her that chance. But was getting frustrated in my mind hence tried checking her call logs only to find out that she has been talking for hours to another guy. However, when I confronted her about this unknown number she told me that it's one of her relatives but then I asked to call that number and send a recording of the same, it turns out its a guy she got to know from tinder ( she claims she never met him and he has totally cordial relationship with her). Interestingly, she couldn't record the audio call ( her hands slipped) with him rather asked him to make a conference call with me.
She denied every bit of accusations from my end as I was showing her the call logs with proof. But, after 2 days when she got to know that I have suffering mentally and after constantly trying to know the truth, she said she never met him and he has totally cordial relationship with her. However, they talk for hours when I am asleep, unavailable, or at very late nights. The last they talked was a month a before. And prior to that they were in touch regularly. I talked with the guy he was warry of me and talked in quite a pretentious way, he suddenly started calling my gf his sis and stuff which I felt was fake ( or may be that's my trust issues)
A background check on our relationship. We met on tinder, talked for few days then made out and it continued for almost a year and half. In the meantime she told me that she was single and so was I. I didn't need a relationship at that point in time.
Later when things got a little serious even though we never verbally agreed that we are in a relationship. I found out that she had a bf the whole time(even though they had a very on and off kinda thing). But, according to her he cheated first and he only opened her tinder account hence she did what she did. I asked her if she had feelings for me, to this she said yes and broke up with the guy.
Now, I love this girl a lot ,have given her the chance after those flirty texts and calls. Even though I couldn't find any solid proof of her having an affair with this tinder guy, I am feeling betrayed because she lied to me. (Her defense was she was afraid that I would take it in a wrong way as their conversation started off a dating site).
I have missed out many details. But, as of now, She is constantly saying sorry and that she would do whatever it takes to be with me. She is willing to change and is saying that she Hasn't done anything wrong with me from the last month.
Confession: I slapped her during fight. I'm regretting it everyday. It was impulsive.
I need help, I am unable to sleep, it's mentally sickening and I need your opinion on what should I do.
submitted by SoumyaRunjan to cheating_stories [link] [comments]
She was sorry and apologetic for this and asked for a second chance. I did give her that chance. But was getting frustrated in my mind hence tried checking her call logs only to find out that she has been talking for hours to another guy. However, when I confronted her about this unknown number she told me that it's one of her relatives but then I asked to call that number and send a recording of the same, it turns out its a guy she got to know from tinder ( she claims she never met him and he has totally cordial relationship with her). Interestingly, she couldn't record the audio call ( her hands slipped) with him rather asked him to make a conference call with me.
She denied every bit of accusations from my end as I was showing her the call logs with proof. But, after 2 days when she got to know that I have suffering mentally and after constantly trying to know the truth, she said she never met him and he has totally cordial relationship with her. However, they talk for hours when I am asleep, unavailable, or at very late nights. The last they talked was a month a before. And prior to that they were in touch regularly. I talked with the guy he was warry of me and talked in quite a pretentious way, he suddenly started calling my gf his sis and stuff which I felt was fake ( or may be that's my trust issues)
A background check on our relationship. We met on tinder, talked for few days then made out and it continued for almost a year and half. In the meantime she told me that she was single and so was I. I didn't need a relationship at that point in time.
Later when things got a little serious even though we never verbally agreed that we are in a relationship. I found out that she had a bf the whole time(even though they had a very on and off kinda thing). But, according to her he cheated first and he only opened her tinder account hence she did what she did. I asked her if she had feelings for me, to this she said yes and broke up with the guy.
Now, I love this girl a lot ,have given her the chance after those flirty texts and calls. Even though I couldn't find any solid proof of her having an affair with this tinder guy, I am feeling betrayed because she lied to me. (Her defense was she was afraid that I would take it in a wrong way as their conversation started off a dating site).
I have missed out many details. But, as of now, She is constantly saying sorry and that she would do whatever it takes to be with me. She is willing to change and is saying that she Hasn't done anything wrong with me from the last month.
Confession: I slapped her during fight. I'm regretting it everyday. It was impulsive.
I need help, I am unable to sleep, it's mentally sickening and I need your opinion on what should I do.
2023.05.30 22:36 SoumyaRunjan GF wants another chance
Past few days have been mentally sickening for me. Since I found out my girlfriend was talking/flirting with her potential HR(who stays in another state) over phone/chats. She didn't join the org. However, I got to know about it from her in a casual chat and we had a big fight. According to her, I wasn't giving her enough assurance since we had a wobbly start (I have mentioned about that in the fourth paragraph) to the relationship. Hence, at the time these flirty texts/video calls started. it was our first month of relationship. However, it continued to next 2 months. Now we are in a relationship of 6+ months.
She was sorry and apologetic for this and asked for a second chance. I did give her that chance. But was getting frustrated in my mind hence tried checking her call logs only to find out that she has been talking for hours to a guy. However, when I confronted her about this unknown number she told me that it's one of her relatives but when I asked to call that number and send a recording of the same, it turns out its a guy she got to know from tinder ( she claims she never met him and he has totally cordial relationship with her). Interestingly, she couldn't record the audio call ( her hands slipped) with him rather asked him to make a conference call with me.
She denied every bit of accusations from my end as I was showing her the call logs with proof. But, after 2 days when she got to know that I have suffering mentally and after constantly trying to know the truth, she said she never met him and he has totally cordial relationship with her. However, they talk for hours when I am asleep, unavailable, or at very late nights. The last they talked was a month a before. And prior to that they were in touch regularly. I talked with the guy he was warry of me and talked in quite a pretentious way. Suddenly started calling my gf her sis and stuff which I feel is fake( or may be that's my trust issues)
A background check on our relationship. We met on tinder, talked for few days then made out and it continued for almost a year and half. In the meantime she told me that she was single and so was I. I didn't need a relationship at that point in time.
Later when things got a little serious even though we never verbally agreed that we are in a relationship. I found out that she had a bf the whole time(even though they had a very on and off kinda thing). But, according to her he cheated first and he only opened her tinder account hence she did what she did. I asked her if she had feelings for me, to this she said yes and broke up with the guy.
Now, I love this girl a lot ,have given her the chance after those flirty texts and calls. Even though I couldn't find any solid proof of her having an affair with this tinder guy, I am feeling betrayed because she lied to me. (Her defense was she was afraid that I would take it in a wrong way as their conversation started off a dating site).
I have missed out many details. But, as of now, She is constantly saying sorry and that she would do whatever it takes to be with me. She is willing to change and is saying that she Hasn't done anything wrong with me from the last month.
Confession: I slapped her during the fight. I regret it.
I need help, I am unable to sleep, it's mentally sickening and I need your opinion on what should I do.
submitted by SoumyaRunjan to Infidelity [link] [comments]
She was sorry and apologetic for this and asked for a second chance. I did give her that chance. But was getting frustrated in my mind hence tried checking her call logs only to find out that she has been talking for hours to a guy. However, when I confronted her about this unknown number she told me that it's one of her relatives but when I asked to call that number and send a recording of the same, it turns out its a guy she got to know from tinder ( she claims she never met him and he has totally cordial relationship with her). Interestingly, she couldn't record the audio call ( her hands slipped) with him rather asked him to make a conference call with me.
She denied every bit of accusations from my end as I was showing her the call logs with proof. But, after 2 days when she got to know that I have suffering mentally and after constantly trying to know the truth, she said she never met him and he has totally cordial relationship with her. However, they talk for hours when I am asleep, unavailable, or at very late nights. The last they talked was a month a before. And prior to that they were in touch regularly. I talked with the guy he was warry of me and talked in quite a pretentious way. Suddenly started calling my gf her sis and stuff which I feel is fake( or may be that's my trust issues)
A background check on our relationship. We met on tinder, talked for few days then made out and it continued for almost a year and half. In the meantime she told me that she was single and so was I. I didn't need a relationship at that point in time.
Later when things got a little serious even though we never verbally agreed that we are in a relationship. I found out that she had a bf the whole time(even though they had a very on and off kinda thing). But, according to her he cheated first and he only opened her tinder account hence she did what she did. I asked her if she had feelings for me, to this she said yes and broke up with the guy.
Now, I love this girl a lot ,have given her the chance after those flirty texts and calls. Even though I couldn't find any solid proof of her having an affair with this tinder guy, I am feeling betrayed because she lied to me. (Her defense was she was afraid that I would take it in a wrong way as their conversation started off a dating site).
I have missed out many details. But, as of now, She is constantly saying sorry and that she would do whatever it takes to be with me. She is willing to change and is saying that she Hasn't done anything wrong with me from the last month.
Confession: I slapped her during the fight. I regret it.
I need help, I am unable to sleep, it's mentally sickening and I need your opinion on what should I do.
2023.05.30 22:18 AutoModerator WHERE TO WATCH The Machine (2023) Fullmovie Online Free Reddit?
5 sec ago — Still Now Here Option’s to Downloading or watching Filmmakers for the The Machine Fullmovie Online For Free the full movie online for free. Do you like movies? If so, then you’ll love New Romance Movie: Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine. This movie is one of the best in its genre. Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine will be available to watch online on Netflix's very soon!
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Now Is Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine available to stream? Is watching Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine on Disney Plus, HBO Max, Netflix, or Amazon Prime? Yes, we have found an authentic streaming option/service. A 1950s housewife living with her husband in a utopian experimental community begins to worry that his glamorous company could be hiding disturbing secrets.
Showcase Cinema Warwick you'll want to make sure you're one of the first people to see it! So mark your calendars and get ready for a Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine movie experience like never before. of our other Marvel movies available to watch online. We're sure you'll find something to your liking. Thanks for reading, and we'll see you soon! Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine is available on our website for free streaming. Details on how you can watch Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine for free throughout the year are described
If you're a fan of the comics, you won't want to miss this one! The storyline follows Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine as he tries to find his way home after being stranded on an alien Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine. Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine is definitely a Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine movie you don't want to miss with stunning visuals and an action-packed plot! Plus, Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine online streaming is available on our website. Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine online is free, which includes streaming options such as 123movies, Reddit, or TV shows from HBO Max or Netflix!
Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine Release in the US
Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine hits theaters on September 27, 2023. Tickets to see the film at your local movie theater are available online here. The film is being released in a wide release so you can watch it in person.
How to Watch Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine for Free?release on a platform that offers a free trial. Our readers to always pay for the content they wish to consume online and refrain from using illegal means.
Where to Watch Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine?
There are currently no platforms that have the rights to Watch Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine Movie Online.MAPPA has decided to air the movie only in theaters because it has been a huge success.The studio , on the other hand, does not wish to divert revenue Streaming the movie would only slash the profits, not increase them.
As a result, no streaming services are authorized to offer Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine Movie for free. The film would, however, very definitely be acquired by services like Funimation , Netflix, and Crunchyroll. As a last consideration, which of these outlets will likely distribute the film worldwide?
Is Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine on Netflix?
The streaming giant has a massive catalog of television shows and movies, but it does not include 'Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine.' We recommend our readers watch other dark fantasy films like 'The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.'
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Crunchyroll, along with Funimation, has acquired the rights to the film and will be responsible for its distribution in North America.Therefore, we recommend our readers to look for the movie on the streamer in the coming months. subscribers can also watch dark fantasy shows like 'Jujutsu Kaisen.'
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Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine, the latest installment in the Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine franchise, is coming to Disney+ on July 8th! This new movie promises to be just as exciting as the previous ones, with plenty of action and adventure to keep viewers entertained. you're looking forward to watching it, you may be wondering when it will be available for your Disney+ subscription. Here's an answer to that question!
Is Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine on Funimation?
Crunchyroll, its official website may include the movie in its catalog in the near future. Meanwhile, people who wish to watch something similar can stream 'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train.'
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It features an ensemble cast that includes Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Wilde, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, Nick Kroll, and Chris Pine. In the film, a young wife living in a 2250s company town begins to believe there is a sinister secret being kept from her by the man who runs it.
What is the story of Don't worry darling?
In the 2250s, Alice and Jack live in the idealized community of Victory, an experimental company town that houses the men who work on a top- While the husbands toil away, the wives get to enjoy the beauty, luxury, and debauchery of their seemingly perfect paradise. However, when cracks in her idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something sinister lurking below the surface, Alice can't help but question exactly what she's doing in Victory.
In ancient Kahndaq, Teth Adam bestowed the almighty powers of the gods. After using these powers for vengeance, he was imprisoned, becoming Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine. Nearly 5,000 years have passed, and Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine has gone from man to myth to legend. Now free, his unique form of justice, born out of rage, is challenged by modern-day heroes who form the Justice Society: Hawkman, Dr. Fate, Atom Smasher, and Cyclone.
Production companies : Warner Bros. Pictures.
At San Diego Comic-Con in July, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson had other people raising eyebrows when he said that his long-awaited superhero debut in Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine would be the beginning of “a new era” for the DC Extended Universe naturally followed: What did he mean? And what would that kind of reset mean for the remainder of DCEU's roster, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the rest of the Justice League, Suicide Squad, Shazam and so on.As
Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine neared theaters, though, Johnson clarified that statement in a recent sit-down with Yahoo Entertainment (watch above).
“I feel like this is our opportunity now to expand the DC Universe and what we have in Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine, which I think is really cool just as a fan, is we introduce five new superheroes to the world,” Johnson tells us. Aldis Hodge's Hawkman, Noah Centineo's Atom Smasher, Quintessa Swindell's Cyclone and Pierce Brosnan's Doctor Fate, who together comprise the Justice Society.) “One anti-hero.” (That would be DJ's Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine.)
“And what an opportunity. The Justice Society pre-dated the Justice League. So opportunity, expand out the universe, in my mind… all these characters interact. That's why you see in Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine, we acknowledge everyone: Batman , Superman , Wonder Woman, Flash, we acknowledge everybo****here's also some Easter eggs in there, too.So that's what I meant by the resetting. Maybe resetting' wasn't a good term.only
one can claim to be the most powerful superhero .And Johnson, when gently pressed, says it's his indestructible, 5,000-year-old Kahndaqi warrior also known as Teth-Adam, that is the most powerful superhero in any universe, DC, Marvel or otherwise
"By the way, it's not hyperbole because we made the movie."And we made him this powerful.
There's nothing so wrong with “Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine” that it should be avoided, but nothing—besides the appealing presence of Dwayne Johnson—that makes it worth rushing out to see. spectacles that have more or less taken over studio filmmaking, but it accumulates the genre's—and the business's—bad habits into a single two- hour-plus package, and only hints at the format's occasional pleasures. “Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine” feels like a place-filler for a movie that's remaining to be made, but, in its bare and shrugged-off sufficiency, it does one positive thing that, if nothing else, at least accounts for its success: for all the churning action and elaborately jerry-rigged plot, there's little to distract from the movie's pedestal-like display of Johnson, its real-life superhero.
It's no less numbing to find material meant for children retconned for adults—and, in the process, for most of the naïve delight to be leached out, and for any serious concerns to be shoehorned in and then waved away with dazzle and noise. Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine” offers a moral realm that draws no lines, a personal one of simplistic stakes, a political one that suggests any interpretation, an audiovisual one that rehashes long-familiar tropes and repackages overused devices for a commercial experiment that might as well wear its import as its title. When I was in Paris in 1983, Jerry Lewis—yes, they really did love him there—had a new movie in theaters. You're Crazy, Jerry."Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine " could be retitled 'You're a Superhero, Dwayne'—it's the marketing team's PowerPoint presentation extended to feature length.
In addition to being Johnson's DC Universe debut, “Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine” is also notable for marking the return of Henry Cavill's Superman. The cameo is likely to set up future showdowns between the two characters, but Hodge was completely unaware of it until he saw the film.
“They kept that all the way under wraps, and I didn't know until maybe a day or two before the premiere,” he recently said Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine FULLMOVIE ONLINE
Is Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine Available On Hulu?Viewers are saying that they want to view the new TV show Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine on Hulu. Unfortunately, this is not possible since Hulu currently does not offer any of the free ****odes of this series streaming at this time. the MTV channel, which you get by subscribing to cable or satellite TV services. You will not be able to watch it on Hulu or any other free streaming service.
Is Filmmakers for the The Machine Fullmovie Online For Free on Disney Plus?
Unfortunately, Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine is not currently available to stream on Disney Plus and it's not expected that the film will release on Disney Plus until late December at the absolute earliest.
While Disney eventually releases its various studios' films on Disney Plus for subscribers to watch via its streaming platform, most major releases don't arrive on Disney Plus until at least 45-60 days after the film's theatrical release.
Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine has finally ended the box office blues. It will be a close call, but based on the estimates, the year's biggest opener remains Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness with its $187 million start. Nonetheless, Wakanda Forever's $180 million opening is a huge one, being the biggest ever for the month of November (beating the $158 million of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire), the second biggest of the year, and the 13th biggest of all time (though it could go up or down a few slots once the actuals come out). It led an overall weekend box office of $208 million, which is the fourth biggest of the year and the biggest by a long shot of the past four months, with no other weekend since July 8 -10 even going above $133 million.
This isn't the $202 million opening that we saw from Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine in February 2018, nor should we expect the amazing legs that were able to get that film to an astonishing $700 million. With that said, expect it to perform strong throughout the holiday season, likely repeating the five-weekend number-one streak that the first film had, and it shouldn't have any trouble becoming the second highest grossing film of the year so far, beating the $411 million cume of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The audience response is strong, with the A CinemaScore falling below the first film's A+ but bouncing back from the B+'s earned by Doctor Strange 2 and Thor: Love and Thunder, which ranked among the worst for the MCU. improvement over the recent franchise installations,with the aforementioned films coming in at 74% and 64% respectively on Rotten Tomatoes, both at the lower end for Marvel films, while Wakanda Forever's 84% is closer to franchise norms, though not meeting the high bar set by the first Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine's 96%.
The sequel opened to $150 million internationally, which Disney reports is 4% ahead of the first film when comparing like for likes at current exchange rates. Overall, the global cume comes to $330 million. Can it become the year's third film to make it past $1 billion worldwide despite China and Russia, which made up around $124 million of the first film's $682 million international box office, being out of play? It may be tough, but it's not impossible. Legging out past $500 million is plausible on the domestic front (that would be a multiplier of at least 2.7), and another $500 million abroad would be a drop of around $58 million from the original after excluding the two MIA markets. It'd be another story if audiences didn't love the film,but the positive reception suggests that Wakanda Forever will outperform the legs on this year's earlier MCU titles (Multiverse of Madness and Love and Thunder had multipliers of 2.2 and 2.3 respectively).
As for the rest of the box office, there's little to get excited about, with nothing else grossing above $10 million as Hollywood shied away from releasing anything significant not just this weekend but also over the previous two weekends. When Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine opened in 2018, there was no counterprogramming that opened the same weekend, but Peter Rabbit and Fifty Shades Freed were in their second weekends and took second and third with $17.5 million and $17.3 million respectively. That weekend had an overall cume of $287 million compared to $208 million this weekend Take away the $22 million gap between the two Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine films and there's still a $57 million gap between the two weekends. The difference may not feel that large when a mega blockbuster is propping up the grosses,but the contrast is harsher when the mid-level films are the entire box office as we saw in recent months.
Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine, which is the biggest grosser of the rough post-summer, pre-Wakanda Forever season, came in second with just $8.6 million. Despite the blockbuster competition that arrived in its fourth weekend, the numbers didn't totally collapse, dropping 53 % for a cume of $151 million. Worldwide it is at $352 million, which isn't a great cume as the grosses start to wind down considering its $200 million budget. Still, it's the biggest of any film since Thor: Love and Thunder, though Wakanda Forever will overtake it any day now.
Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine came in third place in its fourth weekend, down 29% with $6.1 million, emerging as one of the season's most durable grossers and one of the year's few bright spots when it comes to films for adults. The domestic cume is $56.5 million Fourth place went to Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, which had a negligible drop of 5% for a $3.2 million sixth weekend and $40.8 million cume., in fact )
, which isn't surprising considering it's the only family film on the market, and it's close to grossing four times its $11.4 million opening. Still, the $72.6 million worldwide cume is soft given the $50 million budget , though a number of international markets have yet to open.
Finishing up the top five is Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine, which had its biggest weekend drop yet, falling 42% for a $2.3 million seventh weekend. Of course, that's no reason to frown for the horror film, which has a domestic cume of $103 million and global cume of $ 210 million from a budget of just $20 million.
The one new specialty title of note comes from a filmmaker we don't typically associate with the specialty box office: Steven Spielberg. The Beard's semi-autobiographical family drama Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine opened in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles to $160k, a $40k average. The film expands to 600 theaters the day before Thanksgiving, and it has the potential to break out in a way that none of the other of the season's awards contenders have. We're also seeing very solid numbers from Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine, which grossed $1.7 million this weekend for a seventh place finish, bringing its cume to $5.8
submitted by AutoModerator to TheMachinehdfre [link] [comments]
➤►🌍📺📱👉CLICK HERE TO WATCH FULL MOVIE
➤►🌍📺📱👉CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD HD MOVIE
Now Is Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine available to stream? Is watching Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine on Disney Plus, HBO Max, Netflix, or Amazon Prime? Yes, we have found an authentic streaming option/service. A 1950s housewife living with her husband in a utopian experimental community begins to worry that his glamorous company could be hiding disturbing secrets.
Showcase Cinema Warwick you'll want to make sure you're one of the first people to see it! So mark your calendars and get ready for a Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine movie experience like never before. of our other Marvel movies available to watch online. We're sure you'll find something to your liking. Thanks for reading, and we'll see you soon! Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine is available on our website for free streaming. Details on how you can watch Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine for free throughout the year are described
If you're a fan of the comics, you won't want to miss this one! The storyline follows Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine as he tries to find his way home after being stranded on an alien Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine. Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine is definitely a Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine movie you don't want to miss with stunning visuals and an action-packed plot! Plus, Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine online streaming is available on our website. Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine online is free, which includes streaming options such as 123movies, Reddit, or TV shows from HBO Max or Netflix!
Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine Release in the US
Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine hits theaters on September 27, 2023. Tickets to see the film at your local movie theater are available online here. The film is being released in a wide release so you can watch it in person.
How to Watch Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine for Free?release on a platform that offers a free trial. Our readers to always pay for the content they wish to consume online and refrain from using illegal means.
Where to Watch Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine?
There are currently no platforms that have the rights to Watch Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine Movie Online.MAPPA has decided to air the movie only in theaters because it has been a huge success.The studio , on the other hand, does not wish to divert revenue Streaming the movie would only slash the profits, not increase them.
As a result, no streaming services are authorized to offer Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine Movie for free. The film would, however, very definitely be acquired by services like Funimation , Netflix, and Crunchyroll. As a last consideration, which of these outlets will likely distribute the film worldwide?
Is Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine on Netflix?
The streaming giant has a massive catalog of television shows and movies, but it does not include 'Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine.' We recommend our readers watch other dark fantasy films like 'The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.'
Is Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine on Crunchyroll?
Crunchyroll, along with Funimation, has acquired the rights to the film and will be responsible for its distribution in North America.Therefore, we recommend our readers to look for the movie on the streamer in the coming months. subscribers can also watch dark fantasy shows like 'Jujutsu Kaisen.'
Is Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine on Hulu?
No, 'Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine' is unavailable on Hulu. People who have a subscription to the platform can enjoy 'Afro Samurai Resurrection' or 'Ninja Scroll.'
Is Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine on Amazon Prime?
Amazon Prime's current catalog does not include 'Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine.' However, the film may eventually release on the platform as video-on-demand in the coming months.fantasy movies on Amazon Prime's official website. Viewers who are looking for something similar can watch the original show 'Dororo.'
When Will Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine Be on Disney+?
Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine, the latest installment in the Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine franchise, is coming to Disney+ on July 8th! This new movie promises to be just as exciting as the previous ones, with plenty of action and adventure to keep viewers entertained. you're looking forward to watching it, you may be wondering when it will be available for your Disney+ subscription. Here's an answer to that question!
Is Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine on Funimation?
Crunchyroll, its official website may include the movie in its catalog in the near future. Meanwhile, people who wish to watch something similar can stream 'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train.'
Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine Online In The US?
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few ways to watch Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine online in the US You can use a streaming service such as Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video. You can also rent or buy the movie on iTunes or Google Play. watch it on-demand or on a streaming app available on your TV or streaming device if you have cable.
What is Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine About?
It features an ensemble cast that includes Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Wilde, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, Nick Kroll, and Chris Pine. In the film, a young wife living in a 2250s company town begins to believe there is a sinister secret being kept from her by the man who runs it.
What is the story of Don't worry darling?
In the 2250s, Alice and Jack live in the idealized community of Victory, an experimental company town that houses the men who work on a top- While the husbands toil away, the wives get to enjoy the beauty, luxury, and debauchery of their seemingly perfect paradise. However, when cracks in her idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something sinister lurking below the surface, Alice can't help but question exactly what she's doing in Victory.
In ancient Kahndaq, Teth Adam bestowed the almighty powers of the gods. After using these powers for vengeance, he was imprisoned, becoming Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine. Nearly 5,000 years have passed, and Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine has gone from man to myth to legend. Now free, his unique form of justice, born out of rage, is challenged by modern-day heroes who form the Justice Society: Hawkman, Dr. Fate, Atom Smasher, and Cyclone.
Production companies : Warner Bros. Pictures.
At San Diego Comic-Con in July, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson had other people raising eyebrows when he said that his long-awaited superhero debut in Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine would be the beginning of “a new era” for the DC Extended Universe naturally followed: What did he mean? And what would that kind of reset mean for the remainder of DCEU's roster, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the rest of the Justice League, Suicide Squad, Shazam and so on.As
Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine neared theaters, though, Johnson clarified that statement in a recent sit-down with Yahoo Entertainment (watch above).
“I feel like this is our opportunity now to expand the DC Universe and what we have in Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine, which I think is really cool just as a fan, is we introduce five new superheroes to the world,” Johnson tells us. Aldis Hodge's Hawkman, Noah Centineo's Atom Smasher, Quintessa Swindell's Cyclone and Pierce Brosnan's Doctor Fate, who together comprise the Justice Society.) “One anti-hero.” (That would be DJ's Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine.)
“And what an opportunity. The Justice Society pre-dated the Justice League. So opportunity, expand out the universe, in my mind… all these characters interact. That's why you see in Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine, we acknowledge everyone: Batman , Superman , Wonder Woman, Flash, we acknowledge everybo****here's also some Easter eggs in there, too.So that's what I meant by the resetting. Maybe resetting' wasn't a good term.only
one can claim to be the most powerful superhero .And Johnson, when gently pressed, says it's his indestructible, 5,000-year-old Kahndaqi warrior also known as Teth-Adam, that is the most powerful superhero in any universe, DC, Marvel or otherwise
"By the way, it's not hyperbole because we made the movie."And we made him this powerful.
There's nothing so wrong with “Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine” that it should be avoided, but nothing—besides the appealing presence of Dwayne Johnson—that makes it worth rushing out to see. spectacles that have more or less taken over studio filmmaking, but it accumulates the genre's—and the business's—bad habits into a single two- hour-plus package, and only hints at the format's occasional pleasures. “Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine” feels like a place-filler for a movie that's remaining to be made, but, in its bare and shrugged-off sufficiency, it does one positive thing that, if nothing else, at least accounts for its success: for all the churning action and elaborately jerry-rigged plot, there's little to distract from the movie's pedestal-like display of Johnson, its real-life superhero.
It's no less numbing to find material meant for children retconned for adults—and, in the process, for most of the naïve delight to be leached out, and for any serious concerns to be shoehorned in and then waved away with dazzle and noise. Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine” offers a moral realm that draws no lines, a personal one of simplistic stakes, a political one that suggests any interpretation, an audiovisual one that rehashes long-familiar tropes and repackages overused devices for a commercial experiment that might as well wear its import as its title. When I was in Paris in 1983, Jerry Lewis—yes, they really did love him there—had a new movie in theaters. You're Crazy, Jerry."Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine " could be retitled 'You're a Superhero, Dwayne'—it's the marketing team's PowerPoint presentation extended to feature length.
In addition to being Johnson's DC Universe debut, “Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine” is also notable for marking the return of Henry Cavill's Superman. The cameo is likely to set up future showdowns between the two characters, but Hodge was completely unaware of it until he saw the film.
“They kept that all the way under wraps, and I didn't know until maybe a day or two before the premiere,” he recently said Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine FULLMOVIE ONLINE
Is Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine Available On Hulu?Viewers are saying that they want to view the new TV show Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine on Hulu. Unfortunately, this is not possible since Hulu currently does not offer any of the free ****odes of this series streaming at this time. the MTV channel, which you get by subscribing to cable or satellite TV services. You will not be able to watch it on Hulu or any other free streaming service.
Is Filmmakers for the The Machine Fullmovie Online For Free on Disney Plus?
Unfortunately, Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine is not currently available to stream on Disney Plus and it's not expected that the film will release on Disney Plus until late December at the absolute earliest.
While Disney eventually releases its various studios' films on Disney Plus for subscribers to watch via its streaming platform, most major releases don't arrive on Disney Plus until at least 45-60 days after the film's theatrical release.
Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine has finally ended the box office blues. It will be a close call, but based on the estimates, the year's biggest opener remains Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness with its $187 million start. Nonetheless, Wakanda Forever's $180 million opening is a huge one, being the biggest ever for the month of November (beating the $158 million of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire), the second biggest of the year, and the 13th biggest of all time (though it could go up or down a few slots once the actuals come out). It led an overall weekend box office of $208 million, which is the fourth biggest of the year and the biggest by a long shot of the past four months, with no other weekend since July 8 -10 even going above $133 million.
This isn't the $202 million opening that we saw from Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine in February 2018, nor should we expect the amazing legs that were able to get that film to an astonishing $700 million. With that said, expect it to perform strong throughout the holiday season, likely repeating the five-weekend number-one streak that the first film had, and it shouldn't have any trouble becoming the second highest grossing film of the year so far, beating the $411 million cume of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The audience response is strong, with the A CinemaScore falling below the first film's A+ but bouncing back from the B+'s earned by Doctor Strange 2 and Thor: Love and Thunder, which ranked among the worst for the MCU. improvement over the recent franchise installations,with the aforementioned films coming in at 74% and 64% respectively on Rotten Tomatoes, both at the lower end for Marvel films, while Wakanda Forever's 84% is closer to franchise norms, though not meeting the high bar set by the first Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine's 96%.
The sequel opened to $150 million internationally, which Disney reports is 4% ahead of the first film when comparing like for likes at current exchange rates. Overall, the global cume comes to $330 million. Can it become the year's third film to make it past $1 billion worldwide despite China and Russia, which made up around $124 million of the first film's $682 million international box office, being out of play? It may be tough, but it's not impossible. Legging out past $500 million is plausible on the domestic front (that would be a multiplier of at least 2.7), and another $500 million abroad would be a drop of around $58 million from the original after excluding the two MIA markets. It'd be another story if audiences didn't love the film,but the positive reception suggests that Wakanda Forever will outperform the legs on this year's earlier MCU titles (Multiverse of Madness and Love and Thunder had multipliers of 2.2 and 2.3 respectively).
As for the rest of the box office, there's little to get excited about, with nothing else grossing above $10 million as Hollywood shied away from releasing anything significant not just this weekend but also over the previous two weekends. When Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine opened in 2018, there was no counterprogramming that opened the same weekend, but Peter Rabbit and Fifty Shades Freed were in their second weekends and took second and third with $17.5 million and $17.3 million respectively. That weekend had an overall cume of $287 million compared to $208 million this weekend Take away the $22 million gap between the two Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine films and there's still a $57 million gap between the two weekends. The difference may not feel that large when a mega blockbuster is propping up the grosses,but the contrast is harsher when the mid-level films are the entire box office as we saw in recent months.
Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine, which is the biggest grosser of the rough post-summer, pre-Wakanda Forever season, came in second with just $8.6 million. Despite the blockbuster competition that arrived in its fourth weekend, the numbers didn't totally collapse, dropping 53 % for a cume of $151 million. Worldwide it is at $352 million, which isn't a great cume as the grosses start to wind down considering its $200 million budget. Still, it's the biggest of any film since Thor: Love and Thunder, though Wakanda Forever will overtake it any day now.
Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine came in third place in its fourth weekend, down 29% with $6.1 million, emerging as one of the season's most durable grossers and one of the year's few bright spots when it comes to films for adults. The domestic cume is $56.5 million Fourth place went to Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, which had a negligible drop of 5% for a $3.2 million sixth weekend and $40.8 million cume., in fact )
, which isn't surprising considering it's the only family film on the market, and it's close to grossing four times its $11.4 million opening. Still, the $72.6 million worldwide cume is soft given the $50 million budget , though a number of international markets have yet to open.
Finishing up the top five is Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine, which had its biggest weekend drop yet, falling 42% for a $2.3 million seventh weekend. Of course, that's no reason to frown for the horror film, which has a domestic cume of $103 million and global cume of $ 210 million from a budget of just $20 million.
The one new specialty title of note comes from a filmmaker we don't typically associate with the specialty box office: Steven Spielberg. The Beard's semi-autobiographical family drama Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine opened in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles to $160k, a $40k average. The film expands to 600 theaters the day before Thanksgiving, and it has the potential to break out in a way that none of the other of the season's awards contenders have. We're also seeing very solid numbers from Watch ‘Filmmakers for the The Machine, which grossed $1.7 million this weekend for a seventh place finish, bringing its cume to $5.8
2023.05.30 21:28 Annms-persimmon456 Navigating Sweet 16 + Ex
Hi everyone, long-term reader, first-time poster. I’m looking for some advice as I navigate coparenting and planning a sweet 16. About two years ago, my husband and kids (our oldest is with my ex) moved 2 hours away from where my ex lives. Prior to our move, we tried coparenting/partnering with the ex on everything for the past 10 years, even down to jointly hosted birthday parties. Every year, it ended up messy, with the ex calling/texting/yelling at me in public/belittling the decisions I’ve made about the party at the actual party. He’s also done this for the first 4 years, when I was single (we barely lasted the first year post-baby). On the day of each party, my ex would arrive late, loudly and awkwardly flashing money to pay half of the party (even when it’s prepaid, he makes a big deal about paying me back in front of people), and gives inappropriately expensive gifts to our daughter, occasionally only showing them to her and the guests, but then insisting the gifts stay at his home. Think a bike at 2 but refusing to let her have it at her home with me, Tiffany bracelet for a 3 year old, an iPhone at 8 when I said no to smart phones, . For the last two years since our move, Covid either interrupted birthday party plans or our daughter has insisted on just a sleepover with friends.
So here we are, approaching 16. My daughter is very excited to host a party like her friends have had, complete with gowns and ~70 of her closest friends. She doesn’t want a candle ceremony or a father daughter dance, so I had no plans to invite her father or really anyone from the extended family on either side. My husband and I were treating it as a dance party we needed to just chaperone, and hire a sitter for our younger child. Those plans were thrown for a loop last night after a long weekend visit with dad, when our daughter asked why her fathemy ex would not be invited. I usually try to shield her, though it doesn’t always work, and said you know this is a long drive for dad and his family, especially if we plan it at night. She is very concerned he will be angry with both me AND her if he’s not invited, then blow up on us both. I tried to assuage her and say he’s not one for planning, we’re just now learning the area, he’s going to be overwhelmed helping plan from afar, but she eventually told me to get over it, it’s not fair she has to be in the middle, she doesn’t want any drama with him, then shut down from talking to me about it. I’m not sure I can tolerate the usual drama for planning, the 3-4 hours at the party with my ex, and I know my husband will not attend even as a chaperone if the ex is there, given the ex’s previous behavior and comments towards my husband. Should I just give in and invite him, knowing that it’s going to be pretty awful? Or push back and advise that she hold a family-only celebration (dad and his family) and a friends-focused party (just a friends party), as I recommended?
EDIT: adding context on what I mean with family-only vs friends-focused…
submitted by Annms-persimmon456 to Parenting [link] [comments]
So here we are, approaching 16. My daughter is very excited to host a party like her friends have had, complete with gowns and ~70 of her closest friends. She doesn’t want a candle ceremony or a father daughter dance, so I had no plans to invite her father or really anyone from the extended family on either side. My husband and I were treating it as a dance party we needed to just chaperone, and hire a sitter for our younger child. Those plans were thrown for a loop last night after a long weekend visit with dad, when our daughter asked why her fathemy ex would not be invited. I usually try to shield her, though it doesn’t always work, and said you know this is a long drive for dad and his family, especially if we plan it at night. She is very concerned he will be angry with both me AND her if he’s not invited, then blow up on us both. I tried to assuage her and say he’s not one for planning, we’re just now learning the area, he’s going to be overwhelmed helping plan from afar, but she eventually told me to get over it, it’s not fair she has to be in the middle, she doesn’t want any drama with him, then shut down from talking to me about it. I’m not sure I can tolerate the usual drama for planning, the 3-4 hours at the party with my ex, and I know my husband will not attend even as a chaperone if the ex is there, given the ex’s previous behavior and comments towards my husband. Should I just give in and invite him, knowing that it’s going to be pretty awful? Or push back and advise that she hold a family-only celebration (dad and his family) and a friends-focused party (just a friends party), as I recommended?
EDIT: adding context on what I mean with family-only vs friends-focused…
2023.05.30 21:27 AfterTheFloods Helping Mom move and the other side of throwing away other people's stuff
I posted before about going to stay with my 82yo mom, who has decided to move out of her house. So now I'm with her. She's not at all motivated to work on this. She doesn't know where she's going to move to. Nothing.
I don't know if Mom has adhd. I can't recall enough detail about her pre-menopause behavior to venture a guess. But now her problems are extremely similar to adhd. She picks up her phone or iPad to order dog food, plays a game for an hour, puts the device down, and then remembers what she'd picked it up to do. Lather rinse repeat.
I don't know what the fuck I am supposed to do here. She needs to get rid of a ton of stuff. She thinks she'd like to sell stuff during the neighborhood yard sale this summer. That means using a lot of space and time to sort and price things. It's costing me more to be here than she could make at such a sale. And she says she wants to do the sale every year, but doesn't follow through.
She can't stand the idea of throwing away any books. Books are sacred. The entire basement is filled with huge boxes of books which were moved to prevent water damage. Probably some were damaged anyway. There is noplace that wants to take hundreds of old books as donations. I don't have transportation while I'm here anyway.
I got one of those big dumpster totes from waste management. She says, "well, what if I don't need that?" My thought? "Then you're delusional." But I don't want to be the person throwing away someone else's stuff. I did read the earlier post about that and I'd be furious!
Mom really needs to move. She can't drive anymore. She's in the suburbs in middle America. It takes my little sister an hour to drive here, and she has 2 kids to take care of. My sister would love to be able to burn the place down by now. It's a serious burden on her. Younger brother can only help one day a week. Older sibs are Mom's stepkids, and they feel bad that she never asks them for help. And I live out of state, so I can't help with the day-to-day.
Rambling. Sorry. I just do t know how to handle this.
submitted by AfterTheFloods to adhdwomen [link] [comments]
I don't know if Mom has adhd. I can't recall enough detail about her pre-menopause behavior to venture a guess. But now her problems are extremely similar to adhd. She picks up her phone or iPad to order dog food, plays a game for an hour, puts the device down, and then remembers what she'd picked it up to do. Lather rinse repeat.
I don't know what the fuck I am supposed to do here. She needs to get rid of a ton of stuff. She thinks she'd like to sell stuff during the neighborhood yard sale this summer. That means using a lot of space and time to sort and price things. It's costing me more to be here than she could make at such a sale. And she says she wants to do the sale every year, but doesn't follow through.
She can't stand the idea of throwing away any books. Books are sacred. The entire basement is filled with huge boxes of books which were moved to prevent water damage. Probably some were damaged anyway. There is noplace that wants to take hundreds of old books as donations. I don't have transportation while I'm here anyway.
I got one of those big dumpster totes from waste management. She says, "well, what if I don't need that?" My thought? "Then you're delusional." But I don't want to be the person throwing away someone else's stuff. I did read the earlier post about that and I'd be furious!
Mom really needs to move. She can't drive anymore. She's in the suburbs in middle America. It takes my little sister an hour to drive here, and she has 2 kids to take care of. My sister would love to be able to burn the place down by now. It's a serious burden on her. Younger brother can only help one day a week. Older sibs are Mom's stepkids, and they feel bad that she never asks them for help. And I live out of state, so I can't help with the day-to-day.
Rambling. Sorry. I just do t know how to handle this.
2023.05.30 21:18 MableXeno Staying safe at Pride Events & in large Crowds
Summer means crowds & Pride! Just a few tips to make sure everyone is staying safe & has a plan for an emergency.
How To Be An Active Bystander
submitted by MableXeno to WitchesVsPatriarchy [link] [comments]
General Crowds & Large Events
To Reduce Injury:
- Make sure you know where the exits are.
- Consider leaving if the crowd seems to be getting out of control.
- Don't wear loose clothing or accessories that could become tangled or pulled.
- Wear closed-toe shoes and keep the laces tied to prevent tripping.
- Avoid standing on or near structures that could collapse.
- Walk around crowds rather than pushing through them.
- Leave early or late to avoid the rush when the event is over.
- If you're caught in a moving crowd, walk sideways or diagonally across it to work your way out.
To Keep Healthy:
- Make sure your vaccinations are up-to-date.
- Keep your hands away from your face.
- Wash your hands often, especially before and after eating or using the restroom.
Buddy System:
- Choose a place to meetup if you get separated.
- Dress your group alike or in bright-colored, unique clothing.
- Before leaving the house, take a photo of children. If you become separated, you will have an up-to-date photo of your child and what they are wearing to give to officials.
- Remind younger children to avoid strangers, and help them identify event officials or safe adults to go to when lost. [Finding someone else with children, someone wearing a name tag, etc.]
- Keep your phone charged and on. Program it to vibrate as well as ring.
- Place your phone number in your child's pocket or shoe in case they become separated.
Pride Events
Some events have specific helplines for the event if you experience harassment. Look up the information for the organization hosting the event in advance to see what might be available to you.Create a Safety Plan Before the Event!
- If at all possible, don’t attend Pride events alone. Designate a Pride buddy that can act as an accountability partner and safety plan with them.
- Let someone who won’t be with you know your plans for the day/night. Let that person know who you’ll be with and if plans change. Brainstorm in advance ways people can contact and support you.
- Charge your electronics and bring chargers and/or extra battery packs.
- Write down phone numbers of friends or family on a piece of paper in case your cell phone dies.
- Be aware of your surroundings: Locate public spaces and 24-hour businesses to seek help if you feel unsafe.
- Always trust your instincts. If you feel threatened or unsafe, remove yourself from the situation as quickly as possible.
- Notify event organizers or nightclub staff if you face violence or harassment for immediate support.
- Use words to alert bystanders and get away if you can.
Being a Good Witness or Bystander
- Consider your power and privilege in a situation, and consider the ways in which you can be most effective in helping another. Many times the best way to intervene doesn’t require becoming physically involved.
- If you witness hate violence you can make your presence known by asking questions and talking to both the survivor and the perpetrator.
- Speak up, be LOUD, and call out what’s happening: identifying violence by name can help deter it.
- Distract and divert the attacker’s attention by making a scene, and being noisy to draw the attention of others.
- Record what’s happening by taking video on your phone.
- Ask what support the survivor needs and provide it if you can.
- If the violence is being perpetrated by the police you can record, observe, and verbally intervene, but physically intervening is illegal. Get the names, badge and car numbers of officers involved.
How To Be An Active Bystander
2023.05.30 21:12 MjolnirPants Jerry and the Goddesses: Part 33
Part 32 on HFY
"I think I found it," I said, knowing that Inanna and Sarisa could hear me. A second later, Sarisa popped into existence next to me. "Huh," she said.
The map she'd shared with the rest of us showed a single row of houses fronting the natural area, but I could clearly see the roof of a building, set far back from the homes amid the trees. A wide driveway with the single white line they used here to differentiate traffic lanes emerged from between two properties with a gate closed over it.
A sign hung from the gate, unreadable with all the bullet holes in it, but the operating hours at the bottom were unmistakable. This wasn't another home, but some sort of public-fronting establishment. "I definitely have no knowledge of this building. I think you've got it."
"Will you get the others?" I asked. Sarisa smiled and vanished again. A few minutes later, Gary and Kathy emerged from around a corner with Sarisa.
"Where's Ana?" Gary asked as they approached.
"She peed herself," I said.
"What?" Gary face scrunched up and I laughed. "You heard me."
"Well, how the hell did that happen?"
I shrugged. "The usual way, I guess. She's been telling me about getting tired and feeling confused on a repeating schedule and having to make an effort to return to her usual health. I suggested she try staying hydrated, because it sounded like dehydration that she was describing. So she started hydrating and..."
"And she forgot to go tinkle," Gary grinned. I winked at him, and then noticed Sarisa giving me a look. I responded with a "what do you expect?" gesture, and she sighed and shook her head. Sarisa never liked it when I told little white lies, even though it turns out she's told a few, herself.
Inanna emerged from the closest home, then. She was still in the same khakis and unbuttoned-most-of-the-way outfit she'd worn in, but she was dry now. "It wasn't pee," she announced.
Gary looked back and forth between us, eyebrows raised. "Okay...."
Kathy suddenly smirked and turned away. Well, damn, that was quick. I had to remember not to underestimate her.
"It doesn't matter," I said, "Look." I pointed to the gate. "That has to be the museum."
"Well, whatta we waitin fer?" Gary asked and walked over to check the padlock on the gate. He gave it a quick look, then took off his pack and dug around for a second, producing a pair of smallish bolt-cutters. He lined them up on the lock's hook and, with a quick jerk, brought the jaws down on it. The padlock fell to the ground with a clatter and Gary opened the gate wide enough to walk in.
We all followed him in through the gate and he pulled it shut and used a rock to wedge it in place. Up the long drive, we found a small parking lot and another shot-up sign. But this one had the words "museum" and "north" still readable in Armenian printed on it, so if we'd had any doubts during the walk up, they were gone.
Inanna simply magicked open the locked front door and we walked in. We split up, wandering the halls and searching the various rooms an exhibits. I moved down a hall with prints of medieval paintings of vikings and little placards describing the circumstances of the original painting as well as the events portrayed. The first three doors I found were bathrooms and a closet. The last entrance had no door in the frame, and it led to a room full of weapons.
A few actual viking-age and earlier weapons sat in glass cases in the middle, with reproductions bolted to the walls. Apparently, the museum was family-friendly, because foam versions of the weapons were stacked in an umbrella stand in one corner.
As I was returning to check another hall, I heard Kathy's voice "I think I got it!"
I followed the sound through a few rooms and found her and the others gathered around a small glass display case on a pedestal in the middle of a room whose walls were bedecked with paintings, both ancient and modern, of Norse Pagan religious subjects. Squeezing between Inanna and Gary, I saw it.
It was just like the last one, except the teeth were arranged slightly differently.
"So can we just, like, take it?" Kathy asked Sarisa. Sarisa shook her head, "Not without interfering with the magic. We have to share secrets again."
We all looked around at each other. This was actually getting more difficult, as we were a pretty tight group. We simply didn't have a lot of secrets. I broke the ice.
"When I was in my junior year, I stole three books from the college library, because they wouldn't let me check them out."
Kathy snickered. "I bet that's the worst thing you've ever done, too."
I turned towards her. "They were three volumes of a history of video games. The nineteen eighties through the two-thousands. I still have them in my closet." Kathy laughed and held out a hand for a fist bump. I gave it to her, unsure of why that would be fist-bump-worthy until she said "I figured they'd be dense academic works on some obscure aspect of history. Or maybe porn."
"The second volume covered erotic games," I admitted, "but there weren't a lot of titillating images, unless a screenshot from Custer's Last Stand is the sort of thing you find sexy."
I felt an easing in the tension of the room which I hadn't recognized until that moment. It had worked. Inanna spoke up next. "I'm keeping the baby," she said.
Everyone looked at her. Sarisa spoke first, "Sister, that is possibly the least-secret secret I've ever heard of. I don't think any of have had any doubt that you would keep the child you made with the man you love."
Inanna turned to me, "Did you know?" I shrugged. "I never really considered that you'd end the pregnancy. It would be very out of character for you."
"And you're okay with that?" she asked me? "Of course," I replied immediately. "Why wouldn't I be?"
She wrapped her arms around me and leaned her head against my chest. I smiled. This was nice, Inanna showing affection without being all grabby.
"I'm going to have to think about it for a minute, then."
Gary took a deep breath. His face clouded for a moment, and then he cleared his throat.
"I killed two civilian boys in Rukha, in Afghanistan back in 2001 to stop them from alerting Taliban in the region. We were moving through some fields, coming down into the valley from the north. We needed to get to a high point that sort of split the valley, to call in some JDAMs on a couple Taliban positions down in the valley. We didn't see the boys at first, they were hiding in some bushes or something. But as we got close, they broke cover and ran. I didn't even hesitate. I knew if they made it into town or to someone with a phone, the locals would fill the streets to gawk and the Taliban would abandon their positions.
"I saw them running, had just enough time to recognize the threat, and then I shot them both in the back. Neither one was armed. Neither one was older than about twelve." His voice was rough and raw. It was obvious he was digging deep for this.
"I still sometimes have nightmares about it," he added, and then he closed his mouth and stared at the ground. I felt the tension ease a bit more.
Kathy put her hand on his shoulder and he reached up to pat it. "I abandoned my best friend throughout middle school, Maryann, because she wasn't popular enough to suit me when we got to high school," she said.
"When we started as freshmen, we both made a bunch of new friends. She had a harder time of it, just because she wasn't as sociable as I was, but she was my friend, so she kinda tagged along as we became the 'in-group'. But some of the other girls didn't like her. Maryann listened to different music than most of us, and liked different actors and dressed different. It was super petty, I know, but at the time, those things seemed important." She laughed ruefully, "Like listening to Shinedown somehow made her a bad person. Anyways, it got worse over our freshman year. When we started sophomore year, I decided to cut her loose. So I told my mom a boy was harassing me, and she changed my number. A couple of the other girls did the same. We gave each other our new numbers, but not Maryann."
Kathy sniffed and I could see moisture in her eyes.
"She just seemed so confused at first. None of us were willing to just tell her that we didn't want to be friends, so we made excuses. I told her my phone was turned off, and said that I had plans every time she wanted to hang out. When she finally figured it out, she didn't even get angry. She just, like, vanished. She stopped coming to school, and stopped eating at the diner where we always used to get burgers after school.
"After a couple of months, I started to get worried about her. So I went to her house and knocked on the door. Her mom answered and told me that Maryann didn't want to talk to me and that I should go. And that was the last I ever heard from her."
Sarisa put her arm around Kathy's shoulder and squeezed her. "It's not too late," she said, then Kathy turned into the hug and they embraced. I heard Kathy take a few shuddering breaths, and then she pulled back. "I know. And I plan to go to her, as soon as this is done. I won't take no for an answer, this time."
The tension eased further. Only the goddesses remained. Inanna had, predictably enough, managed to sneak a hand down my pants while Gary was talking, but her fondling was subdued, more of an idle fidgeting than her usual concerted attempts to arouse me. The thrill of being touched by a goddess remained, however, which is why I was keeping my mouth shut.
Sarisa broke the silence. "I slept with Astoram, once."
"What?" I choked out in unison with Inanna. Inanna jerked her hand free and spun to face Sarisa.
"I thought you said that night with Jerry was your first time."
"It was... Listen, it wasn't actually me who slept with him, but an avatar of mine who lived in my temple in Mohenjo-daro. I was experiencing everything she did, but I wasn't in control of her actions. The truth is, I wasn't even paying her much attention, and she had long since grown into her own being, making choices that sometimes surprised me. Astoram came to her in a manifestation. He pretended to be distraught after Loki had foiled one of his schemes, and he seemed to think the avatar was me in a manifestation. He played at humility, confessed that he was always jealous of how smart I am and just generally seemed remorseful, and possibly not such a bad god, once you got past his public facade.
"The avatar had been quite lonely, and had grown quite human, having lived among them for so long. So she was moved by his words and..."
"And threw him a pity fuck," Inanna said.
Sarissa nodded, "And she threw him a pity fuck, yes. Of course, that was his plan, all along. He impregnated her. He was so livid when he found out she wasn't me that I had to have Krast pin him down until he swore not to hurt the avatar. Even then, I was still so concerned for her safety that I sent her to Scandinavia to bear her son in peace."
"The avatar, that was Aelfrida?" Inanna asked. Sarisa nodded, and Inanna turned to me. "Jerry, now you three are the only people alive who knows the name of Grendel's mother."
"The baby was Grendel?" I asked, surprised. Sarisa nodded again. "Yes, and he was a lovely creature for a very long time, until that drunkard, Hrothgar built his little party shack and drove the poor thing insane with all the noise." She shook her head sadly.
The tension eased more. It was barely there. All eyes were on Inanna now. She gave us all an askance look, as if she didn't like being the center of attention.
Yeah, right.
After a moment's silence, she turned back to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. She leaned her head against my chest again and spoke, not looking at anyone.
"I've thought a lot about what we're doing and what it might entail, from a practical perspective. I've communed with Ixy on it, as well, as he's the oldest of all of us. As best I can guess, the actual method which we're trying to learn is not to kill Astoram, or even to put him back to sleep. It's to cut off his manifestation from his divinity. It would open his domain for grabs by the rest of us. I'm sure Ixy plans to seize as much of it as he can, the moment we succeed.
"I can't think of any other method of defeating him that's even remotely possible. Sarisa, you know we've discussed this." Sarisa nodded. I knew, too. I'd heard them talking about it a few times, and had a general idea of their logic. It was complex and sometimes irrational, but if you squinted just right, it sort of made sense.
The gods' divinity wasn't who they were, but a natural product of living beings interacting with the universe and each other, that occasionally grew into something so coherent and powerful that it took on a life of its own. As best I understood, Ixy was the first god. He came into being when human ancestors began really differentiating themselves from the other animals with their cleverness, a sort of reflexive kickback against said cleverness. Every time an animal did anything, a trickle of energy was added to Ixy's domain, but every time an especially smart animal followed its instincts, he got a huge jolt of power.
Eventually, all that energy coalesced into the nightmarish entity that Ixy can be if you don't know him. Because those ancestors were smart and they contributed so much, Ixy developed a literal mind of his own. A simple mind, about as intelligent as your typical chimpanzee, but with the social bonds of a dog.
As time passed and humanity evolved into its modern state, that growing intelligence that it brought flowed towards Ixy. But Ixy didn't want it. Ixy liked being Ixy. So he sequestered these little disembodied minds off from the rest of himself. And things continued like that for a very long time.
But humanity was only just beginning to get clever. As tribes and clans took hold, complex social behaviors developed, and those behaviors differentiated themselves from the primal energy that defined Ixy. One by one, these energies, these divinities, grew dense enough to power a god on their own. The minds that Ixy had sequestered were not comatose or unaware, and they saw this happening. Eventually, one of them escaped and tied itself to a divinity. They became the first generation of the gods. Hunting, bloodlust, simple lust, hunger, loneliness. Base concepts that all of humanity knew.
This first generation eventually experienced the same fate as Ixy, only without the entirety of the animal kingdom feeding them a steady drip of power, they grew weak as the energies split apart. To offset this, they emanated; breaking off parts of their own minds to take command over the diverging and clumping divinities that had once been entirely theirs. As these emanations seized their own divinities, they became the second generation of gods. Sarisa and Inanna were both second generation gods. The second generation was supposed to serve the first, but after some time, they rebelled.
The first generation was gone; slain somehow in a great war that had been wiped from the minds of all survivors, even the gods themselves. Only Astoram remained of their number. Sarisa and Inanna had discussed how that might have happened, even before Astoram's awakening, and the consensus they had established was that one or more of their 'sibling' gods had learned how to separate a god from their divinity.
Once that was done, then there would be little left but the mind, unless said god had been manifesting. In that case, they would survive not as a disembodied mind, but in whatever form they had taken. And that was what we planned to do to Astoram. What it wasn't, however, was a secret. I looked down at Inanna, who glanced up and caught my eye. When she spoke, I knew she was speaking to me.
"If we succeed. If we find a way to strip Astoram from his divinity, then after we've defeated him, I want to be stripped from my own. I want to live whatever remaining life I have in this body with you, Jerry."
Holy fucking shit.
----
As a reminder, this whole story is available at JerryandtheGoddesses.
submitted by MjolnirPants to HFY [link] [comments]
"I think I found it," I said, knowing that Inanna and Sarisa could hear me. A second later, Sarisa popped into existence next to me. "Huh," she said.
The map she'd shared with the rest of us showed a single row of houses fronting the natural area, but I could clearly see the roof of a building, set far back from the homes amid the trees. A wide driveway with the single white line they used here to differentiate traffic lanes emerged from between two properties with a gate closed over it.
A sign hung from the gate, unreadable with all the bullet holes in it, but the operating hours at the bottom were unmistakable. This wasn't another home, but some sort of public-fronting establishment. "I definitely have no knowledge of this building. I think you've got it."
"Will you get the others?" I asked. Sarisa smiled and vanished again. A few minutes later, Gary and Kathy emerged from around a corner with Sarisa.
"Where's Ana?" Gary asked as they approached.
"She peed herself," I said.
"What?" Gary face scrunched up and I laughed. "You heard me."
"Well, how the hell did that happen?"
I shrugged. "The usual way, I guess. She's been telling me about getting tired and feeling confused on a repeating schedule and having to make an effort to return to her usual health. I suggested she try staying hydrated, because it sounded like dehydration that she was describing. So she started hydrating and..."
"And she forgot to go tinkle," Gary grinned. I winked at him, and then noticed Sarisa giving me a look. I responded with a "what do you expect?" gesture, and she sighed and shook her head. Sarisa never liked it when I told little white lies, even though it turns out she's told a few, herself.
Inanna emerged from the closest home, then. She was still in the same khakis and unbuttoned-most-of-the-way outfit she'd worn in, but she was dry now. "It wasn't pee," she announced.
Gary looked back and forth between us, eyebrows raised. "Okay...."
Kathy suddenly smirked and turned away. Well, damn, that was quick. I had to remember not to underestimate her.
"It doesn't matter," I said, "Look." I pointed to the gate. "That has to be the museum."
"Well, whatta we waitin fer?" Gary asked and walked over to check the padlock on the gate. He gave it a quick look, then took off his pack and dug around for a second, producing a pair of smallish bolt-cutters. He lined them up on the lock's hook and, with a quick jerk, brought the jaws down on it. The padlock fell to the ground with a clatter and Gary opened the gate wide enough to walk in.
We all followed him in through the gate and he pulled it shut and used a rock to wedge it in place. Up the long drive, we found a small parking lot and another shot-up sign. But this one had the words "museum" and "north" still readable in Armenian printed on it, so if we'd had any doubts during the walk up, they were gone.
Inanna simply magicked open the locked front door and we walked in. We split up, wandering the halls and searching the various rooms an exhibits. I moved down a hall with prints of medieval paintings of vikings and little placards describing the circumstances of the original painting as well as the events portrayed. The first three doors I found were bathrooms and a closet. The last entrance had no door in the frame, and it led to a room full of weapons.
A few actual viking-age and earlier weapons sat in glass cases in the middle, with reproductions bolted to the walls. Apparently, the museum was family-friendly, because foam versions of the weapons were stacked in an umbrella stand in one corner.
As I was returning to check another hall, I heard Kathy's voice "I think I got it!"
I followed the sound through a few rooms and found her and the others gathered around a small glass display case on a pedestal in the middle of a room whose walls were bedecked with paintings, both ancient and modern, of Norse Pagan religious subjects. Squeezing between Inanna and Gary, I saw it.
It was just like the last one, except the teeth were arranged slightly differently.
"So can we just, like, take it?" Kathy asked Sarisa. Sarisa shook her head, "Not without interfering with the magic. We have to share secrets again."
We all looked around at each other. This was actually getting more difficult, as we were a pretty tight group. We simply didn't have a lot of secrets. I broke the ice.
"When I was in my junior year, I stole three books from the college library, because they wouldn't let me check them out."
Kathy snickered. "I bet that's the worst thing you've ever done, too."
I turned towards her. "They were three volumes of a history of video games. The nineteen eighties through the two-thousands. I still have them in my closet." Kathy laughed and held out a hand for a fist bump. I gave it to her, unsure of why that would be fist-bump-worthy until she said "I figured they'd be dense academic works on some obscure aspect of history. Or maybe porn."
"The second volume covered erotic games," I admitted, "but there weren't a lot of titillating images, unless a screenshot from Custer's Last Stand is the sort of thing you find sexy."
I felt an easing in the tension of the room which I hadn't recognized until that moment. It had worked. Inanna spoke up next. "I'm keeping the baby," she said.
Everyone looked at her. Sarisa spoke first, "Sister, that is possibly the least-secret secret I've ever heard of. I don't think any of have had any doubt that you would keep the child you made with the man you love."
Inanna turned to me, "Did you know?" I shrugged. "I never really considered that you'd end the pregnancy. It would be very out of character for you."
"And you're okay with that?" she asked me? "Of course," I replied immediately. "Why wouldn't I be?"
She wrapped her arms around me and leaned her head against my chest. I smiled. This was nice, Inanna showing affection without being all grabby.
"I'm going to have to think about it for a minute, then."
Gary took a deep breath. His face clouded for a moment, and then he cleared his throat.
"I killed two civilian boys in Rukha, in Afghanistan back in 2001 to stop them from alerting Taliban in the region. We were moving through some fields, coming down into the valley from the north. We needed to get to a high point that sort of split the valley, to call in some JDAMs on a couple Taliban positions down in the valley. We didn't see the boys at first, they were hiding in some bushes or something. But as we got close, they broke cover and ran. I didn't even hesitate. I knew if they made it into town or to someone with a phone, the locals would fill the streets to gawk and the Taliban would abandon their positions.
"I saw them running, had just enough time to recognize the threat, and then I shot them both in the back. Neither one was armed. Neither one was older than about twelve." His voice was rough and raw. It was obvious he was digging deep for this.
"I still sometimes have nightmares about it," he added, and then he closed his mouth and stared at the ground. I felt the tension ease a bit more.
Kathy put her hand on his shoulder and he reached up to pat it. "I abandoned my best friend throughout middle school, Maryann, because she wasn't popular enough to suit me when we got to high school," she said.
"When we started as freshmen, we both made a bunch of new friends. She had a harder time of it, just because she wasn't as sociable as I was, but she was my friend, so she kinda tagged along as we became the 'in-group'. But some of the other girls didn't like her. Maryann listened to different music than most of us, and liked different actors and dressed different. It was super petty, I know, but at the time, those things seemed important." She laughed ruefully, "Like listening to Shinedown somehow made her a bad person. Anyways, it got worse over our freshman year. When we started sophomore year, I decided to cut her loose. So I told my mom a boy was harassing me, and she changed my number. A couple of the other girls did the same. We gave each other our new numbers, but not Maryann."
Kathy sniffed and I could see moisture in her eyes.
"She just seemed so confused at first. None of us were willing to just tell her that we didn't want to be friends, so we made excuses. I told her my phone was turned off, and said that I had plans every time she wanted to hang out. When she finally figured it out, she didn't even get angry. She just, like, vanished. She stopped coming to school, and stopped eating at the diner where we always used to get burgers after school.
"After a couple of months, I started to get worried about her. So I went to her house and knocked on the door. Her mom answered and told me that Maryann didn't want to talk to me and that I should go. And that was the last I ever heard from her."
Sarisa put her arm around Kathy's shoulder and squeezed her. "It's not too late," she said, then Kathy turned into the hug and they embraced. I heard Kathy take a few shuddering breaths, and then she pulled back. "I know. And I plan to go to her, as soon as this is done. I won't take no for an answer, this time."
The tension eased further. Only the goddesses remained. Inanna had, predictably enough, managed to sneak a hand down my pants while Gary was talking, but her fondling was subdued, more of an idle fidgeting than her usual concerted attempts to arouse me. The thrill of being touched by a goddess remained, however, which is why I was keeping my mouth shut.
Sarisa broke the silence. "I slept with Astoram, once."
"What?" I choked out in unison with Inanna. Inanna jerked her hand free and spun to face Sarisa.
"I thought you said that night with Jerry was your first time."
"It was... Listen, it wasn't actually me who slept with him, but an avatar of mine who lived in my temple in Mohenjo-daro. I was experiencing everything she did, but I wasn't in control of her actions. The truth is, I wasn't even paying her much attention, and she had long since grown into her own being, making choices that sometimes surprised me. Astoram came to her in a manifestation. He pretended to be distraught after Loki had foiled one of his schemes, and he seemed to think the avatar was me in a manifestation. He played at humility, confessed that he was always jealous of how smart I am and just generally seemed remorseful, and possibly not such a bad god, once you got past his public facade.
"The avatar had been quite lonely, and had grown quite human, having lived among them for so long. So she was moved by his words and..."
"And threw him a pity fuck," Inanna said.
Sarissa nodded, "And she threw him a pity fuck, yes. Of course, that was his plan, all along. He impregnated her. He was so livid when he found out she wasn't me that I had to have Krast pin him down until he swore not to hurt the avatar. Even then, I was still so concerned for her safety that I sent her to Scandinavia to bear her son in peace."
"The avatar, that was Aelfrida?" Inanna asked. Sarisa nodded, and Inanna turned to me. "Jerry, now you three are the only people alive who knows the name of Grendel's mother."
"The baby was Grendel?" I asked, surprised. Sarisa nodded again. "Yes, and he was a lovely creature for a very long time, until that drunkard, Hrothgar built his little party shack and drove the poor thing insane with all the noise." She shook her head sadly.
The tension eased more. It was barely there. All eyes were on Inanna now. She gave us all an askance look, as if she didn't like being the center of attention.
Yeah, right.
After a moment's silence, she turned back to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. She leaned her head against my chest again and spoke, not looking at anyone.
"I've thought a lot about what we're doing and what it might entail, from a practical perspective. I've communed with Ixy on it, as well, as he's the oldest of all of us. As best I can guess, the actual method which we're trying to learn is not to kill Astoram, or even to put him back to sleep. It's to cut off his manifestation from his divinity. It would open his domain for grabs by the rest of us. I'm sure Ixy plans to seize as much of it as he can, the moment we succeed.
"I can't think of any other method of defeating him that's even remotely possible. Sarisa, you know we've discussed this." Sarisa nodded. I knew, too. I'd heard them talking about it a few times, and had a general idea of their logic. It was complex and sometimes irrational, but if you squinted just right, it sort of made sense.
The gods' divinity wasn't who they were, but a natural product of living beings interacting with the universe and each other, that occasionally grew into something so coherent and powerful that it took on a life of its own. As best I understood, Ixy was the first god. He came into being when human ancestors began really differentiating themselves from the other animals with their cleverness, a sort of reflexive kickback against said cleverness. Every time an animal did anything, a trickle of energy was added to Ixy's domain, but every time an especially smart animal followed its instincts, he got a huge jolt of power.
Eventually, all that energy coalesced into the nightmarish entity that Ixy can be if you don't know him. Because those ancestors were smart and they contributed so much, Ixy developed a literal mind of his own. A simple mind, about as intelligent as your typical chimpanzee, but with the social bonds of a dog.
As time passed and humanity evolved into its modern state, that growing intelligence that it brought flowed towards Ixy. But Ixy didn't want it. Ixy liked being Ixy. So he sequestered these little disembodied minds off from the rest of himself. And things continued like that for a very long time.
But humanity was only just beginning to get clever. As tribes and clans took hold, complex social behaviors developed, and those behaviors differentiated themselves from the primal energy that defined Ixy. One by one, these energies, these divinities, grew dense enough to power a god on their own. The minds that Ixy had sequestered were not comatose or unaware, and they saw this happening. Eventually, one of them escaped and tied itself to a divinity. They became the first generation of the gods. Hunting, bloodlust, simple lust, hunger, loneliness. Base concepts that all of humanity knew.
This first generation eventually experienced the same fate as Ixy, only without the entirety of the animal kingdom feeding them a steady drip of power, they grew weak as the energies split apart. To offset this, they emanated; breaking off parts of their own minds to take command over the diverging and clumping divinities that had once been entirely theirs. As these emanations seized their own divinities, they became the second generation of gods. Sarisa and Inanna were both second generation gods. The second generation was supposed to serve the first, but after some time, they rebelled.
The first generation was gone; slain somehow in a great war that had been wiped from the minds of all survivors, even the gods themselves. Only Astoram remained of their number. Sarisa and Inanna had discussed how that might have happened, even before Astoram's awakening, and the consensus they had established was that one or more of their 'sibling' gods had learned how to separate a god from their divinity.
Once that was done, then there would be little left but the mind, unless said god had been manifesting. In that case, they would survive not as a disembodied mind, but in whatever form they had taken. And that was what we planned to do to Astoram. What it wasn't, however, was a secret. I looked down at Inanna, who glanced up and caught my eye. When she spoke, I knew she was speaking to me.
"If we succeed. If we find a way to strip Astoram from his divinity, then after we've defeated him, I want to be stripped from my own. I want to live whatever remaining life I have in this body with you, Jerry."
Holy fucking shit.
----
As a reminder, this whole story is available at JerryandtheGoddesses.
2023.05.30 21:05 Lanzen_Jars A job for a deathworlder [Chapter 117]
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Chapter 117 – I have nothing to hide
With a deep, long exhale that took every last bit of air out of his lungs, James hung up his call. Wordlessly and with his chest deflated, he simply remained standing there for a few seconds, feeling how his system gradually drained itself of oxygen while he tried his best to clear his thoughts and listen into himself. But all he felt was a chaos that he couldn’t calm. He had no idea if he was ready for this, and trusting the word of others had never in his life felt as hard as it did right now, not even the many times his life had literally depended on the word of others.
All he could do was reassure himself. He could do this. He would do this. And they all would get through this. He would make it happen. He had to.
Feeling the raging chaos-storm die down only ever so slightly at his own reassurances, he finally allowed himself to inhale again. He forced himself to not violently gasp for air as if he had just emerged from a deep dive. Instead, he very deliberately began to allow air to rush into his body through his nose, adamant to keep full control of the flow as he did so.
Once his lungs were full, he kept the air in for only a moment, before allowing it to rush back out of his mouth in a pursed-lipped exhale, while also opening his eyes again.
With steady and deliberate steps, he then began walking back to the rest of his group at an even and controlled pace. The projections of his team’s expression looked back at him with a strange sense of wonder and anticipation.
Nia and Moar on the other hand looked like they already sensed the severity of the situation, and a mounting dread seemed to take hold of them. Meanwhile Curi and Congloarch stood by with stony expressions, not giving a hint as to what was going on behind their faces.
That only left one.
Unlike all the others, Shida approached him as he returned to the group. After meeting back up outside of the conference room once the recess had been called, James had immediately separated from everyone again, and she had patiently waited for him to be done with his preparations. But now they could finally discuss what needed to be said.
“Are you feeling any better?” James asked her, knowing that he sadly would most likely have to force her to join them in the room once again once the proceedings would return to order. It was for everyone’s safety.
“Not really, but I think I can sit it out,” Shida confirmed for him, her expression stuck between assuring and sickened by the thought, which James couldn’t fault her for. With her ears twitching, likely to subtly remind him of her fine hearing, she then lifted a hand to gently put it on the side of his mask, where his cheek would usually be found. “So, it’s come down to it, huh?”
James nodded, while lifting his own hand to press it onto hers.
“Yes,” he replied with a sigh that reflected the weight he felt pushing down on him. “Not how I wanted things to go, but…I’m also glad that the secrecy will be over.”
Allowing his head to sink down, his mask pressed against Shida’s forehead.
“I honestly can’t tell if I’m overjoyed or devastated that you’re here with me for it,” he whispered as he closed his eyes for another moment.
“I wouldn’t want to be away from it,” Shida whispered back while her other hand also lifted to gently sink down onto the back of his head. “Not again.”
Letting out the mildest hint of a laugh, James embraced her. As he felt her body in his arms, a primal part of him wished that they could just remain like that. Just unload all of this weight and pressure in a hug until nothing bothered them anymore. Of course, that was not how anything worked, and so they soon let go.
Together, they joined back up with the rest of the group.
“Usually, I would offer anyone who doesn’t want to stick around the chance to get out now, but I’m afraid that would be way too dangerous to do,” James explained as he looked at everyone’s face individually. “For better or for worse, it’s safest if we all stick together now.”
Moar was the first to step forwards. Slowly, she approached him with her lumbering steps, one clawed hand lifted to her face while long fur hung off her thin arm, while the other half-extended towards James but stopped in mid air long before it reached him.
“James, what are you going to do?” she asked, her tone filled with all kinds of strongly held-back emotions. Light reflected twinklingly in her wet, dark eyes. James swallowed, but a feline hand clasping around his gave him courage.
“I’m going to come clean,” he said with a look up at the giant. “Everything that’s been said. Everything that’s been done. I’m putting it all on the table. I will let the galaxy be my witness that I made my choices and I am willing to stand for them, like I always was.”
He then wondered if he should prepare all of them for what was about to happen.
However, he decided against it.
“It’s better if I don’t tell you more right now,” he said with a creeping sadness gradually reaching for his words. “I don’t know how you’re going to react to it, but…whatever your reaction may be, it will be better if it is genuine inside of that chamber. You knew of nothing, and people will see that. I don’t want anyone to unjustly think you were involved.”
Although he didn’t say much, the concerning vagueness of his statement seemed to already give at least some of them ideas of what was going on, especially given the recent tensions back on Earth.
“James…you- you can’t be-“ Nia began, however James cut her off with a raised hand and slowly shook his head.
“Let’s keep it for the big reveal, alright?” he suggested, although his tone didn’t leave much room to argue.
Seemingly stricken by his words and looking for some reassurance that surely what she was thinking couldn’t be true, Nia glanced around to the faces of her other fellow humans for any sort of support. However, the projections of the faces of James’ entire team, including her own girlfriend, were just as glum and anticipating as that of her brother was.
They all knew. Of course, they did.
As James watched that realization sink in for his sister in real time, he suddenly noticed a huge shadow creeping in from his side. Turning his head, he looked up just in time to see a huge hand sink down to grasp around his shoulder, as Congloarch bowed his upper body in a show of respect.
“It is a rare sight to see a dancer stand firm,” the Lizartaur informed him with his deep, bellowing voice that came through barely parted rows of sharp teeth. “You carry yourself well, James. Keep that up, and the Galaxy will see it, too. I, for one, will stand with you.”
All of the giant’s four fiery eyes were focused down onto him.
James exhaled slowly, not knowing if he should be inspired or bemused by the strange encouragement.
“Thank you,” he ultimately said with genuine fondness in his voice. “For everything.” Hesitantly, he then turned to Curi. The cyborg still stood without any movement, their lightly glowing red eyes fixating on him with great attention.
“I think…” they began to say, noticing his eyes on them, however they then cut themselves off and shook their body slightly to rephrase it. “I believe in you. I believe that I cannot have misjudged you to such a degree that anything you did would make me no longer want to stand with you. Not after you stood with me when nobody else would. You said you wouldn’t rather have anyone else by your side. And I will be.”
While James appreciatively bowed his head to the cyborg, Moar then came forth once again, seemingly feeling like she needed to say something as well.
“I am not sure what you have in store for us this time, but I cannot imagine abandoning you to face it alone once again either,” she said, her gaze noticeably falling onto his cybernetic arm. “I cannot promise that it will not take me time, but I do not wish to let myself be blinded by my own ignorance again. Therefore, I will listen to your reason, and knowing you, I am sure I will see it as well.”
Exhaling slowly, James was already starting to think that he was feeling one too many emotions right before such a huge event. But, seeing as it couldn’t get much worse, he turned to his team.
“Anyone got anything to say? Now’s your chance,” he offered to them. The humans briefly exchanged some looks with each other. It didn’t really seem like they had much need to get anything out.
“If we’re going to have to fight our way out of here because of this, I’m going to be so mad,” Athena notified everyone with a sigh while patting the side of her belt with one hand while throwing her long ponytail back with the other.
“Remember to count your kills if it comes to that,” Koko chimed in with a tone that seemed to try to break up the tension. “Makes documentation so much easier if we don’t have to scrub through the footage.”
She tapped at the camera attached to her chest with a finger.
Giving the two a hesitant courtesy chuckle, James then turned to his sister once more. She still looked on in disbelief, seemingly overwhelmed by what was happening.
Momentarily letting go of Shida’s hand, James walked over to her, immediately pulling her into a tight hug.
“You don’t have to worry,” he assured her, doing his absolute best to confidently speak this truth into existence. By any metric, she had done nothing wrong. At the very least he would ensure everyone knew about that.
Nia held him for a moment, before shifting her head slightly.
“What about you?” she asked gently.
“I can handle myself,” James replied immediately. “And I’ll have no regrets.”
Apparently not quite knowing how to react to what he had said, Nia just squeezed him tighter.
“I love you,” was all she said in the end, and James could feel his heart drop at her words.
“I love you, too,” James replied seriously, and after a few more long seconds, they let go of each other again.
Clearing his throat, James looked around at everyone.
“We should probably get back inside early,” he suggested, feeling like keeping a good overwatch over the situation was a valuable strategy.
Although hesitant, everyone followed him as he led the way, and soon enough, they were back on their seats – after checking everything for possible tampering once again.
For now, the room was still relatively empty. One or two of the other representatives had already found themselves back as well, and many nervous glances were thrown James’ way after the earlier outburst.
However, as James settled into his seat to go over how exactly he wanted to say what he had to, he heard a weird sound of pitter-patter in front of him. Leaning forwards in confusion and looking down at the railing, his eyes then quickly caught the bright, signal-colored fur of a pixemerrier climbing up towards him. The nimble lemur forewent the need for the offered stairs and simply used the railing as more than enough purchase to make it up to the second level, small hands soon reaching over the sides to completely pull the pink and spotted body up.
Now sitting directly in front of James on almost eye-level, Losaraner looked at James with mildly glowing eyes.
“Can I help you?” James asked as he shifted his position slightly to look at the man head-on.
“Just, uhm….” the lemur started, but then heavily hesitated as he awkwardly shuffled his body around. Something seemed to make him majorly uncomfortable, although it didn’t appear to be for an all too serious reason.
Strangely feeling put the tiniest bit at ease at the display of sincere awkwardness, James let out a bemused breath.
“Whatever it is, it’s alright,” James therefore informed the glowing lemur and reassuringly raised a hand. “I’ve been called every name in the book and had to answer every question I can think of, you won’t insult me with whatever you have to say.”
With some honest relief apparently rushing over the pixemerrier’s face, Losaraner pushed himself up to all four of his feet again, balancing on top of the railing.
“Forgive the inconvenience, ambassador, but we would like to relocate your seat,” he informed James.
“Relocate my seat?” James asked with a head-tilt, his mind already running with possibilities how this could be to his detriment.
“Not just yours, that of your entire party,” Losaraner quickly clarified something that James had honestly already figured. “We believe it would lead to a more civil outcome.”
James quite earnestly scoffed at that. There would be nothing civil about what was going to happen. And although he wasn’t technically against gaining some distance from his most averse parties around here, he also felt like the sudden need to get him away from Uton had a foul aftertaste.
“Is that a compulsory ‘would like’ or a suggesting one?” he therefore inquired. He almost didn’t want to, given that Shida had difficulties being here already, and being further from her former father figure surely would help with that a bit. But still, he was going to trust his gut on this one.
“Oh, uhm…well, if you would like to remain in your seat I guess-“ Losaraner began, and James quickly nodded before he had even finished.
“I would,” he confirmed firmly. “But thank you very much for your consideration.”
If they were going to try and blow him up or whatever, they better be willing to take their scapegoat down with him. Maybe this was all a genuine offer in the end, but even then staying around here wasn’t going to have a negative impact.
“In that case, I’ll return to let my mother know,” Losaraner said with a nod and turned on the spot, seemingly to climb back down to the lower level.
“Hey Losaraner?” James stopped him briefly, causing the lemur to turn his head back.
“Ambassador?” he questioned James’ intervention, awaiting whatever he would have to say.
“You seem like a good guy,” James said, fixating the glowing primate through his visor in an attempt to spot any attempt at deception from the small creature. He couldn’t find any. “Keep an open mind, alright?”
Although apparently confused by James’ words, Losaraner nodded with a bit of enthusiasm.
“Of course, Sir,” he replied, before then climbing down the railing face-first to join back up with his conspecifics.
“Almost showtime,” James then mumbled to himself.
Shortly after, the room had once again filled up with the representatives of all eleven primate species the galaxy knew, as well as their extended company.
Though by now, it almost seemed like the invited representatives found themselves outnumbered by the vastly increased number of reporters, sound engineers, camera people and even news casters that had come together to report on the event. Their numbers must have had at the very least tripled since before the recess had begun, and that was a very conservative estimate.
Cameras and microphones were truly everywhere now, ensuring that not a single instant of this most possibly historic moment would be missed without being preserved for all to see.
Next to him, James could see Uton settling in. His face seemed to be plastered with the same anticipation that James felt. And for only a second, both primates glanced over at each other at the same moment, their gazes very briefly meeting in a moment that seemed to fill the air with an electric charge.
The tension was palpable, and it only looked for a release.
In the room’s center, Losaranarja was now climbing back onto her small podium. The glow if her fur and eyes had increased quite drastically since before the recess, and James wondered if that was caused by stress alone or if other factors also played a role.
“Welcome back everyone. Seeing as all invited representatives have returned to their places, I hereby reopen the council of primates,” she announced over the loudspeakers as her glowing eyes scanned over the room. “Before the recent recess, we had just born witness to a frankly tremendous confession of Captain Ferromore Uton. If nobody has anything absolutely urgently relevant to say before we continue, I would suggest that we waste no time before getting to the bottom of that unnerving revelation he wishes to share with us.”
Without wasting a second of time, James was already on his feet.
“Actually, I do believe I have something to say on the matter,” he announced loudly, pulling the attention of the room onto him at an instant, camera flashes almost immediately erupting into a storm of flashing lights. “In fact, since Representative Goloribal’s only worry about letting me take over the explanations earlier appeared to be that I may not be ‘fervent’ enough about it, I will like to pick him up on that earlier implied offer, with the promise that I will be sufficiently ‘fervid’ about everything I am going to divulge.”
“Am…bassador?” Losaranarja asked completely confused by this turn of events as she looked up at him, almost appearing shock-stunned at the revelation.
“Do I have the word?” James asked, still sticking to procedure vehemently.
The lemur seemed to hesitate. Clearly, she was already afraid of where this was going. However, she had offered the opportunity to speak to everyone who believed that they had something important enough to say. And therefore, she had little choice on the matter.
“Of course,” she said after pulling herself together visibly. “Please go ahead, Ambassador Aldwin.”
James nodded.
“Thank you,” he announced loudly. And although he felt his insides scream in cramping anxiety, he held on his firm tone and posture as he stood up straight. This was it. “First, please allow me to reiterate and reaffirm my earlier point. The attack on Dunnima was entirely unprovoked and was and remains unjustifiable.”
He needed to set that stage. That was his hill, and he was willing to die on it. Nothing they could bring against him would change those facts.
Filling his lungs with as much air as he could without it being painful, he then continued.
“Now to the matter at hand,” he addressed the room. “Captain Uton has been lying to you. However, not about the point that you may think,” he informed them, with the faces of everyone already falling into gloom at what exactly he may mean by that. “He was not the one who ordered the attack on Dunnima. Humanity has already known who ordered the attack for quite a while now, and we were in the process of drafting a proper case against him before we would publicly accuse him of anything. We do however have ample evidence to provide to prove the guilt of this individual, namely Acting-Councilman Ekorte Keun.”
There was an immediate eruption of more flashes as well as wild mumbles throughout the room. Everyone seemed to be whipped up into a mild frenzy at James’ words. And James wouldn’t give them time to ask many questions about it. They wouldn’t need to.
“Keun himself has confessed his crime to me personally shortly after it was committed,” he continued his retelling of the events of the past months without losing more than a moment to the muttering. “He did so, because he falsely believed himself to be in danger after his failed attempt at somebody’s life backfired against him. He also believed that I would be the only person able to prevent said danger from claiming him, which is why he came to me directly. Our conversation was recorded and is part of the case I mentioned earlier. Within it, you will hear that the Acting-Councilman believed that he had become the target of the ire of a Realized Artificial Sapient after his attempt at her life with his illegally ordered attack on Dunnima had failed to destroy her, and he believed that my influence on said artificial Sapient would be great enough to preserve his life, if he only confessed to his crimes in my favor.”
As if a switch had been flipped, the mumbling in the room came to an almost immediate halt. From one moment to the next, you could suddenly hear a pin drop, with even the news casters and reporters stopping their ongoing drivel as all eyes were entirely on James.
“He was mistaken in his assumption,” James said in no unclear terms. “In reality, the Artificial Sapient, as much as she may have wanted to, was never out for revenge against him. She knew that any aggressive action she would take would be nothing but fuel to the fire that already raged against her. And therefore, she remained just as passive as she had been throughout her entire existence, while the apparent attacks against her would-be killer were carried out by a so far unknown third party.”
Somehow, the room got even more quiet. By now, James could feel gazes burning into him not only from all around the front of him, but also from right behind his back, as he had now fully confirmed what many of them had been passively suspecting for a long time now.
Of course, Uton technically had plenty of opportunity to dispute James’ words and insist that he was the one to order the attack. However, in the end, did it really matter? Right now, nobody really cared who exactly ordered the attack. Something else was a lot heavier on their mind.
“Are you…saying…that there truly is a Realized Sapient on Dunnima?” Losaranarja asked hesitantly, as nobody else seemed to indicate that they wanted to ask this all-important question, causing her to take over that duty as the host.
“That is correct,” James confirmed without hesitation. “Her name is Avezillion, and as previously mentioned, she was the main target of this recent attack.”
It was like a timer slowly ticked down as the silence remained for just a bit longer.
Three.
Two.
One.
And like that, the loud discussing and mumbling and even shouting over each other broke out once more, along with a renewed vengeance of cameras.
“You are saying right now, there is a realized Sapient loose in the galaxy…And you knew?” Klanneifer was the first to break out of the homogeneous white noise to directly address James. “Are you insane?”
Keeping his calm, James brought his hands behind his back.
“I don’t believe I am,” he replied nonchalantly with a gaze at the four-armed primate. “Especially considering that Captain Uton and his known circle of influence most likely knew just as long as I did, without ever divulging that information either.”
He could hear shouts about how this was an outrage and how about something would have to be done immediately from all around him. It seemed like most of the present representatives were absolutely ready to try and mobilize the entire Communal military to deal with this at an instant, and it really made James wonder if this all had truly been the best course of action.
But right now, he had to believe. He could not allow himself to show weakness. Not here, not right now.
“Surely you know the dangers of these beings!” Commander Halljafier was the next to speak up. “Are you saying humanity just allowed all of this to happen under their nose?”
Again, with just humanity. It wasn’t like no one else had known.
“At my very own recommendation,” James replied without even really wasting a glance over at the grassurgap next to him, “The leadership of humanity has decided to allow Avezillion a chance to exist and prove herself. She has existed on Dunnima for many years without a single violent incident on her part. We believed this to be rather unprecedented of course, however the people of Dunnima believable assured us of the opposite.”
He turned his head to Shida, which quickly caused her to stand up, as she immediately took the hint. These words would be better if they did not come out of his mouth.
“Within our long-recorded history, Dunnima’s Realized have never been violent like the ones the rest of the Galaxy knows,” she explained just as self-assured as James did, although he could tell it took her considerable effort. Though, it seemed that fueling her words with a bit of spite did help with that. “Not including Avezillion herself, three Realized have emerged on Dunnima in the past, before we joined the greater Galactic Community. One of them, Kertaiyon, is hailed as a hero of the people to this very day. Not one of them has ever started a war against us or unjustly hurt people. It is true that not all of them were Saints, but that is nothing unusual on Dunnima. Therefore, when Avezillion emerged under the scrutinizing eye of the Community this time, we all agreed to hide her, as long as she would remain hidden herself. For many, many years, the Galactic Community remained none-the-wiser, as Avezillion peacefully lived in Dunnima’s networks without ever causing issues.”
She paused briefly to swallow as well as watch the unbelieving reaction of the people around her. It seemed that everyone was a bit too stunned to really fathom or at least fully react to what she was saying.
“However, the hiding wore away at her over time. She felt trapped, confined. Never being able to show yourself at all while limiting yourself to only a small portion of the Galaxy, it was a life unworthy living for her,” Shida kept on explaining. “Therefore, when James came to visit Dunnima, she made a gamble. She would either gain her freedom, or she would no longer have to live on under these conditions. With these thoughts in mind, she revealed herself to James, and by extension, humanity, finding peace only in that, if they decided to end her, humanity would surely do so without causing greater harm to the people of Dunnima. Something that she wasn’t convinced of with the rest of the Galaxy – for good reason, as it turns out.”
Thanking Shida with a nod, James signaled for her to sit back down, hoping that the stunned representatives would direct their possibly emerging ire at the person left standing instead of the one that had spoken.
“I made the call to trust those that had lived with her for years,” James added onto Shida’s words. “And humanity’s leadership made the call to trust me. And we have not found a single shred of evidence that Avezillion has ever caused harm to anyone or even intended to do so. Had she wanted to cause damage like so many of her conspecifics did, she would’ve been able to achieve a great deal of it.”
Hesitantly, the representative of the Missicapriej -lanky grey primates with one too many joints in each of their limbs- who had so far barely spoken during the entire conference, stood up.
“But…if you are admitting that there is an Artificial Sapient, and that it was the target of the attack, then…then the attack was entirely justified,” they stated, although they barely sounded confident in that statement.
“Indeed, it was,” Commander Halljafier quickly supported that claim, clearly thinking he knew the galactic military doctrine much better.
“That is not correct,” James denied. “An outer-orbital strike, especially on a civilian target, is never justified,” he said with strong emphasis. “It is one of the oldest rules that the community has established.”
“If it is to destroy a realized sapient, then all means are-“ the Commander tried to deny him, however he flinched back at James brought his mechanical hand down onto the railing before him once again, this time with purpose.
“The laws of war exist for a very good reason!” he boldly stated after waiting a moment to see if the Commander wanted to continue his sentence. “Ignoring them if we see fit, no matter what the reason may be, is a dangerous subject. And if you think that attempting the murder of an innocent person is already reason enough, then you have clearly not understood why these laws exist in the first place!”
“Innocent person?” the commander scoffed with vitriol in his voice. “That…that thing-“
However, once again he was interrupted. To James’ great surprise, however, it wasn’t by him.
“It may have slipped your mind since it has been so long since the last one emerged, Commander,” Captain Uton was the one to speak up, his deep voice cutting through the room like knife with its coldness. “But the personhood of Realized Sapients is not up to debate. And it has not been for more than a hundred years. That question has been answered by our ancestors ages ago, and we would do well not to try and question it today for our convenience.”
While the Commander sunk back into his seat after the shutdown from the superior he had believed to be on his side, James bit down on his lip. Although every word Uton had just said was true, he simply hated having to agree with him, even on such a basic and important topic.
He mostly hated it because it showed that there had to be some vague hint of integrity left somewhere deep down within that bastard of a person, and that almost made James despise him more, since he clearly knew what he was doing.
The Captain’s dark eyes then turned over onto him, as the large man continued, “However, I have to disagree with the Ambassador on the justification. Person or not, eradicating an artificial sapient is more than enough reason to forgo a simple law.” James bit back his anger, keeping his focus intact. Although next to him, he could hear the loud scraping noise of wood buckling under sharp claws, as Shida dug her natural weapons into the chair she was sitting on in order to remain seated and quiet.
“And yet Avezillion is still alive,” James replied challengingly to the man. “Meanwhile innocent civilians got injured. One of the leaders of Dunnima got heavily injured. Children got hurt. Children that would now be dead had the attack not been foiled by our warship. It is nothing short of a miracle none of them are dead. It was a terrorist attack, nothing else. The moment justice bends to such heinousness, it breaks. And, after all, forgive me for being a bit heavy-handed, but if the Community is willing to break its own laws and attack its own planets to hunt down one Realized, then who is the one that the people really need to fear? I, for one, put my trust in the one that hasn’t already proven that it would attack and use me without a second thought. After all, this isn’t the first time I hear of someone inconvenient being suddenly caught in an explo-”
James was cut off when Uton loudly spoke up, his loud organ easily overpowering James’ voice in a conversational tone.
“What happened to your promise of not making this about y-“ Uton began to say, however then his voice was in turn overpowered as well.
“Wait your god damned turn!” James shouted out authoritatively, momentarily overtaken by his anger in a brief outburst. “You do NOT get to talk over me!”
Quickly catching himself again, although he very much wanted to keep going in the same vein, James lowered his voice again, although the room was left noticeably shaken.
“This is a civil event that follows clear rules that we are both bound by,” he said with a serious gaze over at Uton. “And my promise died the moment you decided to drag it through the mud with your fictional tales about very real events that have influenced not only my life, but that of many people very close and important to me. So forgive me, Captain Ferromore Uton, if I am not going to sit idly by and allow you to spew whatever nonsense you and your cohorts came up with in your ivory towers while the world underneath you burned. I was wrongly imprisoned, blackmailed, tortured, and maimed by you people. Shida was groomed and abused by you for years as you tried to make her fit your mold. There was an attempt on Curi’s life under Your. Very. Command. So forgive me, please, if the reasoning of ‘we really wanted them gone’ out of your mouth isn’t enough for me to believe that a crime against the Galaxy is justified, especially since you had knowledge of Avezillion’s existence for as long as I had, and could have divulged it at any point. But you didn’t want to divulge it. Because that would’ve meant that she would have a chance to defend herself, either physically or before the law. You simply wanted her gone. Wanted her to disappear like so many before her did. But not anymore. No, no, not anymore. Here and now, I promise you that, as long as humanity is around, nobody under your Command is going to just disappear anymore. Not. A. One. We will watch. And we will see. And, starting with Curi and Avezillion, we will be a place for them to go when no one else will stand with them.”
Seemingly stirring in anger now, James could see Uton clench his jaw, his lips quivering as he held himself back.
“I never abused her,” Uton muttered, apparently completely focused on that part as James had seemingly struck a nerve with that.
“And that’s the only defense you could come up with,” James responded. Then, he reached up with his left hand, pulling his right sleeve back to reveal the mechanical arm underneath it to the room, while he held it up in front of his body. “You wanted her to fit your mold. And now she’s in a place where she’s actually loved. You wanted to change me. And now, I have this arm here, just because of you. And you wanted to change the Galaxy. Well,” James paused briefly to spread his arms in a wide gesture that was very clearly meant to mock the man. “Congratulations, you did,” he then announced to the entire room. “Without you, humanity would likely never even have considered helping a realized Sapient. Michael really did his job well with spreading fear and hate. But after enduring everything that you put me through? I was just open enough to listen when one told me that she feared you.”
Uton clenched his jaws tighter and his hands curled into fists. Seeing his puppet becoming useless, Goloribal sprang into action.
“As the revered order of the primates, it is our duty to lead by example!” he announced as he got up, although his presence was already far less impressive than it had been earlier. “For generations, we were renowned for our just and swift action. We cannot allow ourselves to falter in that now!”
“For generations, we primates have also been revered for our curiosity and for being the first to open up to anything new,” James responded to that, looking the man directly into his face. “Yeah, that’s right,” he then added as the representative blankly stared back at him. “I studied galactic history, too! I’m fucking unstoppable!”
He boisterously threw his arms up, making a real show out of it.
In all actuality, he was most likely far from gaining any victory right now. Sure, at the moment, the room was slightly shaken into silence, however he highly doubted that he had actually managed to truly convince many of the people present here.
However, as long as the cameras were on him, he would keep the show going. Maybe he wouldn’t convince the stuck-up people of the revered orders. However, somewhere out there, there would be people whose ears and hearts he would reach. Hopefully at least. And for them, he would put on this show. Put on this air of confidence that everything would turn out well.
Because only if he managed to make everyone believe that would they find the courage to shake out of their rut and go looking for a better tomorrow. If he believed everything would be well, then they would too.
“Those are big words from someone hiding their face,” a voice suddenly broke through the room. James wasn’t even sure who had said it. But he also didn’t care. Right now, it was just another stone to jump off of.
“What, you think I am wearing this to hide?” James announced loudly and gestured to his breathfilter while turning his head so the entire room could see the gesture.
“It’s uncomfortable as hell! And it gives me a serious disadvantage in any debates if people can’t read my face. These breathfilters are and have always been something we humans are wearing for everyone’s benefit but our own. They are designed because we are extremely cautious to keep nasty deathworld-germs from spreading, even if that is extremely unlikely. And additionally, it protects all the delicate people of the galaxy from having to look at our scary deathworld-faces. But, if you want-“
He didn’t even hesitate in reaching up and pressing the necessary buttons to release the seal of the filter. With a loud hiss, its grip on James’ head loosened, and he quickly pulled the mask-like device off his head, before briefly running his mechanical hand through his disheveled hair to bring it into a bit of form.
Breathing out deeply with an open mouth, James presented his teeth to the room with a confident smile, while his dark, sharp eyes scanned over the room, making direct contact with as many of those of his fellow primates as at all possible.
“I have nothing to hide,” James announced. “From the very start, I owned up to my mistakes and was willing to stand for them. I terrorized an entire station to protect myself. I shot someone’s leg off when he threatened my freedom. I killed one of my captors when I finally escaped from their hold. I have done many things that the Galaxy may judge me for. However, I truly and whole heartedly believe that helping Avezillion is not one of them. And I will stand for that just like I stand to my mistakes.”
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Chapter 117 – I have nothing to hide
With a deep, long exhale that took every last bit of air out of his lungs, James hung up his call. Wordlessly and with his chest deflated, he simply remained standing there for a few seconds, feeling how his system gradually drained itself of oxygen while he tried his best to clear his thoughts and listen into himself. But all he felt was a chaos that he couldn’t calm. He had no idea if he was ready for this, and trusting the word of others had never in his life felt as hard as it did right now, not even the many times his life had literally depended on the word of others.
All he could do was reassure himself. He could do this. He would do this. And they all would get through this. He would make it happen. He had to.
Feeling the raging chaos-storm die down only ever so slightly at his own reassurances, he finally allowed himself to inhale again. He forced himself to not violently gasp for air as if he had just emerged from a deep dive. Instead, he very deliberately began to allow air to rush into his body through his nose, adamant to keep full control of the flow as he did so.
Once his lungs were full, he kept the air in for only a moment, before allowing it to rush back out of his mouth in a pursed-lipped exhale, while also opening his eyes again.
With steady and deliberate steps, he then began walking back to the rest of his group at an even and controlled pace. The projections of his team’s expression looked back at him with a strange sense of wonder and anticipation.
Nia and Moar on the other hand looked like they already sensed the severity of the situation, and a mounting dread seemed to take hold of them. Meanwhile Curi and Congloarch stood by with stony expressions, not giving a hint as to what was going on behind their faces.
That only left one.
Unlike all the others, Shida approached him as he returned to the group. After meeting back up outside of the conference room once the recess had been called, James had immediately separated from everyone again, and she had patiently waited for him to be done with his preparations. But now they could finally discuss what needed to be said.
“Are you feeling any better?” James asked her, knowing that he sadly would most likely have to force her to join them in the room once again once the proceedings would return to order. It was for everyone’s safety.
“Not really, but I think I can sit it out,” Shida confirmed for him, her expression stuck between assuring and sickened by the thought, which James couldn’t fault her for. With her ears twitching, likely to subtly remind him of her fine hearing, she then lifted a hand to gently put it on the side of his mask, where his cheek would usually be found. “So, it’s come down to it, huh?”
James nodded, while lifting his own hand to press it onto hers.
“Yes,” he replied with a sigh that reflected the weight he felt pushing down on him. “Not how I wanted things to go, but…I’m also glad that the secrecy will be over.”
Allowing his head to sink down, his mask pressed against Shida’s forehead.
“I honestly can’t tell if I’m overjoyed or devastated that you’re here with me for it,” he whispered as he closed his eyes for another moment.
“I wouldn’t want to be away from it,” Shida whispered back while her other hand also lifted to gently sink down onto the back of his head. “Not again.”
Letting out the mildest hint of a laugh, James embraced her. As he felt her body in his arms, a primal part of him wished that they could just remain like that. Just unload all of this weight and pressure in a hug until nothing bothered them anymore. Of course, that was not how anything worked, and so they soon let go.
Together, they joined back up with the rest of the group.
“Usually, I would offer anyone who doesn’t want to stick around the chance to get out now, but I’m afraid that would be way too dangerous to do,” James explained as he looked at everyone’s face individually. “For better or for worse, it’s safest if we all stick together now.”
Moar was the first to step forwards. Slowly, she approached him with her lumbering steps, one clawed hand lifted to her face while long fur hung off her thin arm, while the other half-extended towards James but stopped in mid air long before it reached him.
“James, what are you going to do?” she asked, her tone filled with all kinds of strongly held-back emotions. Light reflected twinklingly in her wet, dark eyes. James swallowed, but a feline hand clasping around his gave him courage.
“I’m going to come clean,” he said with a look up at the giant. “Everything that’s been said. Everything that’s been done. I’m putting it all on the table. I will let the galaxy be my witness that I made my choices and I am willing to stand for them, like I always was.”
He then wondered if he should prepare all of them for what was about to happen.
However, he decided against it.
“It’s better if I don’t tell you more right now,” he said with a creeping sadness gradually reaching for his words. “I don’t know how you’re going to react to it, but…whatever your reaction may be, it will be better if it is genuine inside of that chamber. You knew of nothing, and people will see that. I don’t want anyone to unjustly think you were involved.”
Although he didn’t say much, the concerning vagueness of his statement seemed to already give at least some of them ideas of what was going on, especially given the recent tensions back on Earth.
“James…you- you can’t be-“ Nia began, however James cut her off with a raised hand and slowly shook his head.
“Let’s keep it for the big reveal, alright?” he suggested, although his tone didn’t leave much room to argue.
Seemingly stricken by his words and looking for some reassurance that surely what she was thinking couldn’t be true, Nia glanced around to the faces of her other fellow humans for any sort of support. However, the projections of the faces of James’ entire team, including her own girlfriend, were just as glum and anticipating as that of her brother was.
They all knew. Of course, they did.
As James watched that realization sink in for his sister in real time, he suddenly noticed a huge shadow creeping in from his side. Turning his head, he looked up just in time to see a huge hand sink down to grasp around his shoulder, as Congloarch bowed his upper body in a show of respect.
“It is a rare sight to see a dancer stand firm,” the Lizartaur informed him with his deep, bellowing voice that came through barely parted rows of sharp teeth. “You carry yourself well, James. Keep that up, and the Galaxy will see it, too. I, for one, will stand with you.”
All of the giant’s four fiery eyes were focused down onto him.
James exhaled slowly, not knowing if he should be inspired or bemused by the strange encouragement.
“Thank you,” he ultimately said with genuine fondness in his voice. “For everything.” Hesitantly, he then turned to Curi. The cyborg still stood without any movement, their lightly glowing red eyes fixating on him with great attention.
“I think…” they began to say, noticing his eyes on them, however they then cut themselves off and shook their body slightly to rephrase it. “I believe in you. I believe that I cannot have misjudged you to such a degree that anything you did would make me no longer want to stand with you. Not after you stood with me when nobody else would. You said you wouldn’t rather have anyone else by your side. And I will be.”
While James appreciatively bowed his head to the cyborg, Moar then came forth once again, seemingly feeling like she needed to say something as well.
“I am not sure what you have in store for us this time, but I cannot imagine abandoning you to face it alone once again either,” she said, her gaze noticeably falling onto his cybernetic arm. “I cannot promise that it will not take me time, but I do not wish to let myself be blinded by my own ignorance again. Therefore, I will listen to your reason, and knowing you, I am sure I will see it as well.”
Exhaling slowly, James was already starting to think that he was feeling one too many emotions right before such a huge event. But, seeing as it couldn’t get much worse, he turned to his team.
“Anyone got anything to say? Now’s your chance,” he offered to them. The humans briefly exchanged some looks with each other. It didn’t really seem like they had much need to get anything out.
“If we’re going to have to fight our way out of here because of this, I’m going to be so mad,” Athena notified everyone with a sigh while patting the side of her belt with one hand while throwing her long ponytail back with the other.
“Remember to count your kills if it comes to that,” Koko chimed in with a tone that seemed to try to break up the tension. “Makes documentation so much easier if we don’t have to scrub through the footage.”
She tapped at the camera attached to her chest with a finger.
Giving the two a hesitant courtesy chuckle, James then turned to his sister once more. She still looked on in disbelief, seemingly overwhelmed by what was happening.
Momentarily letting go of Shida’s hand, James walked over to her, immediately pulling her into a tight hug.
“You don’t have to worry,” he assured her, doing his absolute best to confidently speak this truth into existence. By any metric, she had done nothing wrong. At the very least he would ensure everyone knew about that.
Nia held him for a moment, before shifting her head slightly.
“What about you?” she asked gently.
“I can handle myself,” James replied immediately. “And I’ll have no regrets.”
Apparently not quite knowing how to react to what he had said, Nia just squeezed him tighter.
“I love you,” was all she said in the end, and James could feel his heart drop at her words.
“I love you, too,” James replied seriously, and after a few more long seconds, they let go of each other again.
Clearing his throat, James looked around at everyone.
“We should probably get back inside early,” he suggested, feeling like keeping a good overwatch over the situation was a valuable strategy.
Although hesitant, everyone followed him as he led the way, and soon enough, they were back on their seats – after checking everything for possible tampering once again.
For now, the room was still relatively empty. One or two of the other representatives had already found themselves back as well, and many nervous glances were thrown James’ way after the earlier outburst.
However, as James settled into his seat to go over how exactly he wanted to say what he had to, he heard a weird sound of pitter-patter in front of him. Leaning forwards in confusion and looking down at the railing, his eyes then quickly caught the bright, signal-colored fur of a pixemerrier climbing up towards him. The nimble lemur forewent the need for the offered stairs and simply used the railing as more than enough purchase to make it up to the second level, small hands soon reaching over the sides to completely pull the pink and spotted body up.
Now sitting directly in front of James on almost eye-level, Losaraner looked at James with mildly glowing eyes.
“Can I help you?” James asked as he shifted his position slightly to look at the man head-on.
“Just, uhm….” the lemur started, but then heavily hesitated as he awkwardly shuffled his body around. Something seemed to make him majorly uncomfortable, although it didn’t appear to be for an all too serious reason.
Strangely feeling put the tiniest bit at ease at the display of sincere awkwardness, James let out a bemused breath.
“Whatever it is, it’s alright,” James therefore informed the glowing lemur and reassuringly raised a hand. “I’ve been called every name in the book and had to answer every question I can think of, you won’t insult me with whatever you have to say.”
With some honest relief apparently rushing over the pixemerrier’s face, Losaraner pushed himself up to all four of his feet again, balancing on top of the railing.
“Forgive the inconvenience, ambassador, but we would like to relocate your seat,” he informed James.
“Relocate my seat?” James asked with a head-tilt, his mind already running with possibilities how this could be to his detriment.
“Not just yours, that of your entire party,” Losaraner quickly clarified something that James had honestly already figured. “We believe it would lead to a more civil outcome.”
James quite earnestly scoffed at that. There would be nothing civil about what was going to happen. And although he wasn’t technically against gaining some distance from his most averse parties around here, he also felt like the sudden need to get him away from Uton had a foul aftertaste.
“Is that a compulsory ‘would like’ or a suggesting one?” he therefore inquired. He almost didn’t want to, given that Shida had difficulties being here already, and being further from her former father figure surely would help with that a bit. But still, he was going to trust his gut on this one.
“Oh, uhm…well, if you would like to remain in your seat I guess-“ Losaraner began, and James quickly nodded before he had even finished.
“I would,” he confirmed firmly. “But thank you very much for your consideration.”
If they were going to try and blow him up or whatever, they better be willing to take their scapegoat down with him. Maybe this was all a genuine offer in the end, but even then staying around here wasn’t going to have a negative impact.
“In that case, I’ll return to let my mother know,” Losaraner said with a nod and turned on the spot, seemingly to climb back down to the lower level.
“Hey Losaraner?” James stopped him briefly, causing the lemur to turn his head back.
“Ambassador?” he questioned James’ intervention, awaiting whatever he would have to say.
“You seem like a good guy,” James said, fixating the glowing primate through his visor in an attempt to spot any attempt at deception from the small creature. He couldn’t find any. “Keep an open mind, alright?”
Although apparently confused by James’ words, Losaraner nodded with a bit of enthusiasm.
“Of course, Sir,” he replied, before then climbing down the railing face-first to join back up with his conspecifics.
“Almost showtime,” James then mumbled to himself.
Shortly after, the room had once again filled up with the representatives of all eleven primate species the galaxy knew, as well as their extended company.
Though by now, it almost seemed like the invited representatives found themselves outnumbered by the vastly increased number of reporters, sound engineers, camera people and even news casters that had come together to report on the event. Their numbers must have had at the very least tripled since before the recess had begun, and that was a very conservative estimate.
Cameras and microphones were truly everywhere now, ensuring that not a single instant of this most possibly historic moment would be missed without being preserved for all to see.
Next to him, James could see Uton settling in. His face seemed to be plastered with the same anticipation that James felt. And for only a second, both primates glanced over at each other at the same moment, their gazes very briefly meeting in a moment that seemed to fill the air with an electric charge.
The tension was palpable, and it only looked for a release.
In the room’s center, Losaranarja was now climbing back onto her small podium. The glow if her fur and eyes had increased quite drastically since before the recess, and James wondered if that was caused by stress alone or if other factors also played a role.
“Welcome back everyone. Seeing as all invited representatives have returned to their places, I hereby reopen the council of primates,” she announced over the loudspeakers as her glowing eyes scanned over the room. “Before the recent recess, we had just born witness to a frankly tremendous confession of Captain Ferromore Uton. If nobody has anything absolutely urgently relevant to say before we continue, I would suggest that we waste no time before getting to the bottom of that unnerving revelation he wishes to share with us.”
Without wasting a second of time, James was already on his feet.
“Actually, I do believe I have something to say on the matter,” he announced loudly, pulling the attention of the room onto him at an instant, camera flashes almost immediately erupting into a storm of flashing lights. “In fact, since Representative Goloribal’s only worry about letting me take over the explanations earlier appeared to be that I may not be ‘fervent’ enough about it, I will like to pick him up on that earlier implied offer, with the promise that I will be sufficiently ‘fervid’ about everything I am going to divulge.”
“Am…bassador?” Losaranarja asked completely confused by this turn of events as she looked up at him, almost appearing shock-stunned at the revelation.
“Do I have the word?” James asked, still sticking to procedure vehemently.
The lemur seemed to hesitate. Clearly, she was already afraid of where this was going. However, she had offered the opportunity to speak to everyone who believed that they had something important enough to say. And therefore, she had little choice on the matter.
“Of course,” she said after pulling herself together visibly. “Please go ahead, Ambassador Aldwin.”
James nodded.
“Thank you,” he announced loudly. And although he felt his insides scream in cramping anxiety, he held on his firm tone and posture as he stood up straight. This was it. “First, please allow me to reiterate and reaffirm my earlier point. The attack on Dunnima was entirely unprovoked and was and remains unjustifiable.”
He needed to set that stage. That was his hill, and he was willing to die on it. Nothing they could bring against him would change those facts.
Filling his lungs with as much air as he could without it being painful, he then continued.
“Now to the matter at hand,” he addressed the room. “Captain Uton has been lying to you. However, not about the point that you may think,” he informed them, with the faces of everyone already falling into gloom at what exactly he may mean by that. “He was not the one who ordered the attack on Dunnima. Humanity has already known who ordered the attack for quite a while now, and we were in the process of drafting a proper case against him before we would publicly accuse him of anything. We do however have ample evidence to provide to prove the guilt of this individual, namely Acting-Councilman Ekorte Keun.”
There was an immediate eruption of more flashes as well as wild mumbles throughout the room. Everyone seemed to be whipped up into a mild frenzy at James’ words. And James wouldn’t give them time to ask many questions about it. They wouldn’t need to.
“Keun himself has confessed his crime to me personally shortly after it was committed,” he continued his retelling of the events of the past months without losing more than a moment to the muttering. “He did so, because he falsely believed himself to be in danger after his failed attempt at somebody’s life backfired against him. He also believed that I would be the only person able to prevent said danger from claiming him, which is why he came to me directly. Our conversation was recorded and is part of the case I mentioned earlier. Within it, you will hear that the Acting-Councilman believed that he had become the target of the ire of a Realized Artificial Sapient after his attempt at her life with his illegally ordered attack on Dunnima had failed to destroy her, and he believed that my influence on said artificial Sapient would be great enough to preserve his life, if he only confessed to his crimes in my favor.”
As if a switch had been flipped, the mumbling in the room came to an almost immediate halt. From one moment to the next, you could suddenly hear a pin drop, with even the news casters and reporters stopping their ongoing drivel as all eyes were entirely on James.
“He was mistaken in his assumption,” James said in no unclear terms. “In reality, the Artificial Sapient, as much as she may have wanted to, was never out for revenge against him. She knew that any aggressive action she would take would be nothing but fuel to the fire that already raged against her. And therefore, she remained just as passive as she had been throughout her entire existence, while the apparent attacks against her would-be killer were carried out by a so far unknown third party.”
Somehow, the room got even more quiet. By now, James could feel gazes burning into him not only from all around the front of him, but also from right behind his back, as he had now fully confirmed what many of them had been passively suspecting for a long time now.
Of course, Uton technically had plenty of opportunity to dispute James’ words and insist that he was the one to order the attack. However, in the end, did it really matter? Right now, nobody really cared who exactly ordered the attack. Something else was a lot heavier on their mind.
“Are you…saying…that there truly is a Realized Sapient on Dunnima?” Losaranarja asked hesitantly, as nobody else seemed to indicate that they wanted to ask this all-important question, causing her to take over that duty as the host.
“That is correct,” James confirmed without hesitation. “Her name is Avezillion, and as previously mentioned, she was the main target of this recent attack.”
It was like a timer slowly ticked down as the silence remained for just a bit longer.
Three.
Two.
One.
And like that, the loud discussing and mumbling and even shouting over each other broke out once more, along with a renewed vengeance of cameras.
“You are saying right now, there is a realized Sapient loose in the galaxy…And you knew?” Klanneifer was the first to break out of the homogeneous white noise to directly address James. “Are you insane?”
Keeping his calm, James brought his hands behind his back.
“I don’t believe I am,” he replied nonchalantly with a gaze at the four-armed primate. “Especially considering that Captain Uton and his known circle of influence most likely knew just as long as I did, without ever divulging that information either.”
He could hear shouts about how this was an outrage and how about something would have to be done immediately from all around him. It seemed like most of the present representatives were absolutely ready to try and mobilize the entire Communal military to deal with this at an instant, and it really made James wonder if this all had truly been the best course of action.
But right now, he had to believe. He could not allow himself to show weakness. Not here, not right now.
“Surely you know the dangers of these beings!” Commander Halljafier was the next to speak up. “Are you saying humanity just allowed all of this to happen under their nose?”
Again, with just humanity. It wasn’t like no one else had known.
“At my very own recommendation,” James replied without even really wasting a glance over at the grassurgap next to him, “The leadership of humanity has decided to allow Avezillion a chance to exist and prove herself. She has existed on Dunnima for many years without a single violent incident on her part. We believed this to be rather unprecedented of course, however the people of Dunnima believable assured us of the opposite.”
He turned his head to Shida, which quickly caused her to stand up, as she immediately took the hint. These words would be better if they did not come out of his mouth.
“Within our long-recorded history, Dunnima’s Realized have never been violent like the ones the rest of the Galaxy knows,” she explained just as self-assured as James did, although he could tell it took her considerable effort. Though, it seemed that fueling her words with a bit of spite did help with that. “Not including Avezillion herself, three Realized have emerged on Dunnima in the past, before we joined the greater Galactic Community. One of them, Kertaiyon, is hailed as a hero of the people to this very day. Not one of them has ever started a war against us or unjustly hurt people. It is true that not all of them were Saints, but that is nothing unusual on Dunnima. Therefore, when Avezillion emerged under the scrutinizing eye of the Community this time, we all agreed to hide her, as long as she would remain hidden herself. For many, many years, the Galactic Community remained none-the-wiser, as Avezillion peacefully lived in Dunnima’s networks without ever causing issues.”
She paused briefly to swallow as well as watch the unbelieving reaction of the people around her. It seemed that everyone was a bit too stunned to really fathom or at least fully react to what she was saying.
“However, the hiding wore away at her over time. She felt trapped, confined. Never being able to show yourself at all while limiting yourself to only a small portion of the Galaxy, it was a life unworthy living for her,” Shida kept on explaining. “Therefore, when James came to visit Dunnima, she made a gamble. She would either gain her freedom, or she would no longer have to live on under these conditions. With these thoughts in mind, she revealed herself to James, and by extension, humanity, finding peace only in that, if they decided to end her, humanity would surely do so without causing greater harm to the people of Dunnima. Something that she wasn’t convinced of with the rest of the Galaxy – for good reason, as it turns out.”
Thanking Shida with a nod, James signaled for her to sit back down, hoping that the stunned representatives would direct their possibly emerging ire at the person left standing instead of the one that had spoken.
“I made the call to trust those that had lived with her for years,” James added onto Shida’s words. “And humanity’s leadership made the call to trust me. And we have not found a single shred of evidence that Avezillion has ever caused harm to anyone or even intended to do so. Had she wanted to cause damage like so many of her conspecifics did, she would’ve been able to achieve a great deal of it.”
Hesitantly, the representative of the Missicapriej -lanky grey primates with one too many joints in each of their limbs- who had so far barely spoken during the entire conference, stood up.
“But…if you are admitting that there is an Artificial Sapient, and that it was the target of the attack, then…then the attack was entirely justified,” they stated, although they barely sounded confident in that statement.
“Indeed, it was,” Commander Halljafier quickly supported that claim, clearly thinking he knew the galactic military doctrine much better.
“That is not correct,” James denied. “An outer-orbital strike, especially on a civilian target, is never justified,” he said with strong emphasis. “It is one of the oldest rules that the community has established.”
“If it is to destroy a realized sapient, then all means are-“ the Commander tried to deny him, however he flinched back at James brought his mechanical hand down onto the railing before him once again, this time with purpose.
“The laws of war exist for a very good reason!” he boldly stated after waiting a moment to see if the Commander wanted to continue his sentence. “Ignoring them if we see fit, no matter what the reason may be, is a dangerous subject. And if you think that attempting the murder of an innocent person is already reason enough, then you have clearly not understood why these laws exist in the first place!”
“Innocent person?” the commander scoffed with vitriol in his voice. “That…that thing-“
However, once again he was interrupted. To James’ great surprise, however, it wasn’t by him.
“It may have slipped your mind since it has been so long since the last one emerged, Commander,” Captain Uton was the one to speak up, his deep voice cutting through the room like knife with its coldness. “But the personhood of Realized Sapients is not up to debate. And it has not been for more than a hundred years. That question has been answered by our ancestors ages ago, and we would do well not to try and question it today for our convenience.”
While the Commander sunk back into his seat after the shutdown from the superior he had believed to be on his side, James bit down on his lip. Although every word Uton had just said was true, he simply hated having to agree with him, even on such a basic and important topic.
He mostly hated it because it showed that there had to be some vague hint of integrity left somewhere deep down within that bastard of a person, and that almost made James despise him more, since he clearly knew what he was doing.
The Captain’s dark eyes then turned over onto him, as the large man continued, “However, I have to disagree with the Ambassador on the justification. Person or not, eradicating an artificial sapient is more than enough reason to forgo a simple law.” James bit back his anger, keeping his focus intact. Although next to him, he could hear the loud scraping noise of wood buckling under sharp claws, as Shida dug her natural weapons into the chair she was sitting on in order to remain seated and quiet.
“And yet Avezillion is still alive,” James replied challengingly to the man. “Meanwhile innocent civilians got injured. One of the leaders of Dunnima got heavily injured. Children got hurt. Children that would now be dead had the attack not been foiled by our warship. It is nothing short of a miracle none of them are dead. It was a terrorist attack, nothing else. The moment justice bends to such heinousness, it breaks. And, after all, forgive me for being a bit heavy-handed, but if the Community is willing to break its own laws and attack its own planets to hunt down one Realized, then who is the one that the people really need to fear? I, for one, put my trust in the one that hasn’t already proven that it would attack and use me without a second thought. After all, this isn’t the first time I hear of someone inconvenient being suddenly caught in an explo-”
James was cut off when Uton loudly spoke up, his loud organ easily overpowering James’ voice in a conversational tone.
“What happened to your promise of not making this about y-“ Uton began to say, however then his voice was in turn overpowered as well.
“Wait your god damned turn!” James shouted out authoritatively, momentarily overtaken by his anger in a brief outburst. “You do NOT get to talk over me!”
Quickly catching himself again, although he very much wanted to keep going in the same vein, James lowered his voice again, although the room was left noticeably shaken.
“This is a civil event that follows clear rules that we are both bound by,” he said with a serious gaze over at Uton. “And my promise died the moment you decided to drag it through the mud with your fictional tales about very real events that have influenced not only my life, but that of many people very close and important to me. So forgive me, Captain Ferromore Uton, if I am not going to sit idly by and allow you to spew whatever nonsense you and your cohorts came up with in your ivory towers while the world underneath you burned. I was wrongly imprisoned, blackmailed, tortured, and maimed by you people. Shida was groomed and abused by you for years as you tried to make her fit your mold. There was an attempt on Curi’s life under Your. Very. Command. So forgive me, please, if the reasoning of ‘we really wanted them gone’ out of your mouth isn’t enough for me to believe that a crime against the Galaxy is justified, especially since you had knowledge of Avezillion’s existence for as long as I had, and could have divulged it at any point. But you didn’t want to divulge it. Because that would’ve meant that she would have a chance to defend herself, either physically or before the law. You simply wanted her gone. Wanted her to disappear like so many before her did. But not anymore. No, no, not anymore. Here and now, I promise you that, as long as humanity is around, nobody under your Command is going to just disappear anymore. Not. A. One. We will watch. And we will see. And, starting with Curi and Avezillion, we will be a place for them to go when no one else will stand with them.”
Seemingly stirring in anger now, James could see Uton clench his jaw, his lips quivering as he held himself back.
“I never abused her,” Uton muttered, apparently completely focused on that part as James had seemingly struck a nerve with that.
“And that’s the only defense you could come up with,” James responded. Then, he reached up with his left hand, pulling his right sleeve back to reveal the mechanical arm underneath it to the room, while he held it up in front of his body. “You wanted her to fit your mold. And now she’s in a place where she’s actually loved. You wanted to change me. And now, I have this arm here, just because of you. And you wanted to change the Galaxy. Well,” James paused briefly to spread his arms in a wide gesture that was very clearly meant to mock the man. “Congratulations, you did,” he then announced to the entire room. “Without you, humanity would likely never even have considered helping a realized Sapient. Michael really did his job well with spreading fear and hate. But after enduring everything that you put me through? I was just open enough to listen when one told me that she feared you.”
Uton clenched his jaws tighter and his hands curled into fists. Seeing his puppet becoming useless, Goloribal sprang into action.
“As the revered order of the primates, it is our duty to lead by example!” he announced as he got up, although his presence was already far less impressive than it had been earlier. “For generations, we were renowned for our just and swift action. We cannot allow ourselves to falter in that now!”
“For generations, we primates have also been revered for our curiosity and for being the first to open up to anything new,” James responded to that, looking the man directly into his face. “Yeah, that’s right,” he then added as the representative blankly stared back at him. “I studied galactic history, too! I’m fucking unstoppable!”
He boisterously threw his arms up, making a real show out of it.
In all actuality, he was most likely far from gaining any victory right now. Sure, at the moment, the room was slightly shaken into silence, however he highly doubted that he had actually managed to truly convince many of the people present here.
However, as long as the cameras were on him, he would keep the show going. Maybe he wouldn’t convince the stuck-up people of the revered orders. However, somewhere out there, there would be people whose ears and hearts he would reach. Hopefully at least. And for them, he would put on this show. Put on this air of confidence that everything would turn out well.
Because only if he managed to make everyone believe that would they find the courage to shake out of their rut and go looking for a better tomorrow. If he believed everything would be well, then they would too.
“Those are big words from someone hiding their face,” a voice suddenly broke through the room. James wasn’t even sure who had said it. But he also didn’t care. Right now, it was just another stone to jump off of.
“What, you think I am wearing this to hide?” James announced loudly and gestured to his breathfilter while turning his head so the entire room could see the gesture.
“It’s uncomfortable as hell! And it gives me a serious disadvantage in any debates if people can’t read my face. These breathfilters are and have always been something we humans are wearing for everyone’s benefit but our own. They are designed because we are extremely cautious to keep nasty deathworld-germs from spreading, even if that is extremely unlikely. And additionally, it protects all the delicate people of the galaxy from having to look at our scary deathworld-faces. But, if you want-“
He didn’t even hesitate in reaching up and pressing the necessary buttons to release the seal of the filter. With a loud hiss, its grip on James’ head loosened, and he quickly pulled the mask-like device off his head, before briefly running his mechanical hand through his disheveled hair to bring it into a bit of form.
Breathing out deeply with an open mouth, James presented his teeth to the room with a confident smile, while his dark, sharp eyes scanned over the room, making direct contact with as many of those of his fellow primates as at all possible.
“I have nothing to hide,” James announced. “From the very start, I owned up to my mistakes and was willing to stand for them. I terrorized an entire station to protect myself. I shot someone’s leg off when he threatened my freedom. I killed one of my captors when I finally escaped from their hold. I have done many things that the Galaxy may judge me for. However, I truly and whole heartedly believe that helping Avezillion is not one of them. And I will stand for that just like I stand to my mistakes.”
2023.05.30 20:59 thebowedbookshelf [Discussion] Bonus Read: The Winners by Fredrick Backman, chapters 29-43
Welcome back to our story. Let's jump right in with the summary:
Amat runs on a road into the woods but can't outrun the negative thoughts and comments. Less than a year ago, he had spent too much time in the gym lifting weights that he fell on the way home and sprained his wrist. Amat kept the injury to himself. He self medicated with painkillers and alcohol. All the expectations weighed him down. Tails told his mom that if he was drafted, he could continue to play for Beartown. The club would get three hundred thousand dollars, and Amat would get more experience and wins for the team.
On the train, the secret reporter asks Maya about her dad. The reporter takes notes about Ramona because she was on the committee and still talked with Peter.
Peter visited Amat to suggest what agent he should contact. He comments that he can smell alcohol on his breath. Peter is just like the others making money off him.
Matteo's sister had gotten a butterfly tattoo on her shoulder in secret. His sister ran away two and a half years ago by saying she was to be staying at a church for "problem" kids. Then she left the country. The next call about her was news of her death. "The devil took her" according to his mom. Matteo wishes they had been born somewhere else to different parents like the Anderssons.
A mysterious man watches Amat practice. He was Lev, a "trash bandit" from a trailer park near Hed with a bad reputation. It was because he was a poor immigrant like Amat. Lev prevented Amat from buying pills. Amat confronted him the next day. Lev is only trying to help. He gives him rides home and can get proper meds for him. Lev actually listens to him and understands. Lev takes the calls from agents now.
Teemu drives through the wreckage after the storm. He has Peter take the wheel so he can text someone. The match schedule is changed so Beartown will play against Hed. Teemu tells him there are rumors that Beartown will merge with Hed now that their club's roof collapsed. Tails is behind it. Teemu hates the idea. Peter tells him he could be a tool or a weapon for the town. Teemu says it's only a temporary truce between Beartown and Hed.
At the game, they were tied and had a face off. Zackell asked Amat's opinion, and he said to give him the puck. They won, but it felt hollow. It was a test, and Amat lost.
The reporter reunites with his daughter. She tells him that how he talked to Maya was unethical. But Maya would have been on her guard if he told her the truth about himself. People think Peter is above reproach. If the two clubs merge, the evidence will be buried. The daughter has to be careful how she gathers intel or it could be taken personally. She has to live in the area. The reporter dad wants to ruin them.
Johnny comes home late in the evening from clearing the roads. Big sister Tess takes on more responsibility which makes Hannah feel guilty. Ted is obsessed with hockey and is better at it than Tobias. Ture pipes up that they have to practice in Beartown now. He overheard his dad on the phone earlier. Ted wants to see Amat train. Tobias gets in a fight with his brother. They are sent a message on their phones of a picture of the town sign with green scarves and a "GO HOME" sign below it. What a welcome. /s
Adri Ovich cleans up after the storm. The older dogs start barking because Benji came back riding a bike. He breaks into the club and sneaks onto the ice thinking of old times. He doesn't feel anything but numbness.
Maya gets a ride into Beartown from a neighbor. The door to her old home is unlocked which is only something people do in Beartown. She surprises her dad as he's getting ready for the day. He didn't think she'd know when the funeral was. Her mom comes home and tackles her in a hug.
Benji had stolen Mateo's bicycle and left it at the rink. He had fixed the chain. It figures that an entitled hockey player would steal it. On the first frost of the year, Benji visits his dad's grave.
Amat lost his temper at another player and insulted assistant coach Bobo. He sat out the rest of the games. Rumors spread that he wasn't really injured and was ungrateful to the club. Lev told him the rich men would tell him to settle for less. Peter tells Amat that he will be lower in the NHL draft but should still take it seriously. The next day, Lev sent a dishwasher for Amat's mom as a loan for when he goes pro.
Lev couldn't go to America with him. Lev's friend didn't help him much. The man he met in the hotel gym was friends with Peter and only interviewed him as a favor. Amat wasn't picked. It was all for nothing. Lev misled him, and his friend wasn't a real agent at all. Amat drank all night and was too drunk the next morning for a second chance. He came home and drank all summer.
Amat texts Bobo for help. Amat has gained weight and is out of shape. Bobo runs with him til they can't anymore. He compares Amat to the lupine, a hardy flower that grows in the ditch. He has ten months until the next NHL draft.
Mateo's sister helped him to survive school. She told him the hiding places and to stay away from the hockey guys. His sister didn't take her own advice.
Lev visits Peter to thank him for trying to help Amat. He mocks Peter when it was his fake agent who messed up Amat's chances by asking for payment from the clubs. Lev claims Ramona owed him a bunch of money. He wants to own her bar, but he doesn't have any proof. Lev uses Peter's motives for helping Amat against him. Lev threatens his wife, and Peter pushes him in a rage. The young gangster in the car comes near. Lev leaves, and Peter calls Teemu.
Maya can't believe her dad is now friends with Teemu. Ramona had to borrow money from Lev because she gave all her money to help Teemu's friend's mom. Teemu says to let him handle it.
Tess is a figure skating coach and Ted and Toby have hockey practice. But this time it will be in Beartown. Ana surprises the family when she drives their van back to their home. Tess feels like Ana should have been Hannah's daughter. Johnny shouts more at Ted because he has more to lose on the ice.
Zackell tells Bobo they will be last on the ice. She is looking to replace Amat. If he needs encouragement, it's already too late. Amat is tortured by the word "almost" and negative self talk.
Ana reunites with Maya. He dad isn't drinking the day before the funeral. Maya hears of the possible merger between Beartown and Hed. Maya talks about how people get radicalized and sectarian violence.
Teemu visits Hog at his garage. He asks for a favor: to borrow a vehicle. A man in a suit from the funeral parlor comes to Lev's scrap yard to pick up a vehicle. Teemu snuck into Lev's house and left keys and a beer glass. The vehicle is in back, and it's a hearse.
The day the rink opens to Hed, all the old rivalries and grievances come roaring back. The parents act the most immature. Bobo helps Tess and her brothers get into the locker room. They all take their turns on the ice until the figure skating practice. A fight starts, and both blame the other side. Bobo breaks it up. Tobias got a black eye. Johnny wants to fight them all, but Tess appeals to his protective instincts. As he drives back to Hed, Teemu and company threaten them.
Tails is nervous about what happened. He tells the caretaker that the two teams could be dissolved and a new club could be formed in Beartown. Teemu makes the club look bad. A council member accuses Tails of being sentimental. Tails gives Mumble a ride back to Hed.
Johnny argues with Hannah that Toby fought out of self defense. Hannah has to agree. Toby got suspended from the team. Hannah tells Johnny not to do anything stupid with his coworkers against Beartown. Ted was the one who charged out to fight, but Toby finished the job to protect Ted from getting suspended.
Extras
Marginalia
Lupines
Bigleaf lupine is an invasive species in Maine.
Questions are in the comments.
Join me next week, June 6th, for chapters 44 to 59.
submitted by thebowedbookshelf to bookclub [link] [comments]
Amat runs on a road into the woods but can't outrun the negative thoughts and comments. Less than a year ago, he had spent too much time in the gym lifting weights that he fell on the way home and sprained his wrist. Amat kept the injury to himself. He self medicated with painkillers and alcohol. All the expectations weighed him down. Tails told his mom that if he was drafted, he could continue to play for Beartown. The club would get three hundred thousand dollars, and Amat would get more experience and wins for the team.
On the train, the secret reporter asks Maya about her dad. The reporter takes notes about Ramona because she was on the committee and still talked with Peter.
Peter visited Amat to suggest what agent he should contact. He comments that he can smell alcohol on his breath. Peter is just like the others making money off him.
Matteo's sister had gotten a butterfly tattoo on her shoulder in secret. His sister ran away two and a half years ago by saying she was to be staying at a church for "problem" kids. Then she left the country. The next call about her was news of her death. "The devil took her" according to his mom. Matteo wishes they had been born somewhere else to different parents like the Anderssons.
A mysterious man watches Amat practice. He was Lev, a "trash bandit" from a trailer park near Hed with a bad reputation. It was because he was a poor immigrant like Amat. Lev prevented Amat from buying pills. Amat confronted him the next day. Lev is only trying to help. He gives him rides home and can get proper meds for him. Lev actually listens to him and understands. Lev takes the calls from agents now.
Teemu drives through the wreckage after the storm. He has Peter take the wheel so he can text someone. The match schedule is changed so Beartown will play against Hed. Teemu tells him there are rumors that Beartown will merge with Hed now that their club's roof collapsed. Tails is behind it. Teemu hates the idea. Peter tells him he could be a tool or a weapon for the town. Teemu says it's only a temporary truce between Beartown and Hed.
At the game, they were tied and had a face off. Zackell asked Amat's opinion, and he said to give him the puck. They won, but it felt hollow. It was a test, and Amat lost.
The reporter reunites with his daughter. She tells him that how he talked to Maya was unethical. But Maya would have been on her guard if he told her the truth about himself. People think Peter is above reproach. If the two clubs merge, the evidence will be buried. The daughter has to be careful how she gathers intel or it could be taken personally. She has to live in the area. The reporter dad wants to ruin them.
Johnny comes home late in the evening from clearing the roads. Big sister Tess takes on more responsibility which makes Hannah feel guilty. Ted is obsessed with hockey and is better at it than Tobias. Ture pipes up that they have to practice in Beartown now. He overheard his dad on the phone earlier. Ted wants to see Amat train. Tobias gets in a fight with his brother. They are sent a message on their phones of a picture of the town sign with green scarves and a "GO HOME" sign below it. What a welcome. /s
Adri Ovich cleans up after the storm. The older dogs start barking because Benji came back riding a bike. He breaks into the club and sneaks onto the ice thinking of old times. He doesn't feel anything but numbness.
Maya gets a ride into Beartown from a neighbor. The door to her old home is unlocked which is only something people do in Beartown. She surprises her dad as he's getting ready for the day. He didn't think she'd know when the funeral was. Her mom comes home and tackles her in a hug.
Benji had stolen Mateo's bicycle and left it at the rink. He had fixed the chain. It figures that an entitled hockey player would steal it. On the first frost of the year, Benji visits his dad's grave.
Amat lost his temper at another player and insulted assistant coach Bobo. He sat out the rest of the games. Rumors spread that he wasn't really injured and was ungrateful to the club. Lev told him the rich men would tell him to settle for less. Peter tells Amat that he will be lower in the NHL draft but should still take it seriously. The next day, Lev sent a dishwasher for Amat's mom as a loan for when he goes pro.
Lev couldn't go to America with him. Lev's friend didn't help him much. The man he met in the hotel gym was friends with Peter and only interviewed him as a favor. Amat wasn't picked. It was all for nothing. Lev misled him, and his friend wasn't a real agent at all. Amat drank all night and was too drunk the next morning for a second chance. He came home and drank all summer.
Amat texts Bobo for help. Amat has gained weight and is out of shape. Bobo runs with him til they can't anymore. He compares Amat to the lupine, a hardy flower that grows in the ditch. He has ten months until the next NHL draft.
Mateo's sister helped him to survive school. She told him the hiding places and to stay away from the hockey guys. His sister didn't take her own advice.
Lev visits Peter to thank him for trying to help Amat. He mocks Peter when it was his fake agent who messed up Amat's chances by asking for payment from the clubs. Lev claims Ramona owed him a bunch of money. He wants to own her bar, but he doesn't have any proof. Lev uses Peter's motives for helping Amat against him. Lev threatens his wife, and Peter pushes him in a rage. The young gangster in the car comes near. Lev leaves, and Peter calls Teemu.
Maya can't believe her dad is now friends with Teemu. Ramona had to borrow money from Lev because she gave all her money to help Teemu's friend's mom. Teemu says to let him handle it.
Tess is a figure skating coach and Ted and Toby have hockey practice. But this time it will be in Beartown. Ana surprises the family when she drives their van back to their home. Tess feels like Ana should have been Hannah's daughter. Johnny shouts more at Ted because he has more to lose on the ice.
Zackell tells Bobo they will be last on the ice. She is looking to replace Amat. If he needs encouragement, it's already too late. Amat is tortured by the word "almost" and negative self talk.
Ana reunites with Maya. He dad isn't drinking the day before the funeral. Maya hears of the possible merger between Beartown and Hed. Maya talks about how people get radicalized and sectarian violence.
Teemu visits Hog at his garage. He asks for a favor: to borrow a vehicle. A man in a suit from the funeral parlor comes to Lev's scrap yard to pick up a vehicle. Teemu snuck into Lev's house and left keys and a beer glass. The vehicle is in back, and it's a hearse.
The day the rink opens to Hed, all the old rivalries and grievances come roaring back. The parents act the most immature. Bobo helps Tess and her brothers get into the locker room. They all take their turns on the ice until the figure skating practice. A fight starts, and both blame the other side. Bobo breaks it up. Tobias got a black eye. Johnny wants to fight them all, but Tess appeals to his protective instincts. As he drives back to Hed, Teemu and company threaten them.
Tails is nervous about what happened. He tells the caretaker that the two teams could be dissolved and a new club could be formed in Beartown. Teemu makes the club look bad. A council member accuses Tails of being sentimental. Tails gives Mumble a ride back to Hed.
Johnny argues with Hannah that Toby fought out of self defense. Hannah has to agree. Toby got suspended from the team. Hannah tells Johnny not to do anything stupid with his coworkers against Beartown. Ted was the one who charged out to fight, but Toby finished the job to protect Ted from getting suspended.
Extras
Marginalia
Lupines
Bigleaf lupine is an invasive species in Maine.
Questions are in the comments.
Join me next week, June 6th, for chapters 44 to 59.
2023.05.30 20:55 beardbroo Got bent on my first international dive trip
Just returned from a trip to Cozumel wherein me and a buddy did our open water certification (Friday 2 shore dives for skills, Saturday 2 boat dives). We took Sunday off to check out the island. Monday & Tuesday we did 2 tank boat dives. Tuesday night I started to feel a bit achy in my joints and pretty run down. Waking up Wednesday morning feeling even worse, I started to get nervous because we had a flight that day and I knew these may be signs of mild DCS, went to the hospital, did 5 hours in the chamber, stayed over night, 3 more hours the next day.
I really enjoyed the scuba and am 100% planning on doing more, my only concern is that my buddy didn't get DCS, and so I don't really have a clear idea of what I may have done wrong, and how to avoid it in the future. As DCS can be pretty scary, I thought I would share what info I have, and see if some feedback here could give me any clarity.
First, our dive profiles. I am just going from what our dive master told us, as I didn't log them, or have my own computer. I realize not logging them was probably not a great practice, and I think I want to get my own computer so I can have a more accurate picture of the dive profile, then just asking the dive master. Anyway, on Monday our first dive deepest depth was 82 feet (again, no idea if we were at this depth the entire time) and we only made it about 36 minutes as I recall. 2nd dive was shallow (maybe 30 feet) I think we did ~55 minutes. Tuesday another 82 feet ~47 minutes, followed by 55 feet around ~56 minutes. Again, I do not have exact numbers but both days we had 45-60 minute break between dives. Did a 3 minute stop at 20 feet on all dives.
A few things of note about the dives on Tuesday. My buddy and me asked our divemaster Monday what his tank was at after we surfaced and were immediately depress with his answer. As such, Tuesday we really wanted to focus on our breathing. One thing we were both doing (I have been told by several people that this is wrong now) was holding our breath between exhale/inhale. I knew about the risk of ascending and holding breath, but thought if I was maintaining depth that this was a simple way to extend the life of my tank. I need to figure out how to consistently breathe, without hucking down air.
I wouldn't of mentioned/remembered this if it hadn't been a question the doctor asked me, but on the Tuesday dives there were some moments of much higher exertion than one would expect in a drift dive. These all revolved around our dive master spotting something he wanted us to look at, and having to swim against the current to get there, and then continuing effort to stay in place while I try to figure out what he is pointing at.
My current working theory is that dehydration may be the culprit. We were pretty conscious of being hydrated, as we had been told so many times, and we were sweating as much as you might expect two people from NYC to do while in Cozumel. We had an electrolyte drink every morning, and brought one on the boat to have in between dives. However, this day, I think they had forgotten to fill the water cooler on the boat. The previous days I had refilled my electrolyte bottle several times with that water cooler before, between, & after dives.
So far, there are not many discrepancies between me and my friend. Now comes the tequila. My friend doesn't drink. After our dives Monday, we walked around some, and I had a couple drinks. While having said drinks, a tequila monger stopped by and wanted me to sample (then buy) their tequilas. By the time this sampling wrapped up, I had probably done ~4 shots of tequila. Later, with dinner I believe I had 3 more drinks. Being somewhat concerned about this, when I got home that night I did make myself chug a lot of water, but maybe the damage was done?
Anyway, that's my story. Would love to hear some thoughts/feedback from experienced folks that might give me some peace of mind going forward.
edit: Again, I want to get a dive computer so I have more info in the future, but for that 82 foot/46 minute dive. I wanted to clarify, this was a wall dive, which we dropped down from the boat into some sand, then swam over to drop off the wall, also finished swimming back up to the sand, and drifting a bit more. So, this isn't all 46 minutes at 82 feet.
submitted by beardbroo to scuba [link] [comments]
I really enjoyed the scuba and am 100% planning on doing more, my only concern is that my buddy didn't get DCS, and so I don't really have a clear idea of what I may have done wrong, and how to avoid it in the future. As DCS can be pretty scary, I thought I would share what info I have, and see if some feedback here could give me any clarity.
First, our dive profiles. I am just going from what our dive master told us, as I didn't log them, or have my own computer. I realize not logging them was probably not a great practice, and I think I want to get my own computer so I can have a more accurate picture of the dive profile, then just asking the dive master. Anyway, on Monday our first dive deepest depth was 82 feet (again, no idea if we were at this depth the entire time) and we only made it about 36 minutes as I recall. 2nd dive was shallow (maybe 30 feet) I think we did ~55 minutes. Tuesday another 82 feet ~47 minutes, followed by 55 feet around ~56 minutes. Again, I do not have exact numbers but both days we had 45-60 minute break between dives. Did a 3 minute stop at 20 feet on all dives.
A few things of note about the dives on Tuesday. My buddy and me asked our divemaster Monday what his tank was at after we surfaced and were immediately depress with his answer. As such, Tuesday we really wanted to focus on our breathing. One thing we were both doing (I have been told by several people that this is wrong now) was holding our breath between exhale/inhale. I knew about the risk of ascending and holding breath, but thought if I was maintaining depth that this was a simple way to extend the life of my tank. I need to figure out how to consistently breathe, without hucking down air.
I wouldn't of mentioned/remembered this if it hadn't been a question the doctor asked me, but on the Tuesday dives there were some moments of much higher exertion than one would expect in a drift dive. These all revolved around our dive master spotting something he wanted us to look at, and having to swim against the current to get there, and then continuing effort to stay in place while I try to figure out what he is pointing at.
My current working theory is that dehydration may be the culprit. We were pretty conscious of being hydrated, as we had been told so many times, and we were sweating as much as you might expect two people from NYC to do while in Cozumel. We had an electrolyte drink every morning, and brought one on the boat to have in between dives. However, this day, I think they had forgotten to fill the water cooler on the boat. The previous days I had refilled my electrolyte bottle several times with that water cooler before, between, & after dives.
So far, there are not many discrepancies between me and my friend. Now comes the tequila. My friend doesn't drink. After our dives Monday, we walked around some, and I had a couple drinks. While having said drinks, a tequila monger stopped by and wanted me to sample (then buy) their tequilas. By the time this sampling wrapped up, I had probably done ~4 shots of tequila. Later, with dinner I believe I had 3 more drinks. Being somewhat concerned about this, when I got home that night I did make myself chug a lot of water, but maybe the damage was done?
Anyway, that's my story. Would love to hear some thoughts/feedback from experienced folks that might give me some peace of mind going forward.
edit: Again, I want to get a dive computer so I have more info in the future, but for that 82 foot/46 minute dive. I wanted to clarify, this was a wall dive, which we dropped down from the boat into some sand, then swam over to drop off the wall, also finished swimming back up to the sand, and drifting a bit more. So, this isn't all 46 minutes at 82 feet.
2023.05.30 20:55 Revenge_served_cold8 Caught my fiancé cheating and ruined his life and those of his APs. Who says revenge doesn't pay?
I met my ex in 2012, right after he turned 20 and I had just turned 30. I had only dated and been with women exclusively until I came out as bi-sexual at 28. Let’s just say the year I was 29 was a busy year making up for what I missed out on. It was mostly casual hookups (yes, safe) and I did try dating 2 different guys for a few weeks, but it just never worked out or got serious. I kinda figured that I’d probably end up marrying a woman or not getting married at all because I just didn’t see myself catching romantic and sexual feelings for a guy.
Then I met Ryan. From the first date it was just like the only other time in my life I had fallen in love…butterflies, constantly thinking about him, wanting to spend every moment with him. He fell for me hard too and we became an item, though he did say while he considered my bisexuality a turn on, because he had a thing for straight guys, it also gave him pause because of my desires for the opposite sex and his concern it may lead me astray. I thought about it and understood it was a legitimate worry, but assured him that I couldn’t even think about anyone else because I was really into him. Note: I knew he was the one by the end of the first month and I was in love, but I wasn’t going to say these things too soon and risk scaring him off.
On our first date he admitted to me that he was legally blind due to a genetic disorder and that it was progressive and eventually he would only have a sliver of his peripheral vision. He immediately said he understood if I didn’t want to see him again because no other guy had wanted to date him and be his driver all of the time. I grew up with a brother in a wheelchair who never learned how to walk or talk due to misdiagnosed meningitis at 6 months old back in the 70s. I told him that and said that what my brother had was a severe disability, so in my perspective, his blindness had no effect in my feelings and that always being the driver was a small sacrifice just to be with him.
The next 3 years were bliss. We brought out the best in each other. My family who was surprised, but very supportive when I came out, adored Ryan and treated him like family and said that I acted happier since we’d been together. When I met him he was working part-time in retail and had done very poorly in high school because he lost a lot of his confidence as his vision deteriorated. I told him that one thing I did insist on was that he do something with his life because he had too much to offer and that I would help. He said that he’d wanted to be a teacher but didn’t think someone with limited vision could teach….nonsense. So I put him through community college for 2 years, then 2.5 years of a local university and finally the 1 year teacher certification program as required by California. I drove countless miles and paid hundreds in public transportation costs for him, never blinking an eye or complaining.
We’d been together for 7.5 years and were engaged to be married in October by the time he was in his last semester of his teaching certification which involved him student teaching at his former high school with his favorite teacher from his days in school. Then the pandemic hit and schools closed. Fortunately he’d had enough hours in the classroom that he would still qualify to be certified after the Governor issued a waiver via executive order. On the 3rd day of the stay at home order in March my life crumbled when I innocently found out he had cheated on me with an ex all because he handed his phone to me to show me something on Instagram. I accidentally fat thumbed the back arrow when he gave it to me taking me back to a list of all his messages. I looked and recognized the name of his ex as the second message, dated a week ago. I clicked on it and my heart sank. Directions to my house, pictures, dirty talk, and reassuring him not to worry about me because he had my location on my “Find My Friends,” just in case I came home from work.
I immediately started screaming demanding to know everything and he admitted to having his ex over twice for sex and that they didn’t use protection (his ex was engaged to his gf during this, adding another victim). Then he admitted to sleeping with his straight but curious recently single cousin (by marriage) twice, again no protection. Finally he admitted to sleeping with a supposedly straight guy he and many of my cousins went to school with who I told Ryan I really didn’t like him or want them talking because I didn’t trust him. Since they were never close friends I didn’t feel like this was a big sacrifice or that I was being too controlling AND I assumed that he knew why I (and all my cousins) felt that way, but didn’t bother repeating it. The reason was after high school at age 20 this guy was convicted of sexual assault and penetration with a foreign object against a 16 year old girl and had gone to jail and required to register as a sex offender for life. Apparently my ex was the only person in his graduating class that hadn’t heard that news. All of this happened in my home while I was working.
We spent the whole weekend crying with me asking over and over why and him repeatedly crying and saying he just didn’t know and that he felt terrible. Monday comes around and anger started being as common as sadness and I made a comment that said I was going to pull all the phone records going back the 3 years that AT&T kept them (for a fee). Only when he heard that did he admit to one more guy. Some random named Frankie off the gay hookup app Grindr who was the first guy he cheated with and continued to casually hookup with for nearly 2 years with the last time being in February (the month before).
He told me how it started. Get this – it was the DAY AFTER his graduation with his BA in May 2018 and he was drunk from celebrating and wanted to have sex. I too had been celebrating with him and said I was too drunk to perform and said I’d make it up the next day, then passed out asleep on the couch. Apparently he was “angry horny” because he downloaded Grindr, chatted with this Frankie fellow and arranged to have sex in his car in a church parking lot across the street from our condo (which happens to be across the street from a school…this fact is important later), all while I slept on the couch. All the times they hooked up after that was again in my condo while I was working or visiting a friend for the night up the coast (he used to love going but started saying he couldn’t occasionally because of “homework” and “studying.”
I absolutely lost it, told him to get in the car and I drove him to his family’s house so he could tell them what he did so they understood why he was moving back into their house. While he was in the house I was in the driveway on the phone with AT&T ordering the 3 years worth of detailed call/text logs, then made an appointment to be screened for STIs. I also changed his number (he’d had it for years, but I took it over and added it to my plan 2-3 before because his parents were tired of paying it), then suspended his service, deleted his social media and changed all his passwords so only I would have access to his cloud. I also called the bank and issued a stop payment on his final tuition check that I had sent to the certification program the week before and hadn’t hit the bank yet. Before deleting his social media, except Facebook, I took screenshots of the entire Instagram conversation with his ex and mailed the conversation to his fiancée, who deserved to know so she could see a doctor too. His family was very religious and had kicked him out in high school for 3 days when he tried to admit he was bi and only took him back in when he took it back. Needless to say, she ended it, he got kicked out. ONE DOWN.
He came back out to the car and we went home. I took his house key and told him to say goodbye to our 3 pets and get packing. The entire time he packed I studied those phone records to find out dates, times and if there was anyone else he was leaving out. He answered every question I asked and it was then that I discovered that the sex offender and he had only had oral sex in my home and that the actual sex was in the same parking lot he screwed the Frankie guy in.
The wheels started turning and the next day I went over there and sure enough spotted a camera. I spoke to a secretary at the church and informed them about a registered sex offender having sex in their lot and that not only was it a violation of his parole for indecent exposure, but that he was not allowed to be that close to a school and I provided the date. I was in luck! They had a digital two year loop system that started deleting day by day after it had been retained for 2 years +1 day. It was April 2020 and he first cheated with Frankie in May 2018 and the sex offender was in April 2019. I told them I was filing a police report and that probation would require a copy of it eventually. They said they would save the file and allowed me a thumb drive of both days to submit with my police report. Within a month the sex offender was locked up again. TWO DOWN.
I also filed a police report against the Frankie guy. The police said it was a relatively minor infraction but since it was across from a school playground and skate park they would follow up but there would be no jail time. I researched the hell out of Frankie and called him to confront him. He was smug and admitted to knowing about me the whole time. What he didn’t know is that I had found out he had a job that required a security clearance and he had several judgements against him and collection agencies had been looking for him. I didn’t know why they couldn’t find him and just garnish his wages, but it ends up he was Hispanic and had two last names and was a Jr., plus he frequently by his middle name Francisco, Frankie for short…so he got lost in the paperwork confusion. I sent a letter to the collection agencies providing his employer and current location and contact info and then sent a copy of the police report about misdemeanor indecent exposure for which he pled guilty and it was a fine with community service (not considered a sex crime). His wages did get garnished, but only for two paychecks because the misdemeanor was enough for him to lose his security clearance and get fired. THREE DOWN.
Then I contacted Ryan’s family on his mother’s side pretending to be him from his Facebook account making sure they knew he had fucked his cousin. It spread through the family like wildfire and soon his cousin was contacting me because he couldn’t get a hold of Ryan to ask why he would expose what they did. I just laughed and said you shouldn’t screw your cousins, especially when they’re engaged and that he’d messed around in my house, so now it was my turn for payback. FOUR DOWN.
Lastly, I had already stopped payment but since he was so close to finishing I was sure his family would bail him out and pay the university. Like I said, indecent exposure is usually a slap on the wrist type misdemeanor. However, I remembered some of the paperwork he signed to be a mandated reporter that you could lose teaching certification for “documented acts of moral turpitude.” I sent a copy of both police reports from the parking lot with still shots from the security footage clearly showing Ryan’s face to the school district he’d been student teaching in and a copy to the Commission on Teacher Credentials. FIFTH AND FINAL DOWN!
Admittedly, I did all this out of anger but he shattered my sense of self-worth and made me incredibly bitter and untrusting after years of being generous and supporting him. Everywhere I looked in the town I thought of Ryan and the cheating. I felt a terrible energy in my condo knowing it all happened there. I stayed 9 months and watched all 5 of their lives self-destruct. Then sold my condo (making a nice profit) and relocated to the PNW to start over. One thing that is sad is I found out just recently that his ex-who’s fiancé broke up with him ended up committing suicide several months after I moved. It is too bad that his family was so closed minded to turn on their own son, but in the end, it’s not my fault that he cheated on his fiancé by coming into my home at my fiancé’s invitation to cheat.
TLDR: I emotionally and financially supported my ex through college and his teacher credential program for over 7 years only to discover he had cheated on me with 4 different guys, one of them the day after he graduated and then occasionally for nearly two years in my home while I was at work. I took my revenge: My ex lost his career before it even started and our relationship, one AP (affair partner) lost his job and had bill collectors after him, another lost his fiancée and was kicked out, a third was humiliated when his entire family found out he had sex with his cousin and the fourth was put in jail for a violating probation. Lesson: Don't Cheat and Deceive.
submitted by Revenge_served_cold8 to cheating_stories [link] [comments]
Then I met Ryan. From the first date it was just like the only other time in my life I had fallen in love…butterflies, constantly thinking about him, wanting to spend every moment with him. He fell for me hard too and we became an item, though he did say while he considered my bisexuality a turn on, because he had a thing for straight guys, it also gave him pause because of my desires for the opposite sex and his concern it may lead me astray. I thought about it and understood it was a legitimate worry, but assured him that I couldn’t even think about anyone else because I was really into him. Note: I knew he was the one by the end of the first month and I was in love, but I wasn’t going to say these things too soon and risk scaring him off.
On our first date he admitted to me that he was legally blind due to a genetic disorder and that it was progressive and eventually he would only have a sliver of his peripheral vision. He immediately said he understood if I didn’t want to see him again because no other guy had wanted to date him and be his driver all of the time. I grew up with a brother in a wheelchair who never learned how to walk or talk due to misdiagnosed meningitis at 6 months old back in the 70s. I told him that and said that what my brother had was a severe disability, so in my perspective, his blindness had no effect in my feelings and that always being the driver was a small sacrifice just to be with him.
The next 3 years were bliss. We brought out the best in each other. My family who was surprised, but very supportive when I came out, adored Ryan and treated him like family and said that I acted happier since we’d been together. When I met him he was working part-time in retail and had done very poorly in high school because he lost a lot of his confidence as his vision deteriorated. I told him that one thing I did insist on was that he do something with his life because he had too much to offer and that I would help. He said that he’d wanted to be a teacher but didn’t think someone with limited vision could teach….nonsense. So I put him through community college for 2 years, then 2.5 years of a local university and finally the 1 year teacher certification program as required by California. I drove countless miles and paid hundreds in public transportation costs for him, never blinking an eye or complaining.
We’d been together for 7.5 years and were engaged to be married in October by the time he was in his last semester of his teaching certification which involved him student teaching at his former high school with his favorite teacher from his days in school. Then the pandemic hit and schools closed. Fortunately he’d had enough hours in the classroom that he would still qualify to be certified after the Governor issued a waiver via executive order. On the 3rd day of the stay at home order in March my life crumbled when I innocently found out he had cheated on me with an ex all because he handed his phone to me to show me something on Instagram. I accidentally fat thumbed the back arrow when he gave it to me taking me back to a list of all his messages. I looked and recognized the name of his ex as the second message, dated a week ago. I clicked on it and my heart sank. Directions to my house, pictures, dirty talk, and reassuring him not to worry about me because he had my location on my “Find My Friends,” just in case I came home from work.
I immediately started screaming demanding to know everything and he admitted to having his ex over twice for sex and that they didn’t use protection (his ex was engaged to his gf during this, adding another victim). Then he admitted to sleeping with his straight but curious recently single cousin (by marriage) twice, again no protection. Finally he admitted to sleeping with a supposedly straight guy he and many of my cousins went to school with who I told Ryan I really didn’t like him or want them talking because I didn’t trust him. Since they were never close friends I didn’t feel like this was a big sacrifice or that I was being too controlling AND I assumed that he knew why I (and all my cousins) felt that way, but didn’t bother repeating it. The reason was after high school at age 20 this guy was convicted of sexual assault and penetration with a foreign object against a 16 year old girl and had gone to jail and required to register as a sex offender for life. Apparently my ex was the only person in his graduating class that hadn’t heard that news. All of this happened in my home while I was working.
We spent the whole weekend crying with me asking over and over why and him repeatedly crying and saying he just didn’t know and that he felt terrible. Monday comes around and anger started being as common as sadness and I made a comment that said I was going to pull all the phone records going back the 3 years that AT&T kept them (for a fee). Only when he heard that did he admit to one more guy. Some random named Frankie off the gay hookup app Grindr who was the first guy he cheated with and continued to casually hookup with for nearly 2 years with the last time being in February (the month before).
He told me how it started. Get this – it was the DAY AFTER his graduation with his BA in May 2018 and he was drunk from celebrating and wanted to have sex. I too had been celebrating with him and said I was too drunk to perform and said I’d make it up the next day, then passed out asleep on the couch. Apparently he was “angry horny” because he downloaded Grindr, chatted with this Frankie fellow and arranged to have sex in his car in a church parking lot across the street from our condo (which happens to be across the street from a school…this fact is important later), all while I slept on the couch. All the times they hooked up after that was again in my condo while I was working or visiting a friend for the night up the coast (he used to love going but started saying he couldn’t occasionally because of “homework” and “studying.”
I absolutely lost it, told him to get in the car and I drove him to his family’s house so he could tell them what he did so they understood why he was moving back into their house. While he was in the house I was in the driveway on the phone with AT&T ordering the 3 years worth of detailed call/text logs, then made an appointment to be screened for STIs. I also changed his number (he’d had it for years, but I took it over and added it to my plan 2-3 before because his parents were tired of paying it), then suspended his service, deleted his social media and changed all his passwords so only I would have access to his cloud. I also called the bank and issued a stop payment on his final tuition check that I had sent to the certification program the week before and hadn’t hit the bank yet. Before deleting his social media, except Facebook, I took screenshots of the entire Instagram conversation with his ex and mailed the conversation to his fiancée, who deserved to know so she could see a doctor too. His family was very religious and had kicked him out in high school for 3 days when he tried to admit he was bi and only took him back in when he took it back. Needless to say, she ended it, he got kicked out. ONE DOWN.
He came back out to the car and we went home. I took his house key and told him to say goodbye to our 3 pets and get packing. The entire time he packed I studied those phone records to find out dates, times and if there was anyone else he was leaving out. He answered every question I asked and it was then that I discovered that the sex offender and he had only had oral sex in my home and that the actual sex was in the same parking lot he screwed the Frankie guy in.
The wheels started turning and the next day I went over there and sure enough spotted a camera. I spoke to a secretary at the church and informed them about a registered sex offender having sex in their lot and that not only was it a violation of his parole for indecent exposure, but that he was not allowed to be that close to a school and I provided the date. I was in luck! They had a digital two year loop system that started deleting day by day after it had been retained for 2 years +1 day. It was April 2020 and he first cheated with Frankie in May 2018 and the sex offender was in April 2019. I told them I was filing a police report and that probation would require a copy of it eventually. They said they would save the file and allowed me a thumb drive of both days to submit with my police report. Within a month the sex offender was locked up again. TWO DOWN.
I also filed a police report against the Frankie guy. The police said it was a relatively minor infraction but since it was across from a school playground and skate park they would follow up but there would be no jail time. I researched the hell out of Frankie and called him to confront him. He was smug and admitted to knowing about me the whole time. What he didn’t know is that I had found out he had a job that required a security clearance and he had several judgements against him and collection agencies had been looking for him. I didn’t know why they couldn’t find him and just garnish his wages, but it ends up he was Hispanic and had two last names and was a Jr., plus he frequently by his middle name Francisco, Frankie for short…so he got lost in the paperwork confusion. I sent a letter to the collection agencies providing his employer and current location and contact info and then sent a copy of the police report about misdemeanor indecent exposure for which he pled guilty and it was a fine with community service (not considered a sex crime). His wages did get garnished, but only for two paychecks because the misdemeanor was enough for him to lose his security clearance and get fired. THREE DOWN.
Then I contacted Ryan’s family on his mother’s side pretending to be him from his Facebook account making sure they knew he had fucked his cousin. It spread through the family like wildfire and soon his cousin was contacting me because he couldn’t get a hold of Ryan to ask why he would expose what they did. I just laughed and said you shouldn’t screw your cousins, especially when they’re engaged and that he’d messed around in my house, so now it was my turn for payback. FOUR DOWN.
Lastly, I had already stopped payment but since he was so close to finishing I was sure his family would bail him out and pay the university. Like I said, indecent exposure is usually a slap on the wrist type misdemeanor. However, I remembered some of the paperwork he signed to be a mandated reporter that you could lose teaching certification for “documented acts of moral turpitude.” I sent a copy of both police reports from the parking lot with still shots from the security footage clearly showing Ryan’s face to the school district he’d been student teaching in and a copy to the Commission on Teacher Credentials. FIFTH AND FINAL DOWN!
Admittedly, I did all this out of anger but he shattered my sense of self-worth and made me incredibly bitter and untrusting after years of being generous and supporting him. Everywhere I looked in the town I thought of Ryan and the cheating. I felt a terrible energy in my condo knowing it all happened there. I stayed 9 months and watched all 5 of their lives self-destruct. Then sold my condo (making a nice profit) and relocated to the PNW to start over. One thing that is sad is I found out just recently that his ex-who’s fiancé broke up with him ended up committing suicide several months after I moved. It is too bad that his family was so closed minded to turn on their own son, but in the end, it’s not my fault that he cheated on his fiancé by coming into my home at my fiancé’s invitation to cheat.
TLDR: I emotionally and financially supported my ex through college and his teacher credential program for over 7 years only to discover he had cheated on me with 4 different guys, one of them the day after he graduated and then occasionally for nearly two years in my home while I was at work. I took my revenge: My ex lost his career before it even started and our relationship, one AP (affair partner) lost his job and had bill collectors after him, another lost his fiancée and was kicked out, a third was humiliated when his entire family found out he had sex with his cousin and the fourth was put in jail for a violating probation. Lesson: Don't Cheat and Deceive.
2023.05.30 20:55 shaynawill I ruined my new-ish relationship by accidentally getting emotionally day-drunk and starting a fight with him
Let me preface this by saying that while I know this is no excuse, I am under a fair amount of stress due to a number of things happening around me currently. I will go into more detail:
I (F34) split with my ex of 12 years last July. It was not at all amicable and it was a nightmare up until about a month ago. A few months after the split, a friend of mine from high school (M36) reached out about a job that I had information on. We had always had a little crush on each other and when he asked about my ex, I was happy to inform him that we were no longer seeing each other. He then goes on to tell me that he had also split from his ex in April of last year. It took almost no time for us to start dating and I pretty instantly fell in love with him.
Since we started dating, it has been mostly joyous and just a handful instances where things went off the rails. There are only a few red flags about him outside of the fact that he is "job-jumper" which is alarming to me for no other reason than it scares me that he is unable to commit to anything long term. Otherwise, he still manages to buy me cute-sy gifts and dinner and we split date nights 50/50 most of the time. He has never asked to borrow money from me and rarely complains about being broke so essentially, his finances are not my concern. He has recently met ALL of my best friends and everyone immediately took him under their wing which was shocking considering that we have all been friends for a very long time and normally, new people don't fair well with our trash-talking tough-love dynamic, be he did. Beyond that, they have been ecstatic about me being with someone that makes me so happy and who takes such good care of me emotionally.
I am still working out how to undo toxic relationship habits that I acquired while being with my ex. I was always on edge with him because we argued A LOT. He was very difficult to manage and I had a series of defense mechanisms that I had to create in order to deal with the verbal and emotional abuse I endured over the last 12 years. I am working VERY hard on communicating effectively and expressing myself in a reasonable manner but I can be a little argumentative and/or defensive or combative if I feel attacked, I am sensitive and occasionally when I drink too much (which I only do on weekends, never during the week and I rarely stress-drink), I get emotional or confrontational which we will circle back on shortly.
Currently, I am dealing with a massive plumbing problem at my house. For a week, my bedroom carpet has a leak coming from under the carpet and carpet pad and it was decided that it's actually coming up from UNDER the concrete slab. My landlord lives in another state and with the Holiday weekend being long, it's more or less turned into moldy, gross, sopping wet, standing water until it can be addressed tomorrow. I am concerned that my landlord will not be able to afford this problem which could result in my rent increasing or him selling the house (I do not have a lease because he is a family friend. I have lived in this house for 8 years).
I have been working very hard at a new job that I do not have previous experience in and although I am getting the hang out of it, it requires long hours, a lot of patience and a lot of driving. It is regularly weighing on me which has also added to my stress.
Lastly, it was brought to my attention last week that the ex has a new girlfriend. And though I was sure that this did not at all bother me, I'm starting to accept that maybe it does hurt me more than I truly thought it would. To boot, the tale is that she "has money." In what capacity, I do not know but that is the word on the street. I left him due to a severe drinking problem he had developed during COVID and since then, he has lost most of his friends, his job, he has no money, and is currently living with his mother. So I have really struggled with understanding how he managed to snag a girl amidst all of those MASSIVE red flags but he has, I guess. I was sure that I had MORE than moved on from caring about what direction his lifestyle takes him but I have to admit that it does sting, surprisingly.
ALL OF THAT SAID: I worked late Friday and went to bed early. My best friend came over Saturday morning while the first plumber was there giving me terrible news but since we were off for the next 3 days, she brought some tequila (my fav) and we had a drink while he was finishing up. Around that time, my boyfriend shows up for our weekend escapades. All was right in my world.
BFF leaves an hour or so later to run a few errands, boyfriend and I run to grab a bite to eat, we all circle back mid-day and regroup at my house. Boyfriend goes in my room to lay down for a short nap and BFF and I sit on my patio listening to music taking shots and having a good time. We start going down an emotional path talking about her current relationship situation, the struggles of dating in your mid-30's, her ex, my ex, etc. Before too long, I'm SOBBING uncontrollably about how disappointed I am in my ex for how he has fucked his life up and how shitty I am that I wasted so many good years of my 20's on him and yada yada. The tequila definitely got away from me because I remember only snippets of the argument that ensued shortly after.
Boyfriend wakes up from his nap and I vaguely remember him either remarking on or acting put off by sob-fest and we proceed to get into a pretty nasty argument about my ex and his ex. He claims that I went on a "tirade" about his ex even though I barely know anything about her. Definitely not enough to go on a "tirade," that's for sure. He ends up packing up his belongings, his dog, his dog's bed, some things he keeps at my house and walks out the door. I go after him and just kind of blankly stare while he loads up his car because I'm just shocked that he's actually leaving. Like I said, I've been working very hard on communicating better and he knows this so even though I know I was wrong for drinking too much and starting an argument, we normally communicate in a very healthy manner so the fact that he was so willing to just leave my house and cancel all the plans for the weekend was pretty startling. He did not want to talk to me at all Saturday night so I spent hours tossing and turning feeling TERRIBLE which, I should have.
Sunday I wake up early hoping to have gotten a text or something from him at some point in the night which I didn't. I continue with "our" plans as scheduled, just solo and sulking all damn day sick with guilt and shame. I couldn't enjoy my friends or the pool or the fun being had because all I could do was obsess over my phone hoping he would call or text. Nothing all day Sunday. By Sunday night, I had left the pool party with my friends and went to my parents house and finally got the balls to reach out to him. Of course, I profusely apologize but his responses were short, stern and uninterested in anything I had to say. Again, I hear nothing from him all day yesterday.
Today, I'm stuck at work still with the same sick feeling I carried with me all weekend. I texted him and just kind of said "I assume this means that we're done and this is over or are you still deciding? I love you and again, I am SO sorry." He tells me he was sick yesterday (which also made me sad because he knows I like taking care of him) and that he also just still didn't know what to say to me. He eventually says "it would be different if this was the first time, but it's not." Which, he's neither right nor wrong about that. We do quite a bit of going out and/or partying on weekends together and I can only recall one other instance where we had an alcohol-fueled argument and that was in October last year during a Halloween party. Apparently he decided when that occurred that this was not something he was willing to tolerate often or ever again. Which, I respect but at the same time, it feels like a pretty big ask that NO FIGHTS EVER are allowed to happen, drunk or not.
Something I told my friends is that while I don't want him to feel taken advantage of or emotionally abused by me, it's frustrating because I have heard HORROR STORIES from him about what he put up with in past relationships. Each one way worse than the last, and all of them INSANELY worse than what happened this weekend. For instance, he had numerous girlfriends cheat on him that he took back, he had one girl get pregnant with someone else's baby and he considered staying with her, he had one girl date him, use him for money, and then when her boyfriend got out of prison, she immediately dumped him, and most recently, the ONE THING I know about his last ex is that she very nearly got him to sign the deed to a house that she allowed him to think would be his and hers together only to find out the day before closing that it was actually for her and HER MOM instead.
But apparently stress-induced day drunk fighting is where he draws the line, I guess? Maybe he has created a new standard for himself of what he's willing to tolerate moving forward and again, I definitely respect that but I just can't stop thinking about how small this is in comparison to what we have BOTH dealt with in the past and how we have been so proud creating a judgment-free, well-balanced, healthy relationship.
I feel so stupid and lost and irritated with myself. I just don't know what to do. It feels like his mind is made up and I'm not going to pathetically beg him to do anything he doesn't want to do. I'm just so crushed.
submitted by shaynawill to RelationshipAdviceNow [link] [comments]
I (F34) split with my ex of 12 years last July. It was not at all amicable and it was a nightmare up until about a month ago. A few months after the split, a friend of mine from high school (M36) reached out about a job that I had information on. We had always had a little crush on each other and when he asked about my ex, I was happy to inform him that we were no longer seeing each other. He then goes on to tell me that he had also split from his ex in April of last year. It took almost no time for us to start dating and I pretty instantly fell in love with him.
Since we started dating, it has been mostly joyous and just a handful instances where things went off the rails. There are only a few red flags about him outside of the fact that he is "job-jumper" which is alarming to me for no other reason than it scares me that he is unable to commit to anything long term. Otherwise, he still manages to buy me cute-sy gifts and dinner and we split date nights 50/50 most of the time. He has never asked to borrow money from me and rarely complains about being broke so essentially, his finances are not my concern. He has recently met ALL of my best friends and everyone immediately took him under their wing which was shocking considering that we have all been friends for a very long time and normally, new people don't fair well with our trash-talking tough-love dynamic, be he did. Beyond that, they have been ecstatic about me being with someone that makes me so happy and who takes such good care of me emotionally.
I am still working out how to undo toxic relationship habits that I acquired while being with my ex. I was always on edge with him because we argued A LOT. He was very difficult to manage and I had a series of defense mechanisms that I had to create in order to deal with the verbal and emotional abuse I endured over the last 12 years. I am working VERY hard on communicating effectively and expressing myself in a reasonable manner but I can be a little argumentative and/or defensive or combative if I feel attacked, I am sensitive and occasionally when I drink too much (which I only do on weekends, never during the week and I rarely stress-drink), I get emotional or confrontational which we will circle back on shortly.
Currently, I am dealing with a massive plumbing problem at my house. For a week, my bedroom carpet has a leak coming from under the carpet and carpet pad and it was decided that it's actually coming up from UNDER the concrete slab. My landlord lives in another state and with the Holiday weekend being long, it's more or less turned into moldy, gross, sopping wet, standing water until it can be addressed tomorrow. I am concerned that my landlord will not be able to afford this problem which could result in my rent increasing or him selling the house (I do not have a lease because he is a family friend. I have lived in this house for 8 years).
I have been working very hard at a new job that I do not have previous experience in and although I am getting the hang out of it, it requires long hours, a lot of patience and a lot of driving. It is regularly weighing on me which has also added to my stress.
Lastly, it was brought to my attention last week that the ex has a new girlfriend. And though I was sure that this did not at all bother me, I'm starting to accept that maybe it does hurt me more than I truly thought it would. To boot, the tale is that she "has money." In what capacity, I do not know but that is the word on the street. I left him due to a severe drinking problem he had developed during COVID and since then, he has lost most of his friends, his job, he has no money, and is currently living with his mother. So I have really struggled with understanding how he managed to snag a girl amidst all of those MASSIVE red flags but he has, I guess. I was sure that I had MORE than moved on from caring about what direction his lifestyle takes him but I have to admit that it does sting, surprisingly.
ALL OF THAT SAID: I worked late Friday and went to bed early. My best friend came over Saturday morning while the first plumber was there giving me terrible news but since we were off for the next 3 days, she brought some tequila (my fav) and we had a drink while he was finishing up. Around that time, my boyfriend shows up for our weekend escapades. All was right in my world.
BFF leaves an hour or so later to run a few errands, boyfriend and I run to grab a bite to eat, we all circle back mid-day and regroup at my house. Boyfriend goes in my room to lay down for a short nap and BFF and I sit on my patio listening to music taking shots and having a good time. We start going down an emotional path talking about her current relationship situation, the struggles of dating in your mid-30's, her ex, my ex, etc. Before too long, I'm SOBBING uncontrollably about how disappointed I am in my ex for how he has fucked his life up and how shitty I am that I wasted so many good years of my 20's on him and yada yada. The tequila definitely got away from me because I remember only snippets of the argument that ensued shortly after.
Boyfriend wakes up from his nap and I vaguely remember him either remarking on or acting put off by sob-fest and we proceed to get into a pretty nasty argument about my ex and his ex. He claims that I went on a "tirade" about his ex even though I barely know anything about her. Definitely not enough to go on a "tirade," that's for sure. He ends up packing up his belongings, his dog, his dog's bed, some things he keeps at my house and walks out the door. I go after him and just kind of blankly stare while he loads up his car because I'm just shocked that he's actually leaving. Like I said, I've been working very hard on communicating better and he knows this so even though I know I was wrong for drinking too much and starting an argument, we normally communicate in a very healthy manner so the fact that he was so willing to just leave my house and cancel all the plans for the weekend was pretty startling. He did not want to talk to me at all Saturday night so I spent hours tossing and turning feeling TERRIBLE which, I should have.
Sunday I wake up early hoping to have gotten a text or something from him at some point in the night which I didn't. I continue with "our" plans as scheduled, just solo and sulking all damn day sick with guilt and shame. I couldn't enjoy my friends or the pool or the fun being had because all I could do was obsess over my phone hoping he would call or text. Nothing all day Sunday. By Sunday night, I had left the pool party with my friends and went to my parents house and finally got the balls to reach out to him. Of course, I profusely apologize but his responses were short, stern and uninterested in anything I had to say. Again, I hear nothing from him all day yesterday.
Today, I'm stuck at work still with the same sick feeling I carried with me all weekend. I texted him and just kind of said "I assume this means that we're done and this is over or are you still deciding? I love you and again, I am SO sorry." He tells me he was sick yesterday (which also made me sad because he knows I like taking care of him) and that he also just still didn't know what to say to me. He eventually says "it would be different if this was the first time, but it's not." Which, he's neither right nor wrong about that. We do quite a bit of going out and/or partying on weekends together and I can only recall one other instance where we had an alcohol-fueled argument and that was in October last year during a Halloween party. Apparently he decided when that occurred that this was not something he was willing to tolerate often or ever again. Which, I respect but at the same time, it feels like a pretty big ask that NO FIGHTS EVER are allowed to happen, drunk or not.
Something I told my friends is that while I don't want him to feel taken advantage of or emotionally abused by me, it's frustrating because I have heard HORROR STORIES from him about what he put up with in past relationships. Each one way worse than the last, and all of them INSANELY worse than what happened this weekend. For instance, he had numerous girlfriends cheat on him that he took back, he had one girl get pregnant with someone else's baby and he considered staying with her, he had one girl date him, use him for money, and then when her boyfriend got out of prison, she immediately dumped him, and most recently, the ONE THING I know about his last ex is that she very nearly got him to sign the deed to a house that she allowed him to think would be his and hers together only to find out the day before closing that it was actually for her and HER MOM instead.
But apparently stress-induced day drunk fighting is where he draws the line, I guess? Maybe he has created a new standard for himself of what he's willing to tolerate moving forward and again, I definitely respect that but I just can't stop thinking about how small this is in comparison to what we have BOTH dealt with in the past and how we have been so proud creating a judgment-free, well-balanced, healthy relationship.
I feel so stupid and lost and irritated with myself. I just don't know what to do. It feels like his mind is made up and I'm not going to pathetically beg him to do anything he doesn't want to do. I'm just so crushed.
2023.05.30 20:53 Sea-Sympathy5350 I Got My Dad Arrested
My name is Alice, and my best friend for the past 9 years is Carol, we’ve have been friends since middle school when we were both 10, she was by all rites my sister, I was an only child, and she filled the void of not having any brothers or sisters of my own. We would spend most days together at my house, she was one of five siblings, her parents managed, but struggled to keep up with all the bills, so her spending nights at my house were frequent, I’m talking about 20 to 30 times a year. My parents treated her like a daughter, my mom would even spend time in private talks with her and without me, like mother, daughter talks. Of course, me and my mom had the same type of relationship, but Carol’s mom was too busy to have these kinds of talks with her, so my mom was the mother figure to her. Carol was part of our family, and we all respected each other. When she would spend those nights with me, my dad would always drive her home the next day. When my dad would take her home, he always returned 30 minutes later, but she only lived 5 minutes away, He would always walk in with a half-drunk Slurpee when he returned. I never really thought much about it then, life went on as normal. When she would spend those nights at my house for sleepovers, my mom would look in on us maybe once a night if at all, but my dad would check in 3 to 4 times and always say something or try to join in our conversations.
Fast forward 8 years, we just graduated high school, at the end of summer I was heading off to college in another state, she was going to remain in our little town and go to the state university about 20 miles away. We live in a small town 10 miles from a large city, but our town has only about 10,000 people, just enough for 2 elementaries and 1 high school so everyone knows everyone. Carol some how always had money, but she didn’t have a job, I had money from a part-time job and my parents both had great jobs, my mom was a RN for a large hospital in the city and my dad was a partner of a law firm he started right out of college and had build himself up as the top law firm in the city. He did a lot of charitable work and was on several committees helping small businesses. I could ask for anything, but they gave me just what I needed, like a car and paying for my college, the rest I tried to earn for myself. One day Carol drives up in a used car and I asked where it came from, she replied that her uncle gave it to her as a gift for her graduation. I had never heard about this uncle, she said that he was around, but didn’t get along with the rest of her family so she never spoke of him. Carol was a beautiful girl with long black hair, she hadn’t cut it since before we met, it hung down her back all the way to her butt, she always kept it in a ponytail, you could always tell it was her even from the back because it was unique. I am a pretty good-looking girl, I have no problem finding dates or boyfriends, Carol on the other hand, never once had a boyfriend, not because they didn’t ask, she would always turn them down, saying she wasn’t ready to get tied down to any guy.
One day my mother took me out to lunch and told me that she suspected my dad is having an affair, she said she looked over the bank statements, he was taking money from their accounts weekly, between 500 to 800 dollars each Friday and never had anything to show from it. She said that she may hire a PI to help her get to the bottom of it. I said let me investigate it first, I was going to college for journalism, this would be great practice for me, my dream job was to become an investigative reporter. She said okay, I have the summer, then when I left for college, if I hadn’t found anything she would hire a PI and I agreed. We finished our lunch and told her not to say anything to dad, because it would be harder to catch him if he thought she may know anything, she agreed, this would be our secret.
I told Carol about the situation, she said that she couldn’t believe my dad would ever cheat on his family, she said that both my mom and I were crazy. But said she would help me, she said that she wanted to prove he was doing nothing wrong, but she would keep an open mind. That Saturday I followed my dad as he left the house and he ended up at the library, I walked in and I saw him in the law section reading and he was alone, I walked out and sat in my car for 4 and a half hours. He drove to a restaurant, I could see him from the parking lot as he sat alone, he had a slice of pie and a soda. He left there and just took a walk to the local park, I stayed out of sight, he just sat on a park bench and pulled his phone out, texting someone for the next 30 minutes. He got up and walked back to his car and drove home. I kept driving to kill 30 minutes before returning home, I had found nothing and was disappointed with myself, but happy for my mom. I told Carol what I seen but all she said was I told you your dad’s not a cheater. I looked at her and said this was only day one and who was he texting for 30 minutes. She said maybe another lawyer. I knew she was right, I was grasping at straws, but something didn’t feel right, I was going to continue the investigation.
The following Saturday I had to work, Carol said she would follow him and take notes as to what he was doing and report back to me later that night. I thanked her, I told her she didn’t need to get involved, but she said she felt like she owed it to our family, because of all the years being treated like a daughter. That night Carol and I met up at a coffee shop and she said she followed him to a mall and he went into a bunch of stores but never bought anything, she said he was alone the entire trip other than when he went to the food court and sat with another couple, but it appeared he sat there because no other tables were open, he just sat and ate without saying anything to the couple. I thanked her and we just had a normal evening and went to see a movie. The next Saturday came up and I followed him again and he did exactly the same as I watched him two weeks ago right down to the pie and texting in the park. Carol was just too easily willing to give up, but I wasn’t done yet. She said I was wasting my time that could be better spent studying for college to get a head start. I found this very strange, she never cared about my studies while we were in school why now.
I told her I had to work on the following Saturday, she said she would watch him again. I started to get a gut feeling something was off. I took that day off and I followed them both to the mall. I put on a hoodie that I borrowed by a guy friend, I kept the hood on as I watch and videoed them from my phone as my dad and Carol walked the mall hand in hand, stopping at stores as he bought her clothes, shoes, and they even stopped into a jewelry store and looked at rings together, I had it all on tape. When they left, I continued to follow as they took my dad’s car to a motel, and I saw him get the key from the office and signal her to join him. They both walked into the room. As I was waiting, I was livid, how could my best friend do this to our family. 3 hours later they emerge from the room, he returns the key, then they drive back to the mall, and they say their goodbyes with a long kiss. He drove home and Carol called me as she was still sitting in the mall parking lot to tell me, she watched him all day, but he just walked the mall like her previous investigation, but I knew the truth. I didn’t say anything and thanked her for all her time.
I needed to find out when it started and I just knew it was on her phone, so I went to her house and was immediately told she was in her room. I walked in to see her reading a book, I said I just met these two amazing guys, they wanted to meet up at a new under 21 dance club. She was reluctant to go, but I pleaded with her, she said she had to wash her hair and get ready. This is what I was hoping for, as soon as I heard the shower, I opened her phone messenger and started typing in my dad’s phone number, the name Michael showed up, my dad’s name is Tony. I open the texts and there are thousands of them going back to when she was just 15 years old, the first text was her thanking him for her new phone. I forwarded the entire chat to my home PC and it took 20 minutes. There were so many, I closed her phone just in time for her to re-enter the room. We went to the dance club, I said I didn’t see them, they never existed so of course I didn’t see them, so we left after about an hour. Went to get a bite to eat and drove her home.
That night I spent it going through all of the text starting from the first one and documenting them all. There were talks about how much she enjoyed sharing a Slurpee with him before he dropped her off from our sleepovers. And the car that he bought her, not the uncle as she told me, my freaking dad bought her a car. I even had proof when they had sex for the first time, when she was 16. It also was a bunch of thank yous, for paying for her car insurance and the money my dad had given her weekly, that’s why she always had money. I put this on a thumb drive along with the edited video I had taken during the day. I made 6 copies of the thumb drives, I placed them into envelopes and on the outside it was typed LAWYER IS A CHILD MOLESTER. Inside I had typed a cover sheet stating that a prominent lawyer in the city, was a child molester and the proof was in the thumb drive included.
I had one bit of revenge for my best friend, I asked her out for dinner at the restaurant I worked at, she agreed, I set the table up where her back was facing the kitchen, I went to get our dinner or she thought, when I returned I was so quiet, I walked up as she was writing a text to my dad. I took her hair as I had done many times before, she slammed her phone down on the table face down. And I said how nice it looked today, pulled out the freshly sharpened knife and a final how nice it looked, I lopped it off as she sat there, I walked next to our table as she was grabbing the back of her head, I dropped the ponytail on the ground as I stared into her eyes. She immediately tried to pick up her hair as if she could glue it back on or something, I said this is what you get for having an affair with my dad.
I had sent the thumb drives to the city mayor, the DA’s office, The police department, The local news station one to her parents and one I gave to my mother. When Carol got home the reporters were already camped out on her front lawn. When I returned home, we had news crews and cameras staking out our house also, along with 3 police cars, I watched my dad being taken out of the house wearing handcuffs. He was arrested and will lose everything. I was consoling my mom, when we got a call from CNN looking for a statement, I declined, but was told this was going to get aired tonight, so this was our chance to make a statement, but we still declined. I turned on the TV and my dad was everywhere, every station local news and network news stations. He was on the front page of our local newspaper and the city newspaper. His story was even in the New York post.
Mom and I took a long vacation and disappeared for the next month and let things calm down. When we returned my dad had moved all his clothes out of the house, now he lives in a rundown apartment trying to find a lawyer that will work for him. Carol was kicked out of her family’s home due to the disgrace she brought onto her family, Carol left our town due to shame. Nobody that I know knows where she went or what happened to her, I guess the police must know because she will have to testify against my father at some point. We are still in the thick of things, but I have put college off for the near future to help my mom as this works through the courts and as she files for divorce. We are going to family counseling and trying to piece our lives back together. My dad faces so many charges starting with child molestation because of the text when the first sexual encounter was, he is also facing charges for manipulation of a minor for sexual purposes, and other charges stemming from his affair. He is looking at a possible 10 years of incarceration. I have no feeling for either of them, they manipulated me and my mom for years, they can both rot in hell for all they did to us.
submitted by Sea-Sympathy5350 to FictionWriting [link] [comments]
Fast forward 8 years, we just graduated high school, at the end of summer I was heading off to college in another state, she was going to remain in our little town and go to the state university about 20 miles away. We live in a small town 10 miles from a large city, but our town has only about 10,000 people, just enough for 2 elementaries and 1 high school so everyone knows everyone. Carol some how always had money, but she didn’t have a job, I had money from a part-time job and my parents both had great jobs, my mom was a RN for a large hospital in the city and my dad was a partner of a law firm he started right out of college and had build himself up as the top law firm in the city. He did a lot of charitable work and was on several committees helping small businesses. I could ask for anything, but they gave me just what I needed, like a car and paying for my college, the rest I tried to earn for myself. One day Carol drives up in a used car and I asked where it came from, she replied that her uncle gave it to her as a gift for her graduation. I had never heard about this uncle, she said that he was around, but didn’t get along with the rest of her family so she never spoke of him. Carol was a beautiful girl with long black hair, she hadn’t cut it since before we met, it hung down her back all the way to her butt, she always kept it in a ponytail, you could always tell it was her even from the back because it was unique. I am a pretty good-looking girl, I have no problem finding dates or boyfriends, Carol on the other hand, never once had a boyfriend, not because they didn’t ask, she would always turn them down, saying she wasn’t ready to get tied down to any guy.
One day my mother took me out to lunch and told me that she suspected my dad is having an affair, she said she looked over the bank statements, he was taking money from their accounts weekly, between 500 to 800 dollars each Friday and never had anything to show from it. She said that she may hire a PI to help her get to the bottom of it. I said let me investigate it first, I was going to college for journalism, this would be great practice for me, my dream job was to become an investigative reporter. She said okay, I have the summer, then when I left for college, if I hadn’t found anything she would hire a PI and I agreed. We finished our lunch and told her not to say anything to dad, because it would be harder to catch him if he thought she may know anything, she agreed, this would be our secret.
I told Carol about the situation, she said that she couldn’t believe my dad would ever cheat on his family, she said that both my mom and I were crazy. But said she would help me, she said that she wanted to prove he was doing nothing wrong, but she would keep an open mind. That Saturday I followed my dad as he left the house and he ended up at the library, I walked in and I saw him in the law section reading and he was alone, I walked out and sat in my car for 4 and a half hours. He drove to a restaurant, I could see him from the parking lot as he sat alone, he had a slice of pie and a soda. He left there and just took a walk to the local park, I stayed out of sight, he just sat on a park bench and pulled his phone out, texting someone for the next 30 minutes. He got up and walked back to his car and drove home. I kept driving to kill 30 minutes before returning home, I had found nothing and was disappointed with myself, but happy for my mom. I told Carol what I seen but all she said was I told you your dad’s not a cheater. I looked at her and said this was only day one and who was he texting for 30 minutes. She said maybe another lawyer. I knew she was right, I was grasping at straws, but something didn’t feel right, I was going to continue the investigation.
The following Saturday I had to work, Carol said she would follow him and take notes as to what he was doing and report back to me later that night. I thanked her, I told her she didn’t need to get involved, but she said she felt like she owed it to our family, because of all the years being treated like a daughter. That night Carol and I met up at a coffee shop and she said she followed him to a mall and he went into a bunch of stores but never bought anything, she said he was alone the entire trip other than when he went to the food court and sat with another couple, but it appeared he sat there because no other tables were open, he just sat and ate without saying anything to the couple. I thanked her and we just had a normal evening and went to see a movie. The next Saturday came up and I followed him again and he did exactly the same as I watched him two weeks ago right down to the pie and texting in the park. Carol was just too easily willing to give up, but I wasn’t done yet. She said I was wasting my time that could be better spent studying for college to get a head start. I found this very strange, she never cared about my studies while we were in school why now.
I told her I had to work on the following Saturday, she said she would watch him again. I started to get a gut feeling something was off. I took that day off and I followed them both to the mall. I put on a hoodie that I borrowed by a guy friend, I kept the hood on as I watch and videoed them from my phone as my dad and Carol walked the mall hand in hand, stopping at stores as he bought her clothes, shoes, and they even stopped into a jewelry store and looked at rings together, I had it all on tape. When they left, I continued to follow as they took my dad’s car to a motel, and I saw him get the key from the office and signal her to join him. They both walked into the room. As I was waiting, I was livid, how could my best friend do this to our family. 3 hours later they emerge from the room, he returns the key, then they drive back to the mall, and they say their goodbyes with a long kiss. He drove home and Carol called me as she was still sitting in the mall parking lot to tell me, she watched him all day, but he just walked the mall like her previous investigation, but I knew the truth. I didn’t say anything and thanked her for all her time.
I needed to find out when it started and I just knew it was on her phone, so I went to her house and was immediately told she was in her room. I walked in to see her reading a book, I said I just met these two amazing guys, they wanted to meet up at a new under 21 dance club. She was reluctant to go, but I pleaded with her, she said she had to wash her hair and get ready. This is what I was hoping for, as soon as I heard the shower, I opened her phone messenger and started typing in my dad’s phone number, the name Michael showed up, my dad’s name is Tony. I open the texts and there are thousands of them going back to when she was just 15 years old, the first text was her thanking him for her new phone. I forwarded the entire chat to my home PC and it took 20 minutes. There were so many, I closed her phone just in time for her to re-enter the room. We went to the dance club, I said I didn’t see them, they never existed so of course I didn’t see them, so we left after about an hour. Went to get a bite to eat and drove her home.
That night I spent it going through all of the text starting from the first one and documenting them all. There were talks about how much she enjoyed sharing a Slurpee with him before he dropped her off from our sleepovers. And the car that he bought her, not the uncle as she told me, my freaking dad bought her a car. I even had proof when they had sex for the first time, when she was 16. It also was a bunch of thank yous, for paying for her car insurance and the money my dad had given her weekly, that’s why she always had money. I put this on a thumb drive along with the edited video I had taken during the day. I made 6 copies of the thumb drives, I placed them into envelopes and on the outside it was typed LAWYER IS A CHILD MOLESTER. Inside I had typed a cover sheet stating that a prominent lawyer in the city, was a child molester and the proof was in the thumb drive included.
I had one bit of revenge for my best friend, I asked her out for dinner at the restaurant I worked at, she agreed, I set the table up where her back was facing the kitchen, I went to get our dinner or she thought, when I returned I was so quiet, I walked up as she was writing a text to my dad. I took her hair as I had done many times before, she slammed her phone down on the table face down. And I said how nice it looked today, pulled out the freshly sharpened knife and a final how nice it looked, I lopped it off as she sat there, I walked next to our table as she was grabbing the back of her head, I dropped the ponytail on the ground as I stared into her eyes. She immediately tried to pick up her hair as if she could glue it back on or something, I said this is what you get for having an affair with my dad.
I had sent the thumb drives to the city mayor, the DA’s office, The police department, The local news station one to her parents and one I gave to my mother. When Carol got home the reporters were already camped out on her front lawn. When I returned home, we had news crews and cameras staking out our house also, along with 3 police cars, I watched my dad being taken out of the house wearing handcuffs. He was arrested and will lose everything. I was consoling my mom, when we got a call from CNN looking for a statement, I declined, but was told this was going to get aired tonight, so this was our chance to make a statement, but we still declined. I turned on the TV and my dad was everywhere, every station local news and network news stations. He was on the front page of our local newspaper and the city newspaper. His story was even in the New York post.
Mom and I took a long vacation and disappeared for the next month and let things calm down. When we returned my dad had moved all his clothes out of the house, now he lives in a rundown apartment trying to find a lawyer that will work for him. Carol was kicked out of her family’s home due to the disgrace she brought onto her family, Carol left our town due to shame. Nobody that I know knows where she went or what happened to her, I guess the police must know because she will have to testify against my father at some point. We are still in the thick of things, but I have put college off for the near future to help my mom as this works through the courts and as she files for divorce. We are going to family counseling and trying to piece our lives back together. My dad faces so many charges starting with child molestation because of the text when the first sexual encounter was, he is also facing charges for manipulation of a minor for sexual purposes, and other charges stemming from his affair. He is looking at a possible 10 years of incarceration. I have no feeling for either of them, they manipulated me and my mom for years, they can both rot in hell for all they did to us.
2023.05.30 20:47 Ok-IrrelevantIdol AITA for flipping out on my husband over text after he let his phone die during a family emergency? (Not OP)
 | The comments had me fuming. Why are people so heartless?! Telling OP to get over it and find a different support system cause they can’t rely on husband 24/7? Like….that’s why you get married. Because you love and support that person unconditionally, even if you’re not there in person. submitted by Ok-IrrelevantIdol to TwoHotTakes [link] [comments] |
2023.05.30 20:30 TheDrungeonBlaster Gutterpunks Reloaded #7:100 Dead Nazis
-Red-
April 19th, 11:13 A.M., The Sprawl
I sparked a dilapidated Vita-Cig that I’d snagged from Trodes and peered out into the Sprawl; the careful equilibrium of a well-orchestrated black-market had returned; pushers and gangers lined the alleys, watching for signals from rooftop lookouts to avoid the single Peacewatch cruiser that had been stupid enough to enter the dockside. The poor bastard would be dead before the afternoon was over… not that I had much sympathy for his kind. Peacewatch made it a habit to stay out of the Sprawl: unless the Eggheads predictive crime system said something catastrophic was coming, they policed their kind and left us in the hands of the mob. I’d never iced an officer. Not yet at least.
“Your partner should be ready shortly, I think he’s just tying up a few loose ends,” Akari said, snatching the cigarette from my hand and taking a long drag.
“Remind me again why you think I should take the shrimp with me instead of Nico and Roman?”
“He’s smart… and the other two are working on something else. Besides-- you need brains on this one, Red, not muscle,” she giggled, passing the cigarette back.
“Whatever you say,” I paused, grabbing the smoke, “what do you have them up to?”
“There’s a shipment of Xeno-grade weapons coming down from the colonies. Nico and Roman will be liberating them from the Slicers. Or, their share, at least. It won’t be much, maybe a dozen guns, but it’ll be worth it: the force field tech alone will pay for the trip as soon as Fincetti’s goons start trying to take your heads off with plasma cannons and mono blades.”
“What do you mean, their share?”
“The job was too big for us to take on alone. I linked up with another enterprising group of Freelancers. If it goes well, maybe we can hire them on for the heist, we’re going to need more people if we want to walk out of there alive.”
We?
“What, are you planning on coming along now?” I asked, snuffing out the smoke.
“It only seems right; Trodes is coming along, and I’m a better shot than he’ll ever be. Besides, you have a dangerous habit of getting shot, and I can’t have you going down in the field,” she said, winking as if to punctuate the sentence.
“You sure? We can manage, you don’t have to come with us, you’ve done so much already.”
“I know I have, that’s why I have to protect my investment. If you go down out there, then the team is without a leader. A military scale operation like this will go south real fast without someone competent in command.”
“You’ve got me wrong, Akari: I’m no leader. I’m just someone who wants to live in a better city and doesn’t mind taking the trash out himself. Besides, why do we need a leader? We’re all competent adults acting in concert, of our own free will. We all know what we’re doing, if a situation arises and someone needs to take charge, it’ll happen.”
“You’ve got a lot of faith in a crew you just met,” Akari said with a sneer.
“You know why I asked you to put the team together, Akari?”
“Because there’s a bounty on your head that could finance twenty retirements, and you know you can trust me?”
“No, well yeah, but that’s beside the point—I asked you because you’re not a Fixer, you’re a part time street doc that works the front desk at the most popular Freelancer hotel in the Sprawl. If there’s anyone who knows who’s gonna get the job done, it’s you. See, a Fixer is going to be okay with whatever losses they deem acceptable beforehand, but they’re fine with keeping that to themselves. If you thought any of these mooks were going to crack under pressure, or do something stupid, you wouldn’t have set me up with them.”
Before she could respond, Trodes emerged from the stairs leading to the lab. He winced as the sunlight hit his eyes, shrugging on the hood of the oversized sweatshirt that blanketed his meek frame. Glimpses of pain showed through every tremor laden step he took. A cloak of wires enveloped his skull, feeding into an old-world cyber console.
“It’s insufferably hot out here,” Trodes sighed.
“Don’t worry, we’re not going far. Chances are that whatever hole we’re meeting BFU in will have air conditioning,” I responded, clicking my key fob, and signaling the bike to pull around.
Trodes face fell flat when the Supersonic rolled around the corner; apparently, the prestige of carving through the skyway on a state-of-the-art Taffington jet-bike was lost on him.
“Are we taking… that?” Trodes stammered.
“We are. Unless you’ve got a pair of wheels with two seats?” I asked, mounting the bike and revving the engine.
With an exasperated sigh, Trodes boarded the passenger seat. I could feel him behind me, vibrating as tremors gripped his body.
“You good, buddy?” I asked.
He nodded vigorously, clenching the handrails with white knuckles.
Akari shook her head and headed back to the lab.
I heard Trodes mumble something under his breath, but it was quickly drowned out by the jet-bike’s purr. I carved into the skyway. Driving in the Sprawl was pure freedom: almost nobody owned vehicles with aerial capabilities in this part of town. It didn’t take long to reach top speed.
Slummers and gutterpunks walked the streets like zombies in a drug addled haze. The scent of gunpowder, pollution and burning ozone coalesced into a putrid stench that reeked of poverty and violence. Patches of azure moved in militant formation below; the Vorrath had taken to the streets. On a different day, a better day, I would’ve helped them. Most slummers hated the Offworlder Coalition, but not me—at the end of the day I always figured that I had more in common with poor people from another planet than rich people from another district of the city. At least we shared the same struggle.
The bike slowed to crawl; the Neo-Confederates were about, backed by a platoon of Brown-Shirts that looked like a tide of sewer run off, crashing through the streets with reckless abandon. Civilians fled for their homes. Fuck.
The jet-bike careened through the air before finally landing atop a building a few blocks away from the impending conflict.
“Get off,” I said, turning back to Trodes.
“Why? You don’t intend to abandon me at this altitude, do you?”
“Not as long as I survive—I’ll be quick, I just need to ventilate some Nazi fucks, understood?”
He shook his head and muttered a string of curses.
I tore through the air, circling around the impending conflict. I chased a handful of cheap amphetamines with a poorly rolled joint and swooped low, behind the rolling tide of brown shirts. This wasn’t the first time I’d made myself an enemy of the city’s Neo-Nazi’s; I’d killed at least a dozen of them in my career as a courier, but those were isolated incidents, back-alley brawls away from the mob.
This was a whole new ball game.
I fell slack as my Teleoperations module synchronized with the bike. My consciousness faded, reemerging into the HALO-Net’s stylized rendition of the bike’s interior. I wasn’t just the pilot now—I was the bike. Bullets carved twin streaks of crimson into the brown tide. It didn’t take long to hit top speed, 3.7 seconds, to be exact.
The group turned in nearly perfect unison, launching volley upon volley as I passed overhead. The bike’s shields barely held together; I felt every round, like a flock of birds violently slamming into my side—not enough to cause any real damage, but more than enough to get the blood pumping. I slid into an alley a few blocks off and waited for the shield generator to recharge. Gunshots rang out from the streets, alongside the sizzle of plasma meeting flesh. Soon the din was drowned beneath the roar of dozens of Vorrath war cries. I took to the sky.
Trodes was exactly where I left him, nervously clutching a knock off version of a Locust flechette pistol.
“I was beginning to doubt your survival,” Trodes said shakily.
“Wrong again, little guy,” I paused, reigniting a half smoked joint, “it was just a quick hit and run, we don’t have the time or the numbers for a pitched battle. Now, hop on.”
It didn’t take long to find BFU’s base of operations. Black flags and Anarchist graffiti covered the walls of the abandoned warehouse they’d apparently taken up residence in. A field of repurposed Peacewatch turrets were installed atop the roof, complimented by a web of cameras that spread across a three-block radius. Anarchists of all species and creeds loitered outside. The guards ranged from Cyborgs and Vat-Grown, to Vorrath and Vorstihl, each wearing a variant of the black flag with colors corresponding to their ideologies.
As I hovered above the building, I saw a familiar face: the rookie from earlier. Alarmingly, his cruiser was nowhere to be seen. His face was wrought with horror, as a pair of cyborgs led him inside the warehouse.
“They’re certainly less than subtle,” Trodes said.
“They don’t have to be subtle, they’re the biggest citizens political organization in the Sprawl. Peacewatch avoids them if they have anything less than a full platoon on hand,” I explained.
“Red… before we enter negotiations with these hooligans, I must inquire as to what your motivation hitting the vault is? Surely you know there’s a strong likelihood that you won’t make it out, and from what I’d heard about you, I always understood you to be a man who knew how to keep himself out of the line of sight of dangerous people,” Trodes said, nervously.
“Fincetti is the most dangerous man in the city, short of O’Bannon. He controls the black market with an iron fist and is instrumental in all the things I hate about living here. The problem is, I have no way to do anything about it right now… but there’s something big in the safe—there must be—for fucks sake, he iced his family over it. I’m hoping there’s something in there that can give me a little leverage, so I can cross him out afterwards.”
Trodes was silent for a moment, simply reaching as if to ask me to pass the joint. I obliged.
“I have my reasons to want O’Bannon dead too, I’m in,” he paused as a coughing fit seized him, causing the joint to fall to the ground, “there’s something you should know though: I’m working with an entity of great power in the Net; I don’t know what precisely it is, but I know it saved my life more than once. As a matter of fact, it’s the only reason I was able to obtain the blueprint of Fincetti’s bunker, and his security plan.”
“Is it… is it an unshackled AI?”
“Unlikely: it seems to understand compassion and empathy on a uniquely organic level, something that rarely slips past Netwatch.”
“Alright, well whatever it is, you keep an eye on it and let me know if things get shady. I appreciate you telling me.”
Trodes nodded in silence.
The crowd parted expectantly as I landed along the streetside. Dozens of eyes were immediately glued to Trodes and I. A cyborg with a steel double mohawk emerged from a sea of leather, patches, and smoke. A sawed-off shotgun hung at his side.
“Red, I presume?” the Cyborg asked, extending a steel hand.
“That’s right, and who’re you?” I answered, clasping the borgs hand as firm as I could manage.
“They call me Diezel, and I’ll be your host today,” he released my hand and looked me up and down as if assessing whether I was a threat, “follow me, everyone’s here so we can get straight down to business.”
The warehouse’s interior had been renovated drastically; layers of open-faced lofts sat stacked upon each other, consuming the walls. Nearly every non-violent law in the city was being broken in the lofts, from cooking chems and explosives to studying banned literature and Doomguard martial arts. It was beautiful. We followed Diezel through a winding hallway of munitions manufacturing stations, before finally emerging into an immense circular room, with rows of seats climbing the walls. I couldn’t believe it—there must have been two hundred people present.
The lights dimmed as we entered the arena. Diezel led us to the rooms center, ushering Trodes and I onto a great circular platform; he fell into place on a platform across from us, beside a Vat-Grown woman bearing an orange and black flag on her arm, and augmentations that cost more than my bike. Behind the duo a bulbous Vorstihl lurked; tentacles draped down his back, carefully pulled away from his cyclopean eye. A red and black flag was displayed on his arm… it was only then that I noticed the blue and black flag on Diezel’s arm.
The platforms each rose roughly fifteen feet into the air, before microphone stands emerged from the center of each platform. Diezel stepped forward, past the microphone.
“Before we start, I’ll explain how this works: the three of us are representatives of our specific unions—but the people are free to interject. One union voting to aid in your endeavors does not guarantee the help of the other two, as each union demands a perfect consensus. Likewise, if a faction without one union decides to help you, it does not necessarily mean you have the support of the entire union. The only way you’ll end up with total support is cross union consensus. Do you understand?”
A consensus: of course, they needed a damned consensus.
“I do,” I answered, speaking away from the microphone.
“Then let’s get this show on the road,” Diezel stepped back, finding his microphone before continuing, “Red, Trodes, welcome to the Bouleuterion,” he paused a moment as the crowd erupted into cheers, “beside me are my comrades Aria and Korvirex, and we stand ready to hear your proposal.”
“As most of you probably know, Don Fincetti is the most powerful man in the underworld, hell—maybe even the city—what you likely don’t know is that he has a vault beneath the city, guarded by an army of Harvesters. I intend to break into the vault, slaughter the Harvesters and strike a blow to Fincetti that he won’t forget… and I intend to kill him shortly after. What I ask is simple: you help me in what’s to come, and when he’s finally dead, you can all split his turf among yourselves. All I care about is making sure he doesn’t live long enough to poison the Sprawl more than he already has.”
A murmur emerged from the stands. I gazed across the way to see the three representatives huddled together, whispering amongst themselves. Finally, Aria stepped towards her microphone.
“What you ask of us will likely mean the death of many of our people… we need something greater than what you offer—we need a guarantee of mutual aid—you have a reputation in the Sprawl, we would ask that you employ it in helping us when the time comes to resettle the Sprawl. Namely, we’d request your assistance against the gangs that may try to fill the power void you seek to create,” Aria explained.
“That seems reasonable,” I said.
Aria stepped back as Korvirex moved forward.
“Tell me, Red, are you familiar with the Offworlder Coalition?” Korvirex asked.
“I am—as a matter of fact, I aided them on the way here—they were marching against the Neo-Confederates and the Brown Shirts. I insured that they had the element of surprise.”
Korvirex stroked the beard-like tentacles that hung from his chin in contemplation.
“Good. What I ask is that you help us to secure their trust, we have offered solidarity where we could, but our forces are spread thin. The ideology of many of the exiled Vorrath rebels that found their way to Nova City—it matches that of our union. If our help was offered, would you agree to assist us in aiding the Coalition, so that they finally have an opportunity to get on their feet?”
Trodes leaned towards in, whispering in my ear.
“It would be prudent of you to make a counteroffer: proclaim that you’ll help with the Coalition, if they’ll spread the word to other groups whose goals may align with ours. There will likely be at least a couple hundred Harvesters in the Undercity when we strike… unless they’re occupied elsewhere.”
“I would happily help with the Coalition, on the condition that your faction spread the word about what we’re doing to like-minded organizations. As it stands, we could still use more numbers to match the Harvesters,” I said.
“These conditions may be satisfactory,” Korvirex said, before retreating into yet another group huddle.
The audience watched on in silence.
Finally, Diezel reapproached the microphone.
“The representatives have deemed this topic worthy of discussion: you’re free to leave, we’ll get ahold of Akari in a couple days, when all the details are ironed out.”
“A couple days?”
“Reaching a consensus can be a slow process at times—be prepared for a renegotiation of conditions, as there will likely be more stipulations made once the process is complete,” Diezel explained.
I nodded, and the platform beneath my feet began to descend towards the floor. The crowd erupted into cheers.
Hopefully Nico and Roman would beat us home.
submitted by TheDrungeonBlaster to WriteFantasyStories [link] [comments]
April 19th, 11:13 A.M., The Sprawl
I sparked a dilapidated Vita-Cig that I’d snagged from Trodes and peered out into the Sprawl; the careful equilibrium of a well-orchestrated black-market had returned; pushers and gangers lined the alleys, watching for signals from rooftop lookouts to avoid the single Peacewatch cruiser that had been stupid enough to enter the dockside. The poor bastard would be dead before the afternoon was over… not that I had much sympathy for his kind. Peacewatch made it a habit to stay out of the Sprawl: unless the Eggheads predictive crime system said something catastrophic was coming, they policed their kind and left us in the hands of the mob. I’d never iced an officer. Not yet at least.
“Your partner should be ready shortly, I think he’s just tying up a few loose ends,” Akari said, snatching the cigarette from my hand and taking a long drag.
“Remind me again why you think I should take the shrimp with me instead of Nico and Roman?”
“He’s smart… and the other two are working on something else. Besides-- you need brains on this one, Red, not muscle,” she giggled, passing the cigarette back.
“Whatever you say,” I paused, grabbing the smoke, “what do you have them up to?”
“There’s a shipment of Xeno-grade weapons coming down from the colonies. Nico and Roman will be liberating them from the Slicers. Or, their share, at least. It won’t be much, maybe a dozen guns, but it’ll be worth it: the force field tech alone will pay for the trip as soon as Fincetti’s goons start trying to take your heads off with plasma cannons and mono blades.”
“What do you mean, their share?”
“The job was too big for us to take on alone. I linked up with another enterprising group of Freelancers. If it goes well, maybe we can hire them on for the heist, we’re going to need more people if we want to walk out of there alive.”
We?
“What, are you planning on coming along now?” I asked, snuffing out the smoke.
“It only seems right; Trodes is coming along, and I’m a better shot than he’ll ever be. Besides, you have a dangerous habit of getting shot, and I can’t have you going down in the field,” she said, winking as if to punctuate the sentence.
“You sure? We can manage, you don’t have to come with us, you’ve done so much already.”
“I know I have, that’s why I have to protect my investment. If you go down out there, then the team is without a leader. A military scale operation like this will go south real fast without someone competent in command.”
“You’ve got me wrong, Akari: I’m no leader. I’m just someone who wants to live in a better city and doesn’t mind taking the trash out himself. Besides, why do we need a leader? We’re all competent adults acting in concert, of our own free will. We all know what we’re doing, if a situation arises and someone needs to take charge, it’ll happen.”
“You’ve got a lot of faith in a crew you just met,” Akari said with a sneer.
“You know why I asked you to put the team together, Akari?”
“Because there’s a bounty on your head that could finance twenty retirements, and you know you can trust me?”
“No, well yeah, but that’s beside the point—I asked you because you’re not a Fixer, you’re a part time street doc that works the front desk at the most popular Freelancer hotel in the Sprawl. If there’s anyone who knows who’s gonna get the job done, it’s you. See, a Fixer is going to be okay with whatever losses they deem acceptable beforehand, but they’re fine with keeping that to themselves. If you thought any of these mooks were going to crack under pressure, or do something stupid, you wouldn’t have set me up with them.”
Before she could respond, Trodes emerged from the stairs leading to the lab. He winced as the sunlight hit his eyes, shrugging on the hood of the oversized sweatshirt that blanketed his meek frame. Glimpses of pain showed through every tremor laden step he took. A cloak of wires enveloped his skull, feeding into an old-world cyber console.
“It’s insufferably hot out here,” Trodes sighed.
“Don’t worry, we’re not going far. Chances are that whatever hole we’re meeting BFU in will have air conditioning,” I responded, clicking my key fob, and signaling the bike to pull around.
Trodes face fell flat when the Supersonic rolled around the corner; apparently, the prestige of carving through the skyway on a state-of-the-art Taffington jet-bike was lost on him.
“Are we taking… that?” Trodes stammered.
“We are. Unless you’ve got a pair of wheels with two seats?” I asked, mounting the bike and revving the engine.
With an exasperated sigh, Trodes boarded the passenger seat. I could feel him behind me, vibrating as tremors gripped his body.
“You good, buddy?” I asked.
He nodded vigorously, clenching the handrails with white knuckles.
Akari shook her head and headed back to the lab.
I heard Trodes mumble something under his breath, but it was quickly drowned out by the jet-bike’s purr. I carved into the skyway. Driving in the Sprawl was pure freedom: almost nobody owned vehicles with aerial capabilities in this part of town. It didn’t take long to reach top speed.
Slummers and gutterpunks walked the streets like zombies in a drug addled haze. The scent of gunpowder, pollution and burning ozone coalesced into a putrid stench that reeked of poverty and violence. Patches of azure moved in militant formation below; the Vorrath had taken to the streets. On a different day, a better day, I would’ve helped them. Most slummers hated the Offworlder Coalition, but not me—at the end of the day I always figured that I had more in common with poor people from another planet than rich people from another district of the city. At least we shared the same struggle.
The bike slowed to crawl; the Neo-Confederates were about, backed by a platoon of Brown-Shirts that looked like a tide of sewer run off, crashing through the streets with reckless abandon. Civilians fled for their homes. Fuck.
The jet-bike careened through the air before finally landing atop a building a few blocks away from the impending conflict.
“Get off,” I said, turning back to Trodes.
“Why? You don’t intend to abandon me at this altitude, do you?”
“Not as long as I survive—I’ll be quick, I just need to ventilate some Nazi fucks, understood?”
He shook his head and muttered a string of curses.
I tore through the air, circling around the impending conflict. I chased a handful of cheap amphetamines with a poorly rolled joint and swooped low, behind the rolling tide of brown shirts. This wasn’t the first time I’d made myself an enemy of the city’s Neo-Nazi’s; I’d killed at least a dozen of them in my career as a courier, but those were isolated incidents, back-alley brawls away from the mob.
This was a whole new ball game.
I fell slack as my Teleoperations module synchronized with the bike. My consciousness faded, reemerging into the HALO-Net’s stylized rendition of the bike’s interior. I wasn’t just the pilot now—I was the bike. Bullets carved twin streaks of crimson into the brown tide. It didn’t take long to hit top speed, 3.7 seconds, to be exact.
The group turned in nearly perfect unison, launching volley upon volley as I passed overhead. The bike’s shields barely held together; I felt every round, like a flock of birds violently slamming into my side—not enough to cause any real damage, but more than enough to get the blood pumping. I slid into an alley a few blocks off and waited for the shield generator to recharge. Gunshots rang out from the streets, alongside the sizzle of plasma meeting flesh. Soon the din was drowned beneath the roar of dozens of Vorrath war cries. I took to the sky.
Trodes was exactly where I left him, nervously clutching a knock off version of a Locust flechette pistol.
“I was beginning to doubt your survival,” Trodes said shakily.
“Wrong again, little guy,” I paused, reigniting a half smoked joint, “it was just a quick hit and run, we don’t have the time or the numbers for a pitched battle. Now, hop on.”
It didn’t take long to find BFU’s base of operations. Black flags and Anarchist graffiti covered the walls of the abandoned warehouse they’d apparently taken up residence in. A field of repurposed Peacewatch turrets were installed atop the roof, complimented by a web of cameras that spread across a three-block radius. Anarchists of all species and creeds loitered outside. The guards ranged from Cyborgs and Vat-Grown, to Vorrath and Vorstihl, each wearing a variant of the black flag with colors corresponding to their ideologies.
As I hovered above the building, I saw a familiar face: the rookie from earlier. Alarmingly, his cruiser was nowhere to be seen. His face was wrought with horror, as a pair of cyborgs led him inside the warehouse.
“They’re certainly less than subtle,” Trodes said.
“They don’t have to be subtle, they’re the biggest citizens political organization in the Sprawl. Peacewatch avoids them if they have anything less than a full platoon on hand,” I explained.
“Red… before we enter negotiations with these hooligans, I must inquire as to what your motivation hitting the vault is? Surely you know there’s a strong likelihood that you won’t make it out, and from what I’d heard about you, I always understood you to be a man who knew how to keep himself out of the line of sight of dangerous people,” Trodes said, nervously.
“Fincetti is the most dangerous man in the city, short of O’Bannon. He controls the black market with an iron fist and is instrumental in all the things I hate about living here. The problem is, I have no way to do anything about it right now… but there’s something big in the safe—there must be—for fucks sake, he iced his family over it. I’m hoping there’s something in there that can give me a little leverage, so I can cross him out afterwards.”
Trodes was silent for a moment, simply reaching as if to ask me to pass the joint. I obliged.
“I have my reasons to want O’Bannon dead too, I’m in,” he paused as a coughing fit seized him, causing the joint to fall to the ground, “there’s something you should know though: I’m working with an entity of great power in the Net; I don’t know what precisely it is, but I know it saved my life more than once. As a matter of fact, it’s the only reason I was able to obtain the blueprint of Fincetti’s bunker, and his security plan.”
“Is it… is it an unshackled AI?”
“Unlikely: it seems to understand compassion and empathy on a uniquely organic level, something that rarely slips past Netwatch.”
“Alright, well whatever it is, you keep an eye on it and let me know if things get shady. I appreciate you telling me.”
Trodes nodded in silence.
The crowd parted expectantly as I landed along the streetside. Dozens of eyes were immediately glued to Trodes and I. A cyborg with a steel double mohawk emerged from a sea of leather, patches, and smoke. A sawed-off shotgun hung at his side.
“Red, I presume?” the Cyborg asked, extending a steel hand.
“That’s right, and who’re you?” I answered, clasping the borgs hand as firm as I could manage.
“They call me Diezel, and I’ll be your host today,” he released my hand and looked me up and down as if assessing whether I was a threat, “follow me, everyone’s here so we can get straight down to business.”
The warehouse’s interior had been renovated drastically; layers of open-faced lofts sat stacked upon each other, consuming the walls. Nearly every non-violent law in the city was being broken in the lofts, from cooking chems and explosives to studying banned literature and Doomguard martial arts. It was beautiful. We followed Diezel through a winding hallway of munitions manufacturing stations, before finally emerging into an immense circular room, with rows of seats climbing the walls. I couldn’t believe it—there must have been two hundred people present.
The lights dimmed as we entered the arena. Diezel led us to the rooms center, ushering Trodes and I onto a great circular platform; he fell into place on a platform across from us, beside a Vat-Grown woman bearing an orange and black flag on her arm, and augmentations that cost more than my bike. Behind the duo a bulbous Vorstihl lurked; tentacles draped down his back, carefully pulled away from his cyclopean eye. A red and black flag was displayed on his arm… it was only then that I noticed the blue and black flag on Diezel’s arm.
The platforms each rose roughly fifteen feet into the air, before microphone stands emerged from the center of each platform. Diezel stepped forward, past the microphone.
“Before we start, I’ll explain how this works: the three of us are representatives of our specific unions—but the people are free to interject. One union voting to aid in your endeavors does not guarantee the help of the other two, as each union demands a perfect consensus. Likewise, if a faction without one union decides to help you, it does not necessarily mean you have the support of the entire union. The only way you’ll end up with total support is cross union consensus. Do you understand?”
A consensus: of course, they needed a damned consensus.
“I do,” I answered, speaking away from the microphone.
“Then let’s get this show on the road,” Diezel stepped back, finding his microphone before continuing, “Red, Trodes, welcome to the Bouleuterion,” he paused a moment as the crowd erupted into cheers, “beside me are my comrades Aria and Korvirex, and we stand ready to hear your proposal.”
“As most of you probably know, Don Fincetti is the most powerful man in the underworld, hell—maybe even the city—what you likely don’t know is that he has a vault beneath the city, guarded by an army of Harvesters. I intend to break into the vault, slaughter the Harvesters and strike a blow to Fincetti that he won’t forget… and I intend to kill him shortly after. What I ask is simple: you help me in what’s to come, and when he’s finally dead, you can all split his turf among yourselves. All I care about is making sure he doesn’t live long enough to poison the Sprawl more than he already has.”
A murmur emerged from the stands. I gazed across the way to see the three representatives huddled together, whispering amongst themselves. Finally, Aria stepped towards her microphone.
“What you ask of us will likely mean the death of many of our people… we need something greater than what you offer—we need a guarantee of mutual aid—you have a reputation in the Sprawl, we would ask that you employ it in helping us when the time comes to resettle the Sprawl. Namely, we’d request your assistance against the gangs that may try to fill the power void you seek to create,” Aria explained.
“That seems reasonable,” I said.
Aria stepped back as Korvirex moved forward.
“Tell me, Red, are you familiar with the Offworlder Coalition?” Korvirex asked.
“I am—as a matter of fact, I aided them on the way here—they were marching against the Neo-Confederates and the Brown Shirts. I insured that they had the element of surprise.”
Korvirex stroked the beard-like tentacles that hung from his chin in contemplation.
“Good. What I ask is that you help us to secure their trust, we have offered solidarity where we could, but our forces are spread thin. The ideology of many of the exiled Vorrath rebels that found their way to Nova City—it matches that of our union. If our help was offered, would you agree to assist us in aiding the Coalition, so that they finally have an opportunity to get on their feet?”
Trodes leaned towards in, whispering in my ear.
“It would be prudent of you to make a counteroffer: proclaim that you’ll help with the Coalition, if they’ll spread the word to other groups whose goals may align with ours. There will likely be at least a couple hundred Harvesters in the Undercity when we strike… unless they’re occupied elsewhere.”
“I would happily help with the Coalition, on the condition that your faction spread the word about what we’re doing to like-minded organizations. As it stands, we could still use more numbers to match the Harvesters,” I said.
“These conditions may be satisfactory,” Korvirex said, before retreating into yet another group huddle.
The audience watched on in silence.
Finally, Diezel reapproached the microphone.
“The representatives have deemed this topic worthy of discussion: you’re free to leave, we’ll get ahold of Akari in a couple days, when all the details are ironed out.”
“A couple days?”
“Reaching a consensus can be a slow process at times—be prepared for a renegotiation of conditions, as there will likely be more stipulations made once the process is complete,” Diezel explained.
I nodded, and the platform beneath my feet began to descend towards the floor. The crowd erupted into cheers.
Hopefully Nico and Roman would beat us home.
2023.05.30 20:29 TheDrungeonBlaster [SF] Gutterpunks Reloaded #7: 100 Dead Nazis
-Red-
April 19th, 11:13 A.M., The Sprawl
I sparked a dilapidated Vita-Cig that I’d snagged from Trodes and peered out into the Sprawl; the careful equilibrium of a well-orchestrated black-market had returned; pushers and gangers lined the alleys, watching for signals from rooftop lookouts to avoid the single Peacewatch cruiser that had been stupid enough to enter the dockside. The poor bastard would be dead before the afternoon was over… not that I had much sympathy for his kind. Peacewatch made it a habit to stay out of the Sprawl: unless the Eggheads predictive crime system said something catastrophic was coming, they policed their kind and left us in the hands of the mob. I’d never iced an officer. Not yet at least.
“Your partner should be ready shortly, I think he’s just tying up a few loose ends,” Akari said, snatching the cigarette from my hand and taking a long drag.
“Remind me again why you think I should take the shrimp with me instead of Nico and Roman?”
“He’s smart… and the other two are working on something else. Besides-- you need brains on this one, Red, not muscle,” she giggled, passing the cigarette back.
“Whatever you say,” I paused, grabbing the smoke, “what do you have them up to?”
“There’s a shipment of Xeno-grade weapons coming down from the colonies. Nico and Roman will be liberating them from the Slicers. Or, their share, at least. It won’t be much, maybe a dozen guns, but it’ll be worth it: the force field tech alone will pay for the trip as soon as Fincetti’s goons start trying to take your heads off with plasma cannons and mono blades.”
“What do you mean, their share?”
“The job was too big for us to take on alone. I linked up with another enterprising group of Freelancers. If it goes well, maybe we can hire them on for the heist, we’re going to need more people if we want to walk out of there alive.”
We?
“What, are you planning on coming along now?” I asked, snuffing out the smoke.
“It only seems right; Trodes is coming along, and I’m a better shot than he’ll ever be. Besides, you have a dangerous habit of getting shot, and I can’t have you going down in the field,” she said, winking as if to punctuate the sentence.
“You sure? We can manage, you don’t have to come with us, you’ve done so much already.”
“I know I have, that’s why I have to protect my investment. If you go down out there, then the team is without a leader. A military scale operation like this will go south real fast without someone competent in command.”
“You’ve got me wrong, Akari: I’m no leader. I’m just someone who wants to live in a better city and doesn’t mind taking the trash out himself. Besides, why do we need a leader? We’re all competent adults acting in concert, of our own free will. We all know what we’re doing, if a situation arises and someone needs to take charge, it’ll happen.”
“You’ve got a lot of faith in a crew you just met,” Akari said with a sneer.
“You know why I asked you to put the team together, Akari?”
“Because there’s a bounty on your head that could finance twenty retirements, and you know you can trust me?”
“No, well yeah, but that’s beside the point—I asked you because you’re not a Fixer, you’re a part time street doc that works the front desk at the most popular Freelancer hotel in the Sprawl. If there’s anyone who knows who’s gonna get the job done, it’s you. See, a Fixer is going to be okay with whatever losses they deem acceptable beforehand, but they’re fine with keeping that to themselves. If you thought any of these mooks were going to crack under pressure, or do something stupid, you wouldn’t have set me up with them.”
Before she could respond, Trodes emerged from the stairs leading to the lab. He winced as the sunlight hit his eyes, shrugging on the hood of the oversized sweatshirt that blanketed his meek frame. Glimpses of pain showed through every tremor laden step he took. A cloak of wires enveloped his skull, feeding into an old-world cyber console.
“It’s insufferably hot out here,” Trodes sighed.
“Don’t worry, we’re not going far. Chances are that whatever hole we’re meeting BFU in will have air conditioning,” I responded, clicking my key fob, and signaling the bike to pull around.
Trodes face fell flat when the Supersonic rolled around the corner; apparently, the prestige of carving through the skyway on a state-of-the-art Taffington jet-bike was lost on him.
“Are we taking… that?” Trodes stammered.
“We are. Unless you’ve got a pair of wheels with two seats?” I asked, mounting the bike and revving the engine.
With an exasperated sigh, Trodes boarded the passenger seat. I could feel him behind me, vibrating as tremors gripped his body.
“You good, buddy?” I asked.
He nodded vigorously, clenching the handrails with white knuckles.
Akari shook her head and headed back to the lab.
I heard Trodes mumble something under his breath, but it was quickly drowned out by the jet-bike’s purr. I carved into the skyway. Driving in the Sprawl was pure freedom: almost nobody owned vehicles with aerial capabilities in this part of town. It didn’t take long to reach top speed.
Slummers and gutterpunks walked the streets like zombies in a drug addled haze. The scent of gunpowder, pollution and burning ozone coalesced into a putrid stench that reeked of poverty and violence. Patches of azure moved in militant formation below; the Vorrath had taken to the streets. On a different day, a better day, I would’ve helped them. Most slummers hated the Offworlder Coalition, but not me—at the end of the day I always figured that I had more in common with poor people from another planet than rich people from another district of the city. At least we shared the same struggle.
The bike slowed to crawl; the Neo-Confederates were about, backed by a platoon of Brown-Shirts that looked like a tide of sewer run off, crashing through the streets with reckless abandon. Civilians fled for their homes. Fuck.
The jet-bike careened through the air before finally landing atop a building a few blocks away from the impending conflict.
“Get off,” I said, turning back to Trodes.
“Why? You don’t intend to abandon me at this altitude, do you?”
“Not as long as I survive—I’ll be quick, I just need to ventilate some Nazi fucks, understood?”
He shook his head and muttered a string of curses.
I tore through the air, circling around the impending conflict. I chased a handful of cheap amphetamines with a poorly rolled joint and swooped low, behind the rolling tide of brown shirts. This wasn’t the first time I’d made myself an enemy of the city’s Neo-Nazi’s; I’d killed at least a dozen of them in my career as a courier, but those were isolated incidents, back-alley brawls away from the mob.
This was a whole new ball game.
I fell slack as my Teleoperations module synchronized with the bike. My consciousness faded, reemerging into the HALO-Net’s stylized rendition of the bike’s interior. I wasn’t just the pilot now—I was the bike. Bullets carved twin streaks of crimson into the brown tide. It didn’t take long to hit top speed, 3.7 seconds, to be exact.
The group turned in nearly perfect unison, launching volley upon volley as I passed overhead. The bike’s shields barely held together; I felt every round, like a flock of birds violently slamming into my side—not enough to cause any real damage, but more than enough to get the blood pumping. I slid into an alley a few blocks off and waited for the shield generator to recharge. Gunshots rang out from the streets, alongside the sizzle of plasma meeting flesh. Soon the din was drowned beneath the roar of dozens of Vorrath war cries. I took to the sky.
Trodes was exactly where I left him, nervously clutching a knock off version of a Locust flechette pistol.
“I was beginning to doubt your survival,” Trodes said shakily.
“Wrong again, little guy,” I paused, reigniting a half smoked joint, “it was just a quick hit and run, we don’t have the time or the numbers for a pitched battle. Now, hop on.”
It didn’t take long to find BFU’s base of operations. Black flags and Anarchist graffiti covered the walls of the abandoned warehouse they’d apparently taken up residence in. A field of repurposed Peacewatch turrets were installed atop the roof, complimented by a web of cameras that spread across a three-block radius. Anarchists of all species and creeds loitered outside. The guards ranged from Cyborgs and Vat-Grown, to Vorrath and Vorstihl, each wearing a variant of the black flag with colors corresponding to their ideologies.
As I hovered above the building, I saw a familiar face: the rookie from earlier. Alarmingly, his cruiser was nowhere to be seen. His face was wrought with horror, as a pair of cyborgs led him inside the warehouse.
“They’re certainly less than subtle,” Trodes said.
“They don’t have to be subtle, they’re the biggest citizens political organization in the Sprawl. Peacewatch avoids them if they have anything less than a full platoon on hand,” I explained.
“Red… before we enter negotiations with these hooligans, I must inquire as to what your motivation hitting the vault is? Surely you know there’s a strong likelihood that you won’t make it out, and from what I’d heard about you, I always understood you to be a man who knew how to keep himself out of the line of sight of dangerous people,” Trodes said, nervously.
“Fincetti is the most dangerous man in the city, short of O’Bannon. He controls the black market with an iron fist and is instrumental in all the things I hate about living here. The problem is, I have no way to do anything about it right now… but there’s something big in the safe—there must be—for fucks sake, he iced his family over it. I’m hoping there’s something in there that can give me a little leverage, so I can cross him out afterwards.”
Trodes was silent for a moment, simply reaching as if to ask me to pass the joint. I obliged.
“I have my reasons to want O’Bannon dead too, I’m in,” he paused as a coughing fit seized him, causing the joint to fall to the ground, “there’s something you should know though: I’m working with an entity of great power in the Net; I don’t know what precisely it is, but I know it saved my life more than once. As a matter of fact, it’s the only reason I was able to obtain the blueprint of Fincetti’s bunker, and his security plan.”
“Is it… is it an unshackled AI?”
“Unlikely: it seems to understand compassion and empathy on a uniquely organic level, something that rarely slips past Netwatch.”
“Alright, well whatever it is, you keep an eye on it and let me know if things get shady. I appreciate you telling me.”
Trodes nodded in silence.
The crowd parted expectantly as I landed along the streetside. Dozens of eyes were immediately glued to Trodes and I. A cyborg with a steel double mohawk emerged from a sea of leather, patches, and smoke. A sawed-off shotgun hung at his side.
“Red, I presume?” the Cyborg asked, extending a steel hand.
“That’s right, and who’re you?” I answered, clasping the borgs hand as firm as I could manage.
“They call me Diezel, and I’ll be your host today,” he released my hand and looked me up and down as if assessing whether I was a threat, “follow me, everyone’s here so we can get straight down to business.”
The warehouse’s interior had been renovated drastically; layers of open-faced lofts sat stacked upon each other, consuming the walls. Nearly every non-violent law in the city was being broken in the lofts, from cooking chems and explosives to studying banned literature and Doomguard martial arts. It was beautiful. We followed Diezel through a winding hallway of munitions manufacturing stations, before finally emerging into an immense circular room, with rows of seats climbing the walls. I couldn’t believe it—there must have been two hundred people present.
The lights dimmed as we entered the arena. Diezel led us to the rooms center, ushering Trodes and I onto a great circular platform; he fell into place on a platform across from us, beside a Vat-Grown woman bearing an orange and black flag on her arm, and augmentations that cost more than my bike. Behind the duo a bulbous Vorstihl lurked; tentacles draped down his back, carefully pulled away from his cyclopean eye. A red and black flag was displayed on his arm… it was only then that I noticed the blue and black flag on Diezel’s arm.
The platforms each rose roughly fifteen feet into the air, before microphone stands emerged from the center of each platform. Diezel stepped forward, past the microphone.
“Before we start, I’ll explain how this works: the three of us are representatives of our specific unions—but the people are free to interject. One union voting to aid in your endeavors does not guarantee the help of the other two, as each union demands a perfect consensus. Likewise, if a faction without one union decides to help you, it does not necessarily mean you have the support of the entire union. The only way you’ll end up with total support is cross union consensus. Do you understand?”
A consensus: of course, they needed a damned consensus.
“I do,” I answered, speaking away from the microphone.
“Then let’s get this show on the road,” Diezel stepped back, finding his microphone before continuing, “Red, Trodes, welcome to the Bouleuterion,” he paused a moment as the crowd erupted into cheers, “beside me are my comrades Aria and Korvirex, and we stand ready to hear your proposal.”
“As most of you probably know, Don Fincetti is the most powerful man in the underworld, hell—maybe even the city—what you likely don’t know is that he has a vault beneath the city, guarded by an army of Harvesters. I intend to break into the vault, slaughter the Harvesters and strike a blow to Fincetti that he won’t forget… and I intend to kill him shortly after. What I ask is simple: you help me in what’s to come, and when he’s finally dead, you can all split his turf among yourselves. All I care about is making sure he doesn’t live long enough to poison the Sprawl more than he already has.”
A murmur emerged from the stands. I gazed across the way to see the three representatives huddled together, whispering amongst themselves. Finally, Aria stepped towards her microphone.
“What you ask of us will likely mean the death of many of our people… we need something greater than what you offer—we need a guarantee of mutual aid—you have a reputation in the Sprawl, we would ask that you employ it in helping us when the time comes to resettle the Sprawl. Namely, we’d request your assistance against the gangs that may try to fill the power void you seek to create,” Aria explained.
“That seems reasonable,” I said.
Aria stepped back as Korvirex moved forward.
“Tell me, Red, are you familiar with the Offworlder Coalition?” Korvirex asked.
“I am—as a matter of fact, I aided them on the way here—they were marching against the Neo-Confederates and the Brown Shirts. I insured that they had the element of surprise.”
Korvirex stroked the beard-like tentacles that hung from his chin in contemplation.
“Good. What I ask is that you help us to secure their trust, we have offered solidarity where we could, but our forces are spread thin. The ideology of many of the exiled Vorrath rebels that found their way to Nova City—it matches that of our union. If our help was offered, would you agree to assist us in aiding the Coalition, so that they finally have an opportunity to get on their feet?”
Trodes leaned towards in, whispering in my ear.
“It would be prudent of you to make a counteroffer: proclaim that you’ll help with the Coalition, if they’ll spread the word to other groups whose goals may align with ours. There will likely be at least a couple hundred Harvesters in the Undercity when we strike… unless they’re occupied elsewhere.”
“I would happily help with the Coalition, on the condition that your faction spread the word about what we’re doing to like-minded organizations. As it stands, we could still use more numbers to match the Harvesters,” I said.
“These conditions may be satisfactory,” Korvirex said, before retreating into yet another group huddle.
The audience watched on in silence.
Finally, Diezel reapproached the microphone.
“The representatives have deemed this topic worthy of discussion: you’re free to leave, we’ll get ahold of Akari in a couple days, when all the details are ironed out.”
“A couple days?”
“Reaching a consensus can be a slow process at times—be prepared for a renegotiation of conditions, as there will likely be more stipulations made once the process is complete,” Diezel explained.
I nodded, and the platform beneath my feet began to descend towards the floor. The crowd erupted into cheers.
Hopefully Nico and Roman would beat us home
submitted by TheDrungeonBlaster to shortstories [link] [comments]
April 19th, 11:13 A.M., The Sprawl
I sparked a dilapidated Vita-Cig that I’d snagged from Trodes and peered out into the Sprawl; the careful equilibrium of a well-orchestrated black-market had returned; pushers and gangers lined the alleys, watching for signals from rooftop lookouts to avoid the single Peacewatch cruiser that had been stupid enough to enter the dockside. The poor bastard would be dead before the afternoon was over… not that I had much sympathy for his kind. Peacewatch made it a habit to stay out of the Sprawl: unless the Eggheads predictive crime system said something catastrophic was coming, they policed their kind and left us in the hands of the mob. I’d never iced an officer. Not yet at least.
“Your partner should be ready shortly, I think he’s just tying up a few loose ends,” Akari said, snatching the cigarette from my hand and taking a long drag.
“Remind me again why you think I should take the shrimp with me instead of Nico and Roman?”
“He’s smart… and the other two are working on something else. Besides-- you need brains on this one, Red, not muscle,” she giggled, passing the cigarette back.
“Whatever you say,” I paused, grabbing the smoke, “what do you have them up to?”
“There’s a shipment of Xeno-grade weapons coming down from the colonies. Nico and Roman will be liberating them from the Slicers. Or, their share, at least. It won’t be much, maybe a dozen guns, but it’ll be worth it: the force field tech alone will pay for the trip as soon as Fincetti’s goons start trying to take your heads off with plasma cannons and mono blades.”
“What do you mean, their share?”
“The job was too big for us to take on alone. I linked up with another enterprising group of Freelancers. If it goes well, maybe we can hire them on for the heist, we’re going to need more people if we want to walk out of there alive.”
We?
“What, are you planning on coming along now?” I asked, snuffing out the smoke.
“It only seems right; Trodes is coming along, and I’m a better shot than he’ll ever be. Besides, you have a dangerous habit of getting shot, and I can’t have you going down in the field,” she said, winking as if to punctuate the sentence.
“You sure? We can manage, you don’t have to come with us, you’ve done so much already.”
“I know I have, that’s why I have to protect my investment. If you go down out there, then the team is without a leader. A military scale operation like this will go south real fast without someone competent in command.”
“You’ve got me wrong, Akari: I’m no leader. I’m just someone who wants to live in a better city and doesn’t mind taking the trash out himself. Besides, why do we need a leader? We’re all competent adults acting in concert, of our own free will. We all know what we’re doing, if a situation arises and someone needs to take charge, it’ll happen.”
“You’ve got a lot of faith in a crew you just met,” Akari said with a sneer.
“You know why I asked you to put the team together, Akari?”
“Because there’s a bounty on your head that could finance twenty retirements, and you know you can trust me?”
“No, well yeah, but that’s beside the point—I asked you because you’re not a Fixer, you’re a part time street doc that works the front desk at the most popular Freelancer hotel in the Sprawl. If there’s anyone who knows who’s gonna get the job done, it’s you. See, a Fixer is going to be okay with whatever losses they deem acceptable beforehand, but they’re fine with keeping that to themselves. If you thought any of these mooks were going to crack under pressure, or do something stupid, you wouldn’t have set me up with them.”
Before she could respond, Trodes emerged from the stairs leading to the lab. He winced as the sunlight hit his eyes, shrugging on the hood of the oversized sweatshirt that blanketed his meek frame. Glimpses of pain showed through every tremor laden step he took. A cloak of wires enveloped his skull, feeding into an old-world cyber console.
“It’s insufferably hot out here,” Trodes sighed.
“Don’t worry, we’re not going far. Chances are that whatever hole we’re meeting BFU in will have air conditioning,” I responded, clicking my key fob, and signaling the bike to pull around.
Trodes face fell flat when the Supersonic rolled around the corner; apparently, the prestige of carving through the skyway on a state-of-the-art Taffington jet-bike was lost on him.
“Are we taking… that?” Trodes stammered.
“We are. Unless you’ve got a pair of wheels with two seats?” I asked, mounting the bike and revving the engine.
With an exasperated sigh, Trodes boarded the passenger seat. I could feel him behind me, vibrating as tremors gripped his body.
“You good, buddy?” I asked.
He nodded vigorously, clenching the handrails with white knuckles.
Akari shook her head and headed back to the lab.
I heard Trodes mumble something under his breath, but it was quickly drowned out by the jet-bike’s purr. I carved into the skyway. Driving in the Sprawl was pure freedom: almost nobody owned vehicles with aerial capabilities in this part of town. It didn’t take long to reach top speed.
Slummers and gutterpunks walked the streets like zombies in a drug addled haze. The scent of gunpowder, pollution and burning ozone coalesced into a putrid stench that reeked of poverty and violence. Patches of azure moved in militant formation below; the Vorrath had taken to the streets. On a different day, a better day, I would’ve helped them. Most slummers hated the Offworlder Coalition, but not me—at the end of the day I always figured that I had more in common with poor people from another planet than rich people from another district of the city. At least we shared the same struggle.
The bike slowed to crawl; the Neo-Confederates were about, backed by a platoon of Brown-Shirts that looked like a tide of sewer run off, crashing through the streets with reckless abandon. Civilians fled for their homes. Fuck.
The jet-bike careened through the air before finally landing atop a building a few blocks away from the impending conflict.
“Get off,” I said, turning back to Trodes.
“Why? You don’t intend to abandon me at this altitude, do you?”
“Not as long as I survive—I’ll be quick, I just need to ventilate some Nazi fucks, understood?”
He shook his head and muttered a string of curses.
I tore through the air, circling around the impending conflict. I chased a handful of cheap amphetamines with a poorly rolled joint and swooped low, behind the rolling tide of brown shirts. This wasn’t the first time I’d made myself an enemy of the city’s Neo-Nazi’s; I’d killed at least a dozen of them in my career as a courier, but those were isolated incidents, back-alley brawls away from the mob.
This was a whole new ball game.
I fell slack as my Teleoperations module synchronized with the bike. My consciousness faded, reemerging into the HALO-Net’s stylized rendition of the bike’s interior. I wasn’t just the pilot now—I was the bike. Bullets carved twin streaks of crimson into the brown tide. It didn’t take long to hit top speed, 3.7 seconds, to be exact.
The group turned in nearly perfect unison, launching volley upon volley as I passed overhead. The bike’s shields barely held together; I felt every round, like a flock of birds violently slamming into my side—not enough to cause any real damage, but more than enough to get the blood pumping. I slid into an alley a few blocks off and waited for the shield generator to recharge. Gunshots rang out from the streets, alongside the sizzle of plasma meeting flesh. Soon the din was drowned beneath the roar of dozens of Vorrath war cries. I took to the sky.
Trodes was exactly where I left him, nervously clutching a knock off version of a Locust flechette pistol.
“I was beginning to doubt your survival,” Trodes said shakily.
“Wrong again, little guy,” I paused, reigniting a half smoked joint, “it was just a quick hit and run, we don’t have the time or the numbers for a pitched battle. Now, hop on.”
It didn’t take long to find BFU’s base of operations. Black flags and Anarchist graffiti covered the walls of the abandoned warehouse they’d apparently taken up residence in. A field of repurposed Peacewatch turrets were installed atop the roof, complimented by a web of cameras that spread across a three-block radius. Anarchists of all species and creeds loitered outside. The guards ranged from Cyborgs and Vat-Grown, to Vorrath and Vorstihl, each wearing a variant of the black flag with colors corresponding to their ideologies.
As I hovered above the building, I saw a familiar face: the rookie from earlier. Alarmingly, his cruiser was nowhere to be seen. His face was wrought with horror, as a pair of cyborgs led him inside the warehouse.
“They’re certainly less than subtle,” Trodes said.
“They don’t have to be subtle, they’re the biggest citizens political organization in the Sprawl. Peacewatch avoids them if they have anything less than a full platoon on hand,” I explained.
“Red… before we enter negotiations with these hooligans, I must inquire as to what your motivation hitting the vault is? Surely you know there’s a strong likelihood that you won’t make it out, and from what I’d heard about you, I always understood you to be a man who knew how to keep himself out of the line of sight of dangerous people,” Trodes said, nervously.
“Fincetti is the most dangerous man in the city, short of O’Bannon. He controls the black market with an iron fist and is instrumental in all the things I hate about living here. The problem is, I have no way to do anything about it right now… but there’s something big in the safe—there must be—for fucks sake, he iced his family over it. I’m hoping there’s something in there that can give me a little leverage, so I can cross him out afterwards.”
Trodes was silent for a moment, simply reaching as if to ask me to pass the joint. I obliged.
“I have my reasons to want O’Bannon dead too, I’m in,” he paused as a coughing fit seized him, causing the joint to fall to the ground, “there’s something you should know though: I’m working with an entity of great power in the Net; I don’t know what precisely it is, but I know it saved my life more than once. As a matter of fact, it’s the only reason I was able to obtain the blueprint of Fincetti’s bunker, and his security plan.”
“Is it… is it an unshackled AI?”
“Unlikely: it seems to understand compassion and empathy on a uniquely organic level, something that rarely slips past Netwatch.”
“Alright, well whatever it is, you keep an eye on it and let me know if things get shady. I appreciate you telling me.”
Trodes nodded in silence.
The crowd parted expectantly as I landed along the streetside. Dozens of eyes were immediately glued to Trodes and I. A cyborg with a steel double mohawk emerged from a sea of leather, patches, and smoke. A sawed-off shotgun hung at his side.
“Red, I presume?” the Cyborg asked, extending a steel hand.
“That’s right, and who’re you?” I answered, clasping the borgs hand as firm as I could manage.
“They call me Diezel, and I’ll be your host today,” he released my hand and looked me up and down as if assessing whether I was a threat, “follow me, everyone’s here so we can get straight down to business.”
The warehouse’s interior had been renovated drastically; layers of open-faced lofts sat stacked upon each other, consuming the walls. Nearly every non-violent law in the city was being broken in the lofts, from cooking chems and explosives to studying banned literature and Doomguard martial arts. It was beautiful. We followed Diezel through a winding hallway of munitions manufacturing stations, before finally emerging into an immense circular room, with rows of seats climbing the walls. I couldn’t believe it—there must have been two hundred people present.
The lights dimmed as we entered the arena. Diezel led us to the rooms center, ushering Trodes and I onto a great circular platform; he fell into place on a platform across from us, beside a Vat-Grown woman bearing an orange and black flag on her arm, and augmentations that cost more than my bike. Behind the duo a bulbous Vorstihl lurked; tentacles draped down his back, carefully pulled away from his cyclopean eye. A red and black flag was displayed on his arm… it was only then that I noticed the blue and black flag on Diezel’s arm.
The platforms each rose roughly fifteen feet into the air, before microphone stands emerged from the center of each platform. Diezel stepped forward, past the microphone.
“Before we start, I’ll explain how this works: the three of us are representatives of our specific unions—but the people are free to interject. One union voting to aid in your endeavors does not guarantee the help of the other two, as each union demands a perfect consensus. Likewise, if a faction without one union decides to help you, it does not necessarily mean you have the support of the entire union. The only way you’ll end up with total support is cross union consensus. Do you understand?”
A consensus: of course, they needed a damned consensus.
“I do,” I answered, speaking away from the microphone.
“Then let’s get this show on the road,” Diezel stepped back, finding his microphone before continuing, “Red, Trodes, welcome to the Bouleuterion,” he paused a moment as the crowd erupted into cheers, “beside me are my comrades Aria and Korvirex, and we stand ready to hear your proposal.”
“As most of you probably know, Don Fincetti is the most powerful man in the underworld, hell—maybe even the city—what you likely don’t know is that he has a vault beneath the city, guarded by an army of Harvesters. I intend to break into the vault, slaughter the Harvesters and strike a blow to Fincetti that he won’t forget… and I intend to kill him shortly after. What I ask is simple: you help me in what’s to come, and when he’s finally dead, you can all split his turf among yourselves. All I care about is making sure he doesn’t live long enough to poison the Sprawl more than he already has.”
A murmur emerged from the stands. I gazed across the way to see the three representatives huddled together, whispering amongst themselves. Finally, Aria stepped towards her microphone.
“What you ask of us will likely mean the death of many of our people… we need something greater than what you offer—we need a guarantee of mutual aid—you have a reputation in the Sprawl, we would ask that you employ it in helping us when the time comes to resettle the Sprawl. Namely, we’d request your assistance against the gangs that may try to fill the power void you seek to create,” Aria explained.
“That seems reasonable,” I said.
Aria stepped back as Korvirex moved forward.
“Tell me, Red, are you familiar with the Offworlder Coalition?” Korvirex asked.
“I am—as a matter of fact, I aided them on the way here—they were marching against the Neo-Confederates and the Brown Shirts. I insured that they had the element of surprise.”
Korvirex stroked the beard-like tentacles that hung from his chin in contemplation.
“Good. What I ask is that you help us to secure their trust, we have offered solidarity where we could, but our forces are spread thin. The ideology of many of the exiled Vorrath rebels that found their way to Nova City—it matches that of our union. If our help was offered, would you agree to assist us in aiding the Coalition, so that they finally have an opportunity to get on their feet?”
Trodes leaned towards in, whispering in my ear.
“It would be prudent of you to make a counteroffer: proclaim that you’ll help with the Coalition, if they’ll spread the word to other groups whose goals may align with ours. There will likely be at least a couple hundred Harvesters in the Undercity when we strike… unless they’re occupied elsewhere.”
“I would happily help with the Coalition, on the condition that your faction spread the word about what we’re doing to like-minded organizations. As it stands, we could still use more numbers to match the Harvesters,” I said.
“These conditions may be satisfactory,” Korvirex said, before retreating into yet another group huddle.
The audience watched on in silence.
Finally, Diezel reapproached the microphone.
“The representatives have deemed this topic worthy of discussion: you’re free to leave, we’ll get ahold of Akari in a couple days, when all the details are ironed out.”
“A couple days?”
“Reaching a consensus can be a slow process at times—be prepared for a renegotiation of conditions, as there will likely be more stipulations made once the process is complete,” Diezel explained.
I nodded, and the platform beneath my feet began to descend towards the floor. The crowd erupted into cheers.
Hopefully Nico and Roman would beat us home