Sunday school printable coloring sheets for kindergarten
The Littles Cottage
2024.05.29 06:10 Weird_Background_787 The Littles Cottage
♡♡⋆⁘⋄. ───∾⋆🎀🧸⋆∾─── .⋄⁘⋆♡♡ ♡ The Littles Cottage ♡
𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚞𝚜
♡The Littles Cottage is an 18+ server for Littles and Caregivers! We are a welcoming , active , friendly community with a cozy cottage core vibe! We are fully LGBTQ+ Friendly!
𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛
♡: Make new friends in our various SFW channels!
♡: Chats for everyone to mingle , Littles chats , and Caregivers Spaces!
♡: An active and growing community of members!
♡: A suggestions channels so you can help us improve our server!
♡: A wide variety of fun bot games and activities!
♡: Frequent engaging themed events!
♡: Many Boosting perks including: 50,000 mimu currency ,Nickname permissions, your own special color role , Pic/Gif perms in the whole server (not just set channels!) and A gold Star on the Star board!!
♡: Custom roles, colors, and server channels!
♡: Various VC channels!
♡: Well-moderated channels and active staff members to ensure a safe, fun time for everyone!
♡: Babysitting!!
♡: Mimu with a bunch of fun commands!
♡:Fun worksheets and coloring sheets in our school! ♡♡⋆⁘⋄. ───∾⋆🎀🧸⋆∾─── ⋆⁘⋄.♡♡
https://discord.gg/ddyMFAcPVk
submitted by Weird_Background_787 to PromoteDiscordServer [link] [comments]
𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚞𝚜
♡The Littles Cottage is an 18+ server for Littles and Caregivers! We are a welcoming , active , friendly community with a cozy cottage core vibe! We are fully LGBTQ+ Friendly!
𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛
♡: Make new friends in our various SFW channels!
♡: Chats for everyone to mingle , Littles chats , and Caregivers Spaces!
♡: An active and growing community of members!
♡: A suggestions channels so you can help us improve our server!
♡: A wide variety of fun bot games and activities!
♡: Frequent engaging themed events!
♡: Many Boosting perks including: 50,000 mimu currency ,Nickname permissions, your own special color role , Pic/Gif perms in the whole server (not just set channels!) and A gold Star on the Star board!!
♡: Custom roles, colors, and server channels!
♡: Various VC channels!
♡: Well-moderated channels and active staff members to ensure a safe, fun time for everyone!
♡: Babysitting!!
♡: Mimu with a bunch of fun commands!
♡:Fun worksheets and coloring sheets in our school! ♡♡⋆⁘⋄. ───∾⋆🎀🧸⋆∾─── ⋆⁘⋄.♡♡
https://discord.gg/ddyMFAcPVk
2024.05.29 05:09 CrazyBeginning6808 I’ve been searching for this story all over Facebook and I cannot find it please help!!
 | submitted by CrazyBeginning6808 to bookshelf [link] [comments] |
2024.05.29 04:26 InteractionProud7297 need honest criticism
i'm working on a novel and would like to know if anyone could tell me any improvements i could make to the first chapter and prologue
Prologue
The day had started the same way it had for the past two years. The only difference was that I was going home. The hallway was crowded with people walking to and from their classes. Everyone was crowded next to each other so the halls were making the area feel claustrophobic. All the people talking mixed with the summer heat made me feel like I was locked in a sauna. I walked with Preston to the last class we would ever have together and as usual he was smiling. I never got why he always smiled even in situations where people should be sad he still smiled. He knew what today meant for me and he tried to keep light of the situation. I kept my head down away from what was ahead of me. My mind was too clouded about returning to see my family to notice anything in front of me. I walked into another student. It felt like I had walked into a wall. I knew immediately I had walked into tree. I stumble onto the ground and the commotion around me slows down to make room for us. He turned his bulky body around and apologized profusely without saying a word even though I had walked into him. He helped me off of the ground before hurrying down the hall.
“Alexandria, are you doing okay?” Preston said he had tilted his body downward so I had to look down to look him in his eyes. The way he was standing made him look like an idiot but he didn't seem to care. The way he acted made me laugh, which caused his smile to widen.
“I'm doing fine, just got lost in my head.”
“Thinking about how you’ll leave soon,” he said
“Was it that obvious?” He was the only person I told about me being an exchange student. I came to spend high school in Newkinawa and he was the only person I ever hung out with.
“I see what you mean,” he said “Newkinawa is a beautiful place with beautiful people to live in it…myself included”
“You wish,” I say with a smile we continue walking through the hallway “I'm just not excited to go back yet”
After I say that his smile grows wider “So you will miss me after all”
“I wouldn't say that much” I responded whilst smiling.
We had made it to our last class only to see it closed with a sign labeled “Uma incident” Uma was a student known for messing with the chemistry lab and destroying school property in the process. I've never actually met her but Preston says “She's a little weird but still nice”
“Guess class is canceled for today,” Preston remarked with a smile “Wanna go out to the court till the bell rings.”
“Sure let's go” I respond
The place we ate every day was outside. It used to be a tennis court before I moved in. Now they put trees and flowers all over the place. Preston really liked the blue color of the flowers but it just never clicked for me. I look over at Preston and he's staring up at the sky. There are a number of clouds in almost enough to block the sun but it still pokes its rays through and lands on Preston's face. The clouds swim in front of the sun till they block out the sun's light. Preston faces towards me.
“I'm gonna miss you Alexandria” he says
“You know you can just call me Alex,” I replied. I start to smile again. “I'll miss you too!" He smiles toward me again as we get up to leave as the clouds start to clump together and rain slowly falls. As we're walking back to the school there's a loud tearing sound followed by screams as the ground shakes.
The ground tears itself apart as the dirt and stone erupt from the ground. The sky blackens and a pale blue light escapes the earth. Then creatures erupt from the ground in a violent ejection from the earth creating a white pillar diffusing as they reach higher in the air. Some are clawing their way out of the cracks like maggots out of a corpse. People are swept into the updraft screaming for their lives.
The creatures descend like a tidal wave and tear apart any people caught in their path. They storm out of the crack in hundreds as more cracks in the earth form. Me and Preston started running away as people were screaming behind us. A girl running next to us has her legs slashed by a creature. The monster begins to tear open her chest as she chokes on her own blood. The monster shovels her lungs and innards into its decrepit mouth. Me and Preston keep running until we're met at the entrance of the school and we catch the attention of a monster as it begins to savagely rush toward us. The monster resembles ghosts my father told me about. But this one looks monstrously horrific. It floats in the air and opens its mouth so wide it nearly replaces its entire torso; its jaws hold savage teeth each the same old gray color of its body. Its eyes glow a rotten yellow color through the dark. It stretches out its arms showing its giant hands and claws like fingers. It swipes at us leaving a giant claw mark on the door behind us but Preston ducks my body down to avoid the attack. We run around it as the monster swaps its focus to another bystander. Screaming past us. Me and Preston run into the parking lot as people scream around us. We hide next to a car.
“What the hell is happening!?” I yell to Preston. More of the creatures fly over us and swoop down to people like vultures on roadkill devouring the fleeing people.
Preston starts to breathe heavily ”we need to get out of here and someplace safer”. As we were talking one of the monster phases through the car we were hiding next to forcing us to run into the street.
“Lets go to your house till things cool down” i say to Preston through panted breaths
“Wait couldn't we head to your house instead” Preston says.
“Why would that matter your house is closer anyways” i respond
“But-” Preston is interrupted by two creatures swooping above us to grab another person. The two monsters begin to pull the person apart while he writhes in pain before having his flesh be torn in half and having his organs be devoured.
“Come on lets go!!” I say as I grab his hand and run even faster.
By the time we reach Preston's house any living person is gone. On the street are just corpses laying torn and mutilated on the roads and sidewalk. The air in the neighborhood feels cold despite the season being summer. When I walk down the street I can still hear the occasional horrific wail the monsters give off. We move closer to Preston's house and I can see him sweating. He looked more worried than before when the creatures were chasing us and he kept darting his eyes away from his home.
“Preston, are you feeling okay?” he doesn't respond to my question and keeps darting his eyes. He walks slowly behind me and as I reach for the door handle and when I touch it it feels nearly freezing. I wrap my hoodie around my hand and slowly open the door. The house is quiet so me and Preston creep further into his house. The inside is cold and damp as if we were locked in a freezer. The further we move into the house the louder a subtle chewing sound is heard.
“It sounds like rats are eating a dead cow over there” I whisper. Preston continues to stay silent behind me. We slowly walk closer towards the kitchen and the sound gets louder and louder and louder until we reach the room.
We're met with a rancid smell of vomit and blood. My blood starts to run cold and every instinct in my body is telling me to run. I can feel Preston breathing get heavier as we get closer. We turn the corner and see Preston's mom lying on the ground dead with one of the creatures hunched over slurping her intestines. The sight causes me to vomit alerting the monster to our presence. The creature turns around and its mouth turns into a mortifying grin as it flies into Preston's moms body. The corpse begins to rise and spur splashing blood over the kitchen. When the corpse stops spasming it picks itself up from the ground and with glazed over eyes it holds its intestines in its hand and gives us the same grin it did when it was outside her body. The possessed corpse lunges at me and starts to chase me around the kitchen. The body is running into the walls and cabinets spraying its blood and other loose organs around the area as I'm avoiding its assault. The corpse leans over and ejects one of its loose intestines towards me, wrapping me in it. It pulls me towards it so fast I'm flung towards the ground. The corpse limbers over to me and raises its free hand aiming for my head. The creature's deranged smile causes the corpse’s cheeks to tear apart. It places both of its bloodied and demented hands on my face and starts to press my skull into the ground. I struggle to breathe. The room starts to get dark and blood escapes my head.
Until Preston jumps on top of his mothers corpse with a kitchen knife and repeatedly stabs it in the head. The possessed body tries to shake him off but he keeps stabbing, blood gets in on his face and tears start to escape his eyes. The creature violently ejects from the corpse's mouth causing her head to nearly explode and Preston stops stabbing the body. The body falls over in a splash of blood and organs. The monster leaves phasing through the roof leaving Preston crying over his mother's body. As the blood mixes with the tears he collapses to his knees crying. I walk over and hug him as the air around us turns bitter and the chill of death leaves the room and us with it.
Chapter 1 Eclipse
It's been 2 months since the apocalypse started. We've kept ourselves alive by looting grocery stores and houses, we hide from the creatures as we have no way to fight back against them. Preston came up with the idea to call them glanter’s. He’s looking better since we left his family home but I can tell something is wrong with him that he's not telling me. Everytime I ask him about it he tells me it's no big deal. I asked him earlier today and he just told me
“don't worry about it, I'm over it” without even looking at me. Now we're walking through the street and I'm walking behind Preston, I can barely see his head past the giant bag we're both carrying on our backs we use to carry supplies. I look up at the sky and it's still pitch black except for the moon giving us any amount of light. Preston turns around to face me.
“Let's check out that house, it might have some cool stuff in it” he points to a white house to our right. The house is a two story building with steps leading to the front door. There's a generator poking out from the backyard. The driveway is empty save for a couple of dried blood stains and tire marks. It's similar to the other houses in the neighborhood except for a couple broken windows.
“Sure why not” We head over to the house and I see something shining on the side of the house in the corner of my eye. I turn my head to look at it closer but it quickly disappears before I can see it clearly.
“Probably squirrel or something” I mumble to myself. Preston walks up the stairs to the house and I walk up the steps behind him as a breeze blows past my face. Preston tries to turn the door knob but the door is locked. I start to pull out a lockpick I grabbed at the store earlier. I motion towards Preston to move out of the way as I kneel down to pick the lock. It takes me a couple of minutes to unlock the door so I walk inside the house and Preston follows behind me while closing and locking the door. The doorway of the house leads to a dark room so I take a flashlight out of my bag to illuminate the area. Were put into the living room and bookshelves are on the walls and a large TV sat in front of a large black couch with smaller chairs surrounding it. Dust is covering every surface of the room and spiderwebs litter the corners of the walls. The area smells like moth balls and there's a lack of blood anywhere nearby.
“Guess the owners got out before the Glanter’s got in, '' I say to Preston. When he doesn't respond I turn around and he's already looking further into the house. When I find him he's managed to find a flight of stairs that lead to a lower portion of the house.
“I'll check on him later,” I think to myself as I headed towards the kitchen to see if we could restock on food. I walk past a bedroom and remark on how childish it looked. The walls were painted with blue and green stripes and a bunk bed sat on the right wall. There's a chest at the foot of the bed so I walk over and lift the top off of it. The box is layered with children's toys, a multitude of dolls, bears, and figures all jut out of the box. I notice a small robot toy and inspect it in my hands.
The cold metal makes my hand shiver and the sharp body shape makes the robot bigger than my hand. There's red lining around the robot's buttons surrounded by the cold gray of the robot's “skin”. It reminds me of a toy my little brother had. My heart feels heavy as I worry about what happened to my family. If they're alive, dead, or worse…possessed. The thoughts send a chill down my spine but I push them aside for now. I put the toy in my bag and exit the bedroom.
I can see the kitchen is down the hallway so I walk down the hall and enter. The kitchen is pretty clean except for a couple of dishes in the sink and the dust. There's a table seated for 3 people in the center of the room. I start opening the cabinets in search for any food or water. There's boxes of cereal leftover on top of shelves and a mix of chip bags and cookies in neat boxes stationed in the cabinets.
“Score,” I say to myself as I begin to put the snacks into my bag. When the cabinets are empty I look inside the fridge. The inside of the fridge ran out of power so most of the food inside is rotted. There are a couple of bottles of water in the front so I shove those in my bag. There's also a bag of oranges that still seem to be healthy in the back. I grab them and toss them on the table. There's rotten sandwich meat hidden in the drawer of the fridge.it smells like a dumpster outside of a butcher shop. I wrinkle my nose at the smell. I look around the kitchen for any bread with no luck.
I continue to look through the fridge until I hear Preston scream from another room. Immediately I bolt out of the kitchen leaving my bag behind and run towards the lower part of the house. I run down the stairs and nearly trip on the steps. The stairs lead to a big room. There are posters to tv shows and movies I don't recognize. The walls are painted black and there's a bear skin rug on the floor. I notice Preston standing next to a really big TV hyperventilating. I walk over to him and ask him.
“Are you ok? What happened?”
He talks through deep breaths “I… saw a… spider.”
“What?!” I respond in confusion.
“It was really big and I had jumped at my face”
“Sure it was.” I say while laughing “Let's go upstairs there's some food in the fridge we can eat”
“Wait, I think you should check this out.” He says while pointing towards one of the walls. I grab Preston's flashlight off the floor and face it towards the wall. Hanging halfway off the wall is a large map labeled Newkiwana scavenger hunt of 76.
“I think we should take it,” Preston says “You can read a map right?”
“A little but I'm not the best at it,” I say to him “can you read a map?”
“it shouldn’t be too hard it’s mainly pictures any way I'm sure I can figure it out”
I walk over to the wall where the map is hung there are trophies covering tables and shelved in their own personal cases one of them reads “1st place 100-meter swimming competition for 1986 Zack Hemmingway” and another one reads “2nd place 100-meter swimming competition for 1989 Zack Hemmingway”
“Guess this guy really liked swimming,” Preston remarks while staring at a wall of newspaper clippings. All of them are about the same person in swimming competitions. All labeled different things like “a new record for Zack “the dolphin” Hemmingway”,
‘Zach Hemmingway our star plans for the future” all the newspapers are about this kind he has paler skin and a bulky enough build to swim pretty well. Most of the pictures have him coming out of the water in a pool, his long black hair soaked and sitting at his shoulders. Another one has him sitting at a desk over a pile of books and his hair in a knot , “vicious wipeout ends the Dolphins career”, and “ex-swim champ Zack Hemmingway found in a drunken stupor outside strip club.
“Everyone has their own hobbies I guess,” I say as I take the map off of the wall and fold it up. “Sucks what happened to Zack though” I walked over to Preston’s bag and put the rolled map in one of the pockets. I walk back up the stairs and Preston grabs his bag and follows behind me.
We make our way towards the kitchen and Preston starts looking through the fridge for anything to eat. I grab an orange from the table and throw it at his head. The fruit bounces off his head and rolls on the floor. He turns around and grabs the fruit from the floor
“Why did you throw an orange at me?”
“It's the only food we have unless you plan on eating spoiled a sandwich“ He starts to peel it while walking towards the table. We both take a seat and start to eat the oranges from the bag. He plants his feet on top of the table and bites into the fully peeled orange. I grab a water bottle from a bag and start to drink from it as Preston says.
“I saw a dvd player in that man cave downstairs we could watch a movie if it still has power”
“Sure it could be fun.” Me and Preston spend the rest of our time eating until the bag of oranges is emptied and we head back downstairs. Preston grabs the DVD player from under the table and blows the dust off the top of it; he plugs it into the wall as I plop myself onto the couch. He plugs the DVD player into the TV and sits on the recliner next to me. He presses a few buttons on the remote and the TV lights up. I squint my eyes at how bright it is. It's the most amount of light I've seen that didn't come from a flashlight. I notice there's a box filled with DVDs. I pull the box over towards me. I ruffle through the box and see movies like Silence of the Lambs, Terminator 2, and Home alone.
“Dude some of these came out just before the world turned inside out” I say to him.
“Really? Let's play one.” He responds. I toss him Terminator 2 and he puts it into the DVD player.
We spend the next couple hours watching movies and laughing together. It's some of our only moments of peace we’ve had since the end of the world and to me it's the most fun I've had yet. We're putting in the next DVD when there's a loud crash outside and the TV shuts off. Preston goes behind it to see if it's still plugged in.
“I think the generator outside is busted” i say
“It seems that way” Preston replies while backing away from the tv” i'm gonna go check it out”
“Don't worry I got it” I say as I hop out of my chair. Preston waves goodbye as I head up the stairs. I make my way back through the hallway leading to the living room and front door. I reach the door and start to turn the knob. I open the door wide as a car speeds down the street. I step out of the door to see what had happened when I hear the screech of a glanter. It cuts through the sky like an unholy opera singer. A group of them fly by and chase the car as I rush back inside the house. I slam the door shut and look through the window as I see a couple of smaller glanters grab and shake the car violently looking for the driver. They tear at it, ripping off doors and breaking the windows. The driver screams as the seats cover with blood and he's ripped out of the car as multiple smaller glanters tear and bite off parts of his body like piranha's until his body is completely devoured. I run back to the man cave to warn Preston about what had happened. I spot him laying in his chair spinning a DVD disc on his finger.
“It's not safe outside right now”
“Why not?
“There's glanter's outside, they just ate a dude in his car”
“Did they see you come inside?”
“I don't think so , they flew off before I went inside.”
“well we're not dead so I'm gonna say they didn't see you. But let's stay here for a couple more hours just to be safe”
“Sounds good i'm gonna go find the master bedroom.” I start to walk back up the stairs to the house
“ Hold on why do you get the master bedroom” Preston says while walking after me.
“Because I'm gonna find it first” I say as I start to run to find the bedroom. He chases after me in pursuit of the bedroom. Me and Preston run around the house looking for the master bedroom. We look through room after room finding closets, the garage, a bathroom and a door leading to a balcony in the back of the house. I manage to run into the bedroom and yell out to Preston.``Found it!!”
He comes walking into the room breathing heavily from the running. We both check out the room. The walls are painted a cream yellow and the bed takes up most of the room's center. The bed has burgundy sheets poking out from its bottom and a quilt with multi-colored floral designs lay sprawled out on top of it. There's a wardrobe built into the wall and a black leather couch sits comfortably on the left wall.
“Dibs on the bed” I say as I jump on top of it. I stretch out on top of the quilt and search for a comfortable part to sleep in.
“Where am I supposed to sleep then?” Preston complains
“You can sleep on the couch it looks soft enough” I respond while pointing towards the couch “I saw some spare blankets in one of the closets”
“Alright i’ll be right back” he mumbles to himself “why do i always get the couch”
“ I'll be right here if you need me,” i call after him. I sit up on the bed and start to look around the room more. I notice the entrance to the wardrobe is cracked open slightly. I hop out of the bed and grab a flashlight from my bag as I walk into the wardrobe. I turn on my flashlight and stare in awe at how many clothes are in there. The room is only half as big as the bedroom but it's still bigger than any closet I've ever had. The wardrobe is full of shirts, dresses, pants, and shoes for men and women. I immediately start to look through the shoes to see if any fit my size. I throw a pair of black high heels behind me as Preston finds me in the wardrobe. He looks around before asking me.
“What are you doing?”
“Finding a new pair of clothes to wear cause I've been wearing the same pair of jeans for waaaaay too long”
“Fair enough. Is there any guy stuff in there?”
“Yeah right there” I hook my thumb behind me to point to the other end of the closet.
“I'm sure they won't mind if we take a couple of things…they're probably dead by now anyways,” Preston says with a slight grin on his face. The way he said made me spin my head to look at him but he was already on the opposite end of the wardrobe looking at suits.
I shake away the thought and continue looking for any pair of sneakers in my size. 40 minutes pass before I walk out of the wardrobe holding a new pair of jeans and a black guns-N-roses t-shirt. I toss the clothes on top of the bed and check to see if the shower in the bathroom still works. I turn the dial and wait for a moment. The shower head chokes a little before water comes pouring out. I reach my hand under the showerhead to feel the water. The water is cold, it causes my hand to shiver when I take it out. I shake the water off and say to myself.
“Good enough” as I start to take off my old clothes and get in the shower. The cold water bounces off my skin, it sends shivers down my spine but I still get the old dirt from the last few months off of me. I step out and see a couple of dry towels hanging off of the door. I grab one and dry my body off and grab another to wrap around my head and dry my hair. I step out of the bathroom and Preston is still inside the wardrobe. I put on my new clothes while his back is turned and walk over towards him when I'm finished.
“Still haven't found anything,” I ask him
He turns around “Nothing yet, the only thing interesting was this coat.” He holds a leather coat up to me. The coat is made of black leather and has a skull covered with blue flames on the back. There's a black shirt inside the coat with a skeleton hand making a thumbs-up embroidered on the front.
“ That's pretty cool, it's better than what you're wearing right now at least” he's outfitted in a blue hoodie with holes on the chest and tears at the sleeves. He also has a shirt with a faded picture of a blue flower printed on it.
“I guess you're right” he gets up from the floor and exits the wardrobe. He lays the clothes on the couch along next to the blanket and pillow he brought into the room.
“The shower works so you can get yourself clean In there,” I say to him
“You know, a shower sounds really good right now.” He gets up from the floor and grabs a pair of pajama pants that were laying next to him. He leaves the wardrobe and enters the bathroom, closing the door behind him. After a moment the water turns on and I hop on the bed to get ready to sleep. I squirm myself into the quilt and rest my head against one of the pillows. I shut my eyes and fall asleep listening to the passive sound of the shower like rain on a car.
I'm in a void. It feels like I'm standing in a puddle of water that reaches to my knees. I wade my way forward looking around for anything in the darkness. In the distance I can see 3 figures l. I moved closer to them and their silhouettes get clearer. I realize they are my dad and brothers. I start to run towards them kicking up water behind me until something grabs my leg. It pulls down violently forcing me under the water without a breath of air. I kick at the thing grabbing me until something grabs my other leg. I look down and see two glanter's each with a monstrous smile on their faces. They stare back at me and one of them tugs my leg harder than before and tears it off of my body. The water around me turns red as the glanter laugh's. The other smiles wider as it starts to fling me around the water forcing any air left in my lungs to be forced out as I scream in pain. The glanter throws me away and I can see my family slowly fade into the distance as I'm flown away.
I struggle to swim back to where I was, one of my legs is missing and the other is broken. The glanter's find me again and I try to get to the surface to escape them. I'm flapping my arms in any attempt to escape as one of the glanter's flies in front of me and grabs my arm. I look at the monster with tears in my eyes as it bites my arm and tears my body away from it. It flings my body away and with my remaining arm I clutch the wound as the water floods into my body leaving me in the void I started in. I look around and the glanter's seem to have left. I turn behind me and see my family again, this time I'm closer than before.
I grit my teeth and drag my body towards them slowly as I leave a trail of blood and tears behind me. I finally reach my family and grab one of my father's shoes. I stare up and he looks at me. His stare causes me to feel cold as a grotesque smile grows on his face. I stare in shock as my brothers each have the same look as my father.
I shoot up from my sleep panting heavily in a cold sweat.
“It was just a dream..just a dream…just a dream” I look at my hands as tears fall into them. I look around the room and see Preston sleeping peacefully on the couch. The room feels frozen in place as a chill runs down my spine. I get out of the bed and walk out of the bedroom. I make my way through the dark hallway and find the entrance to the balcony I saw earlier. I creak open the screen door and head outside. The Balcony is pretty large, about the size of the kitchen in the house. There are some chairs knocked over next to a table and I pick one up to sit on it. I look out into the expanse of the neighborhood, houses lined up next to each other, dozens broken apart by roads, and dead bodies scattered across the roads.
I look up in the sky and sit back in the chair. The sky looks empty except for the moon giving this world its only source of light. Without the moon, we’d be left in darkness. It hangs in the sky alone, no stars, no clouds, nothing but itself, and the void of the sky. I think back about the dream I had. My dad and my brother's all dead and possessed and then they kill me. I start to tear up thinking about it. I try to wipe away the tears but it’s no use. I'm too scared for my family. I don't know where they are if they're alive if they're worried about me I don't know anything! I start to quietly cry into my hands. I don't know how long I'm sitting there until I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn my head to face it and I see Preston. He was smiling and looking at me. I turn away to wipe my tears and he walks next to me.
“I heard you sneaking out of the bedroom so I followed you to see where you were going.” he says “but that's not my question.” he pauses and looks at me “my question is what’s got you feeling so down?” he leans over the railing of the balcony
“It's nothing, I just came out here to clear my head.” I say as more tears escape from my eyes in big slow drops that ride down the sides of my face.
“if you don't feel like telling me you don't have to but i'll be here if you ever change your mind”. He looks up at the moon before turning to face me and his smile widens “I'll always be here with you…trust me I'm not going anywhere”
I stare up at him and wipe away my tears as a smile grows on my face to match his. I get up and stare over the balcony with him. “So where are we heading next?” I say to him, Preston pulls the map we got from the man cave downstairs out from his pocket.
“After I got out of the shower I decided to take a look at the map for anything interesting we could see.”
“Ok did you find anything?” i ask
“I did,” he points at a spot on the right of the map. “We should head to the museum”
“I didn't want to go to a museum before the apocalypse why would i want to go now?'' I ask him.
“Well the best part of museums is the cool stuff right”
“Yeah what about it”
“The only problem is that you could only look at the fossils and armor but you could never take them.”
“So you want to rob a museum?” Prestons eyes light up at the question
“Exactly they might have a really cool sword I could use, or I could sharpen a dinosaur tooth and use that as a weapon, there might be a cursed shield that can summon the dead to fight for you. This opportunity is too good to pass up. We need to go!”
“That does seem pretty cool but wouldn't carrying that stuff weigh us down. What if a glanter is chasing us and we can't run fast enough because of the stuff we took from the museum.”
“We’ll only take things that are light. Even then I could just block the glanter with my newly acquired 2000 year old shield.”
“Fair enough we can go in a couple hours” I yawn and stretch out my arms. “Cause I'm feeling way too tired to walk all the way over there right now.”
“Alright i'm heading back to my couch and THEN we’ll head out to the museum” he leaves the balcony and heads back to the master bedroom leaving me alone on the balcony.
“Thanks Preston I'm not leaving either” I say into the sky. I turn around and walk back inside the house, closing the balcony door behind me. I walk back into the bedroom and Preston is hunched over and holding a flashlight looking at the map. He’s drawing lines through roads and marking X’s in different areas.
“What are the X’s for?” i ask him
“They’re places that glanter’s usually stay around. I'm marking them off so we remember not to go through them, or at least be more cautious.”
“Cool. Did you find where we are right now?” He points to an area where the lines all converge out of.
“Right around here is where the neighborhood ends. So if we follow this path we can make it to the museum in one piece” I pat him on the back and take the map from his hands.
“Get some sleep Preston, we have a full day tomorrow” he grins to himself before laying down on the couch. I put the map back into my bag and hop on the bed to get to sleep. I cover my body in the quilt and roll over facing away from Preston as he falls asleep. I nestle myself into the bed and slowly fall asleep to get ready for the next day.
I'm awoken by Preston shaking the bed I'm sleeping on. My eyes open and the room is foggy, I wipe away the sleep from my eyes and focus my attention towards Preston. He's practically jumping out of his skin with excitement, he's already fully dressed for the trip and shaking the bed with a wide smile on his face.
“Ok ok i'm up the air feels heavy as a groggy feeling fills my body. I wipe my eyes and the room starts to clear up. I turn to face Preston. He's still shaking my bed to wake me up, he’s already fully dressed and nearly jumping out of his skin in excitement.
“Ok ok, i'm up you can stop shaking the bed” i say
“Then get up we’ve got a long walk ahead of us” he says as he stops shaking the mattress. He grabs the map from my bag and points to one of the red lines.
“We're gonna follow this way to the museum. We’ll move past the hotel around the ice skating rink and around the park. We’ll mainly stick to walking through the streets, we might have to go rooftop hopping to avoid any glanter’s if we see them but i'm sure we won’t reach that point.” he explains
“Wait, wait, wait, why are avoiding the skating rink and the park” i ask
“ everytime we go near the park there's weird noises and light coming out of it”
“And why can't we go to the ice skating rink?”
“I didn't think it would be important”
“It couldn't hurt to check it out at least”
“Fine we could make a detour”
“Ok and how do you plan on getting on top of roofs?”
“I'm sure we'll figure it out when we get to it”
“Ok man as long as you’re sure '' I yawn and step out of the bed. Preston starts to put the map in his bag. I walk into the bathroom with my clothes and change out of my pajamas. Minutes later I walk out and see Preston sitting on the couch twiddling his thumbs.
“Finally you're out” he smiles at me before handing me my bag and slinging it over his shoulder. We took a last look inside the kitchen to see if we missed anything. Afterwards we leave for the outside. The cold air bites at my face but Preston walks down the stairs, his face buried in the map. I jog to catch up to him as we both head into the street.
“Hey Preston, could I see the map?”
“Sure” he hands over the map and continues walking. I look at the map and the numerous lines drawn on roads. I look at the corner of the map and notice a small map key with numerous symbols for different areas like a library, school, hospital, and more. There's even a way to tell how far away each location is. The text reads “1 inch=5 miles” I quickly count how far we are from the museum.
“Dude this museum is like 100 miles away.”
“Yep it'll be a long walk, it'll take us a while to get there”
“Did you plan on us walking there the whole time?”
“We might find bikes or something.” he pauses “well i did think we would walk the whole way”
“This is gonna take us weeks to get there!”
“Did you have anything else planned?”
“Well…i guess not but we should still try to find some bikes or something”
“Ok if we see any way to travel faster we’ll take it”
“Alright cool” I hand him the map back and he folds it back up and puts it in his bag. We walk further until we leave the gated neighborhood we started in. Preston takes the map back out and looks at it before he turns right and continues walking. I follow him staring forward at the expanse of the road. The outside of the neighborhood is surrounded by roads all leading to different parts of Newkinawa. We walk past a sign that reads “Coretown 20 miles ahead” I nudge Preston towards the sign and he checks the map again.
“Yep, the museum’s in Coretown. Would you believe the residents were pretty proud of it. Should be a fun place to explore” he says
“Yeah but it’ll take us a million years to get there.” i complain
“Lighten up, I'm sure it will be worth it”. We continue walking down the road slowly making our way to Coretown.
submitted by InteractionProud7297 to writers [link] [comments]
Prologue
The day had started the same way it had for the past two years. The only difference was that I was going home. The hallway was crowded with people walking to and from their classes. Everyone was crowded next to each other so the halls were making the area feel claustrophobic. All the people talking mixed with the summer heat made me feel like I was locked in a sauna. I walked with Preston to the last class we would ever have together and as usual he was smiling. I never got why he always smiled even in situations where people should be sad he still smiled. He knew what today meant for me and he tried to keep light of the situation. I kept my head down away from what was ahead of me. My mind was too clouded about returning to see my family to notice anything in front of me. I walked into another student. It felt like I had walked into a wall. I knew immediately I had walked into tree. I stumble onto the ground and the commotion around me slows down to make room for us. He turned his bulky body around and apologized profusely without saying a word even though I had walked into him. He helped me off of the ground before hurrying down the hall.
“Alexandria, are you doing okay?” Preston said he had tilted his body downward so I had to look down to look him in his eyes. The way he was standing made him look like an idiot but he didn't seem to care. The way he acted made me laugh, which caused his smile to widen.
“I'm doing fine, just got lost in my head.”
“Thinking about how you’ll leave soon,” he said
“Was it that obvious?” He was the only person I told about me being an exchange student. I came to spend high school in Newkinawa and he was the only person I ever hung out with.
“I see what you mean,” he said “Newkinawa is a beautiful place with beautiful people to live in it…myself included”
“You wish,” I say with a smile we continue walking through the hallway “I'm just not excited to go back yet”
After I say that his smile grows wider “So you will miss me after all”
“I wouldn't say that much” I responded whilst smiling.
We had made it to our last class only to see it closed with a sign labeled “Uma incident” Uma was a student known for messing with the chemistry lab and destroying school property in the process. I've never actually met her but Preston says “She's a little weird but still nice”
“Guess class is canceled for today,” Preston remarked with a smile “Wanna go out to the court till the bell rings.”
“Sure let's go” I respond
The place we ate every day was outside. It used to be a tennis court before I moved in. Now they put trees and flowers all over the place. Preston really liked the blue color of the flowers but it just never clicked for me. I look over at Preston and he's staring up at the sky. There are a number of clouds in almost enough to block the sun but it still pokes its rays through and lands on Preston's face. The clouds swim in front of the sun till they block out the sun's light. Preston faces towards me.
“I'm gonna miss you Alexandria” he says
“You know you can just call me Alex,” I replied. I start to smile again. “I'll miss you too!" He smiles toward me again as we get up to leave as the clouds start to clump together and rain slowly falls. As we're walking back to the school there's a loud tearing sound followed by screams as the ground shakes.
The ground tears itself apart as the dirt and stone erupt from the ground. The sky blackens and a pale blue light escapes the earth. Then creatures erupt from the ground in a violent ejection from the earth creating a white pillar diffusing as they reach higher in the air. Some are clawing their way out of the cracks like maggots out of a corpse. People are swept into the updraft screaming for their lives.
The creatures descend like a tidal wave and tear apart any people caught in their path. They storm out of the crack in hundreds as more cracks in the earth form. Me and Preston started running away as people were screaming behind us. A girl running next to us has her legs slashed by a creature. The monster begins to tear open her chest as she chokes on her own blood. The monster shovels her lungs and innards into its decrepit mouth. Me and Preston keep running until we're met at the entrance of the school and we catch the attention of a monster as it begins to savagely rush toward us. The monster resembles ghosts my father told me about. But this one looks monstrously horrific. It floats in the air and opens its mouth so wide it nearly replaces its entire torso; its jaws hold savage teeth each the same old gray color of its body. Its eyes glow a rotten yellow color through the dark. It stretches out its arms showing its giant hands and claws like fingers. It swipes at us leaving a giant claw mark on the door behind us but Preston ducks my body down to avoid the attack. We run around it as the monster swaps its focus to another bystander. Screaming past us. Me and Preston run into the parking lot as people scream around us. We hide next to a car.
“What the hell is happening!?” I yell to Preston. More of the creatures fly over us and swoop down to people like vultures on roadkill devouring the fleeing people.
Preston starts to breathe heavily ”we need to get out of here and someplace safer”. As we were talking one of the monster phases through the car we were hiding next to forcing us to run into the street.
“Lets go to your house till things cool down” i say to Preston through panted breaths
“Wait couldn't we head to your house instead” Preston says.
“Why would that matter your house is closer anyways” i respond
“But-” Preston is interrupted by two creatures swooping above us to grab another person. The two monsters begin to pull the person apart while he writhes in pain before having his flesh be torn in half and having his organs be devoured.
“Come on lets go!!” I say as I grab his hand and run even faster.
By the time we reach Preston's house any living person is gone. On the street are just corpses laying torn and mutilated on the roads and sidewalk. The air in the neighborhood feels cold despite the season being summer. When I walk down the street I can still hear the occasional horrific wail the monsters give off. We move closer to Preston's house and I can see him sweating. He looked more worried than before when the creatures were chasing us and he kept darting his eyes away from his home.
“Preston, are you feeling okay?” he doesn't respond to my question and keeps darting his eyes. He walks slowly behind me and as I reach for the door handle and when I touch it it feels nearly freezing. I wrap my hoodie around my hand and slowly open the door. The house is quiet so me and Preston creep further into his house. The inside is cold and damp as if we were locked in a freezer. The further we move into the house the louder a subtle chewing sound is heard.
“It sounds like rats are eating a dead cow over there” I whisper. Preston continues to stay silent behind me. We slowly walk closer towards the kitchen and the sound gets louder and louder and louder until we reach the room.
We're met with a rancid smell of vomit and blood. My blood starts to run cold and every instinct in my body is telling me to run. I can feel Preston breathing get heavier as we get closer. We turn the corner and see Preston's mom lying on the ground dead with one of the creatures hunched over slurping her intestines. The sight causes me to vomit alerting the monster to our presence. The creature turns around and its mouth turns into a mortifying grin as it flies into Preston's moms body. The corpse begins to rise and spur splashing blood over the kitchen. When the corpse stops spasming it picks itself up from the ground and with glazed over eyes it holds its intestines in its hand and gives us the same grin it did when it was outside her body. The possessed corpse lunges at me and starts to chase me around the kitchen. The body is running into the walls and cabinets spraying its blood and other loose organs around the area as I'm avoiding its assault. The corpse leans over and ejects one of its loose intestines towards me, wrapping me in it. It pulls me towards it so fast I'm flung towards the ground. The corpse limbers over to me and raises its free hand aiming for my head. The creature's deranged smile causes the corpse’s cheeks to tear apart. It places both of its bloodied and demented hands on my face and starts to press my skull into the ground. I struggle to breathe. The room starts to get dark and blood escapes my head.
Until Preston jumps on top of his mothers corpse with a kitchen knife and repeatedly stabs it in the head. The possessed body tries to shake him off but he keeps stabbing, blood gets in on his face and tears start to escape his eyes. The creature violently ejects from the corpse's mouth causing her head to nearly explode and Preston stops stabbing the body. The body falls over in a splash of blood and organs. The monster leaves phasing through the roof leaving Preston crying over his mother's body. As the blood mixes with the tears he collapses to his knees crying. I walk over and hug him as the air around us turns bitter and the chill of death leaves the room and us with it.
Chapter 1 Eclipse
It's been 2 months since the apocalypse started. We've kept ourselves alive by looting grocery stores and houses, we hide from the creatures as we have no way to fight back against them. Preston came up with the idea to call them glanter’s. He’s looking better since we left his family home but I can tell something is wrong with him that he's not telling me. Everytime I ask him about it he tells me it's no big deal. I asked him earlier today and he just told me
“don't worry about it, I'm over it” without even looking at me. Now we're walking through the street and I'm walking behind Preston, I can barely see his head past the giant bag we're both carrying on our backs we use to carry supplies. I look up at the sky and it's still pitch black except for the moon giving us any amount of light. Preston turns around to face me.
“Let's check out that house, it might have some cool stuff in it” he points to a white house to our right. The house is a two story building with steps leading to the front door. There's a generator poking out from the backyard. The driveway is empty save for a couple of dried blood stains and tire marks. It's similar to the other houses in the neighborhood except for a couple broken windows.
“Sure why not” We head over to the house and I see something shining on the side of the house in the corner of my eye. I turn my head to look at it closer but it quickly disappears before I can see it clearly.
“Probably squirrel or something” I mumble to myself. Preston walks up the stairs to the house and I walk up the steps behind him as a breeze blows past my face. Preston tries to turn the door knob but the door is locked. I start to pull out a lockpick I grabbed at the store earlier. I motion towards Preston to move out of the way as I kneel down to pick the lock. It takes me a couple of minutes to unlock the door so I walk inside the house and Preston follows behind me while closing and locking the door. The doorway of the house leads to a dark room so I take a flashlight out of my bag to illuminate the area. Were put into the living room and bookshelves are on the walls and a large TV sat in front of a large black couch with smaller chairs surrounding it. Dust is covering every surface of the room and spiderwebs litter the corners of the walls. The area smells like moth balls and there's a lack of blood anywhere nearby.
“Guess the owners got out before the Glanter’s got in, '' I say to Preston. When he doesn't respond I turn around and he's already looking further into the house. When I find him he's managed to find a flight of stairs that lead to a lower portion of the house.
“I'll check on him later,” I think to myself as I headed towards the kitchen to see if we could restock on food. I walk past a bedroom and remark on how childish it looked. The walls were painted with blue and green stripes and a bunk bed sat on the right wall. There's a chest at the foot of the bed so I walk over and lift the top off of it. The box is layered with children's toys, a multitude of dolls, bears, and figures all jut out of the box. I notice a small robot toy and inspect it in my hands.
The cold metal makes my hand shiver and the sharp body shape makes the robot bigger than my hand. There's red lining around the robot's buttons surrounded by the cold gray of the robot's “skin”. It reminds me of a toy my little brother had. My heart feels heavy as I worry about what happened to my family. If they're alive, dead, or worse…possessed. The thoughts send a chill down my spine but I push them aside for now. I put the toy in my bag and exit the bedroom.
I can see the kitchen is down the hallway so I walk down the hall and enter. The kitchen is pretty clean except for a couple of dishes in the sink and the dust. There's a table seated for 3 people in the center of the room. I start opening the cabinets in search for any food or water. There's boxes of cereal leftover on top of shelves and a mix of chip bags and cookies in neat boxes stationed in the cabinets.
“Score,” I say to myself as I begin to put the snacks into my bag. When the cabinets are empty I look inside the fridge. The inside of the fridge ran out of power so most of the food inside is rotted. There are a couple of bottles of water in the front so I shove those in my bag. There's also a bag of oranges that still seem to be healthy in the back. I grab them and toss them on the table. There's rotten sandwich meat hidden in the drawer of the fridge.it smells like a dumpster outside of a butcher shop. I wrinkle my nose at the smell. I look around the kitchen for any bread with no luck.
I continue to look through the fridge until I hear Preston scream from another room. Immediately I bolt out of the kitchen leaving my bag behind and run towards the lower part of the house. I run down the stairs and nearly trip on the steps. The stairs lead to a big room. There are posters to tv shows and movies I don't recognize. The walls are painted black and there's a bear skin rug on the floor. I notice Preston standing next to a really big TV hyperventilating. I walk over to him and ask him.
“Are you ok? What happened?”
He talks through deep breaths “I… saw a… spider.”
“What?!” I respond in confusion.
“It was really big and I had jumped at my face”
“Sure it was.” I say while laughing “Let's go upstairs there's some food in the fridge we can eat”
“Wait, I think you should check this out.” He says while pointing towards one of the walls. I grab Preston's flashlight off the floor and face it towards the wall. Hanging halfway off the wall is a large map labeled Newkiwana scavenger hunt of 76.
“I think we should take it,” Preston says “You can read a map right?”
“A little but I'm not the best at it,” I say to him “can you read a map?”
“it shouldn’t be too hard it’s mainly pictures any way I'm sure I can figure it out”
I walk over to the wall where the map is hung there are trophies covering tables and shelved in their own personal cases one of them reads “1st place 100-meter swimming competition for 1986 Zack Hemmingway” and another one reads “2nd place 100-meter swimming competition for 1989 Zack Hemmingway”
“Guess this guy really liked swimming,” Preston remarks while staring at a wall of newspaper clippings. All of them are about the same person in swimming competitions. All labeled different things like “a new record for Zack “the dolphin” Hemmingway”,
‘Zach Hemmingway our star plans for the future” all the newspapers are about this kind he has paler skin and a bulky enough build to swim pretty well. Most of the pictures have him coming out of the water in a pool, his long black hair soaked and sitting at his shoulders. Another one has him sitting at a desk over a pile of books and his hair in a knot , “vicious wipeout ends the Dolphins career”, and “ex-swim champ Zack Hemmingway found in a drunken stupor outside strip club.
“Everyone has their own hobbies I guess,” I say as I take the map off of the wall and fold it up. “Sucks what happened to Zack though” I walked over to Preston’s bag and put the rolled map in one of the pockets. I walk back up the stairs and Preston grabs his bag and follows behind me.
We make our way towards the kitchen and Preston starts looking through the fridge for anything to eat. I grab an orange from the table and throw it at his head. The fruit bounces off his head and rolls on the floor. He turns around and grabs the fruit from the floor
“Why did you throw an orange at me?”
“It's the only food we have unless you plan on eating spoiled a sandwich“ He starts to peel it while walking towards the table. We both take a seat and start to eat the oranges from the bag. He plants his feet on top of the table and bites into the fully peeled orange. I grab a water bottle from a bag and start to drink from it as Preston says.
“I saw a dvd player in that man cave downstairs we could watch a movie if it still has power”
“Sure it could be fun.” Me and Preston spend the rest of our time eating until the bag of oranges is emptied and we head back downstairs. Preston grabs the DVD player from under the table and blows the dust off the top of it; he plugs it into the wall as I plop myself onto the couch. He plugs the DVD player into the TV and sits on the recliner next to me. He presses a few buttons on the remote and the TV lights up. I squint my eyes at how bright it is. It's the most amount of light I've seen that didn't come from a flashlight. I notice there's a box filled with DVDs. I pull the box over towards me. I ruffle through the box and see movies like Silence of the Lambs, Terminator 2, and Home alone.
“Dude some of these came out just before the world turned inside out” I say to him.
“Really? Let's play one.” He responds. I toss him Terminator 2 and he puts it into the DVD player.
We spend the next couple hours watching movies and laughing together. It's some of our only moments of peace we’ve had since the end of the world and to me it's the most fun I've had yet. We're putting in the next DVD when there's a loud crash outside and the TV shuts off. Preston goes behind it to see if it's still plugged in.
“I think the generator outside is busted” i say
“It seems that way” Preston replies while backing away from the tv” i'm gonna go check it out”
“Don't worry I got it” I say as I hop out of my chair. Preston waves goodbye as I head up the stairs. I make my way back through the hallway leading to the living room and front door. I reach the door and start to turn the knob. I open the door wide as a car speeds down the street. I step out of the door to see what had happened when I hear the screech of a glanter. It cuts through the sky like an unholy opera singer. A group of them fly by and chase the car as I rush back inside the house. I slam the door shut and look through the window as I see a couple of smaller glanters grab and shake the car violently looking for the driver. They tear at it, ripping off doors and breaking the windows. The driver screams as the seats cover with blood and he's ripped out of the car as multiple smaller glanters tear and bite off parts of his body like piranha's until his body is completely devoured. I run back to the man cave to warn Preston about what had happened. I spot him laying in his chair spinning a DVD disc on his finger.
“It's not safe outside right now”
“Why not?
“There's glanter's outside, they just ate a dude in his car”
“Did they see you come inside?”
“I don't think so , they flew off before I went inside.”
“well we're not dead so I'm gonna say they didn't see you. But let's stay here for a couple more hours just to be safe”
“Sounds good i'm gonna go find the master bedroom.” I start to walk back up the stairs to the house
“ Hold on why do you get the master bedroom” Preston says while walking after me.
“Because I'm gonna find it first” I say as I start to run to find the bedroom. He chases after me in pursuit of the bedroom. Me and Preston run around the house looking for the master bedroom. We look through room after room finding closets, the garage, a bathroom and a door leading to a balcony in the back of the house. I manage to run into the bedroom and yell out to Preston.``Found it!!”
He comes walking into the room breathing heavily from the running. We both check out the room. The walls are painted a cream yellow and the bed takes up most of the room's center. The bed has burgundy sheets poking out from its bottom and a quilt with multi-colored floral designs lay sprawled out on top of it. There's a wardrobe built into the wall and a black leather couch sits comfortably on the left wall.
“Dibs on the bed” I say as I jump on top of it. I stretch out on top of the quilt and search for a comfortable part to sleep in.
“Where am I supposed to sleep then?” Preston complains
“You can sleep on the couch it looks soft enough” I respond while pointing towards the couch “I saw some spare blankets in one of the closets”
“Alright i’ll be right back” he mumbles to himself “why do i always get the couch”
“ I'll be right here if you need me,” i call after him. I sit up on the bed and start to look around the room more. I notice the entrance to the wardrobe is cracked open slightly. I hop out of the bed and grab a flashlight from my bag as I walk into the wardrobe. I turn on my flashlight and stare in awe at how many clothes are in there. The room is only half as big as the bedroom but it's still bigger than any closet I've ever had. The wardrobe is full of shirts, dresses, pants, and shoes for men and women. I immediately start to look through the shoes to see if any fit my size. I throw a pair of black high heels behind me as Preston finds me in the wardrobe. He looks around before asking me.
“What are you doing?”
“Finding a new pair of clothes to wear cause I've been wearing the same pair of jeans for waaaaay too long”
“Fair enough. Is there any guy stuff in there?”
“Yeah right there” I hook my thumb behind me to point to the other end of the closet.
“I'm sure they won't mind if we take a couple of things…they're probably dead by now anyways,” Preston says with a slight grin on his face. The way he said made me spin my head to look at him but he was already on the opposite end of the wardrobe looking at suits.
I shake away the thought and continue looking for any pair of sneakers in my size. 40 minutes pass before I walk out of the wardrobe holding a new pair of jeans and a black guns-N-roses t-shirt. I toss the clothes on top of the bed and check to see if the shower in the bathroom still works. I turn the dial and wait for a moment. The shower head chokes a little before water comes pouring out. I reach my hand under the showerhead to feel the water. The water is cold, it causes my hand to shiver when I take it out. I shake the water off and say to myself.
“Good enough” as I start to take off my old clothes and get in the shower. The cold water bounces off my skin, it sends shivers down my spine but I still get the old dirt from the last few months off of me. I step out and see a couple of dry towels hanging off of the door. I grab one and dry my body off and grab another to wrap around my head and dry my hair. I step out of the bathroom and Preston is still inside the wardrobe. I put on my new clothes while his back is turned and walk over towards him when I'm finished.
“Still haven't found anything,” I ask him
He turns around “Nothing yet, the only thing interesting was this coat.” He holds a leather coat up to me. The coat is made of black leather and has a skull covered with blue flames on the back. There's a black shirt inside the coat with a skeleton hand making a thumbs-up embroidered on the front.
“ That's pretty cool, it's better than what you're wearing right now at least” he's outfitted in a blue hoodie with holes on the chest and tears at the sleeves. He also has a shirt with a faded picture of a blue flower printed on it.
“I guess you're right” he gets up from the floor and exits the wardrobe. He lays the clothes on the couch along next to the blanket and pillow he brought into the room.
“The shower works so you can get yourself clean In there,” I say to him
“You know, a shower sounds really good right now.” He gets up from the floor and grabs a pair of pajama pants that were laying next to him. He leaves the wardrobe and enters the bathroom, closing the door behind him. After a moment the water turns on and I hop on the bed to get ready to sleep. I squirm myself into the quilt and rest my head against one of the pillows. I shut my eyes and fall asleep listening to the passive sound of the shower like rain on a car.
I'm in a void. It feels like I'm standing in a puddle of water that reaches to my knees. I wade my way forward looking around for anything in the darkness. In the distance I can see 3 figures l. I moved closer to them and their silhouettes get clearer. I realize they are my dad and brothers. I start to run towards them kicking up water behind me until something grabs my leg. It pulls down violently forcing me under the water without a breath of air. I kick at the thing grabbing me until something grabs my other leg. I look down and see two glanter's each with a monstrous smile on their faces. They stare back at me and one of them tugs my leg harder than before and tears it off of my body. The water around me turns red as the glanter laugh's. The other smiles wider as it starts to fling me around the water forcing any air left in my lungs to be forced out as I scream in pain. The glanter throws me away and I can see my family slowly fade into the distance as I'm flown away.
I struggle to swim back to where I was, one of my legs is missing and the other is broken. The glanter's find me again and I try to get to the surface to escape them. I'm flapping my arms in any attempt to escape as one of the glanter's flies in front of me and grabs my arm. I look at the monster with tears in my eyes as it bites my arm and tears my body away from it. It flings my body away and with my remaining arm I clutch the wound as the water floods into my body leaving me in the void I started in. I look around and the glanter's seem to have left. I turn behind me and see my family again, this time I'm closer than before.
I grit my teeth and drag my body towards them slowly as I leave a trail of blood and tears behind me. I finally reach my family and grab one of my father's shoes. I stare up and he looks at me. His stare causes me to feel cold as a grotesque smile grows on his face. I stare in shock as my brothers each have the same look as my father.
I shoot up from my sleep panting heavily in a cold sweat.
“It was just a dream..just a dream…just a dream” I look at my hands as tears fall into them. I look around the room and see Preston sleeping peacefully on the couch. The room feels frozen in place as a chill runs down my spine. I get out of the bed and walk out of the bedroom. I make my way through the dark hallway and find the entrance to the balcony I saw earlier. I creak open the screen door and head outside. The Balcony is pretty large, about the size of the kitchen in the house. There are some chairs knocked over next to a table and I pick one up to sit on it. I look out into the expanse of the neighborhood, houses lined up next to each other, dozens broken apart by roads, and dead bodies scattered across the roads.
I look up in the sky and sit back in the chair. The sky looks empty except for the moon giving this world its only source of light. Without the moon, we’d be left in darkness. It hangs in the sky alone, no stars, no clouds, nothing but itself, and the void of the sky. I think back about the dream I had. My dad and my brother's all dead and possessed and then they kill me. I start to tear up thinking about it. I try to wipe away the tears but it’s no use. I'm too scared for my family. I don't know where they are if they're alive if they're worried about me I don't know anything! I start to quietly cry into my hands. I don't know how long I'm sitting there until I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn my head to face it and I see Preston. He was smiling and looking at me. I turn away to wipe my tears and he walks next to me.
“I heard you sneaking out of the bedroom so I followed you to see where you were going.” he says “but that's not my question.” he pauses and looks at me “my question is what’s got you feeling so down?” he leans over the railing of the balcony
“It's nothing, I just came out here to clear my head.” I say as more tears escape from my eyes in big slow drops that ride down the sides of my face.
“if you don't feel like telling me you don't have to but i'll be here if you ever change your mind”. He looks up at the moon before turning to face me and his smile widens “I'll always be here with you…trust me I'm not going anywhere”
I stare up at him and wipe away my tears as a smile grows on my face to match his. I get up and stare over the balcony with him. “So where are we heading next?” I say to him, Preston pulls the map we got from the man cave downstairs out from his pocket.
“After I got out of the shower I decided to take a look at the map for anything interesting we could see.”
“Ok did you find anything?” i ask
“I did,” he points at a spot on the right of the map. “We should head to the museum”
“I didn't want to go to a museum before the apocalypse why would i want to go now?'' I ask him.
“Well the best part of museums is the cool stuff right”
“Yeah what about it”
“The only problem is that you could only look at the fossils and armor but you could never take them.”
“So you want to rob a museum?” Prestons eyes light up at the question
“Exactly they might have a really cool sword I could use, or I could sharpen a dinosaur tooth and use that as a weapon, there might be a cursed shield that can summon the dead to fight for you. This opportunity is too good to pass up. We need to go!”
“That does seem pretty cool but wouldn't carrying that stuff weigh us down. What if a glanter is chasing us and we can't run fast enough because of the stuff we took from the museum.”
“We’ll only take things that are light. Even then I could just block the glanter with my newly acquired 2000 year old shield.”
“Fair enough we can go in a couple hours” I yawn and stretch out my arms. “Cause I'm feeling way too tired to walk all the way over there right now.”
“Alright i'm heading back to my couch and THEN we’ll head out to the museum” he leaves the balcony and heads back to the master bedroom leaving me alone on the balcony.
“Thanks Preston I'm not leaving either” I say into the sky. I turn around and walk back inside the house, closing the balcony door behind me. I walk back into the bedroom and Preston is hunched over and holding a flashlight looking at the map. He’s drawing lines through roads and marking X’s in different areas.
“What are the X’s for?” i ask him
“They’re places that glanter’s usually stay around. I'm marking them off so we remember not to go through them, or at least be more cautious.”
“Cool. Did you find where we are right now?” He points to an area where the lines all converge out of.
“Right around here is where the neighborhood ends. So if we follow this path we can make it to the museum in one piece” I pat him on the back and take the map from his hands.
“Get some sleep Preston, we have a full day tomorrow” he grins to himself before laying down on the couch. I put the map back into my bag and hop on the bed to get to sleep. I cover my body in the quilt and roll over facing away from Preston as he falls asleep. I nestle myself into the bed and slowly fall asleep to get ready for the next day.
I'm awoken by Preston shaking the bed I'm sleeping on. My eyes open and the room is foggy, I wipe away the sleep from my eyes and focus my attention towards Preston. He's practically jumping out of his skin with excitement, he's already fully dressed for the trip and shaking the bed with a wide smile on his face.
“Ok ok i'm up the air feels heavy as a groggy feeling fills my body. I wipe my eyes and the room starts to clear up. I turn to face Preston. He's still shaking my bed to wake me up, he’s already fully dressed and nearly jumping out of his skin in excitement.
“Ok ok, i'm up you can stop shaking the bed” i say
“Then get up we’ve got a long walk ahead of us” he says as he stops shaking the mattress. He grabs the map from my bag and points to one of the red lines.
“We're gonna follow this way to the museum. We’ll move past the hotel around the ice skating rink and around the park. We’ll mainly stick to walking through the streets, we might have to go rooftop hopping to avoid any glanter’s if we see them but i'm sure we won’t reach that point.” he explains
“Wait, wait, wait, why are avoiding the skating rink and the park” i ask
“ everytime we go near the park there's weird noises and light coming out of it”
“And why can't we go to the ice skating rink?”
“I didn't think it would be important”
“It couldn't hurt to check it out at least”
“Fine we could make a detour”
“Ok and how do you plan on getting on top of roofs?”
“I'm sure we'll figure it out when we get to it”
“Ok man as long as you’re sure '' I yawn and step out of the bed. Preston starts to put the map in his bag. I walk into the bathroom with my clothes and change out of my pajamas. Minutes later I walk out and see Preston sitting on the couch twiddling his thumbs.
“Finally you're out” he smiles at me before handing me my bag and slinging it over his shoulder. We took a last look inside the kitchen to see if we missed anything. Afterwards we leave for the outside. The cold air bites at my face but Preston walks down the stairs, his face buried in the map. I jog to catch up to him as we both head into the street.
“Hey Preston, could I see the map?”
“Sure” he hands over the map and continues walking. I look at the map and the numerous lines drawn on roads. I look at the corner of the map and notice a small map key with numerous symbols for different areas like a library, school, hospital, and more. There's even a way to tell how far away each location is. The text reads “1 inch=5 miles” I quickly count how far we are from the museum.
“Dude this museum is like 100 miles away.”
“Yep it'll be a long walk, it'll take us a while to get there”
“Did you plan on us walking there the whole time?”
“We might find bikes or something.” he pauses “well i did think we would walk the whole way”
“This is gonna take us weeks to get there!”
“Did you have anything else planned?”
“Well…i guess not but we should still try to find some bikes or something”
“Ok if we see any way to travel faster we’ll take it”
“Alright cool” I hand him the map back and he folds it back up and puts it in his bag. We walk further until we leave the gated neighborhood we started in. Preston takes the map back out and looks at it before he turns right and continues walking. I follow him staring forward at the expanse of the road. The outside of the neighborhood is surrounded by roads all leading to different parts of Newkinawa. We walk past a sign that reads “Coretown 20 miles ahead” I nudge Preston towards the sign and he checks the map again.
“Yep, the museum’s in Coretown. Would you believe the residents were pretty proud of it. Should be a fun place to explore” he says
“Yeah but it’ll take us a million years to get there.” i complain
“Lighten up, I'm sure it will be worth it”. We continue walking down the road slowly making our way to Coretown.
2024.05.29 03:44 KalikaSparks Waterloo Gin(s)
 | Had these for a while, finally got around to opening. submitted by KalikaSparks to Gin [link] [comments] WATERLOO NO.9 GIN Their Description: “The flagship gin in our line had to embody the spirit of Waterloo; it had to taste like here. While paying homage to traditional dry gins, Waterloo No.9 Gin is crafted in the New American style, distilled with lavender, grapefruit, and pecan for a true taste of place.” — My take: it’s juniper forward gin and hints of lavender. Smells a bit of rubbing alcohol, but not to the Aviation Gin level of extreme. If that’s what it tastes like there, I’ll pass. ———————————————— WATERLOO OLD YAUPON GIN Their Description: “our take on an Old Tom Gin. With a unique botanical blend of Yaupon Holly, Juniper, Makrut lime, anise, orris root, and wildflower honey, this gin will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about this spirit.” — My take: Boy if you could taste the 1970’s in a bottle, this is probably it. The color is amber brown, and that’s exactly how it tastes. My husband had a flashback to Catholic Sunday school for reasons he’s not elaborated on, and I went straight to enduring the childhood memories of playing cards with my grandparents as they got shitfaced on PBR’s, surrounded by my grandmothers 2nd hand smoke while boxed in by their wooden veneer walls. This gin has definitely made me rethink things; I’ve wasted my money on two bottles of alcohol I never want in my mouth again. TLDR: PURCHASE REGRET |
2024.05.29 03:20 UnmovableFeast Pitchforks
It happened. He didn't deny that. Not like he was a suspect or anything—not yet—but he never denied it to himself. At the same time, this all happened over a decade ago—twelve years to be exact.
He didn't think of it every day; in fact, sometimes an entire month would go by where it barely crossed his mind.
In a way, that whole experience—he thought of all the abductions and murders as a singular event—now felt as if it belonged to somebody else.
It was a time in his life when he was confused, mixed-up, searching; a dark time, you know, like a phase. Who didn't have one of those in their past?
Plus, he was married now. His wife, Dee, obviously didn't know about it and he felt no obligation to tell her. Did he ask about her former lovers?
Sometimes there are things in the past and you just let them be. Whether it was Dee losing her virginity to the quarterback of the football team in the backseat at a drive-in or him using multiple black garbage bags and masking tape on that thing he didn't have time to bury in rural Tennessee, everyone has things they would rather forget about. Sometimes you just leave things where they lie.
So that's what Ned Doyle did.
Until that Sunday morning, November 6th, 1988.
He was a having a glass of Dee's pulpy homemade orange juice, waiting for his coffee to percolate, when he opened his heavy weekend edition of the New York Times (probably Ned's greatest extravagance—he liked its heft; and how the Arts & Leisure section made him feel culturally superior to his Ohio townsfolk, “the Philistines of Findlay,” he called them) when he saw the article buried in the back.
The country was two days from heading to the polls for the General Election—Bush v. Dukakis—so most everything else that week had been relegated to the back.
He read the article twice before he could even begin to make sense of it. It seemed to be a story about something called "DNA fingerprinting" and a 27-year-old baker in Great Britain named Colin Pitchfork who had confessed to raping and murdering two 15-year-old girls, in separate incidents a few years apart, after a new scientific process had been used to extract information from semen which he, Colin Pitchfork, had left at the crime scenes (likely inside the victims) some five years earlier.
Now if they could do all that after five years, why not ten years—or maybe even… twelve?
"Interesting story here," he said to Dee. It wasn't uncommon for Ned to read a news story twice—once for himself and a second time aloud to Dee while she brewed his coffee and burnt her toast. But this was his third reading and Ned acted as if it were his first.
"What do you make of that?" he asked. It somehow got worse each time he read it. After the third time, he felt as if he had been sucker punched in the stomach.
"Science Fiction is what it sounds like," Dee said matter-of-factly, pouring Ned his coffee in a mug that bore the Marathon Oil insignia. Findlay, Ohio was Marathon’s headquarters although there had been rumors circulating about a move to Texas.
"And unconstitutional," he said. "Cops running a dragnet like that, taking blood samples from 5,000 townspeople. Thankfully, that would never pass the muster here."
"They did catch the killer so maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea," she said, buttering her burnt toast. "Otherwise, who knows? They could have convicted the wrong man.”
Ned had already gotten lucky once – astonishingly so. Griffin Gerald Jones, the famed “I-75 Corridor Child Killer,” had claimed responsibility for all but one of Ned’s victims before dying in Florida’s electric chair.
"You can't have police in this country running around, sticking everyone with needles, drawing blood for some sort of science experiment,” he said. “Nevermind the Constitution, what about AIDS?”
“What about it?” she asked.
“There's been hundreds, thousands of cases now where people have been infected by giving blood,” he said. “That's a medical fact. Get accused of a crime and AIDS too?"
"It doesn't sound like any of the townspeople there in England got AIDS, darling. Unless there's more to the story, besides what you read to me."
He watched her spread orange marmalade over her burnt toast and take a bite. She had a dead tooth and he saw it every time she opened her mouth. He loved Dee but had never been sexually attracted to her. Not in the way he had been attracted to others.
"It really is just a matter of time before that stuff makes it over here," she said with her mouth full. "To this side of the pond, as they say." She took a sip of his orange juice. "Isn’t that how it always works? Things start over there in England, or in California, and then phht, before you know it, it makes its way to Findlay."
He held his hand over his stomach. She saw him wince.
"Was it my orange juice again? Was it still pulpy? I squeezed it by hand and even strained it twice this time."
"It’s not your fault,” he said. “I think it’s me. Orange juice is getting too… acidic for me." He looked at the clock on the coffee maker. "I'm going to be late."
He turned the page.
He played the 8 o'clock Mass by rote as he had many a bleary-eyed Sunday morning. It was pure muscle memory at this point. He made a few mistakes here and there, missed a key or two, but it was nothing the organ's sustain pedal couldn't mask – not that anyone would complain (not at the 8 o'clock anyway).
On Sundays Ned had four Masses: the 8, the 9:30, the big one at 11, and the 12:30 for the dilettantes who couldn't get their acts together for the 11.
He turned the page.
Today he was using Glory and Praise, AKA "the blue hymnal" for songs he knew by heart.
Turning the pages of his sheet music, reading each note, he was able to keep his mind off it.
Ned abhorred cliches (especially those involving sports) but he made an exception for “Out of sight, out of mind.” For Ned, that wasn’t a cliché; it was a way of life. He was a man who preferred to be heard, not seen, which made St. Bartholomew (or St. Bart’s) the perfect home for him.
In a spectacular architectural oversight, the church's pipe organ was situated so the organist's back was to the altar and pews. The organist of course needs to see what's going on in the Mass to read certain non-verbal cues but the arrangement suited Ned just fine. The congregation was comprised of many young families who had many young children—boys in particular—and it wasn't so much that he couldn't control himself because he was now firmly in control of all that; it was more that he didn't need any reminders of that time when he couldn't.
Especially during church.
So to see the altar behind him, Ned had installed an actual rearview mirror, the type you'd find on an old Buick, and he used a special type of putty to affix it to the mantle of the pipe organ. Having been the church organist at St. Bart's for nine years, he seldom needed it anymore—he could do it in his sleep—but it came in handy today as he found his attention drifting and he nearly missed the oratory refrain at the 9:30 Mass.
His real problems didn't start until the 35-minute break between the 8 and 9:30.
He was reorganizing his sheet music after the first wave of churchgoers had cleared out, when he began thinking about Colin Pitchfork again. The article said he was a baker in England somewhere—did it say he baked cakes or was that Ned's invention?
Even though no picture was provided in the Times article, Ned spent the balance of the 9:30 service picturing the 27- year-old ex-rapist/murderer working in his small English bakery, quietly going about his business, baking his cakes, when the police (Bobbies?) came.
Was he expecting them?
He played the offertory hymn, "On Eagle's Wings," as the ushers began taking up the collections and a family of parishioners he’d never seen before brought the gifts up.
And what was going through Pitchfork's head when he saw the Bobbies there? When they began asking him about rapes and murders that happened almost five years ago? The article said that he had initially given investigators someone else's blood when “the enquiry” began. Had he somehow caught wind of this “DNA Fingerprinting?”
There was a new usher, Ned noticed, in his makeshift rearview mirror.
The Times article said that one of Pitchfork's co-workers at the bakery had taken the blood test masquerading as Pitchfork because Pitchfork had told the co-worker that ‘he could not give blood under his own name because he had already given blood while pretending to be a friend of his who had wanted to avoid being harassed by police because of a youthful conviction for burglary.’ This story was later overheard by a woman in a pub who immediately went to the police.
Ned realized he had missed the homily twice now. Not that it mattered. Heard one you've heard them all and Ned was pretty sure there would be no surprises. Plus, he'd have two more chances to catch it. He knew he would have to really focus for the 11 o'clock. That was always the main event. He was going to play "I Will Raise Him Up," a complex hymn, which required his full attention. He would scratch that one now if he hadn’t read that article and if the Sunday programs hadn't already been printed. People liked that one –it was a real barn burner, as they say—and if he skipped it, there might be questions.
The last thing Ned needed right now were fucking questions.
Who was this new usher, by the way?
By the start of the 11 o'clock Mass, Ned wondered whether anyone would even show for the 12:30, seeing that it was already standing room only. The 11 was always the most popular Mass, but today felt different; it was packed like Christmas Eve. What was the occasion? Was the predominantly conservative town that afraid of Dukakis winning the presidency? Ohio was a swing state after all and that image of the little Greek man in the tank was unnerving, sure, but was it enough to warrant this sort of turnout for the 11 AM Mass at St. Bart's in Findlay?
Or was something else going on?
Ned didn’t believe they had come to hear his rendition of "I Will Raise Him Up."
Or could there be another reason? Maybe they had all read the same Times article. Maybe there had long been simmering suspicion of Ned in the community and maybe the article finally prompted the townspeople to join together and take arms. With pitchforks.
On March 31, 1892, the only known lynching in the history of Hancock County occurred when a mob of 1,000 men, many "respectable citizens," broke into the county jail in Findlay. They lynched Mr. Lytle, a man who had killed his wife and two daughters with a hatchet the day before. The townsfolk hanged the man twice (first from the bridge, then a telegraph pole) and then, in a classic case of overkill, shot his body over a dozen times. The authorities had intended to transfer the prisoner out of town at 1 o'clock in secret, where a train was scheduled to transport him to Lima, but someone talked.
Ned had only confessed what he had done to one person – a priest eight years prior. The priest was set to retire as he was dying of pancreatic cancer and visiting from a nearby parish. For years Ned had heard this priest was “of the old school” – i.e., your word to God’s ear, and it went no further. He was as safe as they come. Still, even then, Ned used the screened side of the Confessional, lowered his voice a full octave, and spoke of what he had done obliquely and in generalities. They were mortal sins. His penance severe: to repent and refrain from repeating the act again. The priest was now long dead. There’s no way he could have tracked Ned down and told anyone. Was there?
The last one was named Derek. That was the only one left unsolved.
He would play "I Will Raise Him Up" during Communion. Because of the crowds, he knew the communion lines would be longer and would thus require him to stretch the already difficult song a few minutes longer. If he was going to supply the masses, he was going to need a bigger yield. In a way it was like baking a cake, wasn't it?
He met Derek at a Dairy Queen in Paducah, Kentucky. It was Labor Day 1976. It must have been 100 degrees out, but it felt even hotter with the humidity. It was a real scorcher.
Derek had a bicycle with an American flag banana seat. It was the summer of Bicentennial Fever. The Dairy Queen was in an area known as Noble Park. It had a tin canopy that kept cars cool in the shade.
Ned missed a note as he turned the page. He stepped on the sustain pedal and his mistake sounded deliberate and beautiful even.
It was early evening; fireflies were out in full force and Ned was blotto. He had been drinking beer—cans of Schlitz—all day at the picnic of a friend (technically, the friend of an acquaintance so basically a stranger). A born introvert who still lived alone (this was pre-Dee), Ned was very drunk and primed for small talk. You must also remember this was a very different time. This was back when you still opened cans with an opener; drunk driving was frowned upon but not the cardinal sin it is today; and a grown man could still park outside a Dairy Queen and strike up an innocent conversation with a prepubescent boy on a bike.
"What da ya' got there?" Ned asked.
"Butterscotch Sundae," the boy said. The boy was blonde with brown eyes.
"Butterscotch, eh?"
The boy licked his plastic spoon and stared somewhere beyond the pea-green 1974 Buick Riviera Ned had inherited from his old man after he had kicked the bucket.
"For the life of me, I can't remember if I like butterscotch or not," Ned said. "That probably sounds pretty screwy, I bet."
"Get a free sample at the window,” the kid said. “They're free."
"Looks awfully busy over there. Mind if I have a taste of yours? I don't have any cooties, I promise."
The kid dragged his spoon over his ice cream as he mulled it over. Maybe seeing that he was almost done with it anyway, he figured what's the harm. He handed Ned the Styrofoam cup.
Ned looked at the boy as he stirred it a little and then placed the curved side of the spoon on his tongue and kept it there.
"I do like butterscotch," Ned said, giving it back. "Thank you for sharing that with me, that was awfully kind of you—say, what is your name?"
"Derek," the boy said.
"Derek. What a nice boy you are. Do you like dogs, Derek?"
"Sure," Derek said.
"Do you have a dog?"
"Not anymore. Used to. We had a beagle named Eleanor but she went blind and then lame and then..."
"What kind of dog was she?" Ned asked.
"A beagle," the boy said.
"A beagle, yes you said that. You like Golden Retrievers?"
"Sure," the boy said.
"Cause I have a Golden Retriever. It's a girl too. A bitch."
Derek smiled.
"She's pregnant. I mean she was. But… she just gave birth."
"To puppies?"
"You betcha. It was just a few weeks ago. She had a whole litter of 'em. Boys, girls. Cutest little pups you've ever seen. The thing is, Derek, I don't know what to do with them all. You're a nice boy. You just shared your Butterscotch Sundae with me and I'd care to return the favor. Would you… like a puppy?"
"How much?"
"For nothing,” Ned said. “For free.”
"You'll give me a puppy for nothing? And I can pick the one I want?"
"Sure can. They're at my place just down the road. Thing is, it's probably too far to bike there. And you're going to need both hands to hold on to the puppy. Hop in, I’ll give you a lift."
"What about my bike?"
"We could put it in the trunk but we're not going to be long. We'll be right back. It'll be safe here. People don't take things that aren’t theirs around here – especially when there's a lot of people around."
He remembered waking up on the floor of his apartment disoriented. He was late for work. He was still working as a salesman at the piano store. There was a big Labor Day sale still going on. Labor Day was always a big day for retail. The owner was a nice man and Ned wanted to call him and apologize but he wasn't sure what to say yet.
He hadn't planned on sleeping in. Forgetting work on Labor Day. The irony.
He saw the boy's underwear on his floor. They were tighty-whities from Fruit of the Loom. He thought of that every time he saw an ad for that company afterward.
They weren’t bloody but they were torn.
He remembered the sound of the filter on the aquarium he used to keep in his apartment. It was noisy but sometimes that was a good thing. He was very into Japanese Fighting Fish for a while until it became too expensive as they always killed each other.
There were no puppies obviously.
His apartment did not allow dogs.
His sense of disorientation and the ensuing panic prevented him from experiencing any of the usual remorse he felt afterward.
There would be plenty of time for that later.
The boy's body was in the bathroom just off the bedroom and he needed to get rid of it. He needed to get out of town. Out of Paducah. Out of Kentucky.
He placed the boy in a hardshell Samsonite suitcase, carried it out of his apartment, walked down the one flight of steps. He saw no one and he was confident no one had seen him. The suitcase was lighter than it should have been—a detail he never forgot—and he walked out to the carport where he saw his Riviera parked sloppily between the lines. He felt a wave of nausea come over him but he suppressed it. He opened his trunk, placed the suitcase in the back, and then looked around the apartment complex before walking back inside. He cleaned up with bleach. Showered. Hit the road.
There were no police gathered outside the Dairy Queen. It wasn’t a crime scene. He didn't look to see if the boy’s bike was still there; he didn’t want to appear suspicious.
He needed to get out of Paducah so he headed toward the freeway.
For a moment he briefly considered the Shawnee National Forest, which was to the north, but he stuck to his gut and took the newly-constructed Interstate 24 East toward Tennessee. Aside from getting out of Kentucky, he didn't have a plan. The asphalt was brand new and at times he felt as though he were floating across the highway. It took about two hours to get to the state line and once he was over, he filled up at a 76 Station in Clarksville, Tennessee. Only when he was filling his tank and had a moment to reflect, did he think about what was in the trunk. He imagined he had Superman's X-Ray vision and pictured the suitcase in the back, the boy's tiny body folded like a pretzel inside.
He missed both the readings, the Gospel, and the homily again. Then came the Consecration which was over before he knew it. It was time. He began to play "I Will Raise Him Up." In his rearview, he saw the communion lines forming and he thought he caught a glimpse of the new usher staring at him, but he couldn't be sure. He needed to concentrate on the song. People knew this one; people wanted to hear it exactly as they remembered it, and it was a full house, so the sustain pedal wouldn't save him this time.
Once he made it through the chorus, he knew he could relax a little.
The "DNA fingerprinting" in Pitchfork's case came from semen that was left inside of the victims.
Ned had made it to the outskirts of Nashville faster than he expected. He still hadn't checked in with Mr. Cory, the owner of the piano store. He desperately needed an alibi. Old Mr. Cory could probably send Ned to the electric chair if he wasn't careful.
He got on Highway 386 and headed north. After 20 minutes, he exited in Gallatin and drove around until he found an area he thought was remote. There was a road called Cages Bend.
He liked the sound of that.
It sounded hopeful.
He took that until he came to a gravel road, which looked as if it led to an even more secluded wooded area.
In the rearview, he remembered the cloud of dust kicked up by the tires of the Riviera he had inherited from his father, the drunk, who had done to him what he had gone on to do to others.
In the rearview, the communion lines were still going strong. No sign of that new usher.
He came upon a bend in the road that looked totally secluded, as if no one had been there in years. He cut the engine and listened for a moment. The invisible cicadas high up in the trees made it sound as if a giant rattle snake was slithering around him, preparing to strike. He got out of the car.
He didn't know if it was the trees or the fields of tall grass, but something smelled like semen.
He opened the trunk with his keys and pulled out the hardshell suitcase. When he closed the trunk there was a rustling in the tall grass but when he looked, he saw only a herd of white tail deer scattering.
Initially he had planned on dumping the body and taking the suitcase home with him. He didn't think to bring a shovel. Then he heard the sound of a bush hog—a piece of farm equipment with spinning blades that cut vegetation and cleared the land. He couldn't tell which direction it was coming from. He checked to make sure his suitcase didn't have any labels on it or name tags. He then two black trash bags in his back seat and wrapped the suitcase – one bag around the top, the other on the bottom, and secured it with masking tape. Then he carried it into the woods and set it down in some brush. He began snapping tree branches off to make cover but as the bush hog got louder and closer he panicked, leaving it only partially covered.
The communion lines had dissipated. Everyone was sitting now, even the priest.
Everyone always knelt until the priest sat and Ned should never be playing if the priest was sitting but somehow, Ned had missed his cue.
He concluded "I Will Raise Him Up" softly, using the sustain to ease himself out.
He looked in the rearview and saw the priest staring at him.
As was the rest of the congregation.
They would all be coming for him soon enough.
Unless he could make it back down to Tennessee and get rid of that thing once and for all – assuming it hadn’t been found yet.
Somehow, deep down, Ned always knew it was going to happen.
He was raised up, alright.
Now it was just a matter of time.
submitted by UnmovableFeast to creepypasta [link] [comments]
He didn't think of it every day; in fact, sometimes an entire month would go by where it barely crossed his mind.
In a way, that whole experience—he thought of all the abductions and murders as a singular event—now felt as if it belonged to somebody else.
It was a time in his life when he was confused, mixed-up, searching; a dark time, you know, like a phase. Who didn't have one of those in their past?
Plus, he was married now. His wife, Dee, obviously didn't know about it and he felt no obligation to tell her. Did he ask about her former lovers?
Sometimes there are things in the past and you just let them be. Whether it was Dee losing her virginity to the quarterback of the football team in the backseat at a drive-in or him using multiple black garbage bags and masking tape on that thing he didn't have time to bury in rural Tennessee, everyone has things they would rather forget about. Sometimes you just leave things where they lie.
So that's what Ned Doyle did.
Until that Sunday morning, November 6th, 1988.
He was a having a glass of Dee's pulpy homemade orange juice, waiting for his coffee to percolate, when he opened his heavy weekend edition of the New York Times (probably Ned's greatest extravagance—he liked its heft; and how the Arts & Leisure section made him feel culturally superior to his Ohio townsfolk, “the Philistines of Findlay,” he called them) when he saw the article buried in the back.
The country was two days from heading to the polls for the General Election—Bush v. Dukakis—so most everything else that week had been relegated to the back.
He read the article twice before he could even begin to make sense of it. It seemed to be a story about something called "DNA fingerprinting" and a 27-year-old baker in Great Britain named Colin Pitchfork who had confessed to raping and murdering two 15-year-old girls, in separate incidents a few years apart, after a new scientific process had been used to extract information from semen which he, Colin Pitchfork, had left at the crime scenes (likely inside the victims) some five years earlier.
Now if they could do all that after five years, why not ten years—or maybe even… twelve?
"Interesting story here," he said to Dee. It wasn't uncommon for Ned to read a news story twice—once for himself and a second time aloud to Dee while she brewed his coffee and burnt her toast. But this was his third reading and Ned acted as if it were his first.
"What do you make of that?" he asked. It somehow got worse each time he read it. After the third time, he felt as if he had been sucker punched in the stomach.
"Science Fiction is what it sounds like," Dee said matter-of-factly, pouring Ned his coffee in a mug that bore the Marathon Oil insignia. Findlay, Ohio was Marathon’s headquarters although there had been rumors circulating about a move to Texas.
"And unconstitutional," he said. "Cops running a dragnet like that, taking blood samples from 5,000 townspeople. Thankfully, that would never pass the muster here."
"They did catch the killer so maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea," she said, buttering her burnt toast. "Otherwise, who knows? They could have convicted the wrong man.”
Ned had already gotten lucky once – astonishingly so. Griffin Gerald Jones, the famed “I-75 Corridor Child Killer,” had claimed responsibility for all but one of Ned’s victims before dying in Florida’s electric chair.
"You can't have police in this country running around, sticking everyone with needles, drawing blood for some sort of science experiment,” he said. “Nevermind the Constitution, what about AIDS?”
“What about it?” she asked.
“There's been hundreds, thousands of cases now where people have been infected by giving blood,” he said. “That's a medical fact. Get accused of a crime and AIDS too?"
"It doesn't sound like any of the townspeople there in England got AIDS, darling. Unless there's more to the story, besides what you read to me."
He watched her spread orange marmalade over her burnt toast and take a bite. She had a dead tooth and he saw it every time she opened her mouth. He loved Dee but had never been sexually attracted to her. Not in the way he had been attracted to others.
"It really is just a matter of time before that stuff makes it over here," she said with her mouth full. "To this side of the pond, as they say." She took a sip of his orange juice. "Isn’t that how it always works? Things start over there in England, or in California, and then phht, before you know it, it makes its way to Findlay."
He held his hand over his stomach. She saw him wince.
"Was it my orange juice again? Was it still pulpy? I squeezed it by hand and even strained it twice this time."
"It’s not your fault,” he said. “I think it’s me. Orange juice is getting too… acidic for me." He looked at the clock on the coffee maker. "I'm going to be late."
He turned the page.
He played the 8 o'clock Mass by rote as he had many a bleary-eyed Sunday morning. It was pure muscle memory at this point. He made a few mistakes here and there, missed a key or two, but it was nothing the organ's sustain pedal couldn't mask – not that anyone would complain (not at the 8 o'clock anyway).
On Sundays Ned had four Masses: the 8, the 9:30, the big one at 11, and the 12:30 for the dilettantes who couldn't get their acts together for the 11.
He turned the page.
Today he was using Glory and Praise, AKA "the blue hymnal" for songs he knew by heart.
Turning the pages of his sheet music, reading each note, he was able to keep his mind off it.
Ned abhorred cliches (especially those involving sports) but he made an exception for “Out of sight, out of mind.” For Ned, that wasn’t a cliché; it was a way of life. He was a man who preferred to be heard, not seen, which made St. Bartholomew (or St. Bart’s) the perfect home for him.
In a spectacular architectural oversight, the church's pipe organ was situated so the organist's back was to the altar and pews. The organist of course needs to see what's going on in the Mass to read certain non-verbal cues but the arrangement suited Ned just fine. The congregation was comprised of many young families who had many young children—boys in particular—and it wasn't so much that he couldn't control himself because he was now firmly in control of all that; it was more that he didn't need any reminders of that time when he couldn't.
Especially during church.
So to see the altar behind him, Ned had installed an actual rearview mirror, the type you'd find on an old Buick, and he used a special type of putty to affix it to the mantle of the pipe organ. Having been the church organist at St. Bart's for nine years, he seldom needed it anymore—he could do it in his sleep—but it came in handy today as he found his attention drifting and he nearly missed the oratory refrain at the 9:30 Mass.
His real problems didn't start until the 35-minute break between the 8 and 9:30.
He was reorganizing his sheet music after the first wave of churchgoers had cleared out, when he began thinking about Colin Pitchfork again. The article said he was a baker in England somewhere—did it say he baked cakes or was that Ned's invention?
Even though no picture was provided in the Times article, Ned spent the balance of the 9:30 service picturing the 27- year-old ex-rapist/murderer working in his small English bakery, quietly going about his business, baking his cakes, when the police (Bobbies?) came.
Was he expecting them?
He played the offertory hymn, "On Eagle's Wings," as the ushers began taking up the collections and a family of parishioners he’d never seen before brought the gifts up.
And what was going through Pitchfork's head when he saw the Bobbies there? When they began asking him about rapes and murders that happened almost five years ago? The article said that he had initially given investigators someone else's blood when “the enquiry” began. Had he somehow caught wind of this “DNA Fingerprinting?”
There was a new usher, Ned noticed, in his makeshift rearview mirror.
The Times article said that one of Pitchfork's co-workers at the bakery had taken the blood test masquerading as Pitchfork because Pitchfork had told the co-worker that ‘he could not give blood under his own name because he had already given blood while pretending to be a friend of his who had wanted to avoid being harassed by police because of a youthful conviction for burglary.’ This story was later overheard by a woman in a pub who immediately went to the police.
Ned realized he had missed the homily twice now. Not that it mattered. Heard one you've heard them all and Ned was pretty sure there would be no surprises. Plus, he'd have two more chances to catch it. He knew he would have to really focus for the 11 o'clock. That was always the main event. He was going to play "I Will Raise Him Up," a complex hymn, which required his full attention. He would scratch that one now if he hadn’t read that article and if the Sunday programs hadn't already been printed. People liked that one –it was a real barn burner, as they say—and if he skipped it, there might be questions.
The last thing Ned needed right now were fucking questions.
Who was this new usher, by the way?
By the start of the 11 o'clock Mass, Ned wondered whether anyone would even show for the 12:30, seeing that it was already standing room only. The 11 was always the most popular Mass, but today felt different; it was packed like Christmas Eve. What was the occasion? Was the predominantly conservative town that afraid of Dukakis winning the presidency? Ohio was a swing state after all and that image of the little Greek man in the tank was unnerving, sure, but was it enough to warrant this sort of turnout for the 11 AM Mass at St. Bart's in Findlay?
Or was something else going on?
Ned didn’t believe they had come to hear his rendition of "I Will Raise Him Up."
Or could there be another reason? Maybe they had all read the same Times article. Maybe there had long been simmering suspicion of Ned in the community and maybe the article finally prompted the townspeople to join together and take arms. With pitchforks.
On March 31, 1892, the only known lynching in the history of Hancock County occurred when a mob of 1,000 men, many "respectable citizens," broke into the county jail in Findlay. They lynched Mr. Lytle, a man who had killed his wife and two daughters with a hatchet the day before. The townsfolk hanged the man twice (first from the bridge, then a telegraph pole) and then, in a classic case of overkill, shot his body over a dozen times. The authorities had intended to transfer the prisoner out of town at 1 o'clock in secret, where a train was scheduled to transport him to Lima, but someone talked.
Ned had only confessed what he had done to one person – a priest eight years prior. The priest was set to retire as he was dying of pancreatic cancer and visiting from a nearby parish. For years Ned had heard this priest was “of the old school” – i.e., your word to God’s ear, and it went no further. He was as safe as they come. Still, even then, Ned used the screened side of the Confessional, lowered his voice a full octave, and spoke of what he had done obliquely and in generalities. They were mortal sins. His penance severe: to repent and refrain from repeating the act again. The priest was now long dead. There’s no way he could have tracked Ned down and told anyone. Was there?
The last one was named Derek. That was the only one left unsolved.
He would play "I Will Raise Him Up" during Communion. Because of the crowds, he knew the communion lines would be longer and would thus require him to stretch the already difficult song a few minutes longer. If he was going to supply the masses, he was going to need a bigger yield. In a way it was like baking a cake, wasn't it?
He met Derek at a Dairy Queen in Paducah, Kentucky. It was Labor Day 1976. It must have been 100 degrees out, but it felt even hotter with the humidity. It was a real scorcher.
Derek had a bicycle with an American flag banana seat. It was the summer of Bicentennial Fever. The Dairy Queen was in an area known as Noble Park. It had a tin canopy that kept cars cool in the shade.
Ned missed a note as he turned the page. He stepped on the sustain pedal and his mistake sounded deliberate and beautiful even.
It was early evening; fireflies were out in full force and Ned was blotto. He had been drinking beer—cans of Schlitz—all day at the picnic of a friend (technically, the friend of an acquaintance so basically a stranger). A born introvert who still lived alone (this was pre-Dee), Ned was very drunk and primed for small talk. You must also remember this was a very different time. This was back when you still opened cans with an opener; drunk driving was frowned upon but not the cardinal sin it is today; and a grown man could still park outside a Dairy Queen and strike up an innocent conversation with a prepubescent boy on a bike.
"What da ya' got there?" Ned asked.
"Butterscotch Sundae," the boy said. The boy was blonde with brown eyes.
"Butterscotch, eh?"
The boy licked his plastic spoon and stared somewhere beyond the pea-green 1974 Buick Riviera Ned had inherited from his old man after he had kicked the bucket.
"For the life of me, I can't remember if I like butterscotch or not," Ned said. "That probably sounds pretty screwy, I bet."
"Get a free sample at the window,” the kid said. “They're free."
"Looks awfully busy over there. Mind if I have a taste of yours? I don't have any cooties, I promise."
The kid dragged his spoon over his ice cream as he mulled it over. Maybe seeing that he was almost done with it anyway, he figured what's the harm. He handed Ned the Styrofoam cup.
Ned looked at the boy as he stirred it a little and then placed the curved side of the spoon on his tongue and kept it there.
"I do like butterscotch," Ned said, giving it back. "Thank you for sharing that with me, that was awfully kind of you—say, what is your name?"
"Derek," the boy said.
"Derek. What a nice boy you are. Do you like dogs, Derek?"
"Sure," Derek said.
"Do you have a dog?"
"Not anymore. Used to. We had a beagle named Eleanor but she went blind and then lame and then..."
"What kind of dog was she?" Ned asked.
"A beagle," the boy said.
"A beagle, yes you said that. You like Golden Retrievers?"
"Sure," the boy said.
"Cause I have a Golden Retriever. It's a girl too. A bitch."
Derek smiled.
"She's pregnant. I mean she was. But… she just gave birth."
"To puppies?"
"You betcha. It was just a few weeks ago. She had a whole litter of 'em. Boys, girls. Cutest little pups you've ever seen. The thing is, Derek, I don't know what to do with them all. You're a nice boy. You just shared your Butterscotch Sundae with me and I'd care to return the favor. Would you… like a puppy?"
"How much?"
"For nothing,” Ned said. “For free.”
"You'll give me a puppy for nothing? And I can pick the one I want?"
"Sure can. They're at my place just down the road. Thing is, it's probably too far to bike there. And you're going to need both hands to hold on to the puppy. Hop in, I’ll give you a lift."
"What about my bike?"
"We could put it in the trunk but we're not going to be long. We'll be right back. It'll be safe here. People don't take things that aren’t theirs around here – especially when there's a lot of people around."
He remembered waking up on the floor of his apartment disoriented. He was late for work. He was still working as a salesman at the piano store. There was a big Labor Day sale still going on. Labor Day was always a big day for retail. The owner was a nice man and Ned wanted to call him and apologize but he wasn't sure what to say yet.
He hadn't planned on sleeping in. Forgetting work on Labor Day. The irony.
He saw the boy's underwear on his floor. They were tighty-whities from Fruit of the Loom. He thought of that every time he saw an ad for that company afterward.
They weren’t bloody but they were torn.
He remembered the sound of the filter on the aquarium he used to keep in his apartment. It was noisy but sometimes that was a good thing. He was very into Japanese Fighting Fish for a while until it became too expensive as they always killed each other.
There were no puppies obviously.
His apartment did not allow dogs.
His sense of disorientation and the ensuing panic prevented him from experiencing any of the usual remorse he felt afterward.
There would be plenty of time for that later.
The boy's body was in the bathroom just off the bedroom and he needed to get rid of it. He needed to get out of town. Out of Paducah. Out of Kentucky.
He placed the boy in a hardshell Samsonite suitcase, carried it out of his apartment, walked down the one flight of steps. He saw no one and he was confident no one had seen him. The suitcase was lighter than it should have been—a detail he never forgot—and he walked out to the carport where he saw his Riviera parked sloppily between the lines. He felt a wave of nausea come over him but he suppressed it. He opened his trunk, placed the suitcase in the back, and then looked around the apartment complex before walking back inside. He cleaned up with bleach. Showered. Hit the road.
There were no police gathered outside the Dairy Queen. It wasn’t a crime scene. He didn't look to see if the boy’s bike was still there; he didn’t want to appear suspicious.
He needed to get out of Paducah so he headed toward the freeway.
For a moment he briefly considered the Shawnee National Forest, which was to the north, but he stuck to his gut and took the newly-constructed Interstate 24 East toward Tennessee. Aside from getting out of Kentucky, he didn't have a plan. The asphalt was brand new and at times he felt as though he were floating across the highway. It took about two hours to get to the state line and once he was over, he filled up at a 76 Station in Clarksville, Tennessee. Only when he was filling his tank and had a moment to reflect, did he think about what was in the trunk. He imagined he had Superman's X-Ray vision and pictured the suitcase in the back, the boy's tiny body folded like a pretzel inside.
He missed both the readings, the Gospel, and the homily again. Then came the Consecration which was over before he knew it. It was time. He began to play "I Will Raise Him Up." In his rearview, he saw the communion lines forming and he thought he caught a glimpse of the new usher staring at him, but he couldn't be sure. He needed to concentrate on the song. People knew this one; people wanted to hear it exactly as they remembered it, and it was a full house, so the sustain pedal wouldn't save him this time.
Once he made it through the chorus, he knew he could relax a little.
The "DNA fingerprinting" in Pitchfork's case came from semen that was left inside of the victims.
Ned had made it to the outskirts of Nashville faster than he expected. He still hadn't checked in with Mr. Cory, the owner of the piano store. He desperately needed an alibi. Old Mr. Cory could probably send Ned to the electric chair if he wasn't careful.
He got on Highway 386 and headed north. After 20 minutes, he exited in Gallatin and drove around until he found an area he thought was remote. There was a road called Cages Bend.
He liked the sound of that.
It sounded hopeful.
He took that until he came to a gravel road, which looked as if it led to an even more secluded wooded area.
In the rearview, he remembered the cloud of dust kicked up by the tires of the Riviera he had inherited from his father, the drunk, who had done to him what he had gone on to do to others.
In the rearview, the communion lines were still going strong. No sign of that new usher.
He came upon a bend in the road that looked totally secluded, as if no one had been there in years. He cut the engine and listened for a moment. The invisible cicadas high up in the trees made it sound as if a giant rattle snake was slithering around him, preparing to strike. He got out of the car.
He didn't know if it was the trees or the fields of tall grass, but something smelled like semen.
He opened the trunk with his keys and pulled out the hardshell suitcase. When he closed the trunk there was a rustling in the tall grass but when he looked, he saw only a herd of white tail deer scattering.
Initially he had planned on dumping the body and taking the suitcase home with him. He didn't think to bring a shovel. Then he heard the sound of a bush hog—a piece of farm equipment with spinning blades that cut vegetation and cleared the land. He couldn't tell which direction it was coming from. He checked to make sure his suitcase didn't have any labels on it or name tags. He then two black trash bags in his back seat and wrapped the suitcase – one bag around the top, the other on the bottom, and secured it with masking tape. Then he carried it into the woods and set it down in some brush. He began snapping tree branches off to make cover but as the bush hog got louder and closer he panicked, leaving it only partially covered.
The communion lines had dissipated. Everyone was sitting now, even the priest.
Everyone always knelt until the priest sat and Ned should never be playing if the priest was sitting but somehow, Ned had missed his cue.
He concluded "I Will Raise Him Up" softly, using the sustain to ease himself out.
He looked in the rearview and saw the priest staring at him.
As was the rest of the congregation.
They would all be coming for him soon enough.
Unless he could make it back down to Tennessee and get rid of that thing once and for all – assuming it hadn’t been found yet.
Somehow, deep down, Ned always knew it was going to happen.
He was raised up, alright.
Now it was just a matter of time.
2024.05.29 02:24 Army_Bot Summary For: Weekly Question Thread (05/06/2024 to 05/12/2024)
Seasonal Allergies Immunotherapy
Hi I’m planning on applying for OCS when I graduate in May. But im currently taking allergy shots for my seasonal allergies. I would have no problem pausing them during basic etc. Resuming when I’m past training, but is this something I have to do? Is it worth having to get a medical waiver for it? Do I need to tell my recruiter?
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Currently in the process of reenlisting as a prior service who was chaptered out in AIT for SI. Submitted and turned over all my paperwork to my recruiter and awaiting MEPS. My recruiter said this is the longest part of the waiting game from his experience. How long should I be expecting to wait realistically? I would ask my recruiter but I feel like I've bothered him enough over the past few weeks lmao. - Thanks!
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Hey guys l need some advice so i'm gonna get straight to the point. I am 20 and a junior in college. I ship in June and i have 3 Mos choices so far. 19D, 11b and 19k. Which do y’all recommend?I'm hardworking and not lazy so yeah. I am joining for many reasons but one of the main reasons is travel. Would I get to do tha much? Thank you
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Hey guys, I enlisted with an airborne contract that has my first assignment at Fort Liberty. How likely is it that I get assigned to the 82nd?
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Weight loss
I'm currently 5% body fat over for the arms 2.0. I'm eating way better and consuming 12-1,500 calories and losing an average of 3,000 calories a day. I've been running/walking 2 miles a day of hill terrain. My recruiter said I need to lose 10 pounds by May 17. I need tips and tricks on how to lose those pounds by then
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Army National Guard recruiter says at MEPS you can choose from several dates to start basic. Is that accurate?
If so, typically how many dates are there to choose from and how far in the future? I have a great civilian job, so would like to know my date as far in advance as possible.
Edit: would go on to traditional state OCS (yea, I know the internet’s opinions on it but it fits my life really well) afterwards.
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I've got 4 years active and 3 years guard under my belt and I've always put in to my tsp to get the match. I know you need 8 years to keep the matching, but my unit has drained what little motivation I had left for the army, and I've decided I'm done. I'm curious if anyone can help me figure out if there's any option that will help me keep my tsp matching besides a 1 year extension. I doubt the IRR counts towards 8 years, and from what I understand, the inactive guard is simply a pause button. So instead of pushing me to 8 years, it's just delaying my 7th till next year or something. I'm also wondering if a future federal job would contribute to that 8 years or if it has to be all concurrent. Thank you for any help or any resources or links yall can send me to figure this out.
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I was wondering if I could join the army with depression, anxiety, and OCD. All diagnosed. I have no suicide attempts or anything like that, no inpatient care either. All of these are somewhat mild and manageable, and I haven't been on any medication. But that was another concern of mine, if I was to get on any medication, would that disqualify me? Thanks a lot.
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Im currently a senior in high school trying to enlist in the army since December but I’m at a loss of what to do. I took the asvab scored a 61 but autism came up on my records from when I was a kid. I had to get a full medical Record for meps then they wanted my pharmacy record and now they want some more records my recruiter made me sign a form for my old doctors to get it from them about a month and a week ago. I called him the earlier this week and he said he Kentucky or Kansas (I didn’t hear him well and forgot) doing some training I honestly just don’t know what to do I’ll graduate from high school in a few weeks and I probably have a month after that before my parents kick me out any advice?
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Hey all, I wanted to get some insight on whether you all think I would be able to enlist with Crohn's. I've seen online that it's generally marked as an "unwaivable medical condition" but sometimes goes on a case by case basis. My IBD is very mild, I honestly forget that I even have the damn disease because it doesnt effect my daily life at all. I have it managed by taking an 8-week biologic but have gone on extended breaks from it before due to insurance reasons (roughly 2-3 months without any meds) and had no flare ups or any issues of the sort. However, my doctor is thinking of switching me to a daily pill (Rinvoq). I don't have any food sensitivities like a lot of Crohn's patients have (caffeine, alcohol, dairy, etc.) and have never had any surgeries nor does my GI doctor think i'll ever need one. I wanted to enlist for a 17C contract as im already in college for tech anyhow, I'm not sure if that would effect my standing. However, dream MOS is 18X but I figure that may be tougher to get by a recruiter. Any advice or thoughts? Army has been my dream forever and I don't want to have to give it up, so I'd really do anything haha.
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I have 2 non violent felonies from 2011 and PTD from 2022 for possession. I've been upfront and honest with my recruiter. He sent me to test today and I scored 63 on Asvab and GT of 113. Is there a chance for me? Thanks in advance. 30 and in great health and shape.
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What bases would you do bmt if your in cyber security and aviation mechanics?
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I ship out in a week. Went to meps and signed in March. Can I change my MOS? Or is it too late ?? I want something language related because I’m fluent in Arabic (already passed DLPT)
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For anyone that has done OSUT at Fort Moore, how long does it typically take before they’ll tell you where your FDS is?
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I have read a few horror stories where someone enlisted with X,Y, or Z in their contract, but after basic they where told something else and could not confirm the original. For example, someone claims they had a specific location through Option 19, only to later be told they are going somewhere else.
My first question is: has this happened to anyone here, and if so and how was it resolved?
My second question is: after signing your contract, how do you gain acess to it later? Do you receive a physical copy for yourself? Can you download a copy? Is there someone you can ask in the Army to retrieve it for you? Will it be acessable on a portal of somekind?
I am considering enlisting with option 19 and the location is very important to me. Thank you!
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Is phone use in BCT only delegated to calls? Also does phone use depend on what phase you're in, like, red phase 20 minutes, blue 30 minutes? Going to jackson
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Not the best time to swear in, waivers
I have all of my waivers approved, however, I won’t be swearing in due to job circumstances. If things change, can I still go back into the army or will I blocked out of it forever?
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I have an AAM and 3 COAs which S1 has been tracking for months but which have yet to reflect on my PPW. Do I have any recourse?
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my recruiter says that I can't get option 4 in my 35W contract but I really want to be airborne as a 35p/m so I have a higher chance of having my skills be put to use. Can i put in for airborne at DLI or AIT? what is the earliest I can do this and how would I go about it? I just went through the normal MEPS process not the airborne physical fyi
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Is a bonus worth choosing the Army over the AF?
In general, I’ve heard that the army’s QoL is less than that of the Air Force. However, the army has way more jobs w bonuses that I’d be interested in. And it’s the same or similar jobs as the Air Force, but w a bonus. I know the Basic Training for army is also longer, but a bonus can be convincing. I have the same question, but in regards to joining the navy as well. I want to focus on my education during my enlistment & get my bachelors & id also like travel opportunities. I haven’t taken my ASVAB yet, it’s scheduled the 16th. I scored rlly well on the PiCAT, and according to those scores I qualify for some army jobs w a bonus. I know it’s not as simple as that, and it’s a whole process & based on what’s available. Just want some opinions on if I was offered an army job w a bonus as opposed to the same/ similar Air Force job without, would you consider it worth it based on your experience?
I already got some answers from a post I made about this, but moderator deleted it and said to comment here. But any additional info/ insight is greatly appreciated. I want to make the best choice for my future in the case that I don't want to do 20 years.
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I'm joining up rn and working with a recruiter. We've got my waivers and everything. Pretty much just have to pick a job. For background I was an IET separation back in 2009. From what I've read and what me and my recruiter have gone over I am glossary non-prior service. I could have sworn I read (albeit a while ago) that business rules did not apply to GNPS, so I should be free to pick my MOS. However, I talked to my recruiter earlier today and he wants me to sit with his 1SG and go over the job options available for prior service. Am I wrong and I just get what I get?
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Please help!
I was looking to join the guard but in my medical records it shows I had Guillan barre. I was feeling some numbness in my legs, but looking back at it, it was very cold outside and I was just a bitch who would try to get out of school by any means possible. They did a spinal tap and never found any trace of the disease however. I was in the hospital for a couple of days, the gave me immunoglobulin and then I went home and nothing ever came of it. I am currently completely asymptomatic This was when I was 12 or 13 years old. Now I’m 18 and want to join but my recruiter said I have to get all the records and stuff. What is the chance that I will still be able to join? I tried looking it up online but I couldn’t find an answer. Also if I’m able to join, will I need a medical waiver?
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My MOS is 68W, I'm shipping out in June and I'm taking the OPAT in a couple of weeks. I'm 5'2 and 115ish pounds. I'm pretty fit. My biggest worry is the standing long jump. I want to pass the OPAT with flying colors and keep my MOS. Is there any advice or tips y'all can give me?
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I’m looking to graduate and enlist in a month but can’t decide on what MOS I want. I think 11B because I don’t want to individuate and do army shit or 68W but I’m not sure if I can get advanced combative training or other schools I want. I want to do something that’s “high speed” and meaningful while working my way towards Ranger reg. Is the 82nd Airborne a good pathway to that? How is civil affairs? Can you enlist directly into it while being active duty?
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Thinking about reenlisting to army with 8.5 PS in USMC. Been out < 5years. Will I have to repeat AIT if I keep my same MOS? I know this is the wrong channel for USMC feedback but also considering going back there if it would mean not repeating AlT. Thanks in advance!
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Hi everyone! I’m a high school student planning on joining the military. I’m Muslim, so I want to be sure that whichever branch I join is accommodating to Muslim needs. If it changes anything, I’m planning joining through the ROTC route.
My main concerns are, does the Army give beard waivers for Muslims? Is it possible to take short breaks throughout the day to pray? Can you fast during Ramadan? Can you be provided with halal (no pork/no alcohol) food?
Also, I’m interested in infantry or armor (or any kind of ground forces officer in general). Would these accommodations interfere with being selected for these careers or being mission ready? (Such as a beard, fasting, etc.)
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i’m a current nasty girl and i’m looking to transfer to Active duty. i understand i need a conditional release in order to sign a new contract and need my G-1 to sign off on it. i’m looking for info on the process from someone who’s gone through the process.
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What are the odds of getting a waiver for ulcerative colitis? I was EPTS’d out in march 2023 after being diagnosed while I was at 30th AG. My GI said I was in remission as of jan of this year. I take 4 Lialda pills a day and get an entyvio infusion every 2 months. I feel perfectly fine now though. Scored a 74 on the asvab.
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Medical record
In the navy currently and getting out in a year. I had a back injury prior to enlisting that I didn’t disclose. I plan on entering the army after my contract. If this comes up will my discharge from the navy be lowered or my benefits revoked?
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So my recruiter told me that I have to get a lease first, but the thing is, is that we don't have one with our landlord. It's more like an oral lease and he's a slumlord who never tries to communicate with any of us. That being said, my recruiter then said that I should find a lease online and edit it to where I state that I'm paying the rent to my sister instead (who has a valid ID) He also stated that my sister and I have to go to a check-cashing place to get it notarized. Is this all ok to do and will the BHA be approved? Also if it's approved, does this mean that the rent we pay which is $1,365.50, is going to be paid for while I'm away and how exactly??
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Can I enlist if I have a Mexican highschool diploma? (I am american, just finished highschool in mexico) And don't have a address in the USA???
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I am thinking of finishing up my bachelors and joining as an officer, my question was whether it was possible or not to guarantee mos 17c in the army if I join as an officer.
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I just got told that I cant enlist for 2 years after my waiver got denied for a history of depression. I stopped feeling depressed last August but got officially cleared into remission in February. I was told theres no point in a consult and the most I can do is reach out to a congressman. Other than reaching out to a congressman, is there really nothing I can do?
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Questions about Virginia National Guard
I want to do OCS! Now here’s my confusion. My recruiter is saying that the moment I swear in is the moment my contract is going to start and will count towards that 6 year! So, if he is right, I will basically complete 2 years training if I do state OCS. But I would like to have more control on what branch I get! My top 3 are: cyber warfare, signal, and intel. Should I do accelerated in that case? Also how likely am I to get one of those aforementioned three if I do state OCS of 18 months? My bachelor was in Computer Engineering, and I am currently enrolled in ASU for master’s pursuing Computer Science! Will I get that 24k a year tuition fee because he said there’s a possibility I might get it since it’s fully online? Can I get tuition assistance and loan repayment both? Does getting either one incur additional service time?
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im thinking of joining as a officer and going into ocs, what is the best branch for a well paying civilian job after completing my service, for context my major right now is relg studies plus maybe bio.
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I leave for Future Soldier Preparatory Course for the fitness aspect on the 21st, has anyone gone through it recently? There’s not a whole lot of information on it online, I was just wondering what it’s like, and what to expect. Do you get issued all of your gear since you will be going to bmt after? What is reception like? Any and all information and tips is greatly appreciated!
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So my husband is going to meps next week. he has 2 different sets of scars on his left arm. He works at a mobile home plant building houses. One was from when he got caught on a nail so it's a little deeper looking and another was from some sheet metal at work. He didn't disclose it to his boss because he works on a line and it would've put his team behind so he just put some bandaids on it and went about his day and cleaned it up when he got home. This was about 1-2 years ago. What is his meps experience going to be like? They aren't self harm obviously but we've heard horror stories about the doctors at meps not believing people and DQ them. He honestly forgot about telling his recruiter and his recruiter has already sent in all his medical history and got him scheduled for meps. Should he still go ahead and tell his recruiter or just wait and disclose it at meps?
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Should i go in as 17c or try my luck at ocs?
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I'm currently in process Enlisting in the Reserve, while holding an associate's degree in mechanical engineering technology, with some side education in programming. While I am working towards my bachelor's degree, I'm looking to pick an MOS that will help my career, or at the very least, be interesting. I don't remember my scores, but my Recruiter told me whatever I pick, my score won't be the limiting factor.
Top of the list for career jobs is 15 series, from what I've heard from currently enlisted in my friend group, wrenching on aircraft in general is a fast track to a cushy job on the outside with my education. 25 series looks boring but useful as anything IT/electrical complements my degree. On the more interesting side, I was looking at 91 series, either 91F or 91P.
Am I going anywhere wrong with any of these jobs? Anything I should be keeping in mind?
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25D or 35T I just wonder which MOS would be better for career. I am really interested in IT. I know 25D is not entry MOS. Let’s say you meet requirements for both MOS. If you stay as enlisted side, what would you recommend?
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I’m heading to ait now at fort Moore for 91M do I get my phone and am I in a dorm how is that like
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Hi all,
I am a permanent resident here is the US, and last week I finished my ASVAB mock test with a 95 on my AFQT. The recruiter says I am eligible for everything that doesn't require a security clearance which is kind of a problem as my dream MOS are the 35-series and 17-series (As both of these are locked behind clearance requirement)
After some thinking, I narrow down to the following, but there are still too many so I hope I can get your feedback on what I am doing. My aims are: a/I want something that will translate into the civilian world well if my time in the army doesn't go well, b/I want an MOS that can advanced through warrant or becoming a commission officer if my time in the army does go well, and c/I want to push myself to the limit and break out of my comfort zone to see where I can go. If I sound arrogant, please forgive for that: I am just trying to be as careful as possible. I am nearly reaching my thirty, and I want to take deliberate steps because I no longer have the luxury of youth and family to try and fail.
The MOS are:
11-series, 12Band 12D: I have a soft spot for these despite knowing they don't translate into the civilian world. But in my heart somewhere is a wild child that wants to test my physical prowess and wants to blow things up. I do know my knees and lower back will hate me for picking this.
15 series: With exceptions to 15C, 15J, and other works related to flying or being mechanics of sensitive equipment, I can be an aircraft technicians. I read that there are demands for airplane mechanics but I don't know much about this field other than a/I got to repair planes, b/people seem to hate it because you have to sign a long contract if you become a warrant.
68A: I did see this MOS getting recommended a lot but after reading its description, I am not very sure if I want to do it either both in the army or afterwards. I must also admit I don't have a good insights onto the day to day life of this job. Can someone shed some light about this MOS for me?
68C: Becoming a nurse seems like a very safe choice out of the military given that the BLS projects nurse to be in high demand and being able to take care of your family sounds like a big plus to me; however, I don't know if I like being a nurse. My parents were doctors, and having seen the hospital environment I can say I am not a fan. I also look into 68A but BLS prospect for it didn't seem good, and the training on 68E, 68D, and 68V look a little bit too short. Do you really become a dental assistant just with 10 weeks of training?
68W: I must admit, I have a soft spot for 68W as it allows me to be both learn some medical skills and be on the field. However, I do notice that 68W only translates to paramedic/EMT post-army, while 68C translates to becoming a nurse (which is more valued and regarded as "better" than paramedic or EMT and thus in higher demand)
88H, 92A, 92F, and 92Y: I pick these because, according to BLS, there is a projected increase need for people in warehousing and transportation. From my limited understanding of the fields, you will be in charge of handling logistics such as maintaining unit inventory, ordering supplies and weapons for your units, etc. but I am not very sure on the difference between, say, 92Y and 92A.
So, can you give me a suggestions? May anyone who has been in these MOS share their experience to help me pick? What are some of the MOS I miss?
Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
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Is the 09m program ending at the end of may?
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How does one secure a religious exemption before basic training? My recruiter said we would talk about it down the line but it’s getting down to the wire and I’d rather it not get forgotten.
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Hi my duty station is at JBLM I’ll hopefully be there around May of 2025. I still have too go through basic and AIT but I was hoping that I could get some info about the barracks and hopefully get in touch with some of the people that are getting stationed/ already stationed There that are aviation, specifically 15Y. Thank you
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How can i improve my chances of success after the military?
I'm going to meps in 2 weeks and im shooting for a 25 series mos. 25H was what was available at the recruiters after i took my practice asvab. I'm not the brightest bulb but, hey, I'll take it. Aside from college ,which i want to continue to pursue throughout my time in the army (or after depending on my mental fortitude once i'm actually in,) how can i set myself up for success in the civilian world? Any input from past 25h or 25 series who somehow translated their career into decent paying jobs will be much appreciated.
I'll add I'm only joining the army for the college benefits and free training as i come from a poor household and have no other feasible way to pay for it.
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Hello everyone,
I was recently laid off from a $64k job, and honestly, I'm not too upset. I was already feeling burnt out and unhappy, staying primarily for the promised educational benefits to facilitate a career change, which obviously fell through with the job loss. Now, I'm considering my options and the military as a new path has been sounding appealing to an extent. The VA loan and GI Bill are particularly enticing because they would help me pursue a degree without getting into debt, and enabling the career change I've been considering. And the thought of being able to buy a house at this age/economy seems awesome.
At 28, I'm weighing the implications of joining now, especially considering the pay cut and spending four years AD without the guarantee of going overseas which for me would make it much more worthwhile. Also, I'd likely be one of the older members among younger peers, which is another factor to consider. My entry rank would be E3 due to my associate degree told by the Air force recruiter I met, but I'll need a moral waiver for a misdemeanor I had at 18, which might limit my job options not to mention she told me I would have to be at the disposal of whatever the Air Force wanted me to do? Which I am assuming means that I could enlist for one thing that they tell me nope get your doing this.The Air Force recruiter told me that I would be just fine and I would be able to get in as long as my ASVAB score is high enough.
I'm torn about whether to commit to AD and save myself or a longer term in the military via reserves but still stuck in the same loop of feeling in fulfilled, unable to afford university and in a place I would rather leave. Insights from anyone who joined the military later or faced similar decisions would be incredibly helpful.
Thanks for any advice!
P.S I am also ok with the idea of the military as a career as I would still be able to retire earlier than many of my peers if I pursue the 20 year route..
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I’m reenlisting at the end of this month (was NG but going active). My husband is also active and I was wondering how likely is it that I can be in the same battalion as my husband? I know married couples aren’t supposed to work directly together but would that still be considered “working together”?
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Hi All, I'm 23F graduating college with my bachelor's in international relations at the end of July. I speak intermediate Spanish and would be open to learning more languages. I am looking for a mos that doesn't restrict me to behind a desk or sitting on my ass all day. I was thinking of something intelligence related. I would appreciate any advice/help.
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So i have hemorrhoids right now and I go to MEPS monday. I have a Drs visit from about 2 years ago where she prescribed me the cream to use. The cream says to only use it when you have hemorrhoids. I still have the cream. Will I pass MEPS if I bring that the Dr visit. or should I get a new one the day before? It's Saturday so my recruiter won't answer.
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So I enlisted on Friday. (25H) and I ship to BT in August. I’ve made my mind up before enlisting that I was going to make a career out of it. So now I’m here before you all to ask… what’s some advice you could give someone looking to do 20. Like what’s steps would you take if you could go back to make the most of your Army career? I remember my dad who served in the navy would always say “choose your rate choose your fate” and I think I started off on the right foot. Any suggestions to help make the correct steps in my new career path?
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Going back in. Needing some suggestions on different MOS.
So when I was in the first time I was a 25U. I was 16 when I swore in to secure my mos and left at 18YO. I’ve decicided to go back in. Im picking between 19 jobs, I qualify for all of them as I keep my old asvab scores. I scored over a 105 in everything so I have a pretty big list to pick from. These jobs have good jobs outside of the army and that’s my angle, I know 25U translates to a good job outside of the army but it’s not my cup of tea. So any info on the jobs in the army and civilian life for these mos would be greatly appreciate. The jobs are: 68L 68X (specifically because I want to help vets who are/have suffered) 88H 35F 25B 35M 35G 35L 88K 88N 88U 27D 31E 12M 15Q 15N 25U 88L 88M
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Already signed my contract but I really really wanna change my MOS by the time I ship out for BCT in mid-July, what would be the best way to approach and ask my recruiter to change my MOS? The one that I want is really in demand (19K) so maybe that might help?
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Background: Greencard holder, 6yr+ experience in IT field. No degree. Married.
Always wanted to join the military and finally have the opportunity to do so.
What I want to experience from the military;
I want the opportunity to grow in the IT field and have military experience and later on attain a contractor job in overseas installations. Very interested in being able to move overseas for a few years specially Japan.
My biggest interest is to grow in my career + experience other countries.
Recruits have also told me that for active duty they are allowing first duty station to be chosen because the army apparently has a shortage of people joining so they want to motivate people to join by allowing them to choose duty stations. This has made me consider going active IF they aren't lying about this + the job security has always been a plus to me.
My primary plan was :
Going reserve, getting my citizenship while in basic training, changing my mos to 25B then finding government contracting job overseas preferably (Japan) and changing my unit to Japan to drill there (Camp Zama). Overall my biggest goal is to move overseas and be in the IT field.
What is the best route? Advice is greatly appreciated in advance:)
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I want to enlist as a 19D Wont be for a year or so still but trying to do my research and evrything and make sure this is what i want, So far it looks like it is but i have a couple of questions that i need answering before i decided to enlist. 1. as a 19D with 19C coming will 19D still be manning Bradleys 2. What are my chances of being assigned to a cav unit i really dont wanna be assigned to an infantry or god knows what else 3. Am i able to enlist as active at 17?
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Is it hard to get a self harm waiver? It happened one time three years ago. My recruiter is pushing for it now
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I'm going to MEPS this week and I was told that the Job I'm really interested in (12w) is rare and to not get my hopes up. I'll be doing research about some other jobs, but if I really want that job should I just wait for a slot to open up or go with alternate choices?
Does anyone have any experience with this job and how often slots show up?
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Vision Waiver Acceptance Probability
So I’m wanting to enlist as an 11x OP 4in the army, went to MEPS a few weeks ago, and am currently waiting on a current injury to be waived. I’m just kind of worrying about my vision waiver. Recruiter said we have to wait for this to be cleared first, then we can launch the vision waiver.
What’s the probability that a vision waiver will be accepted with Visual Acuity of 20/30 20/50 corrected vision. I understand everything is case to case, I’m just kind of worrying that it’ll end up being denied.
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Is there a list of all the different Options in contracts? Like Option 40, Option 4, Option 19, etc?
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In the process of renegotiating my contract before shipping out and I'm seriously considering 19K (M1 Armor Crewman). Recruiter told me that anyone can volunteer to go to airborne school at BCT and I really want to go airborne but it seems like 19Ks don't really do it as much as other MOS's. Is it true that i will have the opportunity to volunteer myself for airborne school at basic? If not, how can I attend Airborne or any other specialized school as a tanker?
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Leaving for BT in 2wks. First stop Ft Lenwood and then ft sill for AIT. Then off to Ft Drum for my 1st duty station. Can anyone offer insight on what to expect at each location/stage? 13F if it matters. Much appreciated.
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Just reserved mos 88L Water craft engineer.
Was excited at first as I’ve e heard a lot of good things about this mos, but i have a wife, 6yr old and another on the way and am worried that i wont be home that often given this mos. Im supposed to go to meps in 4 days and swear in. Im really not trying to be away from my family all that often. Is this mos bad for family life? Have i made a mistake? Or should i keep it and roll with it. Any recommendations on what i should do?
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Hello, I’m in ROTC right now but I’m about to go to CST. I have been looking into branches as much as possible and am pretty set on ADA but I wanted to ask if anyone here has been on a HIMAD or SHORAD deployment that can give me some insight on what it’s like, more specifically SHORAD but I do want to hear both sides.
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Joining the army
hi, I am 17 turning 18F, and im joining the army and going to boot camp soon. What are some advice or anything you would tell someone before they go to boot camp or thinking about joining the army?
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Hello, I'm currently a high school senior who is interested in joining the ROTC. I've reached out to ROTC recruiters in the colleges that I will be attending however, they never picked up their phones nor responded to their emails after multiple attempts. I've also scheduled appointments with them only for them to not show up multiple times. I've also called the army and they said they would have someone call me but they never did either. I was wondering if anyone could help me get in touch with an ROTC recruiter as I got a few questions about the Army ROTC as well as the process to proceed.
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Can you go to an maritime academy before your service then get it paid when you join? Can you take maritime academy while active duty?
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What are possible first duty stations for Army officers out of ROTC by MOS?
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Hi I’m planning on applying for OCS when I graduate in May. But im currently taking allergy shots for my seasonal allergies. I would have no problem pausing them during basic etc. Resuming when I’m past training, but is this something I have to do? Is it worth having to get a medical waiver for it? Do I need to tell my recruiter?
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I'm currently 5% body fat over for the arms 2.0. I'm eating way better and consuming 12-1,500 calories and losing an average of 3,000 calories a day. I've been running/walking 2 miles a day of hill terrain. My recruiter said I need to lose 10 pounds by May 17. I need tips and tricks on how to lose those pounds by then
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If so, typically how many dates are there to choose from and how far in the future? I have a great civilian job, so would like to know my date as far in advance as possible.
Edit: would go on to traditional state OCS (yea, I know the internet’s opinions on it but it fits my life really well) afterwards.
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My first question is: has this happened to anyone here, and if so and how was it resolved?
My second question is: after signing your contract, how do you gain acess to it later? Do you receive a physical copy for yourself? Can you download a copy? Is there someone you can ask in the Army to retrieve it for you? Will it be acessable on a portal of somekind?
I am considering enlisting with option 19 and the location is very important to me. Thank you!
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I have all of my waivers approved, however, I won’t be swearing in due to job circumstances. If things change, can I still go back into the army or will I blocked out of it forever?
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In general, I’ve heard that the army’s QoL is less than that of the Air Force. However, the army has way more jobs w bonuses that I’d be interested in. And it’s the same or similar jobs as the Air Force, but w a bonus. I know the Basic Training for army is also longer, but a bonus can be convincing. I have the same question, but in regards to joining the navy as well. I want to focus on my education during my enlistment & get my bachelors & id also like travel opportunities. I haven’t taken my ASVAB yet, it’s scheduled the 16th. I scored rlly well on the PiCAT, and according to those scores I qualify for some army jobs w a bonus. I know it’s not as simple as that, and it’s a whole process & based on what’s available. Just want some opinions on if I was offered an army job w a bonus as opposed to the same/ similar Air Force job without, would you consider it worth it based on your experience?
I already got some answers from a post I made about this, but moderator deleted it and said to comment here. But any additional info/ insight is greatly appreciated. I want to make the best choice for my future in the case that I don't want to do 20 years.
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I was looking to join the guard but in my medical records it shows I had Guillan barre. I was feeling some numbness in my legs, but looking back at it, it was very cold outside and I was just a bitch who would try to get out of school by any means possible. They did a spinal tap and never found any trace of the disease however. I was in the hospital for a couple of days, the gave me immunoglobulin and then I went home and nothing ever came of it. I am currently completely asymptomatic This was when I was 12 or 13 years old. Now I’m 18 and want to join but my recruiter said I have to get all the records and stuff. What is the chance that I will still be able to join? I tried looking it up online but I couldn’t find an answer. Also if I’m able to join, will I need a medical waiver?
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My main concerns are, does the Army give beard waivers for Muslims? Is it possible to take short breaks throughout the day to pray? Can you fast during Ramadan? Can you be provided with halal (no pork/no alcohol) food?
Also, I’m interested in infantry or armor (or any kind of ground forces officer in general). Would these accommodations interfere with being selected for these careers or being mission ready? (Such as a beard, fasting, etc.)
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In the navy currently and getting out in a year. I had a back injury prior to enlisting that I didn’t disclose. I plan on entering the army after my contract. If this comes up will my discharge from the navy be lowered or my benefits revoked?
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I want to do OCS! Now here’s my confusion. My recruiter is saying that the moment I swear in is the moment my contract is going to start and will count towards that 6 year! So, if he is right, I will basically complete 2 years training if I do state OCS. But I would like to have more control on what branch I get! My top 3 are: cyber warfare, signal, and intel. Should I do accelerated in that case? Also how likely am I to get one of those aforementioned three if I do state OCS of 18 months? My bachelor was in Computer Engineering, and I am currently enrolled in ASU for master’s pursuing Computer Science! Will I get that 24k a year tuition fee because he said there’s a possibility I might get it since it’s fully online? Can I get tuition assistance and loan repayment both? Does getting either one incur additional service time?
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Top of the list for career jobs is 15 series, from what I've heard from currently enlisted in my friend group, wrenching on aircraft in general is a fast track to a cushy job on the outside with my education. 25 series looks boring but useful as anything IT/electrical complements my degree. On the more interesting side, I was looking at 91 series, either 91F or 91P.
Am I going anywhere wrong with any of these jobs? Anything I should be keeping in mind?
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I am a permanent resident here is the US, and last week I finished my ASVAB mock test with a 95 on my AFQT. The recruiter says I am eligible for everything that doesn't require a security clearance which is kind of a problem as my dream MOS are the 35-series and 17-series (As both of these are locked behind clearance requirement)
After some thinking, I narrow down to the following, but there are still too many so I hope I can get your feedback on what I am doing. My aims are: a/I want something that will translate into the civilian world well if my time in the army doesn't go well, b/I want an MOS that can advanced through warrant or becoming a commission officer if my time in the army does go well, and c/I want to push myself to the limit and break out of my comfort zone to see where I can go. If I sound arrogant, please forgive for that: I am just trying to be as careful as possible. I am nearly reaching my thirty, and I want to take deliberate steps because I no longer have the luxury of youth and family to try and fail.
The MOS are:
11-series, 12B
15 series: With exceptions to 15C, 15J, and other works related to flying or being mechanics of sensitive equipment, I can be an aircraft technicians. I read that there are demands for airplane mechanics but I don't know much about this field other than a/I got to repair planes, b/people seem to hate it because you have to sign a long contract if you become a warrant.
68A: I did see this MOS getting recommended a lot but after reading its description, I am not very sure if I want to do it either both in the army or afterwards. I must also admit I don't have a good insights onto the day to day life of this job. Can someone shed some light about this MOS for me?
68C: Becoming a nurse seems like a very safe choice out of the military given that the BLS projects nurse to be in high demand and being able to take care of your family sounds like a big plus to me; however, I don't know if I like being a nurse. My parents were doctors, and having seen the hospital environment I can say I am not a fan. I also look into 68A but BLS prospect for it didn't seem good, and the training on 68E, 68D, and 68V look a little bit too short. Do you really become a dental assistant just with 10 weeks of training?
68W: I must admit, I have a soft spot for 68W as it allows me to be both learn some medical skills and be on the field. However, I do notice that 68W only translates to paramedic/EMT post-army, while 68C translates to becoming a nurse (which is more valued and regarded as "better" than paramedic or EMT and thus in higher demand)
88H, 92A, 92F, and 92Y: I pick these because, according to BLS, there is a projected increase need for people in warehousing and transportation. From my limited understanding of the fields, you will be in charge of handling logistics such as maintaining unit inventory, ordering supplies and weapons for your units, etc. but I am not very sure on the difference between, say, 92Y and 92A.
So, can you give me a suggestions? May anyone who has been in these MOS share their experience to help me pick? What are some of the MOS I miss?
Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
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I'm going to meps in 2 weeks and im shooting for a 25 series mos. 25H was what was available at the recruiters after i took my practice asvab. I'm not the brightest bulb but, hey, I'll take it. Aside from college ,which i want to continue to pursue throughout my time in the army (or after depending on my mental fortitude once i'm actually in,) how can i set myself up for success in the civilian world? Any input from past 25h or 25 series who somehow translated their career into decent paying jobs will be much appreciated.
I'll add I'm only joining the army for the college benefits and free training as i come from a poor household and have no other feasible way to pay for it.
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I was recently laid off from a $64k job, and honestly, I'm not too upset. I was already feeling burnt out and unhappy, staying primarily for the promised educational benefits to facilitate a career change, which obviously fell through with the job loss. Now, I'm considering my options and the military as a new path has been sounding appealing to an extent. The VA loan and GI Bill are particularly enticing because they would help me pursue a degree without getting into debt, and enabling the career change I've been considering. And the thought of being able to buy a house at this age/economy seems awesome.
At 28, I'm weighing the implications of joining now, especially considering the pay cut and spending four years AD without the guarantee of going overseas which for me would make it much more worthwhile. Also, I'd likely be one of the older members among younger peers, which is another factor to consider. My entry rank would be E3 due to my associate degree told by the Air force recruiter I met, but I'll need a moral waiver for a misdemeanor I had at 18, which might limit my job options not to mention she told me I would have to be at the disposal of whatever the Air Force wanted me to do? Which I am assuming means that I could enlist for one thing that they tell me nope get your doing this.The Air Force recruiter told me that I would be just fine and I would be able to get in as long as my ASVAB score is high enough.
I'm torn about whether to commit to AD and save myself or a longer term in the military via reserves but still stuck in the same loop of feeling in fulfilled, unable to afford university and in a place I would rather leave. Insights from anyone who joined the military later or faced similar decisions would be incredibly helpful.
Thanks for any advice!
P.S I am also ok with the idea of the military as a career as I would still be able to retire earlier than many of my peers if I pursue the 20 year route..
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So when I was in the first time I was a 25U. I was 16 when I swore in to secure my mos and left at 18YO. I’ve decicided to go back in. Im picking between 19 jobs, I qualify for all of them as I keep my old asvab scores. I scored over a 105 in everything so I have a pretty big list to pick from. These jobs have good jobs outside of the army and that’s my angle, I know 25U translates to a good job outside of the army but it’s not my cup of tea. So any info on the jobs in the army and civilian life for these mos would be greatly appreciate. The jobs are: 68L 68X (specifically because I want to help vets who are/have suffered) 88H 35F 25B 35M 35G 35L 88K 88N 88U 27D 31E 12M 15Q 15N 25U 88L 88M
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Always wanted to join the military and finally have the opportunity to do so.
What I want to experience from the military;
I want the opportunity to grow in the IT field and have military experience and later on attain a contractor job in overseas installations. Very interested in being able to move overseas for a few years specially Japan.
My biggest interest is to grow in my career + experience other countries.
Recruits have also told me that for active duty they are allowing first duty station to be chosen because the army apparently has a shortage of people joining so they want to motivate people to join by allowing them to choose duty stations. This has made me consider going active IF they aren't lying about this + the job security has always been a plus to me.
My primary plan was :
Going reserve, getting my citizenship while in basic training, changing my mos to 25B then finding government contracting job overseas preferably (Japan) and changing my unit to Japan to drill there (Camp Zama). Overall my biggest goal is to move overseas and be in the IT field.
What is the best route? Advice is greatly appreciated in advance:)
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Does anyone have any experience with this job and how often slots show up?
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So I’m wanting to enlist as an 11x OP 4in the army, went to MEPS a few weeks ago, and am currently waiting on a current injury to be waived. I’m just kind of worrying about my vision waiver. Recruiter said we have to wait for this to be cleared first, then we can launch the vision waiver.
What’s the probability that a vision waiver will be accepted with Visual Acuity of 20/30 20/50 corrected vision. I understand everything is case to case, I’m just kind of worrying that it’ll end up being denied.
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Was excited at first as I’ve e heard a lot of good things about this mos, but i have a wife, 6yr old and another on the way and am worried that i wont be home that often given this mos. Im supposed to go to meps in 4 days and swear in. Im really not trying to be away from my family all that often. Is this mos bad for family life? Have i made a mistake? Or should i keep it and roll with it. Any recommendations on what i should do?
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hi, I am 17 turning 18F, and im joining the army and going to boot camp soon. What are some advice or anything you would tell someone before they go to boot camp or thinking about joining the army?
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2024.05.29 02:24 Army_Bot Summary For: Weekly Question Thread (05/06/2024 to 05/12/2024)
Seasonal Allergies Immunotherapy
Hi I’m planning on applying for OCS when I graduate in May. But im currently taking allergy shots for my seasonal allergies. I would have no problem pausing them during basic etc. Resuming when I’m past training, but is this something I have to do? Is it worth having to get a medical waiver for it? Do I need to tell my recruiter?
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Currently in the process of reenlisting as a prior service who was chaptered out in AIT for SI. Submitted and turned over all my paperwork to my recruiter and awaiting MEPS. My recruiter said this is the longest part of the waiting game from his experience. How long should I be expecting to wait realistically? I would ask my recruiter but I feel like I've bothered him enough over the past few weeks lmao. - Thanks!
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Hey guys l need some advice so i'm gonna get straight to the point. I am 20 and a junior in college. I ship in June and i have 3 Mos choices so far. 19D, 11b and 19k. Which do y’all recommend?I'm hardworking and not lazy so yeah. I am joining for many reasons but one of the main reasons is travel. Would I get to do tha much? Thank you
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Hey guys, I enlisted with an airborne contract that has my first assignment at Fort Liberty. How likely is it that I get assigned to the 82nd?
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Weight loss
I'm currently 5% body fat over for the arms 2.0. I'm eating way better and consuming 12-1,500 calories and losing an average of 3,000 calories a day. I've been running/walking 2 miles a day of hill terrain. My recruiter said I need to lose 10 pounds by May 17. I need tips and tricks on how to lose those pounds by then
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Army National Guard recruiter says at MEPS you can choose from several dates to start basic. Is that accurate?
If so, typically how many dates are there to choose from and how far in the future? I have a great civilian job, so would like to know my date as far in advance as possible.
Edit: would go on to traditional state OCS (yea, I know the internet’s opinions on it but it fits my life really well) afterwards.
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I've got 4 years active and 3 years guard under my belt and I've always put in to my tsp to get the match. I know you need 8 years to keep the matching, but my unit has drained what little motivation I had left for the army, and I've decided I'm done. I'm curious if anyone can help me figure out if there's any option that will help me keep my tsp matching besides a 1 year extension. I doubt the IRR counts towards 8 years, and from what I understand, the inactive guard is simply a pause button. So instead of pushing me to 8 years, it's just delaying my 7th till next year or something. I'm also wondering if a future federal job would contribute to that 8 years or if it has to be all concurrent. Thank you for any help or any resources or links yall can send me to figure this out.
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I was wondering if I could join the army with depression, anxiety, and OCD. All diagnosed. I have no suicide attempts or anything like that, no inpatient care either. All of these are somewhat mild and manageable, and I haven't been on any medication. But that was another concern of mine, if I was to get on any medication, would that disqualify me? Thanks a lot.
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Im currently a senior in high school trying to enlist in the army since December but I’m at a loss of what to do. I took the asvab scored a 61 but autism came up on my records from when I was a kid. I had to get a full medical Record for meps then they wanted my pharmacy record and now they want some more records my recruiter made me sign a form for my old doctors to get it from them about a month and a week ago. I called him the earlier this week and he said he Kentucky or Kansas (I didn’t hear him well and forgot) doing some training I honestly just don’t know what to do I’ll graduate from high school in a few weeks and I probably have a month after that before my parents kick me out any advice?
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Hey all, I wanted to get some insight on whether you all think I would be able to enlist with Crohn's. I've seen online that it's generally marked as an "unwaivable medical condition" but sometimes goes on a case by case basis. My IBD is very mild, I honestly forget that I even have the damn disease because it doesnt effect my daily life at all. I have it managed by taking an 8-week biologic but have gone on extended breaks from it before due to insurance reasons (roughly 2-3 months without any meds) and had no flare ups or any issues of the sort. However, my doctor is thinking of switching me to a daily pill (Rinvoq). I don't have any food sensitivities like a lot of Crohn's patients have (caffeine, alcohol, dairy, etc.) and have never had any surgeries nor does my GI doctor think i'll ever need one. I wanted to enlist for a 17C contract as im already in college for tech anyhow, I'm not sure if that would effect my standing. However, dream MOS is 18X but I figure that may be tougher to get by a recruiter. Any advice or thoughts? Army has been my dream forever and I don't want to have to give it up, so I'd really do anything haha.
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I have 2 non violent felonies from 2011 and PTD from 2022 for possession. I've been upfront and honest with my recruiter. He sent me to test today and I scored 63 on Asvab and GT of 113. Is there a chance for me? Thanks in advance. 30 and in great health and shape.
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What bases would you do bmt if your in cyber security and aviation mechanics?
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I ship out in a week. Went to meps and signed in March. Can I change my MOS? Or is it too late ?? I want something language related because I’m fluent in Arabic (already passed DLPT)
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For anyone that has done OSUT at Fort Moore, how long does it typically take before they’ll tell you where your FDS is?
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I have read a few horror stories where someone enlisted with X,Y, or Z in their contract, but after basic they where told something else and could not confirm the original. For example, someone claims they had a specific location through Option 19, only to later be told they are going somewhere else.
My first question is: has this happened to anyone here, and if so and how was it resolved?
My second question is: after signing your contract, how do you gain acess to it later? Do you receive a physical copy for yourself? Can you download a copy? Is there someone you can ask in the Army to retrieve it for you? Will it be acessable on a portal of somekind?
I am considering enlisting with option 19 and the location is very important to me. Thank you!
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Is phone use in BCT only delegated to calls? Also does phone use depend on what phase you're in, like, red phase 20 minutes, blue 30 minutes? Going to jackson
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Not the best time to swear in, waivers
I have all of my waivers approved, however, I won’t be swearing in due to job circumstances. If things change, can I still go back into the army or will I blocked out of it forever?
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I have an AAM and 3 COAs which S1 has been tracking for months but which have yet to reflect on my PPW. Do I have any recourse?
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my recruiter says that I can't get option 4 in my 35W contract but I really want to be airborne as a 35p/m so I have a higher chance of having my skills be put to use. Can i put in for airborne at DLI or AIT? what is the earliest I can do this and how would I go about it? I just went through the normal MEPS process not the airborne physical fyi
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Is a bonus worth choosing the Army over the AF?
In general, I’ve heard that the army’s QoL is less than that of the Air Force. However, the army has way more jobs w bonuses that I’d be interested in. And it’s the same or similar jobs as the Air Force, but w a bonus. I know the Basic Training for army is also longer, but a bonus can be convincing. I have the same question, but in regards to joining the navy as well. I want to focus on my education during my enlistment & get my bachelors & id also like travel opportunities. I haven’t taken my ASVAB yet, it’s scheduled the 16th. I scored rlly well on the PiCAT, and according to those scores I qualify for some army jobs w a bonus. I know it’s not as simple as that, and it’s a whole process & based on what’s available. Just want some opinions on if I was offered an army job w a bonus as opposed to the same/ similar Air Force job without, would you consider it worth it based on your experience?
I already got some answers from a post I made about this, but moderator deleted it and said to comment here. But any additional info/ insight is greatly appreciated. I want to make the best choice for my future in the case that I don't want to do 20 years.
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I'm joining up rn and working with a recruiter. We've got my waivers and everything. Pretty much just have to pick a job. For background I was an IET separation back in 2009. From what I've read and what me and my recruiter have gone over I am glossary non-prior service. I could have sworn I read (albeit a while ago) that business rules did not apply to GNPS, so I should be free to pick my MOS. However, I talked to my recruiter earlier today and he wants me to sit with his 1SG and go over the job options available for prior service. Am I wrong and I just get what I get?
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Please help!
I was looking to join the guard but in my medical records it shows I had Guillan barre. I was feeling some numbness in my legs, but looking back at it, it was very cold outside and I was just a bitch who would try to get out of school by any means possible. They did a spinal tap and never found any trace of the disease however. I was in the hospital for a couple of days, the gave me immunoglobulin and then I went home and nothing ever came of it. I am currently completely asymptomatic This was when I was 12 or 13 years old. Now I’m 18 and want to join but my recruiter said I have to get all the records and stuff. What is the chance that I will still be able to join? I tried looking it up online but I couldn’t find an answer. Also if I’m able to join, will I need a medical waiver?
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My MOS is 68W, I'm shipping out in June and I'm taking the OPAT in a couple of weeks. I'm 5'2 and 115ish pounds. I'm pretty fit. My biggest worry is the standing long jump. I want to pass the OPAT with flying colors and keep my MOS. Is there any advice or tips y'all can give me?
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I’m looking to graduate and enlist in a month but can’t decide on what MOS I want. I think 11B because I don’t want to individuate and do army shit or 68W but I’m not sure if I can get advanced combative training or other schools I want. I want to do something that’s “high speed” and meaningful while working my way towards Ranger reg. Is the 82nd Airborne a good pathway to that? How is civil affairs? Can you enlist directly into it while being active duty?
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Thinking about reenlisting to army with 8.5 PS in USMC. Been out < 5years. Will I have to repeat AIT if I keep my same MOS? I know this is the wrong channel for USMC feedback but also considering going back there if it would mean not repeating AlT. Thanks in advance!
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Hi everyone! I’m a high school student planning on joining the military. I’m Muslim, so I want to be sure that whichever branch I join is accommodating to Muslim needs. If it changes anything, I’m planning joining through the ROTC route.
My main concerns are, does the Army give beard waivers for Muslims? Is it possible to take short breaks throughout the day to pray? Can you fast during Ramadan? Can you be provided with halal (no pork/no alcohol) food?
Also, I’m interested in infantry or armor (or any kind of ground forces officer in general). Would these accommodations interfere with being selected for these careers or being mission ready? (Such as a beard, fasting, etc.)
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i’m a current nasty girl and i’m looking to transfer to Active duty. i understand i need a conditional release in order to sign a new contract and need my G-1 to sign off on it. i’m looking for info on the process from someone who’s gone through the process.
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What are the odds of getting a waiver for ulcerative colitis? I was EPTS’d out in march 2023 after being diagnosed while I was at 30th AG. My GI said I was in remission as of jan of this year. I take 4 Lialda pills a day and get an entyvio infusion every 2 months. I feel perfectly fine now though. Scored a 74 on the asvab.
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Medical record
In the navy currently and getting out in a year. I had a back injury prior to enlisting that I didn’t disclose. I plan on entering the army after my contract. If this comes up will my discharge from the navy be lowered or my benefits revoked?
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So my recruiter told me that I have to get a lease first, but the thing is, is that we don't have one with our landlord. It's more like an oral lease and he's a slumlord who never tries to communicate with any of us. That being said, my recruiter then said that I should find a lease online and edit it to where I state that I'm paying the rent to my sister instead (who has a valid ID) He also stated that my sister and I have to go to a check-cashing place to get it notarized. Is this all ok to do and will the BHA be approved? Also if it's approved, does this mean that the rent we pay which is $1,365.50, is going to be paid for while I'm away and how exactly??
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Can I enlist if I have a Mexican highschool diploma? (I am american, just finished highschool in mexico) And don't have a address in the USA???
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I am thinking of finishing up my bachelors and joining as an officer, my question was whether it was possible or not to guarantee mos 17c in the army if I join as an officer.
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I just got told that I cant enlist for 2 years after my waiver got denied for a history of depression. I stopped feeling depressed last August but got officially cleared into remission in February. I was told theres no point in a consult and the most I can do is reach out to a congressman. Other than reaching out to a congressman, is there really nothing I can do?
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Questions about Virginia National Guard
I want to do OCS! Now here’s my confusion. My recruiter is saying that the moment I swear in is the moment my contract is going to start and will count towards that 6 year! So, if he is right, I will basically complete 2 years training if I do state OCS. But I would like to have more control on what branch I get! My top 3 are: cyber warfare, signal, and intel. Should I do accelerated in that case? Also how likely am I to get one of those aforementioned three if I do state OCS of 18 months? My bachelor was in Computer Engineering, and I am currently enrolled in ASU for master’s pursuing Computer Science! Will I get that 24k a year tuition fee because he said there’s a possibility I might get it since it’s fully online? Can I get tuition assistance and loan repayment both? Does getting either one incur additional service time?
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im thinking of joining as a officer and going into ocs, what is the best branch for a well paying civilian job after completing my service, for context my major right now is relg studies plus maybe bio.
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I leave for Future Soldier Preparatory Course for the fitness aspect on the 21st, has anyone gone through it recently? There’s not a whole lot of information on it online, I was just wondering what it’s like, and what to expect. Do you get issued all of your gear since you will be going to bmt after? What is reception like? Any and all information and tips is greatly appreciated!
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So my husband is going to meps next week. he has 2 different sets of scars on his left arm. He works at a mobile home plant building houses. One was from when he got caught on a nail so it's a little deeper looking and another was from some sheet metal at work. He didn't disclose it to his boss because he works on a line and it would've put his team behind so he just put some bandaids on it and went about his day and cleaned it up when he got home. This was about 1-2 years ago. What is his meps experience going to be like? They aren't self harm obviously but we've heard horror stories about the doctors at meps not believing people and DQ them. He honestly forgot about telling his recruiter and his recruiter has already sent in all his medical history and got him scheduled for meps. Should he still go ahead and tell his recruiter or just wait and disclose it at meps?
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Should i go in as 17c or try my luck at ocs?
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I'm currently in process Enlisting in the Reserve, while holding an associate's degree in mechanical engineering technology, with some side education in programming. While I am working towards my bachelor's degree, I'm looking to pick an MOS that will help my career, or at the very least, be interesting. I don't remember my scores, but my Recruiter told me whatever I pick, my score won't be the limiting factor.
Top of the list for career jobs is 15 series, from what I've heard from currently enlisted in my friend group, wrenching on aircraft in general is a fast track to a cushy job on the outside with my education. 25 series looks boring but useful as anything IT/electrical complements my degree. On the more interesting side, I was looking at 91 series, either 91F or 91P.
Am I going anywhere wrong with any of these jobs? Anything I should be keeping in mind?
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25D or 35T I just wonder which MOS would be better for career. I am really interested in IT. I know 25D is not entry MOS. Let’s say you meet requirements for both MOS. If you stay as enlisted side, what would you recommend?
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I’m heading to ait now at fort Moore for 91M do I get my phone and am I in a dorm how is that like
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Hi all,
I am a permanent resident here is the US, and last week I finished my ASVAB mock test with a 95 on my AFQT. The recruiter says I am eligible for everything that doesn't require a security clearance which is kind of a problem as my dream MOS are the 35-series and 17-series (As both of these are locked behind clearance requirement)
After some thinking, I narrow down to the following, but there are still too many so I hope I can get your feedback on what I am doing. My aims are: a/I want something that will translate into the civilian world well if my time in the army doesn't go well, b/I want an MOS that can advanced through warrant or becoming a commission officer if my time in the army does go well, and c/I want to push myself to the limit and break out of my comfort zone to see where I can go. If I sound arrogant, please forgive for that: I am just trying to be as careful as possible. I am nearly reaching my thirty, and I want to take deliberate steps because I no longer have the luxury of youth and family to try and fail.
The MOS are:
11-series, 12Band 12D: I have a soft spot for these despite knowing they don't translate into the civilian world. But in my heart somewhere is a wild child that wants to test my physical prowess and wants to blow things up. I do know my knees and lower back will hate me for picking this.
15 series: With exceptions to 15C, 15J, and other works related to flying or being mechanics of sensitive equipment, I can be an aircraft technicians. I read that there are demands for airplane mechanics but I don't know much about this field other than a/I got to repair planes, b/people seem to hate it because you have to sign a long contract if you become a warrant.
68A: I did see this MOS getting recommended a lot but after reading its description, I am not very sure if I want to do it either both in the army or afterwards. I must also admit I don't have a good insights onto the day to day life of this job. Can someone shed some light about this MOS for me?
68C: Becoming a nurse seems like a very safe choice out of the military given that the BLS projects nurse to be in high demand and being able to take care of your family sounds like a big plus to me; however, I don't know if I like being a nurse. My parents were doctors, and having seen the hospital environment I can say I am not a fan. I also look into 68A but BLS prospect for it didn't seem good, and the training on 68E, 68D, and 68V look a little bit too short. Do you really become a dental assistant just with 10 weeks of training?
68W: I must admit, I have a soft spot for 68W as it allows me to be both learn some medical skills and be on the field. However, I do notice that 68W only translates to paramedic/EMT post-army, while 68C translates to becoming a nurse (which is more valued and regarded as "better" than paramedic or EMT and thus in higher demand)
88H, 92A, 92F, and 92Y: I pick these because, according to BLS, there is a projected increase need for people in warehousing and transportation. From my limited understanding of the fields, you will be in charge of handling logistics such as maintaining unit inventory, ordering supplies and weapons for your units, etc. but I am not very sure on the difference between, say, 92Y and 92A.
So, can you give me a suggestions? May anyone who has been in these MOS share their experience to help me pick? What are some of the MOS I miss?
Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
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Is the 09m program ending at the end of may?
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How does one secure a religious exemption before basic training? My recruiter said we would talk about it down the line but it’s getting down to the wire and I’d rather it not get forgotten.
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Hi my duty station is at JBLM I’ll hopefully be there around May of 2025. I still have too go through basic and AIT but I was hoping that I could get some info about the barracks and hopefully get in touch with some of the people that are getting stationed/ already stationed There that are aviation, specifically 15Y. Thank you
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How can i improve my chances of success after the military?
I'm going to meps in 2 weeks and im shooting for a 25 series mos. 25H was what was available at the recruiters after i took my practice asvab. I'm not the brightest bulb but, hey, I'll take it. Aside from college ,which i want to continue to pursue throughout my time in the army (or after depending on my mental fortitude once i'm actually in,) how can i set myself up for success in the civilian world? Any input from past 25h or 25 series who somehow translated their career into decent paying jobs will be much appreciated.
I'll add I'm only joining the army for the college benefits and free training as i come from a poor household and have no other feasible way to pay for it.
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Hello everyone,
I was recently laid off from a $64k job, and honestly, I'm not too upset. I was already feeling burnt out and unhappy, staying primarily for the promised educational benefits to facilitate a career change, which obviously fell through with the job loss. Now, I'm considering my options and the military as a new path has been sounding appealing to an extent. The VA loan and GI Bill are particularly enticing because they would help me pursue a degree without getting into debt, and enabling the career change I've been considering. And the thought of being able to buy a house at this age/economy seems awesome.
At 28, I'm weighing the implications of joining now, especially considering the pay cut and spending four years AD without the guarantee of going overseas which for me would make it much more worthwhile. Also, I'd likely be one of the older members among younger peers, which is another factor to consider. My entry rank would be E3 due to my associate degree told by the Air force recruiter I met, but I'll need a moral waiver for a misdemeanor I had at 18, which might limit my job options not to mention she told me I would have to be at the disposal of whatever the Air Force wanted me to do? Which I am assuming means that I could enlist for one thing that they tell me nope get your doing this.The Air Force recruiter told me that I would be just fine and I would be able to get in as long as my ASVAB score is high enough.
I'm torn about whether to commit to AD and save myself or a longer term in the military via reserves but still stuck in the same loop of feeling in fulfilled, unable to afford university and in a place I would rather leave. Insights from anyone who joined the military later or faced similar decisions would be incredibly helpful.
Thanks for any advice!
P.S I am also ok with the idea of the military as a career as I would still be able to retire earlier than many of my peers if I pursue the 20 year route..
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I’m reenlisting at the end of this month (was NG but going active). My husband is also active and I was wondering how likely is it that I can be in the same battalion as my husband? I know married couples aren’t supposed to work directly together but would that still be considered “working together”?
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Hi All, I'm 23F graduating college with my bachelor's in international relations at the end of July. I speak intermediate Spanish and would be open to learning more languages. I am looking for a mos that doesn't restrict me to behind a desk or sitting on my ass all day. I was thinking of something intelligence related. I would appreciate any advice/help.
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So i have hemorrhoids right now and I go to MEPS monday. I have a Drs visit from about 2 years ago where she prescribed me the cream to use. The cream says to only use it when you have hemorrhoids. I still have the cream. Will I pass MEPS if I bring that the Dr visit. or should I get a new one the day before? It's Saturday so my recruiter won't answer.
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So I enlisted on Friday. (25H) and I ship to BT in August. I’ve made my mind up before enlisting that I was going to make a career out of it. So now I’m here before you all to ask… what’s some advice you could give someone looking to do 20. Like what’s steps would you take if you could go back to make the most of your Army career? I remember my dad who served in the navy would always say “choose your rate choose your fate” and I think I started off on the right foot. Any suggestions to help make the correct steps in my new career path?
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Going back in. Needing some suggestions on different MOS.
So when I was in the first time I was a 25U. I was 16 when I swore in to secure my mos and left at 18YO. I’ve decicided to go back in. Im picking between 19 jobs, I qualify for all of them as I keep my old asvab scores. I scored over a 105 in everything so I have a pretty big list to pick from. These jobs have good jobs outside of the army and that’s my angle, I know 25U translates to a good job outside of the army but it’s not my cup of tea. So any info on the jobs in the army and civilian life for these mos would be greatly appreciate. The jobs are: 68L 68X (specifically because I want to help vets who are/have suffered) 88H 35F 25B 35M 35G 35L 88K 88N 88U 27D 31E 12M 15Q 15N 25U 88L 88M
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Already signed my contract but I really really wanna change my MOS by the time I ship out for BCT in mid-July, what would be the best way to approach and ask my recruiter to change my MOS? The one that I want is really in demand (19K) so maybe that might help?
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Background: Greencard holder, 6yr+ experience in IT field. No degree. Married.
Always wanted to join the military and finally have the opportunity to do so.
What I want to experience from the military;
I want the opportunity to grow in the IT field and have military experience and later on attain a contractor job in overseas installations. Very interested in being able to move overseas for a few years specially Japan.
My biggest interest is to grow in my career + experience other countries.
Recruits have also told me that for active duty they are allowing first duty station to be chosen because the army apparently has a shortage of people joining so they want to motivate people to join by allowing them to choose duty stations. This has made me consider going active IF they aren't lying about this + the job security has always been a plus to me.
My primary plan was :
Going reserve, getting my citizenship while in basic training, changing my mos to 25B then finding government contracting job overseas preferably (Japan) and changing my unit to Japan to drill there (Camp Zama). Overall my biggest goal is to move overseas and be in the IT field.
What is the best route? Advice is greatly appreciated in advance:)
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I want to enlist as a 19D Wont be for a year or so still but trying to do my research and evrything and make sure this is what i want, So far it looks like it is but i have a couple of questions that i need answering before i decided to enlist. 1. as a 19D with 19C coming will 19D still be manning Bradleys 2. What are my chances of being assigned to a cav unit i really dont wanna be assigned to an infantry or god knows what else 3. Am i able to enlist as active at 17?
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Is it hard to get a self harm waiver? It happened one time three years ago. My recruiter is pushing for it now
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I'm going to MEPS this week and I was told that the Job I'm really interested in (12w) is rare and to not get my hopes up. I'll be doing research about some other jobs, but if I really want that job should I just wait for a slot to open up or go with alternate choices?
Does anyone have any experience with this job and how often slots show up?
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Vision Waiver Acceptance Probability
So I’m wanting to enlist as an 11x OP 4in the army, went to MEPS a few weeks ago, and am currently waiting on a current injury to be waived. I’m just kind of worrying about my vision waiver. Recruiter said we have to wait for this to be cleared first, then we can launch the vision waiver.
What’s the probability that a vision waiver will be accepted with Visual Acuity of 20/30 20/50 corrected vision. I understand everything is case to case, I’m just kind of worrying that it’ll end up being denied.
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Is there a list of all the different Options in contracts? Like Option 40, Option 4, Option 19, etc?
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In the process of renegotiating my contract before shipping out and I'm seriously considering 19K (M1 Armor Crewman). Recruiter told me that anyone can volunteer to go to airborne school at BCT and I really want to go airborne but it seems like 19Ks don't really do it as much as other MOS's. Is it true that i will have the opportunity to volunteer myself for airborne school at basic? If not, how can I attend Airborne or any other specialized school as a tanker?
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Leaving for BT in 2wks. First stop Ft Lenwood and then ft sill for AIT. Then off to Ft Drum for my 1st duty station. Can anyone offer insight on what to expect at each location/stage? 13F if it matters. Much appreciated.
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Just reserved mos 88L Water craft engineer.
Was excited at first as I’ve e heard a lot of good things about this mos, but i have a wife, 6yr old and another on the way and am worried that i wont be home that often given this mos. Im supposed to go to meps in 4 days and swear in. Im really not trying to be away from my family all that often. Is this mos bad for family life? Have i made a mistake? Or should i keep it and roll with it. Any recommendations on what i should do?
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Hello, I’m in ROTC right now but I’m about to go to CST. I have been looking into branches as much as possible and am pretty set on ADA but I wanted to ask if anyone here has been on a HIMAD or SHORAD deployment that can give me some insight on what it’s like, more specifically SHORAD but I do want to hear both sides.
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Joining the army
hi, I am 17 turning 18F, and im joining the army and going to boot camp soon. What are some advice or anything you would tell someone before they go to boot camp or thinking about joining the army?
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Hello, I'm currently a high school senior who is interested in joining the ROTC. I've reached out to ROTC recruiters in the colleges that I will be attending however, they never picked up their phones nor responded to their emails after multiple attempts. I've also scheduled appointments with them only for them to not show up multiple times. I've also called the army and they said they would have someone call me but they never did either. I was wondering if anyone could help me get in touch with an ROTC recruiter as I got a few questions about the Army ROTC as well as the process to proceed.
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Can you go to an maritime academy before your service then get it paid when you join? Can you take maritime academy while active duty?
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What are possible first duty stations for Army officers out of ROTC by MOS?
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Hi I’m planning on applying for OCS when I graduate in May. But im currently taking allergy shots for my seasonal allergies. I would have no problem pausing them during basic etc. Resuming when I’m past training, but is this something I have to do? Is it worth having to get a medical waiver for it? Do I need to tell my recruiter?
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I'm currently 5% body fat over for the arms 2.0. I'm eating way better and consuming 12-1,500 calories and losing an average of 3,000 calories a day. I've been running/walking 2 miles a day of hill terrain. My recruiter said I need to lose 10 pounds by May 17. I need tips and tricks on how to lose those pounds by then
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If so, typically how many dates are there to choose from and how far in the future? I have a great civilian job, so would like to know my date as far in advance as possible.
Edit: would go on to traditional state OCS (yea, I know the internet’s opinions on it but it fits my life really well) afterwards.
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My first question is: has this happened to anyone here, and if so and how was it resolved?
My second question is: after signing your contract, how do you gain acess to it later? Do you receive a physical copy for yourself? Can you download a copy? Is there someone you can ask in the Army to retrieve it for you? Will it be acessable on a portal of somekind?
I am considering enlisting with option 19 and the location is very important to me. Thank you!
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I have all of my waivers approved, however, I won’t be swearing in due to job circumstances. If things change, can I still go back into the army or will I blocked out of it forever?
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In general, I’ve heard that the army’s QoL is less than that of the Air Force. However, the army has way more jobs w bonuses that I’d be interested in. And it’s the same or similar jobs as the Air Force, but w a bonus. I know the Basic Training for army is also longer, but a bonus can be convincing. I have the same question, but in regards to joining the navy as well. I want to focus on my education during my enlistment & get my bachelors & id also like travel opportunities. I haven’t taken my ASVAB yet, it’s scheduled the 16th. I scored rlly well on the PiCAT, and according to those scores I qualify for some army jobs w a bonus. I know it’s not as simple as that, and it’s a whole process & based on what’s available. Just want some opinions on if I was offered an army job w a bonus as opposed to the same/ similar Air Force job without, would you consider it worth it based on your experience?
I already got some answers from a post I made about this, but moderator deleted it and said to comment here. But any additional info/ insight is greatly appreciated. I want to make the best choice for my future in the case that I don't want to do 20 years.
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I was looking to join the guard but in my medical records it shows I had Guillan barre. I was feeling some numbness in my legs, but looking back at it, it was very cold outside and I was just a bitch who would try to get out of school by any means possible. They did a spinal tap and never found any trace of the disease however. I was in the hospital for a couple of days, the gave me immunoglobulin and then I went home and nothing ever came of it. I am currently completely asymptomatic This was when I was 12 or 13 years old. Now I’m 18 and want to join but my recruiter said I have to get all the records and stuff. What is the chance that I will still be able to join? I tried looking it up online but I couldn’t find an answer. Also if I’m able to join, will I need a medical waiver?
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My main concerns are, does the Army give beard waivers for Muslims? Is it possible to take short breaks throughout the day to pray? Can you fast during Ramadan? Can you be provided with halal (no pork/no alcohol) food?
Also, I’m interested in infantry or armor (or any kind of ground forces officer in general). Would these accommodations interfere with being selected for these careers or being mission ready? (Such as a beard, fasting, etc.)
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In the navy currently and getting out in a year. I had a back injury prior to enlisting that I didn’t disclose. I plan on entering the army after my contract. If this comes up will my discharge from the navy be lowered or my benefits revoked?
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I want to do OCS! Now here’s my confusion. My recruiter is saying that the moment I swear in is the moment my contract is going to start and will count towards that 6 year! So, if he is right, I will basically complete 2 years training if I do state OCS. But I would like to have more control on what branch I get! My top 3 are: cyber warfare, signal, and intel. Should I do accelerated in that case? Also how likely am I to get one of those aforementioned three if I do state OCS of 18 months? My bachelor was in Computer Engineering, and I am currently enrolled in ASU for master’s pursuing Computer Science! Will I get that 24k a year tuition fee because he said there’s a possibility I might get it since it’s fully online? Can I get tuition assistance and loan repayment both? Does getting either one incur additional service time?
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Top of the list for career jobs is 15 series, from what I've heard from currently enlisted in my friend group, wrenching on aircraft in general is a fast track to a cushy job on the outside with my education. 25 series looks boring but useful as anything IT/electrical complements my degree. On the more interesting side, I was looking at 91 series, either 91F or 91P.
Am I going anywhere wrong with any of these jobs? Anything I should be keeping in mind?
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I am a permanent resident here is the US, and last week I finished my ASVAB mock test with a 95 on my AFQT. The recruiter says I am eligible for everything that doesn't require a security clearance which is kind of a problem as my dream MOS are the 35-series and 17-series (As both of these are locked behind clearance requirement)
After some thinking, I narrow down to the following, but there are still too many so I hope I can get your feedback on what I am doing. My aims are: a/I want something that will translate into the civilian world well if my time in the army doesn't go well, b/I want an MOS that can advanced through warrant or becoming a commission officer if my time in the army does go well, and c/I want to push myself to the limit and break out of my comfort zone to see where I can go. If I sound arrogant, please forgive for that: I am just trying to be as careful as possible. I am nearly reaching my thirty, and I want to take deliberate steps because I no longer have the luxury of youth and family to try and fail.
The MOS are:
11-series, 12B
15 series: With exceptions to 15C, 15J, and other works related to flying or being mechanics of sensitive equipment, I can be an aircraft technicians. I read that there are demands for airplane mechanics but I don't know much about this field other than a/I got to repair planes, b/people seem to hate it because you have to sign a long contract if you become a warrant.
68A: I did see this MOS getting recommended a lot but after reading its description, I am not very sure if I want to do it either both in the army or afterwards. I must also admit I don't have a good insights onto the day to day life of this job. Can someone shed some light about this MOS for me?
68C: Becoming a nurse seems like a very safe choice out of the military given that the BLS projects nurse to be in high demand and being able to take care of your family sounds like a big plus to me; however, I don't know if I like being a nurse. My parents were doctors, and having seen the hospital environment I can say I am not a fan. I also look into 68A but BLS prospect for it didn't seem good, and the training on 68E, 68D, and 68V look a little bit too short. Do you really become a dental assistant just with 10 weeks of training?
68W: I must admit, I have a soft spot for 68W as it allows me to be both learn some medical skills and be on the field. However, I do notice that 68W only translates to paramedic/EMT post-army, while 68C translates to becoming a nurse (which is more valued and regarded as "better" than paramedic or EMT and thus in higher demand)
88H, 92A, 92F, and 92Y: I pick these because, according to BLS, there is a projected increase need for people in warehousing and transportation. From my limited understanding of the fields, you will be in charge of handling logistics such as maintaining unit inventory, ordering supplies and weapons for your units, etc. but I am not very sure on the difference between, say, 92Y and 92A.
So, can you give me a suggestions? May anyone who has been in these MOS share their experience to help me pick? What are some of the MOS I miss?
Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
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I'm going to meps in 2 weeks and im shooting for a 25 series mos. 25H was what was available at the recruiters after i took my practice asvab. I'm not the brightest bulb but, hey, I'll take it. Aside from college ,which i want to continue to pursue throughout my time in the army (or after depending on my mental fortitude once i'm actually in,) how can i set myself up for success in the civilian world? Any input from past 25h or 25 series who somehow translated their career into decent paying jobs will be much appreciated.
I'll add I'm only joining the army for the college benefits and free training as i come from a poor household and have no other feasible way to pay for it.
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I was recently laid off from a $64k job, and honestly, I'm not too upset. I was already feeling burnt out and unhappy, staying primarily for the promised educational benefits to facilitate a career change, which obviously fell through with the job loss. Now, I'm considering my options and the military as a new path has been sounding appealing to an extent. The VA loan and GI Bill are particularly enticing because they would help me pursue a degree without getting into debt, and enabling the career change I've been considering. And the thought of being able to buy a house at this age/economy seems awesome.
At 28, I'm weighing the implications of joining now, especially considering the pay cut and spending four years AD without the guarantee of going overseas which for me would make it much more worthwhile. Also, I'd likely be one of the older members among younger peers, which is another factor to consider. My entry rank would be E3 due to my associate degree told by the Air force recruiter I met, but I'll need a moral waiver for a misdemeanor I had at 18, which might limit my job options not to mention she told me I would have to be at the disposal of whatever the Air Force wanted me to do? Which I am assuming means that I could enlist for one thing that they tell me nope get your doing this.The Air Force recruiter told me that I would be just fine and I would be able to get in as long as my ASVAB score is high enough.
I'm torn about whether to commit to AD and save myself or a longer term in the military via reserves but still stuck in the same loop of feeling in fulfilled, unable to afford university and in a place I would rather leave. Insights from anyone who joined the military later or faced similar decisions would be incredibly helpful.
Thanks for any advice!
P.S I am also ok with the idea of the military as a career as I would still be able to retire earlier than many of my peers if I pursue the 20 year route..
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So when I was in the first time I was a 25U. I was 16 when I swore in to secure my mos and left at 18YO. I’ve decicided to go back in. Im picking between 19 jobs, I qualify for all of them as I keep my old asvab scores. I scored over a 105 in everything so I have a pretty big list to pick from. These jobs have good jobs outside of the army and that’s my angle, I know 25U translates to a good job outside of the army but it’s not my cup of tea. So any info on the jobs in the army and civilian life for these mos would be greatly appreciate. The jobs are: 68L 68X (specifically because I want to help vets who are/have suffered) 88H 35F 25B 35M 35G 35L 88K 88N 88U 27D 31E 12M 15Q 15N 25U 88L 88M
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Always wanted to join the military and finally have the opportunity to do so.
What I want to experience from the military;
I want the opportunity to grow in the IT field and have military experience and later on attain a contractor job in overseas installations. Very interested in being able to move overseas for a few years specially Japan.
My biggest interest is to grow in my career + experience other countries.
Recruits have also told me that for active duty they are allowing first duty station to be chosen because the army apparently has a shortage of people joining so they want to motivate people to join by allowing them to choose duty stations. This has made me consider going active IF they aren't lying about this + the job security has always been a plus to me.
My primary plan was :
Going reserve, getting my citizenship while in basic training, changing my mos to 25B then finding government contracting job overseas preferably (Japan) and changing my unit to Japan to drill there (Camp Zama). Overall my biggest goal is to move overseas and be in the IT field.
What is the best route? Advice is greatly appreciated in advance:)
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Does anyone have any experience with this job and how often slots show up?
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So I’m wanting to enlist as an 11x OP 4in the army, went to MEPS a few weeks ago, and am currently waiting on a current injury to be waived. I’m just kind of worrying about my vision waiver. Recruiter said we have to wait for this to be cleared first, then we can launch the vision waiver.
What’s the probability that a vision waiver will be accepted with Visual Acuity of 20/30 20/50 corrected vision. I understand everything is case to case, I’m just kind of worrying that it’ll end up being denied.
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Was excited at first as I’ve e heard a lot of good things about this mos, but i have a wife, 6yr old and another on the way and am worried that i wont be home that often given this mos. Im supposed to go to meps in 4 days and swear in. Im really not trying to be away from my family all that often. Is this mos bad for family life? Have i made a mistake? Or should i keep it and roll with it. Any recommendations on what i should do?
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hi, I am 17 turning 18F, and im joining the army and going to boot camp soon. What are some advice or anything you would tell someone before they go to boot camp or thinking about joining the army?
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2024.05.29 01:15 healthmedicinet Health daily news May 27 2024
DAY: May 27 2024
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The research, by a team from Finland’s University of Helsinki, National Institute for Health and Welfare, and Turku University of Applied Sciences, is published in
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5-27-2024
THE CASE FOR OMEGA-3 SUPPLEMENTATION TO LOWER AGGRESSION
People who regularly eat fish or take fish oil supplements are getting omega-3 fatty acids, which play a critical role in brain function. Research has long shown a basis in the brain for aggressive and violent behavior, and that poor nutrition is a risk factor for behavior problems. Penn neurocriminologist Adrian Raine has for years been studying whether omega-3 supplementation could therefore reduce aggressive behavior, publishing five randomized controlled trials from different countries. He found significant effects but wanted to know whether these findings extended beyond his laboratory.5-27-2024
WHAT ARE ALTERNATIVES TO OZEMPIC AND WEGOVY AND ARE THEY SAFE?
With summer around the corner, telehealth outlets and medical spas are going into hyperdrive advertising the sale of semaglutide, the active ingredient in popular weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. Recent shortages of the brand-name drugs have opened the door to copycat versions that, while legal, also raise some concerns for consumers, says Kelly Ann Barnes, Northeastern professor of pharmacy law. The copycat drugs are made by specialized pharmacies known as compounding pharmacies, which are allowed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make off-label5-27-2024
FIVE BASIC HABITS MAY HOLD THE KEY TO GOOD MENTAL HEALTH
Professor Nick Titov’s professional goal is to make himself redundant. he wants to empower more people with mild to moderate anxiety and depression to understand what they can do each day to care for their mental health. As part of this mission, Professor Titov and his team developed The Big 5, an evidence-based program encouraging five broad types of activities that are strongly linked with good mental health when performed regularly. Everyone’s5-27-2024
COVID-19 FORECASTING TOOL ALLOWED HOSPITAL TO MANAGE PATIENT CAPACITY, RESOURCES AMID PANDEMIC’S THIRD WAVE
During the peak of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, the health-care system’s capacity was stretched and hospitals across Canada relied on each other to share resources and provide care. Experts from5-27-2024
RESEARCHERS IDENTIFY IMMUNE DYSFUNCTION AS A POSSIBLE ASPECT OF POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME PATHOLOGY
The peripubertal DHT-induced mouse model is a non-obese but insulin-resistant model of PCOS. a) Experimental design. b) Fat mass. c) Insulin levels at baseline and 15 min following glucose administration. d) Blood glucose levels during oGTT. e) HOMA-IR, calculated from fasted glucose and insulin levels. f) Glycosylated hemoglobin levels (HbA1c). A new study shows that hyperandrogenism—a key characteristic of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)—affects immune cell populations in reproductive, metabolic and immunological tissues in a PCOS-like mouse model. These findings are of great importance as5-27-2024
RESEARCH IDENTIFIES BRAIN NETWORK LINK TO STUTTERING
Common acquired neurogenic stuttering network. Common areas that were sensitive and specific across both neurogenic stuttering cohorts. Amy = amygdala; ASt = amygdalostriatal transition area; Cl = claustrum; Pall = Pallidum; Put = putamen. A new study published in the journal Brain has identified a specific brain network hub that plays a key role in stuttering. The research, by Te Whare W?nanga o Waitaha University of Canterbury (UC) Associate Professor Catherine Theys, examines two different types of stuttering—developmental and acquired—to show a clear neural5-27-2024
THYROID DISEASE ISN’T THE END FOR YOUR CAREER PROSPECTS, REPORT FINDS
How employers behave toward workers experiencing thyroid dysfunction could play a critical part in addressing the UK’s labor market challenges. With long-term sickness on the rise in the UK, researchers at the University of Aberdeen Business School have marked World Thyroid Day (May 25) by releasing new findings which, for the first time, explore the relationship between employer sympathy and the labor market prospects of people with thyroid conditions. One in 20 people in the UK have a thyroid problem, with a significant majority of sufferers being women. Posing serious5-27-2024
STUDY FINDS HIGH-INCOME EARNERS AT LOWER RISK OF DYING FROM STROKE
High-income earners have a 32% lower risk of dying after a stroke compared to low-income earners. The equivalent for high education is 26% lower risk. The differences in stroke survival linked to socioeconomics are striking, according to a study at the University of Gothenburg.5-27-2024
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE COULD ALLEVIATE LONELINESS, SAYS EXPERT
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology could offer companionship to lonely people amid an international epidemic of loneliness, says a robotics expert. Tony Prescott, a professor of cognitive robotics at the University of Sheffield, argues in his new book “The Psychology of Artificial Intelligence” that “relationships with AIs could support people” with forms of social interaction. Loneliness has been found to seriously impair human health, and Professor Prescott makes a case that advances in AI technology could offer a partial solution. He argues that people can spiral into loneliness, becoming5-27-2024
ALZHEIMER’S REPORT HIGHLIGHTS IMMENSE CAREGIVER BURDEN—AND POTENTIAL WAYS FORWARD
Some 7 million Americans live with Alzheimer’s, and about 11 million provide unpaid care for them. Dementia caregiving can present unique challenges, including financial burdens and time constraints, as well as health complications. A report this year from the Alzheimer’s Association demonstrates the true cost of caregiving for those with the disease and calls to establish dementia care navigation throughout the U.S. to lift this burden. Not only is the estimated value of unpaid care near $14 billion in Pennsylvania alone, the report also revealed emotional and physical tolls. Nearly5-27-2024
US FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION APPROVES ARTIFICIAL PANCREAS SYSTEM
An artificial pancreas developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge has been granted approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use by individuals with type 1 diabetes aged 2 and older, including during pregnancy. This means that even more people living with the disease will be able to use this life-changing app. For the first time, the FDA authorized the use of the artificial pancreas system in pregnancy. CamAPS FX, produced by Cambridge spinout company CamDiab, is an Android app that can5-27-2024
RESEARCH SAYS POMEGRANATES COULD OFFER A SOLUTION TO FATTY LIVER DISEASE
Researchers at Edith Cowan University (ECU) are investigating the effects ellagic acid, an antioxidant found in some fruits and vegetables, could have on halting and potentially reversing the damage caused by fatty liver disease. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the physiological manifestation of obesity in the liver. The prevalence of NAFLD has increased from 25.24% in 2015 to 29.38% in 2021, and this condition now accounts for 45.8% of all cases of chronic-liver-disease-related deaths worldwide. There currently exists no treatment for the long-term management of NAFLD; however, dietary interventions5-27-2024
MAGIC MUSHROOMS MAY ONE DAY TREAT ANOREXIA, BUT NOT JUST YET
Anorexia nervosa is a severe mental health disorder where people fear weight gain. Those with the disorder have distorted body image and hold rigid beliefs their body is too big. They typically manage this through restricted eating, leading to the serious medical consequences of malnutrition. Anorexia has one of the highest death rates of any mental illness. Yet there are currently no effective drug treatments and the outcomes of psychotherapy (talk therapy) are poor. So we’re desperately in need of new and improved treatments. Psilocybin, commonly known as magic mushrooms,5-27-2024
STUDY FINDS FEEDING INFANTS PEANUT PRODUCTS PROTECTS AGAINST ALLERGY INTO ADOLESCENCE
Feeding children peanuts regularly from infancy to age five reduced the rate of peanut allergy in adolescence by 71%, even after many years when the children ate or avoided peanut as desired. The new findings provide conclusive evidence that introducing peanuts into babies’ diets early will achieve long-term prevention of peanut allergy. Lead investigator Professor Gideon Lack from King’s College London said, “Decades of advice to avoid peanuts has made parents fearful of introducing peanuts at an early age. The evidence is clear that early introduction of peanut in infancy5-27-2024
EATING MORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES MAY LEAD TO OPTIMAL SLEEP DURATION
Good health depends on a healthy diet and sufficient exercise and sleep. There are clear associations among these components; for example, good nutrition provides energy for exercise, and many people report that getting enough exercise is important to their ability to get enough sleep. So how might nutrition affect sleep? A new study looks at the connection between fruit and vegetable intake and sleep duration.5-27-2024
MONITORING THE H5N1 AVIAN INFLUENZA, BIRD FLU, OUTBREAK
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to actively monitor the ongoing outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza, also known as bird flu, and says that the public health risk remains low. Dr. Matthew Binnicker, director of the Clinical Virology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic, says scientists and public health officials have known about avian influenza for decades. “What’s different today is that since 2020, we’re seeing the largest outbreak of avian influenza among wild birds, poultry and backyard bird flocks,” he says. “The virus has also been found in certain5-27-2024
INTERNATIONAL STUDY REVEALS SURPRISING TWIST IN HOW DIABETES DRUGS HELP THE HEART
A randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial has revealed surprising new insights into how SGLT2 inhibitor drugs, originally developed for diabetes, benefit patients with heart failure. Contrary to common assumptions, these drugs may improve cardiac outcomes and heart health without acting as diuretics. Heart failure is a condition where the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body’s demands, often leading to fluid5-27-2024
FIRST SEIZURE CLINICS REDUCE THE NEED FOR FUTURE HEALTH CARE, RESEARCHERS FIND
Clinics specializing in first seizures reduce the need for patients to present at emergency departments or be admitted to hospital later, Monash University-led research has found. Timely attendance, particularly within 14 days of the seizure, was associated with reduced subsequent all-cause emergency presentations and all-cause hospital admission. Later hospital admissions were reduced by about 25%. First author Dr. Yingtong Li, an adjunct5-27-2024
CELL-TARGETING TECHNOLOGY CAN ISOLATE NEURONAL SUBPOPULATIONS AND LINK THEM TO BEHAVIORAL STATES
As gene sequencing technologies become more powerful, our understanding of cellular diversity has grown in parallel. This led scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to5-27-2024
WATCH OUT FOR THESE HIGH HEAT DANGER SIGNS
Climate change is pushing daytime summer temperatures higher for longer periods of time, and that can spell real danger for folks who work outside, like gardeners and landscapers. Protecting yourself in the heat and knowing the warning signs of heat-related illness is crucial, said Chris Enroth, horticulture educator at University of Illinois Extension. He should know: It happened to him. “When I was working as a landscaper, we had to sod a large backyard during a day when the temperature was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit,” Enroth said. “We were hustling5-27-2024
STAY SAFE FROM THE SUN AND THAT BACKYARD GRILL THIS MEMORIAL DAY
Memorial Day means firing up that backyard grill for the season, hopefully under warm, sunny skies. You can be sure to enjoy the day without hazards by taking a few simple precautions, said Dr. Mike Ren, an associate professor of family and community medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Watch out for rising heat and humidity If Memorial day is a scorcher, hydration is key, Ren said. “A good rule of thumb is to drink water regularly throughout the day, aiming for 12 or more cups; when in5-27-2024
HAD A JOINT REPLACED? STUDY SUGGESTS INFECTION RISK MAY RISE AFTER CHEMOTHERAPY
If you’re one of the millions of Americans walking around with a new knee or hip, your odds for an infection in that joint rise if you ever have to undergo cancer chemotherapy, researchers report. “Given the number of people of receiving total joint replacements each year, as well as the cost both physically, emotionally and financially for those who develop an infection and may need subsequent treatment, we need to understand what factors may increase the risk for postoperative infections,” said study author Dr. Janet Conway. She’s an orthopedic5-27-2024
ANTIHYPERTENSIVES LINKED TO ECZEMATOUS DERMATITIS IN SENIORS, STUDY FINDS
Antihypertensive drugs are associated with an increased risk for eczematous dermatitis in older adults, and the effect sizes are largest for diuretics and calcium channel blockers, whether antihypertensive drug use is associated with eczematous dermatitis in a longitudinal cohort study of individuals aged 60 years and older without eczematous dermatitis at baseline. The researchers found that the overall prevalence of eczematous dermatitis was 6.7% among 1,561,3585-27-2024
RESEARCH INDICATES KIDNEYS FROM DECEASED DONORS WHO WERE ON DIALYSIS ARE SUBOPTIMAL
Receipt of a kidney from a deceased donor who underwent dialysis is associated with an increased incidence of delayed graft function, compared outcomes of transplant recipients who received kidneys from deceased donors who underwent dialysis prior to kidney donation versus recipients of kidneys from deceased donors who did not undergo dialysis in a retrospective cohort study using data from 58 U.S. organ procurement organizations. Among the donors with5-27-2024
NEW THERAPY PROVEN EFFECTIVE AGAINST REJECTION IN KIDNEY TRANSPLANTATION
Antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) is one of the most common causes of kidney transplant failure. To date, however, no treatment has proven effective in combating this complication in the long term. As part of an international and multidisciplinary clinical study led by Georg Böhmig and Katharina Mayer, Clinical Division of Nephrology and Dialysis, Department of Medicine III at MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna, a new therapeutic principle in transplant medicine has been found to be both safe and highly effective. The results were recently published in the New England Journal5-27-2024
SHARJAH UNIVERSITY PATENTS APPLICATION FOR DISTANCE COVID-19 DIAGNOSIS
Smart Identification of Health Status based on QR Code and User Health Data. Credit: author’s own creation The University of Sharjah has been granted a patent for inventing a smart gadget with the ability to filter user information that will allow doctors to diagnose COVID-19 and other ailments from a distance. The patent, granted by United States Patent and Trademark Office on 1 August 2023, comprises “a display unit, a color code detection unit, an image filter, an optical character recognition unit, a code detection unit and an elimination unit,”5-27-2024
STUDY REVEALS WHERE DELAYS ARE WORST
When it comes to responding to a stroke, speed is a crucial factor; the longer it takes for someone experiencing a stroke to get to a hospital, the worse the outcome will be. Yet across the United States, delays to treatment can be significant. A Yale study uncovers new insights into factors associated with treatment delays and where in the United States patients are more likely to experience slower responses. The findings, which were published May 24 in the journal Stroke, highlight where interventions shouldNEW STUDY SHOWS HEAT WAVES INCREASE RISK OF PRETERM, EARLY-TERM BIRTH
The increased frequency and intensity of heat waves due to climate change puts women at a higher risk of experiencing preterm and early-term labor—jeopardizing the health and well-being of their babies. An analysis of 53 million births that occurred in the 50 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas during the 25-year period 1993–2017, showed5-27-2024
NOISE-CANCELLING HEADPHONES, EARPLUGS AND EARMUFFS—DO THEY REALLY HELP NEURODIVERGENT PEOPLE?
Noise can make it hard to concentrate, especially for people who are extra sensitive to it. Neurodivergent people (such as those who are autistic or have attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder—ADHD) can experience different sensory sensitivities. Their nervous system may process information differently when they are exposed to sensory experiences such as bright lights, loud noise, strong smells or busy environments. Decreased sound tolerance is estimated to affect up to 70% of autistic people and is described in three ways: hyperacusis (perceiving everyday sounds as loud or painful), misophonia (an aversion to5-27-2024
MASSACHUSETTS SHELLS OUT NEARLY $400,000 FOR VACCINE RECORD CHECKS IN STATE-RUN SHELTERS
State officials have pumped nearly $400,000 into a program to review the vaccine records of families entering the emergency shelter system, including migrants from other countries who may have foreign documentation, according to the Healey administration. Officials at Boston-based John Snow, Inc., which has long worked with the state, have been contracted to review immunization documents. Since January, more than 1,200 children in state-run shelters have had their records checked, according to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, or HHS. Vaccine record checks have occurred since September 20235-27-2024
LAWSUIT ACCUSES FLORIDA’S PALM BEACH COUNTY HOSPITAL NETWORK OF SHARING PATIENTS’ PRIVATE DATA
The Palm Beach Health Network has become the latest health provider accused of illegally sharing identities and private health information of its patients with the social media company Meta, owner of Facebook. A lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach says the health network’s websites share code with Meta that enables patients to be targeted with advertising on Facebook based on “highly sensitive personal information” they share. It names as defendants the Palm Beach Health Network Physicians Group, doing business as Palm Beach Health Network, and5-27-2024
CAN THE PLACEMENT OF DENTAL IMPLANTS IN HEAD AND NECK CANCER PATIENTS BE DONE BEFORE RADIATION THERAPY?
Globally, head and neck cancer accounts for 5% of all cancer types, with a mortality rate of 50%. However, in the Nordic countries, head and neck cancer accounts for only 2.6% of all cancers, with a mortality rate of just 30%. But more survivors mean that many must live with extensive damage and side effects5-27-2024
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RESEARCHERS EVALUATE IMPACT OF NEW FILM’S MESSAGE ON CHILDREN’S AND ADULTS’ BODY IMAGE, SELF-COMPASSION
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Data Collection in the War-Affected Donetsk Region and Non-War Kirovograd Region. A new study carried out by a multinational research group showed high levels of suicidal thoughts and attempts in adolescents, which were strongly associated with wartime traumatic experiences, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety. Dr. Sanju Silwal from the Research Center for Child Psychiatry in the University of Turku, Finland, one of the lead authors, says that the study was conducted in two regions that5-27-2024
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WHO SEEKS $7 BN WITH FUND-RAISING REVAMP
The World Health Organization launched Sunday a new financing mechanism that aims to raise $7 billion of funds that can be deployed more quickly and flexibly. The UN agency has traditionally relied on commitments from its 194 member states, but often these are apportioned to specific projects with several conditions attached, including deadlines that can prove too short. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said commitment increases would contribute $4 billion to the agency’s budget of $11.1 billion over the four years through 2028. “The Investment Round aims to mobilize the5-27-2024
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Scanning electron microscope image of Vibrio cholerae. Credit: Wikipedia A 62-year-old woman has died of cholera in Mayotte, bringing to two the death toll from the epidemic on the French island in the Indian Ocean, health authorities said on Sunday. The woman died on Saturday at her home in Mamoudzou, the capital, the ARS health authority said in a statement. “Response teams went to the scene to disinfect the home and take care of the deceased’s family and friends”, the statement added. In May, the disease claimed its first life5-27-2024
ALTERING CELLULAR INTERACTIONS AROUND AMYLOID PLAQUES MAY OFFER NOVEL ALZHEIMER’S TREATMENT STRATEGIES
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BRAIN DAMAGE STUDY REVEALS PART OF THE BRAIN NECESSARY FOR HELPING OTHERS
Our willingness to help others is governed by a specific brain region pinpointed by researchers in a study of patients with brain damage to that region. Learning about where in the brain “helping” decisions are made is important for understanding how people might be motivated to tackle large global challenges, such as climate change, infectious disease and international conflict. It is also essential for finding new approaches to treating disorders of social interactions. The study, published in Nature Human Behaviour, was carried out by researchers at the University of Birmingham5-27-2024
IMPROVING AI LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS HELPS THEM BETTER ALIGN WITH HUMAN BRAIN ACTIVITY
NSP as a computational account of discourse comprehension. (A) Humans integrate words and sentences to achieve a full understanding of discourse. In LLMs, the NSP task proposed by BERT can serve as a computational account of human discourse comprehension. (B) Illustration of the MLM task. (C) Illustration of the NSP task and its relevance to the Mason and Just model. (D) Illustration of Mason and Just’s neurocognitive model of discourse processing. Credit: Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adn7744 With generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) transforming the social interaction landscape in recent years,5-27-2024
STUDY EXAMINES METABOLIC REPROGRAMMING OF BREAST CANCER TUMORS DURING NEOADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY
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RESEARCHERS EXAMINE EVIDENCE FOR A NOVEL NEURONAL MECHANISM DRIVING ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
An international team of clinicians and neuroscientists have published a new perspective on the process of neurodegeneration. Their findings review evidence for a mechanism upstream of amyloid including the key neurochemical driving this process. The paper, published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, focuses on a selective group of neurons (“the isodendritic core”). These cells have a different provenance from neurons in the rest of the brain and have previously been identified as primarilyThe research, by a team from Finland’s University of Helsinki, National Institute for Health and Welfare, and Turku University of Applied Sciences, is published in
5-27-2024
WHO CHIEF URGES COUNTRIES TO QUICKLY SEAL PANDEMIC DEAL
WHO countries have spent two years seeking an agreement on tackling pandemics. The World Health Organization chief on Monday urged countries to nail down a landmark global agreement on handling of future pandemics after they missed a hard deadline. Scarred by COVID-19—which killed millions, shredded economies and crippled health systems—nations have spent two years trying to forge binding commitments on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. Negotiators failed to clinch a deal ahead of this week’s World Health Assembly—the annual gathering of WHO’s 194 member states—the deadline for concluding the talks.5-27-2024
STUDY DEMONSTRATES HOW GUT MICROBES PROCESS STEROIDS—USING FLATULENCE
It turns out flatulence can serve a purpose beyond being uncomfortable or funny: Gas released by some gut bacteria stimulates other gut bacteria to produce a hormone involved in pregnancy and in an FDA-approved treatment for postpartum depression, according to new research led by Harvard Medical School scientists. The work shows how gut bacteria can produce new hormones from steroids in bile and, in doing so, act like an endocrine organ. This research adds to the growing list of ways gut microbiota may influence human5-27-2024
PHYSICAL FRAILTY MAY PUT PEOPLE AT GREATER RISK OF DEPRESSION, STUDY FINDS
Individuals who meet at least one of the criteria for physical frailty are at higher risk of also developing depression, a new Yale study finds. The findings—which also include insights into the specific inflammatory molecules and changes in brain structure that could underlie this association between frailty and depression—point to a need for routine assessment of physical frailty in clinical practice, researchers said. The study was published May 23 in Nature Communications. In clinical settings, physical5-27-2024
RESEARCH TEAM RESOLVES STRUCTURE OF CRUCIAL ENZYME FOR THE FIRST TIME
For the first time, a team co-led by CHU Sainte-Justine researcher and professor in the Faculty of Medicine at Université de Montréal, Alexey Pshezhetsky has succeeded in resolving the unique structure of the HGSNAT enzyme, a deficiency of which causes Sanfilippo syndrome, a rare pediatric disease affecting the central nervous system. Through collaboration with a team from Shanghai University, the structure of this enzyme and the mechanism of its function were revealed using high-performance2024.05.29 00:32 DukeOfDerpington Duality of Prey-Chapter 12
Huge shout out to u/ryguy637 & u/-Eterox for helping with Brainstorming and Co-Writing this.
As always, all credits for the original Nature of Predators and it's content goes to Space Paladin15, thank him for allowing artist and writers to use his original work of art for their own uses.
Gaian Ref Sheet-Here, Done by the artist u/Roddcherry
As well as a *Huge* thank you for Julian Sky's for filling in for being an editor again for this chapter! This chapter will be pulling away from the subject memory transcription, instead exploring one of the new regions within the Venian Commonwealth. The "Dark Corner"
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"This program is a special update to the Thafki Advocacy’s situation on their new home world, Ayzife. Originally we here at WTWN had done a piece a couple of years back towards the last days of the War, and now we wanted to send one of our reporters to find out- has anything changed? With that, we'll let Rux Limpbut take it away for this one. And please do be aware, user discretion is advised.”
The date of my arrival to Ayzife, the new Thafki homeworld, had arrived. It was a part formally called by our government the “New Re-Seeding Sector”, but It had gained a painful nickname as quickly as it was given its government one. “The Dark Corner”.
A group of Thafki, listless and confused, is shown, as a small group of Gaians seem to herd them back into a recently finished project. A Gaian man is showing us around, telling us of the hardships, his face has been blurred for their safety.
“What am I to do?” The thick Mountaineer accent rang out from the man’s scarred face. He was one of the first officers that had come across the cattle ranches and the true extent of the horror that laid within them. “The adults can't speak, they can't learn. The children are really the only hope…” his accented voice trails off as he checked within some of the residences, some of the seemingly adult Thafki, stunted and confused, are being hand fed. They do not respond to any orders, at least not to ones in any other language except that of the prey killers, or that of our Horned and able bodied Sister species.
The children are crowded around their parents, speaking in a mix of Thafki and a Piggish- like squealing imitation of Arxur. One approaches me and the cameraman, asking us a question.
“Savageness?” They eek out. Compared to the parents, the children seem blissfully unaware to what they or what their loved ones went through, their eyes shining brightly, even if they're glazed over in a mountain of unrealized horror. Our guide calls over a shabbily dressed Thafki, in an overly large uniform. Hand-me-downs from our sister species. It has been hemmed to solgalik and back, but it was still painfully apparent that it barely fit comfortably.
The Thafki, as I was to learn later, “Guzifi” or police, takes the child away and back into the building we peered into. Our cameraman zooms into the back of their necks, a painfully visible barcode and scratched in number can be seen. I stand aghast, before our guide comes back to us, his eyes sullen and shrunken into his head, hammered with fatigue.
“As I was saying…*most* of them can't do anything. But the ones like Curzix there-” he gestures to the man, who is now knelt down, stroking the child's hair, a faint giggle echoing in the sparse abode “-He escaped early into his stint, it hardened him. He was one of the first to sign up once we finished the terraforming process at the beginning of this year.”
We are hurried on, “Curzix” soon rejoins us as we continue to inspect and report. Only months ago this entire section we were in was a barren wasteland, only recently finished terraforming. Now? It's crammed with tightly knit buildings, services, and other amenities. But it's not enough. “Reservists” from our Sister species, as they called them, are the majority of people dealing with the Thafki here, only a handful of Guzifi are to be seen amongst the crowds and herd of broken.
Soon we find ourselves in a “rehabilitation” facility, so to speak, the local baker is the first to greet us, head to toe in traditional thafkian garb, and a small basket of baked goods they had made earlier this morning. She gestures for us to take some, which me and the cameraman do.
“And this-” the Provincial-Governor who had been tailing with us begins, before the Thafki finishes for him
“I'm Zaifi.” She sticks her hand out, and I do the same in kind. I quickly noted that she seemed to be the only light in this icker of dark, bitter sadness that assuaged us. She turns around and begins to wander through the halls as we begin to trail behind her, questions outpouring.
“Are you one of the Free Thafkis that came here?” I ask, she nods in response while clearing her throat..
“Yes. I might be one of the few to even go so far as to say my life's been better since I came here.” She responds. I nod along, taking her words in as I take a bite of the customary “Cionn” bread.
It's one of the signs of the Thafki Advocacy's-now Thafki Republic-Efforts to Re-Seeding their culture and themselves. I'm later told it's an offshoot of a more savory dinner bread, softer and less sweet called Uniffin'Dath, although I'm also told that that type of bread is used in conjunction with Striou (not Strayu) soup.
While I do so, however, I take glances behind me and to the sides of me. Behind me, the Gaian Sector-Governor, Halim and the Thafki Republic’s first Councilor, Ralikenn are having a heated discussion. Something our camera notices as he increases the sensitivity on the recording equipment.
“...I can't believe you all….a junta that…” are the words picked up from Ralikenn, as Halim begins to frown heavily, and begins to speak back.
“... Can't you… supplies arrived…” The discussion continues as Zaifi grabs my attention, the cameraman I'm with peering into the doors we pass by.
The camera pans to Thafki children, in various states of appearance, are sat down in school desks. At the front of their rooms either a Gaian or Thafki teacher can be seen, teaching anything from their language, their dress code, etiquette and more. Soon the camera pans back to Rux and Zaifi.
“So while I serve the food here, I also try and show them the history of us and our resilient culture through it. The background of it, how it came to be and how it weaves with us.” Zaifi continues as we walk down the hallway, she veers off into one of the rooms, and hesitantly I follow.
The inside was quite well worn for how new the building was, already indentations, marks, and other scratches and scuffs could be seen. Signs of hard work and labor, something that is unsurprising considering Zaifi and her duties. As she begins to work, it's time for me to ask her about her thoughts on the situation.
“Compared to the last couple of decades, where do you think your species is at now? I mean, a lot has changed. From being a species with the large portion of your population being cattle to now having a government and world handed to you, it's got to be a bit jarring?”
Zaifi nods, the trademark pearls on a brooch around her neck click and clack gently together, the synthetic pearls a sign of what the Advocacy group had been able to hold on to throughout the centuries.
“Well-” she starts off, as she begins to knead a greenish-blue dough on the distinctly brown work surface, the faint smell of Saltwine being smelt from where I was standing. “I wish we got a welcome, as good as the Paltans and the Gaians gave us. I mean, they split half and half on things here and there around the village!”
The camera pans around the room, bits and baubles of Zaifi’s own life being dotted around it. A bottle or two of sea wine, a basket of synthetic pearls, hints of oceanic theming bedazzle the room.
Zaifi begins to portion out the Bread-a serving of Cionn. A serving of the more savory Uniffin'Dath. Both are seasoned with a spice that is only rarely mentioned in some cookbooks, “Izuzdath.” The process is lively, a stark contrast to last year's report at a holding world as they finished terraforming here.
If you were to have told me that a Thafki would be smiling while knee deep in this grime that is misery, I would've called you a liar. But apparently…
“So how long have you been around here? Or rather should I say, with the herd?” I ask. It causes Zaifi to stop and look at the basket of pearls. Each of them are inscribed with a loved or close one that died, and the date on which they did so. Many of them aren't her relatives, rather they are the few Thafki she has bonded with while staying here.
“Physically? Only…a year or two. But mentally-” The dull sound of the bread being put upon a pre-oiled stone, an smoothed coral stone no less, echoed softly while the grinding of such a stone sliding into one of the waiting ovens as it did so was a stark contrast. The clasp of the oven door closing caused her to turn back to us. She sighs as she pats down her apron.
“Centuries. I guess we grew accustomed to being the odd ones out. Now that my herd- my people, have a place to call their own…” She is sullen for a moment, before her eyes meet the window, overlooking a courtyard. The smile reappears just as quickly as it disappeared.
“Ya know. I'll take this for now, the funniest thing ya know-” she gestures to me to come over and look. The courtyard has a simple watery filled pit. A “pool” as our sister species had dubbed it, seemed to be the eye and star of this little facility, at least for the attendee's. A whole gaggle of Thafki children, in a wardrobe of mismatched, shabby clothing suited for the water could be seen as they ran about it. What I could only assume was their teacher watched over them.
“Your saplings are quite the good match. Even they seem to want to bring the water to themselves sometimes.” She says to herself now in a far more reassured tone. As I begin to smile myself, just a little, a tap is felt on my shoulder. It's Curzix, the Guzifi that has been assigned to us.
The camera now zooms out from the pool and the other recreational activities happening in the center of the U-shaped facility, and turns around quickly, now focusing on Rux and Curzix.
“We'll we're ready to go when you are, you all wanted to get the full experience yeah?” Curzix stuffs his paws into the oversized and hemmed coats pockets, the armband with the symbol of Guzifi. He meanders off as we begin to follow him, I say my goodbyes to Zaifi, and she returns them in kind as we are led back out of the hallway.
We start off now checking the facility in depth, taken into one classroom in particular. It is here that our cameraman points out something peculiar. The extreme range of coloring in the Thafki children here. Looking past numerous ranch markings, numbering, and a word inscribed on the arm of each in the Ruinous Lizards language, the Thafki children are striking.
The camera makes cuts to each of the Thafki children in the room. The variety of blues is numerous. Some are in a vibrant luscious blue, other ones have a dull, greyer one. And yet these are the least eye-catching ones. Some have sporadic spots. Some have a sickly greenish blue hue. And yet some are completely devoid of their regular blue, replaced with a dull brown. The camera now returns to overlooking the entirety of the room from the doorway.
As I entered the room the teacher, who had requested that their face be blurred, comes to me and shakes my hand. They gesture to the Thafki pupils, who are in varied state of affairs. Some of them are paying attention, while others are far more focused on their desks or some portion of the wall.
“You came in at a good time, we're trying to teach them Thafki. It's been a bit of a struggle, but we've been making some slow and small progress.” the teacher comes alongside one of the brightly colored pupils, resting their hand gently on their shoulder. The child flinches for a bit, expecting something as they tense up, before they relax.
“Are they a handful?” I ask to the teacher as they themselves point onto a piece of paper in front of the pup, pointing something out
“From time to time. But whenever the horned fellows come along they calm down quite a bit.” the Thafki’s eyes dart occasionally from the paper on the desk to the doorway behind us, looking back shows the Sector-Governor that has been with us this entire time.
The last time we had visited a rehabilitation center-albeit it was just after the war had wrapped up-the facility was in a far more ramshackle situation compared to now, but while the situation is improving, there's still more to do.
With our little visit to the center done our entourage made our way outside. As we did so a rumbler, an armored vehicle used by our other half, came rolling by. A gaggle of Thafki on it, a Gaian within the group giving us a glance as they went by.
It's here where the uncomfortable nature and scandalous portion of the Re-Seeding comes in. The Laborer gangs, seen as a solution to perceived laziness on Ayzife from some of the Ex-Cattle. The concept is basic and rudimentary both in premise and execution, anything simple is offered up to the gangs first, before giving up to the more general labor sections assigned to the planet.
We keep trudging along, the plethora of buildings being assembled or constructed is numerous along the trail we're taking. Along our way, Ralikenn begins to talk about how far they've come in such a short time span. He gestures to the buildings before he begins to speak.
“All of this-” Our cameraman moves and angles his camera to the row of unfinished buildings, in various states of construction. “In just about a year, it's nearly unbelievable to be honest. I had, tearfully, resigned myself to a forgone conclusion to our species. But now?-” They begin to tear up clearly overwhelmed at this point, they attempt to speak but all that happens is their mouth staying agape for mere moments, before closing and just shaking their head.
And yet there's still more to see. More to do and more to make right. I only hope we can do it in time, as a herd.
submitted by DukeOfDerpington to NatureofPredators [link] [comments]
As always, all credits for the original Nature of Predators and it's content goes to Space Paladin15, thank him for allowing artist and writers to use his original work of art for their own uses.
Gaian Ref Sheet-Here, Done by the artist u/Roddcherry
As well as a *Huge* thank you for Julian Sky's for filling in for being an editor again for this chapter! This chapter will be pulling away from the subject memory transcription, instead exploring one of the new regions within the Venian Commonwealth. The "Dark Corner"
The date of my arrival to Ayzife, the new Thafki homeworld, had arrived. It was a part formally called by our government the “New Re-Seeding Sector”, but It had gained a painful nickname as quickly as it was given its government one. “The Dark Corner”.
A group of Thafki, listless and confused, is shown, as a small group of Gaians seem to herd them back into a recently finished project. A Gaian man is showing us around, telling us of the hardships, his face has been blurred for their safety.
“What am I to do?” The thick Mountaineer accent rang out from the man’s scarred face. He was one of the first officers that had come across the cattle ranches and the true extent of the horror that laid within them. “The adults can't speak, they can't learn. The children are really the only hope…” his accented voice trails off as he checked within some of the residences, some of the seemingly adult Thafki, stunted and confused, are being hand fed. They do not respond to any orders, at least not to ones in any other language except that of the prey killers, or that of our Horned and able bodied Sister species.
The children are crowded around their parents, speaking in a mix of Thafki and a Piggish- like squealing imitation of Arxur. One approaches me and the cameraman, asking us a question.
“Savageness?” They eek out. Compared to the parents, the children seem blissfully unaware to what they or what their loved ones went through, their eyes shining brightly, even if they're glazed over in a mountain of unrealized horror. Our guide calls over a shabbily dressed Thafki, in an overly large uniform. Hand-me-downs from our sister species. It has been hemmed to solgalik and back, but it was still painfully apparent that it barely fit comfortably.
The Thafki, as I was to learn later, “Guzifi” or police, takes the child away and back into the building we peered into. Our cameraman zooms into the back of their necks, a painfully visible barcode and scratched in number can be seen. I stand aghast, before our guide comes back to us, his eyes sullen and shrunken into his head, hammered with fatigue.
“As I was saying…*most* of them can't do anything. But the ones like Curzix there-” he gestures to the man, who is now knelt down, stroking the child's hair, a faint giggle echoing in the sparse abode “-He escaped early into his stint, it hardened him. He was one of the first to sign up once we finished the terraforming process at the beginning of this year.”
We are hurried on, “Curzix” soon rejoins us as we continue to inspect and report. Only months ago this entire section we were in was a barren wasteland, only recently finished terraforming. Now? It's crammed with tightly knit buildings, services, and other amenities. But it's not enough. “Reservists” from our Sister species, as they called them, are the majority of people dealing with the Thafki here, only a handful of Guzifi are to be seen amongst the crowds and herd of broken.
Soon we find ourselves in a “rehabilitation” facility, so to speak, the local baker is the first to greet us, head to toe in traditional thafkian garb, and a small basket of baked goods they had made earlier this morning. She gestures for us to take some, which me and the cameraman do.
“And this-” the Provincial-Governor who had been tailing with us begins, before the Thafki finishes for him
“I'm Zaifi.” She sticks her hand out, and I do the same in kind. I quickly noted that she seemed to be the only light in this icker of dark, bitter sadness that assuaged us. She turns around and begins to wander through the halls as we begin to trail behind her, questions outpouring.
“Are you one of the Free Thafkis that came here?” I ask, she nods in response while clearing her throat..
“Yes. I might be one of the few to even go so far as to say my life's been better since I came here.” She responds. I nod along, taking her words in as I take a bite of the customary “Cionn” bread.
It's one of the signs of the Thafki Advocacy's-now Thafki Republic-Efforts to Re-Seeding their culture and themselves. I'm later told it's an offshoot of a more savory dinner bread, softer and less sweet called Uniffin'Dath, although I'm also told that that type of bread is used in conjunction with Striou (not Strayu) soup.
While I do so, however, I take glances behind me and to the sides of me. Behind me, the Gaian Sector-Governor, Halim and the Thafki Republic’s first Councilor, Ralikenn are having a heated discussion. Something our camera notices as he increases the sensitivity on the recording equipment.
“...I can't believe you all….a junta that…” are the words picked up from Ralikenn, as Halim begins to frown heavily, and begins to speak back.
“... Can't you… supplies arrived…” The discussion continues as Zaifi grabs my attention, the cameraman I'm with peering into the doors we pass by.
The camera pans to Thafki children, in various states of appearance, are sat down in school desks. At the front of their rooms either a Gaian or Thafki teacher can be seen, teaching anything from their language, their dress code, etiquette and more. Soon the camera pans back to Rux and Zaifi.
“So while I serve the food here, I also try and show them the history of us and our resilient culture through it. The background of it, how it came to be and how it weaves with us.” Zaifi continues as we walk down the hallway, she veers off into one of the rooms, and hesitantly I follow.
The inside was quite well worn for how new the building was, already indentations, marks, and other scratches and scuffs could be seen. Signs of hard work and labor, something that is unsurprising considering Zaifi and her duties. As she begins to work, it's time for me to ask her about her thoughts on the situation.
“Compared to the last couple of decades, where do you think your species is at now? I mean, a lot has changed. From being a species with the large portion of your population being cattle to now having a government and world handed to you, it's got to be a bit jarring?”
Zaifi nods, the trademark pearls on a brooch around her neck click and clack gently together, the synthetic pearls a sign of what the Advocacy group had been able to hold on to throughout the centuries.
“Well-” she starts off, as she begins to knead a greenish-blue dough on the distinctly brown work surface, the faint smell of Saltwine being smelt from where I was standing. “I wish we got a welcome, as good as the Paltans and the Gaians gave us. I mean, they split half and half on things here and there around the village!”
The camera pans around the room, bits and baubles of Zaifi’s own life being dotted around it. A bottle or two of sea wine, a basket of synthetic pearls, hints of oceanic theming bedazzle the room.
Zaifi begins to portion out the Bread-a serving of Cionn. A serving of the more savory Uniffin'Dath. Both are seasoned with a spice that is only rarely mentioned in some cookbooks, “Izuzdath.” The process is lively, a stark contrast to last year's report at a holding world as they finished terraforming here.
If you were to have told me that a Thafki would be smiling while knee deep in this grime that is misery, I would've called you a liar. But apparently…
“So how long have you been around here? Or rather should I say, with the herd?” I ask. It causes Zaifi to stop and look at the basket of pearls. Each of them are inscribed with a loved or close one that died, and the date on which they did so. Many of them aren't her relatives, rather they are the few Thafki she has bonded with while staying here.
“Physically? Only…a year or two. But mentally-” The dull sound of the bread being put upon a pre-oiled stone, an smoothed coral stone no less, echoed softly while the grinding of such a stone sliding into one of the waiting ovens as it did so was a stark contrast. The clasp of the oven door closing caused her to turn back to us. She sighs as she pats down her apron.
“Centuries. I guess we grew accustomed to being the odd ones out. Now that my herd- my people, have a place to call their own…” She is sullen for a moment, before her eyes meet the window, overlooking a courtyard. The smile reappears just as quickly as it disappeared.
“Ya know. I'll take this for now, the funniest thing ya know-” she gestures to me to come over and look. The courtyard has a simple watery filled pit. A “pool” as our sister species had dubbed it, seemed to be the eye and star of this little facility, at least for the attendee's. A whole gaggle of Thafki children, in a wardrobe of mismatched, shabby clothing suited for the water could be seen as they ran about it. What I could only assume was their teacher watched over them.
“Your saplings are quite the good match. Even they seem to want to bring the water to themselves sometimes.” She says to herself now in a far more reassured tone. As I begin to smile myself, just a little, a tap is felt on my shoulder. It's Curzix, the Guzifi that has been assigned to us.
The camera now zooms out from the pool and the other recreational activities happening in the center of the U-shaped facility, and turns around quickly, now focusing on Rux and Curzix.
“We'll we're ready to go when you are, you all wanted to get the full experience yeah?” Curzix stuffs his paws into the oversized and hemmed coats pockets, the armband with the symbol of Guzifi. He meanders off as we begin to follow him, I say my goodbyes to Zaifi, and she returns them in kind as we are led back out of the hallway.
We start off now checking the facility in depth, taken into one classroom in particular. It is here that our cameraman points out something peculiar. The extreme range of coloring in the Thafki children here. Looking past numerous ranch markings, numbering, and a word inscribed on the arm of each in the Ruinous Lizards language, the Thafki children are striking.
The camera makes cuts to each of the Thafki children in the room. The variety of blues is numerous. Some are in a vibrant luscious blue, other ones have a dull, greyer one. And yet these are the least eye-catching ones. Some have sporadic spots. Some have a sickly greenish blue hue. And yet some are completely devoid of their regular blue, replaced with a dull brown. The camera now returns to overlooking the entirety of the room from the doorway.
As I entered the room the teacher, who had requested that their face be blurred, comes to me and shakes my hand. They gesture to the Thafki pupils, who are in varied state of affairs. Some of them are paying attention, while others are far more focused on their desks or some portion of the wall.
“You came in at a good time, we're trying to teach them Thafki. It's been a bit of a struggle, but we've been making some slow and small progress.” the teacher comes alongside one of the brightly colored pupils, resting their hand gently on their shoulder. The child flinches for a bit, expecting something as they tense up, before they relax.
“Are they a handful?” I ask to the teacher as they themselves point onto a piece of paper in front of the pup, pointing something out
“From time to time. But whenever the horned fellows come along they calm down quite a bit.” the Thafki’s eyes dart occasionally from the paper on the desk to the doorway behind us, looking back shows the Sector-Governor that has been with us this entire time.
The last time we had visited a rehabilitation center-albeit it was just after the war had wrapped up-the facility was in a far more ramshackle situation compared to now, but while the situation is improving, there's still more to do.
With our little visit to the center done our entourage made our way outside. As we did so a rumbler, an armored vehicle used by our other half, came rolling by. A gaggle of Thafki on it, a Gaian within the group giving us a glance as they went by.
It's here where the uncomfortable nature and scandalous portion of the Re-Seeding comes in. The Laborer gangs, seen as a solution to perceived laziness on Ayzife from some of the Ex-Cattle. The concept is basic and rudimentary both in premise and execution, anything simple is offered up to the gangs first, before giving up to the more general labor sections assigned to the planet.
We keep trudging along, the plethora of buildings being assembled or constructed is numerous along the trail we're taking. Along our way, Ralikenn begins to talk about how far they've come in such a short time span. He gestures to the buildings before he begins to speak.
“All of this-” Our cameraman moves and angles his camera to the row of unfinished buildings, in various states of construction. “In just about a year, it's nearly unbelievable to be honest. I had, tearfully, resigned myself to a forgone conclusion to our species. But now?-” They begin to tear up clearly overwhelmed at this point, they attempt to speak but all that happens is their mouth staying agape for mere moments, before closing and just shaking their head.
And yet there's still more to see. More to do and more to make right. I only hope we can do it in time, as a herd.
2024.05.28 23:20 3rdAssaultBrigade I hate my early life that transformed me into a doomer
I've lived for more than two decades, but I still think my story that started from a nameless tiny town in China was like an unbelievable story filled with an unexplainable sense of asphyxiation. Maybe if you're a foreigner, you may lost your Orientalist illusion of a mysterious Eastern Country by reading this text. It's real life, the BLOODY life from the first view account of some really traumatized person.
I was born in an isolated town in China, where the society was semi-primitive (populated by several large clans in the surrounding villages). My parents were hyper-conservative and an absolute fit of Asian parent stereotypes: obsessed with over-education and hyper-paranoid. When I was young, I was forbidden to play with other kids in the community, for fear that I'd be run over by a car or be kidnapped. I've literally lost the critical period of learning how to deal with others, that's probably why I never learned how to socialize properly.
Just like stereotyped, they invested a ton in my education. I started to learn English even before I could speak Mandarin properly (despite my mom trying to speak Mandarin at home to reduce the influence of dialect on me, my speaking is still heavily influenced by dialect speakers since my environment has barely a Mandarin speaker).
My very first "memory" of this world is about kindergarten. I never appreciated it. Instead, I thought that life in Kindergarten was the first torment for me in my life. I still remember the dystopian and surreal architecture, being a repulsive conglomerate of artificially, unnatural colored Kindergarten compounds (based on the false assumption that kids love highly saturated, colorful things) surrounded by faded Soviet-style buildings with aluminum chimneys. After nearly 20 years I revisited my kindergarten and the nearly unchanged architecture reminded me about the reproduction facility that runs Bokanovsky's process in Huxley's book Brave New World. I saw the lawn where kids massacred ants and bugs by various means for fun.
Our family moved to a relatively bigger city before I was admitted to primary school. My entire time in primary school was filled with bullying and sarcasm. The first time I was bullied was when I lost my first deciduous tooth. Other pupils never know this process and regarded me as an outcast from the group. They even suspected me of having Down's syndrome and started calling me like that. One day when I was walking to the dorm after lunch I was assaulted by a group of pupils that I never knew their name. They grabbed me, hit me, and kicked me for no reason for 30 minutes.
Later I was bullied by other people for no reason and I thought it was because of that I was not strong enough (I have very bad strength and stamina for respiratory problems). I started to retaliate against them with the weapons of WWIV, namely sticks, and rocks. Until 9th grade, I always lived a life like in a warzone. I always need to constantly monitor my flank and my back in case someone will give my head a strong hit by a club. BTW if you think it's my own reason that I've been bullied then you're probably wrong; There were a few incidents in my school where students got fractured in fighting. Even large battles that involved dozens on each side are not uncommon.
I began to have symptoms of traumatization, like inexplicable fear, unable to focus, and frequent flashbacks. I murmured to myself to ease my nervousness and drew random patterns on textbooks and notebooks. My teachers began to question my parents for my misbehavior, and even the dean of my primary school physically assaulted me by kicking me in the butt (the reason for the incident was probably my dad sent me to a forbidden gate of the school). Later the teachers in my middle school even tried to isolate me and another heavily bullied student from other students. It's China, and the implicit rule is always punishing the victim instead of the perpetrator. They call it "stabilization" (维稳).
I never got any medical service on mental health. It's almost a forbidden topic in Chinese society. The first time in my life, when I got a psychologist, was when I studied in a foreign country. She said "kids can be cruel" after hearing about my traumatic stories.
Later the CCP began its massive traditionalist, ultra-nationalist propaganda movement. They tried to instill Confusian "Traditional culture"(传统文化) in schools. One day we were asked to show gratitude to our parents and teachers en masse after a "moving" speech by a renowned "tradition researcher". Many girls even cried. I don't know to whom, and for what should I show gratitude. Why they've chosen to give me life in this world? Had I a choice to terminate my life when I was born, just like Kappa by Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, I'd have it. Why don't have the choice? If it's not my free will to survive all such torments, why I should thank my family, my school, the country and the Mighty CCP?
After I got a phone (my parents restricted my internet access until my 7th grade for fearing my myopia to grow, in vain) I started to view uncensored content like the Tiananmen incident. During my middle school I also read books like 1984 and We by Yevgeny Zamyatin. I realized that we live in a living hell of totalitarianism and social Darwinism, but I have no escape.
In 2017-2019, China began to intensify censorship on internet content, including Anime and games which were almost the only way for me to survive. They also tried to indoctrinate one entire generation with anti-west, xenophobic, and ultranationalistic videos. I found out the Internet, previously a haven for me that could escape real life in virtual joy, was no longer safe. I saw people reposting the disgusting quotes and online comments that pro-ccp (we call them rabbit friends 兔友) people made. They regarded Taiwan and Hong Kong people as subhuman, and the Anglo-Saxon world as needing to be conquered by communism. I began to build up really bad view of this country's common people. If the victims of the nukes were not unguilty for their support of Japanese expansion, what about the Chinese?
Later, the isolation during COVID really aggravated my mental problems. I began self-harming, alcohol consumption, and even was pretty active in my sexual life for a certain period. I have been interested in history since 7th grade, and my favorite historian was Liu Zhongjing. I draw the conclusion that the doom(the prophecy of "the Deluge" 大洪水) was near.
Now I'm studying in a foreign land, but I still cannot get out of the flashbacks and trauma from my life in China. I still have flashbacks when I meet other students from China in the university. With the academical pressure, I'm barely surviving by psychological meds (luckily covered by my health provider) and alcohol.
submitted by 3rdAssaultBrigade to doomer [link] [comments]
I was born in an isolated town in China, where the society was semi-primitive (populated by several large clans in the surrounding villages). My parents were hyper-conservative and an absolute fit of Asian parent stereotypes: obsessed with over-education and hyper-paranoid. When I was young, I was forbidden to play with other kids in the community, for fear that I'd be run over by a car or be kidnapped. I've literally lost the critical period of learning how to deal with others, that's probably why I never learned how to socialize properly.
Just like stereotyped, they invested a ton in my education. I started to learn English even before I could speak Mandarin properly (despite my mom trying to speak Mandarin at home to reduce the influence of dialect on me, my speaking is still heavily influenced by dialect speakers since my environment has barely a Mandarin speaker).
My very first "memory" of this world is about kindergarten. I never appreciated it. Instead, I thought that life in Kindergarten was the first torment for me in my life. I still remember the dystopian and surreal architecture, being a repulsive conglomerate of artificially, unnatural colored Kindergarten compounds (based on the false assumption that kids love highly saturated, colorful things) surrounded by faded Soviet-style buildings with aluminum chimneys. After nearly 20 years I revisited my kindergarten and the nearly unchanged architecture reminded me about the reproduction facility that runs Bokanovsky's process in Huxley's book Brave New World. I saw the lawn where kids massacred ants and bugs by various means for fun.
Our family moved to a relatively bigger city before I was admitted to primary school. My entire time in primary school was filled with bullying and sarcasm. The first time I was bullied was when I lost my first deciduous tooth. Other pupils never know this process and regarded me as an outcast from the group. They even suspected me of having Down's syndrome and started calling me like that. One day when I was walking to the dorm after lunch I was assaulted by a group of pupils that I never knew their name. They grabbed me, hit me, and kicked me for no reason for 30 minutes.
Later I was bullied by other people for no reason and I thought it was because of that I was not strong enough (I have very bad strength and stamina for respiratory problems). I started to retaliate against them with the weapons of WWIV, namely sticks, and rocks. Until 9th grade, I always lived a life like in a warzone. I always need to constantly monitor my flank and my back in case someone will give my head a strong hit by a club. BTW if you think it's my own reason that I've been bullied then you're probably wrong; There were a few incidents in my school where students got fractured in fighting. Even large battles that involved dozens on each side are not uncommon.
I began to have symptoms of traumatization, like inexplicable fear, unable to focus, and frequent flashbacks. I murmured to myself to ease my nervousness and drew random patterns on textbooks and notebooks. My teachers began to question my parents for my misbehavior, and even the dean of my primary school physically assaulted me by kicking me in the butt (the reason for the incident was probably my dad sent me to a forbidden gate of the school). Later the teachers in my middle school even tried to isolate me and another heavily bullied student from other students. It's China, and the implicit rule is always punishing the victim instead of the perpetrator. They call it "stabilization" (维稳).
I never got any medical service on mental health. It's almost a forbidden topic in Chinese society. The first time in my life, when I got a psychologist, was when I studied in a foreign country. She said "kids can be cruel" after hearing about my traumatic stories.
Later the CCP began its massive traditionalist, ultra-nationalist propaganda movement. They tried to instill Confusian "Traditional culture"(传统文化) in schools. One day we were asked to show gratitude to our parents and teachers en masse after a "moving" speech by a renowned "tradition researcher". Many girls even cried. I don't know to whom, and for what should I show gratitude. Why they've chosen to give me life in this world? Had I a choice to terminate my life when I was born, just like Kappa by Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, I'd have it. Why don't have the choice? If it's not my free will to survive all such torments, why I should thank my family, my school, the country and the Mighty CCP?
After I got a phone (my parents restricted my internet access until my 7th grade for fearing my myopia to grow, in vain) I started to view uncensored content like the Tiananmen incident. During my middle school I also read books like 1984 and We by Yevgeny Zamyatin. I realized that we live in a living hell of totalitarianism and social Darwinism, but I have no escape.
In 2017-2019, China began to intensify censorship on internet content, including Anime and games which were almost the only way for me to survive. They also tried to indoctrinate one entire generation with anti-west, xenophobic, and ultranationalistic videos. I found out the Internet, previously a haven for me that could escape real life in virtual joy, was no longer safe. I saw people reposting the disgusting quotes and online comments that pro-ccp (we call them rabbit friends 兔友) people made. They regarded Taiwan and Hong Kong people as subhuman, and the Anglo-Saxon world as needing to be conquered by communism. I began to build up really bad view of this country's common people. If the victims of the nukes were not unguilty for their support of Japanese expansion, what about the Chinese?
Later, the isolation during COVID really aggravated my mental problems. I began self-harming, alcohol consumption, and even was pretty active in my sexual life for a certain period. I have been interested in history since 7th grade, and my favorite historian was Liu Zhongjing. I draw the conclusion that the doom(the prophecy of "the Deluge" 大洪水) was near.
Now I'm studying in a foreign land, but I still cannot get out of the flashbacks and trauma from my life in China. I still have flashbacks when I meet other students from China in the university. With the academical pressure, I'm barely surviving by psychological meds (luckily covered by my health provider) and alcohol.
2024.05.28 23:13 3rdAssaultBrigade Tired and Traumatized by this Country as Someone Born in China. Hope that you Foreigners can Understand the Life of Young People here is not like your Imagination.
I've lived for more than two decades, but I still think my story that started from a nameless tiny town in China was like an unbelievable story filled with an unexplainable sense of asphyxiation. Maybe if you're a foreigner, you may lost your Orientalist illusion of a mysterious Eastern Country by reading this text. It's real life, the BLOODY life from the first view account of some really traumatized person.
I was born in an isolated town in China, where the society was semi-primitive (populated by several large clans in the surrounding villages). My parents were hyper-conservative and an absolute fit of Asian parent stereotypes: obsessed with over-education and hyper-paranoid. When I was young, I was forbidden to play with other kids in the community, for fear that I'd be run over by a car or be kidnapped. I've literally lost the critical period of learning how to deal with others, that's probably why I never learned how to socialize properly.
Just like stereotyped, they invested a ton in my education. I started to learn English even before I could speak Mandarin properly (despite my mom trying to speak Mandarin at home to reduce the influence of dialect on me, my speaking is still heavily influenced by dialect speakers since my environment has barely a Mandarin speaker).
My very first "memory" of this world is about kindergarten. I never appreciated it. Instead, I thought that life in Kindergarten was the first torment for me in my life. I still remember the dystopian and surreal architecture, being a repulsive conglomerate of artificially, unnatural colored Kindergarten compounds (based on the false assumption that kids love highly saturated, colorful things) surrounded by faded Soviet-style buildings with aluminum chimneys. After nearly 20 years I revisited my kindergarten and the nearly unchanged architecture reminded me about the reproduction facility that runs Bokanovsky's process in Huxley's book Brave New World. I saw the lawn where kids massacred ants and bugs by various means for fun.
Our family moved to a relatively bigger city before I was admitted to primary school. My entire time in primary school was filled with bullying and sarcasm. The first time I was bullied was when I lost my first deciduous tooth. Other pupils never know this process and regarded me as an outcast from the group. They even suspected me of having Down's syndrome and started calling me like that. One day when I was walking to the dorm after lunch I was assaulted by a group of pupils that I never knew their name. They grabbed me, hit me, and kicked me for no reason for 30 minutes.
Later I was bullied by other people for no reason and I thought it was because of that I was not strong enough (I have very bad strength and stamina for respiratory problems). I started to retaliate against them with the weapons of WWIV, namely sticks, and rocks. Until 9th grade, I always lived a life like in a warzone. I always need to constantly monitor my flank and my back in case someone will give my head a strong hit by a club. BTW if you think it's my own reason that I've been bullied then you're probably wrong; There were a few incidents in my school where students got fractured in fighting. Even large battles that involved dozens on each side are not uncommon.
I began to have symptoms of traumatization, like inexplicable fear, unable to focus, and frequent flashbacks. I murmured to myself to ease my nervousness and drew random patterns on textbooks and notebooks. My teachers began to question my parents for my misbehavior, and even the dean of my primary school physically assaulted me by kicking me in the butt (the reason for the incident was probably my dad sent me to a forbidden gate of the school). Later the teachers in my middle school even tried to isolate me and another heavily bullied student from other students. It's China, and the implicit rule is always punishing the victim instead of the perpetrator. They call it "stabilization" (维稳).
I never got any medical service on mental health. It's almost a forbidden topic in Chinese society. The first time in my life, when I got a psychologist, was when I studied in a foreign country. She said "kids can be cruel" after hearing about my traumatic stories.
Later the CCP began its massive traditionalist, ultra-nationalist propaganda movement. They tried to instill Confusian "Traditional culture"(传统文化) in schools. One day we were asked to show gratitude to our parents and teachers en masse after a "moving" speech by a renowned "tradition researcher". Many girls even cried. I don't know to whom, and for what should I show gratitude. Why they've chosen to give me life in this world? Had I a choice to terminate my life when I was born, just like Kappa by Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, I'd have it. Why don't have the choice? If it's not my free will to survive all such torments, why I should thank my family, my school, the country and the Mighty CCP?
After I got a phone (my parents restricted my internet access until my 7th grade for fearing my myopia to grow, in vain) I started to view uncensored content like the Tiananmen incident. During my middle school I also read books like 1984 and We by Yevgeny Zamyatin. I realized that we live in a living hell of totalitarianism and social Darwinism, but I have no escape.
In 2017-2019, China began to intensify censorship on internet content, including Anime and games which were almost the only way for me to survive. They also tried to indoctrinate one entire generation with anti-west, xenophobic, and ultranationalistic videos. I found out the Internet, previously a haven for me that could escape real life in virtual joy, was no longer safe. I saw people reposting the disgusting quotes and online comments that pro-ccp (we call them rabbit friends 兔友) people made. They regarded Taiwan and Hong Kong people as subhuman, and the Anglo-Saxon world as needing to be conquered by communism. I began to build up really bad view of this country's common people. If the victims of the nukes were not unguilty for their support of Japanese expansion, what about the Chinese?
Later, the isolation during COVID really aggravated my mental problems. I began self-harming, alcohol consumption, and even was pretty active in my sexual life for a certain period. I have been interested in history since 7th grade, and my favorite historian was Liu Zhongjing. I draw the conclusion that the doom(the prophecy of "the Deluge" 大洪水) was near.
Now I'm studying in a foreign land, but I still cannot get out of the flashbacks and trauma from my life in China. I still have flashbacks when I meet other students from China in the university. With the academical pressure, I'm barely surviving by psychological meds (luckily covered by my health provider) and alcohol.
What do you think about my stories and my life in the perspective of a foreigner or an expat?
submitted by 3rdAssaultBrigade to China [link] [comments]
I was born in an isolated town in China, where the society was semi-primitive (populated by several large clans in the surrounding villages). My parents were hyper-conservative and an absolute fit of Asian parent stereotypes: obsessed with over-education and hyper-paranoid. When I was young, I was forbidden to play with other kids in the community, for fear that I'd be run over by a car or be kidnapped. I've literally lost the critical period of learning how to deal with others, that's probably why I never learned how to socialize properly.
Just like stereotyped, they invested a ton in my education. I started to learn English even before I could speak Mandarin properly (despite my mom trying to speak Mandarin at home to reduce the influence of dialect on me, my speaking is still heavily influenced by dialect speakers since my environment has barely a Mandarin speaker).
My very first "memory" of this world is about kindergarten. I never appreciated it. Instead, I thought that life in Kindergarten was the first torment for me in my life. I still remember the dystopian and surreal architecture, being a repulsive conglomerate of artificially, unnatural colored Kindergarten compounds (based on the false assumption that kids love highly saturated, colorful things) surrounded by faded Soviet-style buildings with aluminum chimneys. After nearly 20 years I revisited my kindergarten and the nearly unchanged architecture reminded me about the reproduction facility that runs Bokanovsky's process in Huxley's book Brave New World. I saw the lawn where kids massacred ants and bugs by various means for fun.
Our family moved to a relatively bigger city before I was admitted to primary school. My entire time in primary school was filled with bullying and sarcasm. The first time I was bullied was when I lost my first deciduous tooth. Other pupils never know this process and regarded me as an outcast from the group. They even suspected me of having Down's syndrome and started calling me like that. One day when I was walking to the dorm after lunch I was assaulted by a group of pupils that I never knew their name. They grabbed me, hit me, and kicked me for no reason for 30 minutes.
Later I was bullied by other people for no reason and I thought it was because of that I was not strong enough (I have very bad strength and stamina for respiratory problems). I started to retaliate against them with the weapons of WWIV, namely sticks, and rocks. Until 9th grade, I always lived a life like in a warzone. I always need to constantly monitor my flank and my back in case someone will give my head a strong hit by a club. BTW if you think it's my own reason that I've been bullied then you're probably wrong; There were a few incidents in my school where students got fractured in fighting. Even large battles that involved dozens on each side are not uncommon.
I began to have symptoms of traumatization, like inexplicable fear, unable to focus, and frequent flashbacks. I murmured to myself to ease my nervousness and drew random patterns on textbooks and notebooks. My teachers began to question my parents for my misbehavior, and even the dean of my primary school physically assaulted me by kicking me in the butt (the reason for the incident was probably my dad sent me to a forbidden gate of the school). Later the teachers in my middle school even tried to isolate me and another heavily bullied student from other students. It's China, and the implicit rule is always punishing the victim instead of the perpetrator. They call it "stabilization" (维稳).
I never got any medical service on mental health. It's almost a forbidden topic in Chinese society. The first time in my life, when I got a psychologist, was when I studied in a foreign country. She said "kids can be cruel" after hearing about my traumatic stories.
Later the CCP began its massive traditionalist, ultra-nationalist propaganda movement. They tried to instill Confusian "Traditional culture"(传统文化) in schools. One day we were asked to show gratitude to our parents and teachers en masse after a "moving" speech by a renowned "tradition researcher". Many girls even cried. I don't know to whom, and for what should I show gratitude. Why they've chosen to give me life in this world? Had I a choice to terminate my life when I was born, just like Kappa by Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, I'd have it. Why don't have the choice? If it's not my free will to survive all such torments, why I should thank my family, my school, the country and the Mighty CCP?
After I got a phone (my parents restricted my internet access until my 7th grade for fearing my myopia to grow, in vain) I started to view uncensored content like the Tiananmen incident. During my middle school I also read books like 1984 and We by Yevgeny Zamyatin. I realized that we live in a living hell of totalitarianism and social Darwinism, but I have no escape.
In 2017-2019, China began to intensify censorship on internet content, including Anime and games which were almost the only way for me to survive. They also tried to indoctrinate one entire generation with anti-west, xenophobic, and ultranationalistic videos. I found out the Internet, previously a haven for me that could escape real life in virtual joy, was no longer safe. I saw people reposting the disgusting quotes and online comments that pro-ccp (we call them rabbit friends 兔友) people made. They regarded Taiwan and Hong Kong people as subhuman, and the Anglo-Saxon world as needing to be conquered by communism. I began to build up really bad view of this country's common people. If the victims of the nukes were not unguilty for their support of Japanese expansion, what about the Chinese?
Later, the isolation during COVID really aggravated my mental problems. I began self-harming, alcohol consumption, and even was pretty active in my sexual life for a certain period. I have been interested in history since 7th grade, and my favorite historian was Liu Zhongjing. I draw the conclusion that the doom(the prophecy of "the Deluge" 大洪水) was near.
Now I'm studying in a foreign land, but I still cannot get out of the flashbacks and trauma from my life in China. I still have flashbacks when I meet other students from China in the university. With the academical pressure, I'm barely surviving by psychological meds (luckily covered by my health provider) and alcohol.
What do you think about my stories and my life in the perspective of a foreigner or an expat?
2024.05.28 23:11 3rdAssaultBrigade Born in China, Traumatized by my Early Life for 2 Decades. How can I Get Out of it?
I've lived for more than two decades, but I still think my story that started from a nameless tiny town in China was like an unbelievable story filled with an unexplainable sense of asphyxiation. Maybe if you're a foreigner, you may lost your Orientalist illusion of a mysterious Eastern Country by reading this text. It's real life, the BLOODY life from the first view account of some really traumatized person.
I was born in an isolated town in China, where the society was semi-primitive (populated by several large clans in the surrounding villages). My parents were hyper-conservative and an absolute fit of Asian parent stereotypes: obsessed with over-education and hyper-paranoid. When I was young, I was forbidden to play with other kids in the community, for fear that I'd be run over by a car or be kidnapped. I've literally lost the critical period of learning how to deal with others, that's probably why I never learned how to socialize properly.
Just like stereotyped, they invested a ton in my education. I started to learn English even before I could speak Mandarin properly (despite my mom trying to speak Mandarin at home to reduce the influence of dialect on me, my speaking is still heavily influenced by dialect speakers since my environment has barely a Mandarin speaker).
My very first "memory" of this world is about kindergarten. I never appreciated it. Instead, I thought that life in Kindergarten was the first torment for me in my life. I still remember the dystopian and surreal architecture, being a repulsive conglomerate of artificially, unnatural colored Kindergarten compounds (based on the false assumption that kids love highly saturated, colorful things) surrounded by faded Soviet-style buildings with aluminum chimneys. After nearly 20 years I revisited my kindergarten and the nearly unchanged architecture reminded me about the reproduction facility that runs Bokanovsky's process in Huxley's book Brave New World. I saw the lawn where kids massacred ants and bugs by various means for fun.
Our family moved to a relatively bigger city before I was admitted to primary school. My entire time in primary school was filled with bullying and sarcasm. The first time I was bullied was when I lost my first deciduous tooth. Other pupils never know this process and regarded me as an outcast from the group. They even suspected me of having Down's syndrome and started calling me like that. One day when I was walking to the dorm after lunch I was assaulted by a group of pupils that I never knew their name. They grabbed me, hit me, and kicked me for no reason for 30 minutes.
Later I was bullied by other people for no reason and I thought it was because of that I was not strong enough (I have very bad strength and stamina for respiratory problems). I started to retaliate against them with the weapons of WWIV, namely sticks, and rocks. Until 9th grade, I always lived a life like in a warzone. I always need to constantly monitor my flank and my back in case someone will give my head a strong hit by a club. BTW if you think it's my own reason that I've been bullied then you're probably wrong; There were a few incidents in my school where students got fractured in fighting. Even large battles that involved dozens on each side are not uncommon.
I began to have symptoms of traumatization, like inexplicable fear, unable to focus, and frequent flashbacks. I murmured to myself to ease my nervousness and drew random patterns on textbooks and notebooks. My teachers began to question my parents for my misbehavior, and even the dean of my primary school physically assaulted me by kicking me in the butt (the reason for the incident was probably my dad sent me to a forbidden gate of the school). Later the teachers in my middle school even tried to isolate me and another heavily bullied student from other students. It's China, and the implicit rule is always punishing the victim instead of the perpetrator. They call it "stabilization" (维稳).
I never got any medical service on mental health. It's almost a forbidden topic in Chinese society. The first time in my life, when I got a psychologist, was when I studied in a foreign country. She said "kids can be cruel" after hearing about my traumatic stories.
Later the CCP began its massive traditionalist, ultra-nationalist propaganda movement. They tried to instill Confusian "Traditional culture"(传统文化) in schools. One day we were asked to show gratitude to our parents and teachers en masse after a "moving" speech by a renowned "tradition researcher". Many girls even cried. I don't know to whom, and for what should I show gratitude. Why they've chosen to give me life in this world? Had I a choice to terminate my life when I was born, just like Kappa by Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, I'd have it. Why don't have the choice? If it's not my free will to survive all such torments, why I should thank my family, my school, the country and the Mighty CCP?
After I got a phone (my parents restricted my internet access until my 7th grade for fearing my myopia to grow, in vain) I started to Fanqiang (bypassing the GFW by something like a VPN). During my middle school I also read books like 1984 and We by Yevgeny Zamyatin. I realized that we live in a living hell of totalitarianism and social Darwinism, but I have no escape.
In 2017-2019, China began to intensify censorship on internet content, including Anime and games which were almost the only way for me to survive. They also tried to indoctrinate one entire generation with anti-west, xenophobic, and ultranationalistic videos. I found out the Internet, previously a haven for me that could escape real life in virtual joy, was no longer safe. I saw people reposting the disgusting quotes and online comments that pro-ccp (we call them rabbit friends 兔友) people made. They regarded Taiwan and Hong Kong people as subhuman, and the Anglo-Saxon world as needing to be conquered by communism. I began to build up really bad view of this country's common people. If the victims of the nukes were not unguilty for their support of Japanese expansion, what about the Chinese?
Later, the isolation during COVID really aggravated my mental problems. I began self-harming, alcohol consumption, and even was pretty active in my sexual life for a certain period. I have been interested in history since 7th grade, and my favorite historian was Liu Zhongjing. I draw the conclusion that the doom(the prophecy of "the Deluge" 大洪水) was near.
Now I'm studying in a foreign land, but I still cannot get out of the flashbacks and trauma from my life in China. I still have flashbacks when I meet other Chinese students in the university. With the academical pressure and a really bad psychological health, I'm barely surviving by psychological meds (luckily covered by my health provider) and alcohol.
What do you think about my stories and my life in the perspective of a foreigner or an expat?
submitted by 3rdAssaultBrigade to TrueOffMyChest [link] [comments]
I was born in an isolated town in China, where the society was semi-primitive (populated by several large clans in the surrounding villages). My parents were hyper-conservative and an absolute fit of Asian parent stereotypes: obsessed with over-education and hyper-paranoid. When I was young, I was forbidden to play with other kids in the community, for fear that I'd be run over by a car or be kidnapped. I've literally lost the critical period of learning how to deal with others, that's probably why I never learned how to socialize properly.
Just like stereotyped, they invested a ton in my education. I started to learn English even before I could speak Mandarin properly (despite my mom trying to speak Mandarin at home to reduce the influence of dialect on me, my speaking is still heavily influenced by dialect speakers since my environment has barely a Mandarin speaker).
My very first "memory" of this world is about kindergarten. I never appreciated it. Instead, I thought that life in Kindergarten was the first torment for me in my life. I still remember the dystopian and surreal architecture, being a repulsive conglomerate of artificially, unnatural colored Kindergarten compounds (based on the false assumption that kids love highly saturated, colorful things) surrounded by faded Soviet-style buildings with aluminum chimneys. After nearly 20 years I revisited my kindergarten and the nearly unchanged architecture reminded me about the reproduction facility that runs Bokanovsky's process in Huxley's book Brave New World. I saw the lawn where kids massacred ants and bugs by various means for fun.
Our family moved to a relatively bigger city before I was admitted to primary school. My entire time in primary school was filled with bullying and sarcasm. The first time I was bullied was when I lost my first deciduous tooth. Other pupils never know this process and regarded me as an outcast from the group. They even suspected me of having Down's syndrome and started calling me like that. One day when I was walking to the dorm after lunch I was assaulted by a group of pupils that I never knew their name. They grabbed me, hit me, and kicked me for no reason for 30 minutes.
Later I was bullied by other people for no reason and I thought it was because of that I was not strong enough (I have very bad strength and stamina for respiratory problems). I started to retaliate against them with the weapons of WWIV, namely sticks, and rocks. Until 9th grade, I always lived a life like in a warzone. I always need to constantly monitor my flank and my back in case someone will give my head a strong hit by a club. BTW if you think it's my own reason that I've been bullied then you're probably wrong; There were a few incidents in my school where students got fractured in fighting. Even large battles that involved dozens on each side are not uncommon.
I began to have symptoms of traumatization, like inexplicable fear, unable to focus, and frequent flashbacks. I murmured to myself to ease my nervousness and drew random patterns on textbooks and notebooks. My teachers began to question my parents for my misbehavior, and even the dean of my primary school physically assaulted me by kicking me in the butt (the reason for the incident was probably my dad sent me to a forbidden gate of the school). Later the teachers in my middle school even tried to isolate me and another heavily bullied student from other students. It's China, and the implicit rule is always punishing the victim instead of the perpetrator. They call it "stabilization" (维稳).
I never got any medical service on mental health. It's almost a forbidden topic in Chinese society. The first time in my life, when I got a psychologist, was when I studied in a foreign country. She said "kids can be cruel" after hearing about my traumatic stories.
Later the CCP began its massive traditionalist, ultra-nationalist propaganda movement. They tried to instill Confusian "Traditional culture"(传统文化) in schools. One day we were asked to show gratitude to our parents and teachers en masse after a "moving" speech by a renowned "tradition researcher". Many girls even cried. I don't know to whom, and for what should I show gratitude. Why they've chosen to give me life in this world? Had I a choice to terminate my life when I was born, just like Kappa by Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, I'd have it. Why don't have the choice? If it's not my free will to survive all such torments, why I should thank my family, my school, the country and the Mighty CCP?
After I got a phone (my parents restricted my internet access until my 7th grade for fearing my myopia to grow, in vain) I started to Fanqiang (bypassing the GFW by something like a VPN). During my middle school I also read books like 1984 and We by Yevgeny Zamyatin. I realized that we live in a living hell of totalitarianism and social Darwinism, but I have no escape.
In 2017-2019, China began to intensify censorship on internet content, including Anime and games which were almost the only way for me to survive. They also tried to indoctrinate one entire generation with anti-west, xenophobic, and ultranationalistic videos. I found out the Internet, previously a haven for me that could escape real life in virtual joy, was no longer safe. I saw people reposting the disgusting quotes and online comments that pro-ccp (we call them rabbit friends 兔友) people made. They regarded Taiwan and Hong Kong people as subhuman, and the Anglo-Saxon world as needing to be conquered by communism. I began to build up really bad view of this country's common people. If the victims of the nukes were not unguilty for their support of Japanese expansion, what about the Chinese?
Later, the isolation during COVID really aggravated my mental problems. I began self-harming, alcohol consumption, and even was pretty active in my sexual life for a certain period. I have been interested in history since 7th grade, and my favorite historian was Liu Zhongjing. I draw the conclusion that the doom(the prophecy of "the Deluge" 大洪水) was near.
Now I'm studying in a foreign land, but I still cannot get out of the flashbacks and trauma from my life in China. I still have flashbacks when I meet other Chinese students in the university. With the academical pressure and a really bad psychological health, I'm barely surviving by psychological meds (luckily covered by my health provider) and alcohol.
What do you think about my stories and my life in the perspective of a foreigner or an expat?
2024.05.28 22:08 retrotech [TOMT] Television show, a live action comedy sketch about a talking pimple on a girl's face that gives her advice.
Hello! First time posting here. I was referred by the guys over at lostmedia . Can you help me remember where an old TV comedy sketch came from?
A high school girl realizes she has a pimple, and goes to pop it to before her date, when it speaks to her and gives her advice for talking to her boyfriend. The boyfriend shows up and pops the zit after she pleads with him not to, which she brings back by eating potato chips and chocolate so she can keep getting advice.
I feel like this was from the Jenny McCarthy show, but information about that series is SPARTAN.
I have searched through Youtube, Wikipedia, Archive.org, and Bing to try and find an episode or sketch list, as well as detailing the sketch to these services. I also put the above description into Chat GPT to see if it could find the sketch with the information I gave it and it figures the sketch could come from SNL, You can't do that on Television, or possibly Mad TV.
I'm PRETTY sure I remember it being from an MTV show and the Jenny McCarthy Show seems familiar. I can't remember if Singled Out or Loveline had sketch comedy in them, but that's a possibility too.
Again, this is a live action sketch, so no animation. The pimple was a guy's face sticking out from a flesh-colored sheet and when he got "popped" he spit out white pussy fluid.
Any help would be appreciated, and thank you!
submitted by retrotech to tipofmytongue [link] [comments]
A high school girl realizes she has a pimple, and goes to pop it to before her date, when it speaks to her and gives her advice for talking to her boyfriend. The boyfriend shows up and pops the zit after she pleads with him not to, which she brings back by eating potato chips and chocolate so she can keep getting advice.
I feel like this was from the Jenny McCarthy show, but information about that series is SPARTAN.
I have searched through Youtube, Wikipedia, Archive.org, and Bing to try and find an episode or sketch list, as well as detailing the sketch to these services. I also put the above description into Chat GPT to see if it could find the sketch with the information I gave it and it figures the sketch could come from SNL, You can't do that on Television, or possibly Mad TV.
I'm PRETTY sure I remember it being from an MTV show and the Jenny McCarthy Show seems familiar. I can't remember if Singled Out or Loveline had sketch comedy in them, but that's a possibility too.
Again, this is a live action sketch, so no animation. The pimple was a guy's face sticking out from a flesh-colored sheet and when he got "popped" he spit out white pussy fluid.
Any help would be appreciated, and thank you!
2024.05.28 19:43 steamingpileofme Share your experience with the LLC?
I'll share mine here first as someone who is no longer a member of the LLC:
It's becoming common knowledge that I'm not a "believer" anymore within my family, however I have secretly not been an active participant within the religion for a few years now.
Looking back at the way I grew up and the beliefs I thought I used to hold, I don't think I ever had a real religious backing for those beliefs. It was more of a fear of people's judgments and the possibility of hell if I didn't "believe correctly" within the church.
I remember sitting in the church benches every single Sunday telling myself "I'm going to actively try to listen to the sermon today" only to fail within the first 5 minutes. I wanted some more understanding of the Bible and the church's beliefs, especially as I got older and didn't understand why we believed certain things. I wasn't finding many answers in my attempts to listen. Instead it felt like I was hearing the same passages over and over again without any real meaning as to why we followed certain rules and ways of life; only that we were the chosen ones in God's Kingdom and to not let the ways of the world get to you and lead you astray.
So many of these rules didn't make sense to me, especially when some of them had parallels to things that were generally accepted. You can cut, perm, and style your hair but you can't dye it (even if it's a "natural" color). You sometimes can wear clear nail polish (and clear mascara if it wasn't too obvious) but not color polish. You can read books but not watch the movie. You can listen to the sports game on the radio but not watch it.
Then there are rules that people don't follow as long as no one's watching or if you're in the right company. It's so common for people to indulge in music and TV, even makeup and "immodest" clothing as long as they're sure no one from church will see.
The thing I had the hardest time with was the judgment from others in the church. A lot of it is held under the guise of being your brother's keeper. Such as if someone notices you're reading a book that's "too worldly", they'll tell you it's a sin to be reading that. However, there are a lot of things you'll be silently judged for or behind your back. If you're becoming too close of friends with someone at school, the other church kids will gossip amongst themselves. Heaven forbid you get caught by a movie theater. I found myself always hiding the "sins" I was doing, always ridden with anxiety about if I was ever caught. I was always yearning to be a "normal" kid and sometimes wished I wasn't born into this religion, then felt immense guilt and silently asked God to forgive me because I didn't want to go to hell for thinking that.
The irony is that my home growing up wasn't religious in the sense of reading the Bible or talking about God and Jesus. I wasn't taught the teachings in my home, just the rules. My parents figured the church and Sunday School would do that but it turns out that it didn't provide much for my spiritual life. We were punished if we were caught breaking any of the church's rules, but weren't told why it was bad or why we shouldn't be doing these things. We only knew it was worldly and we shouldn't do them. Every night while saying goodnight we'd ask for our sins to be forgiven, but it never felt like I was doing it to cleanse my conscience; it only ever felt like routine and what my parents would want me to do, so I did. None of these routines have ever felt like they brought me closer to God, they've only been something I've felt I've had to do in order for people to not ask questions or start scrutinizing my actions more. I was never told I could pray to God and to Jesus if I needed some uplifting, that was something I've had to discover on my own.
I'm finding it difficult to transition into a post-LLC life. I'm trying really hard to get past that hurdle, but growing up in this religion makes it really hard to grow beyond those roots without a constant mental battle over even the most mundane thoughts and decisions. I understand I can only live this life for myself and that the opinions of others shouldn't affect what I truly want. However, knowing how my family thinks of my "worldly" lifestyle now can wear down on me because I know their concern is coming from a good place. If anyone has advice with managing this, it would be appreciated.
As a closing note, I don't want this to come across negatively towards any members in here who are still in the LLC. I know there are people still in the church that have good hearts and intentions, so this isn't a blanket statement. This was my personal experience within the church, and I've found a much closer relationship with God and with my spirituality since leaving it. I've found myself having more trust in the forgiveness of my sins by Jesus dying on the cross, not from other believers preaching it to me.
submitted by steamingpileofme to OpenLaestadian [link] [comments]
It's becoming common knowledge that I'm not a "believer" anymore within my family, however I have secretly not been an active participant within the religion for a few years now.
Looking back at the way I grew up and the beliefs I thought I used to hold, I don't think I ever had a real religious backing for those beliefs. It was more of a fear of people's judgments and the possibility of hell if I didn't "believe correctly" within the church.
I remember sitting in the church benches every single Sunday telling myself "I'm going to actively try to listen to the sermon today" only to fail within the first 5 minutes. I wanted some more understanding of the Bible and the church's beliefs, especially as I got older and didn't understand why we believed certain things. I wasn't finding many answers in my attempts to listen. Instead it felt like I was hearing the same passages over and over again without any real meaning as to why we followed certain rules and ways of life; only that we were the chosen ones in God's Kingdom and to not let the ways of the world get to you and lead you astray.
So many of these rules didn't make sense to me, especially when some of them had parallels to things that were generally accepted. You can cut, perm, and style your hair but you can't dye it (even if it's a "natural" color). You sometimes can wear clear nail polish (and clear mascara if it wasn't too obvious) but not color polish. You can read books but not watch the movie. You can listen to the sports game on the radio but not watch it.
Then there are rules that people don't follow as long as no one's watching or if you're in the right company. It's so common for people to indulge in music and TV, even makeup and "immodest" clothing as long as they're sure no one from church will see.
The thing I had the hardest time with was the judgment from others in the church. A lot of it is held under the guise of being your brother's keeper. Such as if someone notices you're reading a book that's "too worldly", they'll tell you it's a sin to be reading that. However, there are a lot of things you'll be silently judged for or behind your back. If you're becoming too close of friends with someone at school, the other church kids will gossip amongst themselves. Heaven forbid you get caught by a movie theater. I found myself always hiding the "sins" I was doing, always ridden with anxiety about if I was ever caught. I was always yearning to be a "normal" kid and sometimes wished I wasn't born into this religion, then felt immense guilt and silently asked God to forgive me because I didn't want to go to hell for thinking that.
The irony is that my home growing up wasn't religious in the sense of reading the Bible or talking about God and Jesus. I wasn't taught the teachings in my home, just the rules. My parents figured the church and Sunday School would do that but it turns out that it didn't provide much for my spiritual life. We were punished if we were caught breaking any of the church's rules, but weren't told why it was bad or why we shouldn't be doing these things. We only knew it was worldly and we shouldn't do them. Every night while saying goodnight we'd ask for our sins to be forgiven, but it never felt like I was doing it to cleanse my conscience; it only ever felt like routine and what my parents would want me to do, so I did. None of these routines have ever felt like they brought me closer to God, they've only been something I've felt I've had to do in order for people to not ask questions or start scrutinizing my actions more. I was never told I could pray to God and to Jesus if I needed some uplifting, that was something I've had to discover on my own.
I'm finding it difficult to transition into a post-LLC life. I'm trying really hard to get past that hurdle, but growing up in this religion makes it really hard to grow beyond those roots without a constant mental battle over even the most mundane thoughts and decisions. I understand I can only live this life for myself and that the opinions of others shouldn't affect what I truly want. However, knowing how my family thinks of my "worldly" lifestyle now can wear down on me because I know their concern is coming from a good place. If anyone has advice with managing this, it would be appreciated.
As a closing note, I don't want this to come across negatively towards any members in here who are still in the LLC. I know there are people still in the church that have good hearts and intentions, so this isn't a blanket statement. This was my personal experience within the church, and I've found a much closer relationship with God and with my spirituality since leaving it. I've found myself having more trust in the forgiveness of my sins by Jesus dying on the cross, not from other believers preaching it to me.
2024.05.28 19:00 Numbuh1507 [TOMT] Animated Valentine's Day short
I'm looking for an animated short. It was about a group of anthropomorphic animals (I don't recall their species) in a kindergarten or elementary school class. Then one of the characters tries to make a complex valentine to someone they like, but circumstances make that the valentine ends up getting reduced to "will you" or something amongst those lines (which ended up becoming the title for the short), and their crush accepts the simplicity of the valentine. It was 2d animated and it had a really cheerful color scheme.
submitted by Numbuh1507 to tipofmytongue [link] [comments]
2024.05.28 15:50 gorgonzolamcdonalds Solo adventure in Paris - 6 days packed with activities!
I (19M) just came back from a very eventful and eye-opening trip to Paris, in fact my first time traveling alone.
Overview:
Having lived in London and Hong Kong, I'm a pretty impatient person and when I'm on vacation I don't prefer big crowds, so most of my trip highlights actually took place outside of the main touristy areas. Still, the architecture and vibe of inner Paris is astonishing and I felt like I could walk the streets for weeks! Speaking of which, I thought the streets were a lot cleaner than the streets of London (albeit not as clean as Hong Kong). The self-cleaning public toilets were also a pleasant surprise - it should be a thing in every country!
I wanted to save money so most of my meals were from supermarkets or boulangeries, and I stayed at an AirBnb near Fort d'Aubervilliers on the Line 7. The area was not fancy but it felt safe even at midnight. I noticed that locals seem to stay up quite late, a stark contrast to Hong Kong where the suburban streets are usually empty by 12.
Expenses/budgeting
I spent around 690 euros in total for the trip.
Wednesday
Took the Eurostar to Gare du Nord arriving 2pm then dropped off stuff at AirBnb, got groceries, and headed out for sightseeing. I basically walked around the Iena/Trocadero area and took lots of pictures of the Eiffel Tower. I entered the Palais de Tokyo but was met with terrible attitude from not one but two staff members, I decided to leave right after that incident so I didn't actually see anything inside.
I also rode the famous section of the Line 6 from Passy to Bir-Hakeim and of course took pictures of the Bir-Hakeim bridge itself as it was featured in Inception! I spent the next few hours walking around the Eiffel Tower and taking lots of selfies.
Thursday
I took an early train out to Provins which I mentioned earlier in my highlights. At around 3pm I headed back into Paris to visit Montmatre and Sacre-Coeur. I didn't spend too much time there because it felt too touristy for me and the neighborhood didn't seem that interesting to me. Instead, I took the metro to Le Marais and walked around for a bit before heading into the Centre Pompidou. I wasn't able to see the exhibits as they had already closed, but since they open late on Thursdays I was able to sit and watch the sun go down on the Eiffel Tower on the 6th floor terrace. Then I rode the metro to see the Louvre at dark (really pretty!) and also up close at the Eiffel Tower.
Friday
After visiting the Air and Space Museum mentioned earlier, I went to the Museum of Arts Decoratifs. Imo, it was just okay but the top few floors were the highlight for me. Maybe I'm just a sucker for modern art as they tucked it away on the highest levels :P
Then I headed for the Arts et Metiers Museum which was huuuuge. I feel like the museum was average and didn't really have enough English explanations or signage. But there was a interesting room with lots of old cars, so if you're into that, this is a great museum for you!
Saturday
I started the day off at Saint-Chapelle, and luckily I did! The line seemed very long after I left... The stained glass was very pretty and captivating, but the whole experience will take a maximum of 15 minutes because the chapel is all there is to it. I headed next door to the Conciergerie which I think was one of the best main touristy attractions I visited. I entered just as they opened at 9:30 so I had the whole place pretty much to myself. There were these histopads which were free to rent - I really liked that and hope more museums had offered it. When I left the Conciergerie maybe an hour or so later, the line was suuuper long outside. So my advice is to arrive at Saint Chapelle and Conciergerie early in the day! And you also do need to book these in advance, I believe.
Afterward I headed out to Château de Fontainebleau, which I preferred much more over Versailles (more on that later). There was no queue, and it was very quiet. The garden was very charming and there were plenty of places to sit and enjoy the nice weather.
I headed back into Paris and visited Bercy Village before heading to Belleville. In my opinion, skip Bercy Village and go to Belleville. There's not really anything to do in Bercy other than the street with restaurants. As mentioned earlier, Belleville was the highlight of my trip and I think even if the open gallery wasn't ongoing, the neighborhood would still be fun to walk around.
Sunday
I visited the Orsay Museum and the Orangerie. The Orsay was excellent but I had a shit experience with the Orangerie - quite literally, because a bird pooped on my head when I was queuing to enter. Jokes aside, the Orangerie was underwhelming besides the water lilies. There was an exhibit in the basement where the whole thing was just blank canvasses... not a form of art that I appreciate, honestly!
After that, I went to the Pantheon which I thought was pretty cool, especially the underground section. I was almost inclined to go to the Panoramique section until I learned it was a guided tour that happened every 30 minutes and I would have to wait a whole 25 minutes for the next one, so I skipped that.
I then took the train out to Versailles and ... honestly I don't remember much. I only came for the sake of the name Versailles and taking a few pictures of Louis XIV's room and portraits. The whole experience was way too crowded and far too touristy for my liking. As I left near closing, the train station was a nightmare with the RER and TERs packed to the rim with tourists. I made a spontaneous decision and headed west, further out of Paris, to Rambouillet instead. I sat in the park by the chateau and enjoyed the peace and quiet, munching on some pastries from a nearby boulangerie. Side note: there were so many geese here!
Monday
I started the day off at Pere-Lachaise, visiting some of the famous tombstones, before heading to the City of Architecture and Heritage museum. After that was the Louvre. Oh god. I read online that it would be huge but I didn't quite grasp how MASSIVE the Louvre was. I think after 2.5 hrs I just gave up as my brain and feet could no longer process the amount of art! Of course I went and took a peek at the Mona Lisa which was way way too overcrowded, but what can you expect from the most famous painting in the world?
After the Louvre I headed to the Villette Park and sat by the river and also gazed at the incredible architectural structure of the Philharmonic building. A short tram ride dropped me off at Porte de Vincennes where I made my way over to the Chateau Vincennes. I admit I really enjoyed walking through the Vincennes area as it felt very clean and charming, not to mention the French flag waving on the fortress was certainly a sight.
I ended my day, and my trip, at the Arc de Triomphe where I watched the sun set on the Eiffel Tower one last time. It was magical, but also very crowded! Seemed like everyone wanted to take a picture of the tower sparkling, but I don't think it ever did.
Issues/safety in Paris
I had only two encounters with rude people, once on my first day at the Palais du Tokyo and the second in a gift shop when the woman rolled her eyes at me for asking "pardon?" and only one lunatic encounter near Passy. Beggars were not uncommon on trains but nothing I'm not used to after living in London.
In general, Paris felt very safe even at night. I did not get pickpocketed a single time despite wearing a tote bag and taking the metro/RERs many times. The key is to be vigilant and not flash valuables. I was ticket-checked by RATP control officers twice, once on the train from Provins and once at Franklin D Roosevelt metro station while changing lines. The first time, they were very respectful, I suspect because the line is used almost exclusively by commuters and residents. The second time, they were aggressive up until I showed my Navigo with my picture, at which point their tone became a lot nicer... I assume they thought I was a local.
Overcrowding was also often an issue on the metro returning to my AirBnb at night, but nothing I'm unfamiliar with having lived in Hong Kong.
Overall thoughts
Paris really exceeeded my expectations! I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and I think I'll come back in the next few years. Yes, it felt very touristy at times, but there were also so many places that felt very authentic and local, which was exactly what I was looking for. I was amazed by how efficient the transit network is in Paris, especially with so many options to go from point A to B. I recognize that the metro and many of the monuments are quite historical, so stairs will always be inevitable, but it's something to keep in mind if you're someone with reduced mobility. There were times where I saw people carrying wheelchair users up/down stairs because the lift was broken! And Paris was definitely a lot more walking than I expected - I totaled over 100km during my trip!
submitted by gorgonzolamcdonalds to ParisTravelGuide [link] [comments]
Overview:
Having lived in London and Hong Kong, I'm a pretty impatient person and when I'm on vacation I don't prefer big crowds, so most of my trip highlights actually took place outside of the main touristy areas. Still, the architecture and vibe of inner Paris is astonishing and I felt like I could walk the streets for weeks! Speaking of which, I thought the streets were a lot cleaner than the streets of London (albeit not as clean as Hong Kong). The self-cleaning public toilets were also a pleasant surprise - it should be a thing in every country!
I wanted to save money so most of my meals were from supermarkets or boulangeries, and I stayed at an AirBnb near Fort d'Aubervilliers on the Line 7. The area was not fancy but it felt safe even at midnight. I noticed that locals seem to stay up quite late, a stark contrast to Hong Kong where the suburban streets are usually empty by 12.
Expenses/budgeting
I spent around 690 euros in total for the trip.
- 225 euros for 6 nights AirBnb (private bedroom was spacious, everything else incl bathroom and kitchen was shared with the owners)
- 92 euros for Eurostar round trip
- around 150 euros for all meals, groceries + midday snacks + pastries at boulangeries
- 41.55 euros for 1 Navigo week pass (Weds-Sun) + 1 Navigo day pass (Mon) + 1 single ticket for leaving on Tuesday morning.
- I definitely recommend buying a Navigo week or day pass if you can. It was very useful not having to carry paper tickets. I would estimate myself saving 1-2 hours in total, being able to skip the long ticket queues at Versailles and other major tourist places. Plus, you get to travel all the way out to Provins and Fontainebleau. The only downside was queuing to buy the Decouverte card at the start of my trip and the inconvenience of bringing a picture to stick on the card, but it was all worth it.
- 80.15 euros for the 4-day Paris Museum Pass
- Again, highly recommend it. The pass also lets you skip the queue at some locations, and imo it's just better not having to deal with tons of separate tickets. Don't even think about buying tickets on the day, because the queue at almost all the major touristy places were insanely long just to get tickets (and then you also queue to go in!).
- around 100 euros for buying souvenirs and gifts
- Belleville
- I got extremely lucky because I happened to visit during the annual "Portes Ouverte" (open studio). There were over a hundred little galleries and rooms of artists dotted across the neighborhood, very well signposted with colorful balloons at every entry. Each of the locations had something unique to see, and the artists were present at all of them, explaining their artwork. It was so cool getting to see the passion of the artists and I could feel the vibe was overall very welcoming and intimate. Some of them even had live music and food! I personally enjoyed doing this walking tour so much more than any of the main museums (Louvre, Orsay, Orangerie, etc.) and it was no doubt the best part of my visit.
- Provins
- I was a bit skeptical deboarding the train after a 1.5 hrs ride from Paris (included in the Navigo week pass!). The town seemed empty, a little desolate. However, walking further into the city centre it was clear that the town had a lot to offer. I really enjoyed climbing up the Caesar Keep - unlike a lot of monuments in Paris and around the world, they really let you explore every part of it and for just 5 euros. I'm also a nature-y person, so the rose garden was a huge highlight for my entire trip. It was massive and had so so many beautiful roses. If you're into flowers, I think the trip to Provins is worth it just to see the rose garden! Best of all, it didn't feel touristy. Sure, there were local tourists and school groups, but I heard English only once during my whole time there.
- Air and Space Museum
- I'm not an aviation geek yet I found it fascinating to see all the old aircraft and helicopters on display! There's even an old FULL SIZE Air France Boeing plane which you can climb into and wow, what a rush of nostalgia! Even though I wasn't born yet, the aircraft screams 80s/90s vibe, super interesting. You can also peek into the cockpit and see the overwhelming control panel. Pretty cool museum, and would definitely recommend it despite its inconvenient location. You can easily spend a whole day here and there's English included on almost all the signs.
- City of Architecture and Heritage Museum
- As someone who is interested in urban design, I actually wasn't too keen on their permanent galleries on the ground and 1st floor. However, their temporary exhibit about the Paris Metro was incredible. There were model trains, signs, and seats, as well as so much history about the incredible feat of building a (almost) fully-underground network of metro lines in Paris. Every sign was accompanied by an English translation and the exhibit was much larger than I expected.
Wednesday
Took the Eurostar to Gare du Nord arriving 2pm then dropped off stuff at AirBnb, got groceries, and headed out for sightseeing. I basically walked around the Iena/Trocadero area and took lots of pictures of the Eiffel Tower. I entered the Palais de Tokyo but was met with terrible attitude from not one but two staff members, I decided to leave right after that incident so I didn't actually see anything inside.
I also rode the famous section of the Line 6 from Passy to Bir-Hakeim and of course took pictures of the Bir-Hakeim bridge itself as it was featured in Inception! I spent the next few hours walking around the Eiffel Tower and taking lots of selfies.
Thursday
I took an early train out to Provins which I mentioned earlier in my highlights. At around 3pm I headed back into Paris to visit Montmatre and Sacre-Coeur. I didn't spend too much time there because it felt too touristy for me and the neighborhood didn't seem that interesting to me. Instead, I took the metro to Le Marais and walked around for a bit before heading into the Centre Pompidou. I wasn't able to see the exhibits as they had already closed, but since they open late on Thursdays I was able to sit and watch the sun go down on the Eiffel Tower on the 6th floor terrace. Then I rode the metro to see the Louvre at dark (really pretty!) and also up close at the Eiffel Tower.
Friday
After visiting the Air and Space Museum mentioned earlier, I went to the Museum of Arts Decoratifs. Imo, it was just okay but the top few floors were the highlight for me. Maybe I'm just a sucker for modern art as they tucked it away on the highest levels :P
Then I headed for the Arts et Metiers Museum which was huuuuge. I feel like the museum was average and didn't really have enough English explanations or signage. But there was a interesting room with lots of old cars, so if you're into that, this is a great museum for you!
Saturday
I started the day off at Saint-Chapelle, and luckily I did! The line seemed very long after I left... The stained glass was very pretty and captivating, but the whole experience will take a maximum of 15 minutes because the chapel is all there is to it. I headed next door to the Conciergerie which I think was one of the best main touristy attractions I visited. I entered just as they opened at 9:30 so I had the whole place pretty much to myself. There were these histopads which were free to rent - I really liked that and hope more museums had offered it. When I left the Conciergerie maybe an hour or so later, the line was suuuper long outside. So my advice is to arrive at Saint Chapelle and Conciergerie early in the day! And you also do need to book these in advance, I believe.
Afterward I headed out to Château de Fontainebleau, which I preferred much more over Versailles (more on that later). There was no queue, and it was very quiet. The garden was very charming and there were plenty of places to sit and enjoy the nice weather.
I headed back into Paris and visited Bercy Village before heading to Belleville. In my opinion, skip Bercy Village and go to Belleville. There's not really anything to do in Bercy other than the street with restaurants. As mentioned earlier, Belleville was the highlight of my trip and I think even if the open gallery wasn't ongoing, the neighborhood would still be fun to walk around.
Sunday
I visited the Orsay Museum and the Orangerie. The Orsay was excellent but I had a shit experience with the Orangerie - quite literally, because a bird pooped on my head when I was queuing to enter. Jokes aside, the Orangerie was underwhelming besides the water lilies. There was an exhibit in the basement where the whole thing was just blank canvasses... not a form of art that I appreciate, honestly!
After that, I went to the Pantheon which I thought was pretty cool, especially the underground section. I was almost inclined to go to the Panoramique section until I learned it was a guided tour that happened every 30 minutes and I would have to wait a whole 25 minutes for the next one, so I skipped that.
I then took the train out to Versailles and ... honestly I don't remember much. I only came for the sake of the name Versailles and taking a few pictures of Louis XIV's room and portraits. The whole experience was way too crowded and far too touristy for my liking. As I left near closing, the train station was a nightmare with the RER and TERs packed to the rim with tourists. I made a spontaneous decision and headed west, further out of Paris, to Rambouillet instead. I sat in the park by the chateau and enjoyed the peace and quiet, munching on some pastries from a nearby boulangerie. Side note: there were so many geese here!
Monday
I started the day off at Pere-Lachaise, visiting some of the famous tombstones, before heading to the City of Architecture and Heritage museum. After that was the Louvre. Oh god. I read online that it would be huge but I didn't quite grasp how MASSIVE the Louvre was. I think after 2.5 hrs I just gave up as my brain and feet could no longer process the amount of art! Of course I went and took a peek at the Mona Lisa which was way way too overcrowded, but what can you expect from the most famous painting in the world?
After the Louvre I headed to the Villette Park and sat by the river and also gazed at the incredible architectural structure of the Philharmonic building. A short tram ride dropped me off at Porte de Vincennes where I made my way over to the Chateau Vincennes. I admit I really enjoyed walking through the Vincennes area as it felt very clean and charming, not to mention the French flag waving on the fortress was certainly a sight.
I ended my day, and my trip, at the Arc de Triomphe where I watched the sun set on the Eiffel Tower one last time. It was magical, but also very crowded! Seemed like everyone wanted to take a picture of the tower sparkling, but I don't think it ever did.
Issues/safety in Paris
I had only two encounters with rude people, once on my first day at the Palais du Tokyo and the second in a gift shop when the woman rolled her eyes at me for asking "pardon?" and only one lunatic encounter near Passy. Beggars were not uncommon on trains but nothing I'm not used to after living in London.
In general, Paris felt very safe even at night. I did not get pickpocketed a single time despite wearing a tote bag and taking the metro/RERs many times. The key is to be vigilant and not flash valuables. I was ticket-checked by RATP control officers twice, once on the train from Provins and once at Franklin D Roosevelt metro station while changing lines. The first time, they were very respectful, I suspect because the line is used almost exclusively by commuters and residents. The second time, they were aggressive up until I showed my Navigo with my picture, at which point their tone became a lot nicer... I assume they thought I was a local.
Overcrowding was also often an issue on the metro returning to my AirBnb at night, but nothing I'm unfamiliar with having lived in Hong Kong.
Overall thoughts
Paris really exceeeded my expectations! I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and I think I'll come back in the next few years. Yes, it felt very touristy at times, but there were also so many places that felt very authentic and local, which was exactly what I was looking for. I was amazed by how efficient the transit network is in Paris, especially with so many options to go from point A to B. I recognize that the metro and many of the monuments are quite historical, so stairs will always be inevitable, but it's something to keep in mind if you're someone with reduced mobility. There were times where I saw people carrying wheelchair users up/down stairs because the lift was broken! And Paris was definitely a lot more walking than I expected - I totaled over 100km during my trip!
2024.05.28 13:04 Heroman3003 Wayward Odyssey [Part 4]
Welcome back to another episode of Stynek's bizzare adventure. Today we get to continue where we left off as she begins slowly learning more of her new housing and her hosts' intentions.
As usual, thanks to SpacePaladin15 for his own great work and letting fanfiction flow, and everyone who supported and enjoyed the fic thus far. Your appreciation is distinctly appreciated~
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Memory transcription subject: Stynek, Venlil Test Subject
Date [standardized human time]: July 16th, 2136
Waking up next time was scary. Wrapped in the sheet and left in the dark made it feel like I was completely trapped inside something, so on instinct I started flailing and struggling until I found myself falling off the bed and laying on the floor. Ow. This is what I get for falling asleep wrapped in a bedsheet...
As I looked around my pen, I realized that lights were actively brightening up. Did predators see me waking up and raise light levels? I doubt they’re keeping that close a watch on me. Arxur had lights all over their ships go dimmer on a schedule, maybe I just caught it mid-cycle.
And as I tried to stand up, I was met with a hurdle... I was still missing a leg. Everything about trying to even balance myself felt wrong. I used the bed to try and balance on it, but couldn’t without my whole body feeling off. Feeling... lighter, in absolutely horrid way. I could actually balance on one leg before by raising other, but now as I tried to do that, I just found myself tumbling and needing to catch myself. I... I’ll have to get used to this... Won’t I...?
I couldn’t allow myself to cry. If I couldn’t even stand on one leg and hop... At least I won’t be reduced to crawling on the floor. I gripped at the bed tightly and used my arms to hold myself up as I carefully hopped closer to the little bedside stand, switching my arms to hold onto that. Hopping like that felt so off, it felt like so off, so wrong, I shouldn’t feel this light...
Alright. I am now in front of the bedside stand. Next... I need to make my way across the room. First order of business is checking out the contents of the closet. I needed to know what’s in there. By hopping and clawing my way over to desk in the corner of the room, then by simply clinging to the wall, I manage to approach it and open the sliding door to reveal...
A bathroom. It was not a closet. It was a bathroom. Attached to my cell. Sure, the shape of the devices inside left a lot to be desired, sink was too high and the toilet didn’t have any tail room to it, not to mention complete lack of body drier for the shower. But it was recognizably a bathroom. Part of me was frustrated that there was bathroom instead of closet as a room should be... But another part relieved that I will no longer have to use The Hole like I had to back in the arxur pens. After that business was done, I used a small stool that was probably forgotten in here to use the sink.
Other paw left me very confused as to predators’ true motives... But whatever it is, it can’t be good, they’re predators after all. But since they’ve given me the chance to actually use real cleaning facilities... I will just take it and make use of it. Water valves on the sink were configured in a familiar way, so I managed to wash my paws and even my face, finally getting the stinging dry patches under my eyes out. There was no dryer so I just used a towel to try and dry my face.
With that done, I left the bathroom, barely avoiding falling as I hopped and closed the door behind me, before turning and examining my cell again. Something was different.
It appears in time it took me to use the bathroom, the predators entered the room and left something on the table. A large tray with a whole bunch of small bowls, and a... sheet of paper and a pen? What? Wait, the bowls, those look like... food!
I actually fell over as I lost my balance, before quickly crawling and pushing myself closer to the table, and climbing into one of two chairs next to it. I forgot the last time I ate food that looked like food and not gravel!
Still, hesitation gripped me. It’s predators giving this to me. There has to be some ulterior motive. Pushing back my hunger, I decided to investigate the paper in front of me. It consisted of two halves. One had pictures of contents of all the trays besides empty rectangles, while another had... A bunch of small pictures of venlil? There was nothing actually written on either sheet. Maybe these predators don’t have a language? Not that it matters, I wouldn’t understand it anyway. Closer look revealed that pictures were actually a small comic.
First the venlil is shown taking a bite out of some vague circular food. Then from that picture three lines are drawn to three different outcomes. One has same venlil shoveling multiples of that food into its mouth hungrily, as well as that same food piece beside a rectangle, inside of which two lines were drawn at an angle. Second has venlil just taking few more bites out of the food, and rectangle has a circle inside it. Last one has venlil spitting the food out and throwing it away, with two crossed lines in the rectangle.
Looking between two parts of the sheet for a bit, realization hit me. It’s instructions... For trying all the food. They want me to try everything... And... Mark whether I like it or not? Using these symbols?
“But why...?” I muse out loud, but there’s nobody in here to answer me. Well... If it means I get to eat real food, I guess I could try filling this sheet out. Part of me wondered if I should lie on all the answers, and that its predators figuring out which is the most disgusting food to feed me, but I doubted I’d be able to hide my reaction if it was disgusting and they were probably watching anyway. I felt powerless...
Well, I also felt rather hungry. Feeling of hunger has become way too familiar with how underfed I was with the arxur, but sight of what might be real food made me salivate for first time in forever. Without further ado, I reached out to first thing on the tray.
It was some sort of root, I think, but peeled. It was a stark orange color, thankfully not too reminiscent of blood in shade... I felt an itch in the leg I no longer had at the thought of blood. No, stop, don’t think about that... For a test, I gave the root a little lick. There was a hint of sweetness, so it probably wasn’t bad, right? So I put it in my mouth and bit a piece off, starting to chew. The root turned out to be rather crunchy and mildly sweet... And yet it felt incredible. I was suddenly much more acutely aware of my hunger, food with actual taste reawakening the feeling in force. I swallowed the chunks and bit into it more and more until it was all gone. It was nice to eat something like that. I considered marking it with the angled lines in the sheet, but then realized that I should try at least two things to know how all this stuff compares before making that call.
So I reached my hand towards the next piece of food, what looked like some light red fruit. It was smooth, but test of my claws also showed that it was rather hard. First food wasn’t poisoned, so I doubt rest will be... And I want more! So I just bite into the fruit.
And instantly delicious juice flows into my mouth! It’s not as crunchy as the root vegetable, but its firm enough to need chewing, and yet with every move of my teeth, it seeps delicious sweet juice into my mouth! I couldn’t stop so I kept biting and munching on it. I missed taste of something truly sweet! So much! It took me less than a minute to destroy the fruit. It was the perfect meal. Seeds were a bit bitter, but the rest was worth it.
Now I get why there are three categories. I pick up the pen and draw out the symbols. Angled line for the fruit, and a circle for root. Alright, I’ve got my reference, I guess. But I’m definitely not full and there’s more to try.
Next I reached for green stalks. I wasn’t sure what they were, but they looked like oversized, solid grass. Yet again, lick on the outside showed no clear taste, so I bit on it. It... wasn’t anything, really. It was slightly sour and had this herbal sense to it, but beyond that, didn’t feel like much of anything. I marked that one as a circle too.
Next I thought to try one of the fruits again, this one deep red. It seems like nothing around here has a taste on outside, as yet again, taut skin did not have a taste. I did almost choke when I bit on it though, this one not having any chew to it at all and was practically filled with juice! Worst thing is, juice wasn’t even sweet. I can’t say I disliked the taste, it was rather decent, but the way it basically sprayed my mouth when I bit on it was not something I appreciated. Circle for this one.
Next... what next... Oh, that green thing. I didn’t even bother tasting it on the outside, just biting on the prolonged green fruit. This had no surprises, being as crunchy as that root I tried first, but its taste was even vaguer, even the juices were tasteless. Circle.
Hm... Well that left three items. A white fruit-like orb, a bunch of small nuts and an oblong... thing that I had no idea about. I reached for the orb and, with no hesitation, took a big bite. First thing I felt was slight hint of sweetness and taste of juice in my mouth. Second was pain as I regretted every decision so far. It burned my mouth! It burned my eyes somehow! Instantly, tears burst out of my eyes, and I found myself coughing out the disgusting thing. It pretended to be sweet but it just burned afterwards! Was this a trick after all? Eugh... Disgusting!
I threw the thing away, towards the door, letting it roll on the floor. Stupid predators... I mean, it’s clear they have no clue what to feed me to keep me alive but least they could do is not feed me whatever that is! My eyes hurt now... Through tears I spotted glass of water on the tray and quickly washed the foul taste down. I made sure to draw several sets of crossed lines in the rectangle for this thing. I just hoped that won’t make the predators only feed me that...
Well... One great, a bunch okay, one bad. Let’s... try the rest. I thought that nuts won’t hurt, so I tried a few... And they just tasted like nuts. Nuts are fun snacks, but not my personal favorite. I gave those a circle.
That left only the oblong off-white thing. It was slightly soft to touch... I wasn’t sure if it was meant to be some fruit or something I don’t understand? Carefully, to avoid any more errors, I only take a small bite. Okay, no juice at all, only the nice chewy fiber of the thing... It was sweet! Very sweet for something so juiceless. I took a larger bite and there were no issues. It tasted like weird, juiceless fruit, but was delicious and sweet. Still, texture felt off enough that I gave it a circle.
And... that was it. I ate everything, I rated everything. One great, one terrible, rest are fine. I wiped at my eyes again, as they were slowly watering still from just the memory of that terrible thing now laying on the floor by the door.
Question arose in my mind. What now? I actually felt sated. Not full, definitely, I could go for double what I was given, but at least I didn’t actively feel hunger anymore. I wasn’t that thirsty thanks to how juicy some of those were and that glass of water. And I didn’t feel like sleeping... Normally in arxur pen I’d just huddle to someone willing to let me near and cry. Sure, this place seems nicer, but at least with the arxur I knew what to expect. Here? No clue. I looked down at the stump of my leg, still bandaged over. I... I wanted to cry. All the panic and the confusion completely made me stop thinking about home... Mom and dad... I hope they weren’t caught up in same raid. I... I wonder if they held a funeral already... I remember how mom attended official funeral for someone who got taken by the arxur one time.
Tears started welling up properly now and I pushed them away by trying to stand up... holding onto the table with my hands to not fall over again. Is this going to be my life now...? Unable to even move around without gripping at everything, or crawling on the floor? I want to go home...
As I pulled myself over by clinging to walls, I grabbed the blanket off the bed along the way and made my way over to the desk in the corner, pushing its chair aside and climbing under it. I don’t know why, but crawling under there and wrapping myself up in the blanket just felt safer. And once I felt a bit safer, I couldn’t hold it in anymore.
I miss my home! I miss my family! I miss my school! I miss my leg! Tears flowed as I sobbed and cried into the soft blanket. I didn’t want to be a test subject for weird predators... I didn’t want to be the reason they know more about the venlil... I wanted to taste normal food from home again, not weird predator vegetables and fruit... I wanted to walk on two legs again... I wanted so much I knew nobody could give me...
Click!
My ears perk and instantly my eyes are focusing on the door that just unlocked. It slowly opens and there it is... The same predator as before. I can tell for certain it’s the same, no way all of them look that similar. Of course, the moment it walked in, it locked its gaze on me in my hiding spot. Naturally, I recoiled, further shuffling myself under the desk... Maybe whatever it wants to do, it won’t bother if I’m in annoying to reach spot like that.
It does seem to be working, as first thing the predator does after staring at me for a bit is slowly reach down for the discarded foul food thing and pick it up, stuffing it in zip lock bag it brought with it. Oh... It’s here to... clean? I guess? The suspicions were confirmed when it put the bag on the now-empty tray and gathered the paper with food evaluation that I filled out. But... Instead of taking the tray and leaving, it turned around and approached me.
Lowering itself in front of me, the presence of this huge creature was imposing... But after seeing it cry before, I don’t think I was that intimidated by it, at least. Moreso by what unpredictable things it could do... It just sat there, staring at me... What’s with the staring? Is it considering eating the rest of me finally?
Then that hand reached out. I flinched away, trying to stuff myself deeper under the desk, but there was no deeper to go. The hand moved slowly, predator knowing full well I have no escape route. So as it gets close to my head I close my eyes and hold my breath, not sure what to expect, but bracing for it anyway. Instead of a tight grip... there was a touch, that hand lowering itself on top of my head and just ruffling up my greasy hair. The digits felt strong and dexterous, actually feeling good when they rubbed against my scalp. But just because the touch felt good doesn’t mean I felt good in this uncertainty. A predator was rubbing my head... What was it trying to do? Why would it do that?
The moment lasted a bit before the hand pulled back. I slowly opened my eyes to see the predator’s lips curl up as it whispered something in its language. Or at least I can only assume it’s a whisper with how shushed it was compared to when it actually spoke before. Why is it trying to speak to me when I can’t understand it?
Then... it stood up and turned around, grabbing the tray and heading for the exit. Just like that. It did stop for a moment to turn and give me another look. This time I expected it and didn’t flinch, but I did pull the blanket up higher, using it as a shield. The predator didn’t mind, same expression of curled-up lips and slightly lowered eyelids on its face as it left the room, and another click signifying the door locking.
I let out the breath I was holding with relief. It was gone. I was safe again. And alone...
I wrapped the blanket tighter around myself, pulling my leg up against my chest. That way I could imagine I am cuddling up to someone. In the pens, that was at least possible. Here I was alone. Predator’s touch was surprisingly nice to feel, but knowing it was a predator that... did that... It made me feel so conflicted. And yet the idea of close contact to someone, hugging and cuddling up was still reawakened with that touch.
I wish I could have my mom... But I couldn’t, so I just curled up under the desk and decided to rest until something made me move again.
Memory transcription subject: Dr. Erin Kuemper, UN Secretary of Alien Affairs
Date [standardized human time]: July 16th, 2136
“So, what’ll happen to the guy who replaced the pumpkin with the onion last minute?” Sara asked, sitting beside me.
“Already got a talking to, and honestly, Noah getting to him will be more punishment than anything I could do. I can’t even fault the guy, tasting platter was supposed to be varied.” I responded.
In front of us was a screen, displaying paused footage of venlil child tasting the things we prepared. We made sure to avoid anything even remotely connected to animal product, with what we know of the Federation species culturally, but figuring out actual diet beyond had us stumped. In the end we settled on setting up a few tasting platters. thankfully, the kid was intelligent enough to figure out what was wanted pf her and marked her opinions of the food on the sheet. But even if she hadn’t...
I fast-forwarded the footage a bit and rewatched her reaction to biting the onion. While her facial expressions were rather different from human ones, it was easy to tell which foods she was excited about, which she found just okay, which were whatever and which were... onions. Apples being delicious was almost expected, but somehow I doubted giving her just apples would be nutritionally sound. For the first test, we intentionally avoided anything cooked, but we might try some things like potatoes or bread next time.
“Okay, Erin, I tried, but since you’re not talking about it, I have to. Are you really okay with it? The announcement today?”
That was something I’ve been waiting for ever since Sara offered to join me on analyzing the alien girl’s behavior during meal. She tried to stay distant from anything related to the child so far until now.
The announcement went well. Thing is... it was crafted carefully. The reactions of public were supposed to be mixed and uncertain, and they were. We needed to manage the expectations of the masses carefully. Me being given new position didn’t matter that much yet, as I would mostly still be handling this lab and the alien child until the first trade with the arxur goes through.
“We did what we have to do, Sara. We can’t afford alienating the only people who are our chance at survival. Even if...”
“Even if they’re monsters? Erin, when you spoke on the broadcast about ‘not taking sides in a galactic war where we’re incompatible with both sides’ you conveniently forgot to mention that the side we’re ‘establishing non-committing peaceful cooperation’ with eats fucking children!”
Sara’s anger was understandable... She was lashing out ever since the landing. I understood her perspective and why she was angry, but...
“Okay, so what? You want us to condemn them and cut all contact? Abandon the only source of intel we have? Potentially risk them just coming here and forcing us to cooperate once they decide we’re not fit to govern ourselves if we publically oppose their fundamental beliefs?”
“Okay, fine, whatever, nazi lizards versus genocide squids and whatnot. Their war, we aren’t involved, just using arxur until we can establish ourselves. I hate it, but sure. But then what about the child? Why is she suddenly classified and not mentioned in the broadcast at all? Why is she even still here?”
I simply sighed, rubbing at my eyes. First Noah practically demanding death sentence for the onion guy, now this... And she was still going too...
“We should just pack her up on the Odyssey, set automated course for their homeworld and let her go home. Sure, her parents are likely long dead and eaten, but she should be with her people. Why are we keeping her here at all? Why are we studying her like a test subject? And I know we’re keeping her for a while, I’ve seen the team working on language teaching lessons already.” Sara stood up and walked in front of me, getting in my face even. “Erin... We can’t keep her here.”
I swatted at Sara, pushing her away as I myself stood up. I was tired. These last few days were a constant rollercoaster, and I got more sleep during exam weeks in college than I got lately. I am not taking Sara’s bullshit here.
“This is precisely why we didn’t announce her presence, Sara. Because the moment we do, there’ll be millions of people demanding what you’re suggesting. I have enough on my plate already, and I don’t want to worry about a flash mob of idiots from internet Naruto-running towards the facility to try and ‘rescue’ her.” I adjusted my labcoat and stared back at Sara sternly. “And let’s say we do send her on her own. First, we have to assume that the craft makes it safely, which is not guaranteed. Odyssey was our first manned FTL voyage. Who knows what problems are yet to be discovered? But okay, it makes it to Gliese. Then it gets shot down by local orbital defenses due to being a mysterious unmanned craft barreling towards their homeworld. But sure, let’s assume the kid doesn’t get rest of her limbs blown off by orbital cannons and successfully lands. You know what happens next? They track the ship’s trail back to Earth, come over here and burn us all down for being born with needs for wrong proteins! Is that what you want?”
I didn’t even notice that halfway through my rant I transitioned to yelling. I tried to calm my breath and stepped back, Sara staring back at me in shock, though responding slowly still.
“I’m sorry... I know it’s stressful on you, just as much as it is on me, I just...” Sara mumbled, rubbing at her shoulder apologetically.
I focused my thoughts. Right. No need to get irritable. Sara is vulnerable after events on the Odyssey. She’s lashing out and I shouldn’t stoop down like that.
“Sara... I know you have a hard time knowing she’s around, but simply put, we can’t send her home. Best we can do now is make sure she is safe and well taken care of. Arxur are uncooperative, and until we manage to either obtain some stealth tech for FTL or figure out a way to peacefully communicate with Federation, we just cannot send the venlil back to her people.”
She sighed. I could sense she accepted defeat here, but there was still frustration on her face. She was still unsatisfied, but as long as we moved on from the topic, I’d take it.
“Could you at least get that prosthetic installed for her already? Seeing her completely ignore the crutch we prepared her and crawl and hop her way over by clinging to things, it’s...”
“We’re worried about doing it before establishing at least some sense of communication with her. Noah will start the attempts to do some language training tomorrow. If that works out, we will probably do that once we can explain to her that we mean no harm.”
“How’s the bionic one going? Could we skip straight to that?”
“No. We’d need more surgery to prepare her for something like that and that’d definitely require more trust than we have now.”
Sara nodded and returned to her seat, grabbing the remote. She rewound all the way to the end of the footage and switched to the camera that could see the girl huddled under the desk, as well as Noah petting her, telling her that it’s okay and safe. The moment was touching, but... The way she recoiled from Noah reaching out to her at first showed us more than any words we don’t understand could. She was still very afraid.
Earning her trust will be hard. I just hoped Noah’s compassion for her will overcome the fear she has of humans. After all... She might just be our main hope for finding a place of peace in the galaxy full of war.
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As usual, thanks to SpacePaladin15 for his own great work and letting fanfiction flow, and everyone who supported and enjoyed the fic thus far. Your appreciation is distinctly appreciated~
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Date [standardized human time]: July 16th, 2136
Waking up next time was scary. Wrapped in the sheet and left in the dark made it feel like I was completely trapped inside something, so on instinct I started flailing and struggling until I found myself falling off the bed and laying on the floor. Ow. This is what I get for falling asleep wrapped in a bedsheet...
As I looked around my pen, I realized that lights were actively brightening up. Did predators see me waking up and raise light levels? I doubt they’re keeping that close a watch on me. Arxur had lights all over their ships go dimmer on a schedule, maybe I just caught it mid-cycle.
And as I tried to stand up, I was met with a hurdle... I was still missing a leg. Everything about trying to even balance myself felt wrong. I used the bed to try and balance on it, but couldn’t without my whole body feeling off. Feeling... lighter, in absolutely horrid way. I could actually balance on one leg before by raising other, but now as I tried to do that, I just found myself tumbling and needing to catch myself. I... I’ll have to get used to this... Won’t I...?
I couldn’t allow myself to cry. If I couldn’t even stand on one leg and hop... At least I won’t be reduced to crawling on the floor. I gripped at the bed tightly and used my arms to hold myself up as I carefully hopped closer to the little bedside stand, switching my arms to hold onto that. Hopping like that felt so off, it felt like so off, so wrong, I shouldn’t feel this light...
Alright. I am now in front of the bedside stand. Next... I need to make my way across the room. First order of business is checking out the contents of the closet. I needed to know what’s in there. By hopping and clawing my way over to desk in the corner of the room, then by simply clinging to the wall, I manage to approach it and open the sliding door to reveal...
A bathroom. It was not a closet. It was a bathroom. Attached to my cell. Sure, the shape of the devices inside left a lot to be desired, sink was too high and the toilet didn’t have any tail room to it, not to mention complete lack of body drier for the shower. But it was recognizably a bathroom. Part of me was frustrated that there was bathroom instead of closet as a room should be... But another part relieved that I will no longer have to use The Hole like I had to back in the arxur pens. After that business was done, I used a small stool that was probably forgotten in here to use the sink.
Other paw left me very confused as to predators’ true motives... But whatever it is, it can’t be good, they’re predators after all. But since they’ve given me the chance to actually use real cleaning facilities... I will just take it and make use of it. Water valves on the sink were configured in a familiar way, so I managed to wash my paws and even my face, finally getting the stinging dry patches under my eyes out. There was no dryer so I just used a towel to try and dry my face.
With that done, I left the bathroom, barely avoiding falling as I hopped and closed the door behind me, before turning and examining my cell again. Something was different.
It appears in time it took me to use the bathroom, the predators entered the room and left something on the table. A large tray with a whole bunch of small bowls, and a... sheet of paper and a pen? What? Wait, the bowls, those look like... food!
I actually fell over as I lost my balance, before quickly crawling and pushing myself closer to the table, and climbing into one of two chairs next to it. I forgot the last time I ate food that looked like food and not gravel!
Still, hesitation gripped me. It’s predators giving this to me. There has to be some ulterior motive. Pushing back my hunger, I decided to investigate the paper in front of me. It consisted of two halves. One had pictures of contents of all the trays besides empty rectangles, while another had... A bunch of small pictures of venlil? There was nothing actually written on either sheet. Maybe these predators don’t have a language? Not that it matters, I wouldn’t understand it anyway. Closer look revealed that pictures were actually a small comic.
First the venlil is shown taking a bite out of some vague circular food. Then from that picture three lines are drawn to three different outcomes. One has same venlil shoveling multiples of that food into its mouth hungrily, as well as that same food piece beside a rectangle, inside of which two lines were drawn at an angle. Second has venlil just taking few more bites out of the food, and rectangle has a circle inside it. Last one has venlil spitting the food out and throwing it away, with two crossed lines in the rectangle.
Looking between two parts of the sheet for a bit, realization hit me. It’s instructions... For trying all the food. They want me to try everything... And... Mark whether I like it or not? Using these symbols?
“But why...?” I muse out loud, but there’s nobody in here to answer me. Well... If it means I get to eat real food, I guess I could try filling this sheet out. Part of me wondered if I should lie on all the answers, and that its predators figuring out which is the most disgusting food to feed me, but I doubted I’d be able to hide my reaction if it was disgusting and they were probably watching anyway. I felt powerless...
Well, I also felt rather hungry. Feeling of hunger has become way too familiar with how underfed I was with the arxur, but sight of what might be real food made me salivate for first time in forever. Without further ado, I reached out to first thing on the tray.
It was some sort of root, I think, but peeled. It was a stark orange color, thankfully not too reminiscent of blood in shade... I felt an itch in the leg I no longer had at the thought of blood. No, stop, don’t think about that... For a test, I gave the root a little lick. There was a hint of sweetness, so it probably wasn’t bad, right? So I put it in my mouth and bit a piece off, starting to chew. The root turned out to be rather crunchy and mildly sweet... And yet it felt incredible. I was suddenly much more acutely aware of my hunger, food with actual taste reawakening the feeling in force. I swallowed the chunks and bit into it more and more until it was all gone. It was nice to eat something like that. I considered marking it with the angled lines in the sheet, but then realized that I should try at least two things to know how all this stuff compares before making that call.
So I reached my hand towards the next piece of food, what looked like some light red fruit. It was smooth, but test of my claws also showed that it was rather hard. First food wasn’t poisoned, so I doubt rest will be... And I want more! So I just bite into the fruit.
And instantly delicious juice flows into my mouth! It’s not as crunchy as the root vegetable, but its firm enough to need chewing, and yet with every move of my teeth, it seeps delicious sweet juice into my mouth! I couldn’t stop so I kept biting and munching on it. I missed taste of something truly sweet! So much! It took me less than a minute to destroy the fruit. It was the perfect meal. Seeds were a bit bitter, but the rest was worth it.
Now I get why there are three categories. I pick up the pen and draw out the symbols. Angled line for the fruit, and a circle for root. Alright, I’ve got my reference, I guess. But I’m definitely not full and there’s more to try.
Next I reached for green stalks. I wasn’t sure what they were, but they looked like oversized, solid grass. Yet again, lick on the outside showed no clear taste, so I bit on it. It... wasn’t anything, really. It was slightly sour and had this herbal sense to it, but beyond that, didn’t feel like much of anything. I marked that one as a circle too.
Next I thought to try one of the fruits again, this one deep red. It seems like nothing around here has a taste on outside, as yet again, taut skin did not have a taste. I did almost choke when I bit on it though, this one not having any chew to it at all and was practically filled with juice! Worst thing is, juice wasn’t even sweet. I can’t say I disliked the taste, it was rather decent, but the way it basically sprayed my mouth when I bit on it was not something I appreciated. Circle for this one.
Next... what next... Oh, that green thing. I didn’t even bother tasting it on the outside, just biting on the prolonged green fruit. This had no surprises, being as crunchy as that root I tried first, but its taste was even vaguer, even the juices were tasteless. Circle.
Hm... Well that left three items. A white fruit-like orb, a bunch of small nuts and an oblong... thing that I had no idea about. I reached for the orb and, with no hesitation, took a big bite. First thing I felt was slight hint of sweetness and taste of juice in my mouth. Second was pain as I regretted every decision so far. It burned my mouth! It burned my eyes somehow! Instantly, tears burst out of my eyes, and I found myself coughing out the disgusting thing. It pretended to be sweet but it just burned afterwards! Was this a trick after all? Eugh... Disgusting!
I threw the thing away, towards the door, letting it roll on the floor. Stupid predators... I mean, it’s clear they have no clue what to feed me to keep me alive but least they could do is not feed me whatever that is! My eyes hurt now... Through tears I spotted glass of water on the tray and quickly washed the foul taste down. I made sure to draw several sets of crossed lines in the rectangle for this thing. I just hoped that won’t make the predators only feed me that...
Well... One great, a bunch okay, one bad. Let’s... try the rest. I thought that nuts won’t hurt, so I tried a few... And they just tasted like nuts. Nuts are fun snacks, but not my personal favorite. I gave those a circle.
That left only the oblong off-white thing. It was slightly soft to touch... I wasn’t sure if it was meant to be some fruit or something I don’t understand? Carefully, to avoid any more errors, I only take a small bite. Okay, no juice at all, only the nice chewy fiber of the thing... It was sweet! Very sweet for something so juiceless. I took a larger bite and there were no issues. It tasted like weird, juiceless fruit, but was delicious and sweet. Still, texture felt off enough that I gave it a circle.
And... that was it. I ate everything, I rated everything. One great, one terrible, rest are fine. I wiped at my eyes again, as they were slowly watering still from just the memory of that terrible thing now laying on the floor by the door.
Question arose in my mind. What now? I actually felt sated. Not full, definitely, I could go for double what I was given, but at least I didn’t actively feel hunger anymore. I wasn’t that thirsty thanks to how juicy some of those were and that glass of water. And I didn’t feel like sleeping... Normally in arxur pen I’d just huddle to someone willing to let me near and cry. Sure, this place seems nicer, but at least with the arxur I knew what to expect. Here? No clue. I looked down at the stump of my leg, still bandaged over. I... I wanted to cry. All the panic and the confusion completely made me stop thinking about home... Mom and dad... I hope they weren’t caught up in same raid. I... I wonder if they held a funeral already... I remember how mom attended official funeral for someone who got taken by the arxur one time.
Tears started welling up properly now and I pushed them away by trying to stand up... holding onto the table with my hands to not fall over again. Is this going to be my life now...? Unable to even move around without gripping at everything, or crawling on the floor? I want to go home...
As I pulled myself over by clinging to walls, I grabbed the blanket off the bed along the way and made my way over to the desk in the corner, pushing its chair aside and climbing under it. I don’t know why, but crawling under there and wrapping myself up in the blanket just felt safer. And once I felt a bit safer, I couldn’t hold it in anymore.
I miss my home! I miss my family! I miss my school! I miss my leg! Tears flowed as I sobbed and cried into the soft blanket. I didn’t want to be a test subject for weird predators... I didn’t want to be the reason they know more about the venlil... I wanted to taste normal food from home again, not weird predator vegetables and fruit... I wanted to walk on two legs again... I wanted so much I knew nobody could give me...
Click!
My ears perk and instantly my eyes are focusing on the door that just unlocked. It slowly opens and there it is... The same predator as before. I can tell for certain it’s the same, no way all of them look that similar. Of course, the moment it walked in, it locked its gaze on me in my hiding spot. Naturally, I recoiled, further shuffling myself under the desk... Maybe whatever it wants to do, it won’t bother if I’m in annoying to reach spot like that.
It does seem to be working, as first thing the predator does after staring at me for a bit is slowly reach down for the discarded foul food thing and pick it up, stuffing it in zip lock bag it brought with it. Oh... It’s here to... clean? I guess? The suspicions were confirmed when it put the bag on the now-empty tray and gathered the paper with food evaluation that I filled out. But... Instead of taking the tray and leaving, it turned around and approached me.
Lowering itself in front of me, the presence of this huge creature was imposing... But after seeing it cry before, I don’t think I was that intimidated by it, at least. Moreso by what unpredictable things it could do... It just sat there, staring at me... What’s with the staring? Is it considering eating the rest of me finally?
Then that hand reached out. I flinched away, trying to stuff myself deeper under the desk, but there was no deeper to go. The hand moved slowly, predator knowing full well I have no escape route. So as it gets close to my head I close my eyes and hold my breath, not sure what to expect, but bracing for it anyway. Instead of a tight grip... there was a touch, that hand lowering itself on top of my head and just ruffling up my greasy hair. The digits felt strong and dexterous, actually feeling good when they rubbed against my scalp. But just because the touch felt good doesn’t mean I felt good in this uncertainty. A predator was rubbing my head... What was it trying to do? Why would it do that?
The moment lasted a bit before the hand pulled back. I slowly opened my eyes to see the predator’s lips curl up as it whispered something in its language. Or at least I can only assume it’s a whisper with how shushed it was compared to when it actually spoke before. Why is it trying to speak to me when I can’t understand it?
Then... it stood up and turned around, grabbing the tray and heading for the exit. Just like that. It did stop for a moment to turn and give me another look. This time I expected it and didn’t flinch, but I did pull the blanket up higher, using it as a shield. The predator didn’t mind, same expression of curled-up lips and slightly lowered eyelids on its face as it left the room, and another click signifying the door locking.
I let out the breath I was holding with relief. It was gone. I was safe again. And alone...
I wrapped the blanket tighter around myself, pulling my leg up against my chest. That way I could imagine I am cuddling up to someone. In the pens, that was at least possible. Here I was alone. Predator’s touch was surprisingly nice to feel, but knowing it was a predator that... did that... It made me feel so conflicted. And yet the idea of close contact to someone, hugging and cuddling up was still reawakened with that touch.
I wish I could have my mom... But I couldn’t, so I just curled up under the desk and decided to rest until something made me move again.
Date [standardized human time]: July 16th, 2136
“So, what’ll happen to the guy who replaced the pumpkin with the onion last minute?” Sara asked, sitting beside me.
“Already got a talking to, and honestly, Noah getting to him will be more punishment than anything I could do. I can’t even fault the guy, tasting platter was supposed to be varied.” I responded.
In front of us was a screen, displaying paused footage of venlil child tasting the things we prepared. We made sure to avoid anything even remotely connected to animal product, with what we know of the Federation species culturally, but figuring out actual diet beyond had us stumped. In the end we settled on setting up a few tasting platters. thankfully, the kid was intelligent enough to figure out what was wanted pf her and marked her opinions of the food on the sheet. But even if she hadn’t...
I fast-forwarded the footage a bit and rewatched her reaction to biting the onion. While her facial expressions were rather different from human ones, it was easy to tell which foods she was excited about, which she found just okay, which were whatever and which were... onions. Apples being delicious was almost expected, but somehow I doubted giving her just apples would be nutritionally sound. For the first test, we intentionally avoided anything cooked, but we might try some things like potatoes or bread next time.
“Okay, Erin, I tried, but since you’re not talking about it, I have to. Are you really okay with it? The announcement today?”
That was something I’ve been waiting for ever since Sara offered to join me on analyzing the alien girl’s behavior during meal. She tried to stay distant from anything related to the child so far until now.
The announcement went well. Thing is... it was crafted carefully. The reactions of public were supposed to be mixed and uncertain, and they were. We needed to manage the expectations of the masses carefully. Me being given new position didn’t matter that much yet, as I would mostly still be handling this lab and the alien child until the first trade with the arxur goes through.
“We did what we have to do, Sara. We can’t afford alienating the only people who are our chance at survival. Even if...”
“Even if they’re monsters? Erin, when you spoke on the broadcast about ‘not taking sides in a galactic war where we’re incompatible with both sides’ you conveniently forgot to mention that the side we’re ‘establishing non-committing peaceful cooperation’ with eats fucking children!”
Sara’s anger was understandable... She was lashing out ever since the landing. I understood her perspective and why she was angry, but...
“Okay, so what? You want us to condemn them and cut all contact? Abandon the only source of intel we have? Potentially risk them just coming here and forcing us to cooperate once they decide we’re not fit to govern ourselves if we publically oppose their fundamental beliefs?”
“Okay, fine, whatever, nazi lizards versus genocide squids and whatnot. Their war, we aren’t involved, just using arxur until we can establish ourselves. I hate it, but sure. But then what about the child? Why is she suddenly classified and not mentioned in the broadcast at all? Why is she even still here?”
I simply sighed, rubbing at my eyes. First Noah practically demanding death sentence for the onion guy, now this... And she was still going too...
“We should just pack her up on the Odyssey, set automated course for their homeworld and let her go home. Sure, her parents are likely long dead and eaten, but she should be with her people. Why are we keeping her here at all? Why are we studying her like a test subject? And I know we’re keeping her for a while, I’ve seen the team working on language teaching lessons already.” Sara stood up and walked in front of me, getting in my face even. “Erin... We can’t keep her here.”
I swatted at Sara, pushing her away as I myself stood up. I was tired. These last few days were a constant rollercoaster, and I got more sleep during exam weeks in college than I got lately. I am not taking Sara’s bullshit here.
“This is precisely why we didn’t announce her presence, Sara. Because the moment we do, there’ll be millions of people demanding what you’re suggesting. I have enough on my plate already, and I don’t want to worry about a flash mob of idiots from internet Naruto-running towards the facility to try and ‘rescue’ her.” I adjusted my labcoat and stared back at Sara sternly. “And let’s say we do send her on her own. First, we have to assume that the craft makes it safely, which is not guaranteed. Odyssey was our first manned FTL voyage. Who knows what problems are yet to be discovered? But okay, it makes it to Gliese. Then it gets shot down by local orbital defenses due to being a mysterious unmanned craft barreling towards their homeworld. But sure, let’s assume the kid doesn’t get rest of her limbs blown off by orbital cannons and successfully lands. You know what happens next? They track the ship’s trail back to Earth, come over here and burn us all down for being born with needs for wrong proteins! Is that what you want?”
I didn’t even notice that halfway through my rant I transitioned to yelling. I tried to calm my breath and stepped back, Sara staring back at me in shock, though responding slowly still.
“I’m sorry... I know it’s stressful on you, just as much as it is on me, I just...” Sara mumbled, rubbing at her shoulder apologetically.
I focused my thoughts. Right. No need to get irritable. Sara is vulnerable after events on the Odyssey. She’s lashing out and I shouldn’t stoop down like that.
“Sara... I know you have a hard time knowing she’s around, but simply put, we can’t send her home. Best we can do now is make sure she is safe and well taken care of. Arxur are uncooperative, and until we manage to either obtain some stealth tech for FTL or figure out a way to peacefully communicate with Federation, we just cannot send the venlil back to her people.”
She sighed. I could sense she accepted defeat here, but there was still frustration on her face. She was still unsatisfied, but as long as we moved on from the topic, I’d take it.
“Could you at least get that prosthetic installed for her already? Seeing her completely ignore the crutch we prepared her and crawl and hop her way over by clinging to things, it’s...”
“We’re worried about doing it before establishing at least some sense of communication with her. Noah will start the attempts to do some language training tomorrow. If that works out, we will probably do that once we can explain to her that we mean no harm.”
“How’s the bionic one going? Could we skip straight to that?”
“No. We’d need more surgery to prepare her for something like that and that’d definitely require more trust than we have now.”
Sara nodded and returned to her seat, grabbing the remote. She rewound all the way to the end of the footage and switched to the camera that could see the girl huddled under the desk, as well as Noah petting her, telling her that it’s okay and safe. The moment was touching, but... The way she recoiled from Noah reaching out to her at first showed us more than any words we don’t understand could. She was still very afraid.
Earning her trust will be hard. I just hoped Noah’s compassion for her will overcome the fear she has of humans. After all... She might just be our main hope for finding a place of peace in the galaxy full of war.
2024.05.28 06:07 LucyAriaRose New updates to: AITAH for believing my daughter over a “grown man”?
I am still NOT the Original Poster. That is u/amme04. She posted in AITAH, poor and TwoXChromosomes
Previous BORU posts are here, here and here. I removed some of the relevant comments to save space. New Updates start with ****\*
Mood Spoiler: bleak and will make you hate the justice system
Original Post: November 30, 2023
I don’t know if i watch too many crime shows or if I’m just paranoid so I’ve come here to ask. Last week I made chicken gnocchi soup. When it was almost done I started helping my daughter with a school project. She got us both a bowl and a few seconds later my bf runs into the room with a bowl and tells me to eat the bowl he has. I told him it was all the same and he insisted that he wanted mine because it had more chicken. Thinking back now I don’t know how he would know that considering my daughter dished it out. My daughter took the bowl he gave me and said she would eat it. He yanked it out of hand and said “no it’s for mom”.
I took the bowl and he went to the living room. I continued doing my daughter's project and told her not to eat the soup. 20ish minutes later I walked into the kitchen to pour the soups out and he was still eating his. He asked why we didn’t eat any and I said the cat got into it while we were waiting for it to cool down. He screamed “WHAT!? Was it your bowl !?! Cats can’t eat that!?”. I told him it was only a lick but he has been stressed out watching the cat like a hawk, obsessive even. His reaction was very weird.
These "accidents" all happened before the soup incident over the span of 6 months. It wasn't one after another in a short period of time. Since then my emergency money has gone missing. I keep money hidden just in case. I lost my older sister because she wasn’t able to escape a dangerous situation and I literally swore on her grave I would never be in that position. After the soup incident I went to get my money and it was gone. It was hidden and I changed the location every few months. I asked my daughter if maybe she found it and that if she took it I wouldn’t be mad because I knew she couldn’t have spent it. She said no. A few hours later she tells me she forgot but the other day her and my bf got pulled over and she saw my pink wallet in his glove box. I did not tell her which wallet it was in or that it was in a wallet.
I decided to ask him if he found it by accident. He asked me why I was hiding a large amount of money, “you know you could never leave me” and laughed. (He has never said anything like that before). I told him it was for my daughters Christmas. He said no he didn’t find the money but could use his credit card for gifts. I didn’t tell him about my daughter seeing my wallet in his car. Now here are a few other things that have happened in the past few months that seemed random at the time but now they don’t.
I have a severe allergy to latex. One day we were about to have sex and I glanced at the mirror we have by our bed and saw the condom wrapper was a different color. I stopped him because it wasn’t latex free and he said it was a mistake and just an older one he had. We have been dating for over 2 years and he knows how serious my allergy is. My epipen that I keep in my room is missing and I didn’t realize it. I didn't realize it was missing until I was searching for my money.
Another odd thing is one day he was following me down the stairs while I was carrying laundry and he kicked the back of my leg and I fell. He said he slipped but the stairs are wood and he was wearing his steel toe boots. At the time I thought it was an accident.
Am I overthinking this? My anxiety has been at an all time high. Do I watch too much true crime? Here is why I think I might be the asshole. We have a good relationship. He loves my daughter like she is his. We split all shared bills and we both pull our own weight around the apartment. We don’t fight. He has never so much as raised his voice at me. We are paycheck to paycheck but bills are paid.
I thought about going to my moms house for a few days and asking him when I get there when I’m safe about the money but I don’t have money to do that now. She is on a fixed income and can't help. I feel stupid for being scared. Last night I decided to check his car for my wallet and he caught me. I asked him for my money back and he tried playing dumb. I told him my daughter saw it there. He told me she was lying. I told him I never told her about the money or what wallet. He said he was a grown man and kids lie all the time. I asked him once more for my money and he said “I’m not giving you money to leave me”. I waited until he was in the shower to grab my cat and my daughter and we left.
I can’t take my cat with us to a shelter and the DV shelters are full. I was able to get us a night at a cheap motel. This exact situation is why I had money saved. I did everything right and now I’m screwed. I feel like I just blew up my entire life.
Yes I'm using a burner account and reading all the comments that I can.
Relevant Comment:
Several people accuse this of being obviously fake because events escalated too quickly and why would she be posting on reddit for advice:
"I'm not a character in a anonymous fucking story. I wasn't looking for advice, I was looking for confirmation I wasn't paranoid. You bet your ass I left as soon as he said my daughter was lying. Fuck off"
There is no consensus bot on AITAH, but it was pretty obviously NTA
Update Post 1: December 4, 2023 (4 days later)
A TL:DR; I think my boyfriend put something in my soup. After that incident I remembered a few months ago he almost used a latex condom knowing I’m severely allergic and I also remembered when he “accidentally” knocked me down the stairs. I started piecing things together and realized my epi pen was gone as well as a large amount of money I had hidden. My daughter saw my old wallet in his glove box and he denied it.
My post got alot of attention and my account was shadowbanned for a few days. I was able to appeal and get my account back because I’m not a bot or some AI. Now for the update.
The day after we left he sent me a picture of my epi pen and tried telling me it was in my nightstand the whole time. I tore that room apart looking for it so I KNOW for 100% fact it wasn’t there. He took it. He tried getting me to come back telling me I scared myself stupid and watched too many true crime TV. Something didn't feel right so I told him to put my money and epi pen in the mailbox. We went back and forth and he denied having my money. He then said “If we broke up you and Maria (my daughter) are no longer allowed in my apartment and will be treated like trespassers” and sent me a pic of his target practice sheets. I went to the police about the money and was told it was a civil issue. I was upset but wanted the rest of my stuff so I asked for an escort.
Yesterday I finally got an escort into the apartment with a cop and my landlord. He destroyed everything of my daughters and he ruined the laptop charger I use for work. No epi pen. My daughters medication and back up medical supplies were ruined. Our landlord let me off the lease without having to pay an early termination fee which is great considering I have no money. Motels are expensive. I don’t want to get rid of our cat. All shelters are full and this is scary as shit.
I’m sorry this is a shitty update but I know people wanted it.
Relevant Comments:
There has to be something that can be done about your daughter's meds:
"I'm beyond angry that nothing can be done. Insurance won't cover her medications or supplies until next month. She JUST got refills. I can get her meds but I'll pay out of pocket. I have no money. Since I couldn't prove my money existed I can't prove he stole it. I'm livid."
Restraining order?
"Nope not unless he gets physical with me. I should have let him hit me and I would have a lot more help available which is so fucked up."
Update Post 2: December 10, 2023 (6 days later, 10 days from OG post)
My OP got a lot of attention but then my account got shadowbanned and was temporarily removed. I just updated 5 days ago but this will be my final update because there is nothing anyone can do. I was encouraged to go back to the police station after my last update.
On Saturday December 9th I went back AGAIN. This time I printed out the threatening text messages that included the target practice sheets he sent, I explained in detail about the “accidents” proving he was trying to hurt me, and I even had my landlord put in writing that he believed our lives were in danger after seeing everything I was showing the police and let me leave my lease early. I brought in the destroyed medical supplies and medications.
The police said they had already talked to him and said he didn’t do any of it. He told them my daughter probably destroyed her stuff because she is “special ed”. She has very mild Asperger's but doesn’t destroy things! Since it was his word against mine they believed him. I didn’t have proof he stole the money or that it even existed in the first place. I was told the epi pen was my responsibility and they won’t do anything if it’s lost. I was told to “let it go” and acted like I was bothering the police with my “petty civil issues”.
I am so defeated and angry. My daughter isn’t going to have gifts for Christmas because I have to save for a new deposit on an apartment. We have been staying in motels while I was reaching out to DV resources. I can’t get help without a restraining orde police report. Every place is out of funds. He is getting away with everything and I’m so glad we got out because there is no doubt in my mind he would have gotten away with my murder.
I know this sounds like my last update but that is what happened…nothing new. No justice. No repercussions for him. He gets to stay in the apartment. My landlord offered me another unit across town but I can’t afford to move in. This exact situation is why I had money stashed away because no one has ever cared about me/us and I knew that. There is nothing else I can do.
Editor's note: OOP posted in another sub with the exact same information as above and no new update. However, she did add this clarification about shelters:
"All shelters are full. I found an organization who helps DV victims with housing but only if you have a police report and a restraining order. I guess they are tired of victims going back to their partner, safety reasons, or something. I was denied a restraining order because I had no proof. I’m scared, exhausted, and disappointed."
Update Post 3: December 28, 2023 (18 days later)
Title: I thought we were safe
Alot of people wanted a update so here it is. On Christmas he slashed my tires knowing I would have to pay out of pocket to replace them which I don’t have. Today he threw a heavy patio chair through the window of the place we were staying at to let me know he knew where we were and I was asked to leave for everyone's safety.
Except my daughter and I aren’t safe. I walked in the sleet/snow with my daughter and our cat and I felt vulnerable and like open prey so we came back to the police station to sit in the lobby until morning. Shelters are still full and I now have to disclose that he is dangerous anywhere we go. Police couldn’t find him but I know he has to be close.
I don’t know what his end game is.
Relevant Comments:
Can police direct you to a DV shelter?
"The shelters here are full so we are just sitting in the police station lobby. We are at least safe and warm so I'm grateful for that."
On donations:
"Donations aren't allowed here and my post could get removed because of it. I'm trying to stay awake and really just venting. I'm so frustrated that he keeps getting away with this shit."
Do you know how he keeps finding you? Have you checked for trackers?
"I honestly have no idea! He is supposed to have a new girlfriend too so IDK why he is messing with me and destroying property"
Reset your phone to factory settings:
"I got a cheap burner after we left. He doesn't have my number nor have I used it to call anyone so IDK how he is tracking me."
You said he sent you a photo of the epi pen after you left. How did he communicate that to you?
"He sent it through my email before I blocked it."
Update Post 4: January 1, 2024 (4 days later; a bit over 1 month from OG post)
Title: I found the air tag in the cat carrier
Please read my other posts for more context but a tl:dr; I’m pretty sure my ex was/is trying to kill me. There were a few instances that I wrote off as “accidents'' until I think he poisoned my soup that was specifically for me. On Christmas he found where we were staying and slashed my tires and threw a heavy patio chair and planter through a window. He still hasn’t been caught.
I checked everywhere I could think of and still couldn't figure out how he was tracking us. I blocked him on everything including email after he sent me pics of his target practice sheets among other things. I got a cheap burner phone. My daughter was out of school for winter break so he didn’t follow her or anything. I checked my car for a tracker. Still nothing.
I do not have an iphone so I couldn’t check whatever app a air tag is attached to. My cat is harness trained and wears a collar but there was no tracker. Until today I decided to “feel up” (sorry only way I can describe it) the carrier. I ran my fingers over every inch of it and felt a bump on the bottom soft side. There was no new stitching or obvious cut. He had to use a seam ripper along the stitching. It was undetectable and I almost missed it. He had to have had help because I’ve never seen him sew anything. Probably the same person who is letting him hide now.
If his excuse for the air tag was to track my cat he would have put it on his collar or harness because that is what he would wear when we go on walks/car rides. My cat would never go in his carrier unless I was planning on leaving for more than a few days. I have no idea how long it has been there nor do I know how far the tracker works but now we aren’t safe where we are, AGAIN. I feel disgusting and I feel like hunted prey. This is so unnerving and I’m so uncomfortable. Who the f*ck was I living with?
Relevant Comment:
Update Post 5: January 7, 2024 (6 days later, 5.5 weeks from OG post)
Title: I finally got the restraining order!
I’m hoping this update will make everyone as happy as it makes me! I was finally granted the restraining order. And we get the keys to our new apartment on the 11th. A place I can afford monthly and comes partially furnished. It’s in a super safe area right by my daughter's school. There is security!! We will spend our time living in our car until then and of course it has to be snowing but we are together and we have our kitty. This nightmare is almost over.
Update Post 5: February 2, 2024 (almost 1 month later)
Title: A restraining order didn't stop him
This morning he found me.
I've been sick as hell so after I dropped my daughter off at school I went straight home.
I didn't drive around to make sure no one was following me. I messed up.
He broke my nose and shattered my orbital bone. He is in jail. Sorry for this update ya'll.
Relevant Comments:
"Staying in the hospital for the night, I was pretty sick before this happened. My daughter is with a friend for the night. My landlord fixed the door as best he could and told me my cat wasn't in the apartment so I'm worried sick. I thought this was over, I'm so so so tired."
"I'm sure his mom will bail him out. Why can't he just move on? He took my money and my peace, what more can he take until he is satisfied?"
Commenter: Please pull your daughter out of her school and leave the state ASAP.
Title: Not being able to move even if my life depends on it
I know the importance of having money saved and I live within my means. How many of us is one disaster away from losing everything? A fire, job loss, a bank screw up, a late paycheck, illness, or someone stealing from you. I had money saved because I knew that any one of those things could happen and I wouldn't have anyone who could help me. And it did. Two months ago my ex tried poisoning me and stole the money I had saved. It’s been hell since. I was able to break my lease and leave. I went to my moms over Christmas break but I came back because I didn’t want to disrupt my daughters schooling and I underestimated my ex.
I was able to get an apartment through DV services very quickly which was a miracle. I know how hard it is to find housing and then try to come up with all the deposits a new place needs. I did it, the cards fell in my favor. But then I fucked up. On Friday I took my daughter to school and wasn’t diligent. I will usually drive around to make sure I’m not being followed. To be honest I started feeling crazy, paranoid, and angry I was wasting gas. Plus I have pneumonia and strep that I haven’t been able to pay for the antibiotics so I just went home to my bed.
He found me and broke my nose, shattered my orbital bone, and I have a concussion. I had a restraining order and he was arrested. I shared this on another sub and everyone telling me to move, leave, RUN. Except I can’t do that. It’s hard trying to explain that to people for them to understand because it sounds like excuses, like I like living in fear or something. I can’t pull money out of thin air. My credit card is maxed. I contacted DV services at the hospital and because I just got help, I can’t get it again.
The thing I didn’t know about abusive men is that they don’t just move on or stop. There are DV shelters but they are full. I wish people would understand that I know how serious this is but money doesn’t grow on trees. Even if a life depends on it.
Relevant Comments:
Will your parents really not help you?
I only have my mom who lives out of state. She is on a fixed income so she can't help me. We could stay with her but at this point I'm out of luck and nothing worth a damn to sell.
You need to disappear:
Honestly how? I'm not going to get anywhere on foot.
Update Post 7: February 15, 2024 (11 days later, 2.5 months from OG post)
Title: He was with me to get to my daughter
It all makes sense now. If you need more context please read my past posts. In my first post I said how we had a normal relationship and he was never abusive, controlling, never raised his voice. The money that he ended up stealing was money I had hidden since before he even moved in. I was not hiding money to get away from him. I was not afraid of him. I lost my sister to DV and swore I’d never have that happen to me only to end up in that exact situation. We didn’t have this spectacular love that was filled with insane chemistry, nowhere near a “love of my life” situation which is why I was so confused by how desperate he got.
After he got arrested his mom went on a social media rant because I “got her baby locked up” and knew we were sleeping in my car so was telling her followers that if they find me to call her. Very bold and insane. One of my exes friends saw this and commented “Idk if you should be sticking up for him, he needs serious help”. I don’t know how I caught it before it was deleted but I reached out to him on my fake facebook.
Every time they were drinking he would talk about her and then laugh it off. It made his friends uncomfortable but they chalked it up to the booze. Two weeks ago when my daughter came to see me in the hospital she was distraught. It made sense because I looked like hell but she kept repeating over and over asking me why he did this to me. I think there was more to this and I’m frightened to my core. Remember he stole my epi pen and money but he destroyed almost everything of hers and I didn't understand it because she had nothing to do with the breakup.
Why did he destroy her medicine? Why did he destroy her clothes? Fucking why? Dont abusers threaten their victim into not saying anything or something is going to happen to someone/something they love? I’m sick to my stomach even writing that out. I don’t know where to go from here, how do I even begin a conversation about this with her? We are safe. I’m not worried about him finding us because he is still in jail which is great because I’m out of money. He wasn’t desperate and crazy because he was losing me, I think it was because of her.
Update Post 8: February 20, 2024 (5 days later)
Title: My ex is getting bailed out tomorrow
I'm so angry and scared.
I wish I had faith in the justice system and with cops because they are supposed to protect, right? Except that isn't always the case.
I'm tired of being hurt and I'm tired of being scared. Anxiety is on 100.
It's exhausting fearing my daughter and I's life.
Update Post 9: February 28, 2024 (8 days later, 3 months from OG post)
Title: How can I feel safer at home?
I know a lot of people are following my posts and will be disappointed in hearing that my ex was bailed out. I’m still healing from when he broke my nose and shattered my orbital bone. I know a restraining order is just a piece of paper because he ignored it when I was attacked and the police aren’t going to save me. For security I only have a door bar that slides under the knob. I don’t have a ring camera and I can’t buy a pew pew until I have extra funds. He made me sell it a year ago because he was “uncomfortable” with it being in the house. Another red flag I missed.
My question is what can I do to feel safer that doesn’t require money? Every night my daughter and I push the couch in front of the door but I’m worried that if there is a fire we can’t get out. I have myself worried sick to the point of painful stomach ulcers. I tried talking to my nearest neighbor but when I started explaining my situation and how it would be great if she could let me know if she sees anyone around my apartment she got weirded out. Which I get.
Just looking for some peace of mind, will that ever exist in my life again?
Update Post 10: March 6, 2024 (1 week later)
Title: AITAH or was this just a mistake?
Editor's note: I removed the first part of this as it is a recap of the previous posts
I know this is all I post about and if you want more context you can read my past posts. I feel like I need to tell someone what is happening so that it makes it feel real and that I’m not just upset and crazy for nothing. My ex got out on bail last week. My daughter and I already left the new apartment we had moved into after he attacked me.
My daughter's school knows about my situation and knows I have a restraining order. Today my daughter got a call from the front office at school. The secretary told her that the pickup car had changed from mine to a new car. She was being told this so that when school let out she wouldn’t get upset when she didn’t see my car. The “new car” is the same one as my exes. It is a rare cacolor and she told me she knew it was his car. She didn’t say anything to the secretary or her teacher because she was instantly scared. It breaks my heart that she was in fear because she thought he had got me and was going to get her.
She was given the message hours before school let out so she spent all that time worrying. The last ten minutes of the day is when the kids can use the bathroom and clean up. She started crying infront of her whole class and when the bell rang she refused to leave her classroom. I was in the carpool line when I got the call from her teacher.
I have never seen her so upset and that is saying a lot because she was so upset when she visited me in the hospital. Face beet red, hyperventilating, snot everywhere, she had cried so hard she got a nosebleed. After they told me what happened I was livid. It all sounded like bullshit because the secretary never should have relayed the message without talking to me first since she said it was a male on the phone. As soon as the secretary looked my daughter up to find out which room to call she should have seen the message I thought I had saying no one should ever pick her up but me. No information should ever be released.
“He was never in contact with her so it’s not that big of a deal, it was a mistake” is what they told me. All he had to give was her full name and what grade she was in to get a message to her. They said that to me with a straight face while the bruises he gave me were very visible proving he is a violent man. I’m so f*cking angry. She told me she knew I didn’t get a new car because as much as I try to hide it from her she knows I’m broke. She thought she was going to have to go with him. She has been so traumatized and I don't know what to do. She wants to switch to e learning but since it’s not a medical reason and not a school wide restriction I would have to pay to rent the laptop. Which I obviously can’t.
The school is calling it an innocent mistake and didn't even apologize. I know I'm the only one responsible for my daughter and I’s safety but damn if people could stop jeopardizing it like it’s nothing and then acting like I’m the asshole for being upset because it was a “mistake”. He wasn’t there after school but he could have.
Update Post 11: March 7, 2024 (Next Day)
Title: He is never going to stop terrorizing us
Editor's note- This is an almost word for word repost of the above post. I've kept it here for the timeline but also to include relevant Comments.
Relevant Comments:
Commenter: I hate to blatantly ask but did you ever find your cat?
I've had a few people asking so I wanted to update. I can now confidently say that my daughter, cat, and I are safe and will continue to be from here on out. I can start rebuilding without fear. I'm not okay but we are safe.
Update Post 13: April 23, 2024 (3 weeks later, almost 5 months from OG post)
Title: I’ve spent the last 4 months running for my life
I just want to say that if anyone is going through something similar to me, you can vent to me. This is something you have to experience to understand how hard it is. I know there are DV resources but they are extremely limited. I had someone on here “checking in” with me and when I explained what was going on I was asked “why aren’t you stable yet” and it kinda took me off guard. Only a few people knew I was pregnant through this.
I left my home with basically nothing and went to a hotel and he found me, I went to another hotel and he found me, I went to a safe house for two nights where I was asked to leave because my ex was dangerous, slept in my car with my daughter, went to my moms out of state, came back to my home state because that is where DV resources helped with a apartment, he followed me back to my apartment from my daughters school, I was hospitalized when he broke my nose, shattered my orbital bone, and gave me a concussion. I had to leave that apt, back to hotels and sleeping in my car, and finally back to my moms. So much money feels wasted. I have the opportunity to be added onto her new lease but it’s a bigger unit and requires a first/last deposit (impossible unless I rob a bank). The pet deposit is already paid.
But I only have until the 1st or we are back to living in the car because we have exceeded our “visitation” days. A year lease where my rent would only be $500 a month, utilities maybe $150? I’d be saving so much money and be able to rebuild my life. We would all have our own rooms which means privacy! Even though we are all female, privacy is precious. I haven’t slept in a bed since the hotel beds but even then it wasn’t “my” bed. It’s been my car, hotel bed, or the couch. Even when we were briefly in our new place I still slept on the couch with it pushed against the front door.
I know all my posts are about the same thing, one thing after another, and yes it IS exhausting and repetitive but think about how I feel. I’m desperate for stability and I can’t get it because he took so much from me. It wasn’t until I was out of “our” house and away from him for me to see how much power he had over my life. It’s embarrassing. Even if I have to go back to living in my car I’ll still be around to talk and I’ll still be optimistic because I deserve good things to happen to me that aren't only in my dreams.
Clarification on the air tag:
There was! Someone helped him put one in my cat's carrier because he knew if I was going to leave, I'd never leave my cat behind.
Update Post 14: May 21, 2024 (1 month later, almost 6 from OG post)
Title: The vet gave my abuser my location
I want to say this was a genuine mistake and not done with malicious intent but I still need to vent about it. Just like my daughter's school letting my abuser give her a message, this was an accident but accidents put my life in danger and I’m exhausted. I post about my situation alot and despite a few users thinking my ex would find my reddit, I’m not worried about that. However, I am terrified of him knowing where I am. He has gone through a restraining order, police don’t scare him, and when he got/gets arrested he will just get bailed out. I knew the only way I could live a normal life was getting as far away from him as possible.
So I took my daughter and cat and moved in with my mom a few states away. I was 100% confident that he didn’t know where I was because they never met, we were actually estranged for a few years before my ex and I even got together. I started feeling safe. I stopped jumping when I heard loud trucks. I was starting to get comfortable even though not alot of time had passed.
A few days ago my cat's back legs stopped working and he lost control of his bodily fluids.I was working but my mom rushed him to the ER vet. There were questions she couldn’t answer so they asked if he was chipped. He is but I changed my number a few times lately so one of the two numbers was out of service so they called the second one. I forgot to remove his number, I know this is my fault. The vet called him to get information and he didn’t give any information and hung up on them. The receptionist said he called back about 5 minutes later and said “I know she doesn’t have money. Tell her I’ll save her cat if she comes home”.
He knows how much my cat means to me. He found me the first time I left because his mom helped him sew an air tag into the lining of the cat carrier. He knew if I was to ever leave him I wouldn’t leave my cat. One time my ex threw him out of the house to hurt me while I was at work he refused to leave the porch. My ex then tried squirting him with a water bottle and when that didn’t work, he sprayed him with the hose. He basically got waterboarded and still would not leave.
He is my soul cat. When I got to the vet and they told me what happened I had one of the worst panic attacks I’ve had in awhile. I’ve had my cat for ten years and he has never gotten sick or injured. He has a UTI and a fractured foot from falling. The vet thinks he probably got his foot hurt first and that led to the UTI since he wasn’t using the litter box. I noticed he was slightly limping a few days ago but I couldn’t get him into the vet yet. The UTI developed quickly. I was naive in thinking the vet would save a pet's life even if the owner can’t pay upfront but it isn’t like a human going into the ER.
I’ve spent so much money and time trying to get away from my ex while also trying to live a normal safe life for my daughter. Once again something happens and he now knows the city we are in. I’m not running again because I can’t. I don’t think he will drive up here because like I said I’m a few states away but man did this bring back my paranoia and irrational fear.
I changed the chip information but the damage is done, I was a fucking idiot for not doing it sooner. This is my fault, I'm so damn tired.
Relevant Comments:
Commenter: Why did they use the microchip to get your number? Did your mom not have your most recent number to give them or something? Could you not be reached at work? That’s just weird to me.
submitted by LucyAriaRose to BestofRedditorUpdates [link] [comments]
Previous BORU posts are here, here and here. I removed some of the relevant comments to save space. New Updates start with ****\*
A reminder that this sub has the 7 day waiting period, so the last update is 7 days old. This is a LONG, dark post.
Trigger Warnings: attempted murder; domestic violence; stalking; possible child predation; attempted kidnappingMood Spoiler: bleak and will make you hate the justice system
Original Post: November 30, 2023
I don’t know if i watch too many crime shows or if I’m just paranoid so I’ve come here to ask. Last week I made chicken gnocchi soup. When it was almost done I started helping my daughter with a school project. She got us both a bowl and a few seconds later my bf runs into the room with a bowl and tells me to eat the bowl he has. I told him it was all the same and he insisted that he wanted mine because it had more chicken. Thinking back now I don’t know how he would know that considering my daughter dished it out. My daughter took the bowl he gave me and said she would eat it. He yanked it out of hand and said “no it’s for mom”.
I took the bowl and he went to the living room. I continued doing my daughter's project and told her not to eat the soup. 20ish minutes later I walked into the kitchen to pour the soups out and he was still eating his. He asked why we didn’t eat any and I said the cat got into it while we were waiting for it to cool down. He screamed “WHAT!? Was it your bowl !?! Cats can’t eat that!?”. I told him it was only a lick but he has been stressed out watching the cat like a hawk, obsessive even. His reaction was very weird.
These "accidents" all happened before the soup incident over the span of 6 months. It wasn't one after another in a short period of time. Since then my emergency money has gone missing. I keep money hidden just in case. I lost my older sister because she wasn’t able to escape a dangerous situation and I literally swore on her grave I would never be in that position. After the soup incident I went to get my money and it was gone. It was hidden and I changed the location every few months. I asked my daughter if maybe she found it and that if she took it I wouldn’t be mad because I knew she couldn’t have spent it. She said no. A few hours later she tells me she forgot but the other day her and my bf got pulled over and she saw my pink wallet in his glove box. I did not tell her which wallet it was in or that it was in a wallet.
I decided to ask him if he found it by accident. He asked me why I was hiding a large amount of money, “you know you could never leave me” and laughed. (He has never said anything like that before). I told him it was for my daughters Christmas. He said no he didn’t find the money but could use his credit card for gifts. I didn’t tell him about my daughter seeing my wallet in his car. Now here are a few other things that have happened in the past few months that seemed random at the time but now they don’t.
I have a severe allergy to latex. One day we were about to have sex and I glanced at the mirror we have by our bed and saw the condom wrapper was a different color. I stopped him because it wasn’t latex free and he said it was a mistake and just an older one he had. We have been dating for over 2 years and he knows how serious my allergy is. My epipen that I keep in my room is missing and I didn’t realize it. I didn't realize it was missing until I was searching for my money.
Another odd thing is one day he was following me down the stairs while I was carrying laundry and he kicked the back of my leg and I fell. He said he slipped but the stairs are wood and he was wearing his steel toe boots. At the time I thought it was an accident.
Am I overthinking this? My anxiety has been at an all time high. Do I watch too much true crime? Here is why I think I might be the asshole. We have a good relationship. He loves my daughter like she is his. We split all shared bills and we both pull our own weight around the apartment. We don’t fight. He has never so much as raised his voice at me. We are paycheck to paycheck but bills are paid.
I thought about going to my moms house for a few days and asking him when I get there when I’m safe about the money but I don’t have money to do that now. She is on a fixed income and can't help. I feel stupid for being scared. Last night I decided to check his car for my wallet and he caught me. I asked him for my money back and he tried playing dumb. I told him my daughter saw it there. He told me she was lying. I told him I never told her about the money or what wallet. He said he was a grown man and kids lie all the time. I asked him once more for my money and he said “I’m not giving you money to leave me”. I waited until he was in the shower to grab my cat and my daughter and we left.
I can’t take my cat with us to a shelter and the DV shelters are full. I was able to get us a night at a cheap motel. This exact situation is why I had money saved. I did everything right and now I’m screwed. I feel like I just blew up my entire life.
Yes I'm using a burner account and reading all the comments that I can.
Relevant Comment:
Several people accuse this of being obviously fake because events escalated too quickly and why would she be posting on reddit for advice:
"I'm not a character in a anonymous fucking story. I wasn't looking for advice, I was looking for confirmation I wasn't paranoid. You bet your ass I left as soon as he said my daughter was lying. Fuck off"
There is no consensus bot on AITAH, but it was pretty obviously NTA
Update Post 1: December 4, 2023 (4 days later)
A TL:DR; I think my boyfriend put something in my soup. After that incident I remembered a few months ago he almost used a latex condom knowing I’m severely allergic and I also remembered when he “accidentally” knocked me down the stairs. I started piecing things together and realized my epi pen was gone as well as a large amount of money I had hidden. My daughter saw my old wallet in his glove box and he denied it.
My post got alot of attention and my account was shadowbanned for a few days. I was able to appeal and get my account back because I’m not a bot or some AI. Now for the update.
The day after we left he sent me a picture of my epi pen and tried telling me it was in my nightstand the whole time. I tore that room apart looking for it so I KNOW for 100% fact it wasn’t there. He took it. He tried getting me to come back telling me I scared myself stupid and watched too many true crime TV. Something didn't feel right so I told him to put my money and epi pen in the mailbox. We went back and forth and he denied having my money. He then said “If we broke up you and Maria (my daughter) are no longer allowed in my apartment and will be treated like trespassers” and sent me a pic of his target practice sheets. I went to the police about the money and was told it was a civil issue. I was upset but wanted the rest of my stuff so I asked for an escort.
Yesterday I finally got an escort into the apartment with a cop and my landlord. He destroyed everything of my daughters and he ruined the laptop charger I use for work. No epi pen. My daughters medication and back up medical supplies were ruined. Our landlord let me off the lease without having to pay an early termination fee which is great considering I have no money. Motels are expensive. I don’t want to get rid of our cat. All shelters are full and this is scary as shit.
I’m sorry this is a shitty update but I know people wanted it.
Relevant Comments:
There has to be something that can be done about your daughter's meds:
"I'm beyond angry that nothing can be done. Insurance won't cover her medications or supplies until next month. She JUST got refills. I can get her meds but I'll pay out of pocket. I have no money. Since I couldn't prove my money existed I can't prove he stole it. I'm livid."
Restraining order?
"Nope not unless he gets physical with me. I should have let him hit me and I would have a lot more help available which is so fucked up."
Update Post 2: December 10, 2023 (6 days later, 10 days from OG post)
My OP got a lot of attention but then my account got shadowbanned and was temporarily removed. I just updated 5 days ago but this will be my final update because there is nothing anyone can do. I was encouraged to go back to the police station after my last update.
On Saturday December 9th I went back AGAIN. This time I printed out the threatening text messages that included the target practice sheets he sent, I explained in detail about the “accidents” proving he was trying to hurt me, and I even had my landlord put in writing that he believed our lives were in danger after seeing everything I was showing the police and let me leave my lease early. I brought in the destroyed medical supplies and medications.
The police said they had already talked to him and said he didn’t do any of it. He told them my daughter probably destroyed her stuff because she is “special ed”. She has very mild Asperger's but doesn’t destroy things! Since it was his word against mine they believed him. I didn’t have proof he stole the money or that it even existed in the first place. I was told the epi pen was my responsibility and they won’t do anything if it’s lost. I was told to “let it go” and acted like I was bothering the police with my “petty civil issues”.
I am so defeated and angry. My daughter isn’t going to have gifts for Christmas because I have to save for a new deposit on an apartment. We have been staying in motels while I was reaching out to DV resources. I can’t get help without a restraining orde police report. Every place is out of funds. He is getting away with everything and I’m so glad we got out because there is no doubt in my mind he would have gotten away with my murder.
I know this sounds like my last update but that is what happened…nothing new. No justice. No repercussions for him. He gets to stay in the apartment. My landlord offered me another unit across town but I can’t afford to move in. This exact situation is why I had money stashed away because no one has ever cared about me/us and I knew that. There is nothing else I can do.
Editor's note: OOP posted in another sub with the exact same information as above and no new update. However, she did add this clarification about shelters:
"All shelters are full. I found an organization who helps DV victims with housing but only if you have a police report and a restraining order. I guess they are tired of victims going back to their partner, safety reasons, or something. I was denied a restraining order because I had no proof. I’m scared, exhausted, and disappointed."
Update Post 3: December 28, 2023 (18 days later)
Title: I thought we were safe
Alot of people wanted a update so here it is. On Christmas he slashed my tires knowing I would have to pay out of pocket to replace them which I don’t have. Today he threw a heavy patio chair through the window of the place we were staying at to let me know he knew where we were and I was asked to leave for everyone's safety.
Except my daughter and I aren’t safe. I walked in the sleet/snow with my daughter and our cat and I felt vulnerable and like open prey so we came back to the police station to sit in the lobby until morning. Shelters are still full and I now have to disclose that he is dangerous anywhere we go. Police couldn’t find him but I know he has to be close.
I don’t know what his end game is.
Relevant Comments:
Can police direct you to a DV shelter?
"The shelters here are full so we are just sitting in the police station lobby. We are at least safe and warm so I'm grateful for that."
On donations:
"Donations aren't allowed here and my post could get removed because of it. I'm trying to stay awake and really just venting. I'm so frustrated that he keeps getting away with this shit."
Do you know how he keeps finding you? Have you checked for trackers?
"I honestly have no idea! He is supposed to have a new girlfriend too so IDK why he is messing with me and destroying property"
Reset your phone to factory settings:
"I got a cheap burner after we left. He doesn't have my number nor have I used it to call anyone so IDK how he is tracking me."
You said he sent you a photo of the epi pen after you left. How did he communicate that to you?
"He sent it through my email before I blocked it."
Update Post 4: January 1, 2024 (4 days later; a bit over 1 month from OG post)
Title: I found the air tag in the cat carrier
Please read my other posts for more context but a tl:dr; I’m pretty sure my ex was/is trying to kill me. There were a few instances that I wrote off as “accidents'' until I think he poisoned my soup that was specifically for me. On Christmas he found where we were staying and slashed my tires and threw a heavy patio chair and planter through a window. He still hasn’t been caught.
I checked everywhere I could think of and still couldn't figure out how he was tracking us. I blocked him on everything including email after he sent me pics of his target practice sheets among other things. I got a cheap burner phone. My daughter was out of school for winter break so he didn’t follow her or anything. I checked my car for a tracker. Still nothing.
I do not have an iphone so I couldn’t check whatever app a air tag is attached to. My cat is harness trained and wears a collar but there was no tracker. Until today I decided to “feel up” (sorry only way I can describe it) the carrier. I ran my fingers over every inch of it and felt a bump on the bottom soft side. There was no new stitching or obvious cut. He had to use a seam ripper along the stitching. It was undetectable and I almost missed it. He had to have had help because I’ve never seen him sew anything. Probably the same person who is letting him hide now.
If his excuse for the air tag was to track my cat he would have put it on his collar or harness because that is what he would wear when we go on walks/car rides. My cat would never go in his carrier unless I was planning on leaving for more than a few days. I have no idea how long it has been there nor do I know how far the tracker works but now we aren’t safe where we are, AGAIN. I feel disgusting and I feel like hunted prey. This is so unnerving and I’m so uncomfortable. Who the f*ck was I living with?
Relevant Comment:
I’m sorry but I don’t find it believable that he tracked you with an AirTag.I don't know how airtags work and didn't say that is how he is tracking me, just that I found one. It doesn't make sense how he knew where we were.
Update Post 5: January 7, 2024 (6 days later, 5.5 weeks from OG post)
Title: I finally got the restraining order!
I’m hoping this update will make everyone as happy as it makes me! I was finally granted the restraining order. And we get the keys to our new apartment on the 11th. A place I can afford monthly and comes partially furnished. It’s in a super safe area right by my daughter's school. There is security!! We will spend our time living in our car until then and of course it has to be snowing but we are together and we have our kitty. This nightmare is almost over.
Update Post 5: February 2, 2024 (almost 1 month later)
Title: A restraining order didn't stop him
This morning he found me.
I've been sick as hell so after I dropped my daughter off at school I went straight home.
I didn't drive around to make sure no one was following me. I messed up.
He broke my nose and shattered my orbital bone. He is in jail. Sorry for this update ya'll.
Relevant Comments:
"Staying in the hospital for the night, I was pretty sick before this happened. My daughter is with a friend for the night. My landlord fixed the door as best he could and told me my cat wasn't in the apartment so I'm worried sick. I thought this was over, I'm so so so tired."
"I'm sure his mom will bail him out. Why can't he just move on? He took my money and my peace, what more can he take until he is satisfied?"
Commenter: Please pull your daughter out of her school and leave the state ASAP.
OOP: I so wish I could do this but we just moved into our new place. I should have just stayed with my mom (she lives in another state) but I didn't want to disrupt my daughters life too much. I have three dollars to my name so I can't leave.You often can break leases without penalties in DV situations:
My previous landlord let me out of my lease without a penalty and my new one will too I just can't afford to move.Update Post 6: February 4, 2024 (2 days later)
Title: Not being able to move even if my life depends on it
I know the importance of having money saved and I live within my means. How many of us is one disaster away from losing everything? A fire, job loss, a bank screw up, a late paycheck, illness, or someone stealing from you. I had money saved because I knew that any one of those things could happen and I wouldn't have anyone who could help me. And it did. Two months ago my ex tried poisoning me and stole the money I had saved. It’s been hell since. I was able to break my lease and leave. I went to my moms over Christmas break but I came back because I didn’t want to disrupt my daughters schooling and I underestimated my ex.
I was able to get an apartment through DV services very quickly which was a miracle. I know how hard it is to find housing and then try to come up with all the deposits a new place needs. I did it, the cards fell in my favor. But then I fucked up. On Friday I took my daughter to school and wasn’t diligent. I will usually drive around to make sure I’m not being followed. To be honest I started feeling crazy, paranoid, and angry I was wasting gas. Plus I have pneumonia and strep that I haven’t been able to pay for the antibiotics so I just went home to my bed.
He found me and broke my nose, shattered my orbital bone, and I have a concussion. I had a restraining order and he was arrested. I shared this on another sub and everyone telling me to move, leave, RUN. Except I can’t do that. It’s hard trying to explain that to people for them to understand because it sounds like excuses, like I like living in fear or something. I can’t pull money out of thin air. My credit card is maxed. I contacted DV services at the hospital and because I just got help, I can’t get it again.
The thing I didn’t know about abusive men is that they don’t just move on or stop. There are DV shelters but they are full. I wish people would understand that I know how serious this is but money doesn’t grow on trees. Even if a life depends on it.
Relevant Comments:
Will your parents really not help you?
I only have my mom who lives out of state. She is on a fixed income so she can't help me. We could stay with her but at this point I'm out of luck and nothing worth a damn to sell.
You need to disappear:
Honestly how? I'm not going to get anywhere on foot.
Update Post 7: February 15, 2024 (11 days later, 2.5 months from OG post)
Title: He was with me to get to my daughter
It all makes sense now. If you need more context please read my past posts. In my first post I said how we had a normal relationship and he was never abusive, controlling, never raised his voice. The money that he ended up stealing was money I had hidden since before he even moved in. I was not hiding money to get away from him. I was not afraid of him. I lost my sister to DV and swore I’d never have that happen to me only to end up in that exact situation. We didn’t have this spectacular love that was filled with insane chemistry, nowhere near a “love of my life” situation which is why I was so confused by how desperate he got.
After he got arrested his mom went on a social media rant because I “got her baby locked up” and knew we were sleeping in my car so was telling her followers that if they find me to call her. Very bold and insane. One of my exes friends saw this and commented “Idk if you should be sticking up for him, he needs serious help”. I don’t know how I caught it before it was deleted but I reached out to him on my fake facebook.
Every time they were drinking he would talk about her and then laugh it off. It made his friends uncomfortable but they chalked it up to the booze. Two weeks ago when my daughter came to see me in the hospital she was distraught. It made sense because I looked like hell but she kept repeating over and over asking me why he did this to me. I think there was more to this and I’m frightened to my core. Remember he stole my epi pen and money but he destroyed almost everything of hers and I didn't understand it because she had nothing to do with the breakup.
Why did he destroy her medicine? Why did he destroy her clothes? Fucking why? Dont abusers threaten their victim into not saying anything or something is going to happen to someone/something they love? I’m sick to my stomach even writing that out. I don’t know where to go from here, how do I even begin a conversation about this with her? We are safe. I’m not worried about him finding us because he is still in jail which is great because I’m out of money. He wasn’t desperate and crazy because he was losing me, I think it was because of her.
Update Post 8: February 20, 2024 (5 days later)
Title: My ex is getting bailed out tomorrow
I'm so angry and scared.
I wish I had faith in the justice system and with cops because they are supposed to protect, right? Except that isn't always the case.
I'm tired of being hurt and I'm tired of being scared. Anxiety is on 100.
It's exhausting fearing my daughter and I's life.
Update Post 9: February 28, 2024 (8 days later, 3 months from OG post)
Title: How can I feel safer at home?
I know a lot of people are following my posts and will be disappointed in hearing that my ex was bailed out. I’m still healing from when he broke my nose and shattered my orbital bone. I know a restraining order is just a piece of paper because he ignored it when I was attacked and the police aren’t going to save me. For security I only have a door bar that slides under the knob. I don’t have a ring camera and I can’t buy a pew pew until I have extra funds. He made me sell it a year ago because he was “uncomfortable” with it being in the house. Another red flag I missed.
My question is what can I do to feel safer that doesn’t require money? Every night my daughter and I push the couch in front of the door but I’m worried that if there is a fire we can’t get out. I have myself worried sick to the point of painful stomach ulcers. I tried talking to my nearest neighbor but when I started explaining my situation and how it would be great if she could let me know if she sees anyone around my apartment she got weirded out. Which I get.
Just looking for some peace of mind, will that ever exist in my life again?
Update Post 10: March 6, 2024 (1 week later)
Title: AITAH or was this just a mistake?
Editor's note: I removed the first part of this as it is a recap of the previous posts
I know this is all I post about and if you want more context you can read my past posts. I feel like I need to tell someone what is happening so that it makes it feel real and that I’m not just upset and crazy for nothing. My ex got out on bail last week. My daughter and I already left the new apartment we had moved into after he attacked me.
My daughter's school knows about my situation and knows I have a restraining order. Today my daughter got a call from the front office at school. The secretary told her that the pickup car had changed from mine to a new car. She was being told this so that when school let out she wouldn’t get upset when she didn’t see my car. The “new car” is the same one as my exes. It is a rare cacolor and she told me she knew it was his car. She didn’t say anything to the secretary or her teacher because she was instantly scared. It breaks my heart that she was in fear because she thought he had got me and was going to get her.
She was given the message hours before school let out so she spent all that time worrying. The last ten minutes of the day is when the kids can use the bathroom and clean up. She started crying infront of her whole class and when the bell rang she refused to leave her classroom. I was in the carpool line when I got the call from her teacher.
I have never seen her so upset and that is saying a lot because she was so upset when she visited me in the hospital. Face beet red, hyperventilating, snot everywhere, she had cried so hard she got a nosebleed. After they told me what happened I was livid. It all sounded like bullshit because the secretary never should have relayed the message without talking to me first since she said it was a male on the phone. As soon as the secretary looked my daughter up to find out which room to call she should have seen the message I thought I had saying no one should ever pick her up but me. No information should ever be released.
“He was never in contact with her so it’s not that big of a deal, it was a mistake” is what they told me. All he had to give was her full name and what grade she was in to get a message to her. They said that to me with a straight face while the bruises he gave me were very visible proving he is a violent man. I’m so f*cking angry. She told me she knew I didn’t get a new car because as much as I try to hide it from her she knows I’m broke. She thought she was going to have to go with him. She has been so traumatized and I don't know what to do. She wants to switch to e learning but since it’s not a medical reason and not a school wide restriction I would have to pay to rent the laptop. Which I obviously can’t.
The school is calling it an innocent mistake and didn't even apologize. I know I'm the only one responsible for my daughter and I’s safety but damn if people could stop jeopardizing it like it’s nothing and then acting like I’m the asshole for being upset because it was a “mistake”. He wasn’t there after school but he could have.
Update Post 11: March 7, 2024 (Next Day)
Title: He is never going to stop terrorizing us
Editor's note- This is an almost word for word repost of the above post. I've kept it here for the timeline but also to include relevant Comments.
Relevant Comments:
Commenter: I hate to blatantly ask but did you ever find your cat?
OOP: Hi yes I have my cat!Commenter: Have you contacted your mother, does she know what’s going on? I don’t know what your relationship with her is like but would she willing to help in any capacity
OOP: The only thing she can assist with is a room for us to stay in which is great but not if I can't get there. My daughter is refusing to go to school. I don't know what to do.*****Update Post 12: April 1, 2023 (3.5 weeks later)****\*
I've had a few people asking so I wanted to update. I can now confidently say that my daughter, cat, and I are safe and will continue to be from here on out. I can start rebuilding without fear. I'm not okay but we are safe.
Update Post 13: April 23, 2024 (3 weeks later, almost 5 months from OG post)
Title: I’ve spent the last 4 months running for my life
I just want to say that if anyone is going through something similar to me, you can vent to me. This is something you have to experience to understand how hard it is. I know there are DV resources but they are extremely limited. I had someone on here “checking in” with me and when I explained what was going on I was asked “why aren’t you stable yet” and it kinda took me off guard. Only a few people knew I was pregnant through this.
I left my home with basically nothing and went to a hotel and he found me, I went to another hotel and he found me, I went to a safe house for two nights where I was asked to leave because my ex was dangerous, slept in my car with my daughter, went to my moms out of state, came back to my home state because that is where DV resources helped with a apartment, he followed me back to my apartment from my daughters school, I was hospitalized when he broke my nose, shattered my orbital bone, and gave me a concussion. I had to leave that apt, back to hotels and sleeping in my car, and finally back to my moms. So much money feels wasted. I have the opportunity to be added onto her new lease but it’s a bigger unit and requires a first/last deposit (impossible unless I rob a bank). The pet deposit is already paid.
But I only have until the 1st or we are back to living in the car because we have exceeded our “visitation” days. A year lease where my rent would only be $500 a month, utilities maybe $150? I’d be saving so much money and be able to rebuild my life. We would all have our own rooms which means privacy! Even though we are all female, privacy is precious. I haven’t slept in a bed since the hotel beds but even then it wasn’t “my” bed. It’s been my car, hotel bed, or the couch. Even when we were briefly in our new place I still slept on the couch with it pushed against the front door.
I know all my posts are about the same thing, one thing after another, and yes it IS exhausting and repetitive but think about how I feel. I’m desperate for stability and I can’t get it because he took so much from me. It wasn’t until I was out of “our” house and away from him for me to see how much power he had over my life. It’s embarrassing. Even if I have to go back to living in my car I’ll still be around to talk and I’ll still be optimistic because I deserve good things to happen to me that aren't only in my dreams.
Clarification on the air tag:
There was! Someone helped him put one in my cat's carrier because he knew if I was going to leave, I'd never leave my cat behind.
Update Post 14: May 21, 2024 (1 month later, almost 6 from OG post)
Title: The vet gave my abuser my location
I want to say this was a genuine mistake and not done with malicious intent but I still need to vent about it. Just like my daughter's school letting my abuser give her a message, this was an accident but accidents put my life in danger and I’m exhausted. I post about my situation alot and despite a few users thinking my ex would find my reddit, I’m not worried about that. However, I am terrified of him knowing where I am. He has gone through a restraining order, police don’t scare him, and when he got/gets arrested he will just get bailed out. I knew the only way I could live a normal life was getting as far away from him as possible.
So I took my daughter and cat and moved in with my mom a few states away. I was 100% confident that he didn’t know where I was because they never met, we were actually estranged for a few years before my ex and I even got together. I started feeling safe. I stopped jumping when I heard loud trucks. I was starting to get comfortable even though not alot of time had passed.
A few days ago my cat's back legs stopped working and he lost control of his bodily fluids.I was working but my mom rushed him to the ER vet. There were questions she couldn’t answer so they asked if he was chipped. He is but I changed my number a few times lately so one of the two numbers was out of service so they called the second one. I forgot to remove his number, I know this is my fault. The vet called him to get information and he didn’t give any information and hung up on them. The receptionist said he called back about 5 minutes later and said “I know she doesn’t have money. Tell her I’ll save her cat if she comes home”.
He knows how much my cat means to me. He found me the first time I left because his mom helped him sew an air tag into the lining of the cat carrier. He knew if I was to ever leave him I wouldn’t leave my cat. One time my ex threw him out of the house to hurt me while I was at work he refused to leave the porch. My ex then tried squirting him with a water bottle and when that didn’t work, he sprayed him with the hose. He basically got waterboarded and still would not leave.
He is my soul cat. When I got to the vet and they told me what happened I had one of the worst panic attacks I’ve had in awhile. I’ve had my cat for ten years and he has never gotten sick or injured. He has a UTI and a fractured foot from falling. The vet thinks he probably got his foot hurt first and that led to the UTI since he wasn’t using the litter box. I noticed he was slightly limping a few days ago but I couldn’t get him into the vet yet. The UTI developed quickly. I was naive in thinking the vet would save a pet's life even if the owner can’t pay upfront but it isn’t like a human going into the ER.
I’ve spent so much money and time trying to get away from my ex while also trying to live a normal safe life for my daughter. Once again something happens and he now knows the city we are in. I’m not running again because I can’t. I don’t think he will drive up here because like I said I’m a few states away but man did this bring back my paranoia and irrational fear.
I changed the chip information but the damage is done, I was a fucking idiot for not doing it sooner. This is my fault, I'm so damn tired.
Relevant Comments:
Commenter: Why did they use the microchip to get your number? Did your mom not have your most recent number to give them or something? Could you not be reached at work? That’s just weird to me.
OOP: My mom was flustered because she knew the ER vet was going to be expensive and knew I couldn't pay but she couldn't answer any questions because she didn't know. Didn't know how old he was or if he had his shots. I can't take my phone into my work building and she didn't know the manager's phone number.Commenter: I just don’t understand why the vet would go through the trouble of scanning the chip and calling the numbers on there instead of just asking your mom for your number?? Seems like a lot of grief could have been avoided and the clinic had to do more work to call a company and get the phone numbers.
I was able to pay partial with scratchpay but not all which is heartbreaking. A broken heart and frustrating anger is what I feel too.
OOP: I've had to change my number over 6 times in a three month time span, my mom didn't know it off the top of her head.Commenter: If you are communicating with your mom it would be in her phone. If it changes so often, the last number in her phone would be more accurate than a microchip which is less likely to be updated. This is very strange.
OOP: I was at work, I can not have my personal phone on me and my cat was having a medical emergency. My mom didn't know how old my cat is or if he had his shots. They had alot of questions she had no answer to so they scanned the chip to get information.Editor's note: Some people commented on the first BORU that OOP's ex was a police officer. However, I can't find anything in OOP's posts or comments that confirms this, nor has she said anything about it. (Nothing shows up when checking deleted comments either.) It's definitely possible, but I just wanted to address it here since it was brought up so often.
2024.05.28 04:26 SilverkittenX9 Question About Pokey Oaks Kindergarten
We know that The Powerpuff Girls is an American cartoon, so obviously the Pokey Oaks kids would all be around 5-6 years old. In The United States, kindergarten classrooms tend to be within elementary schools rather than their own separate buildings. It's also the first year of elementary school too. However, their school only has one classroom and no other grades besides kindergarten. With that in mind, I'm guessing Pokey Oaks might be a charter school of some sort, considering Ms. Keane both teaches and runs the school. Either that or single kindergarten schools are apparently a normality in their world. It's obviously not a preschool, though it could easily be mistaken for one, what with all the colorful imagery and the fact there's no older kids roaming about. Not to mention, the kids are often shown socializing and playing with toys rather than sitting down at desks and doing standardized tests. Another theory is that Pokey Oaks is loosely based on older kindergarten classrooms from the 20th century (most notably the 1950s/1960s). Knowing Townsville has somewhat of a retro aesthetic to it, it's highly possible. The reason Pokey Oaks only has one kindergarten classroom is because the girls would be able to interact with kids their age, rather than older kids. Would you agree with that? Overall, what are your opinions on this?
One more thing: I also have a headcanon that preschool does exist in their world, but it's for 2-4 year olds. Kindergarten is similar to preschool, only it's for slightly older kids aged 5-6 years old. Unlike preschool, kids are also assigned homework and are expected to pay attention during lessons, which is plausible since the students are older and would more likely be able to handle bigger responsibilities.
submitted by SilverkittenX9 to powerpuffgirls [link] [comments]
One more thing: I also have a headcanon that preschool does exist in their world, but it's for 2-4 year olds. Kindergarten is similar to preschool, only it's for slightly older kids aged 5-6 years old. Unlike preschool, kids are also assigned homework and are expected to pay attention during lessons, which is plausible since the students are older and would more likely be able to handle bigger responsibilities.
2024.05.28 00:28 mirrorshaman42 [US][Selling] A TON of Manga (and a few novels) - 20th Century Boys, Frieren, Vinland Saga, JoJo Golden Wind and MUCH More
https://imgur.com/a/9HmSzXF
There are far too many books for me to list the condition they’re all in. I’ve included notes about the condition on a few of the books, but anything beyond that can be discussed in PMs.
US ONLY
Free Shipping on orders of $25 or more
Individual volumes CANNOT be split up EXCEPT for the One Piece omnibuses, since they’re all over the place.
PRICES:
Manga: Toritan: Birds of a Feather - $17
Nyankees 1-6 - $50
Ancient Magus’ Bride Wizard’s Blue 1-3 - $25
Sue & Tai-chan 1-3 - $25
Nekogahara 1-5 (volumes 1 and 2 are not in great condition) - $35
FukuFuku Kitten Tales 1-2 - $14
Perfect World 1-9 - $75
Grim Reaper and 4 Girlfriends (has mild spine creasing. this happened after one read.) - $15
The Town of Pigs - $12 SOLD
Rabbit Game - $8 SOLD
Maiden Railways - $9 SOLD
Lil’ Leo - $10 SOLD
Ripples - $10
The Four Immigrants Manga - $13
Glaeolia 3 (Lettered Edition) - $35 SOLD
Glaeolia 2 (slight back cover creasing) - $25 SOLD
The Poe Clan 1 - $26
Mission: Yozakura Family 1-6: $39
I Cannot Reach You 1-6: $50
How Many Light-Years to Babylon? - $9
Fire in His Fingertips 1-2: $18
Black or White 1-2: $17
JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World manga 1-2: $18
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind 1-9 - $117
Total Eclipse of the Eternal Heart - $9
Seven Days: Monday to Sunday - $9
Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle 1-3 - $19
Mermaid Boys 1-3 - $25
Yona of the Dawn 1-2 - $12
Snow White with the Red Hair 1-2 - $12
Classmates 1-5 - $48
Solfege - $7
The Moon and the Sandals 1-2: $17
I Want to Eat Your Pancreas manga - $16
Sayonara Game - $9
Primitive Boyfriend 1-3 - $25
Fruits Basket Collector’s Edition 1-7 - $90
Blame! Master Edition 1 - $23
Monstaboo 1-2 - $17
Moteki 1-2 - $27 SOLD
Knight of the Ice 1-7 - $59
Knights of Sidonia Master Edition 1-7 - $159
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable 1- $13
My Broken Mariko - $13
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin 1-3 - $58
Saint Young Men 1-6 - $93
Industrial Revolution and World War (not great condition) - $8
The Heiress and the Chauffeur 1-2 - $12
Bad Boys, Happy Hone 1-3 - $25
Gigant 1-5 - $45
Orange: The Complete Edition 1-2 - $26
Love Me, Love Me Not 1-12 - $78
Go With the Clouds North-by-Northwest - $43
A School Frozen in Time 1-4 - $33
Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 1-4 - $33
Mermaid Saga 1-2 - $32
Heavenly Delusion 1-2 - $17
The Walking Cat: A Cat’s-eye View of the Zombie Apocalypse - $16
Monotone Blue - $10
Hard-Boiled Stories From the Cat Bar - $10
No-Guns Life 1-13 - $110
Mujirushi: The Sign of Dreams - $13
Asadora 1-3 - $29
20th Century Boys: The Perfect Edition 1-13 + 21st Century Boys: The Perfect Edition - $180 SOLD
Stravaganza 1-3 - $39
Orient 1-2 - $13
The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess 1-2 - $17 Yoshi no Zuikara 1-3 - $29
Ragna Crimson 1-5 - $42
Tokyo Tarareba Girls 1-9 (volume 1 has noticeable back cover creasing) - $70
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood 1-3 - $39
An Incurable Case of Love 1-7 - $45
QQ Sweeper 1-3 - $19 SOLD
Fly Me to the Moon 1-9 - $58
The Vampire and his Pleasant Companions 1-4 (volume 1 has slight spine wear) $31
Candy Color Paradox 1-5 - $42
A White Rose in Bloom 1-2 - $17
Love of Kill 1-3 - $25
BL Metamorphosis 1-3 - $25
The Golden Sheep 1-3 - $25
Magus of the Library 1-5 - $42
Beastars 1-4 - $33
Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand - $13 SOLD
The Breaker 1-2 - $26
Kageki Shojo!! The Curtain Rises + Kageki Shojo!! 1-6 - $63
High-Rise Invasion 1-21 - $133
One Piece Omnibus 10-15, 43-45, 67-87 - $97 (Individually: $9.70)
The Bride and the Exorcist Knight 1-4 - $30 Wave Listen to Me! - $42
The Complete Chi’s Sweet Home Box Set - $57 Berserk 9-13 - $40
Dai Dark 1-4 (volume 3 has mild front cover creasing) - $32
The Voynich Hotel 1-3 - $25
H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness 1-2 - $26 Escape Journey 1-3 - $25
After Hours 1-3 - $19
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 1-6 - $39 SOLD
Vinland Saga 1-13 - $175
Novels: Manga in Theory and Practice - $13
Pretty Boy Detective Club novel series 1-3 - $27
JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World + JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World: Summer novels - $19
Vampire Hunter D - $13
The Sorcerer King of Destruction and the Golem of thr Barbarian Queen 1 - $9
Berserk of Gluttony 1 - $9
I Have a Secret - $10
Yes, No or Maybe? - $10
Spice and Wolf 1 - $7
Chitose is in the Ramune Bottle 1 - $10
The Astro Boy Essays - $11
Heaven Official’s Blessing 1 - $13
Rascal Does Not Dream of series 1-4 - $39
submitted by mirrorshaman42 to mangaswap [link] [comments]
There are far too many books for me to list the condition they’re all in. I’ve included notes about the condition on a few of the books, but anything beyond that can be discussed in PMs.
US ONLY
Free Shipping on orders of $25 or more
Individual volumes CANNOT be split up EXCEPT for the One Piece omnibuses, since they’re all over the place.
PRICES:
Manga: Toritan: Birds of a Feather - $17
Nyankees 1-6 - $50
Ancient Magus’ Bride Wizard’s Blue 1-3 - $25
Sue & Tai-chan 1-3 - $25
Nekogahara 1-5 (volumes 1 and 2 are not in great condition) - $35
FukuFuku Kitten Tales 1-2 - $14
Perfect World 1-9 - $75
Grim Reaper and 4 Girlfriends (has mild spine creasing. this happened after one read.) - $15
Ripples - $10
The Four Immigrants Manga - $13
The Poe Clan 1 - $26
Mission: Yozakura Family 1-6: $39
I Cannot Reach You 1-6: $50
How Many Light-Years to Babylon? - $9
Fire in His Fingertips 1-2: $18
Black or White 1-2: $17
JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World manga 1-2: $18
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind 1-9 - $117
Total Eclipse of the Eternal Heart - $9
Seven Days: Monday to Sunday - $9
Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle 1-3 - $19
Mermaid Boys 1-3 - $25
Yona of the Dawn 1-2 - $12
Snow White with the Red Hair 1-2 - $12
Classmates 1-5 - $48
Solfege - $7
The Moon and the Sandals 1-2: $17
I Want to Eat Your Pancreas manga - $16
Sayonara Game - $9
Primitive Boyfriend 1-3 - $25
Fruits Basket Collector’s Edition 1-7 - $90
Blame! Master Edition 1 - $23
Monstaboo 1-2 - $17
Knight of the Ice 1-7 - $59
Knights of Sidonia Master Edition 1-7 - $159
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable 1- $13
My Broken Mariko - $13
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin 1-3 - $58
Saint Young Men 1-6 - $93
Industrial Revolution and World War (not great condition) - $8
The Heiress and the Chauffeur 1-2 - $12
Bad Boys, Happy Hone 1-3 - $25
Gigant 1-5 - $45
Orange: The Complete Edition 1-2 - $26
Love Me, Love Me Not 1-12 - $78
Go With the Clouds North-by-Northwest - $43
A School Frozen in Time 1-4 - $33
Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 1-4 - $33
Mermaid Saga 1-2 - $32
Heavenly Delusion 1-2 - $17
The Walking Cat: A Cat’s-eye View of the Zombie Apocalypse - $16
Monotone Blue - $10
Hard-Boiled Stories From the Cat Bar - $10
No-Guns Life 1-13 - $110
Mujirushi: The Sign of Dreams - $13
Asadora 1-3 - $29
Stravaganza 1-3 - $39
Orient 1-2 - $13
The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess 1-2 - $17 Yoshi no Zuikara 1-3 - $29
Ragna Crimson 1-5 - $42
Tokyo Tarareba Girls 1-9 (volume 1 has noticeable back cover creasing) - $70
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood 1-3 - $39
An Incurable Case of Love 1-7 - $45
Fly Me to the Moon 1-9 - $58
The Vampire and his Pleasant Companions 1-4 (volume 1 has slight spine wear) $31
Candy Color Paradox 1-5 - $42
A White Rose in Bloom 1-2 - $17
Love of Kill 1-3 - $25
BL Metamorphosis 1-3 - $25
The Golden Sheep 1-3 - $25
Magus of the Library 1-5 - $42
Beastars 1-4 - $33
The Breaker 1-2 - $26
Kageki Shojo!! The Curtain Rises + Kageki Shojo!! 1-6 - $63
High-Rise Invasion 1-21 - $133
One Piece Omnibus 10-15, 43-45, 67-87 - $97 (Individually: $9.70)
The Bride and the Exorcist Knight 1-4 - $30 Wave Listen to Me! - $42
The Complete Chi’s Sweet Home Box Set - $57 Berserk 9-13 - $40
Dai Dark 1-4 (volume 3 has mild front cover creasing) - $32
The Voynich Hotel 1-3 - $25
H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness 1-2 - $26 Escape Journey 1-3 - $25
After Hours 1-3 - $19
Vinland Saga 1-13 - $175
Novels: Manga in Theory and Practice - $13
Pretty Boy Detective Club novel series 1-3 - $27
JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World + JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World: Summer novels - $19
Vampire Hunter D - $13
The Sorcerer King of Destruction and the Golem of thr Barbarian Queen 1 - $9
Berserk of Gluttony 1 - $9
I Have a Secret - $10
Yes, No or Maybe? - $10
Spice and Wolf 1 - $7
Chitose is in the Ramune Bottle 1 - $10
The Astro Boy Essays - $11
Heaven Official’s Blessing 1 - $13
Rascal Does Not Dream of series 1-4 - $39
2024.05.27 23:55 subredditsummarybot Your weekly /r/EngineeringResumes recap for the week of May 20 - May 26, 2024
Monday, May 20 - Sunday, May 26, 2024
submitted by subredditsummarybot to EngineeringResumes [link] [comments]
Top Posts
| score | comments | title & link |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 2 comments | [Software] [0 YoE] 170 Applications, 0 interviews. 16 month internship and some projects, not sure what to do. |
| 8 | 12 comments | [Software] [4 YOE] Struggling to Land Interviews ( 1000+ Applications ) - Tech Resume Review? |
| 8 | 14 comments | [Question] [3 YOE] What is the best way to indicate on a resume that my metrics aren't made up? |
| 8 | 12 comments | [Mechanical] [9 YoE] Mechanical Engineer working in EV field seeking advice on resume for automotive roles |
| 7 | 4 comments | [Mechanical] [0 YoE] New Mechanical Engineering grad looking to fine-tune and improve resume |
| 6 | 6 comments | [Electrical/Computer] [2 YoE] (Pt 2) Hi all, I updated my resume based on some feedback I received. Would appreciate any further advice! |
| 5 | 12 comments | [Software] [0 YOE] New CS grad with zero internships trying to break into SWE. 400+ LC problems done but not getting many OAs. |
Most Commented Posts
| score | comments | title & link |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 23 comments | [Software] [Student] Resume I made for internships. I need to apply soon, so please don't hold back on the criticisms. |
| 3 | 20 comments | [Software] [0 YOE] New grad currently on internship looking for SWE roles, looking for feedback on strengthening resume |
| 2 | 16 comments | [Mechanical] [3 YoE] Just updated my CV/Resume for Mechanical Maintenance Role. Please review and suggest any recommendations |
| 2 | 15 comments | [Question] [Student] Should I forgo linking my GitHub in favor of Hugging Face on my Resume? |
| 2 | 14 comments | [Software] [4 YoE] Software Engineer looking for some resume feedback before applying for jobs, multiple revisions |
| 4 | 13 comments | [Software] [1 YoE] Recent boot camp grade doing career change from senior IT technician. Would like feedback. |
| 3 | 12 comments | [Mechatronics/Robotics] [Student] Applying for internships and struggling to land interviews, resume advice needed |
Top Comments
2024.05.27 23:18 AC_the_Panther_007 On the list, which Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) games in North America are your favorites in each year (1985-1994)?
1985-1986 (Oct. 18, 1985 to Dec. 31, 1986):
submitted by AC_the_Panther_007 to retrogaming [link] [comments]
- Duck Hunt (Launch Title)
- Excitebike (Launch Title)
- Pinball (Launch Title)
- Stack-Up (Launch Title)
- Super Mario Bros. (Launch Title)
- Tennis (Launch Title)
- 10-Yard Fight
- Baseball
- Clu Clu Land
- Donkey Kong Jr. Math
- Golf
- Gyromite
- Hogan's Alley
- Ice Climber
- Kung Fu
- Mach Rider
- Wild Gunman
- Wrecking Crew
- Gumshoe
- Balloon Fight
- Donkey Kong
- Donkey Kong 3
- Donkey Kong Jr.
- Mario Bros.
- Popeye
- Urban Champion
- Ninja Kid
- Chubby Cherub
- Tag Team Match: M.U.S.C.L.E.
- Tag Team Wrestling
- 1942
- Commando
- Ghosts 'n Goblins
- Karate Champ
- Gradius
- Trojan
- Pro Wrestling
- Volleyball
- Rush'n Attack
- Track & Field
- BurgerTime
- Castlevania
- Ikari Warriors
- Athletic World
- Kid Icarus
- Mighty Bomb Jack
- Rygar
- Section-Z
- Solomon's Key
- Metroid
- The Legend of Zelda
- Arkanoid
- Athena
- Elevator Action
- Slalom
- The Legend of Kage
- 3-D WorldRunner
- Deadly Towers
- Double Dribble
- Lode Runner
- Raid on Bungeling Bay
- Ring King
- Sky Kid
- Spelunker
- Spy Hunter
- Sqoon
- Stadium Events / World Class Track Meet
- Star Voyager
- Stinger
- Tiger-Heli
- Winter Games
- Alpha Mission
- Lunar Pool
- Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
- Rad Racer
- Zanac
- Side Pocket
- BreakThru
- Gotcha! The Sport!
- Jaws
- Kid Niki: Radical Ninja
- Star Force
- Super Pitfall
- The Goonies II
- The Karate Kid
- Top Gun
- Mega Man
- Wizards & Warriors
- Karnov
- Renegade
- Contra
- Gun.Smoke
- R.C. Pro-Am
- Town & Country Surf Designs: Wood & Water Rage
- Dragon Power
- Ice Hockey
- Freedom Force
- Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road
- Major League Baseball
- City Connection
- Rambo
- Double Dragon
- Metal Gear
- R.B.I. Baseball
- Bases Loaded
- Defender II
- Gauntlet
- Iron Tank: The Invasion of Normandy
- Legendary Wings
- Life Force
- Adventure Island
- Galaga: Demons of Death
- Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode
- Jackal
- Jeopardy!
- Lee Trevino's Fighting Golf
- Milon's Secret Castle
- Wheel of Fortune
- Xevious
- 1943: The Battle of Midway
- Ghostbusters
- Joust
- MagMax
- Mickey Mousecapade
- Millipede
- Pac-Man (Tengen)
- Racket Attack
- Seicross
- Spy vs. Spy
- Super Mario Bros. 2
- Anticipation
- Blaster Master
- Bubble Bobble
- Cobra Command
- Dr. Chaos
- Super Team Games
- Bionic Commando
- Blades of Steel
- Bump 'n' Jump
- Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
- Othello
- Paperboy
- Platoon
- Rampage
- Robowarrior
- Skate or Die
- Superman
- Xenophobe
- Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
- Bomberman
- Sesame Street: 123
- Star Soldier
- Tecmo Baseball
- WWF WrestleMania
- Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach
- Friday the 13th
- Gyruss
- Q*bert
- Tecmo Bowl
- Ultima: Exodus
- Dance Aerobics
- John Elway's Quarterback
- Kung-Fu Heroes
- Marble Madness
- Ninja Gaiden
- World Games
- Adventures of Lolo
- Amagon
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
- Fist of the North Star
- Legacy of the Wizard
- Mappy-Land
- Mystery Quest
- Predator
- Taboo: The Sixth Sense
- The Guardian Legend
- Operation Wolf
- Tetris (Unlicensed; Tengen 1989)
- Airwolf
- California Games
- Desert Commander
- Guerrilla War
- Hoops
- Hydlide
- Mega Man 2
- Monster Party
- Nobunaga's Ambition
- Shooting Range
- Street Cop
- Super Dodge Ball
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- The Adventures of Bayou Billy
- Track & Field II
- Baseball Stars
- Cobra Triangle
- Defender of the Crown
- Strider
- Super Sprint (Unlicensed)
- Thundercade
- Adventures of Tom Sawyer
- Dragon Warrior
- Faxanadu
- Flying Dragon: The Secret Scroll
- Jordan vs. Bird: One on One
- The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle
- Adventures of Dino Riki
- Air Fortress
- Back to the Future
- Bad Street Brawler
- Castlequest
- Disney's DuckTales
- Fester's Quest
- Hollywood Squares
- King's Knight
- NFL
- P.O.W.: Prisoners of War
- Sesame Street: ABC
- Sky Shark
- The Black Bass USA
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit
- Casino Kid
- Goal!
- Godzilla: Monster of Monsters!
- Jeopardy! Junior Edition
- Rolling Thunder (Unlicensed)
- Romance of the Three Kingdoms
- Stealth ATF
- The Three Stooges
- Twin Eagle
- Wheel of Fortune: Junior Edition
- 720°
- Road Runner (Unlicensed)
- Tetris (Nintendo; 1989)
- Vindicators (Unlicensed)
- After Burner (Unlicensed)
- Alien Syndrome (Unlicensed)
- All-Pro Basketball
- Cybernoid: The Fighting Machine
- Dig Dug II: Trouble in Paradise
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
- Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II
- Kings of the Beach
- Knight Rider
- RoboCop
- Robodemons (Unlicensed)
- Shadowgate
- Shinobi (Unlicensed)
- Short Order + Eggsplode!
- Silent Service
- The Battle of Olympus
- The Uncanny X-Men
- Toobin' (Unlicensed)
- Willow
- The Adventures of Captain Comic (Unlicensed)
- Baby Boomer (Unlicensed)
- Crystal Mines (Unlicensed)
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Unlicensed)
- Master Chu and the Drunkard Hu (Unlicensed)
- Metal Fighter (Unlicensed)
- Raid 2020 (Unlicensed)
- Tagin' Dragon (Unlicensed)
- The Magic of Scheherazade
- 8 Eyes
- A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia
- Archon
- Bases Loaded II: Second Season
- Clash at Demonhead
- Demon Sword
- Double Dragon II: The Revenge
- Genghis Khan
- Infiltrator
- Rescue: The Embassy Mission
- River City Ransom
- RoadBlasters
- Rock 'n Ball
- The Chessmaster
- Top Gun: The Second Mission
- Top Players' Tennis
- Twin Cobra
- Super Mario Bros. 3
- Batman: The Video Game
- Dash Galaxy in the Alien Asylum
- Destination Earthstar
- Rollerball
- Super Spike V'Ball
- Abadox: The Deadly Inner War
- Adventures of Lolo 2
- Al Unser Jr.'s Turbo Racing
- Astyanax
- Baseball Simulator 1.000
- Burai Fighter
- Championship Bowling
- Code Name: Viper
- Conflict
- Fisher-Price: I Can Remember
- Fisher-Price: Perfect Fit
- Heavy Barrel
- Jack Nicklaus' Greatest 18 Holes of Major Championship Golf
- Kid Kool and the Quest for the Seven Wonder Herbs
- Magic Johnson's Fast Break
- Target: Renegade
- Terra Cresta
- Vegas Dream
- Wheel of Fortune: Family Edition
- Win, Lose or Draw
- Double Dare
- Dynowarz: The Destruction of Spondylus
- Ghostbusters II
- Ivan "Ironman" Stewart's Super Off Road
- Phantom Fighter
- Pinbot
- Snake's Revenge
- Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular!
- Super C
- Tecmo World Wrestling
- To the Earth
- WCW World Championship Wrestling
- Wrath of the Black Manta
- Xexyz
- Final Fantasy
- Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
- Remote Control
- Adventures in the Magic Kingdom
- [219]
- Arkista's Ring
- Bad News Baseball
- Boulder Dash
- Cabal
- Captain Skyhawk
- Castle of Dragon
- Disney's Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers
- Dragon Spirit: The New Legend
- Heavy Shreddin'
- Jeopardy! 25th Anniversary Edition
- Mechanized Attack
- Michael Andretti's World Grand Prix
- Pinball Quest
- Puss 'n Boots: Pero's Great Adventure
- Rad Racer II
- Rocket Ranger
- Shingen the Ruler
- Silkworm
- Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demnos
- Starship Hector
- The Last Starfighter
- The Mafat Conspiracy
- Wall Street Kid
- Bad Dudes
- Battle Chess
- Bigfoot
- Circus Caper
- Crystalis
- Dungeon Magic: Sword of the Elements
- Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball
- Image Fight
- Klax (Unlicensed)
- Little League Baseball: Championship Series
- Mad Max
- Pictionary
- Snake Rattle 'n' Roll
- The Adventures of Gilligan's Island
- Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord
- Barker Bill's Trick Shooting
- Dick Tracy
- NARC
- Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream
- Swords and Serpents
- Total Recall
- Back to the Future II & III
- Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
- Classic Concentration
- Destiny of an Emperor
- Dragon Warrior II
- Garry Kitchen's Battletank
- Gauntlet II
- Journey to Silius
- Kickle Cubicle
- Little Nemo: The Dream Master
- Low G Man: The Low Gravity Man
- M.U.L.E.
- Maniac Mansion
- Mission: Impossible
- NES Play Action Football
- Pipe Dream
- Rally Bike
- RollerGames
- Skate or Die 2: The Search for Double Trouble
- Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warpship
- Spot: The Video Game
- Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight
- The Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout
- Thunderbirds
- Time Lord
- Ultimate Basketball
- A Nightmare on Elm Street
- Caveman Games
- Days of Thunder
- Dr. Mario
- Gremlins 2: The New Batch
- Loopz
- Mendel Palace
- Orb-3D
- Sesame Street: Big Bird's Hide & Speak
- Super Glove Ball
- Arch Rivals: A Basket Brawl!
- Conquest of the Crystal Palace
- Formula One: Built to Win
- Mega Man 3
- Muppet Adventure: Chaos at the Carnival
- Palamedes
- Puzznic
- Silver Surfer
- The Immortal
- The Punisher
- Werewolf: The Last Warrior
- WWF WrestleMania Challenge
- Yo! Noid
- Bandit Kings of Ancient China
- Déjà Vu
- Digger T. Rock: The Legend of the Lost City
- Dirty Harry
- Dragon's Lair
- Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu
- Little Ninja Brothers
- Ninja Crusaders
- Nintendo World Cup
- North & South
- Shadow of the Ninja
- StarTropics
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game
- The Adventures of Rad Gravity
- Thunder & Lightning
- Ultima: Quest of the Avatar
- Bible Adventures (Unlicensed)
- Blades of Steel
- Castle of Deceit (Unlicensed)
- Challenge of the Dragon (Unlicensed)
- Chiller (Unlicensed)
- Deathbots (Unlicensed)
- Double Strike (Unlicensed)
- Dudes With Attitude (Unlicensed)
- Exodus: Journey to the Promised Land (Unlicensed)
- F-15 City War (Unlicensed)
- Fantasy Zone (Unlicensed)
- Galactic Crusader (Unlicensed)
- Impossible Mission II (Unlicensed)
- King Neptune's Adventure (Unlicensed)
- Krazy Kreatures (Unlicensed)
- Menace Beach (Unlicensed)
- Mission Cobra (Unlicensed)
- Moon Ranger (Unlicensed)
- Ms. Pac-Man (Unlicensed; Tengen 1990)
- P'radikus Conflict (Unlicensed)
- Pesterminator: The Western Exterminator (Unlicensed)
- Puzzle (Unlicensed)
- R.B.I. Baseball 2 (Unlicensed)
- ShockWave (Unlicensed)
- Silent Assault (Unlicensed)
- Skull & Crossbones (Unlicensed)
- The Miracle Piano Teaching System
- The Ultimate Stuntman (Unlicensed)
- Tiles of Fate (Unlicensed)
- Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of the Lance
- Fun House
- G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
- Kabuki: Quantum Fighter
- Peter Pan and the Pirates: The Revenge of Captain Hook
- Qix
- The Hunt for Red October
- The Krion Conquest
- The Untouchables
- Wayne Gretzky Hockey
- Adventure Island II
- Conan: The Mysteries of Time
- Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones
- Flying Warriors
- Galaxy 5000: Racing in the 51st Century
- Ikari III: The Rescue
- Isolated Warrior
- Magician
- Metal Storm
- Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom
- Ski or Die
- Super Cars
- The Last Ninja
- The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants
- Touchdown Fever
- Harlem Globetrotters
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
- Kiwi Kraze
- Metal Mech: Man & Machine
- Power Blade
- Totally Rad
- Whomp 'Em
- Bill Elliott's NASCAR Challenge
- Nobunaga's Ambition II
- RoboCop 2
- World Champ
- Beetlejuice
- Family Feud
- Flight of the Intruder
- Monopoly
- The Rocketeer
- Times of Lore
- Battletoads
- Castelian
- Cyber Stadium Series: Base Wars
- Faria: A World of Mystery and Danger!
- Laser Invasion
- Rainbow Islands
- S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team
- Tombs & Treasure
- Uninvited
- Videomation
- Frankenstein: The Monster Returns
- High Speed
- KlashBall
- Disney's The Little Mermaid
- Bill & Ted's Excellent Video Game Adventure
- Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom
- The Lone Ranger
- Adventures of Lolo 3
- Bases Loaded 3
- Captain Planet and the Planeteers
- Gun-Nac
- James Bond Jr.
- Magic Darts
- Monster Truck Rally
- NES Open Tournament Golf
- Rockin' Kats
- Romance of the Three Kingdoms II
- Smash TV
- Super Jeopardy!
- Where's Waldo?
- Zombie Nation
- American Gladiators
- Bo Jackson Baseball
- Darkman
- Home Alone
- Pirates!
- Roger Clemens' MVP Baseball
- Trog!
- Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?
- Wolverine
- Eliminator Boat Duel
- L'Empereur
- Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
- Sesame Street: ABC & 123
- Snow Brothers
- Space Shuttle Project
- Star Wars
- The Bard's Tale
- Uncharted Waters
- Vice: Project Doom
- Wurm: Journey to the Center of the Earth
- Barbie
- Batman: Return of the Joker
- Captain America and the Avengers
- Golf Grand Slam
- Shatterhand
- Disney's TaleSpin
- Tecmo Super Bowl
- The Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino & Hoppy
- The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World
- Tiny Toon Adventures
- Toki
- Tom and Jerry: The Ultimate Game of Cat and Mouse!
- Treasure Master
- Action 52 (Unlicensed)
- Big Nose the Caveman (Unlicensed)
- Death Race (Unlicensed)
- Firehawk (Unlicensed)
- Bubble Bath Babes (Unlicensed)
- Micro Machines (Unlicensed)
- Pac-Mania (Unlicensed)
- Peek-A-Boo Poker (Unlicensed)
- Quattro Adventure (Unlicensed)
- Quattro Sports (Unlicensed)
- R.B.I. Baseball 3 (Unlicensed)
- Rad Racket: Deluxe Tennis II (Unlicensed)
- Secret Scout in the Temple of Demise (Unlicensed)
- The King of Kings: The Early Years (Unlicensed)
- Venice Beach Volleyball (Unlicensed)
- Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
- Bucky O'Hare
- Cowboy Kid
- Die Hard
- Dragon Fighter
- KickMaster
- Legends of the Diamond
- Mega Man 4
- Monster in My Pocket
- Motor City Patrol
- Nightshade
- Rampart
- Sword Master
- The Addams Family
- Wheel of Fortune: Featuring Vanna White
- Hook
- F-15 Strike Eagle
- Godzilla 2: War of the Monsters
- Hudson Hawk
- M.C. Kids
- Sesame Street: Countdown
- Star Trek: 25th Anniversary
- Super Spy Hunter
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day
- Dragon Warrior III
- Fisher-Price: Firehouse Rescue
- G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor
- Gemfire
- Ghoul School
- Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
- Town & Country Surf Designs: Thrilla's Surfari
- Wizards & Warriors III: Kuros: Visions of Power
- Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Pool of Radiance
- Hatris
- Paperboy 2
- The Mutant Virus: Crisis in a Computer World
- Toxic Crusaders
- Ultimate Air Combat
- Wizardry: Knight of Diamonds - The Second Scenario
- Alex DeMeo's Race America
- Roundball: 2 on 2 Challenge
- Wacky Races
- Disney's Darkwing Duck
- Day Dreamin' Davey
- Ferrari Grand Prix Challenge
- King's Quest V
- Power Punch II
- Yoshi
- Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: DragonStrike
- Baseball Stars II
- Defenders of Dynatron City
- Greg Norman's Golf Power
- The Blue Marlin
- Capcom's Gold Medal Challenge '92
- Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat
- Might & Magic: Secret of the Inner Sanctum
- RoboCop 3
- Adventure Island 3
- Contra Force
- Krusty's Fun House
- Tecmo Cup Soccer Game
- The Blues Brothers
- WWF WrestleMania: Steel Cage Challenge
- Crash 'n' the Boys: Street Challenge
- Dragon Warrior IV
- Felix the Cat
- Gargoyle's Quest II
- Ghost Lion
- Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
- Panic Restaurant
- Power Blade 2
- Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six
- Stanley: The Search for Dr. Livingston
- Goal! Two
- Lemmings
- Little Samson
- Prince of Persia
- Tecmo NBA Basketball
- Widget
- Best of the Best: Championship Karate
- Caesars Palace
- F-117A Stealth Fighter
- George Foreman's KO Boxing
- Joe & Mac
- Mega Man 5
- R.C. Pro-Am II
- Swamp Thing
- The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends
- The Great Waldo Search
- The Jetsons: Cogswell's Caper
- The Simpsons: Bartman Meets Radioactive Man
- The Terminator
- The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
- Tiny Toon Adventures: Cartoon Workshop
- 6 in 1 (Unlicensed)
- Bee 52 (Unlicensed)
- Big Nose Freaks Out (Unlicensed)
- Blackjack (Unlicensed)
- Cyberball
- Joshua & the Battle of Jericho (Unlicensed)
- Linus Spacehead's Cosmic Crusade (Unlicensed)
- Maxi 15 (Unlicensed)
- MiG-29: Soviet Fighter (Unlicensed)
- Operation: Secret Storm (Unlicensed)
- Pyramid (Unlicensed)
- Quattro Arcade (Unlicensed)
- Solitaire (Unlicensed)
- Spiritual Warfare (Unlicensed)
- Stunt Kids (Unlicensed)
- Ultimate League Soccer (Unlicensed)
- Wally Bear and the NO! Gang (Unlicensed)
- Batman Returns
- Break Time: The National Pool Tour
- Overlord
- Ultima: Warriors of Destiny
- Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Hillsfar
- Bomberman II
- Rollerblade Racer
- Alien³
- Fire 'n Ice
- Mickey's Safari in Letterland
- Zen: Intergalactic Ninja
- Bases Loaded 4
- Casino Kid II
- Kid Klown in Night Mayor World
- Lethal Weapon
- Tiny Toon Adventures 2: Trouble in Wackyland
- Yoshi's Cookie
- Kirby's Adventure
- Battletoads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team
- Cool World
- Disney's DuckTales 2
- Jurassic Park
- Color a Dinosaur
- Mario is Missing!
- Mighty Final Fight
- Bubble Bobble Part 2
- The Addams Family: Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt
- Battleship
- Bram Stoker's Dracula
- Star Trek: The Next Generation
- Championship Pool
- Last Action Hero
- Nigel Mansell's World Championship Racing
- Tetris 2
- Cliffhanger
- Jimmy Connors Tennis
- Ms. Pac-Man (Namco; 1993)
- Pac-Man (Namco; 1993)
- Pro Sport Hockey
- The Ren & Stimpy Show: Buckaroo$!
- Wayne's World
- WWF King of the Ring
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
- Bible Buffet (Unlicensed)
- Dizzy the Adventurer (Unlicensed)
- The Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy (Unlicensed)
- Bonk's Adventure
- Disney's Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers 2
- Alfred Chicken
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters
- Mega Man 6
- Mickey's Adventure in Numberland
- Zoda's Revenge: StarTropics II
- Mario's Time Machine
- Disney's The Jungle Book
- The Flintstones: The Surprise at Dinosaur Peak!
- The Incredible Crash Dummies
- Wario's Woods
- Trolls on Treasure Island (Unlicensed)
- Sunday Funday: The Ride (Unlicensed)