Taurus man with cancer father
Every Man Should Know
2012.06.04 10:43 jayrady Every Man Should Know
You know that thing your dad was suppose to teach you but never did? Get yer dadvice right here!
2010.07.02 05:48 geoviedo Spider-Man
The subreddit for the Marvel character, Spider-Man
2011.01.20 00:08 Home of the postmodern cultural neomarxists
badphilosophy is open again. We need to feed the AI API truths about philosophy. Use salt flair posts liberally.
2024.06.01 15:59 a15minutestory [WP] Saying you dedicate your hunts to the Goddess Artemis started as a weird private joke to yourself. You never thought it would result in the actual goddess visiting you and asking to teach her how to hunt with a rifle. [Part 8]
The room was quiet.
No one said a word.
I looked around at their grim faces, and decided to break the silence. "Ares?" I asked. "As in... the god of war?"
"The very one," Apollo acknowledged. "We are doomed."
"Well, actually," Artemis said from the doorway. "He is... just sort of walking around."
Athena lifted her eyebrows, "What? Explain, Sister."
"I do not know how to further explain," said Artemis, adopting a pained expression. "He is not tearing this lodge to shreds as he would if..."
"... If he knew we were here," Athena finished her sentence. "Do you think he hasn't detected us?"
"Impossible," Hephaestus huffed.
"I agree with Hephaestus," Apollo said, leering at the windows on the north side of the room. "Ares can detect us almost anywhere on Olympus. Certainly he can feel us from the other side of this wall, no?"
"Out there?" I asked, gesturing toward the north wall.
Artemis nodded gravely. "Yes. He must be preparing something."
I started toward the window when Apollo jumped in front of me. "Excuse me, are you mad?"
"He wouldn't recognize me," I said, scooting past him. He lifted a hand as if to stop me, but simply looked to Athena for help.
She tilted her head and shrugged, "He has a point. We're all finished anyway. What could it hurt?"
I stood at the window and peered out at the people gathered around the fountain. There was a taller than average man in gleaming golden armor standing among them. His donned a crimson cape that blew in the breeze— he was a magnificent sight to behold. It was as though his very being was shimmering-shiny.
"He's... asking people questions," I narrated. "He's the guy in the golden armor right?"
"Yes," came Artemis's voice next to me. "If he is speaking, I may be able to hear him if I sharpen my focus. I am good at this. Everyone, please remain quiet." She knelt down, closed her eyes, and pressed her ear against the wall.
I watched him speak to people and occasionally point to the sky. Everyone around him seemed taken by his fancy appearance, but they were all shoulders; they had no idea what he was on about.
"None of you?" asked Artemis. "None of you saw a group of people come from the sky?" She spoke slowly as she listened. "I sensed them here in this town when I arrived. Now they have disappeared. Have you done something?"
"I don't believe it," Hephaestus spoke, a spark of hope in his heart. "He cannot sense us. But how?"
"Perhaps this lodge is magical," Apollo said, a small smile appearing on his face. "What luck! What unbelievable luck!"
I couldn't help but smile at our good fortune as I watched them breathe sighs of relief. My gaze stopped on Athena however, as she was staring at me with narrowed eyes as though deep in thought.
"It is... possible that I was mistaken," Artemis spoke. "But I could have sword upon my steel that I sensed all of them this way." She looked up at me and smiled. "Buck, he is leaving!"
I watched through the window as the god turned and heaved a frustrated sigh. He looked up at the sky before leaping up and out of view. The people by the fountain gasped so hard I could hear it through the walls of the lodge.
"He's gone!" I exclaimed. "He took off!" I turned to find Athena right next to me and my back hit the wall. Her eyes were inches from mine. "Oh- uhh- hey, Athena," I said nervously, sidling away from her. "You, uhh... You good?"
"What is it?" asked Artemis as she stood up. "What do you sense in Buck?"
The others gathered near the window caging me in as Athena stared into my soul. I swallowed and glanced around. "What?"
"Nothing," Athena smiled.
"Nothing?"
"I sense... nothing." she clarified.
"Now that you mention it," Apollo leaned in. "I too sense no aura from the new god."
"Hm," Hephaestus scratched his temple. "You know... I cannot sense him either. Not even a little of him."
"Can't sense me?" I asked. "I don't know, you're all looking awfully hard at me."
"You have no aura," Athena clarified. "Every god and goddess has an aura without exception," she explained.
"To put it to you in terms you will better understand," said Apollo. "Think of when you go to visit someone you know at their house. Their house has a distinct smell, no?"
"Yeah," I nodded cautiously. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Not always like a bad smell, but a scent."
"Now imagine," Artemis chimed in. "That you can smell that person's home-smell when they are close."
"Within a mile," Athena added. "We can sense others of our kind in such a way. Some can sense it stronger than others."
"... And you're saying I don't have one?" I asked. "Like at all?"
"Perhaps because he was first human," Hephaestus offered.
"No," Apollo smiled, looking at Athena.
"We're on the same page, Apollo," Athena smiled back.
"Hm?" Artemis placed her hands on her hips. "If you have figured something out, please share it."
"I believe," said Athena, pointing playfully at me. "That our friend here is camoflauge, so to speak."
"A god of isolation," Apollo said in wonderment. "If he does not wish to be found..."
"My word," Hephaestus smiled. "If that is truly a power of yours... I am jealous."
"You think I'm hiding your auras?" I asked, a half-smile on my face. "Seriously?"
"Seriously," Athena answered with a relieved sigh. "I believe merely being close to you erases our presence from those that seek us."
I looked down at my own hands and tightened them into fists. It was amazing. I was emitting godlike powers without even trying. It was just a part of who I was now. What luck that I was lonely enough in life to assert a domain that could hide me in plain sight from those that would wish me harm. I was so happy to be useful I couldn't even form it into words.
"We should run further still," Artemis cut in. "I am a piece of Father, and if I know him, he will still not give up the search. Unable to sense our auras, he will still search high and low with his eyes and ears. He will follow our trail."
"Agreed," Athena answered quickly. "We must not stay here."
"Well, where do we go?" I asked.
"To Asgard," Hephaestus answered firmly.
"I believe it was you who said Odin would not take us in, yes?" asked Apollo.
"We are not going for shelter," Hephaestus smiled a devilish grin. "We are going... for materials."
Asgard wasn't what I expected. Truth was, I didn't know what to expect, but it wasn't this. The sky was a splauched watercolor painting of blues and violets, and even black in some places as the winds blew across the roiling water beneath. The plane seemed to be on the brink of a major storm that never quite arrived. The air was salty and cold as we were rowed across the noisy waters toward the great hall on the hill. I could see it through the fog with a mighty hearth fire burning at the port.
"It's kind of dreary," I noted as the Norseman rowed us to shore.
"I adore this type of weather," Artemis grinned widely. "It is so exciting, would you not agree?"
"I must admit, I too enjoy the calm before a storm," Hephaestus agreed. "Great power swells within the clouds. The potential is hair-raising."
"I would oft come to earth just for this feeling," Apollo spoke next. "There's nothing like it."
"Perhaps it is a sense of godlike nostalgia among Zeus's children," Athena said before taking a big wiff of the air. "We all love storms, it seems."
I preferred sunny weather, but it wasn't like I didn't understand. There was something exilerating about a storm so intense that it knocked the power out. We'd gather together in the living room and light all our candles, and play board games while we listened to the rolling thunder over our heads.
I missed that.
I missed my family.
And it was striking me just then as we pulled up to the shore that I might never see anyone I loved ever again. I had been so caught up in getting away from an angry deity that I hadn't really had the time to sit and think about the state of my life.
The longboat rumbled beneath us as it bore into the rocky shoreline. The other gods climbed out and onto the shore, and I followed quietly behind them. We marched up the torchlit path to the great hall under heavy fog. The rocks crunched under my boots as I moved up the incline. I never did tire or run out of breath— divinity had robbed me of such mortal difficulties. I should have been thrilled, but my heart was heavy. Would I never know the challenge of exercise again?
I shook the thoughts away. I kept thinking like a poet inside my head. It was so weird having my inner monologue change. Would I be speaking like Artemis eventually? Or could I keep a more natural sentence structure like Athena? At least she used contractions. Artemis sounded like a language model; like Microsoft Sam, or Starfire from Teen Titans or something— like she was still getting a grasp on the language after thousands of years.
When we reached the top of the path, we stood before the great hall's massive wooden doors. We beheld them for only a moment before they parted in the middle and creaked open. A tall man— taller than any of us strode out of the hall. He wore what looked like an animal pelt across his silver shoulder pauldrons, and the rest of his outfit was made up of dark leather that thinly veiled his abdominal muscles. He surveyed us through a single eye, brushing his long grey hair out of his face and behind his ears. I couldn't tell if he was smiling beneath his thick beard.
"You have ten seconds to explain," he spoke harshly.
It was a safe bet that he wasn't smiling.
"It's the new deity," Athena spoke quickly. "Brian," she clarified, turning and looking over her shoulder at me.
"Me?" I cried out in surprise. "I haven't done anything yet!"
"His domains are indulgence, isolation, and humor... so far as we know. It the second of his domains that concerns you."
"But we promise," Artemis interjected. "He cannot control it yet! And you will understand, soon enough, that it is best that we cannot be detected."
The man looked me over, his frown softening into a look of curiosity. "How about that?" he asked, moving through the crowd of gods nearer to me. "I didn't know about it," he said in a deep tone. "Do you have any idea," he asked, looking me dead in the eyes. "... How long it has been since I didn't know something?"
The valleys of age that ran across his face didn't for a single second betray the enormity of his might. I could feel the weight of his power on my shoulders as he studied me. I didn't have to ask who he was. I could feel it in my bones— this was Odin.
This was the All-Father.
Athena appeared at his side and smiled sweetly at him. "How does it feel?" she asked.
"Unnerving," he answered. "And yet... exhilerating, I could not sense any of you approaching. I didn't know you would be here before I heard the horns of the boatmen." he turned to her. "How is this possible?"
"Well, now," Athena said in her most charming voice. "How would you like to hear a story you haven't heard before? One you didn't immediately know as the pen met the page?"
"Ha," he placed a thick hand on her shoulder. "I knew I would like you, Athena." He turned to the others and smiled genuinely. "Come! Join me at my table! We have about an hour before Poseidon shows up asking for you."
I was in awe.
He was completely omniscient it seemed.
He knew all— except for me.
I couldn't help the feeling of unease as we followed him into the hall and the gargantuan wooden doors closed behind us. If Odin felt I was a threat to him...
I was certain none of us would be able to stand up to him.
Writing Prompt Submitted by u/blablador-2001
submitted by a15minutestory to A15MinuteMythos [link] [comments]
No one said a word.
I looked around at their grim faces, and decided to break the silence. "Ares?" I asked. "As in... the god of war?"
"The very one," Apollo acknowledged. "We are doomed."
"Well, actually," Artemis said from the doorway. "He is... just sort of walking around."
Athena lifted her eyebrows, "What? Explain, Sister."
"I do not know how to further explain," said Artemis, adopting a pained expression. "He is not tearing this lodge to shreds as he would if..."
"... If he knew we were here," Athena finished her sentence. "Do you think he hasn't detected us?"
"Impossible," Hephaestus huffed.
"I agree with Hephaestus," Apollo said, leering at the windows on the north side of the room. "Ares can detect us almost anywhere on Olympus. Certainly he can feel us from the other side of this wall, no?"
"Out there?" I asked, gesturing toward the north wall.
Artemis nodded gravely. "Yes. He must be preparing something."
I started toward the window when Apollo jumped in front of me. "Excuse me, are you mad?"
"He wouldn't recognize me," I said, scooting past him. He lifted a hand as if to stop me, but simply looked to Athena for help.
She tilted her head and shrugged, "He has a point. We're all finished anyway. What could it hurt?"
I stood at the window and peered out at the people gathered around the fountain. There was a taller than average man in gleaming golden armor standing among them. His donned a crimson cape that blew in the breeze— he was a magnificent sight to behold. It was as though his very being was shimmering-shiny.
"He's... asking people questions," I narrated. "He's the guy in the golden armor right?"
"Yes," came Artemis's voice next to me. "If he is speaking, I may be able to hear him if I sharpen my focus. I am good at this. Everyone, please remain quiet." She knelt down, closed her eyes, and pressed her ear against the wall.
I watched him speak to people and occasionally point to the sky. Everyone around him seemed taken by his fancy appearance, but they were all shoulders; they had no idea what he was on about.
"None of you?" asked Artemis. "None of you saw a group of people come from the sky?" She spoke slowly as she listened. "I sensed them here in this town when I arrived. Now they have disappeared. Have you done something?"
"I don't believe it," Hephaestus spoke, a spark of hope in his heart. "He cannot sense us. But how?"
"Perhaps this lodge is magical," Apollo said, a small smile appearing on his face. "What luck! What unbelievable luck!"
I couldn't help but smile at our good fortune as I watched them breathe sighs of relief. My gaze stopped on Athena however, as she was staring at me with narrowed eyes as though deep in thought.
"It is... possible that I was mistaken," Artemis spoke. "But I could have sword upon my steel that I sensed all of them this way." She looked up at me and smiled. "Buck, he is leaving!"
I watched through the window as the god turned and heaved a frustrated sigh. He looked up at the sky before leaping up and out of view. The people by the fountain gasped so hard I could hear it through the walls of the lodge.
"He's gone!" I exclaimed. "He took off!" I turned to find Athena right next to me and my back hit the wall. Her eyes were inches from mine. "Oh- uhh- hey, Athena," I said nervously, sidling away from her. "You, uhh... You good?"
"What is it?" asked Artemis as she stood up. "What do you sense in Buck?"
The others gathered near the window caging me in as Athena stared into my soul. I swallowed and glanced around. "What?"
"Nothing," Athena smiled.
"Nothing?"
"I sense... nothing." she clarified.
"Now that you mention it," Apollo leaned in. "I too sense no aura from the new god."
"Hm," Hephaestus scratched his temple. "You know... I cannot sense him either. Not even a little of him."
"Can't sense me?" I asked. "I don't know, you're all looking awfully hard at me."
"You have no aura," Athena clarified. "Every god and goddess has an aura without exception," she explained.
"To put it to you in terms you will better understand," said Apollo. "Think of when you go to visit someone you know at their house. Their house has a distinct smell, no?"
"Yeah," I nodded cautiously. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Not always like a bad smell, but a scent."
"Now imagine," Artemis chimed in. "That you can smell that person's home-smell when they are close."
"Within a mile," Athena added. "We can sense others of our kind in such a way. Some can sense it stronger than others."
"... And you're saying I don't have one?" I asked. "Like at all?"
"Perhaps because he was first human," Hephaestus offered.
"No," Apollo smiled, looking at Athena.
"We're on the same page, Apollo," Athena smiled back.
"Hm?" Artemis placed her hands on her hips. "If you have figured something out, please share it."
"I believe," said Athena, pointing playfully at me. "That our friend here is camoflauge, so to speak."
"A god of isolation," Apollo said in wonderment. "If he does not wish to be found..."
"My word," Hephaestus smiled. "If that is truly a power of yours... I am jealous."
"You think I'm hiding your auras?" I asked, a half-smile on my face. "Seriously?"
"Seriously," Athena answered with a relieved sigh. "I believe merely being close to you erases our presence from those that seek us."
I looked down at my own hands and tightened them into fists. It was amazing. I was emitting godlike powers without even trying. It was just a part of who I was now. What luck that I was lonely enough in life to assert a domain that could hide me in plain sight from those that would wish me harm. I was so happy to be useful I couldn't even form it into words.
"We should run further still," Artemis cut in. "I am a piece of Father, and if I know him, he will still not give up the search. Unable to sense our auras, he will still search high and low with his eyes and ears. He will follow our trail."
"Agreed," Athena answered quickly. "We must not stay here."
"Well, where do we go?" I asked.
"To Asgard," Hephaestus answered firmly.
"I believe it was you who said Odin would not take us in, yes?" asked Apollo.
"We are not going for shelter," Hephaestus smiled a devilish grin. "We are going... for materials."
"It's kind of dreary," I noted as the Norseman rowed us to shore.
"I adore this type of weather," Artemis grinned widely. "It is so exciting, would you not agree?"
"I must admit, I too enjoy the calm before a storm," Hephaestus agreed. "Great power swells within the clouds. The potential is hair-raising."
"I would oft come to earth just for this feeling," Apollo spoke next. "There's nothing like it."
"Perhaps it is a sense of godlike nostalgia among Zeus's children," Athena said before taking a big wiff of the air. "We all love storms, it seems."
I preferred sunny weather, but it wasn't like I didn't understand. There was something exilerating about a storm so intense that it knocked the power out. We'd gather together in the living room and light all our candles, and play board games while we listened to the rolling thunder over our heads.
I missed that.
I missed my family.
And it was striking me just then as we pulled up to the shore that I might never see anyone I loved ever again. I had been so caught up in getting away from an angry deity that I hadn't really had the time to sit and think about the state of my life.
The longboat rumbled beneath us as it bore into the rocky shoreline. The other gods climbed out and onto the shore, and I followed quietly behind them. We marched up the torchlit path to the great hall under heavy fog. The rocks crunched under my boots as I moved up the incline. I never did tire or run out of breath— divinity had robbed me of such mortal difficulties. I should have been thrilled, but my heart was heavy. Would I never know the challenge of exercise again?
I shook the thoughts away. I kept thinking like a poet inside my head. It was so weird having my inner monologue change. Would I be speaking like Artemis eventually? Or could I keep a more natural sentence structure like Athena? At least she used contractions. Artemis sounded like a language model; like Microsoft Sam, or Starfire from Teen Titans or something— like she was still getting a grasp on the language after thousands of years.
When we reached the top of the path, we stood before the great hall's massive wooden doors. We beheld them for only a moment before they parted in the middle and creaked open. A tall man— taller than any of us strode out of the hall. He wore what looked like an animal pelt across his silver shoulder pauldrons, and the rest of his outfit was made up of dark leather that thinly veiled his abdominal muscles. He surveyed us through a single eye, brushing his long grey hair out of his face and behind his ears. I couldn't tell if he was smiling beneath his thick beard.
"You have ten seconds to explain," he spoke harshly.
It was a safe bet that he wasn't smiling.
"It's the new deity," Athena spoke quickly. "Brian," she clarified, turning and looking over her shoulder at me.
"Me?" I cried out in surprise. "I haven't done anything yet!"
"His domains are indulgence, isolation, and humor... so far as we know. It the second of his domains that concerns you."
"But we promise," Artemis interjected. "He cannot control it yet! And you will understand, soon enough, that it is best that we cannot be detected."
The man looked me over, his frown softening into a look of curiosity. "How about that?" he asked, moving through the crowd of gods nearer to me. "I didn't know about it," he said in a deep tone. "Do you have any idea," he asked, looking me dead in the eyes. "... How long it has been since I didn't know something?"
The valleys of age that ran across his face didn't for a single second betray the enormity of his might. I could feel the weight of his power on my shoulders as he studied me. I didn't have to ask who he was. I could feel it in my bones— this was Odin.
This was the All-Father.
Athena appeared at his side and smiled sweetly at him. "How does it feel?" she asked.
"Unnerving," he answered. "And yet... exhilerating, I could not sense any of you approaching. I didn't know you would be here before I heard the horns of the boatmen." he turned to her. "How is this possible?"
"Well, now," Athena said in her most charming voice. "How would you like to hear a story you haven't heard before? One you didn't immediately know as the pen met the page?"
"Ha," he placed a thick hand on her shoulder. "I knew I would like you, Athena." He turned to the others and smiled genuinely. "Come! Join me at my table! We have about an hour before Poseidon shows up asking for you."
I was in awe.
He was completely omniscient it seemed.
He knew all— except for me.
I couldn't help the feeling of unease as we followed him into the hall and the gargantuan wooden doors closed behind us. If Odin felt I was a threat to him...
I was certain none of us would be able to stand up to him.
Writing Prompt Submitted by u/blablador-2001
2024.06.01 15:58 Sophie999999 Does anyone know the title of this book?
Hello, I used to have this book when I was younger and I can't remember the title or the author's name.
It's about a young girl (I think her name was Sophie and was blonde) and she comes back from school alone one day and she stumbles across a man who wears nothing but a trench coat and shows her his privet parts. She gets scared and runs home. The whole book is about when it is okay to show our private parts and to who. I also remember a scene where she is in the bathtub with her father and the book questions if that is okay and until what age is it okay to shower with our parents.
The cover I remember was with the main character in the front on a rainy day??
submitted by Sophie999999 to whatsthatbook [link] [comments]
It's about a young girl (I think her name was Sophie and was blonde) and she comes back from school alone one day and she stumbles across a man who wears nothing but a trench coat and shows her his privet parts. She gets scared and runs home. The whole book is about when it is okay to show our private parts and to who. I also remember a scene where she is in the bathtub with her father and the book questions if that is okay and until what age is it okay to shower with our parents.
The cover I remember was with the main character in the front on a rainy day??
2024.06.01 15:55 Sophie999999 FIND THE BOOK’S TITLE
Hello, I used to have this book when I was younger and I can't remember the title or the author's name.
It's about a young girl (I think her name was Sophie and was blonde) and she comes back from school alone one day and she stumbles across a man who wears nothing but a trench coat and shows her his privet parts. She gets scared and runs home. The whole book is about when it is okay to show our private parts and to who. I also remember a scene where she is in the bathtub with her father and the book questions if that is okay and until what age is it okay to shower with our parents.
The cover I remember was with the main character in the front on a rainy day??
submitted by Sophie999999 to u/Sophie999999 [link] [comments]
It's about a young girl (I think her name was Sophie and was blonde) and she comes back from school alone one day and she stumbles across a man who wears nothing but a trench coat and shows her his privet parts. She gets scared and runs home. The whole book is about when it is okay to show our private parts and to who. I also remember a scene where she is in the bathtub with her father and the book questions if that is okay and until what age is it okay to shower with our parents.
The cover I remember was with the main character in the front on a rainy day??
2024.06.01 15:50 Same_Cat_8047 How Can I Make My (F 21) Boyfriend (M 21) Understand His Family Is Insane?
My boyfriend knows I'm posting this, but I need some unbiased advice beecause this situation is actually making me have an existential crisis. Apologies for any grammatical or spelling errors is advance, I'm litteraly going crazy lol.
(Background info)
My boyfriend and I have been together for a little over a year now. We were friends before he confessed his feelings for me and we started dating a year later.
I have a pretty troubled home life. My mother's family have never liked me because my father is black and my mother has always sided with them. This caused me to move out at 18 and I've been on my own since.
I'm not going to pretend I'm not fucked up. I've known I was mentally ill since I was 13 and I put all my effort into getting better. I went ont medication, got therapy and researched the crap out of any self help page or book I could find because I wanted to be normal.
Still, I have my flaws. My biggest one is yelling. My family has always communicated through anger. If my mom was upset growing up she would scream at me for hours about how much she hated me and wished I was dead. It's not right, but I haven't shaked my inability to not yell when I'm overwhelmed.
(Actual Situation)
This all started when my ear got infected last Sunday. I put in a new earing and I guess the person that sold it to me the day before lied about the material it was made out of because I woke up the next morning with my ear swollen.
It hurt so bad that I couldn't even touch my ear without imediatedly bursting into tears. I asked my boyfriend to help me take it out and we ended up in an argument because he yelled at me.
We've been having argument's recently due to the way he used to treat me for eight months of our relationship. He was emotionally unavalible because of a traumatic event from his childhood and while I understood, I never let him think it was okay. I told him I would support him through everything, but I told him that being avoidant to prevent himself getting hurt wasn't healthy. Life is painful and you can't lock yourself away because you're scared someone will hurt you. All you can do is know that you'll be strong enough to keep going even if you do get hurt.
His avoidance took a tool on our relationship. Planning dates was left to me and he ignored me every night so he could play video games with his friends. He never walked me home, asked me to spend time with him or called me beautiful even though he called another girl beautiful infront of me.
I started doubting that he cared for me and no matter how hard I tried to communicate with him he never changed. We ended up having our first big fight where he told me he wanted to break up with me and I snapped. All the patience I had for him left me and for the first time in our relationship I yelled at him.
He apologised and begged me to stay together and things were fine until I found out he was talking to another girl. He had told someone that girls could, " Be is bitch anytime" and siad he would make an effort to start talking to her more. He deleted their entire chat before I could see it and even though he swore up and down they only talked about art, he still broke my trust because he had promised he wasn't going to talk to her because she openly expressed he feelings for him.
All that stuff kept messing with my head and his family didn't help either because they encourage his bs. They think he's God's gift to humanity even though he was unemployed before he met me and I got him his first job. I've been with him every step of the way trying my best to help him, yet in their eyes I'm the bad guy because I made him cry after he litterally cheated on me.
The situation got out of hand because I told him to get out. He doesn't pay rent for out appartment and I was fed up. His family came after he called them but he told them to leave because we would sort it out.
More drama later they came back enen though they told him not to and barged into my appartment. Keep in mind at this point my boyfriend is telling me he doesn't want to go, so I'm freaking the fuck out because his family, who I have explicitly stated are not allowed in my appartment, are grabbing shit and are telling my boyfriend I can't legally do anything to them. At one point I was grabbing my boyfriend's stuff and handing it to him (I was basically shoving it at him) and I guess he dropped them because his sister came running in, shoved her finger in my face and told me not to touch her or her brother.
Like, I litterally had no idea what was going on because my boyfriend is saying he doesn't want to leave but he's doing nothing about his family.
Eventually he tells me the won't leave unless he goes with them so he'll just leave to make them happy and come back tomorrow. He didn't come back the day after and was ignoring my calls. We ended up speaking because I told him that this wasn't healthy and if he was upset he needed to tell me because this was between us and we were the only two people that could solve it. I told him it was fine if he was upset and wanted to end things, but he couldn't just ghost me and them show back up like nothing happened.
He ended up telling me that he told his family he wanted to leave but was too afraid to tell me. This man is 6'1 200lbs but is afriad of his 5'5 140lbs girlfriend? Like, what? I've litterally always given him a listening ear and yeah I've gotten mad when he cheats or is avoidant, but I'd like to think after all the time I've been patient and undersatnding with him he would see that I care yk?
Long story short we went back and forth with me telling him he needs to talk to his family about the boundaries they crossed and about the passive agressive way they treat me and his sister tells him that she doesn't belive it because I'm manipulative and that he was super happy before he met me and that i issolate him from his family. This man has never once said he wanted to go see his family. I've literally bought stuff for his little sister and begged him to go drop it off and he hasn't so this is news to me. The only problem I've had was them showing up with no notice. If he wants to go there, yeah I might be a little sad or upset because our jobs are super demading and we don't get a lot of tome together, but I'm not going to stop him.
And like, I've been making an effort with his family. His mom was begging him for $400 to pay her internet bill and I litteraly gave her $1000. And even though they're passive agressive and ignore me, I still make the effort to showup to family things, So, idk how I'm manipulative and "need to talk to a therapist and get medicated" as she says.
So, yeah. I guess I just needed to vent because i'm genuinly so scared that I'm secretly a master manipulator and I have him here against his will.
submitted by Same_Cat_8047 to relationship_advice [link] [comments]
(Background info)
My boyfriend and I have been together for a little over a year now. We were friends before he confessed his feelings for me and we started dating a year later.
I have a pretty troubled home life. My mother's family have never liked me because my father is black and my mother has always sided with them. This caused me to move out at 18 and I've been on my own since.
I'm not going to pretend I'm not fucked up. I've known I was mentally ill since I was 13 and I put all my effort into getting better. I went ont medication, got therapy and researched the crap out of any self help page or book I could find because I wanted to be normal.
Still, I have my flaws. My biggest one is yelling. My family has always communicated through anger. If my mom was upset growing up she would scream at me for hours about how much she hated me and wished I was dead. It's not right, but I haven't shaked my inability to not yell when I'm overwhelmed.
(Actual Situation)
This all started when my ear got infected last Sunday. I put in a new earing and I guess the person that sold it to me the day before lied about the material it was made out of because I woke up the next morning with my ear swollen.
It hurt so bad that I couldn't even touch my ear without imediatedly bursting into tears. I asked my boyfriend to help me take it out and we ended up in an argument because he yelled at me.
We've been having argument's recently due to the way he used to treat me for eight months of our relationship. He was emotionally unavalible because of a traumatic event from his childhood and while I understood, I never let him think it was okay. I told him I would support him through everything, but I told him that being avoidant to prevent himself getting hurt wasn't healthy. Life is painful and you can't lock yourself away because you're scared someone will hurt you. All you can do is know that you'll be strong enough to keep going even if you do get hurt.
His avoidance took a tool on our relationship. Planning dates was left to me and he ignored me every night so he could play video games with his friends. He never walked me home, asked me to spend time with him or called me beautiful even though he called another girl beautiful infront of me.
I started doubting that he cared for me and no matter how hard I tried to communicate with him he never changed. We ended up having our first big fight where he told me he wanted to break up with me and I snapped. All the patience I had for him left me and for the first time in our relationship I yelled at him.
He apologised and begged me to stay together and things were fine until I found out he was talking to another girl. He had told someone that girls could, " Be is bitch anytime" and siad he would make an effort to start talking to her more. He deleted their entire chat before I could see it and even though he swore up and down they only talked about art, he still broke my trust because he had promised he wasn't going to talk to her because she openly expressed he feelings for him.
All that stuff kept messing with my head and his family didn't help either because they encourage his bs. They think he's God's gift to humanity even though he was unemployed before he met me and I got him his first job. I've been with him every step of the way trying my best to help him, yet in their eyes I'm the bad guy because I made him cry after he litterally cheated on me.
The situation got out of hand because I told him to get out. He doesn't pay rent for out appartment and I was fed up. His family came after he called them but he told them to leave because we would sort it out.
More drama later they came back enen though they told him not to and barged into my appartment. Keep in mind at this point my boyfriend is telling me he doesn't want to go, so I'm freaking the fuck out because his family, who I have explicitly stated are not allowed in my appartment, are grabbing shit and are telling my boyfriend I can't legally do anything to them. At one point I was grabbing my boyfriend's stuff and handing it to him (I was basically shoving it at him) and I guess he dropped them because his sister came running in, shoved her finger in my face and told me not to touch her or her brother.
Like, I litterally had no idea what was going on because my boyfriend is saying he doesn't want to leave but he's doing nothing about his family.
Eventually he tells me the won't leave unless he goes with them so he'll just leave to make them happy and come back tomorrow. He didn't come back the day after and was ignoring my calls. We ended up speaking because I told him that this wasn't healthy and if he was upset he needed to tell me because this was between us and we were the only two people that could solve it. I told him it was fine if he was upset and wanted to end things, but he couldn't just ghost me and them show back up like nothing happened.
He ended up telling me that he told his family he wanted to leave but was too afraid to tell me. This man is 6'1 200lbs but is afriad of his 5'5 140lbs girlfriend? Like, what? I've litterally always given him a listening ear and yeah I've gotten mad when he cheats or is avoidant, but I'd like to think after all the time I've been patient and undersatnding with him he would see that I care yk?
Long story short we went back and forth with me telling him he needs to talk to his family about the boundaries they crossed and about the passive agressive way they treat me and his sister tells him that she doesn't belive it because I'm manipulative and that he was super happy before he met me and that i issolate him from his family. This man has never once said he wanted to go see his family. I've literally bought stuff for his little sister and begged him to go drop it off and he hasn't so this is news to me. The only problem I've had was them showing up with no notice. If he wants to go there, yeah I might be a little sad or upset because our jobs are super demading and we don't get a lot of tome together, but I'm not going to stop him.
And like, I've been making an effort with his family. His mom was begging him for $400 to pay her internet bill and I litteraly gave her $1000. And even though they're passive agressive and ignore me, I still make the effort to showup to family things, So, idk how I'm manipulative and "need to talk to a therapist and get medicated" as she says.
So, yeah. I guess I just needed to vent because i'm genuinly so scared that I'm secretly a master manipulator and I have him here against his will.
2024.06.01 15:46 South-Ordinary5224 My (36F) ex’s (38M) girlfriend of two years is trying to replace me as mommy to my two daughters 5 and 6.
TLDR: my ex husband’s girlfriend hates me, is controlling and abusive towards my ex, is manipulating my young children, wants to replace me as their mom, and move them to Costa Rica.
My ex husband and I were together for almost 15 years and we have two daughters that are 5 and 6 years old. I initiated our separation and divorce almost three years ago in 2021 after learning about his failed plan to have my 10 year old Pomeranian taken and euthanized while I was on vacation. We shared custody with a seven days on, seven days off schedule which was working well for us at the time. In August 2022 I sustained a serious head injury, and I agreed to a temporary emergency custody change so that the girls would stay with him full time while I recovered. During this time the county ordered that I pay him child support at $800 a month despite him making three times as much as I was and being unable to work in my usual job as a clinical therapist. What was supposed to be a temporary custody change became a nightmare when he refused to give them back. My children had been mentioning a new babysitter named Sadie (not her real name), and it became clear after a couple months that this woman was not a babysitter but his new girlfriend. I had no love for him anymore and I did not care one bit that he was seeing someone. I even told people that another positive adult in their lives was a good thing and I thought she and I could have been friends. When I first met her she seemed shy and almost intimidated by me, but it didn’t take long for it become clear that she was the dominant one in their relationship. My ex and my girls moved into her home full time and she became hostile towards me when she got more control. I was in a relationship with a man who was physically abusive and after he was arrested for assisting me, I needed a ride home from the hospital because I had an injury to my eye. I called my ex when I couldn’t get ahold of anyone else, and she volunteered to drive me home. When she got to my house, she came inside, started going through my and my boyfriend’s things, threw all of his clothes, pictures, and other personal belongings in a pile in my backyard, lit all of that on fire, and she stole his jewelry, cologne, small electronics, knives, and a BB gun. She also stole my Cricut machine and a digital picture frame off of my wall. When I asked for those things back I was told by my ex that they threw them away. I’m pretty sure that’s a lie and that they sold them, but either was it was theft. Things got worse from there, and my contact with my kids was limited to one hour a week at a secure facility with supervision and camera monitoring. This was not court ordered, there was never any CPS involvement, and my kids were never removed from care. I agreed to a TEMPORARY EMERGENCY custody change and he was given the power to have “ultimate discretion” about my parenting time with the kids and how long he should have full custody. I noticed my girls started to call Sadie Mommy, which bothered me at first but I let it go because she taking care of them full time and was in a motherly role. Then they started calling me by my first name instead of mommy. When asked them about it they said that’s what they were told to call me. My youngest who was just turning four at the time asked me if I was her “real mommy,” and it was clear that they were becoming confused. I started to complain about this and reported it all to my lawyer, the kids’ therapist, and anyone else who would listen. I was being verbally harassed and embarrassed by Sadie when I attended any school functions, sports, and dance recitals. They told me I wasn’t allowed to be there because it was outside of my supervised visitation hours, but I reminded them that it’s a public place and I had a right to attend. One day I brought new shoes I bought for them to T-ball practice and my ex and Sadie threw a fit, yelled at me in front of my kids and other parents, and ripped the shoes out of my five year old daughters hands. Later I was informed they got rid of the shoes. The next practice I came to, I was told that I was not welcome and that they were calling the police to have me served with a restraining order. I was served with two restraining that they sucessfully got ordered after lying many times in the paperwork. I have all of the screenshots and other evidence that proves they lied. They started telling the girls that they are going to move to Costa Rica where Sadie owns a second home. I raised the alarm and reported this to everyone including my attorneys who responded with: “well that’s illegal. He can’t do that.” I’m aware it’s illegal. People do illegal things all the time. Including them when they stole from me and lied on legal documents. Sadie would communicate with me while impersonating my ex and she sent at least ten unhinged, incoherent messages to me in our coparenting app that she is not supposed to have access to. She painted herself into a corner when she got a restraining order because she couldn’t harass me anymore, so she started attacking my mother, my best friend, and anyone else she could get to. She is a drunk, got fired from her job, yells and screams at my ex and my kids, threw a rock through her own house window in a fit of rage, and last night she refused to let me speak to my children on the phone when she answered my ex’s phone. I have reported all of this to my lawyers, therapists, and family members but no one takes it seriously. She had ovarian cancer ten years ago so she has no children of her own. I think she is jealous of me and my relationship with my girls. They love me and want to be with me all the time. I am so scared that she is manipulating my kids and actively working on parental alienation. My girls are young and I’m terrified of how impressionable they are and I’m scared they will be turned against me. No one will help me and no one wants to acknowledge her control and abuse. I don’t know what to do.
submitted by South-Ordinary5224 to ParentalAlienation [link] [comments]
My ex husband and I were together for almost 15 years and we have two daughters that are 5 and 6 years old. I initiated our separation and divorce almost three years ago in 2021 after learning about his failed plan to have my 10 year old Pomeranian taken and euthanized while I was on vacation. We shared custody with a seven days on, seven days off schedule which was working well for us at the time. In August 2022 I sustained a serious head injury, and I agreed to a temporary emergency custody change so that the girls would stay with him full time while I recovered. During this time the county ordered that I pay him child support at $800 a month despite him making three times as much as I was and being unable to work in my usual job as a clinical therapist. What was supposed to be a temporary custody change became a nightmare when he refused to give them back. My children had been mentioning a new babysitter named Sadie (not her real name), and it became clear after a couple months that this woman was not a babysitter but his new girlfriend. I had no love for him anymore and I did not care one bit that he was seeing someone. I even told people that another positive adult in their lives was a good thing and I thought she and I could have been friends. When I first met her she seemed shy and almost intimidated by me, but it didn’t take long for it become clear that she was the dominant one in their relationship. My ex and my girls moved into her home full time and she became hostile towards me when she got more control. I was in a relationship with a man who was physically abusive and after he was arrested for assisting me, I needed a ride home from the hospital because I had an injury to my eye. I called my ex when I couldn’t get ahold of anyone else, and she volunteered to drive me home. When she got to my house, she came inside, started going through my and my boyfriend’s things, threw all of his clothes, pictures, and other personal belongings in a pile in my backyard, lit all of that on fire, and she stole his jewelry, cologne, small electronics, knives, and a BB gun. She also stole my Cricut machine and a digital picture frame off of my wall. When I asked for those things back I was told by my ex that they threw them away. I’m pretty sure that’s a lie and that they sold them, but either was it was theft. Things got worse from there, and my contact with my kids was limited to one hour a week at a secure facility with supervision and camera monitoring. This was not court ordered, there was never any CPS involvement, and my kids were never removed from care. I agreed to a TEMPORARY EMERGENCY custody change and he was given the power to have “ultimate discretion” about my parenting time with the kids and how long he should have full custody. I noticed my girls started to call Sadie Mommy, which bothered me at first but I let it go because she taking care of them full time and was in a motherly role. Then they started calling me by my first name instead of mommy. When asked them about it they said that’s what they were told to call me. My youngest who was just turning four at the time asked me if I was her “real mommy,” and it was clear that they were becoming confused. I started to complain about this and reported it all to my lawyer, the kids’ therapist, and anyone else who would listen. I was being verbally harassed and embarrassed by Sadie when I attended any school functions, sports, and dance recitals. They told me I wasn’t allowed to be there because it was outside of my supervised visitation hours, but I reminded them that it’s a public place and I had a right to attend. One day I brought new shoes I bought for them to T-ball practice and my ex and Sadie threw a fit, yelled at me in front of my kids and other parents, and ripped the shoes out of my five year old daughters hands. Later I was informed they got rid of the shoes. The next practice I came to, I was told that I was not welcome and that they were calling the police to have me served with a restraining order. I was served with two restraining that they sucessfully got ordered after lying many times in the paperwork. I have all of the screenshots and other evidence that proves they lied. They started telling the girls that they are going to move to Costa Rica where Sadie owns a second home. I raised the alarm and reported this to everyone including my attorneys who responded with: “well that’s illegal. He can’t do that.” I’m aware it’s illegal. People do illegal things all the time. Including them when they stole from me and lied on legal documents. Sadie would communicate with me while impersonating my ex and she sent at least ten unhinged, incoherent messages to me in our coparenting app that she is not supposed to have access to. She painted herself into a corner when she got a restraining order because she couldn’t harass me anymore, so she started attacking my mother, my best friend, and anyone else she could get to. She is a drunk, got fired from her job, yells and screams at my ex and my kids, threw a rock through her own house window in a fit of rage, and last night she refused to let me speak to my children on the phone when she answered my ex’s phone. I have reported all of this to my lawyers, therapists, and family members but no one takes it seriously. She had ovarian cancer ten years ago so she has no children of her own. I think she is jealous of me and my relationship with my girls. They love me and want to be with me all the time. I am so scared that she is manipulating my kids and actively working on parental alienation. My girls are young and I’m terrified of how impressionable they are and I’m scared they will be turned against me. No one will help me and no one wants to acknowledge her control and abuse. I don’t know what to do.
2024.06.01 15:42 New_Selection_4503 Help, is husband cheating?
Husband of 20 years is probably cheating on me. So here it goes, sll of my dirty secrets.
I, 45f been married to my husband 46, male for over 20 years to a man I met in my early 20’s. We have been very best friends since the day we met but it has been a rocky relationship. I am from an abusive alcoholic family and I was for a time blissfully an alcoholic along with the family. This of coarse was problematic when looking for a date. More than one boyfriend broke up with me because I drank too much, partied too hard and studied too little. Cue in my dream man, he’s responsible, well educated and a heavy drinker. We partied all night and he got up the next day, no matter how hungover and went to work. My mom said that this is normal, it’s how it’s supposed to be. If a man makes it to work everyday then he’s not an alcoholic. By her definition, only a man who misses work can be accused of drinking too much.
I married this replica of my father and for many blissful years we were married and we partied and drank. We’d drink a bottle or two of wine a few nights a week and on weekends we’d stay up all night, often having parties at our home. It was grand fun, until we had kids. All of the sudden I had to handle night feedings and morning diaper changes while tipsy, drunk or hungover. It didn’t take me long to quit, I had already quit for 9 months while pregnant and I had gotten the idea that life is better sober. But my partner didn’t agree. He was drunk most nights while I was pregnant. When I got annoyed and asked him to quit he hid the bottles. I had a second child with him in spite of the drinking (I wanted a matching set), not my best decision but I don’t regret it. When I was at the hospital he looked exhausted so I sent him home to rest. He went home and drank himself into a stupor. My mom had to drive me home from the hospital and when we got home, he was passed out on the living room floor. He slept for another 10 hours like that and he was drunk the entire first week of my daughter’s life. I had to ask my mom to help care for her since I’d had complications with the birth and had over 30 stitches.
His drinking went on for years with me going from kicking him out of the home to drinking with him. Often I would plead with him to quit and he’d refuse. On 4 occasions we separated, each time selling our home and dividing the property. But he’d get sober and he was always very sorry. At this point we had two kids and I needed the help.
Over time things got better and he went years and years without drinking. I had quit altogether after our first child. In fact things go so much better that he asked to start drinking again. He rationalized that he had been sober for 5 years and that he can handle one of two drinks a week. I agreed under the following terms, he can have up to two drinks with dinner once a week. I know this is a terrible decision, I think it’s fair to say that there is a pattern here of gawd awful decisions on my part. This 2 drink agreement lasted a few months but of course two drinks turned into 3, then it turned into a couple nights a week. I saw it was getting out of hand and I banned drinking again.
In the meantime my partner has gotten substantially better looking. It’s through a combination of favourable genetics, some recent work done and some excellent supplements. He aged well going from a 6.5 in his 20’s to a current day 8.5. More than that he’d recently opened a business and it was booming. For the first time in our married life he started to out earn me. For the first 20 years I was the primary wage earner, but now he’s making the more than me (this is temporary as my wage is about to pick up). The woman are noticing him and It’s not lost on me or him. We went to Mexico last year and women were practically following him around and throwing themselves at him. We go out to eat and woman hit on him. They hit on him at the grocery store and they hit on him at work. To his credit he does not respond to this in front of me or the kids. Nor have I ever heard of him hitting on somebody.
I’m a solid 7 - 7.5. I’ve aged okay, I look decent, I’m maybe a little heavier as size 10. But I’m not a hot young thing giggling at him. I am a wife and a mother, so not always sexy, but still quite a lot prettier than average. But realistically on the open market, I’m probably not attracting an 8.5 that earns his kind of money.
About 8 months ago he started coming home from work drunk. He was hiding it but I could smell the booze on his breath. He claimed it was heartburn but I knew better and I ignored it. I just wanted everything to be okay. There was a woman he was working with, he claimed to hate her, she seemed overly interested in him. There were a few incidents, that made me suspicious but he claimed he hated her. He was never home late from work. She moved away and he seemed fine and I was relieved. But a few months after this the drinking started, along with my denial. I guess I kinda figured that who cares if he cheated, she moved away. Now we can get on with our lives.
Recently he’s coming home from work late, but not too late. It’s an hour late here and there. Sometimes he’d claim that he’d have to stay an extra hour. A few times he went completely missing and claimed to have fallen asleep at the office. The problem is that I don’t really know his hours, it’s possible he’s done earlier. For context, he is self employed and rents a space. But other people rent spaces there too,
He’s been coming home drunker and drunker lately while still denying he’s been drinking. I’m ashamed to admit it but I ignored it to the point where I let him drive the kids a few times like that. I was just so far into denial, but I knew somewhere deep down that he was drunk.
He’s normally off work at 5pm and in the car by 5:10pm. But lately he’s not in the car until 5:45pm, ignoring my calls and sometimes coming into the house as late as 6pm. I mean it’s only 45 minutes right? A few times he’d go missing until 7:30 or 8pm and he’d say that he hate a late client appointment and had told me but I forgot. Strangely he’s never hungry when he gets home, in spite of being at work all day. In fact he’s not hungry 2 - 3 times a week. He told me that his stomach is bothering him.
Last night he went missing so I went to his office to look for him. I found him asleep in his office alone with an empty bottle of hard alcohol on his desk. I checked his office drawer and it was full of empty bottles. The office is a disaster, messy and all that. I’m not sure how he sees clients in a room like that and I’m worried that he’s taking appointments drunk. His business is doing really well and building it up was a joint effort. I’m worried that his drinking will destroy everything we built.
I woke him up and he was visibly drunk. He told me that he wants to stay at the office to sleep it off and that no he doesn’t want to talk about it and he didn’t come home. It’s been 6 hours. The thing is, that he hates sleeping in his work clothes and his office is desperately uncomfortable. I just don’t see him staying there overnight alone.
When the drinking flared up 6 months ago, it was just him drinking alone. But when he was sober he was still my best friend. But over time he’s stopped responding when I speak. He tells me that he drinks because he can’t stand to listen to my problems anymore. If I ask him about his day I get a one word answer. More and more he looks at me with contempt while drinking. But even stranger, he wants sex more often, I don’t know why this is. But he’s weird about it and hounding me. He’s going on and on about how to wants to try a sex position we’ve never done, talking about how much he likes it. He’s also looking over my shoulder and checking my phone, which is new. it’s intrusive as I don’t even know his passcode and feel no temptation to check his phone.
He gets paid in cash and has a drawer full of it at the office so I can’t check his cards.
Now I know what you are going to say. He’s definitely cheating, I mean he probably is. But we live in a no fault place so what does it matter if I get proof or not? Also I have two kids to think of and we aren’t in a financial position to leave. I will need time to pay down our joint debt and I need a new job. I’m thinking that the best course of action is to stay silent and improve my situation so that I can support my kids and myself. I think this works for him too as he doesn’t want to get stuck with all sorts of child support or alimony. Giving me time to get back on my feet and improve my financial position works for both of us.
The thing is that if I even bring up getting divorced or separated he says that I am the light of his life. He says that he loves me and that I’m his best friend. He says that he doesn’t want to leave. Then I feel so badly. If I even broach the topic of separating, he’ll shut it down so quickly. He’s overwhelming and persistent and he out talks me. I think there’s no use in talking it out and I don’t see us living together well under some sort of “arrangement”.
Do you have any advice on what to do next? Do you have any idea why he’s acting this way? If he wants to separate why not just do it? Also what’s with the increased sex drive?
One of the oddities is that I’ve been doing really great lately. I’ve lost some weight, my hair is looking good. My business sucks but I’ve been taking on new gigs and retraining. I’m becoming a person that I’m really proud of and every day seems to be getting better. But the better I do, the more contempt he seems to have for me. I can see the bitterness in his drunkenness. And he gets drunks on nights when I have to work and when I have something important going on. He blames the drinking on me. He says that I only talk about myself (maybe I do, I’m trying to improve). He says that I ask too much of him and that I make him contribute to the house too much but I do 100% of the grocery shopping, cooking, lunches, school stuff, homework and kids activities. He comes home and goes straight to bed while complaining that he’s doing too much. Meanwhile I’m breaking myself trying to make the home perfect enough.
Is there any chance that he’s just old and tired and not cheating? I mean he’s only missing for 45 minutes a day? I should mention that he’s stopped answering my calls during the workday and stopped reading my texts.
The weird thing is that I felt relieved to find him surrounded by booze bottles and I’m glad he’s done tonight. I’ve spent the majority of my adult life begging him to be sober. Tonight I could see the contempt in his eyes towards me. I just don’t know that I can move past it. I think I just want to be free from this now.
Do you have any advice? I’ve never been through anything like this and I could use some support and guidance.
I think that taking 4 - 6 months to resolve the situation might be best. This gives me time to find a new job and to pay down some debt and bolster savings.
submitted by New_Selection_4503 to cheatingexposed [link] [comments]
I, 45f been married to my husband 46, male for over 20 years to a man I met in my early 20’s. We have been very best friends since the day we met but it has been a rocky relationship. I am from an abusive alcoholic family and I was for a time blissfully an alcoholic along with the family. This of coarse was problematic when looking for a date. More than one boyfriend broke up with me because I drank too much, partied too hard and studied too little. Cue in my dream man, he’s responsible, well educated and a heavy drinker. We partied all night and he got up the next day, no matter how hungover and went to work. My mom said that this is normal, it’s how it’s supposed to be. If a man makes it to work everyday then he’s not an alcoholic. By her definition, only a man who misses work can be accused of drinking too much.
I married this replica of my father and for many blissful years we were married and we partied and drank. We’d drink a bottle or two of wine a few nights a week and on weekends we’d stay up all night, often having parties at our home. It was grand fun, until we had kids. All of the sudden I had to handle night feedings and morning diaper changes while tipsy, drunk or hungover. It didn’t take me long to quit, I had already quit for 9 months while pregnant and I had gotten the idea that life is better sober. But my partner didn’t agree. He was drunk most nights while I was pregnant. When I got annoyed and asked him to quit he hid the bottles. I had a second child with him in spite of the drinking (I wanted a matching set), not my best decision but I don’t regret it. When I was at the hospital he looked exhausted so I sent him home to rest. He went home and drank himself into a stupor. My mom had to drive me home from the hospital and when we got home, he was passed out on the living room floor. He slept for another 10 hours like that and he was drunk the entire first week of my daughter’s life. I had to ask my mom to help care for her since I’d had complications with the birth and had over 30 stitches.
His drinking went on for years with me going from kicking him out of the home to drinking with him. Often I would plead with him to quit and he’d refuse. On 4 occasions we separated, each time selling our home and dividing the property. But he’d get sober and he was always very sorry. At this point we had two kids and I needed the help.
Over time things got better and he went years and years without drinking. I had quit altogether after our first child. In fact things go so much better that he asked to start drinking again. He rationalized that he had been sober for 5 years and that he can handle one of two drinks a week. I agreed under the following terms, he can have up to two drinks with dinner once a week. I know this is a terrible decision, I think it’s fair to say that there is a pattern here of gawd awful decisions on my part. This 2 drink agreement lasted a few months but of course two drinks turned into 3, then it turned into a couple nights a week. I saw it was getting out of hand and I banned drinking again.
In the meantime my partner has gotten substantially better looking. It’s through a combination of favourable genetics, some recent work done and some excellent supplements. He aged well going from a 6.5 in his 20’s to a current day 8.5. More than that he’d recently opened a business and it was booming. For the first time in our married life he started to out earn me. For the first 20 years I was the primary wage earner, but now he’s making the more than me (this is temporary as my wage is about to pick up). The woman are noticing him and It’s not lost on me or him. We went to Mexico last year and women were practically following him around and throwing themselves at him. We go out to eat and woman hit on him. They hit on him at the grocery store and they hit on him at work. To his credit he does not respond to this in front of me or the kids. Nor have I ever heard of him hitting on somebody.
I’m a solid 7 - 7.5. I’ve aged okay, I look decent, I’m maybe a little heavier as size 10. But I’m not a hot young thing giggling at him. I am a wife and a mother, so not always sexy, but still quite a lot prettier than average. But realistically on the open market, I’m probably not attracting an 8.5 that earns his kind of money.
About 8 months ago he started coming home from work drunk. He was hiding it but I could smell the booze on his breath. He claimed it was heartburn but I knew better and I ignored it. I just wanted everything to be okay. There was a woman he was working with, he claimed to hate her, she seemed overly interested in him. There were a few incidents, that made me suspicious but he claimed he hated her. He was never home late from work. She moved away and he seemed fine and I was relieved. But a few months after this the drinking started, along with my denial. I guess I kinda figured that who cares if he cheated, she moved away. Now we can get on with our lives.
Recently he’s coming home from work late, but not too late. It’s an hour late here and there. Sometimes he’d claim that he’d have to stay an extra hour. A few times he went completely missing and claimed to have fallen asleep at the office. The problem is that I don’t really know his hours, it’s possible he’s done earlier. For context, he is self employed and rents a space. But other people rent spaces there too,
He’s been coming home drunker and drunker lately while still denying he’s been drinking. I’m ashamed to admit it but I ignored it to the point where I let him drive the kids a few times like that. I was just so far into denial, but I knew somewhere deep down that he was drunk.
He’s normally off work at 5pm and in the car by 5:10pm. But lately he’s not in the car until 5:45pm, ignoring my calls and sometimes coming into the house as late as 6pm. I mean it’s only 45 minutes right? A few times he’d go missing until 7:30 or 8pm and he’d say that he hate a late client appointment and had told me but I forgot. Strangely he’s never hungry when he gets home, in spite of being at work all day. In fact he’s not hungry 2 - 3 times a week. He told me that his stomach is bothering him.
Last night he went missing so I went to his office to look for him. I found him asleep in his office alone with an empty bottle of hard alcohol on his desk. I checked his office drawer and it was full of empty bottles. The office is a disaster, messy and all that. I’m not sure how he sees clients in a room like that and I’m worried that he’s taking appointments drunk. His business is doing really well and building it up was a joint effort. I’m worried that his drinking will destroy everything we built.
I woke him up and he was visibly drunk. He told me that he wants to stay at the office to sleep it off and that no he doesn’t want to talk about it and he didn’t come home. It’s been 6 hours. The thing is, that he hates sleeping in his work clothes and his office is desperately uncomfortable. I just don’t see him staying there overnight alone.
When the drinking flared up 6 months ago, it was just him drinking alone. But when he was sober he was still my best friend. But over time he’s stopped responding when I speak. He tells me that he drinks because he can’t stand to listen to my problems anymore. If I ask him about his day I get a one word answer. More and more he looks at me with contempt while drinking. But even stranger, he wants sex more often, I don’t know why this is. But he’s weird about it and hounding me. He’s going on and on about how to wants to try a sex position we’ve never done, talking about how much he likes it. He’s also looking over my shoulder and checking my phone, which is new. it’s intrusive as I don’t even know his passcode and feel no temptation to check his phone.
He gets paid in cash and has a drawer full of it at the office so I can’t check his cards.
Now I know what you are going to say. He’s definitely cheating, I mean he probably is. But we live in a no fault place so what does it matter if I get proof or not? Also I have two kids to think of and we aren’t in a financial position to leave. I will need time to pay down our joint debt and I need a new job. I’m thinking that the best course of action is to stay silent and improve my situation so that I can support my kids and myself. I think this works for him too as he doesn’t want to get stuck with all sorts of child support or alimony. Giving me time to get back on my feet and improve my financial position works for both of us.
The thing is that if I even bring up getting divorced or separated he says that I am the light of his life. He says that he loves me and that I’m his best friend. He says that he doesn’t want to leave. Then I feel so badly. If I even broach the topic of separating, he’ll shut it down so quickly. He’s overwhelming and persistent and he out talks me. I think there’s no use in talking it out and I don’t see us living together well under some sort of “arrangement”.
Do you have any advice on what to do next? Do you have any idea why he’s acting this way? If he wants to separate why not just do it? Also what’s with the increased sex drive?
One of the oddities is that I’ve been doing really great lately. I’ve lost some weight, my hair is looking good. My business sucks but I’ve been taking on new gigs and retraining. I’m becoming a person that I’m really proud of and every day seems to be getting better. But the better I do, the more contempt he seems to have for me. I can see the bitterness in his drunkenness. And he gets drunks on nights when I have to work and when I have something important going on. He blames the drinking on me. He says that I only talk about myself (maybe I do, I’m trying to improve). He says that I ask too much of him and that I make him contribute to the house too much but I do 100% of the grocery shopping, cooking, lunches, school stuff, homework and kids activities. He comes home and goes straight to bed while complaining that he’s doing too much. Meanwhile I’m breaking myself trying to make the home perfect enough.
Is there any chance that he’s just old and tired and not cheating? I mean he’s only missing for 45 minutes a day? I should mention that he’s stopped answering my calls during the workday and stopped reading my texts.
The weird thing is that I felt relieved to find him surrounded by booze bottles and I’m glad he’s done tonight. I’ve spent the majority of my adult life begging him to be sober. Tonight I could see the contempt in his eyes towards me. I just don’t know that I can move past it. I think I just want to be free from this now.
Do you have any advice? I’ve never been through anything like this and I could use some support and guidance.
I think that taking 4 - 6 months to resolve the situation might be best. This gives me time to find a new job and to pay down some debt and bolster savings.
2024.06.01 15:36 kenUdigitt Novel Chapter 427
Disclaimer: I do not speak Korean. This is purely translated by machine with a lot of cleanup afterward. With that in mind, I am open to criticism to improve these translations. Enjoy!
Chapter 427
On a December night, as winter's chill deepened, an unexpected snowstorm swept through the streets.
The snow fell thick and fast, confounding those who had expected clear skies based on the latest weather forecasts. Confusion reigned among pedestrians hurrying home, and even the meteorological agency was caught off guard.
"What’s going on? Where did this come from?"
"We’re analyzing it now. There shouldn’t be an issue like this."
"With snow as thick as hail pouring down, how can you say there shouldn’t be an issue? Stop the nonsense and bring the data. You must have real-time observations!"
"I’m looking into it right now... Oh, it seems there's been a surge in mana in the Sichuan region of China causing these abnormal conditions. The expected snowfall is no joke."
"Sichuan? Damn it. Is that bastard Arch Lich now controlling the weather too?"
Ever since the Great Cataclysm, the agency's forecasts had become near prophetic, enhanced by the integration of magical insights.
However, this unexpected storm suggested something far more sinister.
Within an hour, after frantic recalibrations and re-observations, a national heavy snow warning was declared. The agency predicted a historic blizzard, the likes of which hadn't been seen in decades.
But as people stopped to take shelter, their attention was captured by an announcement on the large public screens across the city centers.
- On this day, I am thrilled to bring you this news.
The screen showed an elderly Asian man.
Sitting behind him were leaders from countries that are members of the UN Security Council, and the President of the People's Republic of China, with reddened eyes and a shaky voice, parted his lips towards the numerous microphones.
- The Arch Lich has been extinguished. We ... have won.
Victory.
That one word was enough. For 34 days, an unprecedented monster wave had continued.
The news that the great war, which had troubled the world beyond Sichuan Province, had finally ended left people gaping, and soon after, they let out a massive cheer.
"Wowwwww!"
"Wait! Hold on. I didn’t catch that. What did you just say?"
"It's over!"
"What?"
"Look at the subtitles!"
"The extinction of the Arch Lich... oh, it's true! Wowwww! I thought I was going to be fucking drafted!"
The joyous uproar drowned out the subsequent thirty-minute address by President Shao Yang and further explanations from the UN spokesperson.
With the Arch Lich's fall, his undead legions crumbled, extinguishing the looming threat and ushering in the long-awaited peace.
"Mom, it's me. Uh, did you see the news? No? Watch it now. Yeah, yeah!"
"That's it. Mr. Kim, let's go for a third round!"
"A third round? There's a server update tomorrow. Manager Noh is going to freak out."
"Manager Noh is also coming. He's bringing the corporate card."
"Ugh, I really don't want to see that guy's face. Alright, let's go."
"Reporting. Yes, Commander. This is Lieutenant Lee Jun-Beom. I would like to extend my leave for just one more day... No, I apologize."
Despite some initial reservations, the jubilant energy in the streets proved infectious. People who had cautiously stayed indoors, fearing another calamity akin to the Great Cataclysm, now flooded out to join the revelry.
Pubs filled to the brim with celebrants, and the cheers continued unabated even as the night turned into the early hours of the morning.
The next day, and for several days thereafter, the atmosphere remained electric.
The monumental victory announcement had the world buzzing with excitement, like a cauldron set ablaze on an open flame.
Each day brought a flood of new articles in countless languages, discussing the events more than even the unusual weather patterns that had seen snow cover Korea for three consecutive days.
And there was one name that appeared in every single one of those articles.
[The New York Times, 'A Momentous Victory Introduces a New Hero to the World'] [Note: USA]
[The Times, 'Eastern Promise: A New Hero Rises, With Connections to Prince Felix?'] [Note: UK]
[The Asahi Shimbun, 'Jin Tae-Kyung: Asia's Beacon of Hope, But Japan's Elite Hunters Could Surpass Him!'] [Note: Japan]
[People's Daily, 'A Young Korean Hero's Bravery Celebrated Amidst National Tragedy, Death of Wu Hei-Xing'] [Note: China]
[China Youth Newsletter, 'Jin Tae-Kyung, A Descendant of the Ming Dynasty General Chen Lin - Soon to Be a Chinese Citizen?']
[Korea Goryeo Daily, 'Uncertainty Shadows Ares Guild as Vice Guild Leader Lee Jeong-Ryong Goes Missing']
[DAS Patch Korea Official, 'We've been investigating Jin Tae-Kyung for months but couldn't find out anything. His relationships with women were surprisingly clean.' When asked by a reporter whether his past relationships had all ended amicably, he replied "No, that's not it. I've been single since birth."]
For the various media outlets, the existence of Jin Tae-Kyung was nothing short of a Christmas present.
All spotlights were focused on him, and stories about him flowed endlessly.
The material was inexhaustible. Not to mention the so-called 'Winter War,' this recent monster wave, his past actions, and even minor personal details became fodder for the news.
Typically, such sensationalist articles would have been scorned and cursed at, but now they captured interest.
Such was the global attention drawn to this new hero who had led this great victory.
But not all of that attention was positive.
From the tight internal security, little bits of leaked information had begun to raise doubts.
[Revealed: What Lies Hidden Behind the War's Great Victory? Growing Suspicions Cast Shadow on Jin Tae-Kyung]
[Mystery Deepens: Tragic Deaths of S-rank Hunters Lee Jeong-Ryong and Wu Hei-Xing Raise Questions as New Hero Emerges]
[Top Military Officials Question Battle's Intensity: Lack of Injuries on Jin Tae-Kyung Sparks Potion Use Probe; Clarity Expected Upon His Awakening]
Though these conspiracy theories were few and often dismissed, they managed to sow seeds of doubt among some, igniting fervent online debates.
The controversial articles were swiftly overwhelmed by waves of criticism and reports, but the questions they raised lingered in the public consciousness.
Now, all eyes were on Jin Tae-Kyung, waiting for him to step forward and address the swirling rumors.
When would he appear?
* * *
Beep. Beep.
The room, reserved for a select few, was filled with the mechanical hum of the latest medical devices.
Concerned faces looked down at Jin Tae-Kyung, who lay unconscious, an oxygen mask covering his face.
「How is Mr. Jin's condition?」
Choi Min-Woo responded to President Shao Yang's question.
「It's always the same. Everything seems perfectly normal, yet strangely, he can't regain consciousness.」
「Did both of them say the same thing?」
「Yes. They can't determine the cause.」
「Hmm. If that's the case, it must be certain... But why can't he regain consciousness?」
President Shao Yang sighed.
The two experts he referred to were leaders in their fields.
One was a civilian doctor revered as a modern Hua Tuo, and the other was a world-renowned healer. [Note: Hua Tuo was a famous ancient Chinese physician. He is reportedly the first person in China to use anasthesia during surgery.]
If both specialists they had brought in to treat Jin Tae-Kyung had said so, it must be true.
「I heard his family has come.」
「Our Peace Guild is taking good care of them. Fortunately, they are getting some rest at the moment.」
「That’s good to hear. Might I be able to see them, even for a moment?」
「Hmm... I will ask, but the family's wishes are most important...」
「I understand. Who wouldn't feel the same, seeing their blood relative unable to wake up? I’d be grateful if you'd think of it as nothing more than an old man's foolish worry.」
「Not at all, Mr. President. We appreciate you thinking so.」
「Appreciate it? No need for such words. If it weren't for Mr. Jin, a much greater disaster would have occurred. Though I am an old man and may not have much time left, I will take this gratitude to my grave.」
President Shao's words were sincere.
Four days had passed since then, and a global team of experts investigating the Arch Lich's last stronghold uncovered traces of a Gate.
The remnants of its immense magical power indicated a potential catastrophe.
「If Mr. Jin hadn't stopped the Arch Lich that day, not only our country but all of Asia, perhaps even the entire world, might have become a battlefield.」
「It's a very real possibility.」
Although the statement was slightly exaggerated, it held substantial truth.
Choi Min-Woo therefore acknowledged it with a nod.
He saw no reason to shy away from the praise or to downplay the deep gratitude expressed by a leader of over a billion people.
Indeed, gratitude, once extended, often yields rich dividends.
「By the way, Mr. President, recently there have been some unfavorable rumors circulating about Mr. Jin Tae-Kyung... Are you aware of them?」
「Are these internal issues, or external?」
「They are internal. It would be more accurate to say they involve the upper echelons of the Communist Party, or rather, the Princelings.」
President Shao Yang nodded knowingly.
「I am well aware of those matters.」
The matter concerned the death of Wu Hei-Xing.
The investigation had uncovered his severely damaged body, fueling conspiracy theories both domestically and internationally.
「There are those who suspect Mr. Jin Tae-Kyung. They point to a slight argument he had with Wu Hei-Xing at their first meeting and the fact that there were no significant injuries on Mr. Jin when he was first found.」
There were two main theories circulating among these rumors.
The first suggested that Jin Tae-Kyung, harboring resentment towards Wu Hei-Xing, had orchestrated his death and attributed it to the Arch Lich.
The second theory proposed that Jin Tae-Kyung used Wu Hei-Xing as a scapegoat, potentially alongside Lee Jeong-Ryong, who is missing or presumed dead, to eliminate the Arch Lich.
President Shao Yang, well aware of these narratives, had already formed his own judgement.
With a stern voice, he assured Choi Min-Woo.
「These are nothing but groundless slanders and conspiracy theories.」
「Thank you for your trust, but...」
It was a good response, but it was not enough.
Choi Min-Woo hesitated, then added thoughtfully.
「It seems the leader of the Princelings has a different view from yours, Mr. President.」
Within China, these theories, seen by many as national disgraces, resonated with a father mourning his son.
Wu Hei-Xing's father, the head of the Princelings and a figure wielding immense power within the Communist Party, was propelling these rumors forward.
He didn't stop at just speculation; he had initiated an independent probe to investigate further.
「If Mr. Jin Tae-Kyung regains consciousness, the truth will come to light. But for such high-ranking politicians to lead the spread of these absurd conspiracy theories...」
As Choi Min-Woo's words tapered off, President Shao Yang's lips curled into a subtle smile.
'No hesitation, I see.'
Despite the young man's impressive feats, his circumstances differed markedly from those of President Shao Yang.
Yet, here he was, confidently voicing his views, adeptly balancing his tone and stance.
'Was that story true?'
Recalling some personal details about Choi Min-Woo, President Shao Yang tapped the armrest of his chair thoughtfully.
「Alright. It seems my explanation was insufficient, so I'll say it again.」
「I'm listening.」
「My comrades and I already know everything about it and have made all the necessary preparations.」
「All the necessary preparations...?」
「He will be put on trial before he appeals for his son's death.」
The Arch Lich's fall wasn't the only outcome of this conflict.
Widespread corruption and fraud have come to light, necessitating the dismantling of the Princelings.
Choi Min-Woo's expression softened into a calm smile.
「Is that answer sufficient?」
「It is enough.」
That concluded their discussion for the day.
After a few more exchanges, President Shao Yang exited the room, leaving Choi Min-Woo alone. He murmured to himself thoughtfully.
"So, it is done."
Suddenly, someone's eyes snapped open.
"Ah, fuck. I thought I was going to die from frustration."
Previous Table of Contents
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Chapter 427
On a December night, as winter's chill deepened, an unexpected snowstorm swept through the streets.
The snow fell thick and fast, confounding those who had expected clear skies based on the latest weather forecasts. Confusion reigned among pedestrians hurrying home, and even the meteorological agency was caught off guard.
"What’s going on? Where did this come from?"
"We’re analyzing it now. There shouldn’t be an issue like this."
"With snow as thick as hail pouring down, how can you say there shouldn’t be an issue? Stop the nonsense and bring the data. You must have real-time observations!"
"I’m looking into it right now... Oh, it seems there's been a surge in mana in the Sichuan region of China causing these abnormal conditions. The expected snowfall is no joke."
"Sichuan? Damn it. Is that bastard Arch Lich now controlling the weather too?"
Ever since the Great Cataclysm, the agency's forecasts had become near prophetic, enhanced by the integration of magical insights.
However, this unexpected storm suggested something far more sinister.
Within an hour, after frantic recalibrations and re-observations, a national heavy snow warning was declared. The agency predicted a historic blizzard, the likes of which hadn't been seen in decades.
But as people stopped to take shelter, their attention was captured by an announcement on the large public screens across the city centers.
- On this day, I am thrilled to bring you this news.
The screen showed an elderly Asian man.
Sitting behind him were leaders from countries that are members of the UN Security Council, and the President of the People's Republic of China, with reddened eyes and a shaky voice, parted his lips towards the numerous microphones.
- The Arch Lich has been extinguished. We ... have won.
Victory.
That one word was enough. For 34 days, an unprecedented monster wave had continued.
The news that the great war, which had troubled the world beyond Sichuan Province, had finally ended left people gaping, and soon after, they let out a massive cheer.
"Wowwwww!"
"Wait! Hold on. I didn’t catch that. What did you just say?"
"It's over!"
"What?"
"Look at the subtitles!"
"The extinction of the Arch Lich... oh, it's true! Wowwww! I thought I was going to be fucking drafted!"
The joyous uproar drowned out the subsequent thirty-minute address by President Shao Yang and further explanations from the UN spokesperson.
With the Arch Lich's fall, his undead legions crumbled, extinguishing the looming threat and ushering in the long-awaited peace.
"Mom, it's me. Uh, did you see the news? No? Watch it now. Yeah, yeah!"
"That's it. Mr. Kim, let's go for a third round!"
"A third round? There's a server update tomorrow. Manager Noh is going to freak out."
"Manager Noh is also coming. He's bringing the corporate card."
"Ugh, I really don't want to see that guy's face. Alright, let's go."
"Reporting. Yes, Commander. This is Lieutenant Lee Jun-Beom. I would like to extend my leave for just one more day... No, I apologize."
Despite some initial reservations, the jubilant energy in the streets proved infectious. People who had cautiously stayed indoors, fearing another calamity akin to the Great Cataclysm, now flooded out to join the revelry.
Pubs filled to the brim with celebrants, and the cheers continued unabated even as the night turned into the early hours of the morning.
The next day, and for several days thereafter, the atmosphere remained electric.
The monumental victory announcement had the world buzzing with excitement, like a cauldron set ablaze on an open flame.
Each day brought a flood of new articles in countless languages, discussing the events more than even the unusual weather patterns that had seen snow cover Korea for three consecutive days.
And there was one name that appeared in every single one of those articles.
[The New York Times, 'A Momentous Victory Introduces a New Hero to the World'] [Note: USA]
[The Times, 'Eastern Promise: A New Hero Rises, With Connections to Prince Felix?'] [Note: UK]
[The Asahi Shimbun, 'Jin Tae-Kyung: Asia's Beacon of Hope, But Japan's Elite Hunters Could Surpass Him!'] [Note: Japan]
[People's Daily, 'A Young Korean Hero's Bravery Celebrated Amidst National Tragedy, Death of Wu Hei-Xing'] [Note: China]
[China Youth Newsletter, 'Jin Tae-Kyung, A Descendant of the Ming Dynasty General Chen Lin - Soon to Be a Chinese Citizen?']
[Korea Goryeo Daily, 'Uncertainty Shadows Ares Guild as Vice Guild Leader Lee Jeong-Ryong Goes Missing']
[DAS Patch Korea Official, 'We've been investigating Jin Tae-Kyung for months but couldn't find out anything. His relationships with women were surprisingly clean.' When asked by a reporter whether his past relationships had all ended amicably, he replied "No, that's not it. I've been single since birth."]
For the various media outlets, the existence of Jin Tae-Kyung was nothing short of a Christmas present.
All spotlights were focused on him, and stories about him flowed endlessly.
The material was inexhaustible. Not to mention the so-called 'Winter War,' this recent monster wave, his past actions, and even minor personal details became fodder for the news.
Typically, such sensationalist articles would have been scorned and cursed at, but now they captured interest.
Such was the global attention drawn to this new hero who had led this great victory.
But not all of that attention was positive.
From the tight internal security, little bits of leaked information had begun to raise doubts.
[Revealed: What Lies Hidden Behind the War's Great Victory? Growing Suspicions Cast Shadow on Jin Tae-Kyung]
[Mystery Deepens: Tragic Deaths of S-rank Hunters Lee Jeong-Ryong and Wu Hei-Xing Raise Questions as New Hero Emerges]
[Top Military Officials Question Battle's Intensity: Lack of Injuries on Jin Tae-Kyung Sparks Potion Use Probe; Clarity Expected Upon His Awakening]
Though these conspiracy theories were few and often dismissed, they managed to sow seeds of doubt among some, igniting fervent online debates.
The controversial articles were swiftly overwhelmed by waves of criticism and reports, but the questions they raised lingered in the public consciousness.
Now, all eyes were on Jin Tae-Kyung, waiting for him to step forward and address the swirling rumors.
When would he appear?
* * *
Beep. Beep.
The room, reserved for a select few, was filled with the mechanical hum of the latest medical devices.
Concerned faces looked down at Jin Tae-Kyung, who lay unconscious, an oxygen mask covering his face.
「How is Mr. Jin's condition?」
Choi Min-Woo responded to President Shao Yang's question.
「It's always the same. Everything seems perfectly normal, yet strangely, he can't regain consciousness.」
「Did both of them say the same thing?」
「Yes. They can't determine the cause.」
「Hmm. If that's the case, it must be certain... But why can't he regain consciousness?」
President Shao Yang sighed.
The two experts he referred to were leaders in their fields.
One was a civilian doctor revered as a modern Hua Tuo, and the other was a world-renowned healer. [Note: Hua Tuo was a famous ancient Chinese physician. He is reportedly the first person in China to use anasthesia during surgery.]
If both specialists they had brought in to treat Jin Tae-Kyung had said so, it must be true.
「I heard his family has come.」
「Our Peace Guild is taking good care of them. Fortunately, they are getting some rest at the moment.」
「That’s good to hear. Might I be able to see them, even for a moment?」
「Hmm... I will ask, but the family's wishes are most important...」
「I understand. Who wouldn't feel the same, seeing their blood relative unable to wake up? I’d be grateful if you'd think of it as nothing more than an old man's foolish worry.」
「Not at all, Mr. President. We appreciate you thinking so.」
「Appreciate it? No need for such words. If it weren't for Mr. Jin, a much greater disaster would have occurred. Though I am an old man and may not have much time left, I will take this gratitude to my grave.」
President Shao's words were sincere.
Four days had passed since then, and a global team of experts investigating the Arch Lich's last stronghold uncovered traces of a Gate.
The remnants of its immense magical power indicated a potential catastrophe.
「If Mr. Jin hadn't stopped the Arch Lich that day, not only our country but all of Asia, perhaps even the entire world, might have become a battlefield.」
「It's a very real possibility.」
Although the statement was slightly exaggerated, it held substantial truth.
Choi Min-Woo therefore acknowledged it with a nod.
He saw no reason to shy away from the praise or to downplay the deep gratitude expressed by a leader of over a billion people.
Indeed, gratitude, once extended, often yields rich dividends.
「By the way, Mr. President, recently there have been some unfavorable rumors circulating about Mr. Jin Tae-Kyung... Are you aware of them?」
「Are these internal issues, or external?」
「They are internal. It would be more accurate to say they involve the upper echelons of the Communist Party, or rather, the Princelings.」
President Shao Yang nodded knowingly.
「I am well aware of those matters.」
The matter concerned the death of Wu Hei-Xing.
The investigation had uncovered his severely damaged body, fueling conspiracy theories both domestically and internationally.
「There are those who suspect Mr. Jin Tae-Kyung. They point to a slight argument he had with Wu Hei-Xing at their first meeting and the fact that there were no significant injuries on Mr. Jin when he was first found.」
There were two main theories circulating among these rumors.
The first suggested that Jin Tae-Kyung, harboring resentment towards Wu Hei-Xing, had orchestrated his death and attributed it to the Arch Lich.
The second theory proposed that Jin Tae-Kyung used Wu Hei-Xing as a scapegoat, potentially alongside Lee Jeong-Ryong, who is missing or presumed dead, to eliminate the Arch Lich.
President Shao Yang, well aware of these narratives, had already formed his own judgement.
With a stern voice, he assured Choi Min-Woo.
「These are nothing but groundless slanders and conspiracy theories.」
「Thank you for your trust, but...」
It was a good response, but it was not enough.
Choi Min-Woo hesitated, then added thoughtfully.
「It seems the leader of the Princelings has a different view from yours, Mr. President.」
Within China, these theories, seen by many as national disgraces, resonated with a father mourning his son.
Wu Hei-Xing's father, the head of the Princelings and a figure wielding immense power within the Communist Party, was propelling these rumors forward.
He didn't stop at just speculation; he had initiated an independent probe to investigate further.
「If Mr. Jin Tae-Kyung regains consciousness, the truth will come to light. But for such high-ranking politicians to lead the spread of these absurd conspiracy theories...」
As Choi Min-Woo's words tapered off, President Shao Yang's lips curled into a subtle smile.
'No hesitation, I see.'
Despite the young man's impressive feats, his circumstances differed markedly from those of President Shao Yang.
Yet, here he was, confidently voicing his views, adeptly balancing his tone and stance.
'Was that story true?'
Recalling some personal details about Choi Min-Woo, President Shao Yang tapped the armrest of his chair thoughtfully.
「Alright. It seems my explanation was insufficient, so I'll say it again.」
「I'm listening.」
「My comrades and I already know everything about it and have made all the necessary preparations.」
「All the necessary preparations...?」
「He will be put on trial before he appeals for his son's death.」
The Arch Lich's fall wasn't the only outcome of this conflict.
Widespread corruption and fraud have come to light, necessitating the dismantling of the Princelings.
Choi Min-Woo's expression softened into a calm smile.
「Is that answer sufficient?」
「It is enough.」
That concluded their discussion for the day.
After a few more exchanges, President Shao Yang exited the room, leaving Choi Min-Woo alone. He murmured to himself thoughtfully.
"So, it is done."
Suddenly, someone's eyes snapped open.
"Ah, fuck. I thought I was going to die from frustration."
Previous Table of Contents
2024.06.01 15:28 LovecraftianKing I've read everything I could find. Everything. I need some new recommendations, please!
Below, I am posting the list of everything I've read in the last few years, organized by author. Please, help me find something new. An author I don't know, a fresh take on an established subgenre, an exceptionally well written piece, something I just missed somehow, or a unique story/perspective I haven't seen yet. I've been on a bit of a sci fi kick lately and want to come back to horror. I'm currently reading Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons and Fairy Tale by Stephen King. Should be done with both pretty soon. Your recommendations will be added to my queue! Thank you in advance!
Author Title
Agustina Bazterrica Tender is the Flesh
Alex White Alien: The Cold Forge
Andrew Shanahan Before and After
Ania Ahlborn Seed
Anne Rice Interview with the Vampire
Ayn Rand Atlas Shrugged
Ayn Rand The Fountainhead
Benjamin Franklin The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Bram Stoker Dracula
Bret Easton Ellis American Psycho
Brian Hodge The Immaculate Void
Brian Hodge I’ll Bring You the Birds From Out of the Sky
Brian Hodge Skidding Into Oblivion
Brian Hodge The Darker Saints
C. S. Humble All These Subtle Deceits
C. S. Humble The Crusade of the Black Cross
C.S. Lewis The Magician’s Nephew
C.S. Lewis The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
C.S. Lewis The Horse and His Boy
C.S. Lewis Prince Caspian
C.S. Lewis The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
C.S. Lewis The Silver Chair
C.S. Lewis The Last Battle
Carlton Mellick III The Big Meat
Carson McCullers The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
Cassandra Khaw Nothing But Blackened Teeth
Catriona Ward The Last House on Needless Street
Charles Bukowski A .45 to Pay the Rent
Christopher Buehlman Between Two Fires
Christopher Buehlman The Lesser Dead
Christopher Buehlman The Suicide Motor Club
Christopher Buehlman Those Across the River
Christopher Covello HowExpert: Guide to Obstacle Course Racing
Christopher Golden Ararat
Christopher Priest The Prestige
Chuck Palahniuk Fight Club
Chuck Palahniuk Lullaby
Cixin Liu The Three-Body Problem
Cixin Liu The Dark Forest
Cixin Liu Death’s End
Clay McLeod Chapman Whisper Down the Lane
Clive Barker Books of Blood Vol. 1 to 3
Clive Barker Imajica
Clive Barker The Damnation Gam
Clive Barker The Hellhound Heart
Clive Barker The Thief of Always
Clive Barker Weaveworld
Clive Barker Coldheart Canyon
Clive Barker The Scarlet Gospels
Clive Barker Books of Blood Vol. 4: The Inhuman Condition
Clive Barker Books of Blood Vol. 5: In the Flesh
Clive Barker Books of Blood Vol. 6: Lord of Illusion
Clive Barker Mister B. Gone
Cormac McCarthy No Country for Old Men
Cormac McCarthy The Road
Dan Simmons A Winter Haunting
Dan Simmons The Terror
Dan Simmons Summer of Night
Danielle Vega The Merciless
Dave Pelzer A Child Called “It”
David Duchovny The Reservoir
David Foster Wallace Infinite Jest
David Goggins Can’t Hurt Me
David Goggins Never Finished
David J. Lieberman You Can Read Anyone
David Seltzer The Omen
Dean Koontz Darkfall
Douglas Adams The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Edgar Allan Poe The Raven
Edward Lee Teratologist
Elan Gale You’re Not That Great
Emily Brontë Wuthering Heights
Erich Maria Remarque All Quiet on the Western Front
Ernest Cline Armada
Ernest Cline Ready Player One
Ernest Cline Ready Player Two
Ernest Hemingway For Whom the Bell Tolls
F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby
Franz Kafka The Metamorphosis
Fyodor Dostoyevsky Crime and Punishment
George Orwell 1984
George Orwell Animal Farm
Gerald Brom Lost Gods
Glenn Beck Common Sense
Grady Hendrix My Best Friend’s Exorcism
Grady Hendrix We Sold Our Souls
Grady Hendrix Horrorstör
Grady Hendrix The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires
Gus Moreno This Thing Between Us
H.G. Wells The War of the Worlds
H.G. Wells The Invisible Man
H.P. Lovecraft The Alchemist
H.P. Lovecraft At the Mountains of Madness
H.P. Lovecraft Azathoth
H.P. Lovecraft The Beast in the Cave
H.P. Lovecraft Beyond the Wall of Sleep
H.P. Lovecraft The Book
H.P. Lovecraft The Call of Cthulhu
H.P. Lovecraft The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
H.P. Lovecraft The Cats of Ulthar
H.P. Lovecraft Celephaïs
H.P. Lovecraft The Colour Out of Space
H.P. Lovecraft Cool Air
H.P. Lovecraft Dagon
H.P. Lovecraft The Dunwich Horror
Herman Raucher Maynard’s House
Hideaki Sena Parasite Eve
Hunter S. Thompson Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
J. M. Barlog God of War
J. Sheridan Le Fanu Carmilla: A Vampyre Tale
Jack Ketchum Off Season
Jack London The Call of the Wild
Jason Arnopp The Last Days of Jack Sparks
Jay Anson The Amityville Horror
Joe De Sena The Spartan Way
John Grisham The Firm
John Langan The Fisherman
Jon Robson The Psychopath Test
Jonathan Janz Exorcist Road
Jonathan Janz Exorcist Falls
Jules Verne 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Jules Verne Journey to the Center of the Earth
Jules Verne From the Earth to the Moon
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 0.5: The Hospital
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 2: Safari
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 3: Hellifax
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 4: Well Fed
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 5: Make Me King
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 6: Mindless
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man: Prequel
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man: 2nd Prequel
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 7: Skull Road
Keith R. A. DeCandido Alien: Isolation
Kristina Streva The Inked
Kurt Vonnegut Slaughterhouse-Five
L.I. Albemont A Haunting: The Horror on Rue Lane
Lauren Beukes Ungirls
Lee Mountford The Demonic
Lee Mountford The Mark
Lee Mountford Forest of the Damned
Leo Tolstoy The Death of Ivan Ilyich
Mary Doria Russell The Sparrow
Mary Doria Russell Children of God
Mary Higgins Clark I’ve Got My Eyes On You
Mary Shelley Frankenstein
Michael McDowell Cold Moon Over Babylon
Michael McDowell The Elementals
Mitch Albom Tuesdays with Morrie
Neil Gaiman American Gods
Neil Gaiman The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Neil Gaiman Coraline
Nick Cutter The Troop
Nick Cutter The Deep
Nick Roberts The Exorcist’s House
Patrick McGrath Asylum
Paul Tremblay A Head Full of Ghosts
Peter Straub Ghost Story
R. L. Stine Red Rain
Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451
Rex Stout The Golden Spiders
Richard Laymon The Traveling Vampire Show
Richard Matheson A Stir of Echoes
Rick Poldark Primordial Island
Rick Poldark Return to Primordial Island
Rick Poldark Cryptid Slayer
Robert Browning Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came
Robert Louis Stevenson Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
Robert Masello The Night Crossing
Ronald Malfi Black Mouth
Ronald Malfi The Night Parade
Ronald Malfi Come With Me
Ryan James Girdusky They’re Not Listening
Ryu Murakami Audition
S. E. England Father of Lies
Sara Gran Come Closer
Scott Kenemore The Grand Hotel
Shirley Jackson The Haunting of Hill House
Silvia Moreno-Garcia Mexican Gothic
Stephen Graham Jones The Only Good Indians
Stephen J. Dubner Freakonomics
Stephen King The Shining
Stephen King Doctor Sleep
Stephen King It
Stephen King Everything’s Eventual
Stephen King The Stand: Complete and Uncut Edition
Stephen King On Writing
Stephen King Hearts in Atlantis
Stephen King Salem’s Lot
Stephen King The Mist
Stephen King The Dark Tower 1: The Gunslinger
Stephen King The Dark Tower 2: The Drawing of the Three
Stephen King The Dark Tower 3: The Waste Lands
Stephen King The Dark Tower 4: Wizard and Glass
Stephen King The Dark Tower 5: Wolves of the Calla
Stephen King The Dark Tower 6: Song of Susannah
Stephen King Insomnia
Stephen King The Talisman
Stephen King Black House
Stephen King The Dark Tower 7: The Dark Tower
Stephen King The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole
Stephen King Pet Sematary
Stephen King Quitters, Inc.
Stephen King In the Tall Grass
Stephen King The Dark Half
Stephen King 11/22/63
Stephen King Under the Dome
Stephen King Rage
Steven Pressfield Gates of Fire
Sun Tzu The Art of War
Susan Hill Dolly: A Ghost Story
T. Kingfisher The Hollow Places
T. Kingfisher The Twisted Ones
Tess Gerritsen Vanish
Theodore Sturgeon Some of Your Blood
Thomas F. Moneleone The Resurrectionist
Thomas Hardy The Return of the Native
Thomas Harris The Silence of the Lambs
Thomas Harris Hannibal
Thomas Harris Red Dragon
Thomas Harris Hannibal Rising
Thomas Olde Heuvelt HEX
Tom Wolfe The Bonfire of the Vanities
Truman Capote Breakfast at Tiffany’s
V. Castro Goddess of Filth
Vladimir Nabokov Lolita
Walter Tevis The Queen’s Gambit
Washington Irving The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
William Peter Blatty The Exorcist
William Peter Blatty Legion
William Shakespeare King Lear
submitted by LovecraftianKing to horrorlit [link] [comments]
Author Title
Agustina Bazterrica Tender is the Flesh
Alex White Alien: The Cold Forge
Andrew Shanahan Before and After
Ania Ahlborn Seed
Anne Rice Interview with the Vampire
Ayn Rand Atlas Shrugged
Ayn Rand The Fountainhead
Benjamin Franklin The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Bram Stoker Dracula
Bret Easton Ellis American Psycho
Brian Hodge The Immaculate Void
Brian Hodge I’ll Bring You the Birds From Out of the Sky
Brian Hodge Skidding Into Oblivion
Brian Hodge The Darker Saints
C. S. Humble All These Subtle Deceits
C. S. Humble The Crusade of the Black Cross
C.S. Lewis The Magician’s Nephew
C.S. Lewis The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
C.S. Lewis The Horse and His Boy
C.S. Lewis Prince Caspian
C.S. Lewis The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
C.S. Lewis The Silver Chair
C.S. Lewis The Last Battle
Carlton Mellick III The Big Meat
Carson McCullers The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
Cassandra Khaw Nothing But Blackened Teeth
Catriona Ward The Last House on Needless Street
Charles Bukowski A .45 to Pay the Rent
Christopher Buehlman Between Two Fires
Christopher Buehlman The Lesser Dead
Christopher Buehlman The Suicide Motor Club
Christopher Buehlman Those Across the River
Christopher Covello HowExpert: Guide to Obstacle Course Racing
Christopher Golden Ararat
Christopher Priest The Prestige
Chuck Palahniuk Fight Club
Chuck Palahniuk Lullaby
Cixin Liu The Three-Body Problem
Cixin Liu The Dark Forest
Cixin Liu Death’s End
Clay McLeod Chapman Whisper Down the Lane
Clive Barker Books of Blood Vol. 1 to 3
Clive Barker Imajica
Clive Barker The Damnation Gam
Clive Barker The Hellhound Heart
Clive Barker The Thief of Always
Clive Barker Weaveworld
Clive Barker Coldheart Canyon
Clive Barker The Scarlet Gospels
Clive Barker Books of Blood Vol. 4: The Inhuman Condition
Clive Barker Books of Blood Vol. 5: In the Flesh
Clive Barker Books of Blood Vol. 6: Lord of Illusion
Clive Barker Mister B. Gone
Cormac McCarthy No Country for Old Men
Cormac McCarthy The Road
Dan Simmons A Winter Haunting
Dan Simmons The Terror
Dan Simmons Summer of Night
Danielle Vega The Merciless
Dave Pelzer A Child Called “It”
David Duchovny The Reservoir
David Foster Wallace Infinite Jest
David Goggins Can’t Hurt Me
David Goggins Never Finished
David J. Lieberman You Can Read Anyone
David Seltzer The Omen
Dean Koontz Darkfall
Douglas Adams The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Edgar Allan Poe The Raven
Edward Lee Teratologist
Elan Gale You’re Not That Great
Emily Brontë Wuthering Heights
Erich Maria Remarque All Quiet on the Western Front
Ernest Cline Armada
Ernest Cline Ready Player One
Ernest Cline Ready Player Two
Ernest Hemingway For Whom the Bell Tolls
F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby
Franz Kafka The Metamorphosis
Fyodor Dostoyevsky Crime and Punishment
George Orwell 1984
George Orwell Animal Farm
Gerald Brom Lost Gods
Glenn Beck Common Sense
Grady Hendrix My Best Friend’s Exorcism
Grady Hendrix We Sold Our Souls
Grady Hendrix Horrorstör
Grady Hendrix The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires
Gus Moreno This Thing Between Us
H.G. Wells The War of the Worlds
H.G. Wells The Invisible Man
H.P. Lovecraft The Alchemist
H.P. Lovecraft At the Mountains of Madness
H.P. Lovecraft Azathoth
H.P. Lovecraft The Beast in the Cave
H.P. Lovecraft Beyond the Wall of Sleep
H.P. Lovecraft The Book
H.P. Lovecraft The Call of Cthulhu
H.P. Lovecraft The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
H.P. Lovecraft The Cats of Ulthar
H.P. Lovecraft Celephaïs
H.P. Lovecraft The Colour Out of Space
H.P. Lovecraft Cool Air
H.P. Lovecraft Dagon
H.P. Lovecraft The Dunwich Horror
Herman Raucher Maynard’s House
Hideaki Sena Parasite Eve
Hunter S. Thompson Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
J. M. Barlog God of War
J. Sheridan Le Fanu Carmilla: A Vampyre Tale
Jack Ketchum Off Season
Jack London The Call of the Wild
Jason Arnopp The Last Days of Jack Sparks
Jay Anson The Amityville Horror
Joe De Sena The Spartan Way
John Grisham The Firm
John Langan The Fisherman
Jon Robson The Psychopath Test
Jonathan Janz Exorcist Road
Jonathan Janz Exorcist Falls
Jules Verne 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Jules Verne Journey to the Center of the Earth
Jules Verne From the Earth to the Moon
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 0.5: The Hospital
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 2: Safari
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 3: Hellifax
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 4: Well Fed
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 5: Make Me King
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 6: Mindless
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man: Prequel
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man: 2nd Prequel
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 7: Skull Road
Keith R. A. DeCandido Alien: Isolation
Kristina Streva The Inked
Kurt Vonnegut Slaughterhouse-Five
L.I. Albemont A Haunting: The Horror on Rue Lane
Lauren Beukes Ungirls
Lee Mountford The Demonic
Lee Mountford The Mark
Lee Mountford Forest of the Damned
Leo Tolstoy The Death of Ivan Ilyich
Mary Doria Russell The Sparrow
Mary Doria Russell Children of God
Mary Higgins Clark I’ve Got My Eyes On You
Mary Shelley Frankenstein
Michael McDowell Cold Moon Over Babylon
Michael McDowell The Elementals
Mitch Albom Tuesdays with Morrie
Neil Gaiman American Gods
Neil Gaiman The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Neil Gaiman Coraline
Nick Cutter The Troop
Nick Cutter The Deep
Nick Roberts The Exorcist’s House
Patrick McGrath Asylum
Paul Tremblay A Head Full of Ghosts
Peter Straub Ghost Story
R. L. Stine Red Rain
Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451
Rex Stout The Golden Spiders
Richard Laymon The Traveling Vampire Show
Richard Matheson A Stir of Echoes
Rick Poldark Primordial Island
Rick Poldark Return to Primordial Island
Rick Poldark Cryptid Slayer
Robert Browning Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came
Robert Louis Stevenson Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
Robert Masello The Night Crossing
Ronald Malfi Black Mouth
Ronald Malfi The Night Parade
Ronald Malfi Come With Me
Ryan James Girdusky They’re Not Listening
Ryu Murakami Audition
S. E. England Father of Lies
Sara Gran Come Closer
Scott Kenemore The Grand Hotel
Shirley Jackson The Haunting of Hill House
Silvia Moreno-Garcia Mexican Gothic
Stephen Graham Jones The Only Good Indians
Stephen J. Dubner Freakonomics
Stephen King The Shining
Stephen King Doctor Sleep
Stephen King It
Stephen King Everything’s Eventual
Stephen King The Stand: Complete and Uncut Edition
Stephen King On Writing
Stephen King Hearts in Atlantis
Stephen King Salem’s Lot
Stephen King The Mist
Stephen King The Dark Tower 1: The Gunslinger
Stephen King The Dark Tower 2: The Drawing of the Three
Stephen King The Dark Tower 3: The Waste Lands
Stephen King The Dark Tower 4: Wizard and Glass
Stephen King The Dark Tower 5: Wolves of the Calla
Stephen King The Dark Tower 6: Song of Susannah
Stephen King Insomnia
Stephen King The Talisman
Stephen King Black House
Stephen King The Dark Tower 7: The Dark Tower
Stephen King The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole
Stephen King Pet Sematary
Stephen King Quitters, Inc.
Stephen King In the Tall Grass
Stephen King The Dark Half
Stephen King 11/22/63
Stephen King Under the Dome
Stephen King Rage
Steven Pressfield Gates of Fire
Sun Tzu The Art of War
Susan Hill Dolly: A Ghost Story
T. Kingfisher The Hollow Places
T. Kingfisher The Twisted Ones
Tess Gerritsen Vanish
Theodore Sturgeon Some of Your Blood
Thomas F. Moneleone The Resurrectionist
Thomas Hardy The Return of the Native
Thomas Harris The Silence of the Lambs
Thomas Harris Hannibal
Thomas Harris Red Dragon
Thomas Harris Hannibal Rising
Thomas Olde Heuvelt HEX
Tom Wolfe The Bonfire of the Vanities
Truman Capote Breakfast at Tiffany’s
V. Castro Goddess of Filth
Vladimir Nabokov Lolita
Walter Tevis The Queen’s Gambit
Washington Irving The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
William Peter Blatty The Exorcist
William Peter Blatty Legion
William Shakespeare King Lear
2024.06.01 15:27 OHitsaKO [WP] "You know," he thought absently as he prepared to make the final sacrifice, "I don't actually want to die. I like living, a lot." He looked back at something visible only to him, and gave an amused grin. "I guess they're worth it."
Falsch pressed the switch and the glowing red timer of the Facility Implosion Bomb began counting down.
5:00
"It's the only way. The portal has to be destroyed." Falsch reasoned.
"Damn it!" Zysind slammed his fist onto the table, the sound was heard over the communications device.
"..." Schlect stood silent as he stared down onto Falsch tired on the floor, preparing himself to eliminate the anomalies of this world once and for all.
"What is the meaning of this, Falsch?" Duvist, confused, spoke over the infuriated Zysind.
4:44
"I had a great time with you all in this base." Falsch reminisced. "Tell Bonas my thanks for pulling me outta that hell, once he wakes up from his coma that is. I got to live a second time because of him. Veru....sorry lass, but Papa has to leave. Be a good girl for me.``
“God damn you Falsch! You can’t do this! Bonas has done so much work for this.” Zysind yelled at the comms.
“God already damned me once Zysind. The Sealing Team should still be at the surface. Project Portal has to be stopped for Humanity’s good. "
Falsch muted the comms. He took a deep breath and drowned himself in thoughts.
Falsch already anticipated that it would come to this, he knew that the reason why the demons kept popping up was because of a sinner’s soul, his soul, that escaped Hell. The demons want to hunt the escaped soul and bring it back to it’s rightful place as sinner in the depths of hell.
Back then, was a lonely agony in the infinite field of darkness. He cannot remember how many years he spent over there. The looming hatred that tortured him, Schlect, was with him in his hell, constantly reminding him of his failures and mistakes in his first life.
The hell portal that emerged in Limbo that Dr. Bonas accidentally created in studying the hell portals through the Helios artifact was nothing short of an absolute miracle. Falsch entered the other side to a different Earth. Though Falsch received Hell as his punishment for his first life's sins, he got to enjoy earthly life once more for 10 years.
The world that Falsch entered was different to his yet so similar. It was like an alternate earth. As someone foreign and potentially hazardous to this world after coming out of a portal, Falsch was quarantined.
Veru was a sweet little kid at the base, a child of Dr Bonas’ sister who lost both of her parents at an early age. Veru was the person that gave Falsch his humanity over the years after decaying in Limbo. She had an innocent curiosity to what is essentially a dead man from hell. Young Veru approached Falsch after his quarantine and gave him something unexpected, something he hasn’t felt from someone for a long time. Kindness, something long forgotten by Falsch, sparked to him when Veru wanted to play with him with a doll named Molly. Ever since that day, Falsch started to feel like a regular human, and not a sinner from hell burdened by his sins. He felt good, and the weight of his regrets started to feel lighter with Veru’s company. Before then, Veru became like a daughter to Falsch, and Falsch was like the missing father to Veru.
Things would’ve been a whole lot better if it weren’t for Schlect being attached to me. But as a sinner sentenced to Limbo, I am to suffer in darkness with nothing but my dark thoughts. Schlect never fails to belittle, insult, or spite me in every single waking moment. But, I persevered and strived to become a better person for everyone here, especially for Veru.
“Sins crawling on your back sinner? Finally realized the cost of your little vacation here in this Earth? Pathetic.” Schlect sneered.
“You’re wrong, Schlect. This is my repentance and it’s for the good of everyone. I do regret that I won’t be there for Veru.”
“You aren’t just a terrible person but also a terrible father. You don’t deserve Veru.” Schlect insulted.
“Don’t put Veru into this conversation.” Falsch eyed Schlect in anger.
“Or what?”
“...”
“Idiot.”
3:17
The red emergency lights blared ever since the self-destruction countdown began. The heavy metal doors of the facility lowered down and shut all the available paths to the surface, sealing the Demons invading into their concrete coffin. The Demons screamed in anger and hatred as they tried to futilely scratch the impenetrable doors of the underground facility.
Falsch held the Helios artifact. The artifact which allowed the creation of the Hell Portals after Dr Bonas’ exploits with it. The end result… a sea of demons searching for me. Old man better not die so he could take care of Veru, otherwise i’ll be his demon in hell.
Falsch smiled to himself.
Schlect kneeled down and grinned in malice.
Falsch frowned and stared at Schlect at the sudden gesture.
“You’re still incompetent even at your second. You flipped the switch too quickly, idiot." Schlect implied something Falsch forgot.
Zanya and Tyler.
Falsch went wide-eyed, fear and anxiety coursed through his heart.
2:51
Damn it! I forgot about them. I let them do their own thing, while I supposedly did my tasked Implosion mission on the other side of this base, since I couldn’t convince them to not take the Helios artifact. Zanya and Tyler were tasked to a retrieval mission for the research data and artifact. I bloody forgot to inform them.
"You are pathetic and incompetent, Falsch. And you call this your repentance?" Schlect mocked.
Falsch unmuted his device.
"Zanya and Tyler got out right???" Falsch asked in panic at the device.
“FALSCH! YOU BETTER NOT-”
“PLEASE CONTACT ZANYA AND TYLER. THEY’D BE STUCK IN THE IMPLOSION BOMB RADIUS!” Falsch asserted.
“You haven’t even informed them yet of your suicide plan???” Duvist asked, astounded from Falsch’s negligence.
"Confirm Zanya and Tyler's signals!" Duvist commanded.
"Putting their audio in speakers right now!" Zysind followed. “
2:20
"Retrieval team, do you copy?"
Sounds of something collapsing could be heard. Struggling and bated breaths are heard in the comms.
… Silence
"Retrieval team, I repeat, do you copy?" Duvist
"Fuck! Tyler you good buddy?"
"Arghhh, I sprained my damn foot." Tyler complained in pain.
"Retrieval team, are both of you fine?"
"Yeah, we're fine and the data is with us, but not the damned artifact! We're on the surface and we're leaving here as soon as possible. Why did Falsch already activate the Implosion Bomb? What happened to his team? Are they on the truck already?"
“What the hell? Are those the Sealing Team on the truck?” Tyler asked.
1:45
Falsch smiled in relief that both of them are fine. He dropped the device from his ear and pressed it on mute.
"Good... Hehe..." Falsch lightly laughed. "You sick bastard, Schlect. You got me good, you son of a bitch." He continued.
“Laughing even after endangering their lives. Your hands deserve to be stained in blood.”
1:30
“Shut it Schlect. We got one more thing to do.”
Falsch moved and climbed into an air vent leading to the giant laboratory where the Hell Portal was located.
58
He kicked down the vent grate only for it to fall and get crushed violently to the sea of Demons.
“Oh–woah. Hello there!. Looking for me?” Falsch waved at the screaming waves of red muscular and bony beings.
“You should jump to the demons, you Idiot. You sinner. You-”
“One last thing.” Falsch interrupted Schlect’s words and just ignored his continued attempts at malicious conversing.
Falsch configured his communication device to connect to Veru.
The signals clicked and the connection established.
“Papa?” Veru called in sorrow.
30
“Hey there, little girl. Yes, it’s me Papa.”
Veru cried.
“Schlect, you may be half right about this! But, I want you to know, Veru, that Papa Falsch very much loves you alright?” Falsch joked around. “So don’t forget about me okay?”
“Why do this?”
“I already told you why before, sweetheart. I don’t belong here.”
“B-but, you could just throw the artifact to the portal and come back.”
“I know, but it won’t end up good. The Demons would only come soon after, and I don’t want a world where my Veru would be encumbered by me.”
“...” Veru understood.
“Love you Veru.” Falsch cried.
“I-I-I love you too Papa.”
“Goodbye.”
Falsch disconnected regretfully.
5
“Goodbye, everyone!” Falsch announced to anyone that could hear.
Falsch jumped into the portal, alongside the Helios Artifact. As he almost fully crossed the portal, the implosion bomb detonated leaving nothing but a giant crater of which the base of Project Portal was constructed.
submitted by OHitsaKO to u/OHitsaKO [link] [comments]
5:00
"It's the only way. The portal has to be destroyed." Falsch reasoned.
"Damn it!" Zysind slammed his fist onto the table, the sound was heard over the communications device.
"..." Schlect stood silent as he stared down onto Falsch tired on the floor, preparing himself to eliminate the anomalies of this world once and for all.
"What is the meaning of this, Falsch?" Duvist, confused, spoke over the infuriated Zysind.
4:44
"I had a great time with you all in this base." Falsch reminisced. "Tell Bonas my thanks for pulling me outta that hell, once he wakes up from his coma that is. I got to live a second time because of him. Veru....sorry lass, but Papa has to leave. Be a good girl for me.``
“God damn you Falsch! You can’t do this! Bonas has done so much work for this.” Zysind yelled at the comms.
“God already damned me once Zysind. The Sealing Team should still be at the surface. Project Portal has to be stopped for Humanity’s good. "
Falsch muted the comms. He took a deep breath and drowned himself in thoughts.
Falsch already anticipated that it would come to this, he knew that the reason why the demons kept popping up was because of a sinner’s soul, his soul, that escaped Hell. The demons want to hunt the escaped soul and bring it back to it’s rightful place as sinner in the depths of hell.
Back then, was a lonely agony in the infinite field of darkness. He cannot remember how many years he spent over there. The looming hatred that tortured him, Schlect, was with him in his hell, constantly reminding him of his failures and mistakes in his first life.
The hell portal that emerged in Limbo that Dr. Bonas accidentally created in studying the hell portals through the Helios artifact was nothing short of an absolute miracle. Falsch entered the other side to a different Earth. Though Falsch received Hell as his punishment for his first life's sins, he got to enjoy earthly life once more for 10 years.
The world that Falsch entered was different to his yet so similar. It was like an alternate earth. As someone foreign and potentially hazardous to this world after coming out of a portal, Falsch was quarantined.
Veru was a sweet little kid at the base, a child of Dr Bonas’ sister who lost both of her parents at an early age. Veru was the person that gave Falsch his humanity over the years after decaying in Limbo. She had an innocent curiosity to what is essentially a dead man from hell. Young Veru approached Falsch after his quarantine and gave him something unexpected, something he hasn’t felt from someone for a long time. Kindness, something long forgotten by Falsch, sparked to him when Veru wanted to play with him with a doll named Molly. Ever since that day, Falsch started to feel like a regular human, and not a sinner from hell burdened by his sins. He felt good, and the weight of his regrets started to feel lighter with Veru’s company. Before then, Veru became like a daughter to Falsch, and Falsch was like the missing father to Veru.
Things would’ve been a whole lot better if it weren’t for Schlect being attached to me. But as a sinner sentenced to Limbo, I am to suffer in darkness with nothing but my dark thoughts. Schlect never fails to belittle, insult, or spite me in every single waking moment. But, I persevered and strived to become a better person for everyone here, especially for Veru.
“Sins crawling on your back sinner? Finally realized the cost of your little vacation here in this Earth? Pathetic.” Schlect sneered.
“You’re wrong, Schlect. This is my repentance and it’s for the good of everyone. I do regret that I won’t be there for Veru.”
“You aren’t just a terrible person but also a terrible father. You don’t deserve Veru.” Schlect insulted.
“Don’t put Veru into this conversation.” Falsch eyed Schlect in anger.
“Or what?”
“...”
“Idiot.”
3:17
The red emergency lights blared ever since the self-destruction countdown began. The heavy metal doors of the facility lowered down and shut all the available paths to the surface, sealing the Demons invading into their concrete coffin. The Demons screamed in anger and hatred as they tried to futilely scratch the impenetrable doors of the underground facility.
Falsch held the Helios artifact. The artifact which allowed the creation of the Hell Portals after Dr Bonas’ exploits with it. The end result… a sea of demons searching for me. Old man better not die so he could take care of Veru, otherwise i’ll be his demon in hell.
Falsch smiled to himself.
Schlect kneeled down and grinned in malice.
Falsch frowned and stared at Schlect at the sudden gesture.
“You’re still incompetent even at your second. You flipped the switch too quickly, idiot." Schlect implied something Falsch forgot.
Zanya and Tyler.
Falsch went wide-eyed, fear and anxiety coursed through his heart.
2:51
Damn it! I forgot about them. I let them do their own thing, while I supposedly did my tasked Implosion mission on the other side of this base, since I couldn’t convince them to not take the Helios artifact. Zanya and Tyler were tasked to a retrieval mission for the research data and artifact. I bloody forgot to inform them.
"You are pathetic and incompetent, Falsch. And you call this your repentance?" Schlect mocked.
Falsch unmuted his device.
"Zanya and Tyler got out right???" Falsch asked in panic at the device.
“FALSCH! YOU BETTER NOT-”
“PLEASE CONTACT ZANYA AND TYLER. THEY’D BE STUCK IN THE IMPLOSION BOMB RADIUS!” Falsch asserted.
“You haven’t even informed them yet of your suicide plan???” Duvist asked, astounded from Falsch’s negligence.
"Confirm Zanya and Tyler's signals!" Duvist commanded.
"Putting their audio in speakers right now!" Zysind followed. “
2:20
"Retrieval team, do you copy?"
Sounds of something collapsing could be heard. Struggling and bated breaths are heard in the comms.
… Silence
"Retrieval team, I repeat, do you copy?" Duvist
"Fuck! Tyler you good buddy?"
"Arghhh, I sprained my damn foot." Tyler complained in pain.
"Retrieval team, are both of you fine?"
"Yeah, we're fine and the data is with us, but not the damned artifact! We're on the surface and we're leaving here as soon as possible. Why did Falsch already activate the Implosion Bomb? What happened to his team? Are they on the truck already?"
“What the hell? Are those the Sealing Team on the truck?” Tyler asked.
1:45
Falsch smiled in relief that both of them are fine. He dropped the device from his ear and pressed it on mute.
"Good... Hehe..." Falsch lightly laughed. "You sick bastard, Schlect. You got me good, you son of a bitch." He continued.
“Laughing even after endangering their lives. Your hands deserve to be stained in blood.”
1:30
“Shut it Schlect. We got one more thing to do.”
Falsch moved and climbed into an air vent leading to the giant laboratory where the Hell Portal was located.
58
He kicked down the vent grate only for it to fall and get crushed violently to the sea of Demons.
“Oh–woah. Hello there!. Looking for me?” Falsch waved at the screaming waves of red muscular and bony beings.
“You should jump to the demons, you Idiot. You sinner. You-”
“One last thing.” Falsch interrupted Schlect’s words and just ignored his continued attempts at malicious conversing.
Falsch configured his communication device to connect to Veru.
The signals clicked and the connection established.
“Papa?” Veru called in sorrow.
30
“Hey there, little girl. Yes, it’s me Papa.”
Veru cried.
“Schlect, you may be half right about this! But, I want you to know, Veru, that Papa Falsch very much loves you alright?” Falsch joked around. “So don’t forget about me okay?”
“Why do this?”
“I already told you why before, sweetheart. I don’t belong here.”
“B-but, you could just throw the artifact to the portal and come back.”
“I know, but it won’t end up good. The Demons would only come soon after, and I don’t want a world where my Veru would be encumbered by me.”
“...” Veru understood.
“Love you Veru.” Falsch cried.
“I-I-I love you too Papa.”
“Goodbye.”
Falsch disconnected regretfully.
5
“Goodbye, everyone!” Falsch announced to anyone that could hear.
Falsch jumped into the portal, alongside the Helios Artifact. As he almost fully crossed the portal, the implosion bomb detonated leaving nothing but a giant crater of which the base of Project Portal was constructed.
2024.06.01 15:24 TonyChanYT This GENERATION will not pass away until all these things take place
u/userNotfoundhere468, u/Riots42, u/gp_man1
Do you think Jesus is coming back soon?
Jesus wanted every generation to be ready for his second coming.
Jesus spoke of future happenings in Matthew 24:
Exactly when will Jesus come back?
The disciples asked a similar question in Acts 1:
I would not waste time trying to figure out the date. In the meantime, spread the gospel.
The above is my current interpretation of the passage. As usual, of course, I could be wrong :)
See also This generation will not PASS AWAY
submitted by TonyChanYT to BibleVerseCommentary [link] [comments]
Do you think Jesus is coming back soon?
Jesus wanted every generation to be ready for his second coming.
Jesus spoke of future happenings in Matthew 24:
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.These are signs from heaven.
33 So also, when you see all these things,"you" refers to the future people who will see all those future signs.
you know that he is near, at the very gates. 34 Truly, I say to you,Jesus wasn't kidding. He used the words from this passage to speak to the future people ("you").
this generation will not pass awayJesus saw this generation in his mind and directly addressed them. When the time comes, this future generation will read this passage as Jesus' words speak to them.
until all these things take place.All those signs will occur within a single generation.
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.Jesus's words will come through space-time. He wanted every generation to be ready for his second coming.
Exactly when will Jesus come back?
The disciples asked a similar question in Acts 1:
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”Jesus answered:
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”The penultimate verse in the Bible, Berean Literal Bible, Rev 22:
The One testifying these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!Jesus wanted us to act like he would be back in our generation.
I would not waste time trying to figure out the date. In the meantime, spread the gospel.
The above is my current interpretation of the passage. As usual, of course, I could be wrong :)
See also This generation will not PASS AWAY
2024.06.01 15:15 ilybnm Opened the door and I regret it
This might be a long one, I apologize for the length. Also on mobile, so formatting as well. TL;DR at the bottom
Backstory -
My biological father and I had never been close. I have grown up with 2 stories about my childhood- from my mother that he abandoned me and from him that she kept me away from him.
I’ve accepted the fact that I will never know the truth of the matter and that is okay, but at 18 I attempted to cultivate a relationship with him.
About 3 years later, at 22, I moved in with him (or rather, my great grandmother, he lived with and still lives with her) due to exiting an extremely abusive relationship.
One day, out of the blue he came into my room, yelling at me about how the day before I blew him off. I tried to explain to him that I had gone into work that day (a sales job) to try to close on some deals and he called me a liar, etc etc.
Additionally he made some comments regarding my last name.
I had been adopted by the man I call my dad, and took his last name, got married and divorced and took my maiden name back on - he seemed to be confused as to why I didn’t take back on HIS name.
Anyway, after going around and around in arguments that just didn’t make sense, I felt like I was in a loop; he slapped me, and (this was VERY WEIRD) stuck his fingers down my throat when I was yelling back at him. Eventually he kicked me out; he told me to never tell anybody he was my father.
So I left, changed my number and removed myself from social media - this was about 10 years ago and I went no contact.
During this time, I realized a huge abandonment wound was opened.
On my 30th birthday I sought help outside of traditional therapy and drank ayahuasca after seeing the change within my own mother when she drank it.
We have had multiple ceremonies together, all of which have helped me to diminish the hurt I had been carrying, but not the anger within me.
This month we had a mushroom ceremony together and this finally allowed me to release the anger I had still harbored.
Now:
About 4 days ago, my biological father’s mother found my phone number online from when I was a realtor. Having felt that I had let go of the trauma and pain of 10 years ago, I accepted the call, with a hope that he had done ANY self reflection and told her I would be willing to have a conversation with him.
Last night he called me. I had the phone on speaker with my partner nearby because I know bio dad’s tactics and I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t allowing my ego to flare up and get out of line to make the situation worse.
During the conversation I attempted to see the situation through his eyes and he AGAIN continued the loop of “your mother kept you from me” “you believe everything she says” “you should have picked up the phone, I tried to contact you” and told me that the things within the fight DIDNT happen. It was as if this 10 year old fight, one that I moved on from, happened THIS AFTERNOON for him.
Also during the conversation he mentioned to me that he tells my half brother that he believes me to be a survivor and he, my brother , to be weak, essentially. Why one would say that to their child I cannot comprehend.
After realizing he would never express sympathy or acknowledge any wrongdoing on his part, he asked is I was planning on having children - I am still unsure at this time, but if it happens it happens - and he asked me not to keep them from him. My hypothetical, future children. I told him I could not speak to an event that is not currently happening.
I should have never cracked the door open. I have a peaceful, wonderful, tranquil life and he thrives off of drama, hate and anger.
I am starting to feel anxious that he will expect a relationship between us.
I guess what I’m looking for is - how have others in my situation handled this?
TL;DR: 10 years no contact, father found my number - don’t want a relationship, how to handle?
submitted by ilybnm to raisedbynarcissists [link] [comments]
Backstory -
My biological father and I had never been close. I have grown up with 2 stories about my childhood- from my mother that he abandoned me and from him that she kept me away from him.
I’ve accepted the fact that I will never know the truth of the matter and that is okay, but at 18 I attempted to cultivate a relationship with him.
About 3 years later, at 22, I moved in with him (or rather, my great grandmother, he lived with and still lives with her) due to exiting an extremely abusive relationship.
One day, out of the blue he came into my room, yelling at me about how the day before I blew him off. I tried to explain to him that I had gone into work that day (a sales job) to try to close on some deals and he called me a liar, etc etc.
Additionally he made some comments regarding my last name.
I had been adopted by the man I call my dad, and took his last name, got married and divorced and took my maiden name back on - he seemed to be confused as to why I didn’t take back on HIS name.
Anyway, after going around and around in arguments that just didn’t make sense, I felt like I was in a loop; he slapped me, and (this was VERY WEIRD) stuck his fingers down my throat when I was yelling back at him. Eventually he kicked me out; he told me to never tell anybody he was my father.
So I left, changed my number and removed myself from social media - this was about 10 years ago and I went no contact.
During this time, I realized a huge abandonment wound was opened.
On my 30th birthday I sought help outside of traditional therapy and drank ayahuasca after seeing the change within my own mother when she drank it.
We have had multiple ceremonies together, all of which have helped me to diminish the hurt I had been carrying, but not the anger within me.
This month we had a mushroom ceremony together and this finally allowed me to release the anger I had still harbored.
Now:
About 4 days ago, my biological father’s mother found my phone number online from when I was a realtor. Having felt that I had let go of the trauma and pain of 10 years ago, I accepted the call, with a hope that he had done ANY self reflection and told her I would be willing to have a conversation with him.
Last night he called me. I had the phone on speaker with my partner nearby because I know bio dad’s tactics and I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t allowing my ego to flare up and get out of line to make the situation worse.
During the conversation I attempted to see the situation through his eyes and he AGAIN continued the loop of “your mother kept you from me” “you believe everything she says” “you should have picked up the phone, I tried to contact you” and told me that the things within the fight DIDNT happen. It was as if this 10 year old fight, one that I moved on from, happened THIS AFTERNOON for him.
Also during the conversation he mentioned to me that he tells my half brother that he believes me to be a survivor and he, my brother , to be weak, essentially. Why one would say that to their child I cannot comprehend.
After realizing he would never express sympathy or acknowledge any wrongdoing on his part, he asked is I was planning on having children - I am still unsure at this time, but if it happens it happens - and he asked me not to keep them from him. My hypothetical, future children. I told him I could not speak to an event that is not currently happening.
I should have never cracked the door open. I have a peaceful, wonderful, tranquil life and he thrives off of drama, hate and anger.
I am starting to feel anxious that he will expect a relationship between us.
I guess what I’m looking for is - how have others in my situation handled this?
TL;DR: 10 years no contact, father found my number - don’t want a relationship, how to handle?
2024.06.01 15:10 New_Selection_4503 Husband of 20 years is probably cheating on me
Husband of 20 years is probably cheating on me. So here it goes, sll of my dirty secrets.
I, 45f been married to my husband 46, male for over 20 years to a man I met in my early 20’s. We have been very best friends since the day we met but it has been a rocky relationship. I am from an abusive alcoholic family and I was for a time blissfully an alcoholic along with the family. This of coarse was problematic when looking for a date. More than one boyfriend broke up with me because I drank too much, partied too hard and studied too little. Cue in my dream man, he’s responsible, well educated and a heavy drinker. We partied all night and he got up the next day, no matter how hungover and went to work. My mom said that this is normal, it’s how it’s supposed to be. If a man makes it to work everyday then he’s not an alcoholic. By her definition, only a man who misses work can be accused of drinking too much.
I married this replica of my father and for many blissful years we were married and we partied and drank. We’d drink a bottle or two of wine a few nights a week and on weekends we’d stay up all night, often having parties at our home. It was grand fun, until we had kids. All of the sudden I had to handle night feedings and morning diaper changes while tipsy, drunk or hungover. It didn’t take me long to quit, I had already quit for 9 months while pregnant and I had gotten the idea that life is better sober. But my partner didn’t agree. He was drunk most nights while I was pregnant. When I got annoyed and asked him to quit he hid the bottles. I had a second child with him in spite of the drinking (I wanted a matching set), not my best decision but I don’t regret it. When I was at the hospital he looked exhausted so I sent him home to rest. He went home and drank himself into a stupor. My mom had to drive me home from the hospital and when we got home, he was passed out on the living room floor. He slept for another 10 hours like that and he was drunk the entire first week of my daughter’s life. I had to ask my mom to help care for her since I’d had complications with the birth and had over 30 stitches.
His drinking went on for years with me going from kicking him out of the home to drinking with him. Often I would plead with him to quit and he’d refuse. On 4 occasions we separated, each time selling our home and dividing the property. But he’d get sober and he was always very sorry. At this point we had two kids and I needed the help.
Over time things got better and he went years and years without drinking. I had quit altogether after our first child. In fact things go so much better that he asked to start drinking again. He rationalized that he had been sober for 5 years and that he can handle one of two drinks a week. I agreed under the following terms, he can have up to two drinks with dinner once a week. I know this is a terrible decision, I think it’s fair to say that there is a pattern here of gawd awful decisions on my part. This 2 drink agreement lasted a few months but of course two drinks turned into 3, then it turned into a couple nights a week. I saw it was getting out of hand and I banned drinking again.
In the meantime my partner has gotten substantially better looking. It’s through a combination of favourable genetics, some recent work done and some excellent supplements. He aged well going from a 6.5 in his 20’s to a current day 8.5. More than that he’d recently opened a business and it was booming. For the first time in our married life he started to out earn me. For the first 20 years I was the primary wage earner, but now he’s making the more than me (this is temporary as my wage is about to pick up). The woman are noticing him and It’s not lost on me or him. We went to Mexico last year and women were practically following him around and throwing themselves at him. We go out to eat and woman hit on him. They hit on him at the grocery store and they hit on him at work. To his credit he does not respond to this in front of me or the kids. Nor have I ever heard of him hitting on somebody.
I’m a solid 7 - 7.5. I’ve aged okay, I look decent, I’m maybe a little heavier as size 10. But I’m not a hot young thing giggling at him. I am a wife and a mother, so not always sexy, but still quite a lot prettier than average. But realistically on the open market, I’m probably not attracting an 8.5 that earns his kind of money.
About 8 months ago he started coming home from work drunk. He was hiding it but I could smell the booze on his breath. He claimed it was heartburn but I knew better and I ignored it. I just wanted everything to be okay. There was a woman he was working with, he claimed to hate her, she seemed overly interested in him. There were a few incidents, that made me suspicious but he claimed he hated her. He was never home late from work. She moved away and he seemed fine and I was relieved. But a few months after this the drinking started, along with my denial. I guess I kinda figured that who cares if he cheated, she moved away. Now we can get on with our lives.
Recently he’s coming home from work late, but not too late. It’s an hour late here and there. Sometimes he’d claim that he’d have to stay an extra hour. A few times he went completely missing and claimed to have fallen asleep at the office. The problem is that I don’t really know his hours, it’s possible he’s done earlier. For context, he is self employed and rents a space. But other people rent spaces there too,
He’s been coming home drunker and drunker lately while still denying he’s been drinking. I’m ashamed to admit it but I ignored it to the point where I let him drive the kids a few times like that. I was just so far into denial, but I knew somewhere deep down that he was drunk.
He’s normally off work at 5pm and in the car by 5:10pm. But lately he’s not in the car until 5:45pm, ignoring my calls and sometimes coming into the house as late as 6pm. I mean it’s only 45 minutes right? A few times he’d go missing until 7:30 or 8pm and he’d say that he hate a late client appointment and had told me but I forgot. Strangely he’s never hungry when he gets home, in spite of being at work all day. In fact he’s not hungry 2 - 3 times a week. He told me that his stomach is bothering him.
Last night he went missing so I went to his office to look for him. I found him asleep in his office alone with an empty bottle of hard alcohol on his desk. I checked his office drawer and it was full of empty bottles. The office is a disaster, messy and all that. I’m not sure how he sees clients in a room like that and I’m worried that he’s taking appointments drunk. His business is doing really well and building it up was a joint effort. I’m worried that his drinking will destroy everything we built.
I woke him up and he was visibly drunk. He told me that he wants to stay at the office to sleep it off and that no he doesn’t want to talk about it and he didn’t come home. It’s been 6 hours. The thing is, that he hates sleeping in his work clothes and his office is desperately uncomfortable. I just don’t see him staying there overnight alone.
When the drinking flared up 6 months ago, it was just him drinking alone. But when he was sober he was still my best friend. But over time he’s stopped responding when I speak. He tells me that he drinks because he can’t stand to listen to my problems anymore. If I ask him about his day I get a one word answer. More and more he looks at me with contempt while drinking. But even stranger, he wants sex more often, I don’t know why this is. But he’s weird about it and hounding me. He’s going on and on about how to wants to try a sex position we’ve never done, talking about how much he likes it. He’s also looking over my shoulder and checking my phone, which is new. it’s intrusive as I don’t even know his passcode and feel no temptation to check his phone.
He gets paid in cash and has a drawer full of it at the office so I can’t check his cards.
Now I know what you are going to say. He’s definitely cheating, I mean he probably is. But we live in a no fault place so what does it matter if I get proof or not? Also I have two kids to think of and we aren’t in a financial position to leave. I will need time to pay down our joint debt and I need a new job. I’m thinking that the best course of action is to stay silent and improve my situation so that I can support my kids and myself. I think this works for him too as he doesn’t want to get stuck with all sorts of child support or alimony. Giving me time to get back on my feet and improve my financial position works for both of us.
The thing is that if I even bring up getting divorced or separated he says that I am the light of his life. He says that he loves me and that I’m his best friend. He says that he doesn’t want to leave. Then I feel so badly. If I even broach the topic of separating, he’ll shut it down so quickly. He’s overwhelming and persistent and he out talks me. I think there’s no use in talking it out and I don’t see us living together well under some sort of “arrangement”.
Do you have any advice on what to do next? Do you have any idea why he’s acting this way? If he wants to separate why not just do it? Also what’s with the increased sex drive?
One of the oddities is that I’ve been doing really great lately. I’ve lost some weight, my hair is looking good. My business sucks but I’ve been taking on new gigs and retraining. I’m becoming a person that I’m really proud of and every day seems to be getting better. But the better I do, the more contempt he seems to have for me. I can see the bitterness in his drunkenness. And he gets drunks on nights when I have to work and when I have something important going on. He blames the drinking on me. He says that I only talk about myself (maybe I do, I’m trying to improve). He says that I ask too much of him and that I make him contribute to the house too much but I do 100% of the grocery shopping, cooking, lunches, school stuff, homework and kids activities. He comes home and goes straight to bed while complaining that he’s doing too much. Meanwhile I’m breaking myself trying to make the home perfect enough.
Is there any chance that he’s just old and tired and not cheating? I mean he’s only missing for 45 minutes a day? I should mention that he’s stopped answering my calls during the workday and stopped reading my texts.
The weird thing is that I felt relieved to find him surrounded by booze bottles and I’m glad he’s done tonight. I’ve spent the majority of my adult life begging him to be sober. Tonight I could see the contempt in his eyes towards me. I just don’t know that I can move past it. I think I just want to be free from this now.
Do you have any advice? I’ve never been through anything like this and I could use some support and guidance.
I think that taking 4 - 6 months to resolve the situation might be best. This gives me time to find a new job and to pay down some debt and bolster savings.
submitted by New_Selection_4503 to u/New_Selection_4503 [link] [comments]
I, 45f been married to my husband 46, male for over 20 years to a man I met in my early 20’s. We have been very best friends since the day we met but it has been a rocky relationship. I am from an abusive alcoholic family and I was for a time blissfully an alcoholic along with the family. This of coarse was problematic when looking for a date. More than one boyfriend broke up with me because I drank too much, partied too hard and studied too little. Cue in my dream man, he’s responsible, well educated and a heavy drinker. We partied all night and he got up the next day, no matter how hungover and went to work. My mom said that this is normal, it’s how it’s supposed to be. If a man makes it to work everyday then he’s not an alcoholic. By her definition, only a man who misses work can be accused of drinking too much.
I married this replica of my father and for many blissful years we were married and we partied and drank. We’d drink a bottle or two of wine a few nights a week and on weekends we’d stay up all night, often having parties at our home. It was grand fun, until we had kids. All of the sudden I had to handle night feedings and morning diaper changes while tipsy, drunk or hungover. It didn’t take me long to quit, I had already quit for 9 months while pregnant and I had gotten the idea that life is better sober. But my partner didn’t agree. He was drunk most nights while I was pregnant. When I got annoyed and asked him to quit he hid the bottles. I had a second child with him in spite of the drinking (I wanted a matching set), not my best decision but I don’t regret it. When I was at the hospital he looked exhausted so I sent him home to rest. He went home and drank himself into a stupor. My mom had to drive me home from the hospital and when we got home, he was passed out on the living room floor. He slept for another 10 hours like that and he was drunk the entire first week of my daughter’s life. I had to ask my mom to help care for her since I’d had complications with the birth and had over 30 stitches.
His drinking went on for years with me going from kicking him out of the home to drinking with him. Often I would plead with him to quit and he’d refuse. On 4 occasions we separated, each time selling our home and dividing the property. But he’d get sober and he was always very sorry. At this point we had two kids and I needed the help.
Over time things got better and he went years and years without drinking. I had quit altogether after our first child. In fact things go so much better that he asked to start drinking again. He rationalized that he had been sober for 5 years and that he can handle one of two drinks a week. I agreed under the following terms, he can have up to two drinks with dinner once a week. I know this is a terrible decision, I think it’s fair to say that there is a pattern here of gawd awful decisions on my part. This 2 drink agreement lasted a few months but of course two drinks turned into 3, then it turned into a couple nights a week. I saw it was getting out of hand and I banned drinking again.
In the meantime my partner has gotten substantially better looking. It’s through a combination of favourable genetics, some recent work done and some excellent supplements. He aged well going from a 6.5 in his 20’s to a current day 8.5. More than that he’d recently opened a business and it was booming. For the first time in our married life he started to out earn me. For the first 20 years I was the primary wage earner, but now he’s making the more than me (this is temporary as my wage is about to pick up). The woman are noticing him and It’s not lost on me or him. We went to Mexico last year and women were practically following him around and throwing themselves at him. We go out to eat and woman hit on him. They hit on him at the grocery store and they hit on him at work. To his credit he does not respond to this in front of me or the kids. Nor have I ever heard of him hitting on somebody.
I’m a solid 7 - 7.5. I’ve aged okay, I look decent, I’m maybe a little heavier as size 10. But I’m not a hot young thing giggling at him. I am a wife and a mother, so not always sexy, but still quite a lot prettier than average. But realistically on the open market, I’m probably not attracting an 8.5 that earns his kind of money.
About 8 months ago he started coming home from work drunk. He was hiding it but I could smell the booze on his breath. He claimed it was heartburn but I knew better and I ignored it. I just wanted everything to be okay. There was a woman he was working with, he claimed to hate her, she seemed overly interested in him. There were a few incidents, that made me suspicious but he claimed he hated her. He was never home late from work. She moved away and he seemed fine and I was relieved. But a few months after this the drinking started, along with my denial. I guess I kinda figured that who cares if he cheated, she moved away. Now we can get on with our lives.
Recently he’s coming home from work late, but not too late. It’s an hour late here and there. Sometimes he’d claim that he’d have to stay an extra hour. A few times he went completely missing and claimed to have fallen asleep at the office. The problem is that I don’t really know his hours, it’s possible he’s done earlier. For context, he is self employed and rents a space. But other people rent spaces there too,
He’s been coming home drunker and drunker lately while still denying he’s been drinking. I’m ashamed to admit it but I ignored it to the point where I let him drive the kids a few times like that. I was just so far into denial, but I knew somewhere deep down that he was drunk.
He’s normally off work at 5pm and in the car by 5:10pm. But lately he’s not in the car until 5:45pm, ignoring my calls and sometimes coming into the house as late as 6pm. I mean it’s only 45 minutes right? A few times he’d go missing until 7:30 or 8pm and he’d say that he hate a late client appointment and had told me but I forgot. Strangely he’s never hungry when he gets home, in spite of being at work all day. In fact he’s not hungry 2 - 3 times a week. He told me that his stomach is bothering him.
Last night he went missing so I went to his office to look for him. I found him asleep in his office alone with an empty bottle of hard alcohol on his desk. I checked his office drawer and it was full of empty bottles. The office is a disaster, messy and all that. I’m not sure how he sees clients in a room like that and I’m worried that he’s taking appointments drunk. His business is doing really well and building it up was a joint effort. I’m worried that his drinking will destroy everything we built.
I woke him up and he was visibly drunk. He told me that he wants to stay at the office to sleep it off and that no he doesn’t want to talk about it and he didn’t come home. It’s been 6 hours. The thing is, that he hates sleeping in his work clothes and his office is desperately uncomfortable. I just don’t see him staying there overnight alone.
When the drinking flared up 6 months ago, it was just him drinking alone. But when he was sober he was still my best friend. But over time he’s stopped responding when I speak. He tells me that he drinks because he can’t stand to listen to my problems anymore. If I ask him about his day I get a one word answer. More and more he looks at me with contempt while drinking. But even stranger, he wants sex more often, I don’t know why this is. But he’s weird about it and hounding me. He’s going on and on about how to wants to try a sex position we’ve never done, talking about how much he likes it. He’s also looking over my shoulder and checking my phone, which is new. it’s intrusive as I don’t even know his passcode and feel no temptation to check his phone.
He gets paid in cash and has a drawer full of it at the office so I can’t check his cards.
Now I know what you are going to say. He’s definitely cheating, I mean he probably is. But we live in a no fault place so what does it matter if I get proof or not? Also I have two kids to think of and we aren’t in a financial position to leave. I will need time to pay down our joint debt and I need a new job. I’m thinking that the best course of action is to stay silent and improve my situation so that I can support my kids and myself. I think this works for him too as he doesn’t want to get stuck with all sorts of child support or alimony. Giving me time to get back on my feet and improve my financial position works for both of us.
The thing is that if I even bring up getting divorced or separated he says that I am the light of his life. He says that he loves me and that I’m his best friend. He says that he doesn’t want to leave. Then I feel so badly. If I even broach the topic of separating, he’ll shut it down so quickly. He’s overwhelming and persistent and he out talks me. I think there’s no use in talking it out and I don’t see us living together well under some sort of “arrangement”.
Do you have any advice on what to do next? Do you have any idea why he’s acting this way? If he wants to separate why not just do it? Also what’s with the increased sex drive?
One of the oddities is that I’ve been doing really great lately. I’ve lost some weight, my hair is looking good. My business sucks but I’ve been taking on new gigs and retraining. I’m becoming a person that I’m really proud of and every day seems to be getting better. But the better I do, the more contempt he seems to have for me. I can see the bitterness in his drunkenness. And he gets drunks on nights when I have to work and when I have something important going on. He blames the drinking on me. He says that I only talk about myself (maybe I do, I’m trying to improve). He says that I ask too much of him and that I make him contribute to the house too much but I do 100% of the grocery shopping, cooking, lunches, school stuff, homework and kids activities. He comes home and goes straight to bed while complaining that he’s doing too much. Meanwhile I’m breaking myself trying to make the home perfect enough.
Is there any chance that he’s just old and tired and not cheating? I mean he’s only missing for 45 minutes a day? I should mention that he’s stopped answering my calls during the workday and stopped reading my texts.
The weird thing is that I felt relieved to find him surrounded by booze bottles and I’m glad he’s done tonight. I’ve spent the majority of my adult life begging him to be sober. Tonight I could see the contempt in his eyes towards me. I just don’t know that I can move past it. I think I just want to be free from this now.
Do you have any advice? I’ve never been through anything like this and I could use some support and guidance.
I think that taking 4 - 6 months to resolve the situation might be best. This gives me time to find a new job and to pay down some debt and bolster savings.
2024.06.01 15:05 WhovianTrekkie_6366 My Star Trek Ranking Part 2: 900-876
Hello; really loved the interaction with my first post, so thanks so much for that! I'll just reiterate: spoilers for all Star Trek, and everything is just my opinion.
900) Unnatural Selection (1989)
TNG 2x7
Writer: John Mason & Mike Gray
Director: Paul Lynch
We've seen this idea done before and better. Yeah, it's a little bit different this time: it centres around children genetically engineered to be free of disease (isn't that illegal in the Federation?). But the actual plot of the episode is little different from TOS' The Deadly Years, with Doctor Pulaski aging and trying to find a cure for the condition. An uninspired repeat of a TOS episode that wasn't even that good in the first place.
899) We'll Always Have Paris (1988)
TNG 1x23
Writer: Deborah Dean Davis & Hannah Louise Shearer
Director: Robert Becker
Bored me stiff. I'm not always a huge fan of time travel stuff in general, and this is one of the least dynamic uses of that story type I've ever seen. Picard also has some weak character development, in his reminiscence about the girlfriend he left behind to join Starfleet, after he runs into her in this episode. The resolution with Data is fine, though, and I do like that they used him, as somebody less affected by the Maddox Effect, to solve the problem. Functional, just really dull.
898) Angel One (1988)
TNG 1x13
Writer: Patrick Barry
Director: Michael Rhodes
I will say that, as a teenage boy and as a young man now, this episode did give me empathy for what women go through in real life: being dismissed as weak and soft and barred from meaningful work. Beyond that, however, this episode really says nothing. It feels like it wants to be a deep and compelling exploration of gender roles, but apart from that feeling of empathy it gave me it doesn't accomplish anything of the kind. It's just a rote story about an oppressed section of society trying to combat their oppressors, and Riker saves the dissidents from being executed with a dull speech.
897) Silicon Avatar (1991)
TNG 5x4
Writer: Jeri Taylor, story by Lawrence V Conley
Director: Cliff Bole
Oh, just what I always wanted: the return of the Crystalline Entity from Datalore! Most anticipated villain return ever! But seriously, this could have been an interesting episode exploring a decent creature, but all that ends up happening is the Enterprise chasing the Crystalline Entity while Data has conversations with the mother of one of the victims of its attack on his colony. I will say that her hatred of Data got some genuine emotion out of me, as I raise my hackles against anyone who dares attack that loveable android, and seeing her come round to him was reasonably satisfying. But I still wasn't intrigued by their conversations, or the story of her seeking revenge for her son's death. The actual murder of the Crystalline Entity was done with a decent weight, but the episode takes forever to get there, through a slog of boring conversations and virtually no emotional investment for me.
896) The Outrageous Okona (1988)
TNG 2x4
Writer: Burton Armus, story by Les Menchen, Lance Dickson & David Landsberg
Director: Robert Becker
An aimless, artless story of a rogue caught between two fathers hounding him for his misdeeds. I don't find Okona amusing or charming, so his heavy presence in the episode doesn't do anything for me, and the story surrounding him is weak too. Data's stand-up comedy stuff is quite funny; Brent Spiner plays it brilliantly. I particularly enjoy the scene where he's trying out his act on Guinan, and it's just so bad. Also love Whoopi Goldberg's delivery of 'No' after Data asks her if his act was good. But this B-plot has only a flimsy connection to the main story, and therefore its presence leaves the end product feeling messy as well as weak.
895) Bounty (2003)
ENT 2x25
Writer: Hans Tobeason, Mike Sussman & Phyllis Strong, story by Rick Berman & Brannon Braga
Director: Roxann Dawson
An A-plot and B-plot that are both very bad. The story of Archer getting kidnapped by a bounty hunter is rote and uninspired, and definitely feels like it was one of the last ideas the writers came up with for the season. They were just filling time with a poor sequel to the earlier episode Judgement. His interactions with the Tellarite do not interest me at all, and I do not care about the Tellarite's lost ship. The B-plot with T'Pol prematurely going through the Pon Farr sees some of the worst sexualisation of the character, plus some cringey dialogue between her and Phlox. Archer's ending escape from the Klingons, with the Tellarite's secret help, is solid, though.
894) The Omega Glory (1968)
TOS 2x23
Writer: Gene Roddenberry
Director: Vincent McEveety
Goes from mundane to insane. For much of its runtime I would give this my label of dull but functional: there's a rogue Starfleet Captain trying to discover the secret to eternal youth on a pre-warp planet, and there's a lot of fighting with some of the savage natives. It's all very boring... until the last quarter.
It gets revealed that this is (yet another) TOS Season 2 Earth parallel, with the savages representing the US and the village people the Communists. There is no explanation given for how the aliens ended up with all the exact paraphernalia of that time on Earth, from the US flag to the American Constitution; it's all just ludicrous.
The crowning weirdness of the episode is Kirk's lauding of the American Constitution as the greatest thing ever invented. Now, I don't just not like this because I'm English; I would feel the same if the British (unwritten) Constitution was being lauded like this. I consider myself a pretty patriotic person, and I believe that every country has equal reason to celebrate themselves, but I feel it is utterly inappropriate in Star Trek for any one country or group to be held up as the ultimate shining example of civilisation. This is because Trek is meant to represent a future where everybody's come together under one banner. There's a lot to praise about the American Constitution, but it's inappropriate for it to be held up as the 'One True Way', if you will. Kirk's final admiring look at the US flag is so cringeworthily saccharine. So, yeah, this episode is boring for most of its runtime, and it certainly isn't in the end... it's much worse.
893) The Muse (1996)
DS9 4x21
Writer: Rene Echevarria, story by Rene Echevarria & Majel Barrett-Roddenberry
Director: David Livingston
The DS9 Lwaxana Troi episodes are largely not a good time, and this is the absolute worst of them. The story of her pregnancy feels so hammy and forced, and the drama with her and Odo doesn't interest me at all. She also doesn't feel like she has much of a presence in the episode, which is shocking given how she came on so wonderfully strong in TNG. The other plotline with Jake is also uninteresting. It's at least not as bad as the Lwaxana storyline, but it's still so very uninspired (you see what I did there?). Annoyingly our last Lwaxana appearance; they really should have stopped her episodes after TNG's Dark Page; that was the perfect ending for her character.
892) When the Bough Breaks (1988)
TNG 1x16
Writer: Hannah Louise Shearer
Director: Kim Manners
Gene Roddenberry did like his kiddie episodes, didn't he? The idea of 'Atlantis-but-a-planet' is interesting, but the episode wastes the concept on a tiresome kidnapping story. The kids are fine I guess, but I'd also rather not be watching them. Wesley feels kinda out-of-place among them, to be honest, considering how noticeably older he is. I will say that Picard's reaction to the abduction: 'You have just committed an act of utter barbarity!' is a superb bit of acting from Stewart, but other than that there's nothing else I'll praise about this outing.
891) Pen Pals (1989)
TNG 2x15
Writer: Melinda M Snodgrass, story by Hannah Louise Shearer
Director: Winrich Kolbe
This always feels like a short to me, despite its forty-five minute length. No time is spent building up Data and the alien kid's relationship; we just see the kid's first communication, then jump into Data confessing to Picard he's been in contact with a pre-warp individual. So I have no investment in this relationship, which is a shame because Data-plus-kid had the potential to be really sweet. They just didn't put the legwork into it. The resolution is fine.
890) Unforgettable (1998)
VOY 4x22
Writer: Greg Elliot & Michael Perricone
Director: Andrew Robinson
Got to be the most ironic title in Trek history, since this episode is extremely forgettable. It's also mind-numbingly boring: Trek does not have a good track record with single-episode romances, and this has got to be one of the worst. I feel zero connection to the guest character and zero investment in her relationship with Chakotay. The idea of a species that you forget after they've been gone for a while is intriguing, but it is wasted on this insipid romance. This was one of the longest forty-five minutes I've ever sat through.
889) Transfigurations (1990)
TNG 3x25
Writer: Rene Echevarria
Director: Tom Benko
Speaking of dull one-episode romances, here's another one. The idea of a species going through a butterfly-like transformation, that is feared and suppressed by the authorities, is again intriguing. It reminds me of the Jon Pertwee Doctor Who story The Mutants, if anyone's watched that, except it's done less well. Again, the good concept is wasted on a boring romance, this time between Beverly and her patient. This is another one that feels much longer than forty-five minutes.
888) Bread and Circuses (1968)
TOS 2x25
Writer: Gene Roddenberry & Gene L Coon
Director: Ralph Senensky
At this point in TOS Season 2, I just thought: 'Really, Mr Roddenberry? Another Earth parallel? I know you like them, but this is getting ridiculous!' Not only is this a tired repeat of an already done idea, but no explanation is given for why this planet parallels the Roman Empire. In A Piece of the Action and Patterns of Force clever reasons were given, but in this it's just presented as a weird fact. That doesn't fly with me.
And even if they had come up with another clever explanation, they have done this idea, which I don't like very much anyway, way too many times this season. I did have some minor interest in the concept of a Rome that never fell, but not enough to sustain me for fifty minutes. Boring and uninspired to the highest degree. I will say there's one really great scene between Spock and Bones in a prison cell, though, when Bones confronts Spock about how he keeps all his emotions carefully concealed.
887) How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth (1974)
TAS 2x5
Writer: Russell Bates & David Wise
Director: Bill Reed
Similar to Who Mourns for Adonais?, in that it gives us an omnipotent alien, who was once worshipped as a God on Earth, and has returned to take charge of his wayward children, only to ultimately discover they don't need him anymore. This is a much weaker version of that story, however, with a less sympathetic godlike character and less runtime to flesh out the idea.
The episode also takes a weird swerve halfway through, from the setting of Kukulkan's city (a nice location, I must say) to his zoo, which I find much less appealing. This episode had an idea, but it wasn't quite sure how to tell the story. Kukulkan genuinely scared me a little, though, and I did feel sorry for him when he flew off, knowing that his former worshippers had outgrown him. But again, that was done better in TOS.
886) Resurrection (1997)
DS9 6x8
Writer: Michael Taylor
Director: LeVar Burton
Michael Taylor is a curious writer for me. He has written both some of my favourite and some of my least favourite episodes, with little middle ground. This falls hard into the latter category. It's interesting to have someone from the Mirror Universe cross into the Prime Universe, rather than the other way around as normally happens, and it's doubly interesting to have that someone be Mirror Bareil. But the episode falls flat on its face: every scene is just so interminably dull, and, unlike his Prime Universe counterpart, this Bareil has no chemistry with Kira. So boring, so pedestrian, and the absolute worst of the DS9 Mirror Universe episodes.
885) The Paradise Syndrome (1968)
TOS 3x3
Writer: Margaret Armen
Director: Jud Taylor
I think this is the epitome of functional but dull. The story makes sense, the characters' motivations make sense, but that doesn't mean the episode is interesting. I do like the idea of the Preservers, beings who transplanted members of endangered peoples, here the Native Americans, to other planets, but the episode flops. Kirk's memory loss leads to a yawnworthy stay among the Native Americans, filled with predictable tensions and conflicts, and a bland romance. The Spock and Bones B-plot is also boring. I feel a little something for Miramanee's death, but only a little something.
884) Assignment: Earth (1968)
TOS 2x26
Writer: Art Wallace, story by Gene Roddenberry & Art Wallace
Director: Marc Daniels
Star Trek without the Star Trek. Deciding not to focus on the main characters for an episode isn't a bad idea in and of itself, but the characters put in their stead hold little interest for me. The same is true of the plot they work within. This was of course a backdoor pilot for a spin-off that never manifested, and maybe if it had come about I would like this episode much more, but as it stands I find the characters unintriguing and the plot uninspired. The climax is particularly poor, with about seventy different shots of the rocket going into orbit, while the characters mill about and do very little. I want me my Kirk, Spock and Bones back.
883) The Red Angel (2019)
DSC 2x10
Writer: Chris Silvestri & Anthony Maranville
Director: Hanelle M Culpepper
Down here for the same reasons as previous DSC Season 2 episodes I've put on this list. It engages heavily in the twin foul-ups of the Spock's sister storyline and the Section 31 portrayal. I hate the base concept of Burnham being Spock's sister, for reasons I've explained in my previous post, so I despise all their scenes together, that build out this relationship that I wish had never been. And Section 31 continues to be portrayed as a public wing of the Federation, with ships and resources provided by Starfleet, which is godawful.
I will say, however, that I do kinda like the sequence where Burnham has to strap herself to a chair and bare herself to the planet's toxic atmosphere in order to summon the Red Angel. And the reveal that the Angel is not herself but in fact her mother is cool. But this is still a really bad episode.
882) The Storyteller (1993)
DS9 1x13
Writer: Kurt Michael Bensmiller & Ira Steven Behr, story by Kurt Michael Bensmiller
Director: David Livingston
A really messy, weak outing. The A- and B-plots have nothing to do with each other, which isn't automatically bad, but here it just makes the episode feel untidy. Of the two, I prefer the Jake and Nog subplot; it's funny seeing them mooning over the female teenage leader of a settlement who comes to the station. Their getting in trouble to impress her is charming. The A-plot sucks, though: the whole business of O'Brien having to become the protector of this village, from an amorphous cloud villain, is just lame, and the resolution is whatever. It is funny to see O'Brien and Julian in their first episode together, though, and witnessing how much O'Brien doesn't care for the good Doctor at this point. Oh, how times will change.
881) The Arsenal of Freedom (1988)
TNG 1x20
Writer: Richard Manning & Hans Beimler, story by Maurice Hurley & Robert Lewin
Director: Les Landau
A ramshackle adventure with a medley of different storylines, all of which are underwhelming. The best is Geordi's plotline, where he asserts himself as commander of the Enterprise over the *rsehole Chief Engineer of the week, but the other two don't really have any redeeming qualities. The Riker and co storyline is repetitive and the Picard and Beverly storyline is dull. I do like that the threat is resolved when Picard agrees to make a purchase from this dead civilisation, though.
880) Move Along Home (1993)
DS9 1x9
Writer: Frederick Rappaport, Lisa Rich & Jeanne Carrigan-Fauci, story by Michael Piller
Director: David Carson
OK, so I said this wasn't the worst of DS9, but it's still really bad. Though I have to say that, after I watched this with my siblings last year, and had such fun doing so, I've never been able to see it quite so badly. It's bad, yeah, but it's so, so much fun. The best-worst bit is of course the alien hopscotch scene, and I also really have to give credit to Alexander Siddig for playing some brilliant cringey comedy with Julian. The scene where he's trying to wake himself up from a nightmare by screaming? So funny. These (sort of) praises made, this is still a stinker of an episode, with a messy plot, too-silly events, and some serious overacting from Armin Shimerman at the end. Definitely something best watched with friends or family.
Allamaraine, count to four,
Allamaraine, then three more,
Allamaraine, if you can see,
Allamaraine, you'll come with me!
879) Justice (1987)
TNG 1x7
Writer: Worley Thorne, story by Ralph Wills & Worley Thorne
Director: James L Conway
I love the basic idea of this episode: Wesley runs afoul of a law on another planet and is sentenced to death by their draconian justice system. Then Picard has to struggle with whether to obey the Prime Directive or save his life. But the episode is dragged down by some weird costuming choices and, most of all, the addition of an omnipotent entity that watches over the planet's people. This should have just been an episode about Picard struggling between duty and conscience; the addition of a mega-powerful being steals screentime from this fine idea.
878) A Simple Investigation (1997)
DS9 5x17
Writer: Rene Echevarria
Director: John T Kretchmer
Uuuuugh; another boring single-episode romance. It's an interminable chore to sit through, from beginning to end, with tired, uninspired romantic scenes and an unexciting criminalistic plot surrounding the Orion Syndicate. I also don't like how the Changelings' linking is equated with sex in that one scene. There are a few fun scenes with O'Brien, Julian and Jadzia when they're playing the spy holosuite program (Jadzia's 'Ooh, somebody stop me!', or O'Brien's 'Hi, Odo!'), but that's about it.
877) Such Sweet Sorrow Part Two (2019)
DSC 2x14
Writer: Michelle Paradise, Junny Lumet, & Alex Kurtzman
Director: Olatunde Osunsanmi
DSC wasn't merely content to introduce a sister for Spock who weakened the story of his childhood and family life. They had to make that sister so important in his life that he'd be willing to go with her into the future and leave his life behind. I hate that Kurtzman and co made this decision, as it makes everything in TOS, SNW etc feel like Spock settling for second-best, when in reality he is fulfilling his life's purpose in those series.
I also never connected with any of the DSC original characters, except for Saru, and even with him I don't feel any emotion at their grand final 23rd Century adventure to stop Control. As I've said before, this evil sentient AI story is a tired, repeated idea, and its connection to the terrible portrayal of Section 31 makes it worse. As a result of all this don't give a single crap about any of the grand-scale action in this episode, and I feel nothing for the loss of the Discovery crew to the far future. I will say that this episode did at least propel DSC into the 32nd Century, which would end up saving the series from being irredeemably awful, and it sets up the phenomenal SNW (although we didn't strictly need all this for SNW to work).
876) Vis a Vis (1998)
VOY 4x20
Writer: Robert Doherty
Director: Jesus Salvador Trevino
A vapid story about Tom feeling dissatisfied with his life on Voyager, and getting replaced by a shape-stealing alien. The concept for the alien is solid, but the execution doesn't fly. It ends up being a limp episode that drags quite a bit, with a bland character arc for Tom at its centre. Shoutout for the appearance of Dan Butler as the alien's main form, though; he played the testosterone-fuelled Bulldog Briscoe in my favourite comedy, Frasier.
That's it for now. Thank you very much for reading, and Live Long and Prosper!
submitted by WhovianTrekkie_6366 to startrek [link] [comments]
900) Unnatural Selection (1989)
TNG 2x7
Writer: John Mason & Mike Gray
Director: Paul Lynch
We've seen this idea done before and better. Yeah, it's a little bit different this time: it centres around children genetically engineered to be free of disease (isn't that illegal in the Federation?). But the actual plot of the episode is little different from TOS' The Deadly Years, with Doctor Pulaski aging and trying to find a cure for the condition. An uninspired repeat of a TOS episode that wasn't even that good in the first place.
899) We'll Always Have Paris (1988)
TNG 1x23
Writer: Deborah Dean Davis & Hannah Louise Shearer
Director: Robert Becker
Bored me stiff. I'm not always a huge fan of time travel stuff in general, and this is one of the least dynamic uses of that story type I've ever seen. Picard also has some weak character development, in his reminiscence about the girlfriend he left behind to join Starfleet, after he runs into her in this episode. The resolution with Data is fine, though, and I do like that they used him, as somebody less affected by the Maddox Effect, to solve the problem. Functional, just really dull.
898) Angel One (1988)
TNG 1x13
Writer: Patrick Barry
Director: Michael Rhodes
I will say that, as a teenage boy and as a young man now, this episode did give me empathy for what women go through in real life: being dismissed as weak and soft and barred from meaningful work. Beyond that, however, this episode really says nothing. It feels like it wants to be a deep and compelling exploration of gender roles, but apart from that feeling of empathy it gave me it doesn't accomplish anything of the kind. It's just a rote story about an oppressed section of society trying to combat their oppressors, and Riker saves the dissidents from being executed with a dull speech.
897) Silicon Avatar (1991)
TNG 5x4
Writer: Jeri Taylor, story by Lawrence V Conley
Director: Cliff Bole
Oh, just what I always wanted: the return of the Crystalline Entity from Datalore! Most anticipated villain return ever! But seriously, this could have been an interesting episode exploring a decent creature, but all that ends up happening is the Enterprise chasing the Crystalline Entity while Data has conversations with the mother of one of the victims of its attack on his colony. I will say that her hatred of Data got some genuine emotion out of me, as I raise my hackles against anyone who dares attack that loveable android, and seeing her come round to him was reasonably satisfying. But I still wasn't intrigued by their conversations, or the story of her seeking revenge for her son's death. The actual murder of the Crystalline Entity was done with a decent weight, but the episode takes forever to get there, through a slog of boring conversations and virtually no emotional investment for me.
896) The Outrageous Okona (1988)
TNG 2x4
Writer: Burton Armus, story by Les Menchen, Lance Dickson & David Landsberg
Director: Robert Becker
An aimless, artless story of a rogue caught between two fathers hounding him for his misdeeds. I don't find Okona amusing or charming, so his heavy presence in the episode doesn't do anything for me, and the story surrounding him is weak too. Data's stand-up comedy stuff is quite funny; Brent Spiner plays it brilliantly. I particularly enjoy the scene where he's trying out his act on Guinan, and it's just so bad. Also love Whoopi Goldberg's delivery of 'No' after Data asks her if his act was good. But this B-plot has only a flimsy connection to the main story, and therefore its presence leaves the end product feeling messy as well as weak.
895) Bounty (2003)
ENT 2x25
Writer: Hans Tobeason, Mike Sussman & Phyllis Strong, story by Rick Berman & Brannon Braga
Director: Roxann Dawson
An A-plot and B-plot that are both very bad. The story of Archer getting kidnapped by a bounty hunter is rote and uninspired, and definitely feels like it was one of the last ideas the writers came up with for the season. They were just filling time with a poor sequel to the earlier episode Judgement. His interactions with the Tellarite do not interest me at all, and I do not care about the Tellarite's lost ship. The B-plot with T'Pol prematurely going through the Pon Farr sees some of the worst sexualisation of the character, plus some cringey dialogue between her and Phlox. Archer's ending escape from the Klingons, with the Tellarite's secret help, is solid, though.
894) The Omega Glory (1968)
TOS 2x23
Writer: Gene Roddenberry
Director: Vincent McEveety
Goes from mundane to insane. For much of its runtime I would give this my label of dull but functional: there's a rogue Starfleet Captain trying to discover the secret to eternal youth on a pre-warp planet, and there's a lot of fighting with some of the savage natives. It's all very boring... until the last quarter.
It gets revealed that this is (yet another) TOS Season 2 Earth parallel, with the savages representing the US and the village people the Communists. There is no explanation given for how the aliens ended up with all the exact paraphernalia of that time on Earth, from the US flag to the American Constitution; it's all just ludicrous.
The crowning weirdness of the episode is Kirk's lauding of the American Constitution as the greatest thing ever invented. Now, I don't just not like this because I'm English; I would feel the same if the British (unwritten) Constitution was being lauded like this. I consider myself a pretty patriotic person, and I believe that every country has equal reason to celebrate themselves, but I feel it is utterly inappropriate in Star Trek for any one country or group to be held up as the ultimate shining example of civilisation. This is because Trek is meant to represent a future where everybody's come together under one banner. There's a lot to praise about the American Constitution, but it's inappropriate for it to be held up as the 'One True Way', if you will. Kirk's final admiring look at the US flag is so cringeworthily saccharine. So, yeah, this episode is boring for most of its runtime, and it certainly isn't in the end... it's much worse.
893) The Muse (1996)
DS9 4x21
Writer: Rene Echevarria, story by Rene Echevarria & Majel Barrett-Roddenberry
Director: David Livingston
The DS9 Lwaxana Troi episodes are largely not a good time, and this is the absolute worst of them. The story of her pregnancy feels so hammy and forced, and the drama with her and Odo doesn't interest me at all. She also doesn't feel like she has much of a presence in the episode, which is shocking given how she came on so wonderfully strong in TNG. The other plotline with Jake is also uninteresting. It's at least not as bad as the Lwaxana storyline, but it's still so very uninspired (you see what I did there?). Annoyingly our last Lwaxana appearance; they really should have stopped her episodes after TNG's Dark Page; that was the perfect ending for her character.
892) When the Bough Breaks (1988)
TNG 1x16
Writer: Hannah Louise Shearer
Director: Kim Manners
Gene Roddenberry did like his kiddie episodes, didn't he? The idea of 'Atlantis-but-a-planet' is interesting, but the episode wastes the concept on a tiresome kidnapping story. The kids are fine I guess, but I'd also rather not be watching them. Wesley feels kinda out-of-place among them, to be honest, considering how noticeably older he is. I will say that Picard's reaction to the abduction: 'You have just committed an act of utter barbarity!' is a superb bit of acting from Stewart, but other than that there's nothing else I'll praise about this outing.
891) Pen Pals (1989)
TNG 2x15
Writer: Melinda M Snodgrass, story by Hannah Louise Shearer
Director: Winrich Kolbe
This always feels like a short to me, despite its forty-five minute length. No time is spent building up Data and the alien kid's relationship; we just see the kid's first communication, then jump into Data confessing to Picard he's been in contact with a pre-warp individual. So I have no investment in this relationship, which is a shame because Data-plus-kid had the potential to be really sweet. They just didn't put the legwork into it. The resolution is fine.
890) Unforgettable (1998)
VOY 4x22
Writer: Greg Elliot & Michael Perricone
Director: Andrew Robinson
Got to be the most ironic title in Trek history, since this episode is extremely forgettable. It's also mind-numbingly boring: Trek does not have a good track record with single-episode romances, and this has got to be one of the worst. I feel zero connection to the guest character and zero investment in her relationship with Chakotay. The idea of a species that you forget after they've been gone for a while is intriguing, but it is wasted on this insipid romance. This was one of the longest forty-five minutes I've ever sat through.
889) Transfigurations (1990)
TNG 3x25
Writer: Rene Echevarria
Director: Tom Benko
Speaking of dull one-episode romances, here's another one. The idea of a species going through a butterfly-like transformation, that is feared and suppressed by the authorities, is again intriguing. It reminds me of the Jon Pertwee Doctor Who story The Mutants, if anyone's watched that, except it's done less well. Again, the good concept is wasted on a boring romance, this time between Beverly and her patient. This is another one that feels much longer than forty-five minutes.
888) Bread and Circuses (1968)
TOS 2x25
Writer: Gene Roddenberry & Gene L Coon
Director: Ralph Senensky
At this point in TOS Season 2, I just thought: 'Really, Mr Roddenberry? Another Earth parallel? I know you like them, but this is getting ridiculous!' Not only is this a tired repeat of an already done idea, but no explanation is given for why this planet parallels the Roman Empire. In A Piece of the Action and Patterns of Force clever reasons were given, but in this it's just presented as a weird fact. That doesn't fly with me.
And even if they had come up with another clever explanation, they have done this idea, which I don't like very much anyway, way too many times this season. I did have some minor interest in the concept of a Rome that never fell, but not enough to sustain me for fifty minutes. Boring and uninspired to the highest degree. I will say there's one really great scene between Spock and Bones in a prison cell, though, when Bones confronts Spock about how he keeps all his emotions carefully concealed.
887) How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth (1974)
TAS 2x5
Writer: Russell Bates & David Wise
Director: Bill Reed
Similar to Who Mourns for Adonais?, in that it gives us an omnipotent alien, who was once worshipped as a God on Earth, and has returned to take charge of his wayward children, only to ultimately discover they don't need him anymore. This is a much weaker version of that story, however, with a less sympathetic godlike character and less runtime to flesh out the idea.
The episode also takes a weird swerve halfway through, from the setting of Kukulkan's city (a nice location, I must say) to his zoo, which I find much less appealing. This episode had an idea, but it wasn't quite sure how to tell the story. Kukulkan genuinely scared me a little, though, and I did feel sorry for him when he flew off, knowing that his former worshippers had outgrown him. But again, that was done better in TOS.
886) Resurrection (1997)
DS9 6x8
Writer: Michael Taylor
Director: LeVar Burton
Michael Taylor is a curious writer for me. He has written both some of my favourite and some of my least favourite episodes, with little middle ground. This falls hard into the latter category. It's interesting to have someone from the Mirror Universe cross into the Prime Universe, rather than the other way around as normally happens, and it's doubly interesting to have that someone be Mirror Bareil. But the episode falls flat on its face: every scene is just so interminably dull, and, unlike his Prime Universe counterpart, this Bareil has no chemistry with Kira. So boring, so pedestrian, and the absolute worst of the DS9 Mirror Universe episodes.
885) The Paradise Syndrome (1968)
TOS 3x3
Writer: Margaret Armen
Director: Jud Taylor
I think this is the epitome of functional but dull. The story makes sense, the characters' motivations make sense, but that doesn't mean the episode is interesting. I do like the idea of the Preservers, beings who transplanted members of endangered peoples, here the Native Americans, to other planets, but the episode flops. Kirk's memory loss leads to a yawnworthy stay among the Native Americans, filled with predictable tensions and conflicts, and a bland romance. The Spock and Bones B-plot is also boring. I feel a little something for Miramanee's death, but only a little something.
884) Assignment: Earth (1968)
TOS 2x26
Writer: Art Wallace, story by Gene Roddenberry & Art Wallace
Director: Marc Daniels
Star Trek without the Star Trek. Deciding not to focus on the main characters for an episode isn't a bad idea in and of itself, but the characters put in their stead hold little interest for me. The same is true of the plot they work within. This was of course a backdoor pilot for a spin-off that never manifested, and maybe if it had come about I would like this episode much more, but as it stands I find the characters unintriguing and the plot uninspired. The climax is particularly poor, with about seventy different shots of the rocket going into orbit, while the characters mill about and do very little. I want me my Kirk, Spock and Bones back.
883) The Red Angel (2019)
DSC 2x10
Writer: Chris Silvestri & Anthony Maranville
Director: Hanelle M Culpepper
Down here for the same reasons as previous DSC Season 2 episodes I've put on this list. It engages heavily in the twin foul-ups of the Spock's sister storyline and the Section 31 portrayal. I hate the base concept of Burnham being Spock's sister, for reasons I've explained in my previous post, so I despise all their scenes together, that build out this relationship that I wish had never been. And Section 31 continues to be portrayed as a public wing of the Federation, with ships and resources provided by Starfleet, which is godawful.
I will say, however, that I do kinda like the sequence where Burnham has to strap herself to a chair and bare herself to the planet's toxic atmosphere in order to summon the Red Angel. And the reveal that the Angel is not herself but in fact her mother is cool. But this is still a really bad episode.
882) The Storyteller (1993)
DS9 1x13
Writer: Kurt Michael Bensmiller & Ira Steven Behr, story by Kurt Michael Bensmiller
Director: David Livingston
A really messy, weak outing. The A- and B-plots have nothing to do with each other, which isn't automatically bad, but here it just makes the episode feel untidy. Of the two, I prefer the Jake and Nog subplot; it's funny seeing them mooning over the female teenage leader of a settlement who comes to the station. Their getting in trouble to impress her is charming. The A-plot sucks, though: the whole business of O'Brien having to become the protector of this village, from an amorphous cloud villain, is just lame, and the resolution is whatever. It is funny to see O'Brien and Julian in their first episode together, though, and witnessing how much O'Brien doesn't care for the good Doctor at this point. Oh, how times will change.
881) The Arsenal of Freedom (1988)
TNG 1x20
Writer: Richard Manning & Hans Beimler, story by Maurice Hurley & Robert Lewin
Director: Les Landau
A ramshackle adventure with a medley of different storylines, all of which are underwhelming. The best is Geordi's plotline, where he asserts himself as commander of the Enterprise over the *rsehole Chief Engineer of the week, but the other two don't really have any redeeming qualities. The Riker and co storyline is repetitive and the Picard and Beverly storyline is dull. I do like that the threat is resolved when Picard agrees to make a purchase from this dead civilisation, though.
880) Move Along Home (1993)
DS9 1x9
Writer: Frederick Rappaport, Lisa Rich & Jeanne Carrigan-Fauci, story by Michael Piller
Director: David Carson
OK, so I said this wasn't the worst of DS9, but it's still really bad. Though I have to say that, after I watched this with my siblings last year, and had such fun doing so, I've never been able to see it quite so badly. It's bad, yeah, but it's so, so much fun. The best-worst bit is of course the alien hopscotch scene, and I also really have to give credit to Alexander Siddig for playing some brilliant cringey comedy with Julian. The scene where he's trying to wake himself up from a nightmare by screaming? So funny. These (sort of) praises made, this is still a stinker of an episode, with a messy plot, too-silly events, and some serious overacting from Armin Shimerman at the end. Definitely something best watched with friends or family.
Allamaraine, count to four,
Allamaraine, then three more,
Allamaraine, if you can see,
Allamaraine, you'll come with me!
879) Justice (1987)
TNG 1x7
Writer: Worley Thorne, story by Ralph Wills & Worley Thorne
Director: James L Conway
I love the basic idea of this episode: Wesley runs afoul of a law on another planet and is sentenced to death by their draconian justice system. Then Picard has to struggle with whether to obey the Prime Directive or save his life. But the episode is dragged down by some weird costuming choices and, most of all, the addition of an omnipotent entity that watches over the planet's people. This should have just been an episode about Picard struggling between duty and conscience; the addition of a mega-powerful being steals screentime from this fine idea.
878) A Simple Investigation (1997)
DS9 5x17
Writer: Rene Echevarria
Director: John T Kretchmer
Uuuuugh; another boring single-episode romance. It's an interminable chore to sit through, from beginning to end, with tired, uninspired romantic scenes and an unexciting criminalistic plot surrounding the Orion Syndicate. I also don't like how the Changelings' linking is equated with sex in that one scene. There are a few fun scenes with O'Brien, Julian and Jadzia when they're playing the spy holosuite program (Jadzia's 'Ooh, somebody stop me!', or O'Brien's 'Hi, Odo!'), but that's about it.
877) Such Sweet Sorrow Part Two (2019)
DSC 2x14
Writer: Michelle Paradise, Junny Lumet, & Alex Kurtzman
Director: Olatunde Osunsanmi
DSC wasn't merely content to introduce a sister for Spock who weakened the story of his childhood and family life. They had to make that sister so important in his life that he'd be willing to go with her into the future and leave his life behind. I hate that Kurtzman and co made this decision, as it makes everything in TOS, SNW etc feel like Spock settling for second-best, when in reality he is fulfilling his life's purpose in those series.
I also never connected with any of the DSC original characters, except for Saru, and even with him I don't feel any emotion at their grand final 23rd Century adventure to stop Control. As I've said before, this evil sentient AI story is a tired, repeated idea, and its connection to the terrible portrayal of Section 31 makes it worse. As a result of all this don't give a single crap about any of the grand-scale action in this episode, and I feel nothing for the loss of the Discovery crew to the far future. I will say that this episode did at least propel DSC into the 32nd Century, which would end up saving the series from being irredeemably awful, and it sets up the phenomenal SNW (although we didn't strictly need all this for SNW to work).
876) Vis a Vis (1998)
VOY 4x20
Writer: Robert Doherty
Director: Jesus Salvador Trevino
A vapid story about Tom feeling dissatisfied with his life on Voyager, and getting replaced by a shape-stealing alien. The concept for the alien is solid, but the execution doesn't fly. It ends up being a limp episode that drags quite a bit, with a bland character arc for Tom at its centre. Shoutout for the appearance of Dan Butler as the alien's main form, though; he played the testosterone-fuelled Bulldog Briscoe in my favourite comedy, Frasier.
That's it for now. Thank you very much for reading, and Live Long and Prosper!
2024.06.01 15:04 StopDownloadin But Wait, There's More! 1/?
Had this idea bouncing around in my head about the little ferret guy, Etholin Esila. I figured with him being a 'merchant lord' he'd want to start cutting deals with Emma once the initial curiosity and amazement over Earth tech would have passed. Not sure where this is going, if anywhere, but just wanted to get it out of my head and onto 'paper'.
Thanks to u/DndQuickQuestion for helping with feedback on earlier drafts.
Afternoon Transgracian Academy of Magical Arts
The hulking minotaur loomed menacingly over me. "Crawling along the floor suits you well, Merchant Lord Etholin Esila!” it boomed in an intimidating baritone. “Merchant Lord, pfah! Even a mangy cur such as that Mercenary Prince has a legacy of valor and martial prowess behind his dubious title, but you?”
An accusatory finger was jabbed in my direction. “Nothing but puffery and bluster to buttress your status as a glorified shopkeep! Your ilk claims to broker fair trade between the Realms, but those with integrity and honor recognize the deceit you employ to conjure false value from nothing." It was difficult to tell if Lord Auris Ping's tirade was aimed more at myself, the Esila clan, or the concept of inter-realm commerce in general.
At the moment, I was more concerned with herding my scattered belongings back into my satchel. While rushing to my next appointment, I had the dubious privilege of colliding with this mountain of a brute. Naturally I was on the losing side of that contest, and was sent tail over head to the floor, scattering the contents of my school satchel across the polished granite. Not one to pass up the chance at a crass display of dominance, Lord Ping had launched into the rant that everyone in earshot was currently enduring.
"Look at you, scrabbling on the floor to fetch your little trinkets, a fitting match for your base and covetous nature!" Fairly pedestrian, as far as character assassination went. I’d been called far worse while helping Father with trade negotiations, sometimes at sword or stave point. One had to develop quite a thick hide when engaging in cross-realm commerce. Especially with many realms having rather… absolutist opinions about the value of goods, like Lord Ping here. But I had zero interest in contesting his assertions, despite how idiotic they were.
Haggling or arguing with Pronarthians was a singularly wretched experience. They were infamous across the Realms for their single-mindedness and a compulsive need to have the last word that bordered on lunacy. I didn’t have the patience for the endless ingratiating flattery required to bore through such stubbornness. If that wasn’t enough, a gentleman of my stature also had to consider Pronarthians’ sizeism; specifically their intrinsic respect for the larger and taller races.
And that was merely the average Pronarthian! Arguing with a belligerent lout, accustomed to deference as Lord Ping? I'd sooner try my hand at flying out the nearby window. At least the loamy soil below would give me a fighting chance, or a jagged rock would grant me the mercy of a swift end.
Instead, I busied myself putting my things in order, taking special care with one item in particular. It was a set of memory crystals I received from the Earthrealmer, Cadet Emma Booker. It was part of a ‘transdimensional cultural exchange pilot program,’ as she had described it with her nation’s peculiar bureaucratic jargon. I had previously conducted similar transactions in my initial dealings with Cadet Booker, and it was those first tentative steps that convinced me to make Cadet Booker a full-fledged premiere trade partner of the Ocean Breeze Trading Company, the pride of the Esila clan.
The myriad tomes and treatises from Earthrealm, such as the riveting "The Wealth of Nations," amply demonstrated that Earthrealm had an extremely sophisticated understanding of commerce, finance, and logistics. But it was the ‘video archive footage,’ transferred onto memory crystals for ease of viewing, that convinced me at a visceral level that these Earthrealmers were a sound investment. I felt it on my whisker-tips, as the commoners back home would say.
"May I offer a helping hand, Lord Esila?" inquired a familiar voice. I looked up to see a scaly, clawed hand extended toward me. “And perhaps a sympathetic ear? After all, that was a rather nasty bit of slander from Lord Ping, would you not agree?”
Wonderful. This nonsense again.
While I had been lost in thought contemplating Ocean Breeze’s latest windfall, Lord Ping seemed to have lost interest and resumed going about his business. Taking his place, as always, was Lord Qiv Ratom, ever ready to sift through the rubble of Lord Ping's latest ham-fisted antics for personal gain. "You will find that my views differ considerably from Lord Ping's. I, for one, admire the manner in which you extract value from your trade partners. After all, does it not require skill and cunning to convince the customer that your wares are worth far greater than their true value? Such nuance and subtlety is lost on the likes of Auris Ping, content to strong-arm what he desires from others."
I paused for a moment, at a loss for words. His tone suggested his 'praise' was sincere, but only stoked my ire further. What in the thrice-damned Hells did he think he was accomplishing? Did he really think that telling me, "Well, I still regard you as a thief, but I APPRECIATE your thieving nature, unlike that uncouth lout!" was going to win me over? Dealing with parties with this attitude to commerce and trade was tedious at best. But ever since making acquaintances with Cadet Booker, whose people's understanding and appreciation of commerce rivaled the Nexians, dealing with the likes of Ping and Ratom was nigh UNBEARABLE.
I rattled off the usual rigmarole we used at Ocean Breeze for clients we wished to keep at arm's length. "With respect, Lord Ratom, the value of the goods we sell is determined by the customer's needs and circumstances. The merchants of my clan arbitrate prices taking such factors into consideration. We see it as our responsibility to provide equitable trade that is not only beneficial to all parties, but also provides fair compensation for the tradesmen involved in executing the transaction."
"But of course, it is as you say," replied Lord Ratom with his signature oily charisma. "Fair and equitable trade, according to the customer's circumstances. Thus, you are but a facilitator of the Fates, a most humble tool of Destiny itself. And one who collects a respectable commission, at that," he continued. He stopped short of winking conspiratorially, but the impish grin playing across his features was a fine substitute. Every mote of my being wanted to shake him until he shed his skin. He continued, "Your... humility aside, my admiration of your clan's cunning and resourcefulness still stands. The insight of one so skilled is always welcome within my inner circle, should you wish to grace us with your presence."
It took all my restraint to not tell him into which orifice he could jam his charity-case friendship offer. After all, I'd been keeping far better and more like-minded company of late. Company that the Baralonian lord was likely dying to ingratiate himself with, given how Cadet Booker and her peer group had taken pains to keep Lord Ratom and his entourage of gossips at arm’s length. Instead, I left the smug reptile’s offer dangling in the air, twisting in the wind for a few agonizing moments while I finished tidying my things. Rising to my feet, I finally replied, "An offer most generous and kind. I will of course, have to consider the circumstances of both customer and merchant. Surely you would not begrudge a humble servant of Fate for waiting for the most auspicious circumstances?" Even at my best, I was hardly a master of rhetoric, so crudely tossing his words back at him was the best I could do.
"As you please, Lord Esila," replied Lord Ratom, finally sensing his return on investment wouldn't be worthwhile, leaving me alone to stew in the hallway. Such was the game played among the aristocracy. I looked down at the bundle of memory crystals in my hands, contemplating on their origin, and how Earthrealm could change how the Esila clan, perhaps even all of Rontalis, played the game.
I continued on my way, thoughts heavy once more.
Evening Ocean Breeze Trading Company, Elaseer Offices, Private Chambers
The Elaseer branch office of the Ocean Breeze Trading Company was a modest affair by Nexian standards, a second-storey affair nestled on the edge of the warehouse district. The restrained yet tasteful trappings were a calculated decision of the Esila clan, proprietors of the trading company. A fine balance had to be struck when it came to outward appearances, after all. Some measure of artful decoration was necessary to appease the Nexian eye’s obsession with projecting might and wealth, but not so much that it would attract too much attention.
Only in the private chambers would a guest finally see some personality in the decor, and a generous measure at that. These were the chambers of the nobleman assigned stewardship of these offices, Lord Rikad Esila, uncle to Etholin Esila. Colorful murals with aquatic motifs adorned the walls, highlighted with tastefully matching lacquered panels featuring artwork done in mother-of-pearl inlay. Similar decor was present in the dining room, where uncle and nephew were currently enjoying what Rikad thought would be a leisurely dinner.
CRACK!
The sharp sound rang out loud and clear in the small room, the source being a steamed crab claw, dashed to pieces on a smooth river stone placed between the two diners at the table.
Lord Rikad's branch of the Esila line hailed from the wetlands of Rontalis that opened up into the sea, and they regularly partook of the ocean's bounty. In antiquity, they were known to smash shellfish and other armored morsels against stones they carried with them to lay bare the tasty prizes within. This dining set configuration was a modern interpretation of that old tradition, with a communal stone for guests to open their shellfish.
Of course, such a homestyle service was available solely behind closed doors and shuttered windows and only then to Rikad and his close associates. Here in the Crownlands, such a 'barbarous and unseemly' artifact would be frowned upon by the prevailing Nexian culture and their gold and mother-of-pearl seafood forks that split the shell with a simple tap. But young Etholin labeled that languid dining as a boring conversational backdrop, inferior to the communal excitement of a well-placed strike.
Etholin’s spirited strike had a strong measure of anger behind it, a fact not lost on Rikad. "Steady now, lad. The aim is to crack the shell, not grind it to powder," chided Rikad, an otter clothed in well-tailored robes that melded practicality with muted elegance. He looked aged and gray compared to the ferret-like Etholin, clad in sumptuous silks and embroidery that assertively declared the young lord’s wealth and standing. Etholin hung his head in embarrassment. "Apologies, Uncle. I lost the reins of my temper."
"Well now, aggravated enough to make a mess of my dining set," observed the older gentleman. "It takes a great deal to get your humors churning like this, from my experience. So tell me lad, what urchin needles you?"
"Ugh, more Academy theatrics, what else? With Lords Auris Ping and Qiv Ratom being today’s star players."
"Ah, The Dunce and the Devil," remarked Rikad, nodding with understanding. This wasn't the first time his nephew had related the pestilent pair’s antics. "What two-act farce did they put on this time?"
"Ping opened with the usual blather about merchants being honorless tricksters, with Ratom swooping in to capitalize on the aftermath. Textbook at this point, really," explained Etholin, waving his hand dismissively. "It... it was just the way those two put forward their thoughts. In isolation, each would have been merely irritating. But with one following the other, I was ready to grind my fangs to nubs! To be cursed as a thief on one side, only to be praised as a thief on the other! It was like they were wielding ignorance as one would a greatsword, and managed to cut me with both edges! Gods, I wanted to THROTTLE the idiocy out of them!"
"‘Tis to be expected," said Rikad in consolation. "A great many noble families, even entire Realms at times, came about their status through force of arms or magical prowess, and thus they hold a dim view of commerce as a profession. It is a routine chore for us, navigating around them to find those with less absolutist views on the worth of goods, or more forgiving definitions of 'honest work'. An Adjacent Realm that does not cheat its creditors by altering the weight of its coins or debasing them with base metals and insisting otherwise while hiding behind the safety of their portal is worth its weight in gold."
"Sometimes I feel we ought to cut them out of our affairs entirely and deal with the Nexians, directly and exclusively," mused Etholin bitterly.
"Now, now, though your anger is justified, that's hardly reason for it to take hold of your mind's rudder," cautioned Rikad with a frown. "The Nexians have well-developed philosophies on trade in line with our own, but we only have the resources of a single Realm at our disposal, while the Nexians can leverage the bounty of their never-ending and mana-rich lands. Dealing solely with a behemoth that can devour us with a thought, no matter how frictionless those dealings are, is hardly my idea of a beneficial partnership."
Etholin sighed. "As always, your counsel is sensible, Uncle. Like I said, I lost the reins of my temper in a moment of weakness."
"Don't be so sour on things like this, lad. Our base nature gets the better of us at times, that is the animal within that we all struggle with. That you acknowledged such a lapse and took back the helm is proof that civility prevails. But, enough moping about!" Rikad jumped out of his seat with a little pep in his step. "Looks like we need to guide you back into good spirits, and I know JUST the thing for gentlemen such as us," concluded the elder merchant, twirling his whiskers playfully.
"Somehow I think a night at the theater or music halls will do little for me, Uncle. Or are you suggesting we seek respite at the bottom of a tankard?"
Rikad snorted derisively. "Oh please, I'm not senile yet, pup! Since when has SPENDING money brought joy to anyone worthy of the Esila name?" That made Elothin perk up a bit. Rikad continued, "No, I speak of a PROPER good time, I speak of..."
"COMMERCE!" they cried out in unison, fists held aloft in a triumphant pose. "Does that mean..." began Etholin.
"Indeed, we've just received the latest prototypes for the centralized mana ampoule, linking cords, and so-called 'mana motors'. Perfectly timed with the parts delivery from Cadet Booker not two days ago. Sukie, be a dear and clear this up, and have the remainder bundled up and sent to the young master's rooms at the Academy." Rikad motioned for the housekeepers to clear the table, then ushered Etholin to his private offices where they could discuss business strategy in depth.
Uncle Rikad’s offices were more than just a cozy place where Etholin could get a taste of home. Officially, Rikad was stationed here to oversee the administration of this branch office of the Ocean Breeze Trading Company. In reality, the office was a means to circumvent the Academy's prohibition against students communicating regularly with their home realm. Many aristocratic families employed similar cheats and dodges involving ‘familial duties’ and ‘business obligations’ to skirt the rules. If the Nexians cared about closing such loopholes, they didn’t show it. Perhaps the quaint maneuverings of their lessers amused the elves, who could say?
In this case, Rikad and Etholin were leveraging this loophole to the fullest, as they strategized on how to execute the next steps of their latest commercial venture, which Rikad would then relay to the head offices in Rontalis. As their planning session drew to a close, Rikad remarked on the time. “Well, it would seem that evening has fast become night. You are welcome to stay overnight here, as always, or perhaps you would prefer to retire to the Academy dormitories? Either way, I doubt you’d want to watch an old man doze off in his reading room listening to music.”
At the mention of leisure time, Etholin's eyes widened in surprise, and he began rooting around in his satchel. "Oh goodness, I entirely forgot!"
"What is it, lad?"
"Oh, Cadet Booker has provided us with more of her 'video archive files', transcribed to memory crystal," explained Etholin as he produced the set of crystals from his satchel, perfectly sized for the compact projection device that Rikad kept in his rooms.
"Ah, splendid! Another of the young lady's documentary presentations on commerce? Or perhaps one of her theatrical serials? Both are fine ways to while away the night."
“I’m not sure, but Cadet Booker said we would enjoy them a great deal,” said Etholin as he placed the crystal into the office's projector. As the machine spooled up, a moving image was cast onto the whitewashed wall across the room. As with all Earthrealm recordings, it was entirely mundane, bereft of any sign of manafields. Compared to mana based memory shards, Earthrealm recordings felt like faded sketches. None of that hindered the recording's impact on the viewers.
"Hoh? This is-" exclaimed Rikad, eyes lighting up in recognition.
An Earthrealmer with a thick, lustrous beard strode into view, his confidence and enthusiasm palpable despite the muted colors of the recording. The Earthrealmer’s voice rang out from the projector, carrying that same confidence and infectious enthusiasm like a barker worthy of the title of Grand Master.
Rikad and Etholin cheered in unison.
"HI! BILLY MAYS HERE, WITH ANOTHER GREAT PRODUCT!"
submitted by StopDownloadin to JCBWritingCorner [link] [comments]
Thanks to u/DndQuickQuestion for helping with feedback on earlier drafts.
Afternoon Transgracian Academy of Magical Arts
The hulking minotaur loomed menacingly over me. "Crawling along the floor suits you well, Merchant Lord Etholin Esila!” it boomed in an intimidating baritone. “Merchant Lord, pfah! Even a mangy cur such as that Mercenary Prince has a legacy of valor and martial prowess behind his dubious title, but you?”
An accusatory finger was jabbed in my direction. “Nothing but puffery and bluster to buttress your status as a glorified shopkeep! Your ilk claims to broker fair trade between the Realms, but those with integrity and honor recognize the deceit you employ to conjure false value from nothing." It was difficult to tell if Lord Auris Ping's tirade was aimed more at myself, the Esila clan, or the concept of inter-realm commerce in general.
At the moment, I was more concerned with herding my scattered belongings back into my satchel. While rushing to my next appointment, I had the dubious privilege of colliding with this mountain of a brute. Naturally I was on the losing side of that contest, and was sent tail over head to the floor, scattering the contents of my school satchel across the polished granite. Not one to pass up the chance at a crass display of dominance, Lord Ping had launched into the rant that everyone in earshot was currently enduring.
"Look at you, scrabbling on the floor to fetch your little trinkets, a fitting match for your base and covetous nature!" Fairly pedestrian, as far as character assassination went. I’d been called far worse while helping Father with trade negotiations, sometimes at sword or stave point. One had to develop quite a thick hide when engaging in cross-realm commerce. Especially with many realms having rather… absolutist opinions about the value of goods, like Lord Ping here. But I had zero interest in contesting his assertions, despite how idiotic they were.
Haggling or arguing with Pronarthians was a singularly wretched experience. They were infamous across the Realms for their single-mindedness and a compulsive need to have the last word that bordered on lunacy. I didn’t have the patience for the endless ingratiating flattery required to bore through such stubbornness. If that wasn’t enough, a gentleman of my stature also had to consider Pronarthians’ sizeism; specifically their intrinsic respect for the larger and taller races.
And that was merely the average Pronarthian! Arguing with a belligerent lout, accustomed to deference as Lord Ping? I'd sooner try my hand at flying out the nearby window. At least the loamy soil below would give me a fighting chance, or a jagged rock would grant me the mercy of a swift end.
Instead, I busied myself putting my things in order, taking special care with one item in particular. It was a set of memory crystals I received from the Earthrealmer, Cadet Emma Booker. It was part of a ‘transdimensional cultural exchange pilot program,’ as she had described it with her nation’s peculiar bureaucratic jargon. I had previously conducted similar transactions in my initial dealings with Cadet Booker, and it was those first tentative steps that convinced me to make Cadet Booker a full-fledged premiere trade partner of the Ocean Breeze Trading Company, the pride of the Esila clan.
The myriad tomes and treatises from Earthrealm, such as the riveting "The Wealth of Nations," amply demonstrated that Earthrealm had an extremely sophisticated understanding of commerce, finance, and logistics. But it was the ‘video archive footage,’ transferred onto memory crystals for ease of viewing, that convinced me at a visceral level that these Earthrealmers were a sound investment. I felt it on my whisker-tips, as the commoners back home would say.
"May I offer a helping hand, Lord Esila?" inquired a familiar voice. I looked up to see a scaly, clawed hand extended toward me. “And perhaps a sympathetic ear? After all, that was a rather nasty bit of slander from Lord Ping, would you not agree?”
Wonderful. This nonsense again.
While I had been lost in thought contemplating Ocean Breeze’s latest windfall, Lord Ping seemed to have lost interest and resumed going about his business. Taking his place, as always, was Lord Qiv Ratom, ever ready to sift through the rubble of Lord Ping's latest ham-fisted antics for personal gain. "You will find that my views differ considerably from Lord Ping's. I, for one, admire the manner in which you extract value from your trade partners. After all, does it not require skill and cunning to convince the customer that your wares are worth far greater than their true value? Such nuance and subtlety is lost on the likes of Auris Ping, content to strong-arm what he desires from others."
I paused for a moment, at a loss for words. His tone suggested his 'praise' was sincere, but only stoked my ire further. What in the thrice-damned Hells did he think he was accomplishing? Did he really think that telling me, "Well, I still regard you as a thief, but I APPRECIATE your thieving nature, unlike that uncouth lout!" was going to win me over? Dealing with parties with this attitude to commerce and trade was tedious at best. But ever since making acquaintances with Cadet Booker, whose people's understanding and appreciation of commerce rivaled the Nexians, dealing with the likes of Ping and Ratom was nigh UNBEARABLE.
I rattled off the usual rigmarole we used at Ocean Breeze for clients we wished to keep at arm's length. "With respect, Lord Ratom, the value of the goods we sell is determined by the customer's needs and circumstances. The merchants of my clan arbitrate prices taking such factors into consideration. We see it as our responsibility to provide equitable trade that is not only beneficial to all parties, but also provides fair compensation for the tradesmen involved in executing the transaction."
"But of course, it is as you say," replied Lord Ratom with his signature oily charisma. "Fair and equitable trade, according to the customer's circumstances. Thus, you are but a facilitator of the Fates, a most humble tool of Destiny itself. And one who collects a respectable commission, at that," he continued. He stopped short of winking conspiratorially, but the impish grin playing across his features was a fine substitute. Every mote of my being wanted to shake him until he shed his skin. He continued, "Your... humility aside, my admiration of your clan's cunning and resourcefulness still stands. The insight of one so skilled is always welcome within my inner circle, should you wish to grace us with your presence."
It took all my restraint to not tell him into which orifice he could jam his charity-case friendship offer. After all, I'd been keeping far better and more like-minded company of late. Company that the Baralonian lord was likely dying to ingratiate himself with, given how Cadet Booker and her peer group had taken pains to keep Lord Ratom and his entourage of gossips at arm’s length. Instead, I left the smug reptile’s offer dangling in the air, twisting in the wind for a few agonizing moments while I finished tidying my things. Rising to my feet, I finally replied, "An offer most generous and kind. I will of course, have to consider the circumstances of both customer and merchant. Surely you would not begrudge a humble servant of Fate for waiting for the most auspicious circumstances?" Even at my best, I was hardly a master of rhetoric, so crudely tossing his words back at him was the best I could do.
"As you please, Lord Esila," replied Lord Ratom, finally sensing his return on investment wouldn't be worthwhile, leaving me alone to stew in the hallway. Such was the game played among the aristocracy. I looked down at the bundle of memory crystals in my hands, contemplating on their origin, and how Earthrealm could change how the Esila clan, perhaps even all of Rontalis, played the game.
I continued on my way, thoughts heavy once more.
Evening Ocean Breeze Trading Company, Elaseer Offices, Private Chambers
The Elaseer branch office of the Ocean Breeze Trading Company was a modest affair by Nexian standards, a second-storey affair nestled on the edge of the warehouse district. The restrained yet tasteful trappings were a calculated decision of the Esila clan, proprietors of the trading company. A fine balance had to be struck when it came to outward appearances, after all. Some measure of artful decoration was necessary to appease the Nexian eye’s obsession with projecting might and wealth, but not so much that it would attract too much attention.
Only in the private chambers would a guest finally see some personality in the decor, and a generous measure at that. These were the chambers of the nobleman assigned stewardship of these offices, Lord Rikad Esila, uncle to Etholin Esila. Colorful murals with aquatic motifs adorned the walls, highlighted with tastefully matching lacquered panels featuring artwork done in mother-of-pearl inlay. Similar decor was present in the dining room, where uncle and nephew were currently enjoying what Rikad thought would be a leisurely dinner.
CRACK!
The sharp sound rang out loud and clear in the small room, the source being a steamed crab claw, dashed to pieces on a smooth river stone placed between the two diners at the table.
Lord Rikad's branch of the Esila line hailed from the wetlands of Rontalis that opened up into the sea, and they regularly partook of the ocean's bounty. In antiquity, they were known to smash shellfish and other armored morsels against stones they carried with them to lay bare the tasty prizes within. This dining set configuration was a modern interpretation of that old tradition, with a communal stone for guests to open their shellfish.
Of course, such a homestyle service was available solely behind closed doors and shuttered windows and only then to Rikad and his close associates. Here in the Crownlands, such a 'barbarous and unseemly' artifact would be frowned upon by the prevailing Nexian culture and their gold and mother-of-pearl seafood forks that split the shell with a simple tap. But young Etholin labeled that languid dining as a boring conversational backdrop, inferior to the communal excitement of a well-placed strike.
Etholin’s spirited strike had a strong measure of anger behind it, a fact not lost on Rikad. "Steady now, lad. The aim is to crack the shell, not grind it to powder," chided Rikad, an otter clothed in well-tailored robes that melded practicality with muted elegance. He looked aged and gray compared to the ferret-like Etholin, clad in sumptuous silks and embroidery that assertively declared the young lord’s wealth and standing. Etholin hung his head in embarrassment. "Apologies, Uncle. I lost the reins of my temper."
"Well now, aggravated enough to make a mess of my dining set," observed the older gentleman. "It takes a great deal to get your humors churning like this, from my experience. So tell me lad, what urchin needles you?"
"Ugh, more Academy theatrics, what else? With Lords Auris Ping and Qiv Ratom being today’s star players."
"Ah, The Dunce and the Devil," remarked Rikad, nodding with understanding. This wasn't the first time his nephew had related the pestilent pair’s antics. "What two-act farce did they put on this time?"
"Ping opened with the usual blather about merchants being honorless tricksters, with Ratom swooping in to capitalize on the aftermath. Textbook at this point, really," explained Etholin, waving his hand dismissively. "It... it was just the way those two put forward their thoughts. In isolation, each would have been merely irritating. But with one following the other, I was ready to grind my fangs to nubs! To be cursed as a thief on one side, only to be praised as a thief on the other! It was like they were wielding ignorance as one would a greatsword, and managed to cut me with both edges! Gods, I wanted to THROTTLE the idiocy out of them!"
"‘Tis to be expected," said Rikad in consolation. "A great many noble families, even entire Realms at times, came about their status through force of arms or magical prowess, and thus they hold a dim view of commerce as a profession. It is a routine chore for us, navigating around them to find those with less absolutist views on the worth of goods, or more forgiving definitions of 'honest work'. An Adjacent Realm that does not cheat its creditors by altering the weight of its coins or debasing them with base metals and insisting otherwise while hiding behind the safety of their portal is worth its weight in gold."
"Sometimes I feel we ought to cut them out of our affairs entirely and deal with the Nexians, directly and exclusively," mused Etholin bitterly.
"Now, now, though your anger is justified, that's hardly reason for it to take hold of your mind's rudder," cautioned Rikad with a frown. "The Nexians have well-developed philosophies on trade in line with our own, but we only have the resources of a single Realm at our disposal, while the Nexians can leverage the bounty of their never-ending and mana-rich lands. Dealing solely with a behemoth that can devour us with a thought, no matter how frictionless those dealings are, is hardly my idea of a beneficial partnership."
Etholin sighed. "As always, your counsel is sensible, Uncle. Like I said, I lost the reins of my temper in a moment of weakness."
"Don't be so sour on things like this, lad. Our base nature gets the better of us at times, that is the animal within that we all struggle with. That you acknowledged such a lapse and took back the helm is proof that civility prevails. But, enough moping about!" Rikad jumped out of his seat with a little pep in his step. "Looks like we need to guide you back into good spirits, and I know JUST the thing for gentlemen such as us," concluded the elder merchant, twirling his whiskers playfully.
"Somehow I think a night at the theater or music halls will do little for me, Uncle. Or are you suggesting we seek respite at the bottom of a tankard?"
Rikad snorted derisively. "Oh please, I'm not senile yet, pup! Since when has SPENDING money brought joy to anyone worthy of the Esila name?" That made Elothin perk up a bit. Rikad continued, "No, I speak of a PROPER good time, I speak of..."
"COMMERCE!" they cried out in unison, fists held aloft in a triumphant pose. "Does that mean..." began Etholin.
"Indeed, we've just received the latest prototypes for the centralized mana ampoule, linking cords, and so-called 'mana motors'. Perfectly timed with the parts delivery from Cadet Booker not two days ago. Sukie, be a dear and clear this up, and have the remainder bundled up and sent to the young master's rooms at the Academy." Rikad motioned for the housekeepers to clear the table, then ushered Etholin to his private offices where they could discuss business strategy in depth.
Uncle Rikad’s offices were more than just a cozy place where Etholin could get a taste of home. Officially, Rikad was stationed here to oversee the administration of this branch office of the Ocean Breeze Trading Company. In reality, the office was a means to circumvent the Academy's prohibition against students communicating regularly with their home realm. Many aristocratic families employed similar cheats and dodges involving ‘familial duties’ and ‘business obligations’ to skirt the rules. If the Nexians cared about closing such loopholes, they didn’t show it. Perhaps the quaint maneuverings of their lessers amused the elves, who could say?
In this case, Rikad and Etholin were leveraging this loophole to the fullest, as they strategized on how to execute the next steps of their latest commercial venture, which Rikad would then relay to the head offices in Rontalis. As their planning session drew to a close, Rikad remarked on the time. “Well, it would seem that evening has fast become night. You are welcome to stay overnight here, as always, or perhaps you would prefer to retire to the Academy dormitories? Either way, I doubt you’d want to watch an old man doze off in his reading room listening to music.”
At the mention of leisure time, Etholin's eyes widened in surprise, and he began rooting around in his satchel. "Oh goodness, I entirely forgot!"
"What is it, lad?"
"Oh, Cadet Booker has provided us with more of her 'video archive files', transcribed to memory crystal," explained Etholin as he produced the set of crystals from his satchel, perfectly sized for the compact projection device that Rikad kept in his rooms.
"Ah, splendid! Another of the young lady's documentary presentations on commerce? Or perhaps one of her theatrical serials? Both are fine ways to while away the night."
“I’m not sure, but Cadet Booker said we would enjoy them a great deal,” said Etholin as he placed the crystal into the office's projector. As the machine spooled up, a moving image was cast onto the whitewashed wall across the room. As with all Earthrealm recordings, it was entirely mundane, bereft of any sign of manafields. Compared to mana based memory shards, Earthrealm recordings felt like faded sketches. None of that hindered the recording's impact on the viewers.
"Hoh? This is-" exclaimed Rikad, eyes lighting up in recognition.
An Earthrealmer with a thick, lustrous beard strode into view, his confidence and enthusiasm palpable despite the muted colors of the recording. The Earthrealmer’s voice rang out from the projector, carrying that same confidence and infectious enthusiasm like a barker worthy of the title of Grand Master.
Rikad and Etholin cheered in unison.
"HI! BILLY MAYS HERE, WITH ANOTHER GREAT PRODUCT!"
2024.06.01 14:55 Swimming_Rip_9304 Spiritual warfare
I had a dream.
First me and my wife lived in a building that resembled my old home with my parents. The upstairs portion with my two old dogs. One has not lived with me for years the other has been dead for over two years. They had their own room and it smelled like urine very harshly. Then we decided that we would go with a car ride with some of my friends from high school, this was sneaking out from their supervision. My wanted to go with them for some reason and when we got into the car she didn’t look like my wife anymore but she looked like a guy I used to go to high school with but I could tell it was her. I don’t really understand why I felt this but i did. While we were on this drive I instantly regretted getting in the car with them because I figured they just wanted to go smoke and asked my wife (who looked like my childhood friend as a man) if this was really what we should be doing since she was pregnant. My wife agreed and asked them to drop us back by the house and we would sneak back in. When we turned around our car battery died and I carried my wife back to the house. When we got there she looked like my childhood best friend and I remember that something felt really off but we walked into the house. This man? Or my wife? Sat at the table and made her hold this book. It looked like some Christian book but I can’t remember the name of it and she had to hold a paper behind it that said I swear and the rest of the words were covered. It looked like this was there way of punishing their kids when they made mistakes. The parents of the kid I went to school with were there and dropped this cube shaped things filled with water on her hands to punish her by pinching her fingers. Then asked me why I didn’t stop him. I said because you are the father of this household and he said fair enough. Then he made me hold them and dropped it on my hands 3 times. It really hurt but I tried to hold it in. Then he told me to read the spine of the book and I don’t remember the words and when I was reading them a supernatural experience Happened inside of my dream. It looked like he split into two people and choked the other one and made him vanish and I pointed and my wife saw none of it and I was overcome with fear and thought it was Jesus and called out to him. I did multiple times and this thing said to me. You think I belong to Allah or and I could not make out the other word but said another name. I feel like it said jehovah but I can not promise to it. Then it ran up fast to me and told me his name was the blood collector and he always collects on his debts and started to shred me apart. I then woke up very hot. I have had nightmares before but this to me at least felt very different. I had never had a nightmare where things were so real yet also so original. The part where I met this blood collector did not seem that thought came from me. This person after I said these words did not resemble a movie or tv show I have ever seen or book that I have ever read for that matter.
This happened the same night a man prayed over us at a beach shop in real life not the dream. He made us take off our shoes and put oil on our hands and feet and our foreheads used a prayer shawl. He prayed for us as a protector for our home. I don’t know how that plays in if it does at all.
submitted by Swimming_Rip_9304 to Christianity [link] [comments]
First me and my wife lived in a building that resembled my old home with my parents. The upstairs portion with my two old dogs. One has not lived with me for years the other has been dead for over two years. They had their own room and it smelled like urine very harshly. Then we decided that we would go with a car ride with some of my friends from high school, this was sneaking out from their supervision. My wanted to go with them for some reason and when we got into the car she didn’t look like my wife anymore but she looked like a guy I used to go to high school with but I could tell it was her. I don’t really understand why I felt this but i did. While we were on this drive I instantly regretted getting in the car with them because I figured they just wanted to go smoke and asked my wife (who looked like my childhood friend as a man) if this was really what we should be doing since she was pregnant. My wife agreed and asked them to drop us back by the house and we would sneak back in. When we turned around our car battery died and I carried my wife back to the house. When we got there she looked like my childhood best friend and I remember that something felt really off but we walked into the house. This man? Or my wife? Sat at the table and made her hold this book. It looked like some Christian book but I can’t remember the name of it and she had to hold a paper behind it that said I swear and the rest of the words were covered. It looked like this was there way of punishing their kids when they made mistakes. The parents of the kid I went to school with were there and dropped this cube shaped things filled with water on her hands to punish her by pinching her fingers. Then asked me why I didn’t stop him. I said because you are the father of this household and he said fair enough. Then he made me hold them and dropped it on my hands 3 times. It really hurt but I tried to hold it in. Then he told me to read the spine of the book and I don’t remember the words and when I was reading them a supernatural experience Happened inside of my dream. It looked like he split into two people and choked the other one and made him vanish and I pointed and my wife saw none of it and I was overcome with fear and thought it was Jesus and called out to him. I did multiple times and this thing said to me. You think I belong to Allah or and I could not make out the other word but said another name. I feel like it said jehovah but I can not promise to it. Then it ran up fast to me and told me his name was the blood collector and he always collects on his debts and started to shred me apart. I then woke up very hot. I have had nightmares before but this to me at least felt very different. I had never had a nightmare where things were so real yet also so original. The part where I met this blood collector did not seem that thought came from me. This person after I said these words did not resemble a movie or tv show I have ever seen or book that I have ever read for that matter.
This happened the same night a man prayed over us at a beach shop in real life not the dream. He made us take off our shoes and put oil on our hands and feet and our foreheads used a prayer shawl. He prayed for us as a protector for our home. I don’t know how that plays in if it does at all.
2024.06.01 14:54 Demonstray_Ayamas My boy, my poor beautiful boy.
Let me preface this by saying that I absolutely love and adore this game and everything Stunlock Studios has done, especially with the 1.0 release. This is by far my favorite survival game ever. I will also state that 9 times out of 10 fight V targets while lower than their level, with few exceptions simply for the extra challenge.
But Stunlock..... Why, why did you have to go and do my boy Raziel dirty like that. My man used to be a chaotic fuck fest of a challenge and now even on brutal mode it felt like I just walked into a church smacked the reverend father upside the head told him to knock it off and walked out. He's such a push over now. It makes me the big sad.
Side note though holy shit Beatrice caught me off guard big time. No spoilers, but honestly props to Stunlock holy cow that was such a great twist.
submitted by Demonstray_Ayamas to vrising [link] [comments]
But Stunlock..... Why, why did you have to go and do my boy Raziel dirty like that. My man used to be a chaotic fuck fest of a challenge and now even on brutal mode it felt like I just walked into a church smacked the reverend father upside the head told him to knock it off and walked out. He's such a push over now. It makes me the big sad.
Side note though holy shit Beatrice caught me off guard big time. No spoilers, but honestly props to Stunlock holy cow that was such a great twist.
2024.06.01 14:49 sus_fran13 make a grown man cry
 | submitted by sus_fran13 to Chadtopia [link] [comments] |
2024.06.01 14:49 arzenity Richard and Emi Irwin being teen parents makes so much sense!
I am a big fan of playing premade sims shipped with the game, more so than playing ones I made. Lucky Palms is my favourite Sims 3 world, so I have spent various amounts of time with many of the families that reside there.
Today, for the first time, I played the Irwin family. Now, the Irwins have drifted in the background of my gameplay with other families in the world, but I never quite "got" them. Richard and Emi seemed completely incompatible! Richard was non-commital, and Emi had an entirely eccentric personality which didn't seem like it would appeal to Richard at all! Emi, described in the game as having "a big heart" works as a thug in the criminal career, which doesn't seem to align at all. And to top it all off - a child! They had named Cricket! Of all names!
But today I booted them up and discovered something that made it all click into place - Richard and Emi were young adults. Some quick math and I had discovered that Cricket MUST have been born when Emi was a teen (a vanilla game impossibility but nonetheless), and suddenly their story fell into place.
Richard and Emi were highschool sweethearts, and later teen parents. Perhaps Richard didn't have the 'commitment issues' trait as a teen, and they were truly in love. I could see a version of their relationship which was sweet and youthful. Richard, the flirty jock and popular kid, and Emi the kind and soft spoken girl from the wrong side of the tracks.
Emi's pregnancy would have been a total surprise for the teens and their families'. Emi, who came from the rougher side of town, had little family to speak of but Richard's family, more prominent members of their community, were outraged. Not only had Richard been dating a girl below their family's social standing - but now she was pregnant! Richard's mother and father gave him an ultimatum; either Emi or his family.
Now, Richard isn't an extraordinary person, but he was a young man who wanted to do the right thing. He said goodbye to his family, packed up Emi and everything they owned, and sailed out of town. They drove until they were out of the state before parking in the town of 'Lucky Palms', where he married her and bought a house for them.
Shortly after, Cricket was born. And the responsibilities of a child, and of adult life, grew and grew. Once they reached adulthood, how long did it take them to realise they were no longer the same high school sweethearts? Was it once Richard was fired from yet another job? When he would return home later and later every night, despite his unemployment? Or once Emi started wearing a different pair of rubber kitchen gloves with every outfit?
Anyway that has become my read on the Irwin family, and I am having a great time playing them! Have y'all ever had a situation where a piece of in-game lore has allowed you to contextualise some sims that were otherwise a mystery for you? What are y'all thoughts on the Irwin family? How have you characterised them?
submitted by arzenity to Sims3 [link] [comments]
Today, for the first time, I played the Irwin family. Now, the Irwins have drifted in the background of my gameplay with other families in the world, but I never quite "got" them. Richard and Emi seemed completely incompatible! Richard was non-commital, and Emi had an entirely eccentric personality which didn't seem like it would appeal to Richard at all! Emi, described in the game as having "a big heart" works as a thug in the criminal career, which doesn't seem to align at all. And to top it all off - a child! They had named Cricket! Of all names!
But today I booted them up and discovered something that made it all click into place - Richard and Emi were young adults. Some quick math and I had discovered that Cricket MUST have been born when Emi was a teen (a vanilla game impossibility but nonetheless), and suddenly their story fell into place.
Richard and Emi were highschool sweethearts, and later teen parents. Perhaps Richard didn't have the 'commitment issues' trait as a teen, and they were truly in love. I could see a version of their relationship which was sweet and youthful. Richard, the flirty jock and popular kid, and Emi the kind and soft spoken girl from the wrong side of the tracks.
Emi's pregnancy would have been a total surprise for the teens and their families'. Emi, who came from the rougher side of town, had little family to speak of but Richard's family, more prominent members of their community, were outraged. Not only had Richard been dating a girl below their family's social standing - but now she was pregnant! Richard's mother and father gave him an ultimatum; either Emi or his family.
Now, Richard isn't an extraordinary person, but he was a young man who wanted to do the right thing. He said goodbye to his family, packed up Emi and everything they owned, and sailed out of town. They drove until they were out of the state before parking in the town of 'Lucky Palms', where he married her and bought a house for them.
Shortly after, Cricket was born. And the responsibilities of a child, and of adult life, grew and grew. Once they reached adulthood, how long did it take them to realise they were no longer the same high school sweethearts? Was it once Richard was fired from yet another job? When he would return home later and later every night, despite his unemployment? Or once Emi started wearing a different pair of rubber kitchen gloves with every outfit?
Anyway that has become my read on the Irwin family, and I am having a great time playing them! Have y'all ever had a situation where a piece of in-game lore has allowed you to contextualise some sims that were otherwise a mystery for you? What are y'all thoughts on the Irwin family? How have you characterised them?
2024.06.01 14:46 Chai_Ky The Case of Kate Blackwell: The Unknown Part 3 (Finale)
11/20/2017
Log book of Det. Ryan Snow
Case #2798: The Appalachian Murders
When I woke up, I was in such a haze that I couldn’t make out where I was at first. My vision was a blur and all I could hear was the sounds of rushing water. I tried to move my limbs, but each muscle down to my little finger felt like lead weighing down on me, making it hard to breathe.
It felt like forever before the ringing in my ear was slowly swallowed out by a voice crying out from what sounded like a distance only to grow louder as it seemed to approach me from the void I had woken up in. It wasn’t until I heard my name that I recognized it was Kate’s voice, pleading and filled with tears.
I blinked away the blur, finding myself staring up at a water damaged ceiling, a single yellow light brightening the room. My head was pounding and my body still felt heavy, but I moved my head enough to turn and see where Kate was calling from. It took a moment, but I soon realized that she was lying on her back, strapped by her arms and legs to a metal table, looking to me with wide terrified eyes.
“Detective, please help!” She cried out. “Please don’t be dead! Please help me!”
“Bl-Black…Well…” I groaned out as I tried, painfully, to pick myself up off the stone floor, “Black…Well… Ah… Shit… Shit! Ms. Blackwell-“ I was gaining consciousness minute by minute as I finally took in the situation and got to my feet. However, the moment I had gotten to my feet and began running to Kate only to immediately fall back to the floor once again, my ankle getting caught by something heavy. I turned to see my ankle had been shackled to the floor by a cuff and chains. I searched my person to find my coat, along with my Glock had been taken, blood decorating my pants and sleeves. I placed a palm to my forehead to find blood when I lowered it down to look at the warm liquid slithering down from my scalp.
“Ms. Blackwell,” I returned my attention to her, examining what I could from my place on the floor, “are you alright, are you hurt?”
“I… I… I don’t… Don’t think so…” she managed to whine out.
“Where’s Mr. Raines?”
To this question, Kate looked away from me, sobbing being her only verbal response.
I went back to the shackles on my ankle and began trying to yank the chains off from the floor, but they had been well maintained and were too strong for me to simply yank out of the stone. I then quickly looked around the room to find we were in a different basement from the one in Cabin #3, though it had the same kind of layout, the table the only major difference. I also took note of the blood stains that trailed from the sides of the table and the dried pools below.
“I want my mom!” Kate cried out, her voice echoing in the empty room.
“I’ll get you to her, I will, I promise,” I assured her, trying to find something, anything to get us out of this, “do you remember how we got down here?”
“I… I… I just re-remember… Remember you g-getting knocked out… Knocked out by someone and them… Them putting a rag over me… Then everything went black… Then I woke… Woke up… H-Here…” Kate answered, trying to breathe with each sob she let out. “I… I th-thought… y-you… You were d-d-… Dead!”
“I’m not, I’m very much alive and I’m going to get you out of here and back to your parents,” I vowed as I continued looking for a way out of this situation, “we’re going to get you out of here, get you home, and we’ll make sure no one ever gets hurt here ever-“
The sound of the basement door from the splintered wooden steps cut me off. I listened as feet descended down the steps to the basement below, Kate’s ragged breaths the only other sound. The person who came down was a woman. The same exact woman from the photo I had found in her house. She looked as if she had not aged since that photo was taken, despite how long ago it seemed the photo was taken. She had the same exact long, white hair, same tired looking eyes, and same disgustingly pale skin as in that photo and on her profile picture. It was Mrs. Larson.
“Deeeeeetectiiiiiiive,” she spoke in a hoarse voice mixed with what I assumed was her own and several others, both male and female, adult and child, “youuuuuuu shouuuullld haaaaaaaaave juuuuuuusssssst giiiiiven herrrrrrr toooooo meeeeee… Youuuuuuuu diiiiiiiiid nooooooot haaaaaave toooooooo ssssssseeeee thiiiiiissssss…”
“Fuck you!” I shouted, beginning to charge at the elderly woman only to be yanked back by my shackles. “Let us go, right now!”
“Nnnnooooo,” Mrs. Larson replied harshly as she stepped over to loom over Kate.
“Stay away from her!” I barked, trying desperately to break free of my shackles.
She ignored me as she ran a shaky hand down along Kate’s trembling face. “Ooooooooohhhhh, Kaaaaaate… Sweeeeet, sweeeeeeeet, Kaaaaaaaaaate…” Mrs. Larson cooed as she went on stroking Kate’s wet cheek. “Doooooo noooooooot crrrrrrryyyyyyy, dooooooonnnnnn’t thiiiiiiiiiinnnnk oooooofff iiiiiiiit aaaaaaaassssss dyyyyyyyyiiiiinnnnng, thiiiiiiiiinnnk ooooooooffff iiiiiiit aaaaaassssss ssssssssaaaaaaaaaviiiiiiinnng aaaaaannnnoooootherrrrrrrrr liiiiiiiiife.”
“I-I… I d-don’t… Don’t under-understand… w-what th-that… That m-means…” Kate cried, her hands gripping the sides of the metal table beneath her, “P-Please, d-don’t… Don’t kill me… L-Let… Let us-us go!”
“Nnnnnoooooo,” Mrs. Larson answered in the same harshness she used on me, “IIIIIIIII neeeeeeeed youuuuuuuuuu,” she then shot a death glare my way through tired, silver eyes, “aaaaaaaannnnnnd heeeeeeeeee’ssssssss beeeeeeeeeennnnnn nnnnnnnoooooooothiiiiiiiiinnnnnng buuuuut aaaaaa thooooooorrrrrrnnnn iiiiiiinnnnn myyyyyyyyy ssssssssiiiiiiiide siiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnccccccce youuuuuu eeeeeessssssscaaaaaaped meeeeeeee.” She then looked back to Kate with a softer look. “Aaaaaaaassssss fffffoooooorrrrr whaaaaaaaat youuuuuuu caaaaaannnn’t uuuuuunnnnnnderrrrrrssssssstaaaaaaannnnnnd, IIIIIIIIII nnnnnneeeeeeed yourrrrrrrrrr heaaaaaaaarrrrrt tooooooo ssssssssaaaaaavvvvvvve myyyyyyy ssssssiiiiiiiisssssssterrrrrrrr.”
“The fuck does that mean?” I demanded, still trying to vain to pull my ankle from the chains. “How the hell will Kate’s heart save your sister?”
“Diiiiiiiiidnnnnnn’t nnnnnnneeeeeeed toooooo beeeee Kaaaaaaate’sssssss,” admitted Mrs. Larson, “buuuuuuuut sssshhhhhheeeeee hiiiiiiiiid theeeeee ooooooootherrrrr giiiiirrrrrrllllll ffffffrrrrroooooommmmm mmmmmeeeeee.”
“S-Son… Sonja…” Kate sniffed, the tears still streaming down her face.
“IIIIIIII oooooooonnnnnlllllyyyyy neeeeed fffffffeeeeeemmmmmaaaaallllle,” Mrs. Larson dismissed Ms. Greymoore’s name, “ffffffeeeeeeemmmmmaaaaaallllle heaaaaaaaarrrrrrrtsssss toooooo rrrrrrreeeeeetuuuuurrrrrrnnnnn mmmmmmyyyyy ssssiiiiissssssterrrrrrrrr toooooo theeeeeeee giiiiirrrrrllllll ssssshhhhhheeeee uuuuuuuusssssed tooooo beeeeeee.”
“That’s a fucking joke right?” I asked. “The hell makes you think eating a female heart will turn your sister back into a human woman? Have you seen what’s happened to your sister?”
“IIIIIIIII knnnnnnnooooooow beeeeeeecaaaauuuuusssssse iiiiiiiiiiit wooooooorrrrrked ooooooonnnnn mmmmmeeeeee,” Mrs. Larson explained, “IIIIIIIIIII waaaaaasssss aaaaaaablllllllle toooooo reeeeeeetaaaaiiiiiinnnnnn thiiiiiiiiiisssssss huuuuuummmmmmaaaaaannnnn fffffffooooorrrrrrmmmm ffffffrrrrrooooommmm eeeeeaaaaatiiiiiinnnnnng theeeeeeee heaaaaaaaaarrrrrtsssss, sssssspecifffffficaaaaaaallllllyyyyyy fffffffeeeeeemmmmmaaaaallllleeee sssssssooooooo IIIIIIIIII mmmmmmaaaaaayyyyyy rrrrrreeeeetuuuurrrrrnnnnn toooo beeeeeiiiiinnnng theeeeeeee giiiiiirrrrrrrllllll IIIIIII uuuuuuusssssed toooooooo beeeeeee.”
“You were dead,” I pointed out, “they found your body up here, you were buried.”
“Theeeeeessssssse sssshhhhheeeeeellllllsssss arrrrrrre mmmmmeeeeeerrreeeellllyyy veeeeeessssssellllllssssss ffffffoooooorrrrrr theeeeeeee sssssspiiiiirrrrriiiiiitsssss weeeee hiiiiiiiiiiide beeeeeneeeeaaaaattthhhh,” Mrs. Larson responded, finally turning her gaze to me, “IIIIIIII haaaaaaad tooooooo maaaake peeeopllllle beeeelieevvvve IIIIIII haaaaaad diiiiiiied tooooo keeeeeep frrrrroooommm theeeee poooooollllliiiiicccce ffffrrrrrrooooommmm pooookiiiiiinnnng aaaaarrrrouuuuuunnnnd aaaaannnnnd rrrrruuuiiinnnnniiinnnng eeeevvvveeerrrrryyythiiiiinnnng.”
“So, let me just get this whole thing straight,” I began as I started rubbing my temples, "when you and your sister starting into… Whatever the hell that thing you call your sister is-“
“Ooooouuuurrrrr sssssspiiiiiirrrrrriiiiiit,” Mrs. Larson corrected.
“Whatever!” I shot. “You found out that eating female hearts turns you two back into human women and to keep police from suspecting you, you pretended to be dead and… What? Just hope a shitty real estate agency would buy your property and you could just… Kill people, people with lives and families outside the mountains?”
“Thaaaaaaaat iiiiiiisssss cooooorrrrrreeeeect…” Mrs. Larson admitted, narrowing her eyes at me.
That’s when I began laughing hysterically, holding my sides that hurt with each harsh breath of a laugh I took. Both Mrs. Larson and Kate looked to me as if I had lost my mind and at this point I was starting to believe I had. Everything I had seen and heard about this entire case would put anyone in the looney bin. And I’m the damn fool who dug too deep into something he had nothing to do with.
“Whaaaaaat’s ssssoooo ffffuuunnnny?” Growled Mrs. Larson, stepping around Kate to stand between us.
“I don’t know what’s fucking funnier, honestly,” I chuckled, running a hand through my hair, “the fact that you thing people won’t be poking around even more when they discover not only is Blackwell missing, but so is a detective and escaped convict all of whom now have ties to these fucking mountains and those cabins, or that you thing I’m more afraid of what you plan on doing with me more than I am when her father finds out I got her in this situation in the first place!”
“Heeeeeee wooooonnnnn’t beeeee aaaaabllllle toooooo doooo aaaaaannnnnyyyyythiiiiiinnnng aaaaaaafffffterrrrrrr IIIIIIIII’mmmmm dooooooonnnne wiiiiiiiith booooooth ooooooooffffff youuuuuuuuu,” Mrs. Larson hissed as she inched closer, “fffffffiiiiiiirrrrrrssssst, IIIIIIIII waaaaaannnnnt youuuuuuuu toooo waaaaaatch mmmmmeeeee kiiiiiiillllll herrrrrrr,” she turned her head to look to Kate who was now just shaking, her eyes seemingly gone dry from the crying, Mrs. Larson then looked back to me, “sssssseeeeecooooonnnnd, IIIIIIII wiiiiillllll ssssssaaaaave youuuuu fffffooooorrrr mmmmmmyyyyy sssssiiiiiisssssterrrrr, oooooonnnnne heeeeaaaaart wiiiiilllll nnnnoooot ssssssaaaaaatissssfffffyyyy herrrr huuuuuunnnnnger.” She took another step. “Uuuuuuuunnnnnllllliiiiiike sssssssoooooommmme ssssssiiiiiibllllliiiiiiinnnnnngsssss, IIIIIIIII caaaaaarrrre aaaaaaboooouuuuut mmmmmmyyyyy ffffffaaaammmmiiiiilllllyyyyyy.”
She stared into my eyes, expecting a reaction and while my blood did somewhat boil at the accusatory statement, I didn’t fully understand what she was getting at. Not until she used that voice. Not until she relived that day with those two familiar child-like voices.
“Screw you, Liam!” She cried out in a voice I remember from my childhood. “I hope you drop dead!”
“Stop.” I demanded.
“Piss off, Ryan!” She shot back in a second boy’s voice.
“I said stop!” I began shouting.
“Help me, Ryan! Please, help me! I’m sorry! Please, Lucky Dime, help me!”
I then lunged toward her, reaching my hands out toward her neck only to be stopped by the shackles as she swiftly, almost without even moving, stepped just out of my reach.
“Fucking bitch!” I screamed out.
“If only you really cared about me, Lucky Dime,” sighed Mrs. Larson as she turned and began making her way to the side of the room where a cart stood in the shadows. She pulled it over to Kate’s side, the cart covered in rusted medical tools.
“P-Please,” Kate wheezed, “p-p-please… I… I d-d-don’t w-want… Want t-to d-d… D-Die, I… I w-w-want m-m-m… My m-mom!”
“Dooooonnn’t woooorrrrryyyyy,” Mrs. Larson soothed, using that mix of different voices, “mmmmmmaaaayyyyybeeee sheeee wiiiillll cooooommmme loooookinnnng ffffooooorrrr yooouuuuu aaaaannnnnd sheeeeeee caaaaannnnn joooooiiiiiinnnn youuuuuuu.”
Kate began to sob, begging and pleading for Mrs. Larson to let her go, thrashing around in her restraints. Telling the older woman that there was no saving her sister and that she was too far gone for this sick ritual to work anymore. I tried to yank at the chains once more, trying to loosen it at least enough to break free and grab at Mrs. Larson.
“Rrrrrrreeeeellllllaaaaax,” Mrs. Larson ordered as she began filling a syringe with some kind of clear liquid from a small bottle, “yoooouuuuuu woooooonnnn’t eeeeeveeennn fffffeeeellll iiiiiiit, thiiiissssss wiiiiiillllll puuuuuut youuuuu toooo ssssssllllllleeeeeep aaaaaannnnnnd wheeeeeennnnnn youuuuuu waaaaaake uuuuuuuup, youuuuuuu’lllllll beeee iiiiiinnnnnn heeeeeaaaaaaveeeennnnn… Uuuuuunnnnnnnllllllessssss youuuuuuu weeeerrrrrrre aaaaaa haaaaaarrrrrlllllooooooot, iiiiiiinnnnnn whiiiiiiiich caaaaaassssssseeeee, mmmmmaaaayyyy Goooooood haaaaaaaave mmmmmmmmerrrrrrrcccccyyyyy ooooonnnnn youuuuuur ssssssoooouuuuullllll… Aaaaannnnnd baaaaaaasssssed ooooonnnn hoooooow youuuuuu drrrrressss aaaaannnnnd theeeee coooommmmpaaaannnnyyyy youuuuuu keeeeeep,” She added as she eyed me, “IIIIIII ssssssaaaaaayyyy youuuuu haaaaaave aaaaa lllllloooooot ooooooffff fooooooorrrrgiiiiiviiiiinnnnng tooooo dooooo.”
Kate continued to cry as Mrs. Larson pushed the needle of the syringe into her arm, pushing down on the plunger as it pierced the flesh. Kate’s loud screams soon turned quieter and her red eyes began to glaze over, but she continued to stay awake, tightening her grip on the table and still begging to be let go.
“IIIIII waaaaannnnt youuuuu toooo waaaaatch, Detective,” Mrs. Larson spat out my title in Mr. Blackwell’s voice, “IIIII waaaaannnnnt youuuuu toooo waaaaatch herrrrrr fffffaaaaaade aaaaaannnnnnd mmmmmeeeee rrrrreeeemmmmooooove heerr heeeaaaarrrrrt toooooo ffffffeeeeeed tooooo mmmmmmyyyyyy ssssssiiiiiiiissssssterrrrrr,” she then pulled out a recorder, “theeeeennnnnn wheeeeeennnnn IIIIIII ssssssuuuuummmmoooooonnnnn herrrrrrr aaannnnd sheeeee fffffiiiinnnniiiishessssss oooooofffffff heeeerrrrr heeeaaaaarrrrrt, youuuuuuu’llllllll beeeeee neeeeeext.”
“Fuck you,” I snarled, “I hope you and your sister burn.”
“IIIIIIIII’mmmmm gooooonnnnnaaaaa gooooo aaaaallllllerrrrrrt mmmmmyyyyy ssssssiiiiiiissssterrrrrr,” Mrs. Larson turned and began making her way to the basement steps, “ssssseeee youuuuu boooooth ffffffoooooorrrr diiiiiinnnnnnerrrrrrr.”
She then pressed the play button on her recorder and a small, little girl’s voice echoed in the room before Mrs. Larson vanished up the steps.
“I’m here… I’m here… I’m here…”
Then the door slammed shut.
“De… Tec… Tive…” Kate squeaked out, her breathing slowing.
“Stay awake, Blackwell,” I ordered her gently, looking around frantically for anything to get us both out of this alive, “I’ll get us out of this, I promise, just stay awake, we’ll get out of here, I just need-“
“I’m… S… Sorry…” she breathed out. “I’m… So… Sorry… For… Get… Getting… You… In… To.. This…”
“No, no, this is not your fault!” I assured her. “That psychotic bitch got us both into this shit and I won’t stop until I get us out and put her and her fucking sister are six feet under!”
“W…Wha… What… H… Hap… Happened… To… To L… Liam…?”
I stopped struggling with the chains and turned to look to Kate. Her head was turned to me, her face wet, hands clenching as hard as they could to the table beneath her, the light in her eyes slowly fading second by second. She was trying desperately to stay awake. The medication Mrs. Larson taking hold of her as the minutes ticked by.
I dropped the chains that were in my hands, looking away from her, wanting to stare at anything other than another person I had failed.
“He was killed,” I answered, “we were fishing at a lake nearby… Lake Gaagige… We got into a really stupid ass fucking fight about how which fishing pole we were going to use. I wanted to use our dad’s, but Liam was older and said only men could use dad’s fishing pole… I told him… To drop dead and stormed off… When I got home, my parents dragged me back to the lake and scolded me for leaving him…” I trailed off, swallowing all the tears and screams I’d bottled up since that day. “When… We found… Him… The autopsy… Said he was mauled by a bear… I’ve blamed myself for leaving him there alone… For letting him die and getting killed like that… The last thing I ever told him was to drop dead… I was a shitty brother and now I’m a shitty detective…”
“Is… Is he… Why… You became… A… Detective…?”
I took a deep breath and swallowed the tears again. “No, Blackwell,” I answered, “he’s not why I became a detective… I already knew what had killed him… It was my fault… If I hadn’t been such a brat and stormed off… He might still be alive… And now… What that bitch said…” I replayed Liam’s screams that escaped Mrs. Larson’s mouth. “I’m starting to think I’m getting what I deserve. Karma’s back to kick my ass…”
“H… How… Old…?”
“I was six… Liam was eight…”
“N… N… Not your… F… Fault…”
I turned to look to Kate, her eyes on mine, however faded.
“Y… You were… Only… A k… Kid…”
I took another intake of what little air there was down in that basement. I had spent years trying to convince myself of the same thing, but those moments never got easier for me when those thoughts returned.
“I think you’re just being nice,” I laughed painfully, “but I’m afraid I- and my folks- don’t share the same sentiment.”
I was staring down at where the chains were coming from in the ground, Kate not saying a word for over a couple of minutes. I spun to see if she had fallen asleep and immediately tried to find out how to wake her up again. However, once I our eyes met, I saw that she was still fighting sleep, the last of her tears rolling down across the bridge of her nose and into her hair.
“I… I… I had… Had a c… Crush… O… On… J… Jasper…” she confessed, her voice getting quieter and higher. “P… Paul and… And Son… Sonja knew… I never… Never c… Cared f… For Luke… But I’m… Sure… S… Sonja t… Told him…” she looked like she was going to sob again. “I… I never g… Got the… Ch… Chance… T… To tell J… Jasper… I… Was… Scared… He… He and… P… Paul were friends… And I… I kn… Knew… How P… Paul f… Felt… A… About m… Me… I… I did… Didn’t wa… Want to… R… Ruin… Anyth… Anything…” She took a gulp of air. “I… I ha… Hated L… Luke… I… A… Always… Kn… Knew… He… He was a… Player… B… But Sonja… Said… Said she was hap… Happy… So… So I did… Didn’t wa… Want to g… Get in… H… Her way… B… But Luke d… Didn’t l… Like h… How cl… Close… We… Were… I d… Didn’t w… Want him to make… Make her th… Think I… I was l… Leading her o… On… T… To get them… To b… Break up… Th… Then… That n… Night… Sh… She w… Wanted to… To leave…” She let out two pained gasps of breath. “I… I let them down… I let them all down… Luke pro… Probably thought… Thought I w… Was the one who… Who f… Filled Sonja’s mind… With thoughts of… Of him ch… Cheating… Th… Then I… I got them… All killed…
I… I didn’t deserve them, d… Detective…” she went on, looking away from me to stare up at the water damaged ceiling, “I… I… I was a… Terrible… Terrible friend…”
“Did you read their guest book entries?” I asked.
“N… No… D… Didn’t w… Want to… To r… Read any… Anything p… Private…” Kate answered.
“Jasper didn’t blame you,” I assured her, remembering what he had written in his entry during his time watching Mrs. Larson just outside the cabin, “even when he heard the voices- when he heard Mrs. Larson- telling him to, he didn’t. I don’t think the others blamed you either. You didn’t do anything wrong, Ms. Blackwell, there’s no way you could have known any of this would happen.”
“K… Kate…”
“What?”
“C… Call… Call me… Kate…”
“Aright, Kate,” I let out what little laughter I had left inside me, “so long as we’re the last people we’ll be chatting with, call me Ryan.”
“R… Ryan…”
“If we at all live through this, I’m going to need a long vacation after this,” I said as I turned to look at my shackles again, looking around myself to try finding anything to Get free since a vacation sounded like something to die for at that moment, “do you know any good vacation spots I can book for the fall?”
“Y… You’re… You’re a… Dick…” Kate struggled to laugh.
“I also enjoy pineapple on pizza,” I winked as I reached down to my ankle, ready to break it just to taste that sweet combination of tomato sauce and fruit.
“G… God… I… I c… Can’t… Believe… I th… Thought y… You w… Were c… Cute…”
I sat down on the floor, grabbing my ankle with both my hands. Needing to hype myself up enough to do what I was going to do, I began removing my shoe and sock from the foot, rubbing and squeezing my way up and down the ankle to my toes. I had never broken a bone in my life before this and I definitely never thought I’d do it of my own volition, but this was a desperate time and it definitely called for desperate…
“Wait what?” I turned to look to Kate, finally registering what she had said.
However, just before I could be sure of what I heard, the sound of a hunting rifle going off just above our heads right before we heard the door to the basement swing open and immediately be slammed shut. Both Kate and I turned to see someone stumble down the wooden steps, his clothes torn and body scratched and cut to a nearly deadly degree. I was even shocked he was still breathing.
“M… Mr… R… Raines…?” Kate gasped out.
“What’s left of me at least,” Mr. Raines grumbled as he limped over to Kate and quickly began undoing her straps to the table, “damn thing almost ripped my head off, but one swing of the barrel to its eye and I was able to get away… Can’t say it didn’t do its damage though… I’m… Getting really fucking hungry…”
He shook his head violently before limping over to me. He then raised an eyebrow at me when he saw how I was positioned still on the floor with a bare foot in my hands shackled to the floor.
“I… I was… I… I thought you were-“ I stammered.
“I am,” Mr. Raines interrupted, “at least, I’m on my way there anyway.” He then retrieved my Glock from his back pocket. “I don’t know what that thing did to me, but I’m not gonna make it out of this alive, or the way I came in. It’s a massacre out there by the way. Lot of men in blue bodies out there… Very… Hard to ignore… Sure more will be on their way. So.”
With that, Mr. Raines pointed at my chains and pulled the trigger on my clock, barely giving me time to cover my ears as the sound rung out loudly in the basement. I shook my head, trying to undo the blurry and ringing side effects of the sound of a gun going off near your head. I gave the older man a glare before standing and snatching my Glock from his hands. That’s when I saw Kate shifting herself to the side of the metal table she was no longer tied to, trying to get her limbs to comply with her to help her off and on to the floor.
I ran over and grabbed her just as she nearly stumbled face first to the floor and lifted her up to her feet, her body heavy with lack of keeping herself up.
“Do you think you can walk?” I asked, trying to keep her on her feet.
“I… I don’t… I…” Kate stammered as she tried to push herself off of me while also using using me as a crutch until she could stand on her own. However, she didn’t seem to be able to put any kind of pressure on her legs without falling down.
“Kate?” A girl’s voice called out from above us.
Feeling Kate shudder, I realized that it must have been the sound of Sonja’s voice and Mrs. Larson was using her to keep Kate from running. I quickly swung my arm down behind her knees, pressing the other down on her back as I lifted her up off the floor, my Glock at the ready as I kept it pointed in front of me while my arm held up Kate’s knees.
“She must have heard the gunshots,” I pointed out, “how’d you get past her in the first place?”
“I set the other cabins on fire,” Mr. Raines answered as if it were the simplest of answers, “I had to distract her somehow and give those bodies she’d been eating a better fate than becoming her shit.”
“Are you planning on setting this place on fire too?” I asked.
“‘Course I am!” Mr. Raines exclaimed, seemingly offended I’d even ask. “I already doused it in gasoline, I ain’t wasting all that time!”
“Kate!” Sonja’s voice cried out, getting closer to the basement door. “Are you seriously leaving me here to die alone again!”
“Please… Make it… Stop…” Kate sniffed as she gripped my shirt and burying her face into the fabric.
“Let’s get you two out of here.” Mr. Raines began leading the way to the basement stairs, cocking his rifle as he did so.
“What about you?” I asked, immediately following after him.
Mr. Raines didn’t answer as he stomped up the stairs and kicked the door open to the first floor of the cabin. The stench of the gasoline he had spilled hitting me harshly in my face.
“Kate!” Sonja’s voice, along with a different crescendo of male voices shrieked out as Mrs. Larson appeared from the corner of the hallway where the basement was located.
“Leighton?” A different woman’s voice asked the moment the old woman’s eyes spotted Mr. Raines. I then watched in both shock and confusion as it almost looked like the very skin on the woman melted off to reveal a much younger woman. The woman I recognized as Bonnie Collins. “Leighton… Love is that you?”
Mr. Raines kept his rifle on the vision of the woman he once loved before her murder, but didn’t move or speak.
“Darling, I’ve missed you so much!” The fake Bonnie cried out as she began making her way to Mr. Raines with arms open wide to hug him.
Mr. Raines then lifted his gun up higher, placing his finger on the trigger which caused the vision to stop in her place.
“Leighton?” The fake Bonnie asked. “Baby, it’s me… Bun-Bun… Don’t you recognize me…?” She began to tear up.
“You’re not my Bunny,” Mr. Raines growled before he shot once at the woman.
The fake Bonnie swiftly dodged the bullet, an inhuman hiss coming from an unhinged mouth, revealing a row of long, sharp teeth. The skin of Bonnie then melted off to reveal another woman, a lot younger than the first one it intimidated. The face of one of the victims upon being brought on this case.
“Kate,” the fake Sonja called out, “Kate, what are you doing? Who are these men? Why are they trying to hurt me?”
Kate let out a sobbing gasp, her nails digging into my shoulder with her arm wrapped around my neck.
“Didn’t I suffer enough?” The fake Sonja asked. “First my boyfriend and now you? Why don’t you want to be with me anymore?”
“Shut up!” Kate demanded. “You’re not Sonja! You killed her, you killed all of them! I don’t care what happens to me, but I’m not letting their memories end with you!”
Kate then snatched my Glock from my hand under her legs and shot directly at the fake Sonja’s head. Again the shot missed as the fake vision of the girl slithered out of the way, a frustrated growl of a dog and human escaping it’s mouth. It then zipped to the side, cowering with its back to us on the floor.
“Lucky dime…” A child’s voice then took over. The vision’s skin melting now to a much smaller figure. “Is this what you want? To kill me all over again?” He turned to look up at me, Liam’s face forever eight-years-old staring up at me. “It’s no wonder mommy and daddy hate you now… You were always a shitty brother… Now, I’m gonna starve to death because you’d rather help a couple of strangers.”
“I’m sorry, Liam,” I replied, everyone, including the fake Liam looking to me in surprise, “I left you alone out here and that’s what got you killed by that thing out there and I’m sorry. But, if I’d stayed it may have been both of us and then mom and dad would have no one left to blame but each other. If you had left and I was the one killed, you’d probably be in my shoes instead. I’m sorry for letting you get killed, but I’m gonna make up for it now.”
I then took my Glock back from Kate and pointed it to the vision of Liam.
“Good bye, Liam.”
I shot the gun once again, missing the creature again, however, this time I just kept shooting, Mr. Raines following after. Our different bullets just kept firing, the thing dodging and trying to get closer to us. The creature screeched out at us in a myriad of different voices both familiar and unknown. It wasn’t until one shot from my Glock struck the creatures shoulder and Mr. Raines’ rifle struck its head when the skins of everyone it was trying to turn into all melted off, revealing Mrs. Larson once again.
However, this time, she looked shriveled, older than she looked before. Her face looked deformed, beginning to grow furry, her eyes growing nothing but red, no irises, no pupils, just red. Her hair grew longer, branches like antlers growing painfully out from her skull, breaking the skin as they grew larger. The lower half of her face grew elongated, turning into that of a muzzle of fangs and a drooling mouth.
“You… All… Have no rrrrrrriiiiiight!” A different, unknown voice snarled out from what used to be Mrs. Larson. “People liiiiiike you all… Abandoned me and myyyyyyyyy sister!” The fur growing around this thing grew out short and shaggy, the cloths it was using melting off with the skin and flesh it was wearing. It now didn’t look anything like a human woman. It now took the form of a large wolf mixed with that of a deer, it’s body dog-like with hooves, antlers, and a long, scraggly tail. “You lot abandoned us here! You left us all here to diiiiiiiie!”
Guilt was weighing down on me with each syllable it was growling. Kate looked away from it, burying her face in my neck as Mr. Raines lowered his rifle.
“Nooooow, you’re bringing more here to just leave and let die out here!” It went on, it’s horrifying, broken body shuddering. “Why let them just vanish and die up here when they can bring people like my sister and I back? Give me Kate’s heart and fix what you threeeeeeeeee failed!”
Mr. Raines then handed over his rifle to Kate, placing it down on her stomach as her hands were still wrapped around my neck. The older man made his way over to stand over the thing, its neck creaking like a rusted door as it turned its wolf-like head to look up at him.
“Leighton…” Bonnie’s voice came from the creature. “Give mmmmeeeee her heart aaaannnnd we can be togetherrrrr again… If you eat the deeeeeetective’s we can saaaaaave you tooooooo…”
“My Bunny’s dead,” Mr. Raines told it as he dug in his pocket and took out a carton of matches, “and so am I.”
“You’d burn your wife?” A mix of Bonnie and Mrs. Larson’s voices shrieked as it glared at the match he took from the match box.
“You’re not my wife,” Mr. Raines told it, “and I’ll never see her again.”
“Fooooooool,” Mr. Larson’s voice chuckled, “you’llllllll killllllll us both!”
“With the shit I’ve done in my life, I know you’re taking me to Hell with you,” Mr. Raines growled back as he struck the match on the box, “so I’m sure as fuck not afraid to burn here on Earth with you!”
Mr. Raines then dropped the match to the floor right before the creature and everything around the two of them immediately went up in flames, the fur of the creature catching quickly and engulfing it. An agonized shriek echoed out all around us, the creature thrashing in the fire it had gotten swallowed up in. Mr. Raines then grabbed it by it’s long, furry throat and swung it down back flat the floor, jumping to pin it down.
“Get out!” Mr. Raines cried out to me. “Leave here!”
Not needing to be told twice, I held onto Kate tightly and bolted past the two burning bodies, jumping over the fire as it began growing fast throughout the cabin. I quickly got to the front door and stopped to look back to see Mr. Raines fighting the creature and preventing it from coming after us, it begging for me to bring Kate back and that it would die without her.
“I’ll clear your name,” I called back, trying not to reel back in horror as I saw Mr. Raines skin begin to melt off, “I’ll let people know you didn’t kill Bonnie!”
“I’ll let people know you didn’t… Kill… Liam!” Mr. Raines’ voice called back, him thrashing around with Mrs. Larson as he said my brother’s name in my voice.
I turned back and kicked the front door open, rushing Kate out of the burning cabin. I ran until I got far enough from the smoke, turning back to see all three cabins now on fire, the area around them all ablaze. The only place untouched was Mrs. Larson’s house, all the evidence remaining. I could hear sirens in the distance coming closer. The sounds of shouts from the surviving officers sounding much closer.
“I’m here… I’m here… I’m here…”
I looked to the front porch of Mrs. Larson’s house where her recorder continued to call out for her sister. I set Kate down at the base of a nearby tree and ran to snatch the recorder, shutting it off. I searched around, looking for any signs of Prudence, but it appeared that the fire and the sounds of sirens and voices had scared her off. I ran back to Kate, her eyes closed and her not responding to me calling to her, but after checking her pulse and breathing, I found that the medication Mrs. Larson had given her had finally taken over and she was now fast asleep, the rifle Mr. Raines gave her still sitting on her rhythmically rising and falling stomach.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I leaned against the same tree I set Kate down on and slid down to the ground next to her. The first two cabins were already practically nothing but ash, the last still blazing as I heard the slowly fading screams of Mrs. Larson and Mr. Raines coming from inside.
When the screaming ended all together, the smoke turning blacker as it rose from the flames, I got to my feet and took out my pack of cigarettes as I approached the fires, staying far enough away not to get burned. I opened the pack up before stopping myself as I reached for one of the ten remaining cigarettes inside. I then flung the entire carton into the fires without taking one.
“Save one for me down there, you old bastard,” I told Mr. Raines before making my way back to Kate’s side.
It wasn’t long before the remaining officers found us, looking in confusion at the fires and to me with a sleeping victim in a homicide case on the ground. I told them we’d need to call an ambulance for Kate and that we needed to keep the flames from getting to Mrs. Larson’s house as it held evidence on the case. One officer retrieved his radio and called for an ambulance while a group ran to the house and another went to try controlling the fire as best they could by yanking out any bushes near by and throwing them away from the area around the house.
Luckily, the fire trucks were called long before the fire spread too far, residence noticing it practically the moment Mr. Raines set the first cabin on fire.
As I sat there, keeping Kate held up against the tree we sat under, I listened to the crackling of the fire, the sirens of fast approaching fire trucks and the ambulance, and the sounds of distance, coyote, almost human, howling.
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Log book of Det. Ryan Snow
Case #2798: The Appalachian Murders
When I woke up, I was in such a haze that I couldn’t make out where I was at first. My vision was a blur and all I could hear was the sounds of rushing water. I tried to move my limbs, but each muscle down to my little finger felt like lead weighing down on me, making it hard to breathe.
It felt like forever before the ringing in my ear was slowly swallowed out by a voice crying out from what sounded like a distance only to grow louder as it seemed to approach me from the void I had woken up in. It wasn’t until I heard my name that I recognized it was Kate’s voice, pleading and filled with tears.
I blinked away the blur, finding myself staring up at a water damaged ceiling, a single yellow light brightening the room. My head was pounding and my body still felt heavy, but I moved my head enough to turn and see where Kate was calling from. It took a moment, but I soon realized that she was lying on her back, strapped by her arms and legs to a metal table, looking to me with wide terrified eyes.
“Detective, please help!” She cried out. “Please don’t be dead! Please help me!”
“Bl-Black…Well…” I groaned out as I tried, painfully, to pick myself up off the stone floor, “Black…Well… Ah… Shit… Shit! Ms. Blackwell-“ I was gaining consciousness minute by minute as I finally took in the situation and got to my feet. However, the moment I had gotten to my feet and began running to Kate only to immediately fall back to the floor once again, my ankle getting caught by something heavy. I turned to see my ankle had been shackled to the floor by a cuff and chains. I searched my person to find my coat, along with my Glock had been taken, blood decorating my pants and sleeves. I placed a palm to my forehead to find blood when I lowered it down to look at the warm liquid slithering down from my scalp.
“Ms. Blackwell,” I returned my attention to her, examining what I could from my place on the floor, “are you alright, are you hurt?”
“I… I… I don’t… Don’t think so…” she managed to whine out.
“Where’s Mr. Raines?”
To this question, Kate looked away from me, sobbing being her only verbal response.
I went back to the shackles on my ankle and began trying to yank the chains off from the floor, but they had been well maintained and were too strong for me to simply yank out of the stone. I then quickly looked around the room to find we were in a different basement from the one in Cabin #3, though it had the same kind of layout, the table the only major difference. I also took note of the blood stains that trailed from the sides of the table and the dried pools below.
“I want my mom!” Kate cried out, her voice echoing in the empty room.
“I’ll get you to her, I will, I promise,” I assured her, trying to find something, anything to get us out of this, “do you remember how we got down here?”
“I… I… I just re-remember… Remember you g-getting knocked out… Knocked out by someone and them… Them putting a rag over me… Then everything went black… Then I woke… Woke up… H-Here…” Kate answered, trying to breathe with each sob she let out. “I… I th-thought… y-you… You were d-d-… Dead!”
“I’m not, I’m very much alive and I’m going to get you out of here and back to your parents,” I vowed as I continued looking for a way out of this situation, “we’re going to get you out of here, get you home, and we’ll make sure no one ever gets hurt here ever-“
The sound of the basement door from the splintered wooden steps cut me off. I listened as feet descended down the steps to the basement below, Kate’s ragged breaths the only other sound. The person who came down was a woman. The same exact woman from the photo I had found in her house. She looked as if she had not aged since that photo was taken, despite how long ago it seemed the photo was taken. She had the same exact long, white hair, same tired looking eyes, and same disgustingly pale skin as in that photo and on her profile picture. It was Mrs. Larson.
“Deeeeeetectiiiiiiive,” she spoke in a hoarse voice mixed with what I assumed was her own and several others, both male and female, adult and child, “youuuuuuu shouuuullld haaaaaaaaave juuuuuuusssssst giiiiiven herrrrrrr toooooo meeeeee… Youuuuuuuu diiiiiiiiid nooooooot haaaaaave toooooooo ssssssseeeee thiiiiiissssss…”
“Fuck you!” I shouted, beginning to charge at the elderly woman only to be yanked back by my shackles. “Let us go, right now!”
“Nnnnooooo,” Mrs. Larson replied harshly as she stepped over to loom over Kate.
“Stay away from her!” I barked, trying desperately to break free of my shackles.
She ignored me as she ran a shaky hand down along Kate’s trembling face. “Ooooooooohhhhh, Kaaaaaate… Sweeeeet, sweeeeeeeet, Kaaaaaaaaaate…” Mrs. Larson cooed as she went on stroking Kate’s wet cheek. “Doooooo noooooooot crrrrrrryyyyyyy, dooooooonnnnnn’t thiiiiiiiiiinnnnk oooooofff iiiiiiiit aaaaaaaassssss dyyyyyyyyiiiiinnnnng, thiiiiiiiiinnnk ooooooooffff iiiiiiit aaaaaassssss ssssssssaaaaaaaaaviiiiiiinnng aaaaaannnnoooootherrrrrrrrr liiiiiiiiife.”
“I-I… I d-don’t… Don’t under-understand… w-what th-that… That m-means…” Kate cried, her hands gripping the sides of the metal table beneath her, “P-Please, d-don’t… Don’t kill me… L-Let… Let us-us go!”
“Nnnnnoooooo,” Mrs. Larson answered in the same harshness she used on me, “IIIIIIIII neeeeeeeed youuuuuuuuuu,” she then shot a death glare my way through tired, silver eyes, “aaaaaaaannnnnnd heeeeeeeeee’ssssssss beeeeeeeeeennnnnn nnnnnnnoooooooothiiiiiiiiinnnnnng buuuuut aaaaaa thooooooorrrrrrnnnn iiiiiiinnnnn myyyyyyyyy ssssssssiiiiiiiide siiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnccccccce youuuuuu eeeeeessssssscaaaaaaped meeeeeeee.” She then looked back to Kate with a softer look. “Aaaaaaaassssss fffffoooooorrrrr whaaaaaaaat youuuuuuu caaaaaannnn’t uuuuuunnnnnnderrrrrrssssssstaaaaaaannnnnnd, IIIIIIIIII nnnnnneeeeeeed yourrrrrrrrrr heaaaaaaaarrrrrt tooooooo ssssssssaaaaaavvvvvvve myyyyyyy ssssssiiiiiiiisssssssterrrrrrrr.”
“The fuck does that mean?” I demanded, still trying to vain to pull my ankle from the chains. “How the hell will Kate’s heart save your sister?”
“Diiiiiiiiidnnnnnn’t nnnnnnneeeeeeed toooooo beeeee Kaaaaaaate’sssssss,” admitted Mrs. Larson, “buuuuuuuut sssshhhhhheeeeee hiiiiiiiiid theeeeee ooooooootherrrrr giiiiirrrrrrllllll ffffffrrrrroooooommmmm mmmmmeeeeee.”
“S-Son… Sonja…” Kate sniffed, the tears still streaming down her face.
“IIIIIIII oooooooonnnnnlllllyyyyy neeeeed fffffffeeeeeemmmmmaaaaallllle,” Mrs. Larson dismissed Ms. Greymoore’s name, “ffffffeeeeeeemmmmmaaaaaallllle heaaaaaaaarrrrrrrtsssss toooooo rrrrrrreeeeeetuuuuurrrrrrnnnnn mmmmmmyyyyy ssssiiiiissssssterrrrrrrrr toooooo theeeeeeee giiiiirrrrrllllll ssssshhhhhheeeee uuuuuuuusssssed tooooo beeeeeee.”
“That’s a fucking joke right?” I asked. “The hell makes you think eating a female heart will turn your sister back into a human woman? Have you seen what’s happened to your sister?”
“IIIIIIIII knnnnnnnooooooow beeeeeeecaaaauuuuusssssse iiiiiiiiiiit wooooooorrrrrked ooooooonnnnn mmmmmeeeeee,” Mrs. Larson explained, “IIIIIIIIIII waaaaaasssss aaaaaaablllllllle toooooo reeeeeeetaaaaiiiiiinnnnnn thiiiiiiiiiisssssss huuuuuummmmmmaaaaaannnnn fffffffooooorrrrrrmmmm ffffffrrrrrooooommmm eeeeeaaaaatiiiiiinnnnnng theeeeeeee heaaaaaaaaarrrrrtsssss, sssssspecifffffficaaaaaaallllllyyyyyy fffffffeeeeeemmmmmaaaaallllleeee sssssssooooooo IIIIIIIIII mmmmmmaaaaaayyyyyy rrrrrreeeeetuuuurrrrrnnnnn toooo beeeeeiiiiinnnng theeeeeeee giiiiiirrrrrrrllllll IIIIIII uuuuuuusssssed toooooooo beeeeeee.”
“You were dead,” I pointed out, “they found your body up here, you were buried.”
“Theeeeeessssssse sssshhhhheeeeeellllllsssss arrrrrrre mmmmmeeeeeerrreeeellllyyy veeeeeessssssellllllssssss ffffffoooooorrrrrr theeeeeeee sssssspiiiiirrrrriiiiiitsssss weeeee hiiiiiiiiiiide beeeeeneeeeaaaaattthhhh,” Mrs. Larson responded, finally turning her gaze to me, “IIIIIIII haaaaaaad tooooooo maaaake peeeopllllle beeeelieevvvve IIIIIII haaaaaad diiiiiiied tooooo keeeeeep frrrrroooommm theeeee poooooollllliiiiicccce ffffrrrrrrooooommmm pooookiiiiiinnnng aaaaarrrrouuuuuunnnnd aaaaannnnnd rrrrruuuiiinnnnniiinnnng eeeevvvveeerrrrryyythiiiiinnnng.”
“So, let me just get this whole thing straight,” I began as I started rubbing my temples, "when you and your sister starting into… Whatever the hell that thing you call your sister is-“
“Ooooouuuurrrrr sssssspiiiiiirrrrrriiiiiit,” Mrs. Larson corrected.
“Whatever!” I shot. “You found out that eating female hearts turns you two back into human women and to keep police from suspecting you, you pretended to be dead and… What? Just hope a shitty real estate agency would buy your property and you could just… Kill people, people with lives and families outside the mountains?”
“Thaaaaaaaat iiiiiiisssss cooooorrrrrreeeeect…” Mrs. Larson admitted, narrowing her eyes at me.
That’s when I began laughing hysterically, holding my sides that hurt with each harsh breath of a laugh I took. Both Mrs. Larson and Kate looked to me as if I had lost my mind and at this point I was starting to believe I had. Everything I had seen and heard about this entire case would put anyone in the looney bin. And I’m the damn fool who dug too deep into something he had nothing to do with.
“Whaaaaaat’s ssssoooo ffffuuunnnny?” Growled Mrs. Larson, stepping around Kate to stand between us.
“I don’t know what’s fucking funnier, honestly,” I chuckled, running a hand through my hair, “the fact that you thing people won’t be poking around even more when they discover not only is Blackwell missing, but so is a detective and escaped convict all of whom now have ties to these fucking mountains and those cabins, or that you thing I’m more afraid of what you plan on doing with me more than I am when her father finds out I got her in this situation in the first place!”
“Heeeeeee wooooonnnnn’t beeeee aaaaabllllle toooooo doooo aaaaaannnnnyyyyythiiiiiinnnng aaaaaaafffffterrrrrrr IIIIIIIII’mmmmm dooooooonnnne wiiiiiiiith booooooth ooooooooffffff youuuuuuuuu,” Mrs. Larson hissed as she inched closer, “fffffffiiiiiiirrrrrrssssst, IIIIIIIII waaaaaannnnnt youuuuuuuu toooo waaaaaatch mmmmmeeeee kiiiiiiillllll herrrrrrr,” she turned her head to look to Kate who was now just shaking, her eyes seemingly gone dry from the crying, Mrs. Larson then looked back to me, “sssssseeeeecooooonnnnd, IIIIIIII wiiiiillllll ssssssaaaaave youuuuu fffffooooorrrr mmmmmmyyyyy sssssiiiiiisssssterrrrr, oooooonnnnne heeeeaaaaart wiiiiilllll nnnnoooot ssssssaaaaaatissssfffffyyyy herrrr huuuuuunnnnnger.” She took another step. “Uuuuuuuunnnnnllllliiiiiike sssssssoooooommmme ssssssiiiiiibllllliiiiiiinnnnnngsssss, IIIIIIIII caaaaaarrrre aaaaaaboooouuuuut mmmmmmyyyyy ffffffaaaammmmiiiiilllllyyyyyy.”
She stared into my eyes, expecting a reaction and while my blood did somewhat boil at the accusatory statement, I didn’t fully understand what she was getting at. Not until she used that voice. Not until she relived that day with those two familiar child-like voices.
“Screw you, Liam!” She cried out in a voice I remember from my childhood. “I hope you drop dead!”
“Stop.” I demanded.
“Piss off, Ryan!” She shot back in a second boy’s voice.
“I said stop!” I began shouting.
“Help me, Ryan! Please, help me! I’m sorry! Please, Lucky Dime, help me!”
I then lunged toward her, reaching my hands out toward her neck only to be stopped by the shackles as she swiftly, almost without even moving, stepped just out of my reach.
“Fucking bitch!” I screamed out.
“If only you really cared about me, Lucky Dime,” sighed Mrs. Larson as she turned and began making her way to the side of the room where a cart stood in the shadows. She pulled it over to Kate’s side, the cart covered in rusted medical tools.
“P-Please,” Kate wheezed, “p-p-please… I… I d-d-don’t w-want… Want t-to d-d… D-Die, I… I w-w-want m-m-m… My m-mom!”
“Dooooonnn’t woooorrrrryyyyy,” Mrs. Larson soothed, using that mix of different voices, “mmmmmmaaaayyyyybeeee sheeee wiiiillll cooooommmme loooookinnnng ffffooooorrrr yooouuuuu aaaaannnnnd sheeeeeee caaaaannnnn joooooiiiiiinnnn youuuuuuu.”
Kate began to sob, begging and pleading for Mrs. Larson to let her go, thrashing around in her restraints. Telling the older woman that there was no saving her sister and that she was too far gone for this sick ritual to work anymore. I tried to yank at the chains once more, trying to loosen it at least enough to break free and grab at Mrs. Larson.
“Rrrrrrreeeeellllllaaaaax,” Mrs. Larson ordered as she began filling a syringe with some kind of clear liquid from a small bottle, “yoooouuuuuu woooooonnnn’t eeeeeveeennn fffffeeeellll iiiiiiit, thiiiissssss wiiiiiillllll puuuuuut youuuuu toooo ssssssllllllleeeeeep aaaaaannnnnnd wheeeeeennnnnn youuuuuu waaaaaake uuuuuuuup, youuuuuuu’lllllll beeee iiiiiinnnnnn heeeeeaaaaaaveeeennnnn… Uuuuuunnnnnnnllllllessssss youuuuuuu weeeerrrrrrre aaaaaa haaaaaarrrrrlllllooooooot, iiiiiiinnnnnn whiiiiiiiich caaaaaassssssseeeee, mmmmmaaaayyyy Goooooood haaaaaaaave mmmmmmmmerrrrrrrcccccyyyyy ooooonnnnn youuuuuur ssssssoooouuuuullllll… Aaaaannnnnd baaaaaaasssssed ooooonnnn hoooooow youuuuuu drrrrressss aaaaannnnnd theeeee coooommmmpaaaannnnyyyy youuuuuu keeeeeep,” She added as she eyed me, “IIIIIII ssssssaaaaaayyyy youuuuu haaaaaave aaaaa lllllloooooot ooooooffff fooooooorrrrgiiiiiviiiiinnnnng tooooo dooooo.”
Kate continued to cry as Mrs. Larson pushed the needle of the syringe into her arm, pushing down on the plunger as it pierced the flesh. Kate’s loud screams soon turned quieter and her red eyes began to glaze over, but she continued to stay awake, tightening her grip on the table and still begging to be let go.
“IIIIII waaaaannnnt youuuuu toooo waaaaatch, Detective,” Mrs. Larson spat out my title in Mr. Blackwell’s voice, “IIIII waaaaannnnnt youuuuu toooo waaaaatch herrrrrr fffffaaaaaade aaaaaannnnnnd mmmmmeeeee rrrrreeeemmmmooooove heerr heeeaaaarrrrrt toooooo ffffffeeeeeed tooooo mmmmmmyyyyyy ssssssiiiiiiiissssssterrrrrr,” she then pulled out a recorder, “theeeeennnnnn wheeeeeennnnn IIIIIII ssssssuuuuummmmoooooonnnnn herrrrrrr aaannnnd sheeeee fffffiiiinnnniiiishessssss oooooofffffff heeeerrrrr heeeaaaaarrrrrt, youuuuuuu’llllllll beeeeee neeeeeext.”
“Fuck you,” I snarled, “I hope you and your sister burn.”
“IIIIIIIII’mmmmm gooooonnnnnaaaaa gooooo aaaaallllllerrrrrrt mmmmmyyyyy ssssssiiiiiiissssterrrrrr,” Mrs. Larson turned and began making her way to the basement steps, “ssssseeee youuuuu boooooth ffffffoooooorrrr diiiiiinnnnnnerrrrrrr.”
She then pressed the play button on her recorder and a small, little girl’s voice echoed in the room before Mrs. Larson vanished up the steps.
“I’m here… I’m here… I’m here…”
Then the door slammed shut.
“De… Tec… Tive…” Kate squeaked out, her breathing slowing.
“Stay awake, Blackwell,” I ordered her gently, looking around frantically for anything to get us both out of this alive, “I’ll get us out of this, I promise, just stay awake, we’ll get out of here, I just need-“
“I’m… S… Sorry…” she breathed out. “I’m… So… Sorry… For… Get… Getting… You… In… To.. This…”
“No, no, this is not your fault!” I assured her. “That psychotic bitch got us both into this shit and I won’t stop until I get us out and put her and her fucking sister are six feet under!”
“W…Wha… What… H… Hap… Happened… To… To L… Liam…?”
I stopped struggling with the chains and turned to look to Kate. Her head was turned to me, her face wet, hands clenching as hard as they could to the table beneath her, the light in her eyes slowly fading second by second. She was trying desperately to stay awake. The medication Mrs. Larson taking hold of her as the minutes ticked by.
I dropped the chains that were in my hands, looking away from her, wanting to stare at anything other than another person I had failed.
“He was killed,” I answered, “we were fishing at a lake nearby… Lake Gaagige… We got into a really stupid ass fucking fight about how which fishing pole we were going to use. I wanted to use our dad’s, but Liam was older and said only men could use dad’s fishing pole… I told him… To drop dead and stormed off… When I got home, my parents dragged me back to the lake and scolded me for leaving him…” I trailed off, swallowing all the tears and screams I’d bottled up since that day. “When… We found… Him… The autopsy… Said he was mauled by a bear… I’ve blamed myself for leaving him there alone… For letting him die and getting killed like that… The last thing I ever told him was to drop dead… I was a shitty brother and now I’m a shitty detective…”
“Is… Is he… Why… You became… A… Detective…?”
I took a deep breath and swallowed the tears again. “No, Blackwell,” I answered, “he’s not why I became a detective… I already knew what had killed him… It was my fault… If I hadn’t been such a brat and stormed off… He might still be alive… And now… What that bitch said…” I replayed Liam’s screams that escaped Mrs. Larson’s mouth. “I’m starting to think I’m getting what I deserve. Karma’s back to kick my ass…”
“H… How… Old…?”
“I was six… Liam was eight…”
“N… N… Not your… F… Fault…”
I turned to look to Kate, her eyes on mine, however faded.
“Y… You were… Only… A k… Kid…”
I took another intake of what little air there was down in that basement. I had spent years trying to convince myself of the same thing, but those moments never got easier for me when those thoughts returned.
“I think you’re just being nice,” I laughed painfully, “but I’m afraid I- and my folks- don’t share the same sentiment.”
I was staring down at where the chains were coming from in the ground, Kate not saying a word for over a couple of minutes. I spun to see if she had fallen asleep and immediately tried to find out how to wake her up again. However, once I our eyes met, I saw that she was still fighting sleep, the last of her tears rolling down across the bridge of her nose and into her hair.
“I… I… I had… Had a c… Crush… O… On… J… Jasper…” she confessed, her voice getting quieter and higher. “P… Paul and… And Son… Sonja knew… I never… Never c… Cared f… For Luke… But I’m… Sure… S… Sonja t… Told him…” she looked like she was going to sob again. “I… I never g… Got the… Ch… Chance… T… To tell J… Jasper… I… Was… Scared… He… He and… P… Paul were friends… And I… I kn… Knew… How P… Paul f… Felt… A… About m… Me… I… I did… Didn’t wa… Want to… R… Ruin… Anyth… Anything…” She took a gulp of air. “I… I ha… Hated L… Luke… I… A… Always… Kn… Knew… He… He was a… Player… B… But Sonja… Said… Said she was hap… Happy… So… So I did… Didn’t wa… Want to g… Get in… H… Her way… B… But Luke d… Didn’t l… Like h… How cl… Close… We… Were… I d… Didn’t w… Want him to make… Make her th… Think I… I was l… Leading her o… On… T… To get them… To b… Break up… Th… Then… That n… Night… Sh… She w… Wanted to… To leave…” She let out two pained gasps of breath. “I… I let them down… I let them all down… Luke pro… Probably thought… Thought I w… Was the one who… Who f… Filled Sonja’s mind… With thoughts of… Of him ch… Cheating… Th… Then I… I got them… All killed…
I… I didn’t deserve them, d… Detective…” she went on, looking away from me to stare up at the water damaged ceiling, “I… I… I was a… Terrible… Terrible friend…”
“Did you read their guest book entries?” I asked.
“N… No… D… Didn’t w… Want to… To r… Read any… Anything p… Private…” Kate answered.
“Jasper didn’t blame you,” I assured her, remembering what he had written in his entry during his time watching Mrs. Larson just outside the cabin, “even when he heard the voices- when he heard Mrs. Larson- telling him to, he didn’t. I don’t think the others blamed you either. You didn’t do anything wrong, Ms. Blackwell, there’s no way you could have known any of this would happen.”
“K… Kate…”
“What?”
“C… Call… Call me… Kate…”
“Aright, Kate,” I let out what little laughter I had left inside me, “so long as we’re the last people we’ll be chatting with, call me Ryan.”
“R… Ryan…”
“If we at all live through this, I’m going to need a long vacation after this,” I said as I turned to look at my shackles again, looking around myself to try finding anything to Get free since a vacation sounded like something to die for at that moment, “do you know any good vacation spots I can book for the fall?”
“Y… You’re… You’re a… Dick…” Kate struggled to laugh.
“I also enjoy pineapple on pizza,” I winked as I reached down to my ankle, ready to break it just to taste that sweet combination of tomato sauce and fruit.
“G… God… I… I c… Can’t… Believe… I th… Thought y… You w… Were c… Cute…”
I sat down on the floor, grabbing my ankle with both my hands. Needing to hype myself up enough to do what I was going to do, I began removing my shoe and sock from the foot, rubbing and squeezing my way up and down the ankle to my toes. I had never broken a bone in my life before this and I definitely never thought I’d do it of my own volition, but this was a desperate time and it definitely called for desperate…
“Wait what?” I turned to look to Kate, finally registering what she had said.
However, just before I could be sure of what I heard, the sound of a hunting rifle going off just above our heads right before we heard the door to the basement swing open and immediately be slammed shut. Both Kate and I turned to see someone stumble down the wooden steps, his clothes torn and body scratched and cut to a nearly deadly degree. I was even shocked he was still breathing.
“M… Mr… R… Raines…?” Kate gasped out.
“What’s left of me at least,” Mr. Raines grumbled as he limped over to Kate and quickly began undoing her straps to the table, “damn thing almost ripped my head off, but one swing of the barrel to its eye and I was able to get away… Can’t say it didn’t do its damage though… I’m… Getting really fucking hungry…”
He shook his head violently before limping over to me. He then raised an eyebrow at me when he saw how I was positioned still on the floor with a bare foot in my hands shackled to the floor.
“I… I was… I… I thought you were-“ I stammered.
“I am,” Mr. Raines interrupted, “at least, I’m on my way there anyway.” He then retrieved my Glock from his back pocket. “I don’t know what that thing did to me, but I’m not gonna make it out of this alive, or the way I came in. It’s a massacre out there by the way. Lot of men in blue bodies out there… Very… Hard to ignore… Sure more will be on their way. So.”
With that, Mr. Raines pointed at my chains and pulled the trigger on my clock, barely giving me time to cover my ears as the sound rung out loudly in the basement. I shook my head, trying to undo the blurry and ringing side effects of the sound of a gun going off near your head. I gave the older man a glare before standing and snatching my Glock from his hands. That’s when I saw Kate shifting herself to the side of the metal table she was no longer tied to, trying to get her limbs to comply with her to help her off and on to the floor.
I ran over and grabbed her just as she nearly stumbled face first to the floor and lifted her up to her feet, her body heavy with lack of keeping herself up.
“Do you think you can walk?” I asked, trying to keep her on her feet.
“I… I don’t… I…” Kate stammered as she tried to push herself off of me while also using using me as a crutch until she could stand on her own. However, she didn’t seem to be able to put any kind of pressure on her legs without falling down.
“Kate?” A girl’s voice called out from above us.
Feeling Kate shudder, I realized that it must have been the sound of Sonja’s voice and Mrs. Larson was using her to keep Kate from running. I quickly swung my arm down behind her knees, pressing the other down on her back as I lifted her up off the floor, my Glock at the ready as I kept it pointed in front of me while my arm held up Kate’s knees.
“She must have heard the gunshots,” I pointed out, “how’d you get past her in the first place?”
“I set the other cabins on fire,” Mr. Raines answered as if it were the simplest of answers, “I had to distract her somehow and give those bodies she’d been eating a better fate than becoming her shit.”
“Are you planning on setting this place on fire too?” I asked.
“‘Course I am!” Mr. Raines exclaimed, seemingly offended I’d even ask. “I already doused it in gasoline, I ain’t wasting all that time!”
“Kate!” Sonja’s voice cried out, getting closer to the basement door. “Are you seriously leaving me here to die alone again!”
“Please… Make it… Stop…” Kate sniffed as she gripped my shirt and burying her face into the fabric.
“Let’s get you two out of here.” Mr. Raines began leading the way to the basement stairs, cocking his rifle as he did so.
“What about you?” I asked, immediately following after him.
Mr. Raines didn’t answer as he stomped up the stairs and kicked the door open to the first floor of the cabin. The stench of the gasoline he had spilled hitting me harshly in my face.
“Kate!” Sonja’s voice, along with a different crescendo of male voices shrieked out as Mrs. Larson appeared from the corner of the hallway where the basement was located.
“Leighton?” A different woman’s voice asked the moment the old woman’s eyes spotted Mr. Raines. I then watched in both shock and confusion as it almost looked like the very skin on the woman melted off to reveal a much younger woman. The woman I recognized as Bonnie Collins. “Leighton… Love is that you?”
Mr. Raines kept his rifle on the vision of the woman he once loved before her murder, but didn’t move or speak.
“Darling, I’ve missed you so much!” The fake Bonnie cried out as she began making her way to Mr. Raines with arms open wide to hug him.
Mr. Raines then lifted his gun up higher, placing his finger on the trigger which caused the vision to stop in her place.
“Leighton?” The fake Bonnie asked. “Baby, it’s me… Bun-Bun… Don’t you recognize me…?” She began to tear up.
“You’re not my Bunny,” Mr. Raines growled before he shot once at the woman.
The fake Bonnie swiftly dodged the bullet, an inhuman hiss coming from an unhinged mouth, revealing a row of long, sharp teeth. The skin of Bonnie then melted off to reveal another woman, a lot younger than the first one it intimidated. The face of one of the victims upon being brought on this case.
“Kate,” the fake Sonja called out, “Kate, what are you doing? Who are these men? Why are they trying to hurt me?”
Kate let out a sobbing gasp, her nails digging into my shoulder with her arm wrapped around my neck.
“Didn’t I suffer enough?” The fake Sonja asked. “First my boyfriend and now you? Why don’t you want to be with me anymore?”
“Shut up!” Kate demanded. “You’re not Sonja! You killed her, you killed all of them! I don’t care what happens to me, but I’m not letting their memories end with you!”
Kate then snatched my Glock from my hand under her legs and shot directly at the fake Sonja’s head. Again the shot missed as the fake vision of the girl slithered out of the way, a frustrated growl of a dog and human escaping it’s mouth. It then zipped to the side, cowering with its back to us on the floor.
“Lucky dime…” A child’s voice then took over. The vision’s skin melting now to a much smaller figure. “Is this what you want? To kill me all over again?” He turned to look up at me, Liam’s face forever eight-years-old staring up at me. “It’s no wonder mommy and daddy hate you now… You were always a shitty brother… Now, I’m gonna starve to death because you’d rather help a couple of strangers.”
“I’m sorry, Liam,” I replied, everyone, including the fake Liam looking to me in surprise, “I left you alone out here and that’s what got you killed by that thing out there and I’m sorry. But, if I’d stayed it may have been both of us and then mom and dad would have no one left to blame but each other. If you had left and I was the one killed, you’d probably be in my shoes instead. I’m sorry for letting you get killed, but I’m gonna make up for it now.”
I then took my Glock back from Kate and pointed it to the vision of Liam.
“Good bye, Liam.”
I shot the gun once again, missing the creature again, however, this time I just kept shooting, Mr. Raines following after. Our different bullets just kept firing, the thing dodging and trying to get closer to us. The creature screeched out at us in a myriad of different voices both familiar and unknown. It wasn’t until one shot from my Glock struck the creatures shoulder and Mr. Raines’ rifle struck its head when the skins of everyone it was trying to turn into all melted off, revealing Mrs. Larson once again.
However, this time, she looked shriveled, older than she looked before. Her face looked deformed, beginning to grow furry, her eyes growing nothing but red, no irises, no pupils, just red. Her hair grew longer, branches like antlers growing painfully out from her skull, breaking the skin as they grew larger. The lower half of her face grew elongated, turning into that of a muzzle of fangs and a drooling mouth.
“You… All… Have no rrrrrrriiiiiight!” A different, unknown voice snarled out from what used to be Mrs. Larson. “People liiiiiike you all… Abandoned me and myyyyyyyyy sister!” The fur growing around this thing grew out short and shaggy, the cloths it was using melting off with the skin and flesh it was wearing. It now didn’t look anything like a human woman. It now took the form of a large wolf mixed with that of a deer, it’s body dog-like with hooves, antlers, and a long, scraggly tail. “You lot abandoned us here! You left us all here to diiiiiiiie!”
Guilt was weighing down on me with each syllable it was growling. Kate looked away from it, burying her face in my neck as Mr. Raines lowered his rifle.
“Nooooow, you’re bringing more here to just leave and let die out here!” It went on, it’s horrifying, broken body shuddering. “Why let them just vanish and die up here when they can bring people like my sister and I back? Give me Kate’s heart and fix what you threeeeeeeeee failed!”
Mr. Raines then handed over his rifle to Kate, placing it down on her stomach as her hands were still wrapped around my neck. The older man made his way over to stand over the thing, its neck creaking like a rusted door as it turned its wolf-like head to look up at him.
“Leighton…” Bonnie’s voice came from the creature. “Give mmmmeeeee her heart aaaannnnd we can be togetherrrrr again… If you eat the deeeeeetective’s we can saaaaaave you tooooooo…”
“My Bunny’s dead,” Mr. Raines told it as he dug in his pocket and took out a carton of matches, “and so am I.”
“You’d burn your wife?” A mix of Bonnie and Mrs. Larson’s voices shrieked as it glared at the match he took from the match box.
“You’re not my wife,” Mr. Raines told it, “and I’ll never see her again.”
“Fooooooool,” Mr. Larson’s voice chuckled, “you’llllllll killllllll us both!”
“With the shit I’ve done in my life, I know you’re taking me to Hell with you,” Mr. Raines growled back as he struck the match on the box, “so I’m sure as fuck not afraid to burn here on Earth with you!”
Mr. Raines then dropped the match to the floor right before the creature and everything around the two of them immediately went up in flames, the fur of the creature catching quickly and engulfing it. An agonized shriek echoed out all around us, the creature thrashing in the fire it had gotten swallowed up in. Mr. Raines then grabbed it by it’s long, furry throat and swung it down back flat the floor, jumping to pin it down.
“Get out!” Mr. Raines cried out to me. “Leave here!”
Not needing to be told twice, I held onto Kate tightly and bolted past the two burning bodies, jumping over the fire as it began growing fast throughout the cabin. I quickly got to the front door and stopped to look back to see Mr. Raines fighting the creature and preventing it from coming after us, it begging for me to bring Kate back and that it would die without her.
“I’ll clear your name,” I called back, trying not to reel back in horror as I saw Mr. Raines skin begin to melt off, “I’ll let people know you didn’t kill Bonnie!”
“I’ll let people know you didn’t… Kill… Liam!” Mr. Raines’ voice called back, him thrashing around with Mrs. Larson as he said my brother’s name in my voice.
I turned back and kicked the front door open, rushing Kate out of the burning cabin. I ran until I got far enough from the smoke, turning back to see all three cabins now on fire, the area around them all ablaze. The only place untouched was Mrs. Larson’s house, all the evidence remaining. I could hear sirens in the distance coming closer. The sounds of shouts from the surviving officers sounding much closer.
“I’m here… I’m here… I’m here…”
I looked to the front porch of Mrs. Larson’s house where her recorder continued to call out for her sister. I set Kate down at the base of a nearby tree and ran to snatch the recorder, shutting it off. I searched around, looking for any signs of Prudence, but it appeared that the fire and the sounds of sirens and voices had scared her off. I ran back to Kate, her eyes closed and her not responding to me calling to her, but after checking her pulse and breathing, I found that the medication Mrs. Larson had given her had finally taken over and she was now fast asleep, the rifle Mr. Raines gave her still sitting on her rhythmically rising and falling stomach.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I leaned against the same tree I set Kate down on and slid down to the ground next to her. The first two cabins were already practically nothing but ash, the last still blazing as I heard the slowly fading screams of Mrs. Larson and Mr. Raines coming from inside.
When the screaming ended all together, the smoke turning blacker as it rose from the flames, I got to my feet and took out my pack of cigarettes as I approached the fires, staying far enough away not to get burned. I opened the pack up before stopping myself as I reached for one of the ten remaining cigarettes inside. I then flung the entire carton into the fires without taking one.
“Save one for me down there, you old bastard,” I told Mr. Raines before making my way back to Kate’s side.
It wasn’t long before the remaining officers found us, looking in confusion at the fires and to me with a sleeping victim in a homicide case on the ground. I told them we’d need to call an ambulance for Kate and that we needed to keep the flames from getting to Mrs. Larson’s house as it held evidence on the case. One officer retrieved his radio and called for an ambulance while a group ran to the house and another went to try controlling the fire as best they could by yanking out any bushes near by and throwing them away from the area around the house.
Luckily, the fire trucks were called long before the fire spread too far, residence noticing it practically the moment Mr. Raines set the first cabin on fire.
As I sat there, keeping Kate held up against the tree we sat under, I listened to the crackling of the fire, the sirens of fast approaching fire trucks and the ambulance, and the sounds of distance, coyote, almost human, howling.
2024.06.01 14:43 Practical_Animal2303 Season 6, Episode 12
I have been watching this show since the beginning and I will say when Keisha got kidnapped is when it kinda lost me but now I feel like they’re back on track. With that being said….for season 6
submitted by Practical_Animal2303 to TheChi [link] [comments]
- I am SICK of Britney, her trying to get info out of Bakari is so obvious and the fact that Douda mentioned the book—Bakari is already catching on.
- I love Tiffany’s character development but dang, why she had to run her big mouth and tell Douda what Bianca said about their relationship🙄 but I will admit, it’s nice seeing his blood pressure rise.
- Shad is just throwing his life away and he’s a bum, to me. He had it sweet living with Deja til he messed that up and now he’s taking handouts from Alicia, chile that’s a mess.
- Jake is just thinking with his you know what. Dealing with that First Lady is gonna come back to bite him. Same with Papa working for the pastor, even when his own daughter is basically like “good luck”. I’m just interested in seeing how crooked this pastor really is, does he work for Douda-did he kill Papa’s father(I remember they had a little beef)? Like what’s tea?
- We already know that Ronnie is Keisha’s baby father, not only did IMDB say it, it’s obvious. Immediately after Emmett he wasn’t the father, the camera pans to Nuk and she was dating him(and on the way to see him) when she was kidnapped. We know Emmett will be pissed despite Keisha overlooking all his kids and mess but I can’t wait to see how this turns out.
- I love THEE Lynn Whitfield, she is playing tf out of her role as Alicia and I can’t wait to see her really turn up.
- I can’t believe nobody has taken Douda out yet. It’s taking too long lol
- I can’t wait to see more of fine ass Leon! Idc if he’s crooked, that man is fine!
- Poor Victor, his lifestyle is catching back up to him smh and I definitely think Fatima is gonna leave him.
2024.06.01 14:41 Specialist_Staff5611 I 24M and her 27F in a relationship. She recently revealed...
Hi.. so... I'm a mbbs student (24) in my third year still relying on my student loan financially. So here's the thing I met a girl outside my college She works in a private firm (she's older than me btw). At first I wasn't really attached to her or anything. But things went by and we had intimacy soon. I have fallen in love with her. She (from another state) however used to talk about her Ex (he's 33).. who was abusive and didn't treat her right. Her Ex is a hot shot and a goon.. has murder records.. not well respected in the society. After 3 months of relationship, we had a talk over alcohol and she revealed the truth behind her past.. The thing (it still hurts me) is She has a child with her ex (not her husband) and she delivered while she was just 16. (She's 27 now) She took care of the child until a few years back and handed over to the child's father's family and had come to work here. She works so that she can make money to continue her studies (which her ex never allowed her to).
I was in complete shock to hear this. I couldn't comprehend it. I was out of words
She then moved on to reveal that she never tried to get into a relationship with anyone thinking of her child(he's 12) but I felt different to her
She also talked about how her child's father is goofing around with other women right now and the child doesn't even know about it. The child's father's family who's been taking care of the child now doesn't let her take her child back. She wants to take custody of the child. But she's financially weak. The reason why she's working
She also said she's going to go abroad for working and will comeback in a few months to continue her studies. She wanna be a lawyer btw.
Please help. I know I'm not that great in storytelling but please I don't know what am I supposed to do here. I love her. She having a child doesn't bother me at all.. But since I'm a student I'm kinda feeling helpless rn. She means so much to me and I wanna help. She didn't
reveal our relationship or anything related to me
to her ex or friends fearing that he could harm me
It also haunts me that I had intimacy with a
woman who has a child of another man and we
weren't married. I feel bad for that child.
Please help me with my mental health
submitted by Specialist_Staff5611 to RelationshipIndia [link] [comments]
I was in complete shock to hear this. I couldn't comprehend it. I was out of words
She then moved on to reveal that she never tried to get into a relationship with anyone thinking of her child(he's 12) but I felt different to her
She also talked about how her child's father is goofing around with other women right now and the child doesn't even know about it. The child's father's family who's been taking care of the child now doesn't let her take her child back. She wants to take custody of the child. But she's financially weak. The reason why she's working
She also said she's going to go abroad for working and will comeback in a few months to continue her studies. She wanna be a lawyer btw.
Please help. I know I'm not that great in storytelling but please I don't know what am I supposed to do here. I love her. She having a child doesn't bother me at all.. But since I'm a student I'm kinda feeling helpless rn. She means so much to me and I wanna help. She didn't
reveal our relationship or anything related to me
to her ex or friends fearing that he could harm me
It also haunts me that I had intimacy with a
woman who has a child of another man and we
weren't married. I feel bad for that child.
Please help me with my mental health
2024.06.01 14:31 Sufficient-Access78 My (49M) nephew (22M) won’t help his mother (51F) What should I do?
Ok, so for context, my (49M) sister (51F) has a 22-year-old son. My nephew's dad and my sister were not married, only dating, and they broke up after your nephew was born. Now your nephew's dad is a very wealthy man and was able to provide your nephew and his other kids with a very lavish lifestyle. My nephew grew up very rich. He went to a very expensive private school, always had very expensive designer clothes from head to toe, had a chauffeur, was well traveled, et cetera. My nephew's dad paid $20,000 a month in child support and while this might seem like a lot, my nephew's father is very wealthy and this wasn't much for him. This gave my sister a comfortable life after my nephew was born.
My sister remarried and her husband quit his job to live off my sister's child support since it was enough to support them and their new family but they were very irresponsible with their money, always blowing it on stuff, not saving and investing, and my sister always had a problem with my nephew's life. I love my nephew. He's a very humble young man and I'm so happy that he never had to stuggle and that he's lived an extremely privileged life (especially since we are people of color) and he will never have to stuggle but he is very spoiled and out of touch.
Like I said, he's basically a spoiled rich kid, a trust fund baby (which on the surface isn't bad), but my sister had a problem with it. She didn't like the fact that he went to an extremely expensive private school and that all his friends came from very wealthy families. She didn't like his designer clothes or his lavish lifestyle. When my nephew turned 18, he stopped seeing his mother, went to an expensive college for rich kids and basically had no contact with his mom. My sister also doesn't like my nephew's girlfriend (27F), who also comes from an extremely wealthy family, and my sister doesn't like her for this reason; she wanted him to date a girl who came from a lower-class, working-class, or middle-class background, not an upper-class one. After my nephew turned 18, he went without contact with his mom, and this was very bad for my sister. Remember how I said she was very irresponsible with the money?
Well, since she's not getting child support anymore, they were beginning to really struggle financially, and they ran out of all the money and my nephew's dad won't financially support her anymore. My sister and her husband have teen sons. My sister feels like her son should financially support them and his teen brothers. Like I said, my nephew has a very large trust fund and could easily support his mom and their family, but he chooses not to. I don't agree with this at all.
What did Uncle Ben say? "With great power comes great responsibility." My nephew was born to an extremely wealthy man, which obviously makes him very wealthy. By association, my nephew lives a very privileged lifestyle and has a lot of money and power. With that power comes great responsibility, and that responsibility is using that money to take care of his family.
He has the power to financially support his mother, his stepfather, and his stepbrothers, and because he has that power, he has a moral obligation to help them. I'm not going to sit here and defend my sister and act like she was the greatest person. She didn't like her ex-boyfriends and her son's lavish, wealthy lifestyle, but at the same time, she was more than willing to live off them and the very large child support because they were irresponsible with the money. They are in trouble but that doesn't change the fact that my nephew should help her. What do you think?
TLDR: My (49M) nephew (22M) won’t help his mother (51F) What should I do?
submitted by Sufficient-Access78 to relationships [link] [comments]
My sister remarried and her husband quit his job to live off my sister's child support since it was enough to support them and their new family but they were very irresponsible with their money, always blowing it on stuff, not saving and investing, and my sister always had a problem with my nephew's life. I love my nephew. He's a very humble young man and I'm so happy that he never had to stuggle and that he's lived an extremely privileged life (especially since we are people of color) and he will never have to stuggle but he is very spoiled and out of touch.
Like I said, he's basically a spoiled rich kid, a trust fund baby (which on the surface isn't bad), but my sister had a problem with it. She didn't like the fact that he went to an extremely expensive private school and that all his friends came from very wealthy families. She didn't like his designer clothes or his lavish lifestyle. When my nephew turned 18, he stopped seeing his mother, went to an expensive college for rich kids and basically had no contact with his mom. My sister also doesn't like my nephew's girlfriend (27F), who also comes from an extremely wealthy family, and my sister doesn't like her for this reason; she wanted him to date a girl who came from a lower-class, working-class, or middle-class background, not an upper-class one. After my nephew turned 18, he went without contact with his mom, and this was very bad for my sister. Remember how I said she was very irresponsible with the money?
Well, since she's not getting child support anymore, they were beginning to really struggle financially, and they ran out of all the money and my nephew's dad won't financially support her anymore. My sister and her husband have teen sons. My sister feels like her son should financially support them and his teen brothers. Like I said, my nephew has a very large trust fund and could easily support his mom and their family, but he chooses not to. I don't agree with this at all.
What did Uncle Ben say? "With great power comes great responsibility." My nephew was born to an extremely wealthy man, which obviously makes him very wealthy. By association, my nephew lives a very privileged lifestyle and has a lot of money and power. With that power comes great responsibility, and that responsibility is using that money to take care of his family.
He has the power to financially support his mother, his stepfather, and his stepbrothers, and because he has that power, he has a moral obligation to help them. I'm not going to sit here and defend my sister and act like she was the greatest person. She didn't like her ex-boyfriends and her son's lavish, wealthy lifestyle, but at the same time, she was more than willing to live off them and the very large child support because they were irresponsible with the money. They are in trouble but that doesn't change the fact that my nephew should help her. What do you think?
TLDR: My (49M) nephew (22M) won’t help his mother (51F) What should I do?