Letter of explanation bankruptcy
A subreddit for 370Z enthusiasts!
2012.08.10 23:57 scott226 A subreddit for 370Z enthusiasts!
A place for all 370Z enthusiasts to come together and discuss their love for the most important letter in the alphabet.
2012.09.17 15:27 Llort2 A sub for Historymemes
A place for history memes.
2012.01.02 17:31 groceryalerts Personal Finance For Canadians
2024.05.20 01:07 torrent82 Enough evidence?
My husband and I have applied for our first Family Visa a week ago. We're using an immigration lawyer and they sent us a list of things that we need to gather for the visa.
Amongst the things are letters from family and friends to prove that we're in a genuine, subsisting relationship together with their IDs attached and about 20 photos of us together in different places and with family and friends in the pictures. We gathered all of this and timestamped all the pictures with locations and a little explanation about each. We've traveled quite a bit in the past 3 years to meet with each other and have been doing as much as we could to be together for as long as we could, but most of the plane tickets are individual, so not together.
The lawyer didn't say to include messages or call logs or plane tickets of our travels. He's scheduled for his BIO on June 5th so I'm just thinking is there a risk of being rejected or them asking for further proof if we don't include call logs, messages or travel bookings?
It's the 5th time that we're apart now and I want him here with me as soon as possible as all this being apart is starting to have an impact on our mental health
Any advice would be helpful. Thanks
submitted by torrent82 to SpouseVisaUk [link] [comments]
Amongst the things are letters from family and friends to prove that we're in a genuine, subsisting relationship together with their IDs attached and about 20 photos of us together in different places and with family and friends in the pictures. We gathered all of this and timestamped all the pictures with locations and a little explanation about each. We've traveled quite a bit in the past 3 years to meet with each other and have been doing as much as we could to be together for as long as we could, but most of the plane tickets are individual, so not together.
The lawyer didn't say to include messages or call logs or plane tickets of our travels. He's scheduled for his BIO on June 5th so I'm just thinking is there a risk of being rejected or them asking for further proof if we don't include call logs, messages or travel bookings?
It's the 5th time that we're apart now and I want him here with me as soon as possible as all this being apart is starting to have an impact on our mental health
Any advice would be helpful. Thanks
2024.05.20 00:02 meowcats734 [Soulmage] Write a love letter to someone without them knowing until the very end.
Soulmage
I wanted to leave without a word, because there was a part of me that still thought I was right, and if I spat that venom at Cienne I'd only sicken him more. Then I wanted to write a letter, because I'd tried to make Cienne's choices for him one too many times, and taking my last words away from him stank too much of glass shards and festered bile.So in the end, there was only one choice that gave back Cienne some of the control I'd wrested from him. There would be no vanishings in the night. No envelopes on pillows with salt-stained pleas.
I knocked on Cienne's door during a frigid, thin-aired noon.
"Lucet?" I heard a thunk twenty pounds heavier than I expected. He was taking to the treatments well. The treatments I'd tried to keep from him. "Everything okay?"
And fuck, things had gone so wrong between us that the first thing he asked was that. "Honestly? Not really. But if you don't want to talk, I'll leave."
I held a slip of paper between my fingers. If he didn't want to talk, I'd slip it into the Plane of Calm when I left. Hiding my last words in a place he'd only reach if he was unshakeable was the least I could do to ensure my absence wouldn't be sprung on him when he was already knocked down.
But the door opened before I could cast a spell, and Cienne was in his neatly-tidied room, his Redlander's robes pooling around his feet. Waves lapped at the warm sand of his soul, and he stepped back in an unspoken invitation.
The paper crinkled in my hands, and I shook my head. "If I step into that room I'm not going to be able to leave," I blurted out.
Cienne tilted his head, lips pursing, and I could see my soul reflected in his eyes, all back-alley bilgewater and broken bottles. The realization swelled inside him like a bubble of magma, boiling his idyllic beach into mist and quartz. "You're leaving the city," Cienne finally said.
I had an entire letter working up to that revelation, and he saw through me in an instant. "I wrote an explanation, if you don't want to hear it from me now, but—"
"If that would make it easier for you," Cienne began, then grimaced. "...no. No, I want to hear it from you. Why you'd rather die by inches rather than let Zhytln treat you, you stubborn—" He cut himself off.
"Go ahead," I said.
"Like hell I will. You came here to say something, and I want to hear you out."
I took in a deep breath, then looked down at the words in my palms. I could drop them and run, and Cienne wouldn't get in my way because only one of us tried to stop people from taking the medicine they needed, and that was the coward's way out and if there was one thing I would never again be it was a coward.
"Okay." I wish I could have met his eyes while I spoke, but truth be told I'd stammer and stutter and shy away if I had to improvise this, so I looked down at my letter and began to read.
Cienne, it simply began. If you're reading this, I'm already gone. I skipped that part, true though it was, and read aloud from the second sentence. "You're building a life here, and I can't be part of it. Because you're finally happy and healthy and safe and content, and there are things I need to do that won't let me ever be any of that."
Cienne's hands twitched, as if reflexively he wanted to reach out to me, to comfort me like he had so many times before. Before. Before we'd clashed. Before he knew what it meant to be a riftmaw.
"Part of me wanted to hide where I'm going for your own good," I continued, and I was glad now that I had an excuse to look anywhere but at Cienne. "But I don't get to decide that for you. So while you're living your life on the docks of Knwharfhelm, the same abomination of an institution that gave us cancer and killed Sansen is still murdering and brainwashing and claiming the moral high ground while they're at it. And I'm going to steal their medicine and wreck their war machine and show them what a pissed-off soulmage with nothing to lose can do. And this is where both of us belong. You enjoying your freedom and health. Me trying to win that for everyone who didn't escape. Because that's why I'm doing this. For the people like you who never found their peace. And for the one who did."
Lines of frost crept from my fingertips, ink twisting into brittle runes. I looked up at Cienne, as if he would convince me to change my mind, to take Zhytln's treatment and stay in the struggling, growing household he'd made.
Maybe there was once a Cienne who would have asked me to stay. But I'd killed that man on the docks of Knwharfhelm.
"...Will you talk to Meloai and Sansen before you go?" Cienne finally asked.
"I knew I'd only be able to do this once."
Cienne closed his eyes.
"Then go," he finally said. "And when you see Witch Aimes..."
His brows creased, eyelids twitching, and his soul shuddered and wrenched. He never finished his sentence.
"I'll know what to do," I said. I almost reached out to take his hand.
But his soul was placid and still once more. I'd disturbed him enough already.
So I drew a line in the air, peeling open a rift between our home and the streets of Knwharfhelm, and took my first step towards the Silent Peaks.
A.N.
Updates will happen when they happen. Thanks for sticking along.
Previous
Table of Contents
A Book I Wrote
Next
Want to support the story? Boost Soulmage on TopWebFiction here! If you want to get updated when new parts of Soulmage are posted, comment "HelpMeButler
2024.05.19 23:13 Marxist-Grayskullist The Wilds of Bloodtoil
The barbarian tribes colloquially referred to as the “Bloodtoil Pack” are not recognized by the Elder Council as a legitimate nation-state or political body. Their ways are bloody and primitive; intentionally so, as they believe civilization a corrupting influence. You will find no embassy or consulate from the Potentate there. The only trade they do is with the Mother Navigators, who still command respect from the Khajiit of that region, and the Minotaur colonists who have brought their Colovian values with them. Nevertheless, since the Treaty of Xylo in 4E 344, they have been recognized by their northern neighbors in the Imperium of Sunnamora and thus remain both politically and economically relevant. Therefore this section of the Guide has been compiled from the letters of diplomats, missionaries, merchants, mercenaries, and anthropologists who have risked life and limb among these peoples.
The capital “city” of Bloodtoil Valley is where representatives of the tribes gather to confer with the High Prophet of the Green about matters both political and spiritual. Lest this hint of civilization fool you, dear reader, may we clarify that this tribal council rarely passes anything resembling “legislation,” and instead exists merely to maintain peace between the ever-violent tribes and discuss dealings with foreigners. The Temple of Bloodtoil itself is an eclectic structure converted from an old Wood Orc stronghold, and the High Prophet of the Green spends much of their time inside “meditating upon the Now.” Once a season (the locals count time in rainy seasons and dry seasons, not years), the High Prophet makes a pilgrimage to Deepwoods to confer with the Green Lady, who is supposedly the “true” spiritual leader of Bloodtoil, though no one except the High Prophet and their inner council has seen her in over a century.
The other spiritual center of Bloodtoil is Elden Root to the south. The Bosmer have regrown the ancient Graht-Oak city since the great calamities of the Second Great War, but how it has already reached the size of the old Elden Root is anyone’s guess. The Bosmer here are bizarre and inbred; some covered in fur with jutting boar tusks, others wearing beards of moss, others still with insectoid eyes and antenna, and more variation than can be described. The natives claim their appearance is a “gift” from the Green. The more logical explanation is that their isolation from the rest of the world and their mating with Beastfolk have brought about such deformities.
Moonmont on the eastern border with Pelletine is the primary Khajiiti settlement. Built up by the comings-and-goings of the Mother Navigators, a visitor could almost forget they are in Bloodtoil and not one of the former Elsweyr states. The Green Prophecy does have some purchase there, namely in the “part of the Green that chooses to be Khenarthi.” The clan mother of the settlement sends a representative to Bloodtoil Valley, but her true power lies in the moon sugar. Many Greenists believe the sugar can be used to make contact with the Spirit of the Now, and her economic power is dominant.
Verrant Morass is the closest thing the Imga have to a settlement. Made up of tree houses and stone huts, they are led directly by a Green Prophet. Indeed, the Imga are the most enthusiastic supporters of the Green Prophecy, and make up the plurality of Green Prophets. Some may see connections to the Prophet Marukh, but that particular Saint is largely despised by his own people. To the Imga of Bloodtoil he represents the obsession with civilization which had kept the Imga subservient to the Aldmeri for so long. Now they despise all things civilized, fixed religious codes most of all. They insist the Green cannot be understood with words or thoughts, only by some mystical “contact with the Now.”
Other peoples also populate Bloodtoil. Barkbite remains a Wood Orc stronghold, and Harpies nest among the trees across the region. The river banks and shorelines are populated with Lamiae, while centaurs and faun roam the Tarlain Heights.
The most recent addition to the Pack are the most controversial. Tired of the constant Bjoulsean raids in Colovia, a few Minotaur clans immigrated to Bloodtoil and rebuilt the city of Marbruk. They brought the Cyrodiilic values of free trade and enterprise with them, practice an elective monarchy in the Cyro-Nordic style, and most horrifyingly of all - especially the Bosmer and Imga - was their choice to chop down trees and irrigate farms. This resulted in a month of tribal skirmishes in the central jungle until the High Prophet intervened. Part of the truce involved the Minotaurs recognizing the Heavanly Bull, the Storm, and Shezarr as aspects of the Green. Alessia worship, associated as it is with hated Marukh, is heavily discouraged. More economically relevant, the Minotaurs were heavily limited in their lumber and agricultural practices. At the moment, the East Empire Company’s friends in the Tamrielic Bank of Z’en are offering generous loans to help the Minotaurs develop their colony.
In times of war, their armies are generally a motley affair, albeit a terrifying one. Imga “Green Knights” welding bone-lances charge atop their Senche friend-mounts, backed by centaurs and satyrs. Harpies and Goblins riding hippogriffs act as the “army of the air.” Bosmer Stags of Z’en act as spies and assassins. Lamiae drag foes beneath the watery depths, as spriggan mothers turn the trees and soil against invaders. Needless to say, reader, travel in this wildland at your own peril.
_____
I was only in Bloodtoil for a short time. Met some Wood Orcs and Lamias at Haven. They were suspicious of outsiders, and made it clear our ship would be moving along soon. I don't think they were the violent brutes the Company would have you believe, but it is true that they prefer to be left alone. And hopefully it goes without saying those "loans" are anything but generous.
submitted by Marxist-Grayskullist to PGE_4 [link] [comments]
The capital “city” of Bloodtoil Valley is where representatives of the tribes gather to confer with the High Prophet of the Green about matters both political and spiritual. Lest this hint of civilization fool you, dear reader, may we clarify that this tribal council rarely passes anything resembling “legislation,” and instead exists merely to maintain peace between the ever-violent tribes and discuss dealings with foreigners. The Temple of Bloodtoil itself is an eclectic structure converted from an old Wood Orc stronghold, and the High Prophet of the Green spends much of their time inside “meditating upon the Now.” Once a season (the locals count time in rainy seasons and dry seasons, not years), the High Prophet makes a pilgrimage to Deepwoods to confer with the Green Lady, who is supposedly the “true” spiritual leader of Bloodtoil, though no one except the High Prophet and their inner council has seen her in over a century.
The other spiritual center of Bloodtoil is Elden Root to the south. The Bosmer have regrown the ancient Graht-Oak city since the great calamities of the Second Great War, but how it has already reached the size of the old Elden Root is anyone’s guess. The Bosmer here are bizarre and inbred; some covered in fur with jutting boar tusks, others wearing beards of moss, others still with insectoid eyes and antenna, and more variation than can be described. The natives claim their appearance is a “gift” from the Green. The more logical explanation is that their isolation from the rest of the world and their mating with Beastfolk have brought about such deformities.
Moonmont on the eastern border with Pelletine is the primary Khajiiti settlement. Built up by the comings-and-goings of the Mother Navigators, a visitor could almost forget they are in Bloodtoil and not one of the former Elsweyr states. The Green Prophecy does have some purchase there, namely in the “part of the Green that chooses to be Khenarthi.” The clan mother of the settlement sends a representative to Bloodtoil Valley, but her true power lies in the moon sugar. Many Greenists believe the sugar can be used to make contact with the Spirit of the Now, and her economic power is dominant.
Verrant Morass is the closest thing the Imga have to a settlement. Made up of tree houses and stone huts, they are led directly by a Green Prophet. Indeed, the Imga are the most enthusiastic supporters of the Green Prophecy, and make up the plurality of Green Prophets. Some may see connections to the Prophet Marukh, but that particular Saint is largely despised by his own people. To the Imga of Bloodtoil he represents the obsession with civilization which had kept the Imga subservient to the Aldmeri for so long. Now they despise all things civilized, fixed religious codes most of all. They insist the Green cannot be understood with words or thoughts, only by some mystical “contact with the Now.”
Other peoples also populate Bloodtoil. Barkbite remains a Wood Orc stronghold, and Harpies nest among the trees across the region. The river banks and shorelines are populated with Lamiae, while centaurs and faun roam the Tarlain Heights.
The most recent addition to the Pack are the most controversial. Tired of the constant Bjoulsean raids in Colovia, a few Minotaur clans immigrated to Bloodtoil and rebuilt the city of Marbruk. They brought the Cyrodiilic values of free trade and enterprise with them, practice an elective monarchy in the Cyro-Nordic style, and most horrifyingly of all - especially the Bosmer and Imga - was their choice to chop down trees and irrigate farms. This resulted in a month of tribal skirmishes in the central jungle until the High Prophet intervened. Part of the truce involved the Minotaurs recognizing the Heavanly Bull, the Storm, and Shezarr as aspects of the Green. Alessia worship, associated as it is with hated Marukh, is heavily discouraged. More economically relevant, the Minotaurs were heavily limited in their lumber and agricultural practices. At the moment, the East Empire Company’s friends in the Tamrielic Bank of Z’en are offering generous loans to help the Minotaurs develop their colony.
In times of war, their armies are generally a motley affair, albeit a terrifying one. Imga “Green Knights” welding bone-lances charge atop their Senche friend-mounts, backed by centaurs and satyrs. Harpies and Goblins riding hippogriffs act as the “army of the air.” Bosmer Stags of Z’en act as spies and assassins. Lamiae drag foes beneath the watery depths, as spriggan mothers turn the trees and soil against invaders. Needless to say, reader, travel in this wildland at your own peril.
_____
I was only in Bloodtoil for a short time. Met some Wood Orcs and Lamias at Haven. They were suspicious of outsiders, and made it clear our ship would be moving along soon. I don't think they were the violent brutes the Company would have you believe, but it is true that they prefer to be left alone. And hopefully it goes without saying those "loans" are anything but generous.
2024.05.19 23:12 Low_Historian6604 Tips finding a job this summer from out of state
Hi, I'm job hunting from Wisconsin hoping to find a job in Chicago downtown starting in July or August. Hoping for accounting/finance related roles. So far I've applied to jobs at universities where the recruiting process takes longer. I've also contacted multiple staffing agencies but was told to check back closer in June or July. I know it's more difficult to find a job from out of state so I tried putting a relocation date on my resume and writing an explanation in my cover letters. Anyone have any other tips to make employers more at ease or where might look at my application this far before my move? I thought about getting a po box or Chicago address but I feel like they would be able to tell where I live from my employer.
submitted by Low_Historian6604 to AskChicago [link] [comments]
2024.05.19 22:54 CDown01 Eagles Peak pt. 5.5
Previous Part
I grabbed the back pack Bianca had left in the kitchen and waited in the living room. I had no idea what she was packing for but after this morning I wasn’t going up there to check. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to ask Tuck yet. I wanted him to tell me he was a werewolf himself, that seemed like pretty important information just on the basis of trust. But I also wanted to know why he was really out by the mine yesterday. His story didn’t add up and there’s no way he knew we would be up there, I think that was just a coincidence. As I was trying to come up with exactly how I wanted to broach the question to Tuck, Frank put a hand on my shoulder. He was wearing his lab coat so I guessed he just came up from the basement. The hairnet he always seemed to wear when he was working was in its usual spot. I suppose he wore it to protect the memory of hair that was once on his head. He looked solemn and a little sick as he turned to me.
“Keep her out of trouble will you? I know we haven’t always been the best to her and I’m sure Stein and I don’t really give her the help she needs. But she’s like the daughter I never had time to have, I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to her.”
“Frank, you probably do more than you know for her. Did she ever talk about her family with you?”
“Very briefly throughout the years, I don’t know if she’s told you much or anything for that matter. It… it certainly wasn’t easy for her growing up and it never got easier.”
“I’ll do my best to keep her out of trouble. If she does end up following me into… whatever this trial ends up being just promise me you’ll have a way to get her out. Some kind of contingency, I can fend for myself but I’ve seen her just shut down before. Like yesterday in the caves someone grabbed her and she lashed out and just… wasn’t herself. She just froze and I don’t want that to happen anywhere near Shaoni.”
“I’ll work on something but I can’t promise that. Like Stein said we’re scientists, we don’t really do field work like that. If I do come up with something you’ll be the first to know. I’m glad she ran into you when she did Keith, she could really use a friend.”
With that Frank walked away, back towards the kitchen and into the basement.
It wasn’t long after that when I heard Bianca coming down the stairs asking if anyone had seen her toothbrush. At which point Rocco appeared in front of me from god knows where holding a suspicious disassembled toothbrush.
“Not. A. Word. Kid.”
Rocco growled at me as he scampered out the door behind me.
“I have a couple that I packed for the trip here from Wisconsin I can just give you one of those.”
I called to Bianca. Partially because I wanted to get a move on and partially because I wanted no part in whatever Rocco was getting up to. If there was one supernatural thing about this town it was that raccoon’s knack for mischief. I get that’s what raccoons are known for but seriously, Rocco was on another level. Bianca reluctantly agreed to take one of the travel tooth brushes I had back at my house. I wasn’t even going to ask why she packed a duffle bag to go a few hundred feet into town and back again.
“Come on we’ll take the bikes again.”
Bianca said as she made her way behind the house.
“I’m telling you they’re going to give me tetanus one of these days but sure. Lets just stop at my place first, I want to drop off this backpack you took yesterday first.”
Bianca was still wearing the ratty jeans she’d taken from me yesterday and at this point I just figured she could have them. I really wasn’t about to get into an argument as to why she should take my pants off and… ugh even saying it is just… no. Those were hers now as far as I was concerned.
We rode over to my house through the crisp autumn afternoon. The trees along the street were finally being to change color, it looked like a scene from a postcard. One of those one’s of the idyllic towns that could’ve come straight out of a hallmark movie. I had to give it to Eagles Peak, it may by turning into a den of vipers for me minute by minute but it sure could be beautiful, in it’s own isolated kind of way.
“Wow its very… small.”
Bianca commented as she stepped into my house and looked around.
“Yeah not everyone has a blank check from two different governments like Stein.”
“I didn’t mean li…”
“It’s ok I know what you meant, its different.”
I said cutting her off before she had the chance to apologize. I dropped off the backpack in my room and rooted around in the one duffle bag I still hadn’t unpacked from my trip here. I found the toothbrush without to much trouble and walked into the living room to give it to Bianca only to find her unpacking on the couch.
“What’s going on here, are you moving in?”
I joked, not expecting the answer I was about to get.
“Yeah, kind of hard to keep an eye on you from my house. I suppose I could from the top floor but if we’re working against Shaoni that doesn’t seem like a great idea. She’s got that whole thing with lighting and I get the sense her being angry at you while your up in the air isn’t a great combination.”
Bianca said, unpacking a blanket like she wasn’t just inserting herself into my house.
“WHAT?”
I shouted, maybe a little too loud.
“Is there a problem?I thought you wanted me looking out for you, this is me, doing that.”
She said looking up at me with puppy dog eyes. You’ve got to understand, those eyes coming from someone like Bianca, glowing or otherwise, well you just can’t say no to that. When it’s Bianca you really can’t say no. She can just take that option away in an instant but again she didn’t for me, it was still my choice.
“I.. sure but you can have my bed. We’ll get everything set up once we get back from the Roost. You did tell Frank and Stein about this right?”
I gave in, deciding to let her stay.
“I’m a big girl, they doin’t need to know everything I do, and… thanks”
“It’s alright, just let me know next time you’re going to pull something like this ok?”
I added, equal parts excited to actually have someone to talk to besides myself in my own home, and worried what Frank and Stein might think was going on here. I put those thoughts out of my head for the moment as we got back on the bikes.
It was about 3 by the time we made it to Tuck’s bar after the delay Bianca had caused by moving herself out before we left. Just as I expected the sign said closed but the door was unlocked. The bar looked exactly the same as the last time I was there. Stone fireplace roaring and pristine wooden floor looking like it had been polished just this morning. Tuck was sitting behind the bar looking worse for wear. The look on his face said he knew we were coming and he wasn’t to thrilled about it.
“Does he know?”
Tuck asked pointedly, looking straight through me and speaking to Bianca.
“About me or you, because the answer is both of us.”
Tuck shook his head at this and a grim look came over him.
“Ya shouldn’t have pulled him into this.”
“Actually I pulled her into it if anything, going out there was my idea. I’ve got a mark like Robert’s, its actually what brought me to town in the first place.”
I said, hoping my honesty would get the same out of Tuck.
“So that bird called ya out here somehow?”
“More or less, but that’s not what I’m here about. I want to know why exactly you followed us out there yesterday.”
Tuck sighed and gestured to the seats at the bar, beckoning Bianca and I to take a seat.
“When Robert chased ya out the other night some of his friends came by. They all got that mark like him, they were sayin’ something about the thunderbird makin’ an appearance back at the old mine. I wanted to see for myself and make sure they were wrong. I found those bikes and ended up followin’ the trail. By the time I got there some guys were poking around that hole in the wall and a storm had kicked up. I saw them cut that rope and figured they weren’t doin’ no good. I… changed and dealt with them then forced my way into the old mine entrance, the rest ya already know cause I ran into ya not long after.”
This story made more sense to me, Tuck never came out there to find me, I just so happened to be out there. Those boulders I thought were moved had been, by Tuck which made me question just how strong he was. Each of those huge things had to weigh tons and there were three strewn about the entrance.
“Ok that makes more sense than what you told me, but what were you hoping to accomplish up there. If you ran into the thunderbird what would you have done?”
“I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t really up there again but the storm seemed to say otherwise. No storm like that just pops up and goes away, the bird had to be involved with that.”
“Actually she was there, just not as some huge bird. She was down in the caves with us but she looked human, native American to be more precise. That’s how I met her when I got marked and now she’s holding some kind of trial out in those mines.”
“You met the thunderbird, its a person? What does she want with this place now.”
Tuck said his demeanor changing into one full of concern. I didn’t know what else to say cause at the moment I didn’t actually know much more than that. It’s infuriating, this being in the dark thing. I just settled for dodging the question.
“Not to change the topic but are we to early to grab a bite to eat?”
I wish I had a camera handy because the face Tuck made at that whiplash change of topics was priceless. I can’t properly do it justice with words. Suffice it to say one of his eyebrows hit the ceiling while the other hit the floor and a violently confused expression plastered his face.
“Sure I guess, what do the two of ya want!”
Tuck exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air and walking back behind the counter. I ended up ordering some fried chicken sandwich with bacon and pickles, and as I took the first bite my risk of heart attack increased ten fold. Bianca ordered the same thing and was pecking at it inquisitively when I asked,
“So what’s the story with Rocco?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean why, why did Frank and Stein make him in the first place?”
I asked through a mouthful of greasy goodness.
“Well I think it started out as a joke, then Stein actually wanted an assistant and that joke became Rocco. They worked on him for a while, pretty much they took a random raccoon off the street and played around in its head. I know there was some gene splicing involved but if you want to know how they did it ask them.”
“So he was supposed to be an assistant in the lab? I think I’ve seen him doing one thing to help them out this whole time and he was poking through a back alley for old batteries.”
“Yeah, he’s not a great assistant, must be good enough though cause they haven’t tossed him out.”
“Are you kidding me! If they tossed him out he be so much worse! Just think, Rocco left to his own devices without any supervision.”
Both of us shuddered at the thought, if he was bad now he’d be a menace to society without the little control we had over him.
Bianca and I ate and eventually Tuck came out and I told him my story about Imalone. He seemed really concerned at the fact that the thunderbird could be walking around town and he wouldn’t know about it. I assured him that Shaoni was really hard to miss if you just looked at the eyes. It wasn’t like she looked any different either, no matter what she was wearing those tattoos would be a dead giveaway. Tuck assured me he was going to keep an eye out and gave me his number to call if I saw her. I don’t want to talk down on Bianca, but something about having a werewolf looking out for me as well was reassuring. Tuck told us a bit about what he was doing with Frank and Stein too. Apparently he contracted his “disease” as he called it long before he came to work in Eagles Peak. He was originally from Louisiana and moved to New York for a change of scenery and ended up getting a job in the mines here around 1940. I should also mention Tuck ages very slowly due to his “disease” so he looks like he’s in his 50’s or so but he was born in 1900. To his credit you’d never know he was anything other than your friendly middle aged bartender.
Bianca and I were getting ready to leave as it came time to open the bar for real. When Tuck offered us a round of drinks on the house.
“No, no that’s alright Tuck, you’ve done enough for us we’ll see you later.”
Bianca politely declined, pulling me towards the door. After I said my goodbyes and we had gotten back to the bikes I asked Bianca,
“Do you not drink? I’m not judging just… when Tuck offered you seemed kind of jumpy.”
“I just never have, I was kind of bouncing around the country when I turned 21 so I just never started.”
“So your telling me you never had your first drink? Well, we have to fix that then.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, its like a right of passage where I’m from. We’ll pick up a six pack or something on the way back but we don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to.”
I said, trying to convince her. I’m not a huge drinker but I am from Wisconsin, alcohol is a way of life out there and we’re know for our beer. In my family turning 21 and having your first drink is cause to bring the whole family together. I couldn’t do that for her but I could at least give her the experience, maybe give her just one more good thing to remember.
Bianca agreed and we pulled into the Save-A-Lot just outside town. The building was painted white bit it was slowly peeling away revealing a concrete grey underneath. The big glowing sign was missing a few letters now simply reading Sav- -Lo. Despite its decaying state it still had the classic beer cave inside. I took a second to look for something from Wisconsin, call me a snob but we do beer right. I settled on a 12 pack of Leinenkugel, that was close enough to home for me. Bianca trailed behind me in the store, a bit like a scared cat looking for a place to hide. Obviously she didn’t get out much and having people she didn’t really know much about was stressing her out somewhat. We got to the checkout and an older cashier eyed my suspiciously.
“Can I see an ID”
She croaked in a hoarse smokey voice. Now I don’t always look my age but I’m 28 there was no reason to try and ID me. That didn’t really bother me so much as the fact that my wallet was still at home. I’ve been spending the cash Bianca gave me back when I watched her house and I just keep that in my pocket. I also have a bad habit of only brining my wallet when I knew I would need it instead of carrying it on me. Regardless I started to sweat a little as I tried to explain the situation.
“You see I would but I left mine at home and I’m not sure if…”
I was cut off by Bianca reaching out and brushing the cashier’s hand Then looking her straight in the eye. I knew exactly what she was doing.
“Look we don’t have an ID for you right now can you just take it on faith?”
“I understand sweetie, here why don’t I cover it for you, my treat.”
The cashier said, turning a complete 180 on her previous question. I looked from Bianca to the old woman a few times before Bianca finally shrugged.
“What?”
I wondered if it was that easy for her to change my mind back when she manipulated me into watching the house.
“So she just payed for it?”
I asked Bianca as we walked back to the bikes.
“That was her, not that I couldn’t make her do that. As far as I can work out, if I suggest something people tend to do it. Over the years I learned how to control that to the point where I’m only able to do it when I want to. Frank said it has something to do with pheromones in my breath or something like that.”
Bianca explained, hoping onto her bike and keeping pace with me back towards my house. I didn’t ask for an explanation but she gave it. I’m not really sure pheromones were something that could have that profound of an effect on someone but I’d just add it to the list of questions I’d have to ask Frank or Stein at some point.
“Still it was a bit weird seeing it from the outside. Was I that easy to convince before?”
Bianca got a mischievous look in her eye.
“Oh, you were so much easier, I barley needed to try. Just flip my hair and flutter my eyes a few times and that was that.”
She said, smiling devilishly at me. I blushed a little bit, partly because that’s probably all it would’ve taken from someone who looked like her and partly because I was embarrassed that she might not just be poking fun at me.
“No you definitely did something to me, I lost like 6 hours in your kitchen! That was you right…right?!”
I asked a little nervous. Bianca just laughed and pedaled off ahead of me. She did not put my mind at ease with any sort of answer but she did beat me back to the house.
When I got in She was sitting on the couch sorting through a pile of movies she pulled out of her duffle bag. She really had just thrown the entire contents of her room into a bag and brought them over. Bianca seemed to settle on a movie before she realized I’d walked in.
“So you like horror?”
I said, gesturing to the same movies I’d seen lying out earlier when I watched her house.
“Yeah, I just like seeing how people think all these things act. Like Tuck, werewolves are always looked at as these big imposing things in movies but he’s a puppy in comparison.”
“The guy looks like he could tear me apart down the middle with his bare hands buuuut, I see your point.”
Thinking back to every interaction I’d had with the guy so far, he never really was as scary as he looked. I sat down on the couch, dropping the case of beer on the coffee table.
“So, have you picked out a movie yet?”
To which Bianca closed her eyes and poked at a random movie in the pile. “Dog Soldiers”, it was called, actually I think I’ve heard of that movie before. One of those its so bad its entertaining things. I popped the movie into my DVD player and sat back, handing Bianca a beer.
“ Is this how normal people feel?”
She asked as the movie started.
“Depends on what you mean by normal, even then I’m not sure that’s the question I’d be asking. Maybe you just finally have a chance to relax after years of never being able to.”
“Oh sure, I’ll just relax now that I know we have the actual thunderbird looking to force you into some kind of trial.”
Bianca joked sarcastically before suddenly softening and taking a sip of her beer.
“Uggg that’s bitter… but not bad. Maybe your onto something Kieth.”
I don’t remember much from the movie. One scene stuck with me, a guy trying to fist fight a werewolf. It was already campy but the effects on the werewolf were just dated enough to make it that much funnier. Bianca and I couldn’t help but to Imagine Tuck as the werewolf, bewildered as to why this scrawny thing thought it could fight him. At some point the beer ran out, Bianca and I making it through the whole case. I remember getting up to go to my own room and Bianca pulling me back. What I didn’t remember though was letting Shaoni into my house. I was woken up by a tap on my shoulder, coming face to face with her. Shaoni’s hand was on one shoulder and Bianca’s head was on the other. At some point we both feel asleep on the couch together, the TV was still on, illuminating the dark room.
“Well well, I wasn’t expecting you to have guests Keith.”
Shaoni mocked, clicking her tongue at me as she finished. She wore the same white night dress I’d seen her in before. Something in the house was open, a window, a door? I didn’t know but the smells of an autumn rainstorm blew into the house, a storm no doubt caused by Shaoni.
“I… its not what it looks like.”
I stammered out, embarrassed to be caught like this.
“I don’t care what you get up to in your free time Keith. I just came to tell you I’ll expect you at the mine tomorrow, The trials will be starting soon and I want everyone who will be participating to meet each other, you will be participating, won’t you Keith?”
She asked like it was a question but it really wasn’t, wether I liked it or not I was going to be there, I could come willingly or kicking and screaming. She was simply asking which I wanted it to be.
“When do you want me there?”
“Oh don’t worry about that, I’ll send someone to collect you around noon.”
With that she turned to walk away, but I wasn’t done with her yet.
“Wait! What exactly are these trials, what am I going to be doing out there?”
“That would spoil the surprise Keith, be patient, you’ll know in time. That pretty little thing there, her name wouldn’t happen to be Bianca, would it?”
Shaoni asked, pointing at Bianca who was still asleep on my shoulder.
“How did you know that?”
I shot back, immediately jumping to Bianca’s defense. I hadn’t known her all that long true, but I didn’t want her any closer to this than she had to be.
“Oh no reason.”
Shaoni said with a snicker that sounded more like a hiss. With that she disappeared, and I mean she was just gone. One minute she was there the next there was a gust of wind and a brief flash of light and she was gone. The disruption was enough to wake Bianca up finally.
“Ugh, head..still…spinning.”
“Heh, I think you overdid it a bit last night.”
“Ugh maybe.”
She said, holding her head that still rested on my shoulder.
“What’s going on anyway, why’d you wake me up.”
“It’s just… well things are moving a bit faster than I hoped.”
I said, trying to reassure her that it was nothing, most likely failing miserably but she didn’t seem to notice. There was a second there that I thought maybe things could just be normal. This whole thing would just blow over and Shaoni would never come back and get me for these “trials” but I always knew it was wishful thinking. Now Bianca was a part of it to somehow, that had made up my mind. She’d been through enough, now Shaoni seemed interested in her all of a sudden. If putting myself through these trials kept her away from Bianca that’s exactly what I’d do.
submitted by CDown01 to AllureStories [link] [comments]
I grabbed the back pack Bianca had left in the kitchen and waited in the living room. I had no idea what she was packing for but after this morning I wasn’t going up there to check. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to ask Tuck yet. I wanted him to tell me he was a werewolf himself, that seemed like pretty important information just on the basis of trust. But I also wanted to know why he was really out by the mine yesterday. His story didn’t add up and there’s no way he knew we would be up there, I think that was just a coincidence. As I was trying to come up with exactly how I wanted to broach the question to Tuck, Frank put a hand on my shoulder. He was wearing his lab coat so I guessed he just came up from the basement. The hairnet he always seemed to wear when he was working was in its usual spot. I suppose he wore it to protect the memory of hair that was once on his head. He looked solemn and a little sick as he turned to me.
“Keep her out of trouble will you? I know we haven’t always been the best to her and I’m sure Stein and I don’t really give her the help she needs. But she’s like the daughter I never had time to have, I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to her.”
“Frank, you probably do more than you know for her. Did she ever talk about her family with you?”
“Very briefly throughout the years, I don’t know if she’s told you much or anything for that matter. It… it certainly wasn’t easy for her growing up and it never got easier.”
“I’ll do my best to keep her out of trouble. If she does end up following me into… whatever this trial ends up being just promise me you’ll have a way to get her out. Some kind of contingency, I can fend for myself but I’ve seen her just shut down before. Like yesterday in the caves someone grabbed her and she lashed out and just… wasn’t herself. She just froze and I don’t want that to happen anywhere near Shaoni.”
“I’ll work on something but I can’t promise that. Like Stein said we’re scientists, we don’t really do field work like that. If I do come up with something you’ll be the first to know. I’m glad she ran into you when she did Keith, she could really use a friend.”
With that Frank walked away, back towards the kitchen and into the basement.
It wasn’t long after that when I heard Bianca coming down the stairs asking if anyone had seen her toothbrush. At which point Rocco appeared in front of me from god knows where holding a suspicious disassembled toothbrush.
“Not. A. Word. Kid.”
Rocco growled at me as he scampered out the door behind me.
“I have a couple that I packed for the trip here from Wisconsin I can just give you one of those.”
I called to Bianca. Partially because I wanted to get a move on and partially because I wanted no part in whatever Rocco was getting up to. If there was one supernatural thing about this town it was that raccoon’s knack for mischief. I get that’s what raccoons are known for but seriously, Rocco was on another level. Bianca reluctantly agreed to take one of the travel tooth brushes I had back at my house. I wasn’t even going to ask why she packed a duffle bag to go a few hundred feet into town and back again.
“Come on we’ll take the bikes again.”
Bianca said as she made her way behind the house.
“I’m telling you they’re going to give me tetanus one of these days but sure. Lets just stop at my place first, I want to drop off this backpack you took yesterday first.”
Bianca was still wearing the ratty jeans she’d taken from me yesterday and at this point I just figured she could have them. I really wasn’t about to get into an argument as to why she should take my pants off and… ugh even saying it is just… no. Those were hers now as far as I was concerned.
We rode over to my house through the crisp autumn afternoon. The trees along the street were finally being to change color, it looked like a scene from a postcard. One of those one’s of the idyllic towns that could’ve come straight out of a hallmark movie. I had to give it to Eagles Peak, it may by turning into a den of vipers for me minute by minute but it sure could be beautiful, in it’s own isolated kind of way.
“Wow its very… small.”
Bianca commented as she stepped into my house and looked around.
“Yeah not everyone has a blank check from two different governments like Stein.”
“I didn’t mean li…”
“It’s ok I know what you meant, its different.”
I said cutting her off before she had the chance to apologize. I dropped off the backpack in my room and rooted around in the one duffle bag I still hadn’t unpacked from my trip here. I found the toothbrush without to much trouble and walked into the living room to give it to Bianca only to find her unpacking on the couch.
“What’s going on here, are you moving in?”
I joked, not expecting the answer I was about to get.
“Yeah, kind of hard to keep an eye on you from my house. I suppose I could from the top floor but if we’re working against Shaoni that doesn’t seem like a great idea. She’s got that whole thing with lighting and I get the sense her being angry at you while your up in the air isn’t a great combination.”
Bianca said, unpacking a blanket like she wasn’t just inserting herself into my house.
“WHAT?”
I shouted, maybe a little too loud.
“Is there a problem?I thought you wanted me looking out for you, this is me, doing that.”
She said looking up at me with puppy dog eyes. You’ve got to understand, those eyes coming from someone like Bianca, glowing or otherwise, well you just can’t say no to that. When it’s Bianca you really can’t say no. She can just take that option away in an instant but again she didn’t for me, it was still my choice.
“I.. sure but you can have my bed. We’ll get everything set up once we get back from the Roost. You did tell Frank and Stein about this right?”
I gave in, deciding to let her stay.
“I’m a big girl, they doin’t need to know everything I do, and… thanks”
“It’s alright, just let me know next time you’re going to pull something like this ok?”
I added, equal parts excited to actually have someone to talk to besides myself in my own home, and worried what Frank and Stein might think was going on here. I put those thoughts out of my head for the moment as we got back on the bikes.
It was about 3 by the time we made it to Tuck’s bar after the delay Bianca had caused by moving herself out before we left. Just as I expected the sign said closed but the door was unlocked. The bar looked exactly the same as the last time I was there. Stone fireplace roaring and pristine wooden floor looking like it had been polished just this morning. Tuck was sitting behind the bar looking worse for wear. The look on his face said he knew we were coming and he wasn’t to thrilled about it.
“Does he know?”
Tuck asked pointedly, looking straight through me and speaking to Bianca.
“About me or you, because the answer is both of us.”
Tuck shook his head at this and a grim look came over him.
“Ya shouldn’t have pulled him into this.”
“Actually I pulled her into it if anything, going out there was my idea. I’ve got a mark like Robert’s, its actually what brought me to town in the first place.”
I said, hoping my honesty would get the same out of Tuck.
“So that bird called ya out here somehow?”
“More or less, but that’s not what I’m here about. I want to know why exactly you followed us out there yesterday.”
Tuck sighed and gestured to the seats at the bar, beckoning Bianca and I to take a seat.
“When Robert chased ya out the other night some of his friends came by. They all got that mark like him, they were sayin’ something about the thunderbird makin’ an appearance back at the old mine. I wanted to see for myself and make sure they were wrong. I found those bikes and ended up followin’ the trail. By the time I got there some guys were poking around that hole in the wall and a storm had kicked up. I saw them cut that rope and figured they weren’t doin’ no good. I… changed and dealt with them then forced my way into the old mine entrance, the rest ya already know cause I ran into ya not long after.”
This story made more sense to me, Tuck never came out there to find me, I just so happened to be out there. Those boulders I thought were moved had been, by Tuck which made me question just how strong he was. Each of those huge things had to weigh tons and there were three strewn about the entrance.
“Ok that makes more sense than what you told me, but what were you hoping to accomplish up there. If you ran into the thunderbird what would you have done?”
“I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t really up there again but the storm seemed to say otherwise. No storm like that just pops up and goes away, the bird had to be involved with that.”
“Actually she was there, just not as some huge bird. She was down in the caves with us but she looked human, native American to be more precise. That’s how I met her when I got marked and now she’s holding some kind of trial out in those mines.”
“You met the thunderbird, its a person? What does she want with this place now.”
Tuck said his demeanor changing into one full of concern. I didn’t know what else to say cause at the moment I didn’t actually know much more than that. It’s infuriating, this being in the dark thing. I just settled for dodging the question.
“Not to change the topic but are we to early to grab a bite to eat?”
I wish I had a camera handy because the face Tuck made at that whiplash change of topics was priceless. I can’t properly do it justice with words. Suffice it to say one of his eyebrows hit the ceiling while the other hit the floor and a violently confused expression plastered his face.
“Sure I guess, what do the two of ya want!”
Tuck exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air and walking back behind the counter. I ended up ordering some fried chicken sandwich with bacon and pickles, and as I took the first bite my risk of heart attack increased ten fold. Bianca ordered the same thing and was pecking at it inquisitively when I asked,
“So what’s the story with Rocco?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean why, why did Frank and Stein make him in the first place?”
I asked through a mouthful of greasy goodness.
“Well I think it started out as a joke, then Stein actually wanted an assistant and that joke became Rocco. They worked on him for a while, pretty much they took a random raccoon off the street and played around in its head. I know there was some gene splicing involved but if you want to know how they did it ask them.”
“So he was supposed to be an assistant in the lab? I think I’ve seen him doing one thing to help them out this whole time and he was poking through a back alley for old batteries.”
“Yeah, he’s not a great assistant, must be good enough though cause they haven’t tossed him out.”
“Are you kidding me! If they tossed him out he be so much worse! Just think, Rocco left to his own devices without any supervision.”
Both of us shuddered at the thought, if he was bad now he’d be a menace to society without the little control we had over him.
Bianca and I ate and eventually Tuck came out and I told him my story about Imalone. He seemed really concerned at the fact that the thunderbird could be walking around town and he wouldn’t know about it. I assured him that Shaoni was really hard to miss if you just looked at the eyes. It wasn’t like she looked any different either, no matter what she was wearing those tattoos would be a dead giveaway. Tuck assured me he was going to keep an eye out and gave me his number to call if I saw her. I don’t want to talk down on Bianca, but something about having a werewolf looking out for me as well was reassuring. Tuck told us a bit about what he was doing with Frank and Stein too. Apparently he contracted his “disease” as he called it long before he came to work in Eagles Peak. He was originally from Louisiana and moved to New York for a change of scenery and ended up getting a job in the mines here around 1940. I should also mention Tuck ages very slowly due to his “disease” so he looks like he’s in his 50’s or so but he was born in 1900. To his credit you’d never know he was anything other than your friendly middle aged bartender.
Bianca and I were getting ready to leave as it came time to open the bar for real. When Tuck offered us a round of drinks on the house.
“No, no that’s alright Tuck, you’ve done enough for us we’ll see you later.”
Bianca politely declined, pulling me towards the door. After I said my goodbyes and we had gotten back to the bikes I asked Bianca,
“Do you not drink? I’m not judging just… when Tuck offered you seemed kind of jumpy.”
“I just never have, I was kind of bouncing around the country when I turned 21 so I just never started.”
“So your telling me you never had your first drink? Well, we have to fix that then.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, its like a right of passage where I’m from. We’ll pick up a six pack or something on the way back but we don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to.”
I said, trying to convince her. I’m not a huge drinker but I am from Wisconsin, alcohol is a way of life out there and we’re know for our beer. In my family turning 21 and having your first drink is cause to bring the whole family together. I couldn’t do that for her but I could at least give her the experience, maybe give her just one more good thing to remember.
Bianca agreed and we pulled into the Save-A-Lot just outside town. The building was painted white bit it was slowly peeling away revealing a concrete grey underneath. The big glowing sign was missing a few letters now simply reading Sav- -Lo. Despite its decaying state it still had the classic beer cave inside. I took a second to look for something from Wisconsin, call me a snob but we do beer right. I settled on a 12 pack of Leinenkugel, that was close enough to home for me. Bianca trailed behind me in the store, a bit like a scared cat looking for a place to hide. Obviously she didn’t get out much and having people she didn’t really know much about was stressing her out somewhat. We got to the checkout and an older cashier eyed my suspiciously.
“Can I see an ID”
She croaked in a hoarse smokey voice. Now I don’t always look my age but I’m 28 there was no reason to try and ID me. That didn’t really bother me so much as the fact that my wallet was still at home. I’ve been spending the cash Bianca gave me back when I watched her house and I just keep that in my pocket. I also have a bad habit of only brining my wallet when I knew I would need it instead of carrying it on me. Regardless I started to sweat a little as I tried to explain the situation.
“You see I would but I left mine at home and I’m not sure if…”
I was cut off by Bianca reaching out and brushing the cashier’s hand Then looking her straight in the eye. I knew exactly what she was doing.
“Look we don’t have an ID for you right now can you just take it on faith?”
“I understand sweetie, here why don’t I cover it for you, my treat.”
The cashier said, turning a complete 180 on her previous question. I looked from Bianca to the old woman a few times before Bianca finally shrugged.
“What?”
I wondered if it was that easy for her to change my mind back when she manipulated me into watching the house.
“So she just payed for it?”
I asked Bianca as we walked back to the bikes.
“That was her, not that I couldn’t make her do that. As far as I can work out, if I suggest something people tend to do it. Over the years I learned how to control that to the point where I’m only able to do it when I want to. Frank said it has something to do with pheromones in my breath or something like that.”
Bianca explained, hoping onto her bike and keeping pace with me back towards my house. I didn’t ask for an explanation but she gave it. I’m not really sure pheromones were something that could have that profound of an effect on someone but I’d just add it to the list of questions I’d have to ask Frank or Stein at some point.
“Still it was a bit weird seeing it from the outside. Was I that easy to convince before?”
Bianca got a mischievous look in her eye.
“Oh, you were so much easier, I barley needed to try. Just flip my hair and flutter my eyes a few times and that was that.”
She said, smiling devilishly at me. I blushed a little bit, partly because that’s probably all it would’ve taken from someone who looked like her and partly because I was embarrassed that she might not just be poking fun at me.
“No you definitely did something to me, I lost like 6 hours in your kitchen! That was you right…right?!”
I asked a little nervous. Bianca just laughed and pedaled off ahead of me. She did not put my mind at ease with any sort of answer but she did beat me back to the house.
When I got in She was sitting on the couch sorting through a pile of movies she pulled out of her duffle bag. She really had just thrown the entire contents of her room into a bag and brought them over. Bianca seemed to settle on a movie before she realized I’d walked in.
“So you like horror?”
I said, gesturing to the same movies I’d seen lying out earlier when I watched her house.
“Yeah, I just like seeing how people think all these things act. Like Tuck, werewolves are always looked at as these big imposing things in movies but he’s a puppy in comparison.”
“The guy looks like he could tear me apart down the middle with his bare hands buuuut, I see your point.”
Thinking back to every interaction I’d had with the guy so far, he never really was as scary as he looked. I sat down on the couch, dropping the case of beer on the coffee table.
“So, have you picked out a movie yet?”
To which Bianca closed her eyes and poked at a random movie in the pile. “Dog Soldiers”, it was called, actually I think I’ve heard of that movie before. One of those its so bad its entertaining things. I popped the movie into my DVD player and sat back, handing Bianca a beer.
“ Is this how normal people feel?”
She asked as the movie started.
“Depends on what you mean by normal, even then I’m not sure that’s the question I’d be asking. Maybe you just finally have a chance to relax after years of never being able to.”
“Oh sure, I’ll just relax now that I know we have the actual thunderbird looking to force you into some kind of trial.”
Bianca joked sarcastically before suddenly softening and taking a sip of her beer.
“Uggg that’s bitter… but not bad. Maybe your onto something Kieth.”
I don’t remember much from the movie. One scene stuck with me, a guy trying to fist fight a werewolf. It was already campy but the effects on the werewolf were just dated enough to make it that much funnier. Bianca and I couldn’t help but to Imagine Tuck as the werewolf, bewildered as to why this scrawny thing thought it could fight him. At some point the beer ran out, Bianca and I making it through the whole case. I remember getting up to go to my own room and Bianca pulling me back. What I didn’t remember though was letting Shaoni into my house. I was woken up by a tap on my shoulder, coming face to face with her. Shaoni’s hand was on one shoulder and Bianca’s head was on the other. At some point we both feel asleep on the couch together, the TV was still on, illuminating the dark room.
“Well well, I wasn’t expecting you to have guests Keith.”
Shaoni mocked, clicking her tongue at me as she finished. She wore the same white night dress I’d seen her in before. Something in the house was open, a window, a door? I didn’t know but the smells of an autumn rainstorm blew into the house, a storm no doubt caused by Shaoni.
“I… its not what it looks like.”
I stammered out, embarrassed to be caught like this.
“I don’t care what you get up to in your free time Keith. I just came to tell you I’ll expect you at the mine tomorrow, The trials will be starting soon and I want everyone who will be participating to meet each other, you will be participating, won’t you Keith?”
She asked like it was a question but it really wasn’t, wether I liked it or not I was going to be there, I could come willingly or kicking and screaming. She was simply asking which I wanted it to be.
“When do you want me there?”
“Oh don’t worry about that, I’ll send someone to collect you around noon.”
With that she turned to walk away, but I wasn’t done with her yet.
“Wait! What exactly are these trials, what am I going to be doing out there?”
“That would spoil the surprise Keith, be patient, you’ll know in time. That pretty little thing there, her name wouldn’t happen to be Bianca, would it?”
Shaoni asked, pointing at Bianca who was still asleep on my shoulder.
“How did you know that?”
I shot back, immediately jumping to Bianca’s defense. I hadn’t known her all that long true, but I didn’t want her any closer to this than she had to be.
“Oh no reason.”
Shaoni said with a snicker that sounded more like a hiss. With that she disappeared, and I mean she was just gone. One minute she was there the next there was a gust of wind and a brief flash of light and she was gone. The disruption was enough to wake Bianca up finally.
“Ugh, head..still…spinning.”
“Heh, I think you overdid it a bit last night.”
“Ugh maybe.”
She said, holding her head that still rested on my shoulder.
“What’s going on anyway, why’d you wake me up.”
“It’s just… well things are moving a bit faster than I hoped.”
I said, trying to reassure her that it was nothing, most likely failing miserably but she didn’t seem to notice. There was a second there that I thought maybe things could just be normal. This whole thing would just blow over and Shaoni would never come back and get me for these “trials” but I always knew it was wishful thinking. Now Bianca was a part of it to somehow, that had made up my mind. She’d been through enough, now Shaoni seemed interested in her all of a sudden. If putting myself through these trials kept her away from Bianca that’s exactly what I’d do.
2024.05.19 22:07 GoodComprehensive252 lor from philosopher?
For context I'm applying for experimental high energy physics phd! I double majored in philosophy and physics and have 3 lors from my physics research experiences! I have had classes (at the grad level) in philosophy with a professor and have done some interesting philosophy of scientific explanation and philosophy of physics work with them for seminar papers and have a good connection.
Is it worth getting that 4th letter of rec to showcase my research skills in another field? Thanks!
submitted by GoodComprehensive252 to gradadmissions [link] [comments]
Is it worth getting that 4th letter of rec to showcase my research skills in another field? Thanks!
2024.05.19 21:27 AssistTechnical6556 Bankrupt fintech cash insured?
This is a question regarding the regulations in fintech "neobanks".
Are these consumers protected? Should there be more regulations on this type of business in the future?
For anyone not aware, there is a fintech bankruptcy causing thousands of clients to lose access to their money: Synapse Article (see diagram)
What kind of protection do such users have? Is there FDIC/SIPC insurance or is there no recourse if the customer facing fintech or middleman fintech goes bust? This seems like this is a very convoluted business model which could benefit from some explanations.
It seems like a brokerage account was opened on a customers behalf and then that brokerage held the cash at a bank. This does imply some protection. It seems like regulations are lagging behind the current state of the industry.
submitted by AssistTechnical6556 to Banking [link] [comments]
Are these consumers protected? Should there be more regulations on this type of business in the future?
For anyone not aware, there is a fintech bankruptcy causing thousands of clients to lose access to their money: Synapse Article (see diagram)
What kind of protection do such users have? Is there FDIC/SIPC insurance or is there no recourse if the customer facing fintech or middleman fintech goes bust? This seems like this is a very convoluted business model which could benefit from some explanations.
It seems like a brokerage account was opened on a customers behalf and then that brokerage held the cash at a bank. This does imply some protection. It seems like regulations are lagging behind the current state of the industry.
2024.05.19 21:12 Chai_Ky The Case of Kate Blackwell: The Unknown Part 1
11/20/2017
Log book of Det. Ryan Snow
Case #2798: The Appalachian Murders
The past couple of days are events I pray no one else ever has to go through what Kate and I had. I had her and Mr. Raines cleared of all charges, having found the proof we all needed to end this case and find the true killer. Kate no longer has to go into witness protection and I had given the police a good enough lie to keep myself from looking insane in the eyes of my co-workers. I know no one will ever know the true story or believe it, but I’m writing it out here. It at least needs to be known written somewhere. Even if my and Kate’s eyes are the only ones that will ever read it written out and forever imprinted in our memories.
The morning Kate had run off to the mountains on her own, I had made my way to the Blackwell home where I was immediately met with Mr. Blackwell charging at me and wrapping his large hands around my neck. He was shaking me and blaming me for getting his daughter killed and not doing more to keep her safe. The police who had been called to examine the scene and read Kate’s letter had to sedate Mr. Blackwell to get him off of me, lying him down on the couch, his head resting on Mrs. Blackwell’s legs. Though the woman was distraught and begging the police to bring her daughter back, she still took the time to shoot that cold, death glare my way. The ice in my chest growing. I couldn’t tell these people that this thing had come after me to get to Kate. I knew it wouldn’t change anything. If anything they’d hate me even more for keeping it to myself.
The sheriff was there and he pulled me away from eye sight of the Blackwells, trying to tell me that this wasn’t my fault. But I couldn’t help but blame myself. I should have done everything I could to keep Kate as far from those mountains as possible.
There were no signs of a struggle in Kate’s room and the letter was definitely written in her hand writing. Her father’s rifle missing from the study, a backpack and some food and supplies gone as well. She had only grabbed one set of clothes from her drawers, showing she did indeed have plans on returning after only one night in the mountains to confront whoever or whatever the killer was.
I told the sheriff to keep any police from going up to the mountains without first allowing me to go up there first to find Kate. He of course argued, telling me that he couldn’t break protocol based on any hunches I may have had. However, I told him that I could get Kate back without her putting up much of a fight, whereas she may struggle with a group of cops who didn’t understand the situation she was in. I was close enough to this case to have built a trust with her after all. I was mentioned in her letter about ending this case for me.
It took a good hour to get the sheriff to eye the Blackwells, Mr. Blackwell beginning to stir from his sleep, and allow me to go to the mountains to find Kate. He didn’t bother to call off the search to the police that had already begun making their way to the mountains, but did radio to tell them to not try getting Kate home without first allowing me to speak to her. He then gave me twenty-four hours to find her to which I told him I’d only need at most ten.
Without telling him about the disturbing scratches on my car, I sped to the mountains, taking the same path Kate had that day she took her friends on their trip. The route, as the sun began to rise was scenic. A drive that may have been a sign of a bright future ahead with a beautiful week in the mountains of nothing but nature, was now a reddening sky of horror. I couldn’t understand how Kate felt, going down the same roads that led to her only friends’ fates to avenge them, but the feeling of guilt did weigh heavy on my chest as I saw the signs of the Appalachian Mountain trails grow bigger on the horizon. Guilt for not doing more to prove Kate was innocent, for allowing Mrs. Mayfield for getting killed right before my very eyes, and for Liam for not being lucky enough to save him.
When I finally arrived to the cabin, there didn’t seem to be any change since the first day I was called to the crime scene, the only thing out of place being Mr. Blackwell’s truck parked precariously near the cabin. The police tape was still up, the cars of Kate and Mr. Woolfe still left where they were, the tires still slashed, the door wide open from when Kate, Ms. Greymoore, and Mr. Woolfe ran out of the cabin upon Mr. Billings was killed by an unknown force. All the bodies had been found and were now being prepared by their families to be buried or cremated. Only one body of the five still roaming around to avenge each and every one of their deaths.
I called out for Kate as I made my way into the cabin. The Ouija board was still on the coffee table, the white line of where Mr. Billings had been found lying face first on the floor with his head bashed open remained on the spot. The planchette was still missing. I kept calling out for Kate as I made my way up to the attic, the door left unlocked, using my flashlight to shine down on the white outline where Mr. Steele had been found completely torn apart. To think Kate had done such a thing, I now realize made me look like a complete dumb ass for believing it.
When I couldn’t find Kate in the cabin, I made my way out the cabin, still calling for her. I called out to her, promising that she just needed to come back home with me and we could solve the murders together. I knew it was a lie and that the sheriff would immediately have her take away to some secluded place where the killer couldn’t find her, but it was all I could think of to try luring her out to meet me. Still, she never appeared.
The sun was soon beginning to set as I tried retracing the very steps Kate and Ms. Greymoore had taken to outrun the killer. I had passed the small shrine of flowers and the pictures of Mr. Woolfe where the boy had been found, his face permanently remaining nineteen forever in the photos of him with Kate and their friends. I kept going, trying my best to follow the same path to the cliff where Ms. Greymoore was found, calling for Kate along the way.
It wasn’t until I found the place Kate had buried her best friend that I found Kate. She was on her knees before the rock where she left her bloody handprint, sniffing as her head was lowered, her dad’s rifle in her hands.
“Ms. Blackwell-“ I began as I took a step toward her. I was immediately cut off as Kate jumped to her feet, raising her father’s rifle at my head. I jolted back, raising my hands up to show her I meant no harm to her. “Ms. Blackwell, it’s me, Det. Snow!”
“Detective…?” She gasped, slightly lowering the rifle, but keeping it on me. “P-Prove it!”
“I’m sorry?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I… I thought I saw Sonja…” Kate breathed between tears, the rifle shaking in her hands, “it… It was wearing her face… It had her voice… How… H-How do I know you’re really Det. Snow?”
“You… Saw Sonja?” I asked as gently as I could with a terrified woman pointing a gun my way. “She spoke to you?”
“Prove you’re Det. Snow!” Kate demanded as she stilled her arms, readying the rifle as she pointed straight between my eyes.
“Alright! Alright!” I kept my hands up, backing up slightly as I tried thinking of how I could prove to her I was really me. “I… I, ah… I have… Had a brother… We went to get ice cream together once and… I dropped a dime and went to grab it… I was five… I followed it out to the road and despite how trafficked it was, I didn’t get hit. I grabbed the dime just as a truck was speeding my way and it swerved just before hitting me… Seeing how close I was to death, I dropped the dime and it rolled into the sewer. My brother called me Lucky Dime since then… Saying the dime was lost to me because it did its job in protecting me… I haven’t seen my brother since I was seven and I haven’t spoken to my parents in…” I looked at my watch. “Five years… No one else calls me Lucky Dime… Not even the people at the station know that was my nickname.”
With this, Kate lowered the rifle, her eyes softening from her furious fear to a more melancholy terror. She looked to Ms. Greymoore’s grave marker, her hand print just barely visible In the approaching darkness.
“It… It looked just… Like her…” She sniffed, “it had her voice… Why did it have her voice… Why did it look like her…?”
“Ms. Blackwell,” I soothed, relaxing now that there was no weapon in my face, “we need to head back, your parents are worried about you and the police are looking for-“
“I can’t go back yet!” She snapped at me as she spun to look at me, tears in her eyes. “That thing is still out there and will kill again unless I end it!” She held up her dad’s rifle as if to show me how she meant to “end it.” “I’m not leaving until I end that… Thing that had the balls to wear Sonja’s face and have her voice!”
“Ms. Blackwell, we will catch the killer, I promise, but right now, we need to get you home before your dad ends up killing a police officer for keeping him from looking for you.”
“I told him in my letter I’d be back tomorrow! I’m twenty-years-old, he can’t force me back home if I don’t want to! I just want to stop this thing before it-“
A howling in the distance cut Kate off. Coyote from what I could hear. If I couldn’t get Kate home, I’d have to get her somewhere safe. I turned to begin talking her down and taking her to one of the other two cabins for shelter. However, when I looked back at her, her face had turned to a bone chilling terror I’d never seen on a person before. She looked like hunted prey that had been found by its predator. She gripped her dad’s rifle to her chest tightly, her hand reaching for the trigger.
“Ms. Blackwell, it’s just a pack of coyote,” I tried telling her calmly, “let’s get to one of the other cabins and-“
“No, no, no,” She stopped me as she stepped back, looking around for where the howling was coming from, “I… Heard that same howling just before I saw Sonja! I thought it was far away, but she… She was right in front of me… She… Something was off, but it looked just like her!”
“Ms. Blackwell, you didn’t see Sonja,” I assured her, “I don’t know what you think you saw, but it wasn’t-“
“Lucky… Dime…”
I froze. My blood turned to ice. The fear on Kate’s face grew as she began backing away, her back hitting the grave marker. I spun around to see a figure in the darkness limp toward us, a scratched and garbled familiar voice coming from it.
“Lucky… Dime…” It wheezed, “You brought her… Back… Give her… To me…”
I whipped out my gun, pointing it at this thing that had his voice. I stepped back to stand directly between this thing and Kate.
“Stay back!” I demanded. “Don’t come any closer!”
“Lucky… Di-“
“Shut up! Stop calling me that! Who are you? Not another step or I’ll shoot!”
The thing stopped limping toward us, its body shuddering in place as it stared us down. I took the safety off of my Glock, ready to blow this thing’s head off if it got any closer or even dared using that voice on me again.
“Kate…” It turned its attention to Kate, a completely different voice coming from it, another male’s voice. “Kate… I’m cold…”
“J-Jasper…” Kate began to sob, “Please, stop using their voices… Please stop!”
“Kate… Kate why did… Did you leave me…?” Another male voice asked. “I… I was in so much… Pain…”
“Shut up!” Kate cried out.
“I thought we… Were friends… Kate…” A female voice. “You said you… Loved me… Why won’t… You let me have… Your warmth…?”
“I said shut up!” Kate screamed as she pointed her rifle and shooting at the creature. She had missed, but the thing still let out an ear piercing shriek as it dodged out of the way of the bullets Kate was shooting. It ran off into the darkness, but Kate kept pulling the trigger of her rifle.
“Stop!” I shouted as I snatched the barrel of her rifle, shoving it to the ground before us. “It’s gone, you scared it off, get to the cabins, I’m right here with you!”
I began shoving Kate back toward where the cabins were, the sounds of that thing screaming out in a symphony of different voices ringing out throughout the woods. I shoved Kate into the first cabin we had arrived to, Cabin #1 I could only assume as I slammed the door shut behind us. It smelled God awful, like the smell of the corpse I found on my first murder case, and it was getting darker as the sun began to sink behind the trees outside.
“Detective, it smell terrible in here!” Kate cried out, covering her mouth and nose, but the tears still falling from her eyes were still visible as they rolled down her cheeks.
I pulled her close and kept her behind me as I took my gun and flashlight out. “Stay close to me,” I ordered, leading the way through the cabin, “do not run off or use that rifle without may say so, understood?”
Kate didn’t answer, but I could feel the heat from her body following after me as I made my toward the smell. It was getting worse as we inched closer to a closet door in a hallway that connected the living room to the kitchen. The door was locked, but after a couple of kicks I was able to get the door to swing open, the smell blasting us in our faces making us gag and nearly throw up on the floor. I fumbled around the sides inside the room to find a light switch that I was able to find to the side of the entryway. A yellow light flickered on, revealing the door led to a staircase. I led the way down the creaking steps, Kate close by as she kept her mouth covered with her shirt.
Once we had made our way to the bottom, Kate dropped her dad’s rifle and let out a scream as we stared at what was waiting for us at the bottom of the steps. In a large pile at the corner of this basement room were nothing but skin and bones of humans and animals covered in maggots and flies. Some of the human bodies being small and child-like in size. The missing people who were never found after vanishing when they came to Cabin #2.
I grabbed Kate’s rifle off the floor and began pushing her back up the stairs, her screaming and sobbing all the way back up to the cabin. I slammed the door shut behind us and pushed Kate to the front door.
“We need to leave,” I had told her, trying to calm her down as we made it outside, “we need to get you home and away from here as soon as possible.”
“N-No… No!” She began fighting me, trying to escape my grasp on her. “No! That… That thing is still out there! You saw it! You can’t say you don’t believe me now! It even called you Lucky Dime! It said you brought me back!”
“I’m not saying I don’t believe you!” I shot back. “I do, I saw exactly what you saw, but it’s way too dangerous for you to be out here while you’re the one it’s after!”
“I escaped it once, I can do it again!” Kate pointed out as she struggled against me while I tried getting her into my car. “I’m not running away this time, I want to kill it!”
“God damn it, Blackwell, we’ll let the police handle it! Just because you have a weapon doesn’t make you safe or ready to handle something like… Like that… That thing!”
“It killed my friends! It wants me! I’m going straight to it so I can blow its head off! It’ll come right for me!”
“I came here to bring you back home, not let you accomplish some stupid ass revenge plot! Get in the fucking car, unless you want to end up like those bodies down that-“
“D… De… Detect… Detective…”
A scratched and moaning voice cut me off. Kate and I both froze at the sound of something approaching. I turned to see a police officer stagger toward us from the tree line. I could barely tell who he was or who he used to be, his head held low and blue uniform covered in blood.
“H… Hel… Hel… Help… Help me…" It croaked as it stumbled closer.
I held up Kate's rifle. "Stay back!" I barked. "Not another step!"
The thing that stood before us wearing the cop like a full-bodied suit stopped in place. It swayed where it stood, blood water falling from its head and down to its chest.
"It… It… It's inside… Inside me…" It breathed painfully. "I… I can't… Help… Me…" Its voice then changed to that familiar voice that made my skin crawl. "Lucky… Dime… I… I'm so… Hungry… Give her… To… Me…"
I pulled the trigger of the rifle, hitting the creature in the head, the rest of it staggering backward from the blow. Still though, it remained on its feet, turning itself to look toward us once again.
"Give… Her… To… Me…" It wheeze, blood and brain pouring from where I had shot it, it beginning to stumble toward us once again. I continued shooting, hitting it in the shoulder, the arm, the leg, the head again, but it just kept coming toward us faster, demanding I give Kate to it.
I was about ready to ram it with the rifle, having run out of bullets, when a voice off in the distance made the creature freeze just an inch before us.
"I'm here! I'm here!" It called out in an almost sing-songy way, using the voice of a little girl. "I'm here! I'm here!"
"I'm… Here…" The creature repeated as it jerked its body to look to where the voice was coming from. "I'm here… I'm here… I'm here! I'm here! I'm here!" It began shrieking in a high pitch wail. It sounded like a mixture of different voices ranging from child, to woman, to man. Keeping flat on its feet, its upper body fell forward onto its hands before speedily crawling off like a spider.
We stood in shaking silence for a moment, Kate digging her fingers into my arm while I was too numb from shock to care about the pain she was unknowingly inflicting. It wasn’t until the radio from my car buzzed to life that jolted us back to whatever reality was at this point. I scrambled to the driver’s side, swinging the door open as I fell inside to grab the intercom to respond to the voice yelling for me over the receiver.
“Det. Snow, what the hell is going on up there?” The sheriff’s scratched voice called out over the receiver when I could barely get my name out of my mouth.
“Sh-Sh-Sheriff…?” Was all I could respond with, still trying to wrap my head around what I had just seen.
“Y-Y-Yeah,” he responded in mock shudder, “what the hell is going on up there? I’ve tried radioing every man I’ve got up there and am constantly being left on red! Do I need to send back-up?”
“No!” Immediately, I returned to full reality, finally understanding the severity of the moment and putting that knowledge into my tone. “Landon, do not send any more men up here, call everyone back immediately! I don’t know what this thing is, but it’s too dangerous! Call everyone back, we’re heading back to the Blackwell house now!”
“We?” The sheriff questioned, skepticism in his voice.
“I found Ms. Blackwell, she’s here with me.”
I was met with statice before the voice of Mr. Blackwell blasted over the intercom.
“Bring my daughter home, right now, you son of a bitch!” Mr. Blackwell demanded. “You bring her home this instant before I decide to kick your teeth in!”
I opened my mouth to respond, but the radio was snatched from my hand from Kate. “I’m not coming home until I kill this thing!” She snapped into the radio. “I don’t know what it is, but I at least know I’m not crazy and that it needs to die before it kills anyone else!”
I grabbed the radio from Kate’s hand, beginning to tell her off when a agonized scream erupted from the intercom. I dropped the radio to cover my ears as Kate did, the scream piercing from my car to throughout the forest around us. The voice screaming and crying for help sounded male and it seemed to echo all around us.
“GIVE HER TO ME, YOU SON OF A BITCH!” A mix of the screaming voice and Mr. Blackwell’s hissed out after a good five minutes of screaming before the radio short-circuited and puffs of smoke flowed out.
After allowing my ears to adjust to the sudden silence, I grabbed the radio once again and tried calling for the sheriff, for the cops with us in the mountains, for anyone. When I was met with more silence, I slammed the radio back down on the holder and cursed loudly, hitting the wheel as if it were the source of all my problems.
After a moment to take some deep breaths, I told Kate to get in the car as I placed her rifle in the back seat.
“Didn’t you hear me?” she shot back. “I’m not-“
“Damn it, Blackwell, we have no idea what we’re dealing with, it can mimic peoples’ voices, and it just ran off like a fucking black widow!” I snapped, stepping out of the driver’s seat to glare down at her. “The last thing I’m doing to leaving you here alone and I’m not staying here another second until I can wrap my head around what the fuck I just saw! So, you either get yourself killed out here while I try talking you down this hero complex high, or you’re going to do what I say and get in the damn car!”
We stood in heated silence, glaring each other down before Kate huffed and stormed over to the passenger side of my car and slamming the door shut as she climbed in. I jumped in after her and began driving away from this nutty nightmare I had found myself in.
We drove down the trail back to civilization in silence, Kate staring out the window and trying to keep her tearful sniffs quiet. I had finally begun calming down and was starting to feel bad for snapping at her. She had only gone there to avenge her friends by killing that thing that had most likely killed a whole bunch of cops to find her. However, I still couldn’t just let her stay to hunt it and I didn’t want to stay out in those mountains with some kind of creature that could take the form and voice of someone I knew. I still couldn’t understand what is was I had even seen.
“Wendigo,” Kate whispered, breaking the silence in the car first. She had said it as if she had just remembered something important.
“What?”
“A Wendigo,” She repeated, turning to look to me with wide scared eyes, “that’s what that thing is! It’s a Wendigo!”
“Slow down, what’s a Wendigo?”
“It’s… Oh, just forget it! You wouldn’t believe me anyway.”
“Ms. Blackwell, I just saw a cop being used as a puppet and then run off at inhuman speed on all fours; I doubt I’m not going to believe a single word that comes out of your mouth now. What’s a Wendigo?”
Kate eyed me for a moment before releasing some of the tension from her face as she took a deep breath and began explaining to me. “They’re a Native American myth; it’s believed they’re the spirits of people who would lose themselves in the woods and would end up eating other people to satiate their hunger. I think that’s what that thing is. They can mimic the voices of people who died and use it to lure people to them, they can take the form of that person too.”
“Why does it want female hearts?” I asked, not realizing I had yet told her what my mysterious caller kept asking for when they called me.
“It… It wants my heart?” she asked shakily.
I cursed to myself before letting out a frustrated sigh. “I think this thing wants hearts, but it only wants female hearts. Why? I don’t know yet. But the only other person to be found after killing someone in those cabins was found with his partner’s heart missing to which he was blamed for taking out of her. Recently, I’ve been getting calls from some… Thing wanting me to bring you back here so it could take something from you. It would have taken Ms. Greymoore’s, but you hid her well enough that only the police could find her in time. Now, I’ve been getting calls asking for you and to get something from you.”
Kate looked to me in shock before a wave of guilt twisted her face in pain. “I… I’m so, so… So sorry, Detective!” She cried out. “I… I had… I had no idea you were being… Harassed by it! Had I known it wanted me back and was demanding you brought me here, I never… I didn’t… That’s why it said you brought me back! Oh, I’m such an idiot!” She pressed her hands to her face, grabbing at her hair between her fingers and tightening them around her eyes.
“No, no, no, stop, stop that!” I ordered, screeching the car to a halt, having to bring it to a crooked stop so I could stop her from hurting herself. I snatched her arms from her head and pinned them to her lap, tears flooding her face. “It’s my fault for not telling you sooner! I was too focused on trying to solve this case with the most efficient evidence I could, but that just kept me looking to you as a suspect. I should have stopped thinking you were the killer the moment I got that first call. There’s no way any of us could have seen… This coming… Except people who probably already believe in that kind of stuff or don’t stop to assume a more rational explanation like a cult… I’m… I’m sorry. But, I won’t let it take anything from you, not anymore. I’m going to get you home and then I’ll deal with this with the rest of the police department. You don’t have to deal with this thing anymore, it’ll be my burden from now on. You need time to finally get some rest and mourn your friends with your and their families. It’s already fucked your life up enough, I won’t let it go on making it worse.”
I stopped her before she could argue with me with a wave of my hand. “Your friends’ deaths shouldn’t be your burden to handle. I know you want to be the one who kills that thing and do right by them, but that’s not what they would want. They’d want you to remember them and continue living. They know you didn’t do it, so stop blaming yourself and stop acting like you’re the one who has to make it up to them. I will put an end to this die trying, but you need to go home and be with people who are happy you still get to live.”
Kate looked down at her hands that I kept down on her lap before nodding weakly and letting out a broken “okay.”
“Good, now let’s get you home before-“
My words were cut off when the honk of a car barreling toward us echoed through the woods. The headlights were fast approaching and I barely had time to grab the gear shift to put us back in drive as the other vehicle hit us, forcing us back and forth in one violent motion. It took me a moment to check myself to be sure I hadn’t hit my head on anything or got whiplash from the crash before I immediately returned my full attention to Kate who was kneeling over holding her head. I gently grabbed her shoulder and pulled her up to examine her head. It didn’t appear to have been busted and bleeding, but she was holding the front side of her forehead.
“Are you okay?” I asked her, prying her hand away from the spot on her forehead, seeing that it was beginning to bruise. “Can you hear me? Blink twice if you can understand me!”
“I… I’m f-fine…” she mumbled as she looked to her hand to check if there was blood on her palm, “I… I think I just… Hit… Hit the w-window…” She then blinked twice in my direction before looking to the car that had rammed us.
I turned my attention as well to the car to see it was a police van, it’s front crushed into the left of my front. I quickly jumped out my vehicle and stormed to the van, yelling at who ever was driving the van to come out and explain what the hell they were doing.
The driver’s side of the van swung open once I was near enough and a man in an orange jumpsuit climbed out, staring familiar daggers at me. The moment realization set in, my mixed emotions of confusion, frustration, and fear turned to fury.
It was Leighton Raines.
“Jesus, you really are a shitty detective.” Was all he said to me before reaching into the can and retrieving a rifle out from the passenger seat.
[END OF PART 1]
Part 6
submitted by Chai_Ky to u/Chai_Ky [link] [comments]
Log book of Det. Ryan Snow
Case #2798: The Appalachian Murders
The past couple of days are events I pray no one else ever has to go through what Kate and I had. I had her and Mr. Raines cleared of all charges, having found the proof we all needed to end this case and find the true killer. Kate no longer has to go into witness protection and I had given the police a good enough lie to keep myself from looking insane in the eyes of my co-workers. I know no one will ever know the true story or believe it, but I’m writing it out here. It at least needs to be known written somewhere. Even if my and Kate’s eyes are the only ones that will ever read it written out and forever imprinted in our memories.
The morning Kate had run off to the mountains on her own, I had made my way to the Blackwell home where I was immediately met with Mr. Blackwell charging at me and wrapping his large hands around my neck. He was shaking me and blaming me for getting his daughter killed and not doing more to keep her safe. The police who had been called to examine the scene and read Kate’s letter had to sedate Mr. Blackwell to get him off of me, lying him down on the couch, his head resting on Mrs. Blackwell’s legs. Though the woman was distraught and begging the police to bring her daughter back, she still took the time to shoot that cold, death glare my way. The ice in my chest growing. I couldn’t tell these people that this thing had come after me to get to Kate. I knew it wouldn’t change anything. If anything they’d hate me even more for keeping it to myself.
The sheriff was there and he pulled me away from eye sight of the Blackwells, trying to tell me that this wasn’t my fault. But I couldn’t help but blame myself. I should have done everything I could to keep Kate as far from those mountains as possible.
There were no signs of a struggle in Kate’s room and the letter was definitely written in her hand writing. Her father’s rifle missing from the study, a backpack and some food and supplies gone as well. She had only grabbed one set of clothes from her drawers, showing she did indeed have plans on returning after only one night in the mountains to confront whoever or whatever the killer was.
I told the sheriff to keep any police from going up to the mountains without first allowing me to go up there first to find Kate. He of course argued, telling me that he couldn’t break protocol based on any hunches I may have had. However, I told him that I could get Kate back without her putting up much of a fight, whereas she may struggle with a group of cops who didn’t understand the situation she was in. I was close enough to this case to have built a trust with her after all. I was mentioned in her letter about ending this case for me.
It took a good hour to get the sheriff to eye the Blackwells, Mr. Blackwell beginning to stir from his sleep, and allow me to go to the mountains to find Kate. He didn’t bother to call off the search to the police that had already begun making their way to the mountains, but did radio to tell them to not try getting Kate home without first allowing me to speak to her. He then gave me twenty-four hours to find her to which I told him I’d only need at most ten.
Without telling him about the disturbing scratches on my car, I sped to the mountains, taking the same path Kate had that day she took her friends on their trip. The route, as the sun began to rise was scenic. A drive that may have been a sign of a bright future ahead with a beautiful week in the mountains of nothing but nature, was now a reddening sky of horror. I couldn’t understand how Kate felt, going down the same roads that led to her only friends’ fates to avenge them, but the feeling of guilt did weigh heavy on my chest as I saw the signs of the Appalachian Mountain trails grow bigger on the horizon. Guilt for not doing more to prove Kate was innocent, for allowing Mrs. Mayfield for getting killed right before my very eyes, and for Liam for not being lucky enough to save him.
When I finally arrived to the cabin, there didn’t seem to be any change since the first day I was called to the crime scene, the only thing out of place being Mr. Blackwell’s truck parked precariously near the cabin. The police tape was still up, the cars of Kate and Mr. Woolfe still left where they were, the tires still slashed, the door wide open from when Kate, Ms. Greymoore, and Mr. Woolfe ran out of the cabin upon Mr. Billings was killed by an unknown force. All the bodies had been found and were now being prepared by their families to be buried or cremated. Only one body of the five still roaming around to avenge each and every one of their deaths.
I called out for Kate as I made my way into the cabin. The Ouija board was still on the coffee table, the white line of where Mr. Billings had been found lying face first on the floor with his head bashed open remained on the spot. The planchette was still missing. I kept calling out for Kate as I made my way up to the attic, the door left unlocked, using my flashlight to shine down on the white outline where Mr. Steele had been found completely torn apart. To think Kate had done such a thing, I now realize made me look like a complete dumb ass for believing it.
When I couldn’t find Kate in the cabin, I made my way out the cabin, still calling for her. I called out to her, promising that she just needed to come back home with me and we could solve the murders together. I knew it was a lie and that the sheriff would immediately have her take away to some secluded place where the killer couldn’t find her, but it was all I could think of to try luring her out to meet me. Still, she never appeared.
The sun was soon beginning to set as I tried retracing the very steps Kate and Ms. Greymoore had taken to outrun the killer. I had passed the small shrine of flowers and the pictures of Mr. Woolfe where the boy had been found, his face permanently remaining nineteen forever in the photos of him with Kate and their friends. I kept going, trying my best to follow the same path to the cliff where Ms. Greymoore was found, calling for Kate along the way.
It wasn’t until I found the place Kate had buried her best friend that I found Kate. She was on her knees before the rock where she left her bloody handprint, sniffing as her head was lowered, her dad’s rifle in her hands.
“Ms. Blackwell-“ I began as I took a step toward her. I was immediately cut off as Kate jumped to her feet, raising her father’s rifle at my head. I jolted back, raising my hands up to show her I meant no harm to her. “Ms. Blackwell, it’s me, Det. Snow!”
“Detective…?” She gasped, slightly lowering the rifle, but keeping it on me. “P-Prove it!”
“I’m sorry?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I… I thought I saw Sonja…” Kate breathed between tears, the rifle shaking in her hands, “it… It was wearing her face… It had her voice… How… H-How do I know you’re really Det. Snow?”
“You… Saw Sonja?” I asked as gently as I could with a terrified woman pointing a gun my way. “She spoke to you?”
“Prove you’re Det. Snow!” Kate demanded as she stilled her arms, readying the rifle as she pointed straight between my eyes.
“Alright! Alright!” I kept my hands up, backing up slightly as I tried thinking of how I could prove to her I was really me. “I… I, ah… I have… Had a brother… We went to get ice cream together once and… I dropped a dime and went to grab it… I was five… I followed it out to the road and despite how trafficked it was, I didn’t get hit. I grabbed the dime just as a truck was speeding my way and it swerved just before hitting me… Seeing how close I was to death, I dropped the dime and it rolled into the sewer. My brother called me Lucky Dime since then… Saying the dime was lost to me because it did its job in protecting me… I haven’t seen my brother since I was seven and I haven’t spoken to my parents in…” I looked at my watch. “Five years… No one else calls me Lucky Dime… Not even the people at the station know that was my nickname.”
With this, Kate lowered the rifle, her eyes softening from her furious fear to a more melancholy terror. She looked to Ms. Greymoore’s grave marker, her hand print just barely visible In the approaching darkness.
“It… It looked just… Like her…” She sniffed, “it had her voice… Why did it have her voice… Why did it look like her…?”
“Ms. Blackwell,” I soothed, relaxing now that there was no weapon in my face, “we need to head back, your parents are worried about you and the police are looking for-“
“I can’t go back yet!” She snapped at me as she spun to look at me, tears in her eyes. “That thing is still out there and will kill again unless I end it!” She held up her dad’s rifle as if to show me how she meant to “end it.” “I’m not leaving until I end that… Thing that had the balls to wear Sonja’s face and have her voice!”
“Ms. Blackwell, we will catch the killer, I promise, but right now, we need to get you home before your dad ends up killing a police officer for keeping him from looking for you.”
“I told him in my letter I’d be back tomorrow! I’m twenty-years-old, he can’t force me back home if I don’t want to! I just want to stop this thing before it-“
A howling in the distance cut Kate off. Coyote from what I could hear. If I couldn’t get Kate home, I’d have to get her somewhere safe. I turned to begin talking her down and taking her to one of the other two cabins for shelter. However, when I looked back at her, her face had turned to a bone chilling terror I’d never seen on a person before. She looked like hunted prey that had been found by its predator. She gripped her dad’s rifle to her chest tightly, her hand reaching for the trigger.
“Ms. Blackwell, it’s just a pack of coyote,” I tried telling her calmly, “let’s get to one of the other cabins and-“
“No, no, no,” She stopped me as she stepped back, looking around for where the howling was coming from, “I… Heard that same howling just before I saw Sonja! I thought it was far away, but she… She was right in front of me… She… Something was off, but it looked just like her!”
“Ms. Blackwell, you didn’t see Sonja,” I assured her, “I don’t know what you think you saw, but it wasn’t-“
“Lucky… Dime…”
I froze. My blood turned to ice. The fear on Kate’s face grew as she began backing away, her back hitting the grave marker. I spun around to see a figure in the darkness limp toward us, a scratched and garbled familiar voice coming from it.
“Lucky… Dime…” It wheezed, “You brought her… Back… Give her… To me…”
I whipped out my gun, pointing it at this thing that had his voice. I stepped back to stand directly between this thing and Kate.
“Stay back!” I demanded. “Don’t come any closer!”
“Lucky… Di-“
“Shut up! Stop calling me that! Who are you? Not another step or I’ll shoot!”
The thing stopped limping toward us, its body shuddering in place as it stared us down. I took the safety off of my Glock, ready to blow this thing’s head off if it got any closer or even dared using that voice on me again.
“Kate…” It turned its attention to Kate, a completely different voice coming from it, another male’s voice. “Kate… I’m cold…”
“J-Jasper…” Kate began to sob, “Please, stop using their voices… Please stop!”
“Kate… Kate why did… Did you leave me…?” Another male voice asked. “I… I was in so much… Pain…”
“Shut up!” Kate cried out.
“I thought we… Were friends… Kate…” A female voice. “You said you… Loved me… Why won’t… You let me have… Your warmth…?”
“I said shut up!” Kate screamed as she pointed her rifle and shooting at the creature. She had missed, but the thing still let out an ear piercing shriek as it dodged out of the way of the bullets Kate was shooting. It ran off into the darkness, but Kate kept pulling the trigger of her rifle.
“Stop!” I shouted as I snatched the barrel of her rifle, shoving it to the ground before us. “It’s gone, you scared it off, get to the cabins, I’m right here with you!”
I began shoving Kate back toward where the cabins were, the sounds of that thing screaming out in a symphony of different voices ringing out throughout the woods. I shoved Kate into the first cabin we had arrived to, Cabin #1 I could only assume as I slammed the door shut behind us. It smelled God awful, like the smell of the corpse I found on my first murder case, and it was getting darker as the sun began to sink behind the trees outside.
“Detective, it smell terrible in here!” Kate cried out, covering her mouth and nose, but the tears still falling from her eyes were still visible as they rolled down her cheeks.
I pulled her close and kept her behind me as I took my gun and flashlight out. “Stay close to me,” I ordered, leading the way through the cabin, “do not run off or use that rifle without may say so, understood?”
Kate didn’t answer, but I could feel the heat from her body following after me as I made my toward the smell. It was getting worse as we inched closer to a closet door in a hallway that connected the living room to the kitchen. The door was locked, but after a couple of kicks I was able to get the door to swing open, the smell blasting us in our faces making us gag and nearly throw up on the floor. I fumbled around the sides inside the room to find a light switch that I was able to find to the side of the entryway. A yellow light flickered on, revealing the door led to a staircase. I led the way down the creaking steps, Kate close by as she kept her mouth covered with her shirt.
Once we had made our way to the bottom, Kate dropped her dad’s rifle and let out a scream as we stared at what was waiting for us at the bottom of the steps. In a large pile at the corner of this basement room were nothing but skin and bones of humans and animals covered in maggots and flies. Some of the human bodies being small and child-like in size. The missing people who were never found after vanishing when they came to Cabin #2.
I grabbed Kate’s rifle off the floor and began pushing her back up the stairs, her screaming and sobbing all the way back up to the cabin. I slammed the door shut behind us and pushed Kate to the front door.
“We need to leave,” I had told her, trying to calm her down as we made it outside, “we need to get you home and away from here as soon as possible.”
“N-No… No!” She began fighting me, trying to escape my grasp on her. “No! That… That thing is still out there! You saw it! You can’t say you don’t believe me now! It even called you Lucky Dime! It said you brought me back!”
“I’m not saying I don’t believe you!” I shot back. “I do, I saw exactly what you saw, but it’s way too dangerous for you to be out here while you’re the one it’s after!”
“I escaped it once, I can do it again!” Kate pointed out as she struggled against me while I tried getting her into my car. “I’m not running away this time, I want to kill it!”
“God damn it, Blackwell, we’ll let the police handle it! Just because you have a weapon doesn’t make you safe or ready to handle something like… Like that… That thing!”
“It killed my friends! It wants me! I’m going straight to it so I can blow its head off! It’ll come right for me!”
“I came here to bring you back home, not let you accomplish some stupid ass revenge plot! Get in the fucking car, unless you want to end up like those bodies down that-“
“D… De… Detect… Detective…”
A scratched and moaning voice cut me off. Kate and I both froze at the sound of something approaching. I turned to see a police officer stagger toward us from the tree line. I could barely tell who he was or who he used to be, his head held low and blue uniform covered in blood.
“H… Hel… Hel… Help… Help me…" It croaked as it stumbled closer.
I held up Kate's rifle. "Stay back!" I barked. "Not another step!"
The thing that stood before us wearing the cop like a full-bodied suit stopped in place. It swayed where it stood, blood water falling from its head and down to its chest.
"It… It… It's inside… Inside me…" It breathed painfully. "I… I can't… Help… Me…" Its voice then changed to that familiar voice that made my skin crawl. "Lucky… Dime… I… I'm so… Hungry… Give her… To… Me…"
I pulled the trigger of the rifle, hitting the creature in the head, the rest of it staggering backward from the blow. Still though, it remained on its feet, turning itself to look toward us once again.
"Give… Her… To… Me…" It wheeze, blood and brain pouring from where I had shot it, it beginning to stumble toward us once again. I continued shooting, hitting it in the shoulder, the arm, the leg, the head again, but it just kept coming toward us faster, demanding I give Kate to it.
I was about ready to ram it with the rifle, having run out of bullets, when a voice off in the distance made the creature freeze just an inch before us.
"I'm here! I'm here!" It called out in an almost sing-songy way, using the voice of a little girl. "I'm here! I'm here!"
"I'm… Here…" The creature repeated as it jerked its body to look to where the voice was coming from. "I'm here… I'm here… I'm here! I'm here! I'm here!" It began shrieking in a high pitch wail. It sounded like a mixture of different voices ranging from child, to woman, to man. Keeping flat on its feet, its upper body fell forward onto its hands before speedily crawling off like a spider.
We stood in shaking silence for a moment, Kate digging her fingers into my arm while I was too numb from shock to care about the pain she was unknowingly inflicting. It wasn’t until the radio from my car buzzed to life that jolted us back to whatever reality was at this point. I scrambled to the driver’s side, swinging the door open as I fell inside to grab the intercom to respond to the voice yelling for me over the receiver.
“Det. Snow, what the hell is going on up there?” The sheriff’s scratched voice called out over the receiver when I could barely get my name out of my mouth.
“Sh-Sh-Sheriff…?” Was all I could respond with, still trying to wrap my head around what I had just seen.
“Y-Y-Yeah,” he responded in mock shudder, “what the hell is going on up there? I’ve tried radioing every man I’ve got up there and am constantly being left on red! Do I need to send back-up?”
“No!” Immediately, I returned to full reality, finally understanding the severity of the moment and putting that knowledge into my tone. “Landon, do not send any more men up here, call everyone back immediately! I don’t know what this thing is, but it’s too dangerous! Call everyone back, we’re heading back to the Blackwell house now!”
“We?” The sheriff questioned, skepticism in his voice.
“I found Ms. Blackwell, she’s here with me.”
I was met with statice before the voice of Mr. Blackwell blasted over the intercom.
“Bring my daughter home, right now, you son of a bitch!” Mr. Blackwell demanded. “You bring her home this instant before I decide to kick your teeth in!”
I opened my mouth to respond, but the radio was snatched from my hand from Kate. “I’m not coming home until I kill this thing!” She snapped into the radio. “I don’t know what it is, but I at least know I’m not crazy and that it needs to die before it kills anyone else!”
I grabbed the radio from Kate’s hand, beginning to tell her off when a agonized scream erupted from the intercom. I dropped the radio to cover my ears as Kate did, the scream piercing from my car to throughout the forest around us. The voice screaming and crying for help sounded male and it seemed to echo all around us.
“GIVE HER TO ME, YOU SON OF A BITCH!” A mix of the screaming voice and Mr. Blackwell’s hissed out after a good five minutes of screaming before the radio short-circuited and puffs of smoke flowed out.
After allowing my ears to adjust to the sudden silence, I grabbed the radio once again and tried calling for the sheriff, for the cops with us in the mountains, for anyone. When I was met with more silence, I slammed the radio back down on the holder and cursed loudly, hitting the wheel as if it were the source of all my problems.
After a moment to take some deep breaths, I told Kate to get in the car as I placed her rifle in the back seat.
“Didn’t you hear me?” she shot back. “I’m not-“
“Damn it, Blackwell, we have no idea what we’re dealing with, it can mimic peoples’ voices, and it just ran off like a fucking black widow!” I snapped, stepping out of the driver’s seat to glare down at her. “The last thing I’m doing to leaving you here alone and I’m not staying here another second until I can wrap my head around what the fuck I just saw! So, you either get yourself killed out here while I try talking you down this hero complex high, or you’re going to do what I say and get in the damn car!”
We stood in heated silence, glaring each other down before Kate huffed and stormed over to the passenger side of my car and slamming the door shut as she climbed in. I jumped in after her and began driving away from this nutty nightmare I had found myself in.
We drove down the trail back to civilization in silence, Kate staring out the window and trying to keep her tearful sniffs quiet. I had finally begun calming down and was starting to feel bad for snapping at her. She had only gone there to avenge her friends by killing that thing that had most likely killed a whole bunch of cops to find her. However, I still couldn’t just let her stay to hunt it and I didn’t want to stay out in those mountains with some kind of creature that could take the form and voice of someone I knew. I still couldn’t understand what is was I had even seen.
“Wendigo,” Kate whispered, breaking the silence in the car first. She had said it as if she had just remembered something important.
“What?”
“A Wendigo,” She repeated, turning to look to me with wide scared eyes, “that’s what that thing is! It’s a Wendigo!”
“Slow down, what’s a Wendigo?”
“It’s… Oh, just forget it! You wouldn’t believe me anyway.”
“Ms. Blackwell, I just saw a cop being used as a puppet and then run off at inhuman speed on all fours; I doubt I’m not going to believe a single word that comes out of your mouth now. What’s a Wendigo?”
Kate eyed me for a moment before releasing some of the tension from her face as she took a deep breath and began explaining to me. “They’re a Native American myth; it’s believed they’re the spirits of people who would lose themselves in the woods and would end up eating other people to satiate their hunger. I think that’s what that thing is. They can mimic the voices of people who died and use it to lure people to them, they can take the form of that person too.”
“Why does it want female hearts?” I asked, not realizing I had yet told her what my mysterious caller kept asking for when they called me.
“It… It wants my heart?” she asked shakily.
I cursed to myself before letting out a frustrated sigh. “I think this thing wants hearts, but it only wants female hearts. Why? I don’t know yet. But the only other person to be found after killing someone in those cabins was found with his partner’s heart missing to which he was blamed for taking out of her. Recently, I’ve been getting calls from some… Thing wanting me to bring you back here so it could take something from you. It would have taken Ms. Greymoore’s, but you hid her well enough that only the police could find her in time. Now, I’ve been getting calls asking for you and to get something from you.”
Kate looked to me in shock before a wave of guilt twisted her face in pain. “I… I’m so, so… So sorry, Detective!” She cried out. “I… I had… I had no idea you were being… Harassed by it! Had I known it wanted me back and was demanding you brought me here, I never… I didn’t… That’s why it said you brought me back! Oh, I’m such an idiot!” She pressed her hands to her face, grabbing at her hair between her fingers and tightening them around her eyes.
“No, no, no, stop, stop that!” I ordered, screeching the car to a halt, having to bring it to a crooked stop so I could stop her from hurting herself. I snatched her arms from her head and pinned them to her lap, tears flooding her face. “It’s my fault for not telling you sooner! I was too focused on trying to solve this case with the most efficient evidence I could, but that just kept me looking to you as a suspect. I should have stopped thinking you were the killer the moment I got that first call. There’s no way any of us could have seen… This coming… Except people who probably already believe in that kind of stuff or don’t stop to assume a more rational explanation like a cult… I’m… I’m sorry. But, I won’t let it take anything from you, not anymore. I’m going to get you home and then I’ll deal with this with the rest of the police department. You don’t have to deal with this thing anymore, it’ll be my burden from now on. You need time to finally get some rest and mourn your friends with your and their families. It’s already fucked your life up enough, I won’t let it go on making it worse.”
I stopped her before she could argue with me with a wave of my hand. “Your friends’ deaths shouldn’t be your burden to handle. I know you want to be the one who kills that thing and do right by them, but that’s not what they would want. They’d want you to remember them and continue living. They know you didn’t do it, so stop blaming yourself and stop acting like you’re the one who has to make it up to them. I will put an end to this die trying, but you need to go home and be with people who are happy you still get to live.”
Kate looked down at her hands that I kept down on her lap before nodding weakly and letting out a broken “okay.”
“Good, now let’s get you home before-“
My words were cut off when the honk of a car barreling toward us echoed through the woods. The headlights were fast approaching and I barely had time to grab the gear shift to put us back in drive as the other vehicle hit us, forcing us back and forth in one violent motion. It took me a moment to check myself to be sure I hadn’t hit my head on anything or got whiplash from the crash before I immediately returned my full attention to Kate who was kneeling over holding her head. I gently grabbed her shoulder and pulled her up to examine her head. It didn’t appear to have been busted and bleeding, but she was holding the front side of her forehead.
“Are you okay?” I asked her, prying her hand away from the spot on her forehead, seeing that it was beginning to bruise. “Can you hear me? Blink twice if you can understand me!”
“I… I’m f-fine…” she mumbled as she looked to her hand to check if there was blood on her palm, “I… I think I just… Hit… Hit the w-window…” She then blinked twice in my direction before looking to the car that had rammed us.
I turned my attention as well to the car to see it was a police van, it’s front crushed into the left of my front. I quickly jumped out my vehicle and stormed to the van, yelling at who ever was driving the van to come out and explain what the hell they were doing.
The driver’s side of the van swung open once I was near enough and a man in an orange jumpsuit climbed out, staring familiar daggers at me. The moment realization set in, my mixed emotions of confusion, frustration, and fear turned to fury.
It was Leighton Raines.
“Jesus, you really are a shitty detective.” Was all he said to me before reaching into the can and retrieving a rifle out from the passenger seat.
[END OF PART 1]
Part 6
2024.05.19 21:00 future_flora So, you got hit with a violation and you want to appeal?
Affiliates get ONE shot at appealing.
First, you need to pin down the violation reason. Ex: trademark infringement, unoriginal content, irrelevant product promotion, etc. This is typically easy to do, if it's a video violation- they will give you the exact violation reason. However, account violations are trickier.
Next, you need to try to pin down the EXACT CAUSE for the violation reason. So, if you got a trademark infringement violation, what exactly in your video triggered this? If you got an unoriginal content violation, what exactly in your video triggered this? You need to pin this down, to even have a shot at appealing.
But even IF you pin down the exact cause for the violation reason, guess what? Our Affiliate Appeal Policy page does not detail the supporting documents necessary for every single violation and some of the supporting documents listed would be impossible for us to collect. Fun stuff! 😭
The information below is from the Creator Appeals Policy in TikTok Shop Academy from 5/1/24. TikTok wants us to include:
MINOR SAFETY VIOLATION - proof that the creator is not a minor, such as:
➡️ IMPORTANT NOTE: Below are the supporting documents listed from the Seller Policy "Seller Appeals for IPR Violations" from 05/13/24, which cover the documents needed for trademark infringement violations but again, this policy was written specifically for Sellers and not included in the Affiliate Policies. So I can't be certain that this would work for Affiliate appeals.
(TRADEMARK) COUNTERFEIT PRODUCTS- The listed product infringes on another's trademark rights as it involves the sale or promotion of counterfeit products.
-Letter of Authorization from the Trademark Owner or Level 1 Distributor that includes the following information:
-Letter of Authorization from the Trademark Owner or Level 1 Distributor that includes the following information:
-Letter of Authorization from the Trademark Owner or Level 1 Distributor that includes the following information:
-Letter of Authorization from the Trademark Owner or Level 1 Distributor that includes the following information:
-Letter of Authorization from the Trademark Owner or Level 1 Distributor that includes the following information:
-Letter of Authorization from the Trademark Owner or Level 1 Distributor that includes the following information:
-Letter of Authorization from the Trademark Owner or Level 1 Distributor that includes the following information:
submitted by future_flora to TikTokShopAffiliate [link] [comments]
First, you need to pin down the violation reason. Ex: trademark infringement, unoriginal content, irrelevant product promotion, etc. This is typically easy to do, if it's a video violation- they will give you the exact violation reason. However, account violations are trickier.
Next, you need to try to pin down the EXACT CAUSE for the violation reason. So, if you got a trademark infringement violation, what exactly in your video triggered this? If you got an unoriginal content violation, what exactly in your video triggered this? You need to pin this down, to even have a shot at appealing.
But even IF you pin down the exact cause for the violation reason, guess what? Our Affiliate Appeal Policy page does not detail the supporting documents necessary for every single violation and some of the supporting documents listed would be impossible for us to collect. Fun stuff! 😭
The information below is from the Creator Appeals Policy in TikTok Shop Academy from 5/1/24. TikTok wants us to include:
- A clear explanation of why we feel that the enforcement action was taken against us in error
- Any relevant supporting documents (see list below) only submit documents related to the specific violation you are appealing.
- Any additional materials or information required by TikTok Shop
MINOR SAFETY VIOLATION - proof that the creator is not a minor, such as:
- Copy of US ID Card
- Copy of Passport
- Copy of Driver's License
- Copy of Green Card
- Photographs of the film set and of the host(s) in the livestreams
- Unique Identification Numbers (UIDs) of original videos
- Results from credible and authorized tests
- Reports
- Research
- Legitimate website or certificate from a credible source that supports the claim(s).
- Results from credible and authorized tests,
- Reports
- Research
- Legitimate website or certificate from a credible source that supports the claim
- FDA-issued certifications, or certifications from other local or regulatory bodies. Valid certifications may be identified by an official issuing institution or organization, certification issue or expiry date, certification number, signature by the issuing party, and the name of the product or brand. The certification may also be printed on product packaging or on the product itself.
- Screenshots of official certification or patent verification sites containing certification or patent numbers of the product
- Official endorsement contract
- Product packaging or product with mention of the place of origin
- Screenshots of order containing evidence of a processed return or refund based on the information mentioned in the content. Note : Blur out any personally identifiable information such as addresses, names, etc.
- A copy of the logistics waybill with mention of the logistics provider
- Screenshots of order with mention of the shipping fee Note : Please blur out any personally identifiable information such as actual addresses, names etc.
➡️ IMPORTANT NOTE: Below are the supporting documents listed from the Seller Policy "Seller Appeals for IPR Violations" from 05/13/24, which cover the documents needed for trademark infringement violations but again, this policy was written specifically for Sellers and not included in the Affiliate Policies. So I can't be certain that this would work for Affiliate appeals.
(TRADEMARK) COUNTERFEIT PRODUCTS- The listed product infringes on another's trademark rights as it involves the sale or promotion of counterfeit products.
-Letter of Authorization from the Trademark Owner or Level 1 Distributor that includes the following information:
- Name of authorizing party
- Name of the authorized party
- Authorized rights (rights to use trademark, rights to use copyright material, rights to distribute products, or authorized country)
- Authorization period
- Stamp of the authorizing party (if the Trademark Owner is a corporate entity)
- Signature of the Trademark Owner (or representative if the Trademark Owner is a corporate entity)
- IPR information (trademark, copyright, or registered design)
- IPR certificate issuance country
- IPR owner name
- Validity period
- Trademark classification (trademark certificate only)
-Letter of Authorization from the Trademark Owner or Level 1 Distributor that includes the following information:
- Name of authorizing party
- Name of the authorized party
- Authorized rights (rights to use trademark, rights to use copyright material, rights to distribute products, or authorized country)
- Authorization period
- Stamp of the authorizing party (if the Trademark Owner is a corporate entity)
- Signature of the Trademark Owner (or representative if the Trademark Owner is a corporate entity)
- IPR information (trademark, copyright, or registered design)
- IPR certificate issuance country
- IPR owner name
- Validity period
- Trademark classification (trademark certificate only)
-Letter of Authorization from the Trademark Owner or Level 1 Distributor that includes the following information:
- Name of authorizing party
- Name of the authorized party
- Authorized rights (rights to use trademark, rights to use copyright material, rights to distribute products, or authorized country)
- Authorization period
- Stamp of the authorizing party (if the Trademark Owner is a corporate entity)
- Signature of the Trademark Owner (or representative if the Trademark Owner is a corporate entity)
-Letter of Authorization from the Trademark Owner or Level 1 Distributor that includes the following information:
- Name of authorizing party
- Name of the authorized party
- Authorized rights (rights to use trademark, rights to use copyright material, rights to distribute products, or authorized country)
- Authorization period
- Stamp of the authorizing party (if the Trademark Owner is a corporate entity)
- Signature of the Trademark Owner (or representative if the Trademark Owner is a corporate entity)
-Letter of Authorization from the Trademark Owner or Level 1 Distributor that includes the following information:
- Name of authorizing party
- Name of the authorized party
- Authorized rights (rights to use trademark, rights to use copyright material, rights to distribute products, or authorized country)
- Authorization period
- Stamp of the authorizing party (if the Trademark Owner is a corporate entity)
- Signature of the Trademark Owner (or representative if the Trademark Owner is a corporate entity)
-Letter of Authorization from the Trademark Owner or Level 1 Distributor that includes the following information:
- Name of authorizing party
- Name of the authorized party
- Authorized rights (rights to use trademark, rights to use copyright material, rights to distribute products, or authorized country)
- Authorization period
- Stamp of the authorizing party (if the Trademark Owner is a corporate entity)
- Signature of the Trademark Owner (or representative if the Trademark Owner is a corporate entity)
-Letter of Authorization from the Trademark Owner or Level 1 Distributor that includes the following information:
- Name of authorizing party
- Name of the authorized party
- Authorized rights (rights to use trademark, rights to use copyright material, rights to distribute products, or authorized country)
- Authorization period
- Stamp of the authorizing party (if the Trademark Owner is a corporate entity)
- Signature of the Trademark Owner (or representative if the Trademark Owner is a corporate entity)
- Registered design - front, back, top, bottom, left, and right information of listing product and IPR certificate image or illustration.
2024.05.19 20:45 FelicitySmoak_ Do you think there's a connection between Michael's death & his attorney Peter Lopez's "suicide"?
 | On June 25, 2009, Michael Jackson dies, reportedly of a Propofol overdose submitted by FelicitySmoak_ to MJDeathInvestigation [link] [comments] Three deaths of people connected to Michael happen within a six month period & I begin to think this was not a coincidence.
NO ONE, not his mother nor his family and friends, saw any sign that Peter Lopez would commit suicide. Reports surfaced that said Lopez seemed slightly stressed, but not one sign that morning Peter dropped the kids off at school at about 9:00 AM Friday. When he got home, he apparently went to the backyard garden and shot himself in the head There were reports from people close to Peter that thought he seemed "stressed out" in the weeks leading up to his death ... but that he did not tell anyone -- including his family -- what was bothering him. They did find a 1-page, handwritten note in which Peter expressed his love for his wife & kids and asked for forgiveness, but did not even hint at why Peter would end his life In the very odd 911 call that his wife, actress Catherine Bach made, she states that there was a "terrible robbery" a few days earlier I wonder what was stolen? Is the robbery connected? https://preview.redd.it/i11oo7tqhf1d1.jpg?width=485&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=08064dcc10707b306aced4de65b9756339e07932 Peter's History With MichaelRaymone Bain, Michael's former general manager, said she hired Peter Lopez in 2006 as Jackson's entertainment attorney when she was reorganizing his business affairs."I'd known Peter for 20 years," she said. When she was searching for a new legal team she said another of her clients, R&B singer Babyface, recommended Lopez. "I can't think of a nicer individual," she said after his death. "He was a good guy. I'm just so shocked."Lopez was conveniently/coincidentally hired to replace John Branca. On August 7, 2006, Raymone Bain stated that: "in what could be one of the biggest conspiracies in the entertainment industry, documents have been sent to Michael Jackson, and his representatives, which reveal a deliberate plan by some former attorneys as well as associates and advisors, to force Jackson into involuntary bankruptcy. The documents reveal that FORMER ATTORNEYS actively solicited other attorneys, vendors and creditors to 'join in a petition to place the client in involuntary bankruptcy.' ...Based on the timing of the events that have impacted his personal and professional life in recent years, he has long been suspicious that some of them that he entrusted to act on his behalf, and to advise him with respect to his personal and business affairs, may not have always acted in his best interests."John Branca was fired by Michael Jackson in 2006. Although Branca stated that he left because Michael was surrounded by people who he did not care for or trust, the fact is that that Michael Jackson fired Branca and wrote him a letter demanding that he return all documents that pertained to him. https://preview.redd.it/m0nczzp07f1d1.jpg?width=642&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a973ae4098ad803623619d397de3700b28764881 Michael's letter was dated in 2003. Did Jackson finally have the evidence against John Branca that he needed? And to be sure, Lopez was aware of all that was going on regarding Michael Jackson, whether it was Branca or other seedy characters that surrounded him. The Final MonthsSome people say Lopez wasn't involved with Michael in his final months. They are wrong. He was integral in the putting together of the This Is It residency, as confirmed by his wife & othersDarius Jordi Lassus, President and CEO of IMC Records said: "in the past three years, Peter Lopez helped Michael Jackson launch the Life Water "Thrillicious" Super Bowl ad featuring Naomi Campbell, the release of "Thriller 25" (the 25th Anniversary edition of the biggest selling album in music history with new mixes featuring Wil.i.am, Kanye West, Akon and Fergie), "Thriller the Musical", the "This Is It" tour with AEG and an MJ inspired clothing line with Christian Audigier, you simply couldn't stop them, they were on fire."On February 27, 2009, he is seen in Michael's entourage https://reddit.com/link/1cvv7k3/video/7f6ceop3df1d1/player On March 4, 2009, Lopez signed this "Confidential Estate Planning' document https://preview.redd.it/gzru3t8yaf1d1.jpg?width=2544&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4a5ee8d0b0568550c18e6fea27a008cea4078cf0 https://preview.redd.it/tj5bwlg0bf1d1.jpg?width=2550&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5bbdf3d43f83fc7eda70dbbed63196b674bfc155 https://preview.redd.it/w38n5lk2bf1d1.jpg?width=2550&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c323f35b00532b9926eab6172af1aa00f8d8e79b In April of 2009, Peter Lopez was fired. The reason & by whom is unknown, though it is widely believed to have been by Tohme Tohme It is said that he was fired to make room for John Branca to come back. Reportedly, on June 17th, eight days before he died, Michael signed a letter hiring Branca back as his lawyer. This letter has never been made public Howard Weitzman, a lawyer for the estate, confirmed: "In mid-June, Michael Jackson retained John Branca to represent him as general and entertainment counsel in his business and personal affairs."We all know about Michael's fraudulent 2002 will that Branca has passed off as authentic but it is said that Lopez was in possession of the legitimate 1997 will Picture taken May 23, 2008 https://preview.redd.it/55f8icmf8f1d1.png?width=541&format=png&auto=webp&s=0274a7b04ce4520c6ba15aa7c87e790bd5c8dee3 Yes, I know Keya Morgan is not completely trustworthy or a good person but I still don't think we should outright dismiss everything that he says In this August 2009 interview with Lopez, he says that the Michael Jackson investigation was to be solved "very soon". He seems like a man that knows more than he was letting on https://reddit.com/link/1cvv7k3/video/rwsjdbpnaf1d1/player Bach told the police that in the days prior to Peter's "suicide", she was being stalked. In 2012, when asked if she thought that maybe it was not suicide, or that something other than personal issues was behind his death she said "I don't know"In a 2013 interview with The Huffington Post, Catherine Bach states: "He represented Michael Jackson, and you know how crazy that was. He's the man responsible for putting the "This Is It" tour together. He brought AEG into the picture which I'm sure now he wishes he didn't. So I think that he felt very responsible for what happened to Michael. And I think that that gave him a lot of grief"This all seems a lot to just be coincidence Was someone threatening Peter's family because of what he knew about Michael's business? Peter was openly critical about the way the estate was handling MJ's business after his death. He said they (the estate) did not know what they were doing. Did Peter sacrifice himself to save his family from threats? Did he take himself out of the equation because he knew the info he was sitting on and other people knew that he knew? Peter would likely have known or have been in possession of it, if there was another will If Peter knew that people had conspired to kill Michael then he would also know that they would have no problem getting rid of him or his family too Why does Branca seem to be involved in every facet of this? |
2024.05.19 18:08 Background-Chicken-7 Let’s talk about the founder of FFIE - YT Jia
Foreword: First of all thanks for having a positive community here. I am from the far east so apologies for my poor use of English in advance. I hold about 14.8k shares myself and believe this is gonna be a long war. So I guess it’s wise for us to understand a bit on what (or who) we are actually investing in. Treat it as a casual read if you wish. This post might be an unpopular opinion. Also most of contents below are researched on Chinese websites. I am merely a translator and this is not an investment advice at all. Also please point it out if any of the contents are inaccurate.
TLDR: YT Jia doesn’t have a good reputation here with his previous business (LeTV) in China. FFIE’s main selling point now is that they are the only Chinese EV manufacturer based in the US. Few days ago Biden imposed a 100% tariff (up from 25%) on EVs from China, and it might be possible that Chinese EV manufacturers will seek collaboration with FFIE to bypass the tariff.
Yueting Jia (YT Jia) is a businessman from China. He was the founder of LeTV in China in the 2000s.
LeTV first started as an online video sharing platform in 2005 and later on streams movies, TV programs and even livestreams sports events (Just imagine it was the Youtube and Netflix of China, but not as successful). LeTV was listed in China in 2010 and declared that they already achieved breakeven back in 2008.
In mid 2010s LeTV stated their intentions of building EVs in China and the US. Faraday Future was founded in 2014 by YT Jia and he left LeTV (but still the business owner I believe) and physically left China (and never returned) in July 2017 to focus on the EV business (he claimed). LeTV was in deep financial troubles and media start reporting in Oct 2017 that the IPO in 2010 was a financial fraud (No way that the company was breaking even back then).
He was on the national debtor blacklist in Dec 2017 as he ‘escaped’ China and left all his debts behind. All assets were froze by the CCP government. He received a CNY 241M fine in 2021 for financial fraud from 2007-2016 at LeTV.
Meanwhile in the US, FFIE and Jia himself weren’t doing any better. FFIE was originally backed by Chinese real estate conglomerate Evergrande in 2018 (for around USD $700M). The first payment of USD $500M was spent (or disappeared) without any explanation or justification to Evergrande, and they brought Jia to court for the lack of financial transparency in FFIE. After the court case, the court froze Jia’s assets and stakes in FFIE and he personally filed bankruptcy in 2019.
Fast forward to 2024, Jia filed a court case against his former employee Lei Ding. Ding joined the EV segment of LeTV back in 2014 and followed Jia to FFIE in 2015. He left in 2017 and set up his own EV company (HiPhi) in China. HiPhi targets the high end Chinese EV market with car models selling at CNY 600k-800k price points. They were actually sensational in China and sold around 10,000 cars in a few years time, but eventually stopped production in 2024 due to lack of funding.
Jia sues Ding in 2024 for stealing FFIE’s intellectual property and business confidential information to use on HiPhi EV products. What I wanted to point out here, is that if FFIE really takes off with our support and Jia isn’t a scam at all, their products may actually look like HiPhi. Search The Faraday Future FF91 on Youtube channel ’Vehicle Virgins’ and Hiphi X on ‘carwow’.
Recently Jia starts livestreaming on his social media platforms, mainly on commenting his competitors (e.g. the highly successful Xiaomi SU7 EV as well as the HiPhi cases). Rumours believed that he wants to leverage on his personal reputation to generate extra income from livestreaming, as well as media exposure for FFIE to collaborate with Chinese EV manufacturers in future.
Biden imposed a 100% tariff (up from 25%) on Chinese EVs to protect US jobs on 14 May. It coincided with the uprise of FFIE stocks. The Chinese commentators are linking FFIE with the tariff lately, claiming that with FFIE’s infrastructure and establishment in the US, and Jia’s connection and experiences with the Chinese market, the Chinese EV companies may use FFIE as a platform to launch and even manufacture EVs in the US.
With Jia’s track records, he’s not a popular figure in the Chinese world. Most of the Chinese-language forums are bearish on FFIE’s future, and personally I am still not fully convinced on FFIE’s long term future.
What I have faith on is Jia’s business insights - be it LeTV back in the 2000s when video streaming is still not a thing at all in China, or introducing EVs in 2014 when Tesla and the concept of EVs are still relatively new to China. With the huge support here, media coverage and all that financial indications (looking at the short interest and everything), I believe we can achieve something out there and hence encouraging everyone to study about what we are actually investing in.
If you read til here, thank you very much for your support. I type everything myself (with no bots, no Google translation, no Chatgpt nothing) and I am not a bot. Just here to share my insights and wish everyone of us are well informed on our investment decisions. It’s our hard earn cash that we are investing in and we shouldn’t treat it like gambling. Again this is not investment advices and I can’t say I really like FFIE, but I like this community and all the positives you all contributing, so thanks all for reading this, supporting each other and wish us all a successful fight on Monday and onwards. HODL 💎🙌🏻
submitted by Background-Chicken-7 to FFIE [link] [comments]
TLDR: YT Jia doesn’t have a good reputation here with his previous business (LeTV) in China. FFIE’s main selling point now is that they are the only Chinese EV manufacturer based in the US. Few days ago Biden imposed a 100% tariff (up from 25%) on EVs from China, and it might be possible that Chinese EV manufacturers will seek collaboration with FFIE to bypass the tariff.
Yueting Jia (YT Jia) is a businessman from China. He was the founder of LeTV in China in the 2000s.
LeTV first started as an online video sharing platform in 2005 and later on streams movies, TV programs and even livestreams sports events (Just imagine it was the Youtube and Netflix of China, but not as successful). LeTV was listed in China in 2010 and declared that they already achieved breakeven back in 2008.
In mid 2010s LeTV stated their intentions of building EVs in China and the US. Faraday Future was founded in 2014 by YT Jia and he left LeTV (but still the business owner I believe) and physically left China (and never returned) in July 2017 to focus on the EV business (he claimed). LeTV was in deep financial troubles and media start reporting in Oct 2017 that the IPO in 2010 was a financial fraud (No way that the company was breaking even back then).
He was on the national debtor blacklist in Dec 2017 as he ‘escaped’ China and left all his debts behind. All assets were froze by the CCP government. He received a CNY 241M fine in 2021 for financial fraud from 2007-2016 at LeTV.
Meanwhile in the US, FFIE and Jia himself weren’t doing any better. FFIE was originally backed by Chinese real estate conglomerate Evergrande in 2018 (for around USD $700M). The first payment of USD $500M was spent (or disappeared) without any explanation or justification to Evergrande, and they brought Jia to court for the lack of financial transparency in FFIE. After the court case, the court froze Jia’s assets and stakes in FFIE and he personally filed bankruptcy in 2019.
Fast forward to 2024, Jia filed a court case against his former employee Lei Ding. Ding joined the EV segment of LeTV back in 2014 and followed Jia to FFIE in 2015. He left in 2017 and set up his own EV company (HiPhi) in China. HiPhi targets the high end Chinese EV market with car models selling at CNY 600k-800k price points. They were actually sensational in China and sold around 10,000 cars in a few years time, but eventually stopped production in 2024 due to lack of funding.
Jia sues Ding in 2024 for stealing FFIE’s intellectual property and business confidential information to use on HiPhi EV products. What I wanted to point out here, is that if FFIE really takes off with our support and Jia isn’t a scam at all, their products may actually look like HiPhi. Search The Faraday Future FF91 on Youtube channel ’Vehicle Virgins’ and Hiphi X on ‘carwow’.
Recently Jia starts livestreaming on his social media platforms, mainly on commenting his competitors (e.g. the highly successful Xiaomi SU7 EV as well as the HiPhi cases). Rumours believed that he wants to leverage on his personal reputation to generate extra income from livestreaming, as well as media exposure for FFIE to collaborate with Chinese EV manufacturers in future.
Biden imposed a 100% tariff (up from 25%) on Chinese EVs to protect US jobs on 14 May. It coincided with the uprise of FFIE stocks. The Chinese commentators are linking FFIE with the tariff lately, claiming that with FFIE’s infrastructure and establishment in the US, and Jia’s connection and experiences with the Chinese market, the Chinese EV companies may use FFIE as a platform to launch and even manufacture EVs in the US.
With Jia’s track records, he’s not a popular figure in the Chinese world. Most of the Chinese-language forums are bearish on FFIE’s future, and personally I am still not fully convinced on FFIE’s long term future.
What I have faith on is Jia’s business insights - be it LeTV back in the 2000s when video streaming is still not a thing at all in China, or introducing EVs in 2014 when Tesla and the concept of EVs are still relatively new to China. With the huge support here, media coverage and all that financial indications (looking at the short interest and everything), I believe we can achieve something out there and hence encouraging everyone to study about what we are actually investing in.
If you read til here, thank you very much for your support. I type everything myself (with no bots, no Google translation, no Chatgpt nothing) and I am not a bot. Just here to share my insights and wish everyone of us are well informed on our investment decisions. It’s our hard earn cash that we are investing in and we shouldn’t treat it like gambling. Again this is not investment advices and I can’t say I really like FFIE, but I like this community and all the positives you all contributing, so thanks all for reading this, supporting each other and wish us all a successful fight on Monday and onwards. HODL 💎🙌🏻
2024.05.19 16:47 Small-Statement-3933 Why Tybalt Is Justified In Most Of His Actions
In the beginning he had every right to join in, there was literally a fight happening and members of his house were involved, of course he’d join in to help, besides, Benvolio is a complete hypocrite, being drawn but talking of peace, which Tybalt rightfully calls him out on, this shows that Tybalt has integrity, a moral compass, and that he’s smart and unafraid to speak up for his house and question others
Imagine that, shortly after there was a big fight between people in your friend group and another friend group, people in said other friend group, whom you hate, show up at YOUR party. I dunno about you guys but I’d be pretty saucy too.
Tybalt is often presented as just being really extreme and angry 24/7, we seem to forget that rather than just going up to scarp Romeo immediately, he actually had the decency to send a letter which Romeo did not reply to, perhaps if Romeo had explained a few things and calmly replied in the form of a letter the beef between them could’ve been quashed
Tybalt didn’t really want to kill Mercutio, Mercutio was literally just in his way, Tybalt literally expressed that he had no beef with Mercutio. Mercutio was just being really annoying (as per usual)
If I were Tybalt, i think i would’ve found Romeos explanation of “I wittereally love you🥺👉👈” as confusing, inexplicable, pathetic, and him trying to get out of the fight- I would’ve still been angry and duelled him regardless. Besides- at this point Romeo could’ve explained- what would’ve Tybalt even done. He doesn’t seem to get on with Juliet’s father, so he probably wouldn’t have told him.
Furthermore, if Tybalt did kill Romeo, he would be doing everyone like, a massive favour, Romeo is such a weirdo- 17 marrying a 13 year old after knowing each other for a few hours?🤨🤨🤨🤨
Tybalt is only portraying himself as agressive- he isn’t actually as bad as the play makes him out to be, he is likely putting on an act of agressiveness to prove himself as future capulet partriach. We can see this as nurse portrays him as more friendly and sympathetic, she even states that he was her ‘best friend’- this makes it clear that if you actually got to know Tybalt then he wouldn’t be that bad
He has no right to be seen as the anatagonist
submitted by Small-Statement-3933 to shakespeare [link] [comments]
Imagine that, shortly after there was a big fight between people in your friend group and another friend group, people in said other friend group, whom you hate, show up at YOUR party. I dunno about you guys but I’d be pretty saucy too.
Tybalt is often presented as just being really extreme and angry 24/7, we seem to forget that rather than just going up to scarp Romeo immediately, he actually had the decency to send a letter which Romeo did not reply to, perhaps if Romeo had explained a few things and calmly replied in the form of a letter the beef between them could’ve been quashed
Tybalt didn’t really want to kill Mercutio, Mercutio was literally just in his way, Tybalt literally expressed that he had no beef with Mercutio. Mercutio was just being really annoying (as per usual)
If I were Tybalt, i think i would’ve found Romeos explanation of “I wittereally love you🥺👉👈” as confusing, inexplicable, pathetic, and him trying to get out of the fight- I would’ve still been angry and duelled him regardless. Besides- at this point Romeo could’ve explained- what would’ve Tybalt even done. He doesn’t seem to get on with Juliet’s father, so he probably wouldn’t have told him.
Furthermore, if Tybalt did kill Romeo, he would be doing everyone like, a massive favour, Romeo is such a weirdo- 17 marrying a 13 year old after knowing each other for a few hours?🤨🤨🤨🤨
Tybalt is only portraying himself as agressive- he isn’t actually as bad as the play makes him out to be, he is likely putting on an act of agressiveness to prove himself as future capulet partriach. We can see this as nurse portrays him as more friendly and sympathetic, she even states that he was her ‘best friend’- this makes it clear that if you actually got to know Tybalt then he wouldn’t be that bad
He has no right to be seen as the anatagonist
2024.05.19 15:26 FebreezeXanada Grant converted to loan
Osap converted a student grant I was given to a loan because failed to verify my incomce and my parent's income for a certain year within 12 months of the start of my study period.
For that year, I was a new comer to Canada and I didn't even have a SIN number for most of it, so I wasn't really sure what they were asking me or even how to verify it. My parents also had left Canada many years ago.
I learned that all I needed was to send them a signed paper confirming that but it was already too late. I later tried sending that to them but they never accepted it The amount is 6.7k$.
The latest communication from the ministry is as follows: "While the ministry acknowledges receipt of a letter of explanation and income verification documentation, the ministry identifies no grounds to process your documentation past the deadline. Please be advised, as you fail to submit acceptable documentation to verify income within the deadline, your 2018 - 19 OSG funding has been converted to a re-payable loan and added to your loan balance owing at the NSLSC For more information about possible review options or if you have questions regarding the grant conversion, please contact the financial aid office at your Ontario school."
Has this happened to anyone? What are my options really?
submitted by FebreezeXanada to osap [link] [comments]
For that year, I was a new comer to Canada and I didn't even have a SIN number for most of it, so I wasn't really sure what they were asking me or even how to verify it. My parents also had left Canada many years ago.
I learned that all I needed was to send them a signed paper confirming that but it was already too late. I later tried sending that to them but they never accepted it The amount is 6.7k$.
The latest communication from the ministry is as follows: "While the ministry acknowledges receipt of a letter of explanation and income verification documentation, the ministry identifies no grounds to process your documentation past the deadline. Please be advised, as you fail to submit acceptable documentation to verify income within the deadline, your 2018 - 19 OSG funding has been converted to a re-payable loan and added to your loan balance owing at the NSLSC For more information about possible review options or if you have questions regarding the grant conversion, please contact the financial aid office at your Ontario school."
Has this happened to anyone? What are my options really?
2024.05.19 15:24 FebreezeXanada OSAP Student grant converted to loan
Osap converted a student grant I was given to a loan because I failed to verify my incomce and my parent's income for a certain year within 12 months of the start of my study period.
For that year, I was a new comer to Canada and I didn't even have a SIN number for most of it, so I wasn't really sure what they were asking me or even how to verify it. My parents also had left Canada many years ago.
I learned that all I needed was to send them a signed paper confirming that but it was already too late. I later tried sending that to them but they never accepted it. The amount is 6.7k$.
The latest communication from the ministry is as follows: "While the ministry acknowledges receipt of a letter of explanation and income verification documentation, the ministry identifies no grounds to process your documentation past the deadline. Please be advised, as you fail to submit acceptable documentation to verify income within the deadline, your 2018 - 19 OSG funding has been converted to a re-payable loan and added to your loan balance owing at the NSLSC. For more information about possible review options or if you have questions regarding the grant conversion, please contact the financial aid office at your Ontario school."
Has this happened to anyone? What are my options really?
submitted by FebreezeXanada to PersonalFinanceCanada [link] [comments]
For that year, I was a new comer to Canada and I didn't even have a SIN number for most of it, so I wasn't really sure what they were asking me or even how to verify it. My parents also had left Canada many years ago.
I learned that all I needed was to send them a signed paper confirming that but it was already too late. I later tried sending that to them but they never accepted it. The amount is 6.7k$.
The latest communication from the ministry is as follows: "While the ministry acknowledges receipt of a letter of explanation and income verification documentation, the ministry identifies no grounds to process your documentation past the deadline. Please be advised, as you fail to submit acceptable documentation to verify income within the deadline, your 2018 - 19 OSG funding has been converted to a re-payable loan and added to your loan balance owing at the NSLSC. For more information about possible review options or if you have questions regarding the grant conversion, please contact the financial aid office at your Ontario school."
Has this happened to anyone? What are my options really?
2024.05.19 14:53 Bawonga YSK: The first time you mention an Acronym that is not well known, you should type out the full term for the reader's benefit.
Why YSK: Acronyms usually stand for specific terms, often technical and specialized that aren't generally known. Readers can't guess accurately what 3 letters mean unless they're part of that specialized group. For example, the military term TDY (Temporary Duty "Yonder" or Travel Duty) isn't familiar to readers who have little or no military background.
The first time you refer to a term, state the acronym, then immediately after that use parentheses to spell out what the acronym means. From that point on, use just the acronym.
Alternatively, you can switch the order and first spell out the full term the first time you use it and then put the acronym in parentheses. Your goal is to help your reader understand your meaning.
________ ETA (Edited To Add): Thanks to those of you who corrected my use of the term "Acronym" and pointed out it should be "Initialism" instead. An acronym is a group of initials that are pronounced as a word (NASA, LASER), while initialism is a group of initials that are pronounced individually. TIL (Today I Learned)
________ ETAM (Edited To Add More): Lots of comments pointing out the irony of my post because I used YSK without expressing the full term (You Should Know). I replied to one of commenters: "I hesitated but decided not to include YSK (You Should Know) as an example because I didn't want to insult members of the sub with such an obvious example. (Also, the explanation of YSK is in the rules so it isn't necessary to spell out the full term like it would be normally.)" However, I should have followed my own advice, especially since some readers may not be members of the YSK sub and wouldn't know what it means and why the post was written that way.
submitted by Bawonga to YouShouldKnow [link] [comments]
The first time you refer to a term, state the acronym, then immediately after that use parentheses to spell out what the acronym means. From that point on, use just the acronym.
Alternatively, you can switch the order and first spell out the full term the first time you use it and then put the acronym in parentheses. Your goal is to help your reader understand your meaning.
________ ETA (Edited To Add): Thanks to those of you who corrected my use of the term "Acronym" and pointed out it should be "Initialism" instead. An acronym is a group of initials that are pronounced as a word (NASA, LASER), while initialism is a group of initials that are pronounced individually. TIL (Today I Learned)
________ ETAM (Edited To Add More): Lots of comments pointing out the irony of my post because I used YSK without expressing the full term (You Should Know). I replied to one of commenters: "I hesitated but decided not to include YSK (You Should Know) as an example because I didn't want to insult members of the sub with such an obvious example. (Also, the explanation of YSK is in the rules so it isn't necessary to spell out the full term like it would be normally.)" However, I should have followed my own advice, especially since some readers may not be members of the YSK sub and wouldn't know what it means and why the post was written that way.
2024.05.19 14:41 TheMortgageMaster Pro Tip: Provide all of your documents
Back on TOTM 2 I talked about the importance of providing all of your documents, not only so your brokebanker can accurately give you a qualification amount, but I have a quick story form this week to share to drive the point home about the importance of documents.
I've been working with a couple for about 6 months now, and they provided all of the documents I've asked for back then without any hesitation, delays, or arguing. Awesome people for sure. They were just window shopping at the time and wanted to see how much they'd qualify for. Fast forward a few months and they've found a great house, made an offer and it was accepted. I applied for their mortgage and it was approved. A couple of days before closing I got a request for an explanation on a slight discrepancy on the paystubs, as sometimes files get audited just before funding. It was no big deal at all, I provided the old letter of employment and did the math on when the client got a pay raise and the lender agreed and approved it an hour later. No fuss, no muss, and I didn't even need to bother the clients for anything.
Now imagine the stress and last minute panic if I didn't get the documents earlier, and now the client had to go back to their HR to find the old pay scale, write a letter explaining when the pay raise happened, etc. Do you think all of that would've happened in an hour? Two days before closing?
My advise when it comes to documents are:
submitted by TheMortgageMaster to MortgagesCanada [link] [comments]
I've been working with a couple for about 6 months now, and they provided all of the documents I've asked for back then without any hesitation, delays, or arguing. Awesome people for sure. They were just window shopping at the time and wanted to see how much they'd qualify for. Fast forward a few months and they've found a great house, made an offer and it was accepted. I applied for their mortgage and it was approved. A couple of days before closing I got a request for an explanation on a slight discrepancy on the paystubs, as sometimes files get audited just before funding. It was no big deal at all, I provided the old letter of employment and did the math on when the client got a pay raise and the lender agreed and approved it an hour later. No fuss, no muss, and I didn't even need to bother the clients for anything.
Now imagine the stress and last minute panic if I didn't get the documents earlier, and now the client had to go back to their HR to find the old pay scale, write a letter explaining when the pay raise happened, etc. Do you think all of that would've happened in an hour? Two days before closing?
My advise when it comes to documents are:
- Run, don't walk, away from any so called mortgage professional that doesn't ask for the proper documents and just spews out a qualification amount, or interest rate blindly.
- Provide all of the required documents. We ask for them for a reason, and one of us have a fetish for bugging you, and collecting needless documents.
2024.05.19 14:01 squashchunks Writing something similar to Amelia's Notebook series by Marissa Moss
I really like how the Amelia Notebook books are designed. All the pages are illustrated. All the pages look like regular notebook pages. Even the front cover page and back cover page are illustrated, made to look like a composition notebook.
My thinking is that ALL the interior pages must be illustrated. The lettering might have been done by hand or by a computer. The floppy cover page must have been printed text and illustration on both sides, and the cover page is wrapped around the inner pages. That's the only explanation I can think of.
I wonder if it's possible to request a printer to do something like this.
submitted by squashchunks to writing [link] [comments]
My thinking is that ALL the interior pages must be illustrated. The lettering might have been done by hand or by a computer. The floppy cover page must have been printed text and illustration on both sides, and the cover page is wrapped around the inner pages. That's the only explanation I can think of.
I wonder if it's possible to request a printer to do something like this.
2024.05.19 13:29 Tharkun140 Odyssey is a political drama, not an adventure story, and you should remember that when discussing ANY popular piece of media
I recently found what I think may just be the single worst Harry Potter essay possible. It has all the classic marks of a shitty Shaun-style Harry Potter video, from fake "magic school maps" to missing the point of every single piece of worldbuilding to just sheer pretentiousness of it all. It doesn't even wait a literal second to be wrong, instantly slapping you in the face with "Harry's half-blood status has Nazi parallels" written in huge letters.
As I watched this... thing with morbid curiosity, I wondered how can anyone possibly be that dumb. Like, Harry Potter is one of the most popular franchises out there, and Harry's parents both being wizards forms the basis of everything that happens in it. Calling Harry a "half-blood" is so obviously wrong anyone can instantly call bullshit on this essay from the very first frame, provided they read even a semi-accurate summary of the first book. How can stuff like this possibly be any popular?
But then I remembered Odyssey exists.
But when you watch an explanation, or a "modern retelling" of the Odyssey, chances are it will go something like;
Now, I'm not really upset that people misrepresent Odyssey like that. It's inevitable, and honestly, I don't care about the original poem that much. But there's a point to be made there, and that is
So yeah. If you wanna talk about something popular, just assume the person on the other side only knows a distorted meme version of the story, and be prepared to either explain the obvious, or argue about that meme version instead. Or just give up and don't mention that popular story at all, if you value your nerves.
If you instead want an honest discussion with no lies or misunderstandings, just talk about that one Dark Eldar BDSM fanfic I found on AO3. It's pretty good too.
submitted by Tharkun140 to CharacterRant [link] [comments]
As I watched this... thing with morbid curiosity, I wondered how can anyone possibly be that dumb. Like, Harry Potter is one of the most popular franchises out there, and Harry's parents both being wizards forms the basis of everything that happens in it. Calling Harry a "half-blood" is so obviously wrong anyone can instantly call bullshit on this essay from the very first frame, provided they read even a semi-accurate summary of the first book. How can stuff like this possibly be any popular?
But then I remembered Odyssey exists.
What is Homer's "Odyssey"?
Odyssey is a poem detailing Odysseus return to his home island of Ithaca. Odysseus starts the story as a captive of Calypso, and the story of how he got there is described midway through the poem as a sort of extended flashback. He tells the story, gets kinda sentimental for a while, and then returns to the actual plot. Trojan War, Cyclopses, Circe, all of that is tangential and gets pretty much forgotten for the second half of the story.But when you watch an explanation, or a "modern retelling" of the Odyssey, chances are it will go something like;
Odysseus swims away from Troy but gets lost in the sea. He has wacky amazing adventures where he tricks Polyphemus and gets horny for the Sirens and has sex with so many women (kinda unfair to his wife tbh) until he finally returns home. He then kills a bunch of people or something.The "cool adventure" parts, or rather their misrepresented versions, get all the focus. The actual plot, the main conflict, the entire point of the story doesn't just get overshadowed but completely forgotten. And it's been going on since forever—that's how we ended up with the term "odyssey" that's synanymous with an epic journey, rather than anything Odysseus actually does in the damn Odyssey. The story itself gets fairly little discussion, because few people read even a brief summary of it. They just heard of the "cool parts" and so they form their own understanding of the story based on them, effectively writing a fanfic and mistaking it for the actual thing.
Now, I'm not really upset that people misrepresent Odyssey like that. It's inevitable, and honestly, I don't care about the original poem that much. But there's a point to be made there, and that is
If you're discussing a popular story, just assume everyone will misrepresent it
The more popular a story gets, the more people will have read it. But the number of people who just heard about the story without having actually read it will rise even faster, as will the confidence of these people. That's how you get rants about how "Rose from Titanic is a terrible person" and all these youtube essays that barely touch on the actual stories they ineptly attempt to criticize. It's far easier to find a quality take on something less popular; There may not be that many people talking about Cruelty Squad, but the ones that do have usually played the game, or at least have an accurate idea of what the actual product is like.So yeah. If you wanna talk about something popular, just assume the person on the other side only knows a distorted meme version of the story, and be prepared to either explain the obvious, or argue about that meme version instead. Or just give up and don't mention that popular story at all, if you value your nerves.
If you instead want an honest discussion with no lies or misunderstandings, just talk about that one Dark Eldar BDSM fanfic I found on AO3. It's pretty good too.
2024.05.19 12:42 Averyoto the girl is mine Easter Egg predictive psychoanalysis. I conclude: the boy is me in her upcoming music video.
 | I talked to Kamala Harris this morning. Then I partially-completed this interpretation of 2019-2024 Ariana this afternoon. Just for my amusement, I collected these treasures to solve an explanation over why no Arianators EVER I MEAN NEVER upvote my dog theory. Thankfully, I have been given access to 200+ media platforms, so I can use another viral method to WAKE UP Ariana in the name of Jesus. submitted by Averyoto to ariheads [link] [comments] If you can psychically tune in to my problematic opinion, this "situation-ship" has to end. The boy is not Ethan, the boy is me. I wrote her 85 love letters. So why is her next perfume “LoveNotes?” I invited her to the moon. So why did she post 29 Instagram photos of the moon? (Seen around the borderline.) I told her manager, agents, and publicists what I thought about her hidden 15 song album (she deleted) about my Jew's hopes, but these Redditors still can't find their sympathy for my claim to be the Son of Eternal Sunshine, because Ariana is still on a news strike! If for many reasons, I am considered Toulouse in her art, can you agree with what I just unraveled, there is a strong obligation from this comment section to spot my♌️"supernatural"🦮when it comes knocking. With what I deduced, in order of business, when "the boy is mine" releases, I should fill in the top right corner with some still frame from the video, because it's going to be something about a NASA mad scientist. I have to invent light-speed travel after we meet each other's True Loves, which happened to be each other. In that order. Agree to disagree, is anyone out there🙈sus?🪽👀🪽 |
2024.05.19 09:05 Alteredchaos 📢 Sunday News - with a focus on carers this week
Ministers apologise and return £7,000 in benefits to woman, 93, with dementia
Government ministers have formally apologised and repaid £7,000 to a 93-year-old woman whom they held responsible for running up benefits overpayment debts even though they were told she had dementia and was unable to manage her affairs.
The case, which the minister for disability, Mims Davies, admitted was “disturbing”, was brought to light by the Guardian as part of its investigation into carer's allowance overpayments.
The agreement to write off the debt of the 93-year-old, whom the Guardian has chosen not to name, comes as ministers have promised to try new ways of sharing information with carers to try to prevent them building up months and years of overpayments.
Read the full article on theguardian.com
DWP confirmed that it is developing an ‘enhanced notification strategy’ to alert carer’s allowance claimants to possible overpayments
Notifications designed to encourage claimants to report changes in income and so reduce the risk of being overpaid.
As part of its policy paper, Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System: Going Further, that was published earlier this week, the Department says (at paragraph 78) -
Stephen Timms has also written to Secretary for State for Work and Pensions Mel Stride highlighting concerns about the DWP's lack of progress with overpayments since the previous committee's report in 2019. Mr Timms' letter repeats the committee's recommendation that the DWP increase the rate of carer's allowance and goes on to call for the DWP to review both the amount and the cliff-edge nature of the earnings limit and for the removal of the 21-hour study rule.
For more information, see Policy paper: Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System: Going Further from gov.uk
Carers UK has welcomed the DWP's plans, noting this is the 'minimum' they've been calling for to tackle carers' overpayments. However, Director of Policy and Public Affairs Emily Holzhausen also highlights that implementing the strategy is 'urgent', asks that the whole issue be moved out of being branded benefits fraud, and that carer's allowance be reviewed as it should be 'modernised to reflect the realities of caring'.
DWP-commissioned research highlights how the carer’s allowance earnings threshold influences decisions about how many hours carers work
Report also makes clear that the Department was made aware three years ago that there was room to improve claimant understanding and possibly reduce mistakes leading to overpayments by improving its communications.
The research, Experiences of claiming and receiving carer’s allowance, explores how and why people claim carer's allowance; their caring roles; experiences of combining paid work and care; and how well claimants understand the rules associated with the benefit. While carried out in 2020/2021, the research has been published today against a backdrop of calls for the wholescale reform of carer's allowance as a result of evidence that claimants who have earned above the carer's allowance earnings limit have been left with large overpayments and, in some cases, prosecuted for fraud.
While the research found that many claimants in employment felt there was a practical limit to the hours they could work, with many saying it was only feasible to be working part-time due to their caring responsibilities, it also found that -
In addition, with the Chair of the Select Committee Stephen Timms having said recently that the DWP has done nothing to stop carers building up huge overpayments despite knowing what people are earning, and the Committee having called on the National Audit Office to investigate the problems with the system, the research found that -
Almost 135,000 people currently have an outstanding carer's allowance debt, with more than £250 million owed in total, according to figures supplied by DWP Minister Paul Maynard
DWP Minister also confirms that women represent 68 per cent of those with an outstanding debt.
Responding to a written question in Parliament from Work and Pensions Committee Chair Stephen Timms, Mr Maynard said -
Mr Maynard's written answer is available from parliament.uk
Total value of benefit overpayments in 2023/2024 increased to almost £10 billion, representing 3.7 per cent of benefit expenditure for the year
New DWP figures also show that official error underpayments remained at around £1 billion, and that people could have claimed more than £3 billion more 'if they had provided accurate information about their circumstances'.
In Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2023 to 2024 estimates, the DWP calculates how much money it overpaid or underpaid as a percentage of total benefit expenditure for the year (£266.2bn) - for benefits including universal credit, housing benefit, personal independence payment, employment and support allowance and pension credit - and how many claims were paid an incorrect amount.
Note: the statistics no longer include estimates of claimant error underpayments as these are now published separately, as confirmed in recent DWP guidance.
In relation to incorrect payment rates across all benefits for the financial year ending (FYE) 2024, the figures show that the total rate of benefit expenditure overpaid was 3.7 per cent (£9.7bn), compared with 3.6 per cent (£8.3bn) in 2022/2023. In addition, the total rate of benefit expenditure underpaid was 0.4 per cent (£1.1bn), compared with 0.5 per cent (£1.2bn) in FYE 2023.
Looking in more detail at the figures for individual benefits, the statistics include data showing that -
Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride has set out the DWP's plans to scale up its 'fight against fraudsters'
New measures include using machine learning to detect and prevent fraudulent claims, as well as introducing a new Bill to enable benefit fraud to be treated like tax fraud.
Issuing a written statement in the House of Commons on 13th May, Mr Stride said -
For more information, see DWP updates Fraud Plan from gov.uk
In response to the above article the Disability News Service reported that the government's fraud policy paper ignores coroner’s concerns over review of disabled woman’s universal credit claim. Read the DNS article on disabilitynewsservice.com
Less than half of legacy benefit claimants who were sent a migration notice between July 2022 and March 2024 have made a claim for universal credit, according to new figures from the DWP
However, new DWP statistics also show that 60 per cent of households that claimed universal credit have been awarded transitional protection.
In Completing the move to Universal Credit: statistics related to the move of households claiming Tax Credits and DWP benefits to Universal Credit: data to end of March 2024, the DWP sets out figures for the period since July 2022, noting that -
Note: the DWP has also published Universal Credit statistics, 29 April 2013 to 11 April 2024 which show that there were 6.7 million people on universal credit in April 2024 (300,000 more than the 6.4 million in January 2024) and that half of households on universal credit that received a payment in February 2024 included children.
Department for Communities also confirms that claimants in receipt of other legacy benefits will be issued with migration notices 'in the coming months'
The Department for Communities (DfC) has confirmed that the 'Move to UC' rollout in Northern Ireland has expanded this week to include people receiving tax credits along with housing benefit.
Announcing the expansion of the process, Deputy Secretary of Work and Health at the DfC Paddy Rooney said -
For more information, see Tax credit with housing benefit recipients next to 'Move to UC' and Rollout of Universal Credit for Tax Credit and Legacy Benefit customers - screening from ni.gov.uk
57,000 adverse universal credit sanction decisions were made in January 2024, according to new DWP statistics
DWP statistics also highlight that around 95 per cent of decisions are as a result of failure to attend or participate in a mandatory interview.
In Benefit sanctions statistics to February 2024, the DWP reports on both the rate and duration of sanctions for universal credit claimants who are in conditionality regimes where they be applied.
Key findings include that -
The DWP notes that -
For more information, see Benefit sanctions statistics to February 2024 from gov.uk
DWP has admitted missing multiple opportunities to record the 'vulnerability' of a disabled woman whose death was later linked by a coroner to failings at the heart of its UC system
The Disability News Service reported on the case of Nazerine (known as Naz) Anderson, from Melton Mowbray, who died of an overdose in June last year, after receiving a UC review notice.
According to a prevention of future deaths (PFD) report sent to the department by coroner Fiona Butler, the DWP missed six opportunities to record Anderson’s “vulnerability” on its IT system while it was reviewing her universal credit claim, and had failed to act on the mental distress she showed in phone calls about her claim. It also repeatedly failed to act on requests to direct its telephone calls and letters to her daughter.
The DWP admits multiple universal credit failures before disabled woman’s death article is available on disabilitynewsservice.com
Number of emergency food parcels distributed across the UK by the Trussell Trust has increased by 90 per cent over the past five years
Food charity reports that it distributed more than three million parcels last year, with more than a million of them going to children.
In Emergency food parcel distribution in the UK: April 2023 - March 2024, the Trust says that it distributed 3,121,404 food parcels, the most parcels that it has ever distributed in a financial year, representing a four per cent increase on last year's record-breaking numbers for 2022/2023 and a 94 per cent increase since 2018/2019.
The charity also highlights that the number of parcels provided to children has continued to rise, exceeding 1.1 million in 2023/2024, and that food bank support is provided disproportionately to children, compared to the proportion of children in the UK population. In addition, it notes that pension age households are increasingly likely to need to use a food bank, with food bank support for these households having more than quadrupled between 2018/2019 and 2023/2024 (an increase of 345 per cent), compared to an 81 per cent rise amongst households without someone of pension age.
Also sharing statistics on the reason for referral for an emergency food parcel - which include health, benefit issues, work hour changes, insecure housing, changes in personal circumstances, immigration status and domestic abuse, as well as income and debt levels - the Trussell Trust says -
Employment Minister Jo Churchill has provided a House of Lords Select Committee with an undertaking that the administrative earnings threshold (AET) in universal credit will not be increased again without a 'sound evidence base'
However, Minister's evidence to Lords Committee fails to address its dissatisfaction with DWP's explanation for not publishing robust evidence to support previous increases in the threshold.
Further to the Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee's report on new regulations that implemented a further increase in the AET from 13 May 2024 - that criticised the ‘inexplicable’ lack of data evaluating previous increases in the threshold in September 2022 and January 2023 - the Committee held a one-off evidence session yesterday to question the Minister and DWP officials.
Introducing the session, Committee Chair Lord Hunt acknowledged that the DWP had agreed to share its informal findings supporting its AET policy. However Lord Hunt added that -
In response, Ms Churchill highlighted that the Department did publish a randomised controlled trial evaluation in 2018 providing the highest level of evidence on the impacts of increased in-work conditionality that Ministers have had sight of. When challenged that this evidence is somewhat outdated and 'a bit threadbare' - as it has been relied on for three increases in the AET - Ms Churchill indicated that Ministers also had early sight of unpublished research (a Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD) study) that compares the experiences of claimants who are just below and just above the AET.
When pressed on the expected publication dates for this and further evidence, Mr Churchill said -
Despite welcoming the Minister's reply, Lord Hunt went on to say -
Work and Pensions Select Committee has called on the government to bring forward proposals to compensate women born in the 1950s who suffered as a result of the DWP's communication failures when their pension age was increased, and asks that it does so in the current parliamentary session
Committee chair highlights lengthy delay and urgency for affected women and calls on government to act on Parliamentary Ombudsman recommendations before summer recess.
Writing to Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Mel Stride, Committee Chair Stephen Timms requests government support for 'urgent action' following the Parliamentary Ombudsman's final report in March 2024 which recommended a remedy based on level 4 of its severity of injustice scale, putting awards at between £1,000 and £2,950.
Mr Timms says that the Committee does not seek to question the Ombudsman's proposal for compensation at level 4, but instead has focused on what a remedy may look like -
Mr Timms also asks the government to consider -
submitted by Alteredchaos to DWPhelp [link] [comments]
Government ministers have formally apologised and repaid £7,000 to a 93-year-old woman whom they held responsible for running up benefits overpayment debts even though they were told she had dementia and was unable to manage her affairs.
The case, which the minister for disability, Mims Davies, admitted was “disturbing”, was brought to light by the Guardian as part of its investigation into carer's allowance overpayments.
The agreement to write off the debt of the 93-year-old, whom the Guardian has chosen not to name, comes as ministers have promised to try new ways of sharing information with carers to try to prevent them building up months and years of overpayments.
Read the full article on theguardian.com
DWP confirmed that it is developing an ‘enhanced notification strategy’ to alert carer’s allowance claimants to possible overpayments
Notifications designed to encourage claimants to report changes in income and so reduce the risk of being overpaid.
As part of its policy paper, Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System: Going Further, that was published earlier this week, the Department says (at paragraph 78) -
'In carer’s allowance we are progressing an enhanced notification strategy as part of our existing commitment to improve customer engagement, building on our existing communications with customers. As part of this notification strategy we are considering all forms of targeted contact to find the most effective and efficient solution, such as exploring the use of targeted text messages or emails to alert claimants and encourage them to contact the Department when the DWP is made aware of a potential overpayment.'The Department added -
'The new strategy will help claimants understand when they may have received an earnings-related overpayment or are at risk of doing so, and will encourage claimants to contact the DWP to meet their obligation to inform the Department of changes in their income and other relevant circumstances. This will reduce the risk of those customers being overpaid.'Note: having expressed concern that the DWP had 'done nothing' to stop carers building up huge overpayments of benefit despite knowing what people are earning, Work and Pensions Committee Chair Stephen Timms called on the National Audit Office to investigate problems with the carer's allowance system and, in particular, its failure to prevent or rectify overpayments.
Stephen Timms has also written to Secretary for State for Work and Pensions Mel Stride highlighting concerns about the DWP's lack of progress with overpayments since the previous committee's report in 2019. Mr Timms' letter repeats the committee's recommendation that the DWP increase the rate of carer's allowance and goes on to call for the DWP to review both the amount and the cliff-edge nature of the earnings limit and for the removal of the 21-hour study rule.
For more information, see Policy paper: Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System: Going Further from gov.uk
Carers UK has welcomed the DWP's plans, noting this is the 'minimum' they've been calling for to tackle carers' overpayments. However, Director of Policy and Public Affairs Emily Holzhausen also highlights that implementing the strategy is 'urgent', asks that the whole issue be moved out of being branded benefits fraud, and that carer's allowance be reviewed as it should be 'modernised to reflect the realities of caring'.
DWP-commissioned research highlights how the carer’s allowance earnings threshold influences decisions about how many hours carers work
Report also makes clear that the Department was made aware three years ago that there was room to improve claimant understanding and possibly reduce mistakes leading to overpayments by improving its communications.
The research, Experiences of claiming and receiving carer’s allowance, explores how and why people claim carer's allowance; their caring roles; experiences of combining paid work and care; and how well claimants understand the rules associated with the benefit. While carried out in 2020/2021, the research has been published today against a backdrop of calls for the wholescale reform of carer's allowance as a result of evidence that claimants who have earned above the carer's allowance earnings limit have been left with large overpayments and, in some cases, prosecuted for fraud.
While the research found that many claimants in employment felt there was a practical limit to the hours they could work, with many saying it was only feasible to be working part-time due to their caring responsibilities, it also found that -
- the earnings threshold appeared to influence decisions about how many hours some people worked. Even though claimants often denied that the threshold influenced their choices, they acknowledged being mindful to stay below the threshold. One claimant felt he had to refuse shifts at work that would take him over the threshold;
- in another example, the earnings limit led a claimant to reduce her hours as her wages increased, and eventually she was working so few hours that her employer felt it was not worth employing her due to her limited availability; and
- some claimants in paid work felt they might work more hours if not for the earnings threshold, and even suggested tapering the carer’s allowance earnings rule to encourage claimants to work more.
In addition, with the Chair of the Select Committee Stephen Timms having said recently that the DWP has done nothing to stop carers building up huge overpayments despite knowing what people are earning, and the Committee having called on the National Audit Office to investigate the problems with the system, the research found that -
- poor communication on the part of the DWP meant that not all of those that had been overpaid benefit were clear on the reason for the overpayment;
- some said that while they were initially notified or questioned about an overpayment there was then no follow-up from the Department; and
- when the overpayment was initially raised, several claimants felt that they were spoken to or treated by DWP as though they had intentionally committed fraud when the overpayment had been a misunderstanding.
'... there is room to improve claimant understanding and possibly reduce mistakes leading to overpayments by improving communications around eligibility criteria. Since claimants did not engage with the detail of their benefit regularly, possibly only considering it once a year when they received their annual letter, more frequent communications may improve clarity of knowledge around carer’s allowance.'Other key findings include that -
- most claimants cared for close relatives, with two in five caring for a child (39 per cent), a quarter caring for a spouse or partner (25 per cent), and one in five (22 per cent) caring for a parent;
- caring was a long-term and high-intensity commitment, with half of claimants (52 per cent) spending 65 or more hours caring per week and more than half (54 per cent) caring for between 5 and 20 years;
- only 16 per cent of carer's allowance claimants were currently in paid work, tending to work part- time in lower paid jobs that they were able to fit around their caring responsibilities, with most (81 per cent) working 20 hours or less a week;
- of those not currently in paid work, seven in ten (69 per cent) said this was due to their responsibilities as a carer, with other barriers including a lack of flexible working options, claimants’ own health and confidence issues; and
- there was a lag between starting caring and claiming carer's allowance, with seven in ten claimants (70 per cent) caring for 5+ years, but only 3 in 10 (34 per cent) having claimed carer's allowance for that length of time.
Almost 135,000 people currently have an outstanding carer's allowance debt, with more than £250 million owed in total, according to figures supplied by DWP Minister Paul Maynard
DWP Minister also confirms that women represent 68 per cent of those with an outstanding debt.
Responding to a written question in Parliament from Work and Pensions Committee Chair Stephen Timms, Mr Maynard said -
'As of 14 May 2024, the volume of people who have an outstanding carers allowance debt is 134,800 with a total value of £251 million. This figure represents the total stock and as such the total monetary amount may have been accrued over multiple years. Those who have an outstanding carers allowance debt may no longer be in receipt of the benefit.'Mr Maynard added that -
'Women make up the majority of carer’s allowance claims, and this is reflected in the proportion of those with an outstanding carer’s allowance debt. As of 14 May 2024, there were 42,800 (32 per cent) males, 91,900 (68 per cent) females and 100 (less than 1 per cent) not identified, with an outstanding carer's allowance debt.'The Minister also confirmed that, as of November 2023, there were more than 991,000 people in receipt of carer's allowance, consisting of around 271,000 (27 per cent) males and 720,000 (73 per cent) females.
Mr Maynard's written answer is available from parliament.uk
Total value of benefit overpayments in 2023/2024 increased to almost £10 billion, representing 3.7 per cent of benefit expenditure for the year
New DWP figures also show that official error underpayments remained at around £1 billion, and that people could have claimed more than £3 billion more 'if they had provided accurate information about their circumstances'.
In Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2023 to 2024 estimates, the DWP calculates how much money it overpaid or underpaid as a percentage of total benefit expenditure for the year (£266.2bn) - for benefits including universal credit, housing benefit, personal independence payment, employment and support allowance and pension credit - and how many claims were paid an incorrect amount.
Note: the statistics no longer include estimates of claimant error underpayments as these are now published separately, as confirmed in recent DWP guidance.
In relation to incorrect payment rates across all benefits for the financial year ending (FYE) 2024, the figures show that the total rate of benefit expenditure overpaid was 3.7 per cent (£9.7bn), compared with 3.6 per cent (£8.3bn) in 2022/2023. In addition, the total rate of benefit expenditure underpaid was 0.4 per cent (£1.1bn), compared with 0.5 per cent (£1.2bn) in FYE 2023.
Looking in more detail at the figures for individual benefits, the statistics include data showing that -
- for universal credit, expenditure increased to £51.9bn in 2024 with an overpayment rate of 12.4 per cent (£6.5bn) and underpayment rate of 0.3 per cent (£180m), compared to expenditure of £43.4 bn, overpayments at 12.7 per cent (£5.5bn) and underpayments at 0.6 per cent (£240m) in FYE 2023;
- for personal independence payment (PIP), the overpayment rate was at the lowest recorded level of 0.4 per cent (£90m), compared with 1.1 per cent (£200m) in FYE 2023. However, the underpayment rate went up to 0.4 per cent (£80m), from 0.3 per cent (£60m) the previous year;
- for pension credit, the overpayment rate was 9.7 per cent (£520m) in FYE 2024, compared with 6.8 per cent (£330m) in the previous year, with underpayments remaining unchanged at 0.3 per cent (£50m) for both years; and
- for housing benefit, almost £1bn (£980m) was overpaid in FYE 2024 (6.3 per cent of expenditure), compared with £860m (5.7 per cent) in 2023. Underpayments remained stable at 0.4 per cent of spending (£50m in FYE 2024 and £60m in FYE 2023).
- the unfulfilled eligibility rate for 2024 is 1.2 per cent of expenditure (£3.1bn), compared with 1.0 per cent (£2.3bn) in the previous year; and
- universal credit, PIP and disability living allowance (DLA) account for around three-quarters of the total value of unfulfilled eligibility (at £730m, £870m and £750m respectively in FYE 2024).
'PIP has the second highest unfulfilled eligibility rate [4 per cent] of all benefits and fairly high expenditure [£21.6bn], so due to this combination, PIP accounts for around one-quarter of total unfulfilled eligibility in FYE 2024. DLA has the highest unfulfilled eligibility rate [11.1 per cent] but relatively low expenditure [£6.8m], so even though its rate is higher than PIP, it accounts for a similar amount of total unfulfilled eligibility in FYE 2024. Universal credit has a lower unfulfilled eligibility rate than DLA and PIP [1.4 per cent] but its high expenditure means that it also accounts for a similar amount of total unfulfilled eligibility in FYE 2024.'For more information, see Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2023 to 2024 estimates and Unfulfilled eligibility in the benefit system: financial year 2023 to 2024 estimates from gov.uk
Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride has set out the DWP's plans to scale up its 'fight against fraudsters'
New measures include using machine learning to detect and prevent fraudulent claims, as well as introducing a new Bill to enable benefit fraud to be treated like tax fraud.
Issuing a written statement in the House of Commons on 13th May, Mr Stride said -
'In the continued fight against fraud, today the Government will publish a new paper setting out the progress we have made in tackling fraud and error in the welfare system - Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System: Going Further. The paper sets out the progress we have made in delivering the commitments in the Government's 2022 command paper Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System and it demonstrates where we are going further to protect taxpayers’ money from fraudsters.'Highlighting that the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, currently before Parliament, will enable the Department to work with third parties such as banks to identify claims that signal potential fraud and error, Mr Stride says that the new measures being introduced include -
- bringing forward a new Fraud Bill in the next parliament to treat benefit fraud like tax fraud, by providing for the ability to make arrests and conduct searches and seizures by warrant;
- exploring a new civil penalty to punish fraudsters, potentially broadening the scope of cases that can receive a penalty when the courts are not prosecuting, and increasing the value of the civil penalty;
- tripling the size of the Targeted Case Review programme to reach almost 6,000 staff with the aim of saving £6.6 billion by 2027/2028; and
- making changes to universal credit including new partly automated checks on self-employed income, new online prompts for claimants to re-declare their circumstances (such as if they have moved in with a partner), and increasing checks on capital when people claim the benefit to ensure they are eligible.
For more information, see DWP updates Fraud Plan from gov.uk
In response to the above article the Disability News Service reported that the government's fraud policy paper ignores coroner’s concerns over review of disabled woman’s universal credit claim. Read the DNS article on disabilitynewsservice.com
Less than half of legacy benefit claimants who were sent a migration notice between July 2022 and March 2024 have made a claim for universal credit, according to new figures from the DWP
However, new DWP statistics also show that 60 per cent of households that claimed universal credit have been awarded transitional protection.
In Completing the move to Universal Credit: statistics related to the move of households claiming Tax Credits and DWP benefits to Universal Credit: data to end of March 2024, the DWP sets out figures for the period since July 2022, noting that -
'In the period covered by this bulletin, the vast majority of migration notices have been sent to tax credit households whose likelihood of claiming universal credit and receiving transitional protection may be different from DWP legacy benefit claimants, the majority of whom had not yet been sent a migration notice in the period covered in this bulletin.'The statistics include that -
- a total of 824,050 individuals (in 540,070 households) were sent migration notices up to March 2024 - up by around 300,000 and 200,000 respectively compared to the totals for December 2023;
- a total of 400,940 individuals (49 per cent of those sent migration notices), living in 275,980 households, have made a claim for universal credit;
- of households that have claimed universal credit, 166,860 (60 per cent) have been awarded transitional protection;
- a total of 238,990 individuals who were sent migration notices are still going through the managed migration process; and
- a total of 184,120 individuals who were sent migration notices have had their legacy benefit claims closed.
Note: the DWP has also published Universal Credit statistics, 29 April 2013 to 11 April 2024 which show that there were 6.7 million people on universal credit in April 2024 (300,000 more than the 6.4 million in January 2024) and that half of households on universal credit that received a payment in February 2024 included children.
Department for Communities also confirms that claimants in receipt of other legacy benefits will be issued with migration notices 'in the coming months'
The Department for Communities (DfC) has confirmed that the 'Move to UC' rollout in Northern Ireland has expanded this week to include people receiving tax credits along with housing benefit.
Announcing the expansion of the process, Deputy Secretary of Work and Health at the DfC Paddy Rooney said -
'We continue to take a measured and carefully managed approach to migrating legacy benefit recipients to universal credit. We have already successfully completed issuing migration notices to tax credit only recipients and we will continue to take every step possible to ensure that everyone receives the help and support they need during this next phase of Move to UC.'The Department also confirmed that once it has issued migration notices to all those receiving tax credits with housing benefit, the following groups will be contacted in this order -
- people claiming income support;
- people claiming housing benefit only, and those claiming child tax credit with income-related employment and support allowance (ESA); and
- people claiming income-based jobseeker's allowance.
For more information, see Tax credit with housing benefit recipients next to 'Move to UC' and Rollout of Universal Credit for Tax Credit and Legacy Benefit customers - screening from ni.gov.uk
57,000 adverse universal credit sanction decisions were made in January 2024, according to new DWP statistics
DWP statistics also highlight that around 95 per cent of decisions are as a result of failure to attend or participate in a mandatory interview.
In Benefit sanctions statistics to February 2024, the DWP reports on both the rate and duration of sanctions for universal credit claimants who are in conditionality regimes where they be applied.
Key findings include that -
- in February 2024, 30.1 per cent of claimants were in conditionality regimes that were subject to sanctions and, of these, 6.52 per cent were sanctioned - down 0.64 percentage points from the previous quarter;
- over the last year, 94.9 per cent of adverse sanction decisions were for failure to attend or participate in a mandatory interview; and
- in February 2024, there were 20,000 completed sanctions in the 4 weeks to 13 weeks sanction duration band, 4,800 in the over 13 weeks to 26 weeks duration band, and 4,000 of over 26 weeks duration.
The DWP notes that -
'Comparisons with universal credit prior to February 2024 ... should not be made. This is because the data sources, methodology and rules of the benefits differ from those used for universal credit currently.'However, it adds that, following the reinstated duration measures and rate methodology improvements, the data is now determined stable and fit for purpose and, as of May 2024, it is published under the 'Official Statistics' label as opposed to 'in development'.
For more information, see Benefit sanctions statistics to February 2024 from gov.uk
DWP has admitted missing multiple opportunities to record the 'vulnerability' of a disabled woman whose death was later linked by a coroner to failings at the heart of its UC system
The Disability News Service reported on the case of Nazerine (known as Naz) Anderson, from Melton Mowbray, who died of an overdose in June last year, after receiving a UC review notice.
According to a prevention of future deaths (PFD) report sent to the department by coroner Fiona Butler, the DWP missed six opportunities to record Anderson’s “vulnerability” on its IT system while it was reviewing her universal credit claim, and had failed to act on the mental distress she showed in phone calls about her claim. It also repeatedly failed to act on requests to direct its telephone calls and letters to her daughter.
The DWP admits multiple universal credit failures before disabled woman’s death article is available on disabilitynewsservice.com
Number of emergency food parcels distributed across the UK by the Trussell Trust has increased by 90 per cent over the past five years
Food charity reports that it distributed more than three million parcels last year, with more than a million of them going to children.
In Emergency food parcel distribution in the UK: April 2023 - March 2024, the Trust says that it distributed 3,121,404 food parcels, the most parcels that it has ever distributed in a financial year, representing a four per cent increase on last year's record-breaking numbers for 2022/2023 and a 94 per cent increase since 2018/2019.
The charity also highlights that the number of parcels provided to children has continued to rise, exceeding 1.1 million in 2023/2024, and that food bank support is provided disproportionately to children, compared to the proportion of children in the UK population. In addition, it notes that pension age households are increasingly likely to need to use a food bank, with food bank support for these households having more than quadrupled between 2018/2019 and 2023/2024 (an increase of 345 per cent), compared to an 81 per cent rise amongst households without someone of pension age.
Also sharing statistics on the reason for referral for an emergency food parcel - which include health, benefit issues, work hour changes, insecure housing, changes in personal circumstances, immigration status and domestic abuse, as well as income and debt levels - the Trussell Trust says -
'Across all households the most common reason for referral was due to issues with income and debt levels. The vital role of the social security system in driving these trends is clear from the fact that the majority (78 per cent) of people referred to food banks were reported to solely have income from the social security system, with a further 8 per cent having earned income as well as income from social security.'Trussell Trust Chief Executive Emma Revie said -
'It’s 2024 and we’re facing historically high levels of food bank need. As a society, we cannot allow this to continue. We must not let food banks become the new norm ... A supportive social security system is the bedrock on which we end hunger for good. Building on this, we need much more effective employment and financial support for parents, carers and disabled people, and action to ensure everyone can have the security we all need to access opportunities and have hope for the future, through more secure and flexible jobs and investment in social housing. Food banks are not the answer. They will be there to support people as long as they are needed, but our political leaders must take bold action to build a future where everyone has enough money to afford the life’s essentials. The time to act is now.'For more information, see End of Year Stats from trusselltrust.org
Employment Minister Jo Churchill has provided a House of Lords Select Committee with an undertaking that the administrative earnings threshold (AET) in universal credit will not be increased again without a 'sound evidence base'
However, Minister's evidence to Lords Committee fails to address its dissatisfaction with DWP's explanation for not publishing robust evidence to support previous increases in the threshold.
Further to the Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee's report on new regulations that implemented a further increase in the AET from 13 May 2024 - that criticised the ‘inexplicable’ lack of data evaluating previous increases in the threshold in September 2022 and January 2023 - the Committee held a one-off evidence session yesterday to question the Minister and DWP officials.
Introducing the session, Committee Chair Lord Hunt acknowledged that the DWP had agreed to share its informal findings supporting its AET policy. However Lord Hunt added that -
'... similar, no doubt to the material that the Social Security Advisory Committee saw but correctly declined, if information is not available to the House and the public, then we feel unable to consider it either.'The Committee then questioned the Minister about the Department's failure to publish evidence providing an assessment of the impact of increasing the AET either before or after implementing the change.
In response, Ms Churchill highlighted that the Department did publish a randomised controlled trial evaluation in 2018 providing the highest level of evidence on the impacts of increased in-work conditionality that Ministers have had sight of. When challenged that this evidence is somewhat outdated and 'a bit threadbare' - as it has been relied on for three increases in the AET - Ms Churchill indicated that Ministers also had early sight of unpublished research (a Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD) study) that compares the experiences of claimants who are just below and just above the AET.
When pressed on the expected publication dates for this and further evidence, Mr Churchill said -
'I have asked for [the RDD study] to be available as soon as it can be, and the date I was given was spring 2024 ... I would like it out the door as soon as possible, so you have more data ... RDD is the next piece, the next building block and then, the longitudinal study will come through in 2025.'Concluding the session with a final question, Lord Hunt, speaking on behalf of the whole Committee, said -
'... we're looking for an undertaking from you, not to further expand the cohort until the Department can publish robust evidence of its effects. Are you able to give us that undertaking?Ms Churchill responded -
'So are you alluding to us holding 15 hours or with this latest laying at 18? Because I could certainly say to you, I think with all confidence that at 18, we want to understand the iterations and make sure that we've got a sound evidence base from there.'NB - the increase in the AET in January 2023 was based, for individuals, on the equivalent of them working 15 hours per week at the National Living Wage, and this week's increase to the equivalent of them working 18 hours per week.
Despite welcoming the Minister's reply, Lord Hunt went on to say -
'... we accept your undertaking, except we are still as dissatisfied as we were because you haven't provided, in the view of the Committee, sufficient explanation yet. We are awaiting this robust evidence, which I think that we now expect in June 2024.'The evidence session Regulations to increase the Administrative Earnings Threshold (Legislative scrutiny) is available from parliament.tv
Work and Pensions Select Committee has called on the government to bring forward proposals to compensate women born in the 1950s who suffered as a result of the DWP's communication failures when their pension age was increased, and asks that it does so in the current parliamentary session
Committee chair highlights lengthy delay and urgency for affected women and calls on government to act on Parliamentary Ombudsman recommendations before summer recess.
Writing to Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Mel Stride, Committee Chair Stephen Timms requests government support for 'urgent action' following the Parliamentary Ombudsman's final report in March 2024 which recommended a remedy based on level 4 of its severity of injustice scale, putting awards at between £1,000 and £2,950.
Mr Timms says that the Committee does not seek to question the Ombudsman's proposal for compensation at level 4, but instead has focused on what a remedy may look like -
'The evidence we received indicated support for a rules-based system. This would be a system where payments would be adjusted within a range (based on the PHSO’s severity of injustice scale) to reflect the extent of change in the individual’s State Pension age and the notice of the change which the individual received. This would mean that the less notice you had of the change and the bigger the change in your SPA, the higher the payment you would receive. While not perfect, the advantages of such a system are that it would be: quick to administer; applying known data to a formula to determine the amount due; and relatively inexpensive (compared to a more bespoke system).'The Committee's recommendation also includes some flexibility for individuals to make the case for further compensation in the event that they have experienced direct financial loss, for example where a woman whose divorce settlement was less than it would have been because it was based on the expectation that she would receive her state pension at 60.
Mr Timms also asks the government to consider -
'... the need for urgent action, given that the Ombudsman started to look at this issue in 2018 and that every 13 minutes a woman born in the 1950s dies ... Implementing a remedy will need parliamentary time, financial resources, and the data and technical systems only available to your department. It cannot happen without government support. We would ask you to bring forward proposals for a remedy by the summer recess.'Mr Timms' letter to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is available from parliament.uk
2024.05.19 08:03 hypikachu Tyrion's Paternity: An open question? [Spoilers Extended]
![Tyrion's Paternity: An open question? [Spoilers Extended]](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/C_Ank7yZVlyY16294VGT7gHQM3FmsLmsOrjJwK7PWpk.jpg "Tyrion's Paternity: An open question? [Spoilers Extended]") | Listen. I know "Tyrion Targaryen" is a divisive topic. I don't think there's any theory that gets more vehement criticism. I understand why it gets the ire it does, and don't even wholly disagree. submitted by hypikachu to asoiaf [link] [comments] Buuuut, if I can play 1. "It hurts the story" I'll admit it. I (kinda) agree with this assessment. A "Tyrion's a secret Targ" reveal threatens to undermine other big elements of the story. One secret orphaned prince is a tragedy, but a dozen is a farce. It also arguably hurts the Tyrion-Tywin relationship. I don't think it'd be ruinous as many of the critics do. But even if it were, that still wouldn't affect whether or not it's canon. This argument really doesn't address "what is or is not," but rather "what should or shouldn't be." But writers do stuff they arguably shouldn't all the time. Fans of Star Wars will gladly tell you that midi-chlorians undermine the Force. But they're still canon, bc George said so. Martin is no more infallible than Lucas. I love these books, and I think GRRM's the bee's knees. But can you tell me with a straight face that "Joffrey sent the catspaw" was perfectly executed storytelling? Whether something's good or not is a subjective matter for the audience. But whether something's canon is wholly at the whims of the author. And it definitely seems like GRRM's whims are pointing towards A+J. 2. "GRRM was setting it up in the early books, but abandoned the idea at some point." Yes, George is a gardener and doesn't necessarily stick to a rigid story plan. He's removed or changed big elements of the story, like the 5 year gap or the Brightflame cloth dragons. It's definitely possible that Tyrion Targaryen might have been a similarly scrapped plan. (Small Tangent: I'm even pretty open to the idea that it was scrapped in the show. It's totally the kind of thing D&D would hate. But you can ask Griff & Stoneheart if show canon = book canon.) The problem is, there's no clear point where GRRM stopped dropping hints that align with A+J. It still seems front and center in ASOS (2000), when Tywin makes his last on-page appearance. He explicitly calls Tyrion's paternity (and the fidelity of his beloved cousinwife) into question twice in that book, down to his last breath. Bookending Tyrion's first speaking appearance (AGOT Jon I). The very first thing Tyrion says about Tywin is "he thinks of me as a bastard." The idea of Tyrion's paternity being in doubt hangs over the Tyrion-Tywin relationship from the first moments to the last. The relevant characters' most recent book appearance was the worldbook in 2014. (The same year GRRM gave his now famous explanation of why abandoning setup makes for bad storytelling.) Even then, GRRM was obliquely pointing to the possibility of A+J=T with relentless determination. Every single mention of Joanna is attached directly to a note about how much Aerys pursued her. Tyrion's birth is one paragraph after the tourney of 272. Where the only notable event was Aerys lusting after Joanna, deepening the rift with Tywin. Which moves us nicely from the meta-textual arguments into the in-universe "evidence." 3. "[Pycelle said] Tywin wouldn't have married Joanna if she'd been with Aerys" Pycelle sure did say that. Pycelle is wrong. That's the point. How can we tell? GRRM's choice of wording in Pycelle's rebuttal. As Pycelle insists in his letters, Tywin Lannister would scarce have taken his cousin to wife if that had been true, “for he was ever a proud man and not one accustomed to feasting upon another man’s leavings.”Pictured: Pycelle's wrongness. The 2014 audience already knows Tywin absolutely would do that. The climax of his conflict with Tyrion was him bedding Shae. "Feasting on another man's leavings" is already a defining part of Tywin's relationship with Tyrion. GRRM wrote Pycelle huffing copium. Conspicuously. The fanboy maester's denial depends on a claim the audience explicitly knows is false. It's just basic dramatic irony: the audience knows something the characters don't. If Pycelle's claims rests on false evidence, what is the author saying about the claim? 4. "If Tywin knew/suspected, why didn't he do anything more than try to resign?" I'll be honest, this one blows my mind. The man sacked King's Landing and killed every Targaryen he could find. Tywin's big defining pre-stories action was brutally overthrowing Aerys' whole family. Sure he didn't do it immediately. But when circumstances permitted, Tywin took extreme vengeance. 5. "Tyrion's dragon dreams aren't Dragon Dreams" Why the hell not? Symbolically heavy. Seemingly prophetic. Showing a destiny of magical conflict, with stakes as intimate as family identity, and as broad as globe-spanning war. Tyrion’s dreams check all the boxes for what makes up a Dragon Dream. (Or should I say, “They meet any cry-Tyrion?”) When Tyrion first mentions dreaming of dragons, he’s telling Jon “I know your secret. You dream the same kind of dreams.” Again, dramatic irony time. Tyrion’s saying it as “I know you secretly feel alienation.” But a reader who knows Jon’s lineage knows the real secret is why Jon’s magic dreams fixate on family alienation. Because they’re Dragon Dreams. The very first thing GRRM tells us about Tyrion’s dragon dreams is that they’re comparable to Jon’s Dragon Dreams. And Tyrion’s have actual dragons in them. Oh, and very non-coincidentally, this scene happens only 20ish pages after Dany has the first confirmed on-page Dragon Dream. Which hits all the same elements. Prophesymbolic vision of a buried dragon identity. Which emerges through the crucible of sibling struggle. GRRM returns focus to Tyrion’s dragon dreams in ADWD. He has two such dreams during his journey east from Illyrio’s manse as part of a plot to marry Dany to a guy with a big fighting force behind him. Eagle eyed observers will note that this is exact same setup Dany herself had in AGOT when her Dragon Dreams started. In both the earliest and latest books in the series, GRRM draws immediate parallels between Tyrion’s dragon dreams and Targaryen Dragon Dreams. Just from an economy of storytelling perspective, it would be weird to have Tyrion’s special important dreams-w/dragons-in-them that just happen to be totally unrelated to Jon & Dany’s Special Important Magic Dragon Dreams™️. Caveat: Schrodinger’s Targaryen Despite all of this, I do not think GRRM’s endgame is as simple as “And then we learn Tyrion is 100% definitely Aerys’ son and not Tywin’s.” My strongest hunch is that the plan is for the story to end without a definitive answer, but a pointedly open question. Compare it to other “unresolved Targaryen/dragonrider ancestry mysteries” like Nettles and Daeron T vs Daemon B. GRRM loves this “the mystery is more valuable than the answer” approach to storytelling. In AGOT and ASOS we’re told “Tywin thinks of Tyrion as not his.” In TWOIAF we see maesters publicly speculating about Aerys & Joanna’s relations. I think the in-universe uncertainty is the plotline here. The speculation already exists in Tyrion’s plot, which will come to a fever pitch when (not if) he saddles Viserion. I don’t think there’ll be any raunchy Bran-vision or tearstained secret letter from Joanna that definitively confirms Tyrion’s parentage one way or the other. Tyrion seizes Casterly Rock and there’s a hubbub about legality. Is he a golden trueborn lion, Tywin’s legal heir? Is he the red of a Targaryen dragon and/or a color-inverted Lannister bastard? Who the hell knows? What does it matter? All the truth Tyrion knows is his mother was a lioness, making him a cat regardless of coat. That, plus he has a dragon, with sharp long claws. The dragon reins are all he needs to reign from This deliberate open-endedness leaves room for a lot of options. I’m very open to chimera theory. Nerd Tangent: In myth, the chimera is literally a fire-breathing lion-serpent hybrid. All Tyrion needs is some goat imagery and he’s got the whole animal. Plus GRRM keeps making the lady of Casterly Rock mother twins at every point in the timeline. Joanna’s were even fraternal. GRRM even wrote an unpublished conversation whereTyrion talks about Maelys the Monstrous (to whom Tyrion repeatedly compares himself) absorbing his twin in-utero, and imagines the same thing happening in his own mother’s womb. George is doing everything a writer setting up a “genetic chimera” twist reveal would do. Separately, I really like the idea of Tywin misinterpreting prophecy and dooming himself to the fate he was trying to avoid. In perfect parallel to Cersei’s experience with Maggy. Tywin gets some kind of cryptic warning about Aerys’ bloodline displacing his own. Just like Cersei’s valonqar, he jumps to a misplaced suspicion of Tyrion, when he should be examining Jaime and/or Cersei. When TWOIAF bundles the tourney of 272, Tyrion’s birth/Joanna’s death in 273, and Tywin’s role in the Targaryen downfall together, it’s entirely possible that the point is the same as AFFC Cersei constantly telling us “valonqar = Tyrion.” A red herring; there to prompt the audience into thinking about the question. But preserving mystery by laying the false answer on thick while the true answer is surreptitiously sprinkled in. Maybe there’s even in-universe discussion about how an AJT reveal makes a farce of RLJ? “Diluting the reveal by flooding the spot with something similar but even more outlandish” was Tyrion’s own in-universe strategy for dealing with the reveal of Cersei’s royal bastards. This could be GRRM going full circle. “Oh, Ned Stark’s other closely guarded secret about royal bastardy just came out? Well, this counterstory from Tyrion about royal bastards has juicy stuff like clowns and sex with a crazy guy and kids w/physical abnormalities. Once this story spreads, no one’ll know what to believe!” It could even go the same direction the show went for Theon’s identity dualism. Tangent: (Theon is kinda directly connected to Tyrion already, having inherited the “burn Winterfell, torn between Starks & birth family” plotline originally meant for Tyrion.) You can be both a furry apex predator on 4 legs and a mythical beast with long wriggly appendages. Lizard & lion at once. GRRM might even be highlighting this Schrodinger-esque superstate of “both one and the other simultaneously” with Tyrion’s ADWD intro. The first time we see the cat-man after he kills Tywin, he’s drunk himself half to death in a box while on his way to Illyrio. It's the moment when he’s most in limbo– after killing the lion Tywin, but before joining sides with Aerys’ dragonspawn – he’s a half-alive half-dead cat in a box. All I'm saying is that I think, for George, the point is the duality. The uncertainty. The multiplicity of options. Tbh, I’m not arguing that “Aerys is the father” = The Answer™️. I’m just arguing that the story is designed to set up the question. From Tyrion’s first lines to Tywin’s last, GRRM insistently raises the notion of Tyrion not being Tywin’s son. The most recently published account of A, J, T, & T deals heavily with the contentious love triangle. I’m not saying you have to like it. I’m just saying you can’t pretend it’s not there. |
2024.05.19 07:25 TrueMinecraftAlex You can't save porn addicts
I came to a conclusion that the porn addicts are unsavable, they are gone, completely.
The porn affects the brain significantly, it decreases frontal lobe activity, damage the dopamine reward system and we don't know to what point it can damage the brain, how far can this possibly go.
They sexualise everything, scary characters, violence, feet, armpits, eating, obesity, inflation Why?
Because their brain is so damaged and reformed that it knows nothing, but sex, the porn addicts themselves don't even know why they are attracted to these things, it doesn't make sense because the brain is so wrecked it doesn't function logically anymore.
They see sex in everything, I saw so many examples they start sexualizing microwaves, letters, computer usb ports, sandwiches, why? there is no logical explanation, their brain is so defective there can't be any explanation to why or how, it's just their brain malfunction that starts to happen very often for them, it's just random impulse that messes their attraction even more each time.
And their perception of reality is completely messed up of the porn effects on the brain they have reduced intelligent awareness and focus which makes it hard for them to comprehend the world and orient in it and since most of them were porn addicts for a long time they forgot what the normal reality is they forgot what normal life is.
They can't control themselves and considering that damage to the frontal lobe causes difficulty with controlling compulsive and impulsive behavior they are barely an owner of their own body, they can't stop, porn is the only thing they live for. They don't listen to words, they won't listen if you say "no" and it maybe be not because they ignored your "no" or just didn't care, it maybe because they didn't even comprehend that you said "no" or they comprehend it, but they just can't control themselves and can't stop themselves anymore.
For example some person says to not make porn of their fictional character, but they won't listen because the porn is the only thing to live for, they see the character in a tunnel vision they don't listen to the words people say and to the common sense, no it just porn porn porn and no control they are husk of a human, nothing but walking genitals. They can only sexualise and masturbate.
They are barely human anymore, they are basically zombies. You can't help them, they can't help themselves and probably even therapists can't help them, they are gone, done for, finished, lost that's it for them and their life.
submitted by TrueMinecraftAlex to PornIsMisogyny [link] [comments]
The porn affects the brain significantly, it decreases frontal lobe activity, damage the dopamine reward system and we don't know to what point it can damage the brain, how far can this possibly go.
They sexualise everything, scary characters, violence, feet, armpits, eating, obesity, inflation Why?
Because their brain is so damaged and reformed that it knows nothing, but sex, the porn addicts themselves don't even know why they are attracted to these things, it doesn't make sense because the brain is so wrecked it doesn't function logically anymore.
They see sex in everything, I saw so many examples they start sexualizing microwaves, letters, computer usb ports, sandwiches, why? there is no logical explanation, their brain is so defective there can't be any explanation to why or how, it's just their brain malfunction that starts to happen very often for them, it's just random impulse that messes their attraction even more each time.
And their perception of reality is completely messed up of the porn effects on the brain they have reduced intelligent awareness and focus which makes it hard for them to comprehend the world and orient in it and since most of them were porn addicts for a long time they forgot what the normal reality is they forgot what normal life is.
They can't control themselves and considering that damage to the frontal lobe causes difficulty with controlling compulsive and impulsive behavior they are barely an owner of their own body, they can't stop, porn is the only thing they live for. They don't listen to words, they won't listen if you say "no" and it maybe be not because they ignored your "no" or just didn't care, it maybe because they didn't even comprehend that you said "no" or they comprehend it, but they just can't control themselves and can't stop themselves anymore.
For example some person says to not make porn of their fictional character, but they won't listen because the porn is the only thing to live for, they see the character in a tunnel vision they don't listen to the words people say and to the common sense, no it just porn porn porn and no control they are husk of a human, nothing but walking genitals. They can only sexualise and masturbate.
They are barely human anymore, they are basically zombies. You can't help them, they can't help themselves and probably even therapists can't help them, they are gone, done for, finished, lost that's it for them and their life.