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2023.06.02 07:53 Hewholooksskyward Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth - Chapter 21
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Link to the Wiki page, with additional links to Clan information and background Lore.
First I Previous
Chapter 22: Cutting The Strings
“This was a mistake. I don’t belong here.”
The crew of Peacemaker had assigned temporary quarters to the Mako refugees. Given the ancient ship’s size, there was plenty of room available. Just as before, Rúna made certain they assigned her the same berth as Genvass. Sitting across from him as they shared a private meal, she shrugged at his statement.
“I’m not sure what else you think you could have done,” she said. “They made their minds up before we ever set foot onboard.”
“That’s not what I mean,” he answered, shaking his head. “I have accomplished exactly nothing on this mission. Hell, Terra’s diplomatic position is even worse than when we started. Hardly a ringing endorsement of my negotiation skills.”
“That is not your fault,” the Valkyrie said vehemently.
“Isn’t it?” Rising from his seat, he began pacing in the small compartment. “I knew what I was getting myself into when I accepted this assignment. I knew it was going to be an uphill battle, convincing the other races to trust us.” He sighed, coming to a halt. “But I was certain I could reach them, to show them we weren’t a threat. And now?” He rubbed at his eyes, suddenly bone-weary. “Now they hate us even worse than they do the Troika. Which is exactly what we’ll become if our hosts have their way.”
“Our ‘hosts’ as you call them, are the ones who sabotaged you,” Rúna fired back. “Them stealing Peacemaker and going on a killing spree doomed your mission, not anything you did. They pulled the rug out from underneath you and killed any chance of a diplomatic solution.”
Her words fell on deaf ears. “Don’t you understand? I’m useless,” he told her. “When the Troika attacked, you were absolutely right to drag me into our quarters and strap me to a couch like an incompetent child. I wouldn’t have reacted quickly enough on my own. The only real training I have is as a linguist, for Terra’s sake. And who needs a linguist when everyone uses voders?” he demanded, throwing up his hands. “I couldn’t help you defend the ship, and when I tried assisting Diggs, the only thing I could manage was hauling his gear around,” he said, his words filled with self-loathing, before abruptly collapsing back into his chair. “I am literally good for nothing.”
“I don’t believe that. I refuse to believe that.” Her eyes narrowed as she took full stock of him. “Perhaps once, that might have been true. I certainly didn’t think much of you when we met on Gyrfalcon. But now?” She shook her head. “You’ve changed since then, been on the receiving end of more than a few rude awakenings. So what if you can’t hold a gun, or turn a wrench? That’s not why you’re here.”
“Then why am I here?” he demanded. “Seriously, I’d really like to know.” He snorted in disgust.
Rúna stared at the glass in her hands, her expression suddenly distant. “Do you know why I signed on for this mission?” she asked softly.
Something about her tone made him look up. “No… not really,” he said after a moment. “I remember how upset you were when you barged into my office.”
That earned him a brief smile. “I was,” she chuckled. “Between the promotion and… well, never mind. It’s not important.” She sighed before meeting his gaze. “People always ask me what Sonoitii Prime was like. I don’t like talking about it, for a lot of reasons.”
Genvass nodded, though he said nothing in reply. Truth be told, he was afraid to say anything, for fear of breaking whatever fragile spell she’d woven around herself to even hint about what happened on that world. Instead, he simply waited, giving her the space she needed.
She took a deep breath, and then let it out as she struggled to get through this. “Nothing could have prepared me for that fight, and it indelibly burned every single moment of that nightmare into my brain. I’ll never be able to forget it, no matter how badly I want to.” Rúna stared into his eyes, forcing him to gaze back into hers. It was an unsettling vision, but he refused to look away. Her hand clenched her sword tightly, her knuckles showing bone white under the strain, as she fought to keep control.
“The thing I remember most,” she finally got out, “is when it was finally over. I walked off the line after they relieved me, and all I could see was what it cost.” She shuddered, reliving it once more. “It was like I was in a daze, like none of it was real. My mind just couldn’t take any more, I guess. I don’t know. I’m not a Knight.” She shrugged yet again. “I remember drifting past one of the gun positions, sandbagged in the trench. There must have been thirty, forty bodies piled up in front of it. The gunner didn’t stop firing until the barrel burst, and even then he went down hard. He died with a Zaitai dagger shoved into his belly… but his cold, dead hands were locked around that bastard’s throat.”
He could only sit there, horrified at the picture she’d just painted so vividly. He could practically see it with his own eyes.
Rúna nodded as she saw her words strike home. “Imagine that times a thousand. That’s how desperate it was. How hard we fought.” She closed her eyes, wincing at the memory. “We lost so many. Hundreds, maybe. Thousands. And not just Terrans; Ixians, Legionnaires, even Zaitai and EA, before they turned traitor on us.” Closing her eyes, she bowed her head and whispered, “... so many.”
Genvass found his voice at last. “Rúna, if you need to talk, I’m happy to listen. But… I’m not sure why you’re telling me this.”
She took a moment to compose herself before finally looking up. “Because I’ve seen firsthand the cost of war,” she said, “and I will do practically anything to keep it from happening again.”
He slowly nodded as her words struck home. “That may be the best reason I’ve ever heard,” he said at last.
She looked away, as if his words had failed to find purchase. “You said you believed peace was possible,” Rúna reminded him. “I’m not sure I do. I’ve been fighting most of my life.” She looked back at him. “But I’d like to. A galaxy at peace sounds pretty damn amazing.” She graced him with a ghost of a smile. “Terra knows it wouldn’t be the first Lost Cause I signed on for.”
Genvass smiled in return. “I would never have pegged you as an idealist.”
“I’m not,” she answered. “I’m just tired of the killing.”
He started to respond, only to have his attention pulled away as the hatch slid open, revealing Samara standing in the doorway. “I hope I’m not interrupting?” she told the pair.
Rúna shot daggers at her, while Genvass merely sighed. “Would it matter if you were?” he asked.
“Not really,’ she conceded. “We need to talk, you and I.” She glanced over at the Valkyrie. “In private.”
“Over my dead body,” she snarled.
“I’d be careful making those sorts of ultimatums,” Samara said evenly, “especially here.”
She jumped to her feet, her hand already reaching for her sword as Genvass grabbed her arm. “It’s all right,” he said, “I’ll talk to her.” Rúna started to protest, only for him to hold up a hand. “You should probably check in with the others anyway,” he suggested. “I’ll be fine, I promise.”
Her eyes traveled between the two before finally giving him a brusque nod. “I’ll be right outside,” she declared, giving Samara a death glare before exiting the compartment.
“I don’t think she likes me very much,” she said affably, taking a seat.
“Can you blame her?”
Samara smiled, shaking her head. “No, I don’t,” she answered. “I’ve burned a lot of bridges in my life. It’s no surprise that she’s one of them.”
“What do you want to talk about, Samara?” he asked. “I thought we’d covered everything.”
“Not everything,” the Protean disagreed. “I’m sorry that things got a little heated the last time we chatted, but I stand by my position. You, of all people, should understand why.”
“I do, but that doesn’t mean I agree with it,” Genvass said point-blank. “If you stopped by simply to rehash our conversation, I really don’t see the point.”
“No, that’s not why I’m here,” Samara explained. “Like I said, I still have my reasons for taking the fight to our enemies. Good reasons, in my opinion.” Her expression was unapologetic. “But when I replayed our chat in my head… or more accurately, when Guardian did… I realized there was something you’d meant to say, but didn’t. What was it?”
Something about the way she’d asked caught his attention. “I wanted to know where you got the idea to steal Peacemaker,” he said cautiously.
Samara nodded. “And why do you want to know that?” she pressed.
Genvass scrutinized her, looking for a sign, but she was as guarded as ever. “Because when I began to examine this mission in earnest, I became convinced there was more going on than met the eye.”
She took a moment to consider that statement. “You may be right,” she said finally.
Her admission caught him by surprise. “Care to elaborate?” he prodded her.
“Someone stopped by my office around the time you found that medical facility,” she said somewhat cryptically. “Their visit was a surprise, given we’d had few interactions in the past. We exchanged polite pleasantries, discussed various topics of mutual interest, marveled at the discoveries teams like yours were unearthing regularly.” Samara shrugged as she relayed the conversation. “I assumed they wanted my insight, or rather, Guardian’s. Not the first time someone had consulted me for that sort of thing.”
“Where are you going with this?” he inquired, giving her a curious look.
An enigmatic smile appeared as she regarded him. “As they were getting ready to leave, they made an offhand remark. It didn’t really register at the time, but later that evening, Guardian reminded me of what they’d said. It got me thinking.”
“And what was the remark?” Genvass prompted her.
“They just mentioned how odd it was we hadn’t stumbled across any ships,” she relayed to him. “You’d think there would have been at least a few lying around, but we hadn’t found a single vessel anywhere, not even a shuttle. And it was odd, I realized. What’s more, Guardian concurred. We kicked the idea around a bit, him and I, and eventually decided on two possibilities. Either we’d spotted no ships because there weren’t any to find, or else they’d been well camouflaged.”
“Makes sense,” he agreed.
“It does, doesn’t it?” Samara chuckled. “Pretty much covers all the bases right there. Of course, the question we asked ourselves next was, assuming there were camouflaged ships in the system, how would we go about finding them? It’s a big system, and these are the Precursors we’re talking about. If they didn’t want something to be found, it’s safe to assume we lowly Terrans wouldn’t find it.” She gazed at him evenly. “What we needed was an informant.”
Genvass already knew where this was going. “Athena,” he said quietly.
“Athena, indeed,” Samara nodded. “Of course, it was still possible we’d wind up empty-handed, that there were no ships, but at least we’d know, one way or the other. Once we decided to consult Athena, we realized we were going to need a ride to visit her in her domain. Not to mention a partner, in case we were successful.”
“At which point you recruited our mutual friend, Captain Hadad, I presume?” Genvass deduced. “Given your intentions, I imagine he took little convincing.”
“You imagine correctly,” she agreed. “I was certain I could enlist him to the cause, given our past. He’s no more a fan of the Troika than I am.”
“And with him on board, you could consult with Athena, who led you directly to Peacemaker.” Genvass shook his head. “All tied up in a nice neat bow… with one exception.” He regarded her warily. “You’ve deliberately avoided naming the individual who first sparked your curiosity. I assume there’s a reason for that.” He folded his hands, awaiting her response.
“There is,” she nodded. “At first I chalked it up to mere coincidence, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized their contacting me was a deliberate act. What I didn’t understand was why.” Samara leaned back n her chair. “I’ve been in the business a long time, Genvass, and I know all the players. This individual, however, had never appeared on my radar, and even more perplexing, I couldn’t see a motive. Most individuals who involve themselves in ‘The Great Game’ have obvious goals; power, control, the usual.” She rested her chin on her hands. “But not this one. They’d shown no interest in that sort of thing, despite having had several opportunities to get their hands dirty. Which tells me one of two things. That either all of this is nothing more than a wild-goose chase, spurred by coincidence, or…” She paused, awaiting his reaction, until finally, he bowed to the inevitable. “Or what?” he asked her.
“Or,” she continued, “that they are very, very good.”
With a sinking feeling, he let out the breath he’d been holding. He already knew what she was about to say, and why she’d taken this circuitous path before revealing the truth.
But he still needed to hear her say it.
“The name, Samara,” he insisted.
“The individual’s name,” she disclosed, revealing at last her hole card, “is Dàifu Tsoumlum Khatsakhox, leader of your own Dharmist Clan.” Their eyes met. “I believe you’re acquainted.”
That earned her a sardonic grunt as the blade struck home. “I’m starting to think,” he said at last, “that I don’t know her at all.”
First I Previous
submitted by Hewholooksskyward to HFY [link] [comments]
Link to the Wiki page, with additional links to Clan information and background Lore.
First I Previous
“This was a mistake. I don’t belong here.”
The crew of Peacemaker had assigned temporary quarters to the Mako refugees. Given the ancient ship’s size, there was plenty of room available. Just as before, Rúna made certain they assigned her the same berth as Genvass. Sitting across from him as they shared a private meal, she shrugged at his statement.
“I’m not sure what else you think you could have done,” she said. “They made their minds up before we ever set foot onboard.”
“That’s not what I mean,” he answered, shaking his head. “I have accomplished exactly nothing on this mission. Hell, Terra’s diplomatic position is even worse than when we started. Hardly a ringing endorsement of my negotiation skills.”
“That is not your fault,” the Valkyrie said vehemently.
“Isn’t it?” Rising from his seat, he began pacing in the small compartment. “I knew what I was getting myself into when I accepted this assignment. I knew it was going to be an uphill battle, convincing the other races to trust us.” He sighed, coming to a halt. “But I was certain I could reach them, to show them we weren’t a threat. And now?” He rubbed at his eyes, suddenly bone-weary. “Now they hate us even worse than they do the Troika. Which is exactly what we’ll become if our hosts have their way.”
“Our ‘hosts’ as you call them, are the ones who sabotaged you,” Rúna fired back. “Them stealing Peacemaker and going on a killing spree doomed your mission, not anything you did. They pulled the rug out from underneath you and killed any chance of a diplomatic solution.”
Her words fell on deaf ears. “Don’t you understand? I’m useless,” he told her. “When the Troika attacked, you were absolutely right to drag me into our quarters and strap me to a couch like an incompetent child. I wouldn’t have reacted quickly enough on my own. The only real training I have is as a linguist, for Terra’s sake. And who needs a linguist when everyone uses voders?” he demanded, throwing up his hands. “I couldn’t help you defend the ship, and when I tried assisting Diggs, the only thing I could manage was hauling his gear around,” he said, his words filled with self-loathing, before abruptly collapsing back into his chair. “I am literally good for nothing.”
“I don’t believe that. I refuse to believe that.” Her eyes narrowed as she took full stock of him. “Perhaps once, that might have been true. I certainly didn’t think much of you when we met on Gyrfalcon. But now?” She shook her head. “You’ve changed since then, been on the receiving end of more than a few rude awakenings. So what if you can’t hold a gun, or turn a wrench? That’s not why you’re here.”
“Then why am I here?” he demanded. “Seriously, I’d really like to know.” He snorted in disgust.
Rúna stared at the glass in her hands, her expression suddenly distant. “Do you know why I signed on for this mission?” she asked softly.
Something about her tone made him look up. “No… not really,” he said after a moment. “I remember how upset you were when you barged into my office.”
That earned him a brief smile. “I was,” she chuckled. “Between the promotion and… well, never mind. It’s not important.” She sighed before meeting his gaze. “People always ask me what Sonoitii Prime was like. I don’t like talking about it, for a lot of reasons.”
Genvass nodded, though he said nothing in reply. Truth be told, he was afraid to say anything, for fear of breaking whatever fragile spell she’d woven around herself to even hint about what happened on that world. Instead, he simply waited, giving her the space she needed.
She took a deep breath, and then let it out as she struggled to get through this. “Nothing could have prepared me for that fight, and it indelibly burned every single moment of that nightmare into my brain. I’ll never be able to forget it, no matter how badly I want to.” Rúna stared into his eyes, forcing him to gaze back into hers. It was an unsettling vision, but he refused to look away. Her hand clenched her sword tightly, her knuckles showing bone white under the strain, as she fought to keep control.
“The thing I remember most,” she finally got out, “is when it was finally over. I walked off the line after they relieved me, and all I could see was what it cost.” She shuddered, reliving it once more. “It was like I was in a daze, like none of it was real. My mind just couldn’t take any more, I guess. I don’t know. I’m not a Knight.” She shrugged yet again. “I remember drifting past one of the gun positions, sandbagged in the trench. There must have been thirty, forty bodies piled up in front of it. The gunner didn’t stop firing until the barrel burst, and even then he went down hard. He died with a Zaitai dagger shoved into his belly… but his cold, dead hands were locked around that bastard’s throat.”
He could only sit there, horrified at the picture she’d just painted so vividly. He could practically see it with his own eyes.
Rúna nodded as she saw her words strike home. “Imagine that times a thousand. That’s how desperate it was. How hard we fought.” She closed her eyes, wincing at the memory. “We lost so many. Hundreds, maybe. Thousands. And not just Terrans; Ixians, Legionnaires, even Zaitai and EA, before they turned traitor on us.” Closing her eyes, she bowed her head and whispered, “... so many.”
Genvass found his voice at last. “Rúna, if you need to talk, I’m happy to listen. But… I’m not sure why you’re telling me this.”
She took a moment to compose herself before finally looking up. “Because I’ve seen firsthand the cost of war,” she said, “and I will do practically anything to keep it from happening again.”
He slowly nodded as her words struck home. “That may be the best reason I’ve ever heard,” he said at last.
She looked away, as if his words had failed to find purchase. “You said you believed peace was possible,” Rúna reminded him. “I’m not sure I do. I’ve been fighting most of my life.” She looked back at him. “But I’d like to. A galaxy at peace sounds pretty damn amazing.” She graced him with a ghost of a smile. “Terra knows it wouldn’t be the first Lost Cause I signed on for.”
Genvass smiled in return. “I would never have pegged you as an idealist.”
“I’m not,” she answered. “I’m just tired of the killing.”
He started to respond, only to have his attention pulled away as the hatch slid open, revealing Samara standing in the doorway. “I hope I’m not interrupting?” she told the pair.
Rúna shot daggers at her, while Genvass merely sighed. “Would it matter if you were?” he asked.
“Not really,’ she conceded. “We need to talk, you and I.” She glanced over at the Valkyrie. “In private.”
“Over my dead body,” she snarled.
“I’d be careful making those sorts of ultimatums,” Samara said evenly, “especially here.”
She jumped to her feet, her hand already reaching for her sword as Genvass grabbed her arm. “It’s all right,” he said, “I’ll talk to her.” Rúna started to protest, only for him to hold up a hand. “You should probably check in with the others anyway,” he suggested. “I’ll be fine, I promise.”
Her eyes traveled between the two before finally giving him a brusque nod. “I’ll be right outside,” she declared, giving Samara a death glare before exiting the compartment.
“I don’t think she likes me very much,” she said affably, taking a seat.
“Can you blame her?”
Samara smiled, shaking her head. “No, I don’t,” she answered. “I’ve burned a lot of bridges in my life. It’s no surprise that she’s one of them.”
“What do you want to talk about, Samara?” he asked. “I thought we’d covered everything.”
“Not everything,” the Protean disagreed. “I’m sorry that things got a little heated the last time we chatted, but I stand by my position. You, of all people, should understand why.”
“I do, but that doesn’t mean I agree with it,” Genvass said point-blank. “If you stopped by simply to rehash our conversation, I really don’t see the point.”
“No, that’s not why I’m here,” Samara explained. “Like I said, I still have my reasons for taking the fight to our enemies. Good reasons, in my opinion.” Her expression was unapologetic. “But when I replayed our chat in my head… or more accurately, when Guardian did… I realized there was something you’d meant to say, but didn’t. What was it?”
Something about the way she’d asked caught his attention. “I wanted to know where you got the idea to steal Peacemaker,” he said cautiously.
Samara nodded. “And why do you want to know that?” she pressed.
Genvass scrutinized her, looking for a sign, but she was as guarded as ever. “Because when I began to examine this mission in earnest, I became convinced there was more going on than met the eye.”
She took a moment to consider that statement. “You may be right,” she said finally.
Her admission caught him by surprise. “Care to elaborate?” he prodded her.
“Someone stopped by my office around the time you found that medical facility,” she said somewhat cryptically. “Their visit was a surprise, given we’d had few interactions in the past. We exchanged polite pleasantries, discussed various topics of mutual interest, marveled at the discoveries teams like yours were unearthing regularly.” Samara shrugged as she relayed the conversation. “I assumed they wanted my insight, or rather, Guardian’s. Not the first time someone had consulted me for that sort of thing.”
“Where are you going with this?” he inquired, giving her a curious look.
An enigmatic smile appeared as she regarded him. “As they were getting ready to leave, they made an offhand remark. It didn’t really register at the time, but later that evening, Guardian reminded me of what they’d said. It got me thinking.”
“And what was the remark?” Genvass prompted her.
“They just mentioned how odd it was we hadn’t stumbled across any ships,” she relayed to him. “You’d think there would have been at least a few lying around, but we hadn’t found a single vessel anywhere, not even a shuttle. And it was odd, I realized. What’s more, Guardian concurred. We kicked the idea around a bit, him and I, and eventually decided on two possibilities. Either we’d spotted no ships because there weren’t any to find, or else they’d been well camouflaged.”
“Makes sense,” he agreed.
“It does, doesn’t it?” Samara chuckled. “Pretty much covers all the bases right there. Of course, the question we asked ourselves next was, assuming there were camouflaged ships in the system, how would we go about finding them? It’s a big system, and these are the Precursors we’re talking about. If they didn’t want something to be found, it’s safe to assume we lowly Terrans wouldn’t find it.” She gazed at him evenly. “What we needed was an informant.”
Genvass already knew where this was going. “Athena,” he said quietly.
“Athena, indeed,” Samara nodded. “Of course, it was still possible we’d wind up empty-handed, that there were no ships, but at least we’d know, one way or the other. Once we decided to consult Athena, we realized we were going to need a ride to visit her in her domain. Not to mention a partner, in case we were successful.”
“At which point you recruited our mutual friend, Captain Hadad, I presume?” Genvass deduced. “Given your intentions, I imagine he took little convincing.”
“You imagine correctly,” she agreed. “I was certain I could enlist him to the cause, given our past. He’s no more a fan of the Troika than I am.”
“And with him on board, you could consult with Athena, who led you directly to Peacemaker.” Genvass shook his head. “All tied up in a nice neat bow… with one exception.” He regarded her warily. “You’ve deliberately avoided naming the individual who first sparked your curiosity. I assume there’s a reason for that.” He folded his hands, awaiting her response.
“There is,” she nodded. “At first I chalked it up to mere coincidence, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized their contacting me was a deliberate act. What I didn’t understand was why.” Samara leaned back n her chair. “I’ve been in the business a long time, Genvass, and I know all the players. This individual, however, had never appeared on my radar, and even more perplexing, I couldn’t see a motive. Most individuals who involve themselves in ‘The Great Game’ have obvious goals; power, control, the usual.” She rested her chin on her hands. “But not this one. They’d shown no interest in that sort of thing, despite having had several opportunities to get their hands dirty. Which tells me one of two things. That either all of this is nothing more than a wild-goose chase, spurred by coincidence, or…” She paused, awaiting his reaction, until finally, he bowed to the inevitable. “Or what?” he asked her.
“Or,” she continued, “that they are very, very good.”
With a sinking feeling, he let out the breath he’d been holding. He already knew what she was about to say, and why she’d taken this circuitous path before revealing the truth.
But he still needed to hear her say it.
“The name, Samara,” he insisted.
“The individual’s name,” she disclosed, revealing at last her hole card, “is Dàifu Tsoumlum Khatsakhox, leader of your own Dharmist Clan.” Their eyes met. “I believe you’re acquainted.”
That earned her a sardonic grunt as the blade struck home. “I’m starting to think,” he said at last, “that I don’t know her at all.”
2023.06.02 07:52 ExitSuccessful3607 The time I saw Hat Man when I was 7
I remember when I was seven, I used to live in a basement. It was a weird setup with the bathroom in the kitchen. And after stepping out the bathroom you could see the dining room right away.
Anyways back to the story. That basement was always sort of haunted. I recall sitting down in the living room and having rocks thrown at me from our decorations, and also hearing random groans and knocking.
The time I saw him I remember I was home alone, my mother went out to do grocery shopping, and I was left home alone because I didn’t feel like going. So I went to go shower and everything was normal. Once I got out I remember looking into the dining room and seeing him sitting down by the dining table. I froze staring at him. Getting chills writing this right now. I couldn’t process what was going on. He didn’t have a face or anything besides the hat.
Once I realized I was home alone and there was this shadow with me, I yelled for my mom and locked myself in the bathroom.
Luckily when that happened my mom was already walking in. She asked me what was wrong and I explained to her and she dismissed it as a kid with a crazy imagination. I thought about this for a while growing up but I had forgotten about it, that was until I heard a story on TikTok reminding me of the event and I find it eerie knowing a lot of other people have seen this figure. Just a side note my upbringing was 50/50 for those who say he appears to children with rough backgrounds. I haven’t seen him since and I honestly don’t wish to. I have occasionally seen shadow figures for a split second but dismiss it as something else.
submitted by ExitSuccessful3607 to HatMan [link] [comments]
Anyways back to the story. That basement was always sort of haunted. I recall sitting down in the living room and having rocks thrown at me from our decorations, and also hearing random groans and knocking.
The time I saw him I remember I was home alone, my mother went out to do grocery shopping, and I was left home alone because I didn’t feel like going. So I went to go shower and everything was normal. Once I got out I remember looking into the dining room and seeing him sitting down by the dining table. I froze staring at him. Getting chills writing this right now. I couldn’t process what was going on. He didn’t have a face or anything besides the hat.
Once I realized I was home alone and there was this shadow with me, I yelled for my mom and locked myself in the bathroom.
Luckily when that happened my mom was already walking in. She asked me what was wrong and I explained to her and she dismissed it as a kid with a crazy imagination. I thought about this for a while growing up but I had forgotten about it, that was until I heard a story on TikTok reminding me of the event and I find it eerie knowing a lot of other people have seen this figure. Just a side note my upbringing was 50/50 for those who say he appears to children with rough backgrounds. I haven’t seen him since and I honestly don’t wish to. I have occasionally seen shadow figures for a split second but dismiss it as something else.
2023.06.02 07:49 futureislookinstark I hate phone calls with a passion
Please don’t call me and if you do, call me two times if it’s an emergency and you NEED to talk to me. Otherwise drop me a text. I will reply to you if it’s urgent. If not I’ll get back to you in about half an hour or after work.
The only time calls are acceptable is if it’s long distance. In an age where we are so disconnected physically by technology meant to connect us please save your energy/stories and make a date with me. I’d love to sit face to face and guarantee both parties are willing to engage 100% of their attention to the conversation. It also helps being able to see reactions, body language, and story telling with hands. Im not sure why I hate phone calls so much but I feel a sense of annoyance come over me when I see a phone call request come in. Like it’s just so inefficient.
1 First it’s the intro “hey dude it’s x how are you doing.” This phase is completely skipped over text. You texted me, I know who it is and you know who you’re texting. No need to reintroduce yourself or clarify again when texting.
2 You can’t get trapped texting. Maybe this is a Midwest thing but my god the amount of times I’d be told to talk to my relatives who live in the Midwest and I’d get stuck in the endless loop of the Midwest goodbye which basically is one party continually bringing up random things as the conversations comes to a close in an effort to find new ground to converse was infuriating. Over text you can just leave the conversation be once the informations been exchanged and it doesn’t hurt anyone’s feeling near as bad as hanging up without a goodbye does.
3 the exchange of information is straightforward and leaves no room for side conversations unless you want to engage in them. I live at home currently and I called my mom while I was out doing errands. I called asking if we had another spare container to collect grease in (we use old peanut butter cans to collect grease from the grill when my dad uses it and when I air fry chicken I put my grease in it as well and we recycle it. If we don’t have a spare peanut butter jar sometimes we by single glass mason jars to store it in. ) My mom doesn’t understand from the get go what grease collection I’m talking about. I then try repeating myself. She says she’s not understanding then I have to step by step explain what I’m talking about starting with “when dad cooks food all the grease builds up and we ha—“ my mom finally understood and then went off on a a tangent about how my dads been throwing the grease in the trash and making the house smell bad. I realized I should’ve just texted my mom “I’m at target, do we need another grease catcher jar” and she either would’ve understood me instantly. I feel people don’t comprehend/understand stuff as well on the phone cause they’re also on the phone trying to give instant replies and it decreases brain power staying in the conversation. When you text you can stop think your response over and even research it. I know my mom would’ve understood my grease catching question if I had just texted it to her rather than called. It turned into a 3 minute conversation which isn’t a long time at all but the fact it could’ve been a good 10 second text bothered me so much. Walking around the store with things to do listening absently mindedly out of respect before I could finally hang up and get back to my shopping. God I hate it so much.
Any one else out there share this same frustration with phone calls, want to add to reason why it sucks, or can tell me why I react so oddly to it?
submitted by futureislookinstark to Discussion [link] [comments]
The only time calls are acceptable is if it’s long distance. In an age where we are so disconnected physically by technology meant to connect us please save your energy/stories and make a date with me. I’d love to sit face to face and guarantee both parties are willing to engage 100% of their attention to the conversation. It also helps being able to see reactions, body language, and story telling with hands. Im not sure why I hate phone calls so much but I feel a sense of annoyance come over me when I see a phone call request come in. Like it’s just so inefficient.
1 First it’s the intro “hey dude it’s x how are you doing.” This phase is completely skipped over text. You texted me, I know who it is and you know who you’re texting. No need to reintroduce yourself or clarify again when texting.
2 You can’t get trapped texting. Maybe this is a Midwest thing but my god the amount of times I’d be told to talk to my relatives who live in the Midwest and I’d get stuck in the endless loop of the Midwest goodbye which basically is one party continually bringing up random things as the conversations comes to a close in an effort to find new ground to converse was infuriating. Over text you can just leave the conversation be once the informations been exchanged and it doesn’t hurt anyone’s feeling near as bad as hanging up without a goodbye does.
3 the exchange of information is straightforward and leaves no room for side conversations unless you want to engage in them. I live at home currently and I called my mom while I was out doing errands. I called asking if we had another spare container to collect grease in (we use old peanut butter cans to collect grease from the grill when my dad uses it and when I air fry chicken I put my grease in it as well and we recycle it. If we don’t have a spare peanut butter jar sometimes we by single glass mason jars to store it in. ) My mom doesn’t understand from the get go what grease collection I’m talking about. I then try repeating myself. She says she’s not understanding then I have to step by step explain what I’m talking about starting with “when dad cooks food all the grease builds up and we ha—“ my mom finally understood and then went off on a a tangent about how my dads been throwing the grease in the trash and making the house smell bad. I realized I should’ve just texted my mom “I’m at target, do we need another grease catcher jar” and she either would’ve understood me instantly. I feel people don’t comprehend/understand stuff as well on the phone cause they’re also on the phone trying to give instant replies and it decreases brain power staying in the conversation. When you text you can stop think your response over and even research it. I know my mom would’ve understood my grease catching question if I had just texted it to her rather than called. It turned into a 3 minute conversation which isn’t a long time at all but the fact it could’ve been a good 10 second text bothered me so much. Walking around the store with things to do listening absently mindedly out of respect before I could finally hang up and get back to my shopping. God I hate it so much.
Any one else out there share this same frustration with phone calls, want to add to reason why it sucks, or can tell me why I react so oddly to it?
2023.06.02 07:43 jESTER669 Am I the jerk that I don’t want a relationship with my father or his side of the family (part 2)
I packed everything I could say goodbye to my cat and just leaving saying goodbye to my Younger brother and when my father realised I was not at the house he kicked my mother out and told her to look for me she ended up walking all night and my sister had to help her go home again My father ended up texting me multiple times to get my ass home even resulted to guilt tripping me telling my mum and brother were upset and crying bawling their eyes out but my brother helped me pack my stuff and he knew about it I just wish that I could take him with me While I was living with people who knew my father they told me story’s of him being abusive to his mom putting a knife to her and he even got my older brothers mom pregnant and only paid $5 or even of child support even my uncle on my fathers side gave him cocaine I even knew my father was cheating and doing weed in the house but my mother was oblivious to it even through I saw he was talking to some blonde bimbo I sorry for my words I hate cheaters and I despise my father of everything he has done to everyone that gets close to him And I knew when I finally turned 19 they couldn’t do anything about me leaving home and they couldn’t get the police involved I visited my sister a few times even my little brother and my mum my mum insisted of me going to the house and seeing my father I was scared but I agreed stupidly when I was face-to-face with my father he told me to take off my mask that I had on my face and that masks are not allowed in the house when I said I didn’t want to he left he just left the house and you go with his drinking buddies so I also left When I was visiting my mum a second time I told her about what happened in high school and I was sexually assaulted 3 time by three different people but all she said was that she didn’t want to hear about it it seems like she didn’t really give two shits I told my younger brother what I told my mum and he ended up punching the wall telling me that he would hurt them for hurting me but I just hugged him saying that I’m okay now and I have been talking to a psychiatrist talking about my problems When I was living with my older brother everything was feel I was doing better but my mom had called me saying my little brother didn’t want to talk to me anymore and that he hated me I ended the call and locked my self in my room I texted my older brother that I had hurt myself and I needed him I ended up in the hospital for a night and I was dropped off the next day, later in the year my brother did a prank it didn’t go well it involved me being locked in my room while smoke was slowly filling up and me being asthmatic it didn’t go well so out of fear I left to live with my uncle on my fathers side While living with my uncle and his kids it was good I was happy but I never had that much money because I was paying rent for a caravan and even paying my uncle rent so half the time I didn’t eat I just slept But one day my boyfriend visited for the weekend every was good we went out to the movies and dinner I was tired Ann drained from the day so we went back to my uncles house everything was ok but I ended up blacking out and hurting myself my boyfriend said he wasn’t going to leave my side but in the morning my uncle banged on the caravan yelling that my boyfriend had 5 minutes to f*** off and he would deal with me so I put my phone on record it recorded every hurtful thing like I deserved my fathers abuse but what I thought was bull was that no one that wasn’t family was allowed to be at my uncles house on his birthday because he said that it was Sacred land like what he didn’t even allow his gf to come celebrate but I packed my things and told a family friend want happened and she came to pick me up and my things But my uncle never stopped spitting his venom saying things like my nana who is dead that she would never be proud of me and he even stop the owner of the caravan to get it back he threatened me to pay him or there would be trouble so I payed him then told he to take my name off his car he only put it in my name because his drivers license was taken but all he said was f*** off you lying f*** then I blocked him and even got a new phone number When I was finding a new place to live I told my mom I would come over to get the rest of my stuff that I left my boyfriend come with me for support and it did help with my anxiety of seeing my father my mom, older sister and younger brother was there but so was my father I didn’t speak to him and I think that made him mad I did talk to my other family members but when it come to leave my mom was out the back with my father I asked my brother if he could get my mom seeing as I didn’t want to be around him but I could only hear my father saying negative things so I said bye to my siblings and left. last year was just a big whole year for me moving into different houses because of drama issues with family members finally I found a house with me and my boyfriend to live I’m doing better now and I’ve got medication to deal with mental issues I’ve got because of David my father While being diagnosed at Sonder they told me I had to split personality disorder associated disorder social anxiety depression and I’m even getting tested for autism I’m not talking to my mom as she just wants to push a relationship on to me with my father and she doesn’t even bother to talk to me the last time I spoke to her she scared me by saying my brother stuck his finger in the socket I told her that I freaked out and all she said was it was just a joke but I do talk to my sister and I try to talk to my Younger brother but my mum told me that David won’t get a Wi-Fi router so then I can talk to him right now I’m just dealing with myself right now trying to heal from the scars that my father caused me But I am happy that I have people by my side especially my boyfriend‘s been there with me every step of the way helping me and caring for me and even supporting me when my family couldn’t even do that
So am I the jerk for not wanting a relationship with my abusive father
This is just a small update I was told but my mom side of the family that even they hated my father but some of them don’t know why I moved away I don’t know it I should tell my grandma why I left
submitted by jESTER669 to u/jESTER669 [link] [comments]
So am I the jerk for not wanting a relationship with my abusive father
This is just a small update I was told but my mom side of the family that even they hated my father but some of them don’t know why I moved away I don’t know it I should tell my grandma why I left
2023.06.02 07:43 FirstLab8549 Advice on flashbacks and healing? TW for self-harm and attempted suicide.
Long read. Sorry, I don't know the reddicutte (hehe)
Ok quick backstory. Two days after I turned 18 I was sexually assaulted. (This happened 9 months ago.) He basically did anything he wanted to my body while I was half asleep and drunk. (He was 100% sober and I'm certain about that.) I was in university residence at the time and moved to a new building across campus. Then, I was raped while unconscious by a guy on my floor that basically claimed me as his girlfriend the day I moved in. This was more intense. He constantly sexually assaulted me before that point but I didn't realize until much later. After my floor found out, I was slut shamed and shunned because I 'broke his heart' after I realized he raped me and 'dumped' him. He lived in the room next to me for three months after that and he purposely used intimidation tactics on me during that time. This was 5 months ago.
Yesterday, I showed up for my job as a summer student at a museum. Part of my job is running school tours and day camps for kids in elementary school. Before my manager could introduce me to the kids, one of the students got up to quickly hug me. Which would have been okay if he would have asked. But he didn't and he shoved his face into my boobs and wrapped his arms around my lower body and it was pretty obvious that he knew it was wrong. It happened very quickly and it honestly shocked me. I'm a very understanding person but I kinda flipped out inside. I reacted appropriately and I kinda nervously laughed and put my arms in the air until his teacher said "remember personal space." Of course I didn't treat him any differently and I pretended like nothing happened. (I'm not trying to accuse a 6yo boy of anything but it's important to note that he made several other of my female coworkers uncomfortable with his touching. His teacher also brushed it off which I'm not happy about because it was very apparent that this wasn't a new thing. Maybe he could have been undiagnosed neurodivergent but I have a LOT of experience working with ND kids and he clearly had the ability to understand it was wrong. I'm neurodivergent and I knew not to do that at that age) I don't know why it triggered such a flashback but I just finished bawling my eyes out and digging my fingers into my body. I'm very good at keeping things cool but when my mom drove me home after work I mentally flipped out. I wanted to scream. It felt like it all came back at once. I'm very self conscious about my boobs because of what my rapist did to me. Most of my phantom touch occurs in my boobs so when the boy hugged me, I internally freaked out. I'm diagnosed with a general anxiety disorder and I have had many panic attacks. But this didn't feel anything like it. It felt like a life or death situation even though I was right beside my mom in the car. It felt like the world got brighter but in a distorted way, more like a picture but it was overexposed to the max. When I have a panic attack, I look around frantically and try to run or shake my hands or do literally anything to regulate the feeling. But this time it felt like I was melting into my seat, I was glued down. I couldn't feel any part of my body except where it met with the seat and I felt like I was falling. My eyes went wide like a deer in headlights and I stayed like that until I could calm down. My mom is half deaf on her right side so she couldn't hear my shaky breath and she didn't know I was upset. My mind was absolutely racing but I can't even remember what I was thinking about. I wasn't thinking like normal, I thought in emotions. A wave of anxiety, anger, frustration, and disgust conjured in me. It felt like I would pass out from overwhelm. This hasn't been the only time. I had them more in my dorm but not as severe. The last time it happened was in res after he cornered me in a dimly lit, unsurveillenced, low traffic stairwell. But it's getting unbearable. It feels like I will never go a day without thinking about my rapist. Every little thing reminds me of him. If I hear Spanish, I think of him and I want to rip my hair out. Try going one day without hearing/seeing something related to Spain or the Spanish language. I live on a farm in the middle of nowhere and it happens everyday. Like I said, I'm a pretty understanding person so I get it if I can't get trigger warnings, sincerely. I've had an intentional overdose and I've been self harming (self harm free since February 17th whooooo) since I was 13. In res I normally heard suicide/depression jokes daily. I honestly don't expect everyone around me to be aware of my trauma all of the time so unless someone makes a rape joke, I won't say anything. Again, personal opinion. I will gladly accommodate to other peoples triggers and I encourage them to advocate for themselves. (Also I just don't wanna tell them all that stuff.) But what can I do? How do I make it stop? I'm in a rural area so I can't get in with a doctor or therapist for at least a month+ for treatment/medication. It's not a location issue, health services is just crazy backlogged. (I'm Canadian, wait times are INSANE in rural communities.) Last time I went to a doctor at my university clinic she doubled my Abilify 10mgs and I think that's pretty much only used for people with schizophrenia. I've seen a psychiatrist since then, she said I for sure have general anxiety, depression, and ADHD (diagnosed at 17), and possibly Borderline Personality Disorder but I'm definitely not schizophrenic. Last time I went to the doctor in my town to ask about my self harm scars, he saw me for less than five minutes and prescribed me seroquel, another antipsychotic. I also went off of my antidepressant, mood stabilizer, and adhd medication in October and my psychiatrist thought it would be ok. So I'm a little leary of general practioners and I can't get in to see a psychiatrist until I'm back at university in September. I can't sleep and I smoke weed every night to fall asleep. I'm constantly snapping at my parents and it feels like I'm going crazy. I was such a happy girl. I was calm, collected, and successful. I went to university with glowing recommendations and scholarships to pay for almost my entire degree. My senior superlative was 'Most outgoing.' Now I despise anyone my age. I don't trust them. I'm an anxious mess who has nothing under control and I absolutely ruined my reputation. If it weren't for a good memory and expert cramming skills I would have flunked out. Everyday I wish that I could erase those nights from my memory. I relive them each and every night. Sooo any suggestions or (polite) thoughts/opinions?
submitted by FirstLab8549 to sexualassault [link] [comments]
Ok quick backstory. Two days after I turned 18 I was sexually assaulted. (This happened 9 months ago.) He basically did anything he wanted to my body while I was half asleep and drunk. (He was 100% sober and I'm certain about that.) I was in university residence at the time and moved to a new building across campus. Then, I was raped while unconscious by a guy on my floor that basically claimed me as his girlfriend the day I moved in. This was more intense. He constantly sexually assaulted me before that point but I didn't realize until much later. After my floor found out, I was slut shamed and shunned because I 'broke his heart' after I realized he raped me and 'dumped' him. He lived in the room next to me for three months after that and he purposely used intimidation tactics on me during that time. This was 5 months ago.
Yesterday, I showed up for my job as a summer student at a museum. Part of my job is running school tours and day camps for kids in elementary school. Before my manager could introduce me to the kids, one of the students got up to quickly hug me. Which would have been okay if he would have asked. But he didn't and he shoved his face into my boobs and wrapped his arms around my lower body and it was pretty obvious that he knew it was wrong. It happened very quickly and it honestly shocked me. I'm a very understanding person but I kinda flipped out inside. I reacted appropriately and I kinda nervously laughed and put my arms in the air until his teacher said "remember personal space." Of course I didn't treat him any differently and I pretended like nothing happened. (I'm not trying to accuse a 6yo boy of anything but it's important to note that he made several other of my female coworkers uncomfortable with his touching. His teacher also brushed it off which I'm not happy about because it was very apparent that this wasn't a new thing. Maybe he could have been undiagnosed neurodivergent but I have a LOT of experience working with ND kids and he clearly had the ability to understand it was wrong. I'm neurodivergent and I knew not to do that at that age) I don't know why it triggered such a flashback but I just finished bawling my eyes out and digging my fingers into my body. I'm very good at keeping things cool but when my mom drove me home after work I mentally flipped out. I wanted to scream. It felt like it all came back at once. I'm very self conscious about my boobs because of what my rapist did to me. Most of my phantom touch occurs in my boobs so when the boy hugged me, I internally freaked out. I'm diagnosed with a general anxiety disorder and I have had many panic attacks. But this didn't feel anything like it. It felt like a life or death situation even though I was right beside my mom in the car. It felt like the world got brighter but in a distorted way, more like a picture but it was overexposed to the max. When I have a panic attack, I look around frantically and try to run or shake my hands or do literally anything to regulate the feeling. But this time it felt like I was melting into my seat, I was glued down. I couldn't feel any part of my body except where it met with the seat and I felt like I was falling. My eyes went wide like a deer in headlights and I stayed like that until I could calm down. My mom is half deaf on her right side so she couldn't hear my shaky breath and she didn't know I was upset. My mind was absolutely racing but I can't even remember what I was thinking about. I wasn't thinking like normal, I thought in emotions. A wave of anxiety, anger, frustration, and disgust conjured in me. It felt like I would pass out from overwhelm. This hasn't been the only time. I had them more in my dorm but not as severe. The last time it happened was in res after he cornered me in a dimly lit, unsurveillenced, low traffic stairwell. But it's getting unbearable. It feels like I will never go a day without thinking about my rapist. Every little thing reminds me of him. If I hear Spanish, I think of him and I want to rip my hair out. Try going one day without hearing/seeing something related to Spain or the Spanish language. I live on a farm in the middle of nowhere and it happens everyday. Like I said, I'm a pretty understanding person so I get it if I can't get trigger warnings, sincerely. I've had an intentional overdose and I've been self harming (self harm free since February 17th whooooo) since I was 13. In res I normally heard suicide/depression jokes daily. I honestly don't expect everyone around me to be aware of my trauma all of the time so unless someone makes a rape joke, I won't say anything. Again, personal opinion. I will gladly accommodate to other peoples triggers and I encourage them to advocate for themselves. (Also I just don't wanna tell them all that stuff.) But what can I do? How do I make it stop? I'm in a rural area so I can't get in with a doctor or therapist for at least a month+ for treatment/medication. It's not a location issue, health services is just crazy backlogged. (I'm Canadian, wait times are INSANE in rural communities.) Last time I went to a doctor at my university clinic she doubled my Abilify 10mgs and I think that's pretty much only used for people with schizophrenia. I've seen a psychiatrist since then, she said I for sure have general anxiety, depression, and ADHD (diagnosed at 17), and possibly Borderline Personality Disorder but I'm definitely not schizophrenic. Last time I went to the doctor in my town to ask about my self harm scars, he saw me for less than five minutes and prescribed me seroquel, another antipsychotic. I also went off of my antidepressant, mood stabilizer, and adhd medication in October and my psychiatrist thought it would be ok. So I'm a little leary of general practioners and I can't get in to see a psychiatrist until I'm back at university in September. I can't sleep and I smoke weed every night to fall asleep. I'm constantly snapping at my parents and it feels like I'm going crazy. I was such a happy girl. I was calm, collected, and successful. I went to university with glowing recommendations and scholarships to pay for almost my entire degree. My senior superlative was 'Most outgoing.' Now I despise anyone my age. I don't trust them. I'm an anxious mess who has nothing under control and I absolutely ruined my reputation. If it weren't for a good memory and expert cramming skills I would have flunked out. Everyday I wish that I could erase those nights from my memory. I relive them each and every night. Sooo any suggestions or (polite) thoughts/opinions?
2023.06.02 07:39 girl_from_the_crypt Stuck on earth and looking for a job: My indie artist roommate appears to have grown her hair out
When you don’t see someone for a while, they tend to look kind of different the next time you meet. That’s not because they’ve actually changed, but rather due to your memory being inaccurate. Still, I don’t think my roommate has always had barnacles growing on her.
Kit Sutton did indeed look different. Beautiful, but different.
In the short time we’d been apart, her hair had grown to an impressive length. It trailed after her through the water as she effortlessly hopped from rock to rock before landing in front of us. She was even more scantily clad than usual; in fact, she wasn’t wearing anything at all. Her normally olive skin had adopted a pearlescent sheen, interrupted by the algae, starfish and seashells clinging to her body. Her eyes shone in the light of our torch and she regarded us with an unreadable expression, putting a hand to her hip.
"I can't believe you're actually here." She shook her head, sounding like she wasn't even sure herself what tone to strike. "You… you'd better leave. And fast. I-it's nice to see you, though."
I took a step forward and hugged her. She felt slippery. "I've missed you."
"Yeah. Me too. You should still go now."
"You need to come back," I said. "I'm sorry I ever gave up on you. There has to be a way for you to come back."
She shook her head. "Eva, you saw what my father can do. You saw the wave and you just saw his grotto guard. There's, like, a thousand more where that one came from."
"What are you doing here anyways? Isn't this a kinda way too lonely spot for you to hang out?" Elijah asked. "Doesn't seem very you."
"Yeah. It's… not." She rolled her eyes. "I'm basically grounded. My Dad's gonna keep me here for the next two hundred years or so. I'm not allowed to leave until he trusts me again."
"Two hundred years?" Eli echoed.
Kit massaged her temples. "I don't like it either, believe me." Looking up, a hopeful expression crossed her face. "How's Nettie?"
"She misses you," I told her.
"She does? That's, um… nice."
"It's cool, I know about you two."
"Oh. Well. I'm really glad she's thinking about me. Is that mean? Because I don't want her to be unhappy, it just feels good, you know?"
"I can imagine," I answered. "And it only proves my point. We have to get you out of here."
"Dude, I said no. You actually can't beat my father. I wish that was an option, but it's simply not."
"Kit…"
"It's Chandra." She raised her head to fix me with a stern gaze. So empty, so joyless, so… unlike her. "It was nice being Kit and running around up top and living with you. Those were a good few years, and now here I am, paying the price. There is nothing you can do against my Dad."
Silence descended upon us for a sober couple seconds. I studied her expression, her set jaw and taut shoulders. "And what about you?" I asked. "Can you do something?"
Kit snorted. "You've never even seen me use any sort of powers."
"But you have them, don't you?"
"Actually, I do." She casually raised a hand, her wrist slowly describing a circle. Eli and I watched in astonished silence as a trail of water snaked its way up from the lake, arching above her head and trickling back down on the other side of the stepstone. Kit Sutton looked after it disinterestedly, then turned to us with a bored shrug. "I guess I can sorta control water."
Elijah was gaping at her. "Could you do this the whole time?"
"Nope. Only when I'm in my natural habitat. I'm the crown princess—" she spat out the words in discontent, forming air-quotes around them— "and the heiress to the throne, so I'm, like, ultra connected to my element or whatever. Not like my siblings."
"But as of now, you are stronger than them?" I queried. "Is there any possibility you could become stronger than your father, too?"
For a moment, she stared at me, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. "Actually, let me show you something." Her naked feet never once slipping on the wet stone, she proceeded towards the nearest platform rock, jumping off with ease and landing gracefully. After trading shrugs with Elijah Carter, we scrambled after her. She led us back a little ways and then down one of the other passages we'd glimpsed before, barely losing a word the whole time. I stopped trying to strike up a conversation, focusing solely on keeping up with her unnaturally sleek, swift steps.
"The olm you saw before was one of my father's guardians," she called out sharply over her shoulder. "The sea breeds giants, as they say. Or rather, Dad does. He keeps creating abominations like that, and he uses them to ward off outsiders in places where they don't belong. They're obviously not stopping me from running away again—you've seen that they'll obey me. But his Majesty has made it quite clear that if I break out, he's going to turn the town into a swamp. I'm not going to be responsible for people's deaths, or the loss of their homes. Especially not… not hers."
She came to a halt, squaring her shoulders. Above her head, I could make out the silhouette of an opening in the tunnel. "We're here. This… this should be enough proof that he'll make good on any threat he's ever uttered." She stepped aside to make way for us.
We hesitantly pushed past her and into the room that lay before us. It was different from all the others we'd seen thus far—it didn't lure one into a false sense of security with its descriptive beauty. In fact, the second the beam of our flashlight illuminated its interior, every last fiber of my being started to cry out to me, telling me to run. My flight instinct kicking in, I tried desperately to stay grounded somehow, to keep control. I couldn't allow myself to panic. This was a horrible time to end up going dimensions. I had to remain in this reality, no matter how difficult the sight before me was rendering the task.
I heard Elijah Carter gag beside me, his stomach revolting at what he saw. His hand abruptly flew to my shoulder, cold, sweat-slick fingers clamping down on my skin, hard enough to bruise. With my own stomach doing kick-flips inside my body, I could understand his reaction far too well. Instead of shrinking away, I reached up to graze his knuckles with my own, a fleeting touch I couldn't find the strength to hold. It was hard to be reassuring given the circumstances.
We were looking at a gallery of corpses. They lined the walls, the floor, the ceiling, all in different states of wholeness and decay. A viscous, transparent fluid was gluing them to the stone, fixing them in their respective places. In some spots, it looked quite shiny and fresh, while in others, it had hardened, encasing the dead bodies like clear, pale amber. It was an unorganized chaos, the carcasses strewn practically everywhere, some overlapping, some upside down. Some had their eyes still open, their faces eternally frozen in void, empty expressions of terror. Most bodies weren't even complete—arms, legs or heads were missing, pronounced bitemarks marring the aged yet well-preserved flesh.
Elijah and I found ourselves standing rooted to the ground, too terrified to move, too dazed to speak. My friend's dark gaze frantically raced over the walls, flickering across the horrid display, taking in the carnage. My own eyes seemed to be burning. My head was spinning, and I had to hold onto his arm to support myself—it felt as though my legs were about to give way beneath me.
A shimmering light at the center of the room caught my attention. Somehow finding it within me to steady myself, I took a couple faltering steps towards it. Elijah Carter followed suit and Kit Sutton wordlessly trailed after us. Stepping over the dozens and dozens of corpses in my way, I tried hard to keep my wits about me. When I finally reached its source, I was surprised to find it to be a pond, or rather a bottomless hole of water. Another connection to the sea, no doubt. The shine however seemed fine from within it, from down below where there would normally be just darkness. Looking in, the breath was once again stolen from my lungs. It felt rather like peering through a small window into a very large hall. I could only see a fracture of what lay beneath.
Hovering within the endless masses of water was the enormous statue of a woman. Her stony pale arms were raised, her hands reaching out almost pleadingly, as if she was hoping for someone to pull her up from her cold, abyssal grave. Her eyes, one of which was about the size of my head, were wide open, her colorless stare holding a wild, unreadable mix of emotions. Her lips were parted in a silent scream. An unearthly, bright glow surrounded her; it seemed to come from within her body rather than anywhere else. It was disturbingly beautiful.
"Her name was Calypso."
Kit's voice pulled me from my trance. When I turned to face her, she pointedly avoided my gaze. An idea took shape in my mind, created by the faint, wavery undertone of mourning in her words. "She was someone special, wasn't she?"
"My mother."
I swallowed, my pulse still thrumming in my ears. Stepping forward, I tentatively grasped my roommate's hand. She let go of a soft breath, the corner of her mouth twitching. "These people here have been rotting away for centuries. It's the worst punishment imaginable, isn't it. The lucky ones are dead before they get glued down, but the ones he's really angry at, he covers in that goo when they're, like, lethally injured. I don't quite know what this stuff is, but it slows down all those organic processes, the death, the decomposition…" She paused. "With Mom, it was different. He turned her to stone. The same kind that grows from the ground here, you know; that smooth, shiny kinda rock that looks real pretty."
"What did she do to piss off your Dad?"
"What did any of these poor fuckers do? Most of these are failed cult leaders, actually. You'd never guess how many cults the deep ones have dedicated to them. As for my mother, I don't know. I can't even remember her, to be honest." She shrugged with affected carelessness. "You see it now? My father is… just beyond comprehension."
"So are you, though, aren't you? If you think about it."
"Eva, I know you're trying to boost morale here, but it's not working. Please let me get you out of here. And for heaven's sake, don't come back."
She led us back through the labyrinth of tunnels and corridors, staying well behind when we caught the first glimpse of daylight.
"I promise I'll think of something," I told her. "I'll find a way to get you out."
She merely shook her head. "No, you won't. Just go home and look for a new roommate. Or move back in with Nettie. She'll be glad."
I clenched my teeth, but allowed Eli to press his palm to my back, guiding me towards the exit.
"Actually, just… just wait. Could you tell her I, like, miss her? A lot?" Kit shouted after us, a sudden note of warmth softening her voice.
Elijah turned back to her with a sad smile. "Of course."
We didn't return to the car straight away, instead walking along the shore for a little while. My extra limbs having retracted and Eli's face having returned to a less nauseous color, we didn't bear any outward traces of our experience in the cave. We didn’t talk much, but we almost leaned onto one other with how closely we stuck to each other’s side. Eventually, I gathered the strength to break the silence. “This can’t stand, obviously.”
“You still want to get her out?” He gave me a sidelong glance. “This is more for Nettie’s sake than anything else, isn’t it?”
“I do like Kit Sutton, and I miss her tremendously,” I stated. “But largely, it is.”
Elijah, having nothing else to add, gave a noncommittal grunt.
“Would you mind if I asked you something personal?” I asked.
“Try it and find out.”
“I was wondering about what Mary Markov said about you earlier,” I began. “An incident at a highschool.”
He sighed. Silence fell, and for a minute I thought he wouldn’t respond at all. Then, he slowed down, coming to a halt and turning to look out at the horizon. “So how do we do this, Shirley? You really want me to pour my heart out to you and let you in on my tragic past as we stare at the tossing waves? That’s a bit too romantic for the two of us, if you ask me.”
“But you’d let me in on your tragic past in a less romantic setting?”
“Oh sure, anytime,” he said lightly. “Well, not any time. I’d be okay talking to you about it, though. See, it doesn’t matter to me if you know or not, the problem is kinda the headspace and getting the words out of my mouth in the first place.”
“I’m glad you feel like you could do that with me.” I regarded his profile, noting how he swallowed and shut his eyes for a moment.
“Let’s go back to the car.”
So we did. Only that it wasn’t quite how we left it. Elijah noticed it first—a low, hissed curse escaped him as he bent down to inspect the damage. The back window had been smashed in. The brown folder Mary Markov had given me was gone.
X
1
2: deadbeat roommate
3: creepy crush
4: relocation
5: beach concert
6: First date
7: Temp work
8: roommate talk
9: a dismal worldview
10: warehouse
11: staircase
12: explanation
13: hurt
14: hospital
15: ocean
16: diner
17: government work
18: something in the caves
19: shopping cart
20: olms and Jewels
submitted by girl_from_the_crypt to nosleep [link] [comments]
Kit Sutton did indeed look different. Beautiful, but different.
In the short time we’d been apart, her hair had grown to an impressive length. It trailed after her through the water as she effortlessly hopped from rock to rock before landing in front of us. She was even more scantily clad than usual; in fact, she wasn’t wearing anything at all. Her normally olive skin had adopted a pearlescent sheen, interrupted by the algae, starfish and seashells clinging to her body. Her eyes shone in the light of our torch and she regarded us with an unreadable expression, putting a hand to her hip.
"I can't believe you're actually here." She shook her head, sounding like she wasn't even sure herself what tone to strike. "You… you'd better leave. And fast. I-it's nice to see you, though."
I took a step forward and hugged her. She felt slippery. "I've missed you."
"Yeah. Me too. You should still go now."
"You need to come back," I said. "I'm sorry I ever gave up on you. There has to be a way for you to come back."
She shook her head. "Eva, you saw what my father can do. You saw the wave and you just saw his grotto guard. There's, like, a thousand more where that one came from."
"What are you doing here anyways? Isn't this a kinda way too lonely spot for you to hang out?" Elijah asked. "Doesn't seem very you."
"Yeah. It's… not." She rolled her eyes. "I'm basically grounded. My Dad's gonna keep me here for the next two hundred years or so. I'm not allowed to leave until he trusts me again."
"Two hundred years?" Eli echoed.
Kit massaged her temples. "I don't like it either, believe me." Looking up, a hopeful expression crossed her face. "How's Nettie?"
"She misses you," I told her.
"She does? That's, um… nice."
"It's cool, I know about you two."
"Oh. Well. I'm really glad she's thinking about me. Is that mean? Because I don't want her to be unhappy, it just feels good, you know?"
"I can imagine," I answered. "And it only proves my point. We have to get you out of here."
"Dude, I said no. You actually can't beat my father. I wish that was an option, but it's simply not."
"Kit…"
"It's Chandra." She raised her head to fix me with a stern gaze. So empty, so joyless, so… unlike her. "It was nice being Kit and running around up top and living with you. Those were a good few years, and now here I am, paying the price. There is nothing you can do against my Dad."
Silence descended upon us for a sober couple seconds. I studied her expression, her set jaw and taut shoulders. "And what about you?" I asked. "Can you do something?"
Kit snorted. "You've never even seen me use any sort of powers."
"But you have them, don't you?"
"Actually, I do." She casually raised a hand, her wrist slowly describing a circle. Eli and I watched in astonished silence as a trail of water snaked its way up from the lake, arching above her head and trickling back down on the other side of the stepstone. Kit Sutton looked after it disinterestedly, then turned to us with a bored shrug. "I guess I can sorta control water."
Elijah was gaping at her. "Could you do this the whole time?"
"Nope. Only when I'm in my natural habitat. I'm the crown princess—" she spat out the words in discontent, forming air-quotes around them— "and the heiress to the throne, so I'm, like, ultra connected to my element or whatever. Not like my siblings."
"But as of now, you are stronger than them?" I queried. "Is there any possibility you could become stronger than your father, too?"
For a moment, she stared at me, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. "Actually, let me show you something." Her naked feet never once slipping on the wet stone, she proceeded towards the nearest platform rock, jumping off with ease and landing gracefully. After trading shrugs with Elijah Carter, we scrambled after her. She led us back a little ways and then down one of the other passages we'd glimpsed before, barely losing a word the whole time. I stopped trying to strike up a conversation, focusing solely on keeping up with her unnaturally sleek, swift steps.
"The olm you saw before was one of my father's guardians," she called out sharply over her shoulder. "The sea breeds giants, as they say. Or rather, Dad does. He keeps creating abominations like that, and he uses them to ward off outsiders in places where they don't belong. They're obviously not stopping me from running away again—you've seen that they'll obey me. But his Majesty has made it quite clear that if I break out, he's going to turn the town into a swamp. I'm not going to be responsible for people's deaths, or the loss of their homes. Especially not… not hers."
She came to a halt, squaring her shoulders. Above her head, I could make out the silhouette of an opening in the tunnel. "We're here. This… this should be enough proof that he'll make good on any threat he's ever uttered." She stepped aside to make way for us.
We hesitantly pushed past her and into the room that lay before us. It was different from all the others we'd seen thus far—it didn't lure one into a false sense of security with its descriptive beauty. In fact, the second the beam of our flashlight illuminated its interior, every last fiber of my being started to cry out to me, telling me to run. My flight instinct kicking in, I tried desperately to stay grounded somehow, to keep control. I couldn't allow myself to panic. This was a horrible time to end up going dimensions. I had to remain in this reality, no matter how difficult the sight before me was rendering the task.
I heard Elijah Carter gag beside me, his stomach revolting at what he saw. His hand abruptly flew to my shoulder, cold, sweat-slick fingers clamping down on my skin, hard enough to bruise. With my own stomach doing kick-flips inside my body, I could understand his reaction far too well. Instead of shrinking away, I reached up to graze his knuckles with my own, a fleeting touch I couldn't find the strength to hold. It was hard to be reassuring given the circumstances.
We were looking at a gallery of corpses. They lined the walls, the floor, the ceiling, all in different states of wholeness and decay. A viscous, transparent fluid was gluing them to the stone, fixing them in their respective places. In some spots, it looked quite shiny and fresh, while in others, it had hardened, encasing the dead bodies like clear, pale amber. It was an unorganized chaos, the carcasses strewn practically everywhere, some overlapping, some upside down. Some had their eyes still open, their faces eternally frozen in void, empty expressions of terror. Most bodies weren't even complete—arms, legs or heads were missing, pronounced bitemarks marring the aged yet well-preserved flesh.
Elijah and I found ourselves standing rooted to the ground, too terrified to move, too dazed to speak. My friend's dark gaze frantically raced over the walls, flickering across the horrid display, taking in the carnage. My own eyes seemed to be burning. My head was spinning, and I had to hold onto his arm to support myself—it felt as though my legs were about to give way beneath me.
A shimmering light at the center of the room caught my attention. Somehow finding it within me to steady myself, I took a couple faltering steps towards it. Elijah Carter followed suit and Kit Sutton wordlessly trailed after us. Stepping over the dozens and dozens of corpses in my way, I tried hard to keep my wits about me. When I finally reached its source, I was surprised to find it to be a pond, or rather a bottomless hole of water. Another connection to the sea, no doubt. The shine however seemed fine from within it, from down below where there would normally be just darkness. Looking in, the breath was once again stolen from my lungs. It felt rather like peering through a small window into a very large hall. I could only see a fracture of what lay beneath.
Hovering within the endless masses of water was the enormous statue of a woman. Her stony pale arms were raised, her hands reaching out almost pleadingly, as if she was hoping for someone to pull her up from her cold, abyssal grave. Her eyes, one of which was about the size of my head, were wide open, her colorless stare holding a wild, unreadable mix of emotions. Her lips were parted in a silent scream. An unearthly, bright glow surrounded her; it seemed to come from within her body rather than anywhere else. It was disturbingly beautiful.
"Her name was Calypso."
Kit's voice pulled me from my trance. When I turned to face her, she pointedly avoided my gaze. An idea took shape in my mind, created by the faint, wavery undertone of mourning in her words. "She was someone special, wasn't she?"
"My mother."
I swallowed, my pulse still thrumming in my ears. Stepping forward, I tentatively grasped my roommate's hand. She let go of a soft breath, the corner of her mouth twitching. "These people here have been rotting away for centuries. It's the worst punishment imaginable, isn't it. The lucky ones are dead before they get glued down, but the ones he's really angry at, he covers in that goo when they're, like, lethally injured. I don't quite know what this stuff is, but it slows down all those organic processes, the death, the decomposition…" She paused. "With Mom, it was different. He turned her to stone. The same kind that grows from the ground here, you know; that smooth, shiny kinda rock that looks real pretty."
"What did she do to piss off your Dad?"
"What did any of these poor fuckers do? Most of these are failed cult leaders, actually. You'd never guess how many cults the deep ones have dedicated to them. As for my mother, I don't know. I can't even remember her, to be honest." She shrugged with affected carelessness. "You see it now? My father is… just beyond comprehension."
"So are you, though, aren't you? If you think about it."
"Eva, I know you're trying to boost morale here, but it's not working. Please let me get you out of here. And for heaven's sake, don't come back."
She led us back through the labyrinth of tunnels and corridors, staying well behind when we caught the first glimpse of daylight.
"I promise I'll think of something," I told her. "I'll find a way to get you out."
She merely shook her head. "No, you won't. Just go home and look for a new roommate. Or move back in with Nettie. She'll be glad."
I clenched my teeth, but allowed Eli to press his palm to my back, guiding me towards the exit.
"Actually, just… just wait. Could you tell her I, like, miss her? A lot?" Kit shouted after us, a sudden note of warmth softening her voice.
Elijah turned back to her with a sad smile. "Of course."
We didn't return to the car straight away, instead walking along the shore for a little while. My extra limbs having retracted and Eli's face having returned to a less nauseous color, we didn't bear any outward traces of our experience in the cave. We didn’t talk much, but we almost leaned onto one other with how closely we stuck to each other’s side. Eventually, I gathered the strength to break the silence. “This can’t stand, obviously.”
“You still want to get her out?” He gave me a sidelong glance. “This is more for Nettie’s sake than anything else, isn’t it?”
“I do like Kit Sutton, and I miss her tremendously,” I stated. “But largely, it is.”
Elijah, having nothing else to add, gave a noncommittal grunt.
“Would you mind if I asked you something personal?” I asked.
“Try it and find out.”
“I was wondering about what Mary Markov said about you earlier,” I began. “An incident at a highschool.”
He sighed. Silence fell, and for a minute I thought he wouldn’t respond at all. Then, he slowed down, coming to a halt and turning to look out at the horizon. “So how do we do this, Shirley? You really want me to pour my heart out to you and let you in on my tragic past as we stare at the tossing waves? That’s a bit too romantic for the two of us, if you ask me.”
“But you’d let me in on your tragic past in a less romantic setting?”
“Oh sure, anytime,” he said lightly. “Well, not any time. I’d be okay talking to you about it, though. See, it doesn’t matter to me if you know or not, the problem is kinda the headspace and getting the words out of my mouth in the first place.”
“I’m glad you feel like you could do that with me.” I regarded his profile, noting how he swallowed and shut his eyes for a moment.
“Let’s go back to the car.”
So we did. Only that it wasn’t quite how we left it. Elijah noticed it first—a low, hissed curse escaped him as he bent down to inspect the damage. The back window had been smashed in. The brown folder Mary Markov had given me was gone.
X
1
2: deadbeat roommate
3: creepy crush
4: relocation
5: beach concert
6: First date
7: Temp work
8: roommate talk
9: a dismal worldview
10: warehouse
11: staircase
12: explanation
13: hurt
14: hospital
15: ocean
16: diner
17: government work
18: something in the caves
19: shopping cart
20: olms and Jewels
2023.06.02 07:37 bossmanbean What to do with 50k in savings
Hello! First time posting here. I have somewhat of a unique situation and hope this is the correct place for my queries. I am in my mid-20’s and have around 50k in savings. 7k of which are invested in the NDQ etf for the last 3 years. I do not have a mortgage (yet), and have a steady income.
submitted by bossmanbean to fiaustralia [link] [comments]
- Since homeownership is high on my priority list, I am wondering if now is a good time to sell my etf shares to make room for this goal. What I am unsure about though is whether it would be smarter to keep the shares, as I am still relatively young, and thereby delay the home purchase, or whether I should pull the trigger on the home sooner? I don’t need the home to live in, it would purely be an investment property.
- Next, I have a question concerning the home purchase. I have dual citizenship (aus/European). My family lives in Eastern Europe where the currency conversion of AUD works out x3 in my favour. Therefore, I could purchase a small home with some land for cash, opposed to needing a mortgage in Australia. The propery prices have been rising in this part of the world, so I am wondering if (again, due to my age and relative higher risk tolerance), it would make sense to take advantage of this opportunity and purchase a home outright in Eastern Europe, opposed to getting a mortgage in aus. The only objective here would be to hold the propery for 3-5 years until hopefully the price has risen.
- Is there something completely different I should be thinking about? Are there better avenues to pursue than the ones I am contemplating? I feel very privileged to be in this position, and ought to do something wise with these savings. I hope you can point me in the right direction/to the right resources to make an informed decision.
2023.06.02 07:32 scaryroblox1989 AITA for changing my son's Roblox password?
Throwaway because I know my son occasionally browses Reddit (he does not have an account) and I would prefer he didn't know my actual account.
My son (12) is a gamer and has a switch, tablet, laptop and we own a family PS5. He uses all of these quite often and other than the occasional smart ass comment he's a good kid with good behavior and manners. I've never had to ground him as he gets good grades and he does well in his sports as well, not that we would punish him if he were bad at sports. One of my rules that I have always had for him is that he is not allowed to talk to strangers online. Period. Well, today my husband had taken my son and his daughter out for mini golf & ice cream and the tablet was sitting on the dining room table still on and plugged in. I usually don't pry because I never really had much reason to be worried before, but I saw that he was in a game that I now know to be called Roblox.
I took the tablet into my room and looked around the app, the games seemed pretty harmless but I then saw that he had 80+ friends. I saw on his profile, he had a bio that said something like "I like soccer and lacrosse, my #1 is Avery". I don't know any of his friends being named Avery and after poking through the app some more I found messages. He had a few friends, which I quickly realized were friends from school as they were talking about stuff that happened during study hall or culinary class, but then I found the texts with Avery. Avery did not go to school with my son, but said way further up that she lived in North Carolina and she was 11 but in the same grade as my son. They mainly talked about music that they liked and games that they played together. Nothing bad was said but they say goodnight to each other every night. She does genuinely seem like she is the age she says she is but I saw red. I then found a few other friends who did not seem to be from his class. I immediately went onto my computer and logged in to his account as he has the same password for everything, changed the password, and logged out of every device. An hour or two later when they got home I told him how he broke my trust and told him he would no longer be using Roblox. I also said I would be taking away his devices for a week. He started crying and tried to argue but I sent him to his room. He tried coming out two times to beg for me to let him use Roblox. He even raised his voice at me.
I explained what I saw to my husband as my 16 year old step daughter was in the kitchen and she told me I went too far. She said it's harmless fun and she herself plays Roblox, and that anything bad gets censored and he is safe. She then admitted she was the one buying him "Robucks" every few weeks with her part-time job money so he could buy things for his character to wear. This resulted in my step daughter and I getting into a minor argument, and my husband got tired of it all and went to bed, as did my step daughter. I don't know if I'm overreacting or not.
submitted by scaryroblox1989 to AmItheAsshole [link] [comments]
My son (12) is a gamer and has a switch, tablet, laptop and we own a family PS5. He uses all of these quite often and other than the occasional smart ass comment he's a good kid with good behavior and manners. I've never had to ground him as he gets good grades and he does well in his sports as well, not that we would punish him if he were bad at sports. One of my rules that I have always had for him is that he is not allowed to talk to strangers online. Period. Well, today my husband had taken my son and his daughter out for mini golf & ice cream and the tablet was sitting on the dining room table still on and plugged in. I usually don't pry because I never really had much reason to be worried before, but I saw that he was in a game that I now know to be called Roblox.
I took the tablet into my room and looked around the app, the games seemed pretty harmless but I then saw that he had 80+ friends. I saw on his profile, he had a bio that said something like "I like soccer and lacrosse, my #1 is Avery". I don't know any of his friends being named Avery and after poking through the app some more I found messages. He had a few friends, which I quickly realized were friends from school as they were talking about stuff that happened during study hall or culinary class, but then I found the texts with Avery. Avery did not go to school with my son, but said way further up that she lived in North Carolina and she was 11 but in the same grade as my son. They mainly talked about music that they liked and games that they played together. Nothing bad was said but they say goodnight to each other every night. She does genuinely seem like she is the age she says she is but I saw red. I then found a few other friends who did not seem to be from his class. I immediately went onto my computer and logged in to his account as he has the same password for everything, changed the password, and logged out of every device. An hour or two later when they got home I told him how he broke my trust and told him he would no longer be using Roblox. I also said I would be taking away his devices for a week. He started crying and tried to argue but I sent him to his room. He tried coming out two times to beg for me to let him use Roblox. He even raised his voice at me.
I explained what I saw to my husband as my 16 year old step daughter was in the kitchen and she told me I went too far. She said it's harmless fun and she herself plays Roblox, and that anything bad gets censored and he is safe. She then admitted she was the one buying him "Robucks" every few weeks with her part-time job money so he could buy things for his character to wear. This resulted in my step daughter and I getting into a minor argument, and my husband got tired of it all and went to bed, as did my step daughter. I don't know if I'm overreacting or not.
2023.06.02 07:31 Few-Concentrate-7558 Am I the jerk for making my kids sleep in their own bed?
I’m a 26 year old male living with my girlfriend a 24 year old female and im the stepdad to two little girls one is 5 and one is 3. We set up a whole room for our girls to sleep in but they refuse on the grounds of “we want mommy we can’t sleep without mommy” and they cry and tantrum until they get what they want. I thought we finally got them to comply and for a couple of weeks they slept in their own bed without a fight but when I came home from work one day guess where I found them. Mine and my girlfriends bed again.
I didn’t think nothing of it and just put them in their bed and went to sleep. Eventually my girlfriend wanted me to stop doing that and leave them on our bed with the excuse that they’ll just tantrum once they realize where they are at. At this point im annoyed but I comply. The reason im annoyed is because I know how my girls work. It starts with wanting to sleep with their mom then the next thing I know they’re moving their toys in, running our tv and all of a sudden mine and my girlfriends room turns into ours and our girls room with two empty beds not even 5 steps down I know cause it was like that in the last place we lived which was pretty small and we live in a much bigger place now.
Last night my girl finally had enough and was starting to get anxiety thanks to all the people in our bed and told them “tomorrow y’all are sleeping in your room” and my girls completely lost it. They tantrumed all over the place crying and screaming until we screamed at them to cut it out or we’ll make them go to their room that night. So tonight’s the night if they’re not in their bed im putting them there myself and if they tantrum over it I’ve been over it and that just sucks for them cause personally they are getting way too damn big to be saying “I can’t sleep without mommy” hell my oldest is getting too tall to do it any longer. I love my girls but they need to grow up and start sleeping on their own before we start sharing our bed with teenagers. Wether they accept it or not they aren’t sleeping on our bed again.
For context we made an amazing setup for their room; they have all their toys their own individual beds, their own bathroom and a smart 1080p tv. I honestly don’t know what their problem is with their room they even tried to negotiate saying they want their own rooms or they’ll continue to sleep with us (we only have two bedrooms) we shut that down quickly.
Am i jerk for thinking this way?
submitted by Few-Concentrate-7558 to amithejerkpodcast [link] [comments]
I didn’t think nothing of it and just put them in their bed and went to sleep. Eventually my girlfriend wanted me to stop doing that and leave them on our bed with the excuse that they’ll just tantrum once they realize where they are at. At this point im annoyed but I comply. The reason im annoyed is because I know how my girls work. It starts with wanting to sleep with their mom then the next thing I know they’re moving their toys in, running our tv and all of a sudden mine and my girlfriends room turns into ours and our girls room with two empty beds not even 5 steps down I know cause it was like that in the last place we lived which was pretty small and we live in a much bigger place now.
Last night my girl finally had enough and was starting to get anxiety thanks to all the people in our bed and told them “tomorrow y’all are sleeping in your room” and my girls completely lost it. They tantrumed all over the place crying and screaming until we screamed at them to cut it out or we’ll make them go to their room that night. So tonight’s the night if they’re not in their bed im putting them there myself and if they tantrum over it I’ve been over it and that just sucks for them cause personally they are getting way too damn big to be saying “I can’t sleep without mommy” hell my oldest is getting too tall to do it any longer. I love my girls but they need to grow up and start sleeping on their own before we start sharing our bed with teenagers. Wether they accept it or not they aren’t sleeping on our bed again.
For context we made an amazing setup for their room; they have all their toys their own individual beds, their own bathroom and a smart 1080p tv. I honestly don’t know what their problem is with their room they even tried to negotiate saying they want their own rooms or they’ll continue to sleep with us (we only have two bedrooms) we shut that down quickly.
Am i jerk for thinking this way?
2023.06.02 07:29 Dalfinemo The Core of Self Healers Protocol (SHP)
We can't expect SHP as a treatment regimen, a therapy, in the way that, when we feel better, we go back to our previous way of living. It is the old lifestyle which disturbs our bodies' functions and shows up as symptons. We might call those symptons diseases with different names.
Disease is to be seen as toxin elimination of the body. If we see disease in that way, it is easy to understand how our bodies act and we can support it.
The core of Self Healers Protocol involves two things:
Now this is the important part of SHP that Darko recommends everyone to do everyday. Every morning, dilute at least one teaspoon of raw sea salt to a liter of water and drink it all (the longer you are in this lifestyle, the more salt (2-3 tsp per liter) or water (2 liters) you feel like to drink). The purpose is to trigger diarrhea. Basically we want to cleanse the body throughfully everyday. Diarrhea is a powerful detoxification and normally it will be triggerred one or two hours after drinking water.
As you may see, not everybody has time in the morning to do that. You can do that after work, when you're home, have time and be ready to run to toilet. You may spend at least 15-20 minutes or have two runs to the toilet. I observe that, if I don't eat anything after drinking, I wait for longer time before going to shower room. Eating something triggers diarrhea quicker.
Drinking pure water doesn't hydrate. It will dilute the mineral contents existing in the body, which make the body less electro-conductive, hence worse functioning. You can try drinking a liter of pure water. You will need to pee very soon as the body must eliminate the excess water to balance the mineral contents. It is recommended to always put raw sea salt to our drinking water. A pinch of sea salt would be better than nothing. Certainly, spring water would also be a good source of drinking water.
Don't hesitate to open up discussion when you're up to 😊.
submitted by Dalfinemo to Self_Healers_Protocol [link] [comments]
Disease is to be seen as toxin elimination of the body. If we see disease in that way, it is easy to understand how our bodies act and we can support it.
For example, when we get fever, we can view as the body is so toxic, that it must eliminate toxins in some ways. A full-blown fever shows up that we sweat, vomit, have diarrhea, etc. Sweating, vomitting, diarrhea... are ways that body uses to eliminate the wastes. So instead of suppressing the fever, let it be.The SHP is the way of supporting our physical human bodies, bringing the nutritions which the body needs so that it can regularly cleanse and stay in balance. In that sense, SHP should be the lifestyle.
The core of Self Healers Protocol involves two things:
- Correct hydration: It is drinking raw sea-salted water. Raw sea salt is emphasised as it contains not only sodium and chloride but dozens of other minerals that we all hear about (electrolytes). Sea salt should be raw to preserve all of those trace minerals.
- Correct food to eat: It is all animal-based produces, in raw form if possible. Those foods include: meat, fish, egg, dairy (milk, yogurt, cheese, butter, sour cream...), organs, etc.
Now this is the important part of SHP that Darko recommends everyone to do everyday. Every morning, dilute at least one teaspoon of raw sea salt to a liter of water and drink it all (the longer you are in this lifestyle, the more salt (2-3 tsp per liter) or water (2 liters) you feel like to drink). The purpose is to trigger diarrhea. Basically we want to cleanse the body throughfully everyday. Diarrhea is a powerful detoxification and normally it will be triggerred one or two hours after drinking water.
As you may see, not everybody has time in the morning to do that. You can do that after work, when you're home, have time and be ready to run to toilet. You may spend at least 15-20 minutes or have two runs to the toilet. I observe that, if I don't eat anything after drinking, I wait for longer time before going to shower room. Eating something triggers diarrhea quicker.
Drinking pure water doesn't hydrate. It will dilute the mineral contents existing in the body, which make the body less electro-conductive, hence worse functioning. You can try drinking a liter of pure water. You will need to pee very soon as the body must eliminate the excess water to balance the mineral contents. It is recommended to always put raw sea salt to our drinking water. A pinch of sea salt would be better than nothing. Certainly, spring water would also be a good source of drinking water.
Don't hesitate to open up discussion when you're up to 😊.
2023.06.02 07:25 SnooApples9084 I got yelled at for breaking up a dog fight
I (15f) was yelled at but my brother (18m) over me breaking up a dog fight. I don’t know how the dog fight even started, my guess it was over a toy, which is what likely would have happened. When the fight started I was cleaning out my dads shed, and when I had heard the dogs growling and whining, I had turned around to see my dog Rosie (4yo F gsp x) and deisel (2yo M gsp x) biting roughly, growling and snarling. When I got to the two, my first though was fuck. I yelled at the two to stop which worked until Rosie went to go again, so smacked her (not hard) and went to smack deisel to tell him, that is not ok. My brother ran out from his room and yelled at me for yelling at the dogs. I yelled back at him trying to explain they were attacking each other. My brother said that was no excuse and that they are dogs, they can work it out themselves. My brother continued to raise his voice at me, while saying I shouldn’t have yelled at them. I continued to yell back at him, saying how they were fighting and if one killed the other, that dog would have to be put down. My brother didn’t seem to care as he raised his voice louder. At that point my mum and his girlfriend came outside, A(his girlfriend) tried to get my brother to stop yelling as I stop speaking. My brother seemed to have thought that because I had shut up he was right, and he said that, to which I spoke up again telling him he was not right in any way, and that I was stopping the dogs from killing each other. My brother than said that the dogs were terrified of me because I was yelling at them. Which they weren’t scared of me. I started to cry as I yelled at him because I’m not good with emotions and it was too overwhelming for me. He also screamed at me to stop crying and there was nothing to cry about. I told my brother They weren’t scared of me, they were scared of him. As I said that he went to hit me, A and deisel tried to hold my brother back and he got in my face. Deisel jumped on my brother trying to get him to get out of my face. When A held my brother back, he pushed her into the outside drawers and stormed off. Deisel followed him and grabbed onto his pants to get him to stop. My brother than screamed at deisel and went to kick him. At that deisel let go but slowly follow my brother to his room, and because Deisel followed my brother, my brother grabbed a hand full of dirt and rocks and threw it at deisel. My mum who was just standing there watching everything happen, finally spoke telling me I am the reason my brother and A are now fighting, she also screamed at me to go to my room. Mum checked in on me a little while after screaming at me, asking if I was ok. I tried my best to respond but because I was still to overwhelmed but I couldn’t speak, I was trying to but I physically couldn’t get anything out of my throat.my mum told me that I should have gotten her instead of yelling at the dogs. But she was at the other end of the house and I didn’t want the dogs to kill each other before she got to them. My mum left saying she’ll be back later.
I don’t get why he yelled at me, he didn’t even listen to why I yelled at them. Deisel might be put down as he might have drew blood when he grabbed his pants. Rosie may have to wear her muzzle everyday, I would say Deisel wearing his but my aunt took his muzzle and Rosie was likely the one to start the fight as she thinks all toys are hers. But deisel would have been the one to kill her. I don’t want any of my dogs to be put down and I just want them and myself to live a good life.
I wasn’t even thinking when I yelled at them, I just didn’t want anyone to get hurt and I didn’t want to think about past times where my dogs have been attacked by other dogs.
Mum called to help her clean, and once we were done she asked me if I was ok and wanted me to explain to her what I did wrong. Then asked me if I was still mad at my brother. I told her I was because I shouldn’t have been yelled at.
I didn’t do anything wrong, I did everything I was told and taught to do in that situation, I shouldn’t have been yelled at or blamed for something I had no part in doing (for my brother and A fighting).
I have to go back to pretending everything is fine and that my brother didn’t just scream at me. I won’t be talking or even looking at my brother, if he apologises (which he won’t) I will not be accepting it or apologising back. He turned 18 less than a week ago and he now wants to act like he is my parent and that I have to listen to him? No. Fuck that, I cannot wait until I have the money to leave. (I read the laws about leaving home at 15 and as long as I have a safe house to go to, and such I can go, and mum can’t do anything)
submitted by SnooApples9084 to Vent [link] [comments]
I don’t get why he yelled at me, he didn’t even listen to why I yelled at them. Deisel might be put down as he might have drew blood when he grabbed his pants. Rosie may have to wear her muzzle everyday, I would say Deisel wearing his but my aunt took his muzzle and Rosie was likely the one to start the fight as she thinks all toys are hers. But deisel would have been the one to kill her. I don’t want any of my dogs to be put down and I just want them and myself to live a good life.
I wasn’t even thinking when I yelled at them, I just didn’t want anyone to get hurt and I didn’t want to think about past times where my dogs have been attacked by other dogs.
Mum called to help her clean, and once we were done she asked me if I was ok and wanted me to explain to her what I did wrong. Then asked me if I was still mad at my brother. I told her I was because I shouldn’t have been yelled at.
I didn’t do anything wrong, I did everything I was told and taught to do in that situation, I shouldn’t have been yelled at or blamed for something I had no part in doing (for my brother and A fighting).
I have to go back to pretending everything is fine and that my brother didn’t just scream at me. I won’t be talking or even looking at my brother, if he apologises (which he won’t) I will not be accepting it or apologising back. He turned 18 less than a week ago and he now wants to act like he is my parent and that I have to listen to him? No. Fuck that, I cannot wait until I have the money to leave. (I read the laws about leaving home at 15 and as long as I have a safe house to go to, and such I can go, and mum can’t do anything)
2023.06.02 07:24 AutoModerator Where to Watch The Little Mermaid (2023) Online for Free Reddit
As of now, the only way to watch The Little Mermaid is to head out to a movie theater when it releases on Friday, May 19. You can find local shows on Fandango, IMAX, Regal, AMC Theatres, Cinemark, Cineplex, Landmark Theatres, Alamo Drafthouse and Harkins Theatres.
Watch Now: The Little Mermaid (2023) Full Movie Online Free
Otherwise, you’ll just have to wait for it to become available to rent or purchase on digital platforms like Amazon, Vudu, YouTube and Apple, or become available to stream on Peacock.
However, it will be available to stream on the Peacock platform soon. Peacock typically follows a 90-day period before its theatrical releases come to the streaming platform. That means we may see the live-action version of "The Little Mermaid" come to Peacock as early as August 2023.
How to Watch and Stream The Little Mermaid:
Like the previous Fast and the Furious movies, the only way you can see The Little Mermaid is by speeding to your local movie theater. But don't worry, because we may already have a clue as to where the film will live for streaming.
As for an exact date on when The Little Mermaid will move to streaming, it's hard to say. While there's no official word on a streaming date, most Universal films land on a site four months after they hit the box office. If this pattern continues to play out, viewers can start looking out for The Little Mermaid starting mid-September 2023.
When the time comes for The Little Mermaid to stream on Peacock, you'll need to make sure you're all ready to go. If you don't have an account yet, you can always sign up for a free version ahead of time. But as with many recent films on the site, you'll need to opt into plans that start at $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year in order to watch them. Once you're set up, click on the movie's title page on Peacock's official website or on the Peacock app.
How to Watch The Little Mermaid Free Online
Peacock does not offer a free trial, unfortunately, but there are other ways to stream The Little Mermaid for free when it comes to Peacock.
If you are a Verizon subscriber, you may be eligible for their “Peacock On Us” deal giving you access to six months of Peacock for free. Sign-up now or register for the free streaming deal with your Verizon plan here. Then, you’ll be all set to stream The Little Mermaid for free on Peacock as soon as it drops.
Most Viewed, Most Favorite, Top Rating, Top IMDb movies online. Here we can download and watch 123movies movies offline. 123Movies website is the best alternative to The Little Mermaid free online. We will recommend 123Movies is the best soap2day alternatives.
There are a few ways to watch The Little Mermaid online in the U.S, UK, Canada. You can use a streaming service such as Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video. You can also rent or buy the movie on iTunes or Google Play. You can also watch it on-demand or on a streaming app available on your TV or streaming device if you have cable.
Is The Little Mermaid streaming on Netflix?
We’re sorry to report The Little Mermaid is not going to be streaming on Netflix. The movie is set for an exclusive theatrical release on Friday, May 19, 2023. That means the only way to see it is to head to your local cinema.
As the project is a Universal Studios production, that also means it won’t stream on Netflix following its theater run. That’s because Universal is owned by NBC, which has its own streaming service. Eventually, around 45 days after it being on the big screens, the sequel should begin streaming on Peacock. That puts us at around mid-July. However, with the expected popularity of the movie, the studio may choose to keep it in cinemas longer.
The Little Mermaid will not be available to stream on Netflix. This is due to the deals that Universal has in place with both Peacock and Prime Video.
Will The Little Mermaid Be On HBO Max?
No, The Little Mermaid will not be on HBO Max since it’s not a Universal Pictures movie. Last year, the company released its films in theaters and on the streamer on the same day. However, they now allow a 45-day window between the theatrical release and the streaming release.
Currently, the only Fast and Furious film on HBO Max is the newest one: F9 (2021). When HBO Max soon rebrands to Max, it's likely the film will be dropped altogether since the focus will mainly be on Warner Bros. Discovery content. Fortunately, F9 has already found a new home on Peacock as of May 12. The Little Mermaid will likely be streaming first on Peacock after its time in theaters as well. Universal currently has a deal with the streaming platform to bring their movies to Peacock following their time in theaters.
When Will Fast & Furious 10 Be On Streaming?
There's been no official announcement regarding The Little Mermaid's streaming release date, though we know it will eventually be released on Peacock, rather than Netflix or HBO Max, thanks to a deal between the streamer and Universal.
The Little Mermaid was released by Universal Studios on Friday, May 19—exclusively in theaters. This means the movie won't be available to watch on any streaming services for the time being. Once its cinematic run is over, you can expect a short wait before you can rent or buy it on home release. The Little Mermaid is also expected to stream on Peacock after its theatrical run as part of Universal Picture's deal with the streaming platform. A streaming date has not yet been announced.
While you're waiting to drive into the world of The Little Mermaid online, why don't you prep yourself with a Fast and the Furious movie marathon? That way by the time it drops, you'll be all prepared to properly race back into Toretto's atmosphere.
Will The Little Mermaid Be Streaming On Peacock?
The Little Mermaid seemingly falls into Universal’s exclusive streaming deal with Peacock, which stipulates that Universal’s new movies will begin streaming on Peacock within four months of their theatrical release dates (via NBCUniversal).
While a Peacock release date for The Little Mermaid has not yet been announced, we can make an estimate based on another recent film distributed by Universal Pictures. Cocaine Bear was released in theaters on Feb. 24 before joining the streaming platform on April 14 — a little over 45 days after its debut. If The Little Mermaid follows the same trajectory, it should come to Peacock by early July 2023.
However, other movies like Nope have taken a little longer to reach the streamer (more than 100 days, to be exact) so it’s best to take this estimate with a grain of salt.
Is The Little Mermaid on Prime Video?
No, The Little Mermaid isn’t on Prime Video for streaming or rental just yet. We’ll keep you posted when we know more about the streaming home for the latest movie in the high-speed franchise.
Is The Little Mermaid Available On Hulu?
Viewers are saying that they want to view the new action thriller The Little Mermaid on Hulu. Unfortunately, this is not possible since Hulu currently does not offer any of the free episodes of this series streaming at this time. It will be exclusive to the MTV channel, which you get by subscribing to cable or satellite TV services. You will not be able to watch it on Hulu or any other free streaming service.
When Will The Little Mermaid Be on DVD and Blu-ray?
Physical format releases for The Little Mermaid have yet to gain an on-sale date. Though viewers can expect DVD, Blu-ray, and possibly 4K HD options to hit stores, it will be at least a month's wait, give or take, from the theatrical release date. Additionally, the Digital and VOD releases will most likely arrive first, with DVD and Blu-ray following a few weeks after.
What Is The Little Mermaid About
The Little Mermaid continues the story of Dom Toretto and his street-racing "family." Here's the official overview for The Little Mermaid from Universal:
Over many missions and against impossible odds, Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his family have outsmarted, out-nerved and outdriven every foe in their path. Now, they confront the most lethal opponent they’ve ever faced: A terrifying threat emerging from the shadows of the past who’s fueled by blood revenge, and who is determined to shatter this family and destroy everything—and everyone—that Dom loves, forever.
submitted by AutoModerator to littlemermaidonline [link] [comments]
Watch Now: The Little Mermaid (2023) Full Movie Online Free
Otherwise, you’ll just have to wait for it to become available to rent or purchase on digital platforms like Amazon, Vudu, YouTube and Apple, or become available to stream on Peacock.
However, it will be available to stream on the Peacock platform soon. Peacock typically follows a 90-day period before its theatrical releases come to the streaming platform. That means we may see the live-action version of "The Little Mermaid" come to Peacock as early as August 2023.
How to Watch and Stream The Little Mermaid:
Like the previous Fast and the Furious movies, the only way you can see The Little Mermaid is by speeding to your local movie theater. But don't worry, because we may already have a clue as to where the film will live for streaming.
As for an exact date on when The Little Mermaid will move to streaming, it's hard to say. While there's no official word on a streaming date, most Universal films land on a site four months after they hit the box office. If this pattern continues to play out, viewers can start looking out for The Little Mermaid starting mid-September 2023.
When the time comes for The Little Mermaid to stream on Peacock, you'll need to make sure you're all ready to go. If you don't have an account yet, you can always sign up for a free version ahead of time. But as with many recent films on the site, you'll need to opt into plans that start at $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year in order to watch them. Once you're set up, click on the movie's title page on Peacock's official website or on the Peacock app.
How to Watch The Little Mermaid Free Online
Peacock does not offer a free trial, unfortunately, but there are other ways to stream The Little Mermaid for free when it comes to Peacock.
If you are a Verizon subscriber, you may be eligible for their “Peacock On Us” deal giving you access to six months of Peacock for free. Sign-up now or register for the free streaming deal with your Verizon plan here. Then, you’ll be all set to stream The Little Mermaid for free on Peacock as soon as it drops.
Most Viewed, Most Favorite, Top Rating, Top IMDb movies online. Here we can download and watch 123movies movies offline. 123Movies website is the best alternative to The Little Mermaid free online. We will recommend 123Movies is the best soap2day alternatives.
There are a few ways to watch The Little Mermaid online in the U.S, UK, Canada. You can use a streaming service such as Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video. You can also rent or buy the movie on iTunes or Google Play. You can also watch it on-demand or on a streaming app available on your TV or streaming device if you have cable.
Is The Little Mermaid streaming on Netflix?
We’re sorry to report The Little Mermaid is not going to be streaming on Netflix. The movie is set for an exclusive theatrical release on Friday, May 19, 2023. That means the only way to see it is to head to your local cinema.
As the project is a Universal Studios production, that also means it won’t stream on Netflix following its theater run. That’s because Universal is owned by NBC, which has its own streaming service. Eventually, around 45 days after it being on the big screens, the sequel should begin streaming on Peacock. That puts us at around mid-July. However, with the expected popularity of the movie, the studio may choose to keep it in cinemas longer.
The Little Mermaid will not be available to stream on Netflix. This is due to the deals that Universal has in place with both Peacock and Prime Video.
Will The Little Mermaid Be On HBO Max?
No, The Little Mermaid will not be on HBO Max since it’s not a Universal Pictures movie. Last year, the company released its films in theaters and on the streamer on the same day. However, they now allow a 45-day window between the theatrical release and the streaming release.
Currently, the only Fast and Furious film on HBO Max is the newest one: F9 (2021). When HBO Max soon rebrands to Max, it's likely the film will be dropped altogether since the focus will mainly be on Warner Bros. Discovery content. Fortunately, F9 has already found a new home on Peacock as of May 12. The Little Mermaid will likely be streaming first on Peacock after its time in theaters as well. Universal currently has a deal with the streaming platform to bring their movies to Peacock following their time in theaters.
When Will Fast & Furious 10 Be On Streaming?
There's been no official announcement regarding The Little Mermaid's streaming release date, though we know it will eventually be released on Peacock, rather than Netflix or HBO Max, thanks to a deal between the streamer and Universal.
The Little Mermaid was released by Universal Studios on Friday, May 19—exclusively in theaters. This means the movie won't be available to watch on any streaming services for the time being. Once its cinematic run is over, you can expect a short wait before you can rent or buy it on home release. The Little Mermaid is also expected to stream on Peacock after its theatrical run as part of Universal Picture's deal with the streaming platform. A streaming date has not yet been announced.
While you're waiting to drive into the world of The Little Mermaid online, why don't you prep yourself with a Fast and the Furious movie marathon? That way by the time it drops, you'll be all prepared to properly race back into Toretto's atmosphere.
Will The Little Mermaid Be Streaming On Peacock?
The Little Mermaid seemingly falls into Universal’s exclusive streaming deal with Peacock, which stipulates that Universal’s new movies will begin streaming on Peacock within four months of their theatrical release dates (via NBCUniversal).
While a Peacock release date for The Little Mermaid has not yet been announced, we can make an estimate based on another recent film distributed by Universal Pictures. Cocaine Bear was released in theaters on Feb. 24 before joining the streaming platform on April 14 — a little over 45 days after its debut. If The Little Mermaid follows the same trajectory, it should come to Peacock by early July 2023.
However, other movies like Nope have taken a little longer to reach the streamer (more than 100 days, to be exact) so it’s best to take this estimate with a grain of salt.
Is The Little Mermaid on Prime Video?
No, The Little Mermaid isn’t on Prime Video for streaming or rental just yet. We’ll keep you posted when we know more about the streaming home for the latest movie in the high-speed franchise.
Is The Little Mermaid Available On Hulu?
Viewers are saying that they want to view the new action thriller The Little Mermaid on Hulu. Unfortunately, this is not possible since Hulu currently does not offer any of the free episodes of this series streaming at this time. It will be exclusive to the MTV channel, which you get by subscribing to cable or satellite TV services. You will not be able to watch it on Hulu or any other free streaming service.
When Will The Little Mermaid Be on DVD and Blu-ray?
Physical format releases for The Little Mermaid have yet to gain an on-sale date. Though viewers can expect DVD, Blu-ray, and possibly 4K HD options to hit stores, it will be at least a month's wait, give or take, from the theatrical release date. Additionally, the Digital and VOD releases will most likely arrive first, with DVD and Blu-ray following a few weeks after.
What Is The Little Mermaid About
The Little Mermaid continues the story of Dom Toretto and his street-racing "family." Here's the official overview for The Little Mermaid from Universal:
Over many missions and against impossible odds, Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his family have outsmarted, out-nerved and outdriven every foe in their path. Now, they confront the most lethal opponent they’ve ever faced: A terrifying threat emerging from the shadows of the past who’s fueled by blood revenge, and who is determined to shatter this family and destroy everything—and everyone—that Dom loves, forever.
2023.06.02 07:24 AutoModerator Watch The Little Mermaid (2023) Online Free for Reddit
Here are options for downloading or watching The Little Mermaid streaming the full movie online for free on 123movies & Reddit, including where to watch the car action series in the Fast and Furious franchise at home. Is Fast and Furious 10 (2023) available to stream? Is watching The Little Mermaid on Prime Video, Peacock, Disney Plus, HBO Max, or Netflix? Yes, we have found an authentic streaming option/service.
Watch: The Little Mermaid (2023) Online for Free
It's time to get back into the world of motorcycles and intense car chases because the latest movie in The Fast and the Furious franchise just hit theaters.
The Little Mermaid will be available to watch and stream online, so viewers are wondering which streaming service it will appear on. Fast and Furious is Vin Diesel’s’ 10th entry in the superhero, featuring the unlikely band of heroes once again adventuring through the Fast and Furious. After the cataclysmic events of Fast and Furious 9.
The Fast & Furious film franchise is finally coming to an end after 12 years and a seemingly infinite number of sequels and spinoffs. Or at least, it's starting to: The Little Mermaid is the first half of an epic finale that will span two movies.
THE FAMILY-CREW IS starting their engines to face impossible odds once again with the latest Fast and Furious film, The Little Mermaid, drifting into theaters on May 19.
Buckle your seatbelts: the next iteration of the Fast and Furious franchise (one of the most anticipated films of the year) hits theaters May 19. The action-packed saga, which stars Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, and the late Paul Walker, has had our adrenaline pumping for two decades and we don't expect it to slow down in the new film.
Vin Diesel is back for The Little Mermaid, the tenth installment in the beloved Fast and the Furious franchise. Luckily, we have you covered on all the ways you can watch this new action flick!
It's time to get back into the world of motorcycles and intense car chases because the latest movie in The Fast and the Furious franchise just hit theaters.
Just like every other movie in the series, we're introduced to both beloved actors (hello, Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez!) and new faces (Brie Larson and Helen Mirren are among them). But in the newest installment, The Little Mermaid, Dominic "Dom" Toretto and Letty Ortiz face off against a villain the duo already have ties to: Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa). Over a decade ago, Dom and Brian O'Conner (the late Paul Walker) took down Dante's father, noted criminal Hernán Reyes. Now, Dante is ready to get his revenge.
The latest film in the franchise introduces Jason Momoa as the villain against Vin Diesel. Already intrigued? We know you are, and we also know you're wondering how you can watch and stream The Little Mermaid from the comfort of your own home. Luckily, we did some research and have an idea of when this will happen.
Looking for a way to watch The Little Mermaid online for free? So where can you watch The Little Mermaid? Is it on HBO Max? What about Netflix? Here's how to watch The Little Mermaid, the 10th chapter of the Fast and Furious franchise, and if it's available on streaming.
When Does The Little Mermaid Release?
The Little Mermaid will finally zoom to the big screen on Friday, May 19. The release comes after a series of delays, which first began after the movie was slated to release over two years ago in April 2021. Its next release was scheduled for April 7 of this year. It was shifted once more to its current release, likely to capitalize on the approaching Memorial Day weekend. The Little Mermaid will join a theatrical lineup that includes Book Club: The Next Chapter, Fool's Paradise, and the forthcoming live-action TransformersRisehd.
If you would rather wait to watch it from the comforts of home, keep reading below, so you can learn more about the movie’s streaming and home media release details.
It will not be available on any streaming platform, nor will it be available to rent or buy via any digital or VOD service such as Peacock.
Where to To Watch The Little Mermaid
As of now, the only way to watch The Little Mermaid is to head out to a movie theater when it releases on Friday, May 19. You can find local shows on Fandango, IMAX, Regal, AMC Theatres, Cinemark, Cineplex, Landmark Theatres, Alamo Drafthouse and Harkins Theatres.
Watch Now: The Little Mermaid (2023) Full Movie Online Free
Otherwise, you’ll just have to wait for it to become available to rent or purchase on digital platforms like Amazon, Vudu, YouTube and Apple, or become available to stream on Peacock.
However, it will be available to stream on the Peacock platform soon. Peacock typically follows a 90-day period before its theatrical releases come to the streaming platform. That means we may see the live-action version of "The Little Mermaid" come to Peacock as early as August 2023.
How to Watch and Stream The Little Mermaid:
Like the previous Fast and the Furious movies, the only way you can see The Little Mermaid is by speeding to your local movie theater. But don't worry, because we may already have a clue as to where the film will live for streaming.
As for an exact date on when The Little Mermaid will move to streaming, it's hard to say. While there's no official word on a streaming date, most Universal films land on a site four months after they hit the box office. If this pattern continues to play out, viewers can start looking out for The Little Mermaid starting mid-September 2023.
When the time comes for The Little Mermaid to stream on Peacock, you'll need to make sure you're all ready to go. If you don't have an account yet, you can always sign up for a free version ahead of time. But as with many recent films on the site, you'll need to opt into plans that start at $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year in order to watch them. Once you're set up, click on the movie's title page on Peacock's official website or on the Peacock app.
How to Watch The Little Mermaid Free Online
Peacock does not offer a free trial, unfortunately, but there are other ways to stream The Little Mermaid for free when it comes to Peacock.
If you are a Verizon subscriber, you may be eligible for their “Peacock On Us” deal giving you access to six months of Peacock for free. Sign-up now or register for the free streaming deal with your Verizon plan here. Then, you’ll be all set to stream The Little Mermaid for free on Peacock as soon as it drops.
Most Viewed, Most Favorite, Top Rating, Top IMDb movies online. Here we can download and watch 123movies movies offline. 123Movies website is the best alternative to The Little Mermaid free online. We will recommend 123Movies is the best soap2day alternatives.
There are a few ways to watch The Little Mermaid online in the U.S, UK, Canada. You can use a streaming service such as Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video. You can also rent or buy the movie on iTunes or Google Play. You can also watch it on-demand or on a streaming app available on your TV or streaming device if you have cable.
Is The Little Mermaid streaming on Netflix?
We’re sorry to report The Little Mermaid is not going to be streaming on Netflix. The movie is set for an exclusive theatrical release on Friday, May 19, 2023. That means the only way to see it is to head to your local cinema.
As the project is a Universal Studios production, that also means it won’t stream on Netflix following its theater run. That’s because Universal is owned by NBC, which has its own streaming service. Eventually, around 45 days after it being on the big screens, the sequel should begin streaming on Peacock. That puts us at around mid-July. However, with the expected popularity of the movie, the studio may choose to keep it in cinemas longer.
The Little Mermaid will not be available to stream on Netflix. This is due to the deals that Universal has in place with both Peacock and Prime Video.
Will The Little Mermaid Be On HBO Max?
No, The Little Mermaid will not be on HBO Max since it’s not a Universal Pictures movie. Last year, the company released its films in theaters and on the streamer on the same day. However, they now allow a 45-day window between the theatrical release and the streaming release.
Currently, the only Fast and Furious film on HBO Max is the newest one: F9 (2021). When HBO Max soon rebrands to Max, it's likely the film will be dropped altogether since the focus will mainly be on Warner Bros. Discovery content. Fortunately, F9 has already found a new home on Peacock as of May 12. The Little Mermaid will likely be streaming first on Peacock after its time in theaters as well. Universal currently has a deal with the streaming platform to bring their movies to Peacock following their time in theaters.
When Will Fast & Furious 10 Be On Streaming?
There's been no official announcement regarding The Little Mermaid's streaming release date, though we know it will eventually be released on Peacock, rather than Netflix or HBO Max, thanks to a deal between the streamer and Universal.
The Little Mermaid was released by Universal Studios on Friday, May 19—exclusively in theaters. This means the movie won't be available to watch on any streaming services for the time being. Once its cinematic run is over, you can expect a short wait before you can rent or buy it on home release. The Little Mermaid is also expected to stream on Peacock after its theatrical run as part of Universal Picture's deal with the streaming platform. A streaming date has not yet been announced.
While you're waiting to drive into the world of The Little Mermaid online, why don't you prep yourself with a Fast and the Furious movie marathon? That way by the time it drops, you'll be all prepared to properly race back into Toretto's atmosphere.
Will The Little Mermaid Be Streaming On Peacock?
The Little Mermaid seemingly falls into Universal’s exclusive streaming deal with Peacock, which stipulates that Universal’s new movies will begin streaming on Peacock within four months of their theatrical release dates (via NBCUniversal).
While a Peacock release date for The Little Mermaid has not yet been announced, we can make an estimate based on another recent film distributed by Universal Pictures. Cocaine Bear was released in theaters on Feb. 24 before joining the streaming platform on April 14 — a little over 45 days after its debut. If The Little Mermaid follows the same trajectory, it should come to Peacock by early July 2023.
However, other movies like Nope have taken a little longer to reach the streamer (more than 100 days, to be exact) so it’s best to take this estimate with a grain of salt.
Is The Little Mermaid on Prime Video?
No, The Little Mermaid isn’t on Prime Video for streaming or rental just yet. We’ll keep you posted when we know more about the streaming home for the latest movie in the high-speed franchise.
Is The Little Mermaid Available On Hulu?
Viewers are saying that they want to view the new action thriller The Little Mermaid on Hulu. Unfortunately, this is not possible since Hulu currently does not offer any of the free episodes of this series streaming at this time. It will be exclusive to the MTV channel, which you get by subscribing to cable or satellite TV services. You will not be able to watch it on Hulu or any other free streaming service.
When Will The Little Mermaid Be on DVD and Blu-ray?
Physical format releases for The Little Mermaid have yet to gain an on-sale date. Though viewers can expect DVD, Blu-ray, and possibly 4K HD options to hit stores, it will be at least a month's wait, give or take, from the theatrical release date. Additionally, the Digital and VOD releases will most likely arrive first, with DVD and Blu-ray following a few weeks after.
What Is The Little Mermaid About
The Little Mermaid continues the story of Dom Toretto and his street-racing "family." Here's the official overview for The Little Mermaid from Universal:
Over many missions and against impossible odds, Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his family have outsmarted, out-nerved and outdriven every foe in their path. Now, they confront the most lethal opponent they’ve ever faced: A terrifying threat emerging from the shadows of the past who’s fueled by blood revenge, and who is determined to shatter this family and destroy everything—and everyone—that Dom loves, forever.
submitted by AutoModerator to littlemermaidonline [link] [comments]
Watch: The Little Mermaid (2023) Online for Free
It's time to get back into the world of motorcycles and intense car chases because the latest movie in The Fast and the Furious franchise just hit theaters.
The Little Mermaid will be available to watch and stream online, so viewers are wondering which streaming service it will appear on. Fast and Furious is Vin Diesel’s’ 10th entry in the superhero, featuring the unlikely band of heroes once again adventuring through the Fast and Furious. After the cataclysmic events of Fast and Furious 9.
The Fast & Furious film franchise is finally coming to an end after 12 years and a seemingly infinite number of sequels and spinoffs. Or at least, it's starting to: The Little Mermaid is the first half of an epic finale that will span two movies.
THE FAMILY-CREW IS starting their engines to face impossible odds once again with the latest Fast and Furious film, The Little Mermaid, drifting into theaters on May 19.
Buckle your seatbelts: the next iteration of the Fast and Furious franchise (one of the most anticipated films of the year) hits theaters May 19. The action-packed saga, which stars Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, and the late Paul Walker, has had our adrenaline pumping for two decades and we don't expect it to slow down in the new film.
Vin Diesel is back for The Little Mermaid, the tenth installment in the beloved Fast and the Furious franchise. Luckily, we have you covered on all the ways you can watch this new action flick!
It's time to get back into the world of motorcycles and intense car chases because the latest movie in The Fast and the Furious franchise just hit theaters.
Just like every other movie in the series, we're introduced to both beloved actors (hello, Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez!) and new faces (Brie Larson and Helen Mirren are among them). But in the newest installment, The Little Mermaid, Dominic "Dom" Toretto and Letty Ortiz face off against a villain the duo already have ties to: Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa). Over a decade ago, Dom and Brian O'Conner (the late Paul Walker) took down Dante's father, noted criminal Hernán Reyes. Now, Dante is ready to get his revenge.
The latest film in the franchise introduces Jason Momoa as the villain against Vin Diesel. Already intrigued? We know you are, and we also know you're wondering how you can watch and stream The Little Mermaid from the comfort of your own home. Luckily, we did some research and have an idea of when this will happen.
Looking for a way to watch The Little Mermaid online for free? So where can you watch The Little Mermaid? Is it on HBO Max? What about Netflix? Here's how to watch The Little Mermaid, the 10th chapter of the Fast and Furious franchise, and if it's available on streaming.
When Does The Little Mermaid Release?
The Little Mermaid will finally zoom to the big screen on Friday, May 19. The release comes after a series of delays, which first began after the movie was slated to release over two years ago in April 2021. Its next release was scheduled for April 7 of this year. It was shifted once more to its current release, likely to capitalize on the approaching Memorial Day weekend. The Little Mermaid will join a theatrical lineup that includes Book Club: The Next Chapter, Fool's Paradise, and the forthcoming live-action TransformersRisehd.
If you would rather wait to watch it from the comforts of home, keep reading below, so you can learn more about the movie’s streaming and home media release details.
It will not be available on any streaming platform, nor will it be available to rent or buy via any digital or VOD service such as Peacock.
Where to To Watch The Little Mermaid
As of now, the only way to watch The Little Mermaid is to head out to a movie theater when it releases on Friday, May 19. You can find local shows on Fandango, IMAX, Regal, AMC Theatres, Cinemark, Cineplex, Landmark Theatres, Alamo Drafthouse and Harkins Theatres.
Watch Now: The Little Mermaid (2023) Full Movie Online Free
Otherwise, you’ll just have to wait for it to become available to rent or purchase on digital platforms like Amazon, Vudu, YouTube and Apple, or become available to stream on Peacock.
However, it will be available to stream on the Peacock platform soon. Peacock typically follows a 90-day period before its theatrical releases come to the streaming platform. That means we may see the live-action version of "The Little Mermaid" come to Peacock as early as August 2023.
How to Watch and Stream The Little Mermaid:
Like the previous Fast and the Furious movies, the only way you can see The Little Mermaid is by speeding to your local movie theater. But don't worry, because we may already have a clue as to where the film will live for streaming.
As for an exact date on when The Little Mermaid will move to streaming, it's hard to say. While there's no official word on a streaming date, most Universal films land on a site four months after they hit the box office. If this pattern continues to play out, viewers can start looking out for The Little Mermaid starting mid-September 2023.
When the time comes for The Little Mermaid to stream on Peacock, you'll need to make sure you're all ready to go. If you don't have an account yet, you can always sign up for a free version ahead of time. But as with many recent films on the site, you'll need to opt into plans that start at $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year in order to watch them. Once you're set up, click on the movie's title page on Peacock's official website or on the Peacock app.
How to Watch The Little Mermaid Free Online
Peacock does not offer a free trial, unfortunately, but there are other ways to stream The Little Mermaid for free when it comes to Peacock.
If you are a Verizon subscriber, you may be eligible for their “Peacock On Us” deal giving you access to six months of Peacock for free. Sign-up now or register for the free streaming deal with your Verizon plan here. Then, you’ll be all set to stream The Little Mermaid for free on Peacock as soon as it drops.
Most Viewed, Most Favorite, Top Rating, Top IMDb movies online. Here we can download and watch 123movies movies offline. 123Movies website is the best alternative to The Little Mermaid free online. We will recommend 123Movies is the best soap2day alternatives.
There are a few ways to watch The Little Mermaid online in the U.S, UK, Canada. You can use a streaming service such as Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video. You can also rent or buy the movie on iTunes or Google Play. You can also watch it on-demand or on a streaming app available on your TV or streaming device if you have cable.
Is The Little Mermaid streaming on Netflix?
We’re sorry to report The Little Mermaid is not going to be streaming on Netflix. The movie is set for an exclusive theatrical release on Friday, May 19, 2023. That means the only way to see it is to head to your local cinema.
As the project is a Universal Studios production, that also means it won’t stream on Netflix following its theater run. That’s because Universal is owned by NBC, which has its own streaming service. Eventually, around 45 days after it being on the big screens, the sequel should begin streaming on Peacock. That puts us at around mid-July. However, with the expected popularity of the movie, the studio may choose to keep it in cinemas longer.
The Little Mermaid will not be available to stream on Netflix. This is due to the deals that Universal has in place with both Peacock and Prime Video.
Will The Little Mermaid Be On HBO Max?
No, The Little Mermaid will not be on HBO Max since it’s not a Universal Pictures movie. Last year, the company released its films in theaters and on the streamer on the same day. However, they now allow a 45-day window between the theatrical release and the streaming release.
Currently, the only Fast and Furious film on HBO Max is the newest one: F9 (2021). When HBO Max soon rebrands to Max, it's likely the film will be dropped altogether since the focus will mainly be on Warner Bros. Discovery content. Fortunately, F9 has already found a new home on Peacock as of May 12. The Little Mermaid will likely be streaming first on Peacock after its time in theaters as well. Universal currently has a deal with the streaming platform to bring their movies to Peacock following their time in theaters.
When Will Fast & Furious 10 Be On Streaming?
There's been no official announcement regarding The Little Mermaid's streaming release date, though we know it will eventually be released on Peacock, rather than Netflix or HBO Max, thanks to a deal between the streamer and Universal.
The Little Mermaid was released by Universal Studios on Friday, May 19—exclusively in theaters. This means the movie won't be available to watch on any streaming services for the time being. Once its cinematic run is over, you can expect a short wait before you can rent or buy it on home release. The Little Mermaid is also expected to stream on Peacock after its theatrical run as part of Universal Picture's deal with the streaming platform. A streaming date has not yet been announced.
While you're waiting to drive into the world of The Little Mermaid online, why don't you prep yourself with a Fast and the Furious movie marathon? That way by the time it drops, you'll be all prepared to properly race back into Toretto's atmosphere.
Will The Little Mermaid Be Streaming On Peacock?
The Little Mermaid seemingly falls into Universal’s exclusive streaming deal with Peacock, which stipulates that Universal’s new movies will begin streaming on Peacock within four months of their theatrical release dates (via NBCUniversal).
While a Peacock release date for The Little Mermaid has not yet been announced, we can make an estimate based on another recent film distributed by Universal Pictures. Cocaine Bear was released in theaters on Feb. 24 before joining the streaming platform on April 14 — a little over 45 days after its debut. If The Little Mermaid follows the same trajectory, it should come to Peacock by early July 2023.
However, other movies like Nope have taken a little longer to reach the streamer (more than 100 days, to be exact) so it’s best to take this estimate with a grain of salt.
Is The Little Mermaid on Prime Video?
No, The Little Mermaid isn’t on Prime Video for streaming or rental just yet. We’ll keep you posted when we know more about the streaming home for the latest movie in the high-speed franchise.
Is The Little Mermaid Available On Hulu?
Viewers are saying that they want to view the new action thriller The Little Mermaid on Hulu. Unfortunately, this is not possible since Hulu currently does not offer any of the free episodes of this series streaming at this time. It will be exclusive to the MTV channel, which you get by subscribing to cable or satellite TV services. You will not be able to watch it on Hulu or any other free streaming service.
When Will The Little Mermaid Be on DVD and Blu-ray?
Physical format releases for The Little Mermaid have yet to gain an on-sale date. Though viewers can expect DVD, Blu-ray, and possibly 4K HD options to hit stores, it will be at least a month's wait, give or take, from the theatrical release date. Additionally, the Digital and VOD releases will most likely arrive first, with DVD and Blu-ray following a few weeks after.
What Is The Little Mermaid About
The Little Mermaid continues the story of Dom Toretto and his street-racing "family." Here's the official overview for The Little Mermaid from Universal:
Over many missions and against impossible odds, Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his family have outsmarted, out-nerved and outdriven every foe in their path. Now, they confront the most lethal opponent they’ve ever faced: A terrifying threat emerging from the shadows of the past who’s fueled by blood revenge, and who is determined to shatter this family and destroy everything—and everyone—that Dom loves, forever.
2023.06.02 07:23 simplymuffin8 Tips or Exercises to Care Less About Clutter / How Do I Let Things Go?
I can’t let things go. I know that’s general, but I don’t know how else to describe it. I have no chill. I have difficulties delegating and trusting coworkers to do certain tasks, because I know they won’t get done the way I would do them. I get obsessed with an idea (like wondering late at night if the front door is locked), and then am incapable of letting it go and going to bed without double checking. I’m high strung and hyper fixated on every little problem. The biggest offender is my home: my safe space. During the pandemic, my home life was perfect. Immaculate. We moved into a new place, decorated the entire apartment just the way we liked it, and kept it pristine. I’m big into cooking, and our tiny apartment’s kitchen shelves were sorted just the way I liked them. Pasta and beans sat in beautiful clear storage containers, my spice shelf was organized by region of the world the spice is mainly used, fresh produce was kept in a fruit hammock, bread was kept in the breadbox, butter was kept in the butter dish. We had one shelf for groceries that didn’t fit a category (the occasional snack, a jar of coconut milk for an upcoming curry, bagels for my fiancé, etc). We would use the things on this shelf in the 2-3 days after buying them, only to replace them when the shelf was empty again.
Fast forward to now. My fiancé and I no longer work from home. Promotions and new responsibilities have led to a busier, longer workday. A family member has moved in, and that’s another mouth to feed. We have less time for apartment upkeep. My kitchen has fallen into ruin. My fridge has no organizational system. The spices are no longer sorted. The shelf with beans, pasta, and lentils now has random groceries stuffed onto it, and our main pantry shelf is overflowing. But the problem is that only I can see it. To everyone else, our kitchen is spotless. The dishes are done, the floor is swept, the counters are scrubbed. It seems like only I can see the grime on the front of the fridge, or the stain on the ceiling, or the unorganized spice shelf.
It drives me insane, but I don’t have time to fix it. Even when I do fix it, the next day I see bananas sitting adjacent to the fruit hammock rather than atop it, and I lose my mind again.
I know logically that I’m being insane and unreasonable. The kitchen is spotless. Our apartment is super clean: the result of many hours of upkeep. Why can’t I see it as clean? No matter how many hours we spend cleaning, I can’t see anything but the flaws. It’s not fair to my fiancé, who spends so much of his time making sure our home is clean and nice.
I had a busy day at work today. After work I did the grocery shopping, came home, and pet my cat. My fiancé knew I had a big day, and offered to put away the groceries while I showered. I took him up on that, then read my book for a while. It was 9 PM by the time I went into the kitchen to make dinner. I opened the cupboard and saw all of our new groceries jammed into the small shelf. A new box of pancake mix had a dent in it where it was bending against another item. A loaf of bread was getting smushed.
Now I’m trying to hide the fact I’m nearing a panic attack. All of our new groceries, perfect and shiny and new, just crammed in with the old groceries. I’ve always had a rule: you can’t put away nice new clean groceries if the kitchen is dirty, like if there are dishes in the sink. Like somehow the dirtiness of the sink will corrupt the new nice things. I guess that rule extends to a cluttered pantry too.
Now I’m tempted to throw out perfectly good food just to make room on the shelf for the new groceries to sit nicely. I’m tempted to go in there and clear everything out of our pantry and rearrange it all to make it nice again. I’m tempted to drive to a 24-hour target, buy a clear container, and dump the pancake mix into it so it doesn’t have to sit in a dented box. But I also know it’s 11pm at night, and I should be sleeping. I know that if I go and start cleaning, it will hurt the feelings of my fiancé, who offered to do something nice for me and put things away. I know that it doesn’t actually matter, and that the groceries aren’t infected with the essence of clutter. But also I don’t know that at all.
And it’s not just the kitchen. I won’t let us put up holiday decorations unless the entire home is spotless. Why on earth does the level of organization in my sock drawer affect the presence of a Christmas tree in my living room? I don’t know—but it does. The decorations are nice and pure, and need to be put up in pristine environment. I don’t want my cluttered sock drawer or undusted window sill infecting that new painting we’re thinking about hanging.
How do I stop caring so much? I have all these tips and tricks for how to calm myself out of a panic attack, or how to get my mind away from the dark places I go when I’m depressed. But that all feels like band-aid fixes. Upset? Try XYZ. How do I avoid getting upset in the first place? How can I be like my fiancé, and see a beautiful apartment and a clean kitchen, and not hyper fixate on the flaws?
submitted by simplymuffin8 to askatherapist [link] [comments]
Fast forward to now. My fiancé and I no longer work from home. Promotions and new responsibilities have led to a busier, longer workday. A family member has moved in, and that’s another mouth to feed. We have less time for apartment upkeep. My kitchen has fallen into ruin. My fridge has no organizational system. The spices are no longer sorted. The shelf with beans, pasta, and lentils now has random groceries stuffed onto it, and our main pantry shelf is overflowing. But the problem is that only I can see it. To everyone else, our kitchen is spotless. The dishes are done, the floor is swept, the counters are scrubbed. It seems like only I can see the grime on the front of the fridge, or the stain on the ceiling, or the unorganized spice shelf.
It drives me insane, but I don’t have time to fix it. Even when I do fix it, the next day I see bananas sitting adjacent to the fruit hammock rather than atop it, and I lose my mind again.
I know logically that I’m being insane and unreasonable. The kitchen is spotless. Our apartment is super clean: the result of many hours of upkeep. Why can’t I see it as clean? No matter how many hours we spend cleaning, I can’t see anything but the flaws. It’s not fair to my fiancé, who spends so much of his time making sure our home is clean and nice.
I had a busy day at work today. After work I did the grocery shopping, came home, and pet my cat. My fiancé knew I had a big day, and offered to put away the groceries while I showered. I took him up on that, then read my book for a while. It was 9 PM by the time I went into the kitchen to make dinner. I opened the cupboard and saw all of our new groceries jammed into the small shelf. A new box of pancake mix had a dent in it where it was bending against another item. A loaf of bread was getting smushed.
Now I’m trying to hide the fact I’m nearing a panic attack. All of our new groceries, perfect and shiny and new, just crammed in with the old groceries. I’ve always had a rule: you can’t put away nice new clean groceries if the kitchen is dirty, like if there are dishes in the sink. Like somehow the dirtiness of the sink will corrupt the new nice things. I guess that rule extends to a cluttered pantry too.
Now I’m tempted to throw out perfectly good food just to make room on the shelf for the new groceries to sit nicely. I’m tempted to go in there and clear everything out of our pantry and rearrange it all to make it nice again. I’m tempted to drive to a 24-hour target, buy a clear container, and dump the pancake mix into it so it doesn’t have to sit in a dented box. But I also know it’s 11pm at night, and I should be sleeping. I know that if I go and start cleaning, it will hurt the feelings of my fiancé, who offered to do something nice for me and put things away. I know that it doesn’t actually matter, and that the groceries aren’t infected with the essence of clutter. But also I don’t know that at all.
And it’s not just the kitchen. I won’t let us put up holiday decorations unless the entire home is spotless. Why on earth does the level of organization in my sock drawer affect the presence of a Christmas tree in my living room? I don’t know—but it does. The decorations are nice and pure, and need to be put up in pristine environment. I don’t want my cluttered sock drawer or undusted window sill infecting that new painting we’re thinking about hanging.
How do I stop caring so much? I have all these tips and tricks for how to calm myself out of a panic attack, or how to get my mind away from the dark places I go when I’m depressed. But that all feels like band-aid fixes. Upset? Try XYZ. How do I avoid getting upset in the first place? How can I be like my fiancé, and see a beautiful apartment and a clean kitchen, and not hyper fixate on the flaws?
2023.06.02 07:20 lunasuhaib1234 My narssistic, misogynistic father's bullshit.
I need to get this off my chest it has been haunted me since. So before last week I was in the living room watching YouTube on our TV when my dad walks in on the only part that has swear word, he of course like any other parent made a remark on it and I told him that I wasn't there for the swears or all that booty shaking shit and he went feral. Our argument escalated and a topic led to another topics and suddenly he lost his temper and jumped on me beating the shit outta me leaving me with tissue damage on the left side of my skull and bruises on my lips and arms. He then simply sat back down again and pulled that "it's all for your own good" manipulative shit when I decided to ask him the question I wanted to ask for a really long time , "why are you treating me like this?, you're only teaching me to cowar and cry when someone hits me , how Would it make you feel when I come home one day and tell you that my husband raised his hand on me?", In which he replied "and if your husband ever hits you , would you fight back?", Completely missing my question, I said yes and to my shock he replies with , "if you ever decide to fight back against your husband I will personally break your neck".
I was totally flabbergasted at that point.
submitted by lunasuhaib1234 to TrueOffMyChest [link] [comments]
I was totally flabbergasted at that point.
2023.06.02 07:20 Liath-Luachra [Discussion] Ducks – ONE MONTH LATER through end
Hello lovely readers,
Welcome to the second and final discussion of Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton. This autobiographical comic was Canada Reads (an annual "battle of the books") winner for 2023. You can read the first discussion here.
Summary
The story picks up one month after that horrible party. Kate sleeps with Mike. She continues to get weird sexual comments from the men she works with, but she has started to laugh the comments off. Many of the men seem to have problems with her giving them orders, and her superiors get pissy with her for minor things or for wanting ‘special treatment’. Joe, a fellow Nova Scotian, overhears her swearing in frustration and tells her that everyone at the mine is just yelling at the guy next to them for work they’re not doing themselves, but that people tend to be friendlier to people from their own region of Canada. Kate wonders aloud to Doug whether the oil sands make people better or worse.
The men at the mine have heard that Kate’s ‘little friends’ (her sister Becky and friend Lindsay) are going to be joining them, and she warns them to leave them alone. When Becky and Lindsay arrive, they are wearing skirts and they quickly notice the staring and weird behaviour from the men on site. Kate apologises for it, and they wonder why she is saying sorry.
Kate tells Becky and Lindsay that the other men have been leaving her alone since most people know about her and Mike, and they tell her it’s because in their eyes she’s ‘claimed’.
They take a trip to Gregoire Beach, but Kate doesn’t wear a swimsuit or go swimming. Becky asks her what’s up with her, as she’s noticed something is wrong. Kate talks about how everything at the beach seems so normal, but that she isn’t. However, she doesn’t explain further.
Kate looks for other jobs online, and sees a post for a job at the Maritime Museum of British Columbia in Victoria, the capital of British Columbia.
Not long afterwards, she sees the man who forced himself on her at that party. He and the group of men he’s with see her and they start laughing.
Kate hears a man playing Peter’s Dream on his guitar, and joins in singing the song.
She goes to Becky’s room and tells her that she needs to leave the oil sands for a while, even though she and Lindsay have just arrived. She asks her to promise that she and Lindsay will look out for each other, and finally tells her about the assaults. Becky tells her that it wasn’t her fault, and wishes she had been there sooner to protect her as that’s her job as the big sister. She tells Kate that it happened to her too, at her university dorm. She tells Kate she should go.
We leave the oil sands, for a year in Victoria. Kate gets the museum job but it’s no more than 21 hours per week, so she gets a second job. In a coffee shop, she hears the song An Innis Aigh playing, and tells a woman who was wondering aloud about the language that it’s Gaelic.
Victoria seems like a nicer place than the oil sands, but it isn’t perfect – the city big problems with homelessness and mental health, but none of the old, rich people living there care [read runner note – according to Victoria’s Wikipedia page, the city is known for its disproportionately large retiree population. Some 23.4% of the population of Victoria and its surrounding area are over 65 years of age, which is higher than the overall Canadian distribution of over 65 year-olds in the population (19%). A historically popular cliché refers to Victoria as the home of "the newly wed and nearly dead"]. Kate is fired from her job for not taking American money and not wanting to sell the merchandise badly enough. One of her colleagues (I think?) sees her drawing a comic, and suggests that she should make a website.
Kate tells her parents that on her days off she works at a grocery store, and her father wonders what her degree was for. Shortly afterwards, she is fired from the grocery store for yawning and ‘being surly’. She goes on a date, but panics when the guy tries to kiss her at the end.
Kate can’t get a reprieve from her student loan payments, even though she paid half of it off the previous year with her oil sands earnings. She decides to go back to the oil sands to pay the rest off, and says goodbye to the museum.
After that brief reprieve, we’re back in the oil sands, this time at Shell Albian Sands. Kate has taken a job in the warehouse office, and her living quarters are a bit fancier than at the previous sites. The site also has a Tim Hortons, Wi-Fi and a gym, even yoga classes. Lindsay tells her that a lot of the warehouse crew from Long Lake have moved up there too. One of her new colleagues is Hatim, who is creepy in a new way, plaguing her with messages despite having a wife and children.
The team get a congratulations message with a gif for achieving three million man hours without a lost time incident (LTI). Kate’s boss, Ryan, tells her that they don’t have LTIs at the site because they look bad for the company, I guess implying that they cover them up.
She sees Doug again, who seems to feel that she’s all high and mighty now with her office job, and struggles with her ‘bossing him’ since she’s younger than him (and presumably because she’s female). When she has to cover a warehouse shift, Doug laughs about how she’s down from on high and has gone soft. He tells her that he sang with The Men of the Deeps and even sang for the queen, which she doubts because he has a terrible voice. She sings a bit of Coal Town Road (which I’m kind of disappointed doesn’t sound like Old Town Road) and asks if she could be in the choir too, but he seems annoyed about her singing a mining song when she’s not a miner.
Kate’s sister Becky is still working at Long Lake, but lives in Fort McMurray, and Kate goes to meet her there; she says it’s much better than living in the camp. She tells Kate, that one time a guy jumped out of the closet in her room, but she was able to kick him out. She always locked her door, but often heard the handle jiggling at night. She even had a stalker, who managed to get into her room with a bottle of alcohol and suggested doing body shots – she didn’t report it, but when he got fired everyone thought she had.
Kate struggles to read some of the order sheets because many of the workers are bad spellers or have unclear handwriting; many of the older men at the mine left school in grade six. Lindsay tells her about one of the lead hands from Newfoundland, who can’t read, and was humiliated by the other workers when they tried to make him read the safety memo aloud so they could laugh at him. Lindsay says she’s never seen a grown man ashamed like that, and they discuss how he’s one of the nicest guys there.
A group from the Calgary office visits the mine site, and Kate has to find the nice hard hats and safety vests for the visitors, the ones the actual workers can’t have because they’re too fancy. Basically, they have to put on a show for the head office people – everyone has to look sharp, make things tidier than normal etc. One of the visitors takes a photo of Kate. After they leave, Damian asks if he can have one of the fancy new vests, but they were taken back to Calgary even though they don’t need them at head office.
Kate continues doing her comics, and her colleagues occasionally read them. Ryan finds some of them in the scanner, which she had used to upload them to her website, and tells her not to leave her stuff lying around at work.
Becky and Kate discuss what it would have been like if their father had gone out to the oil sands to work when they were children, as many people did. They wonder if he would have been like the other men they work with, and how they must all be normal at home. Kate says she tries to remember that there are a lot of men who don’t bother her, but she doesn’t remember them because they’re not the ones in her face.
Their safety lectures tell them basic information about how ice is slippery and is all over the ground, which presumably every Canadian already knows. One of the men remarks that it’s not about safety, but an arse-covering exercise so that a worker can’t sue them if they fall. Kate doodles a pony in her notebook (thank you u/Amanda39 for linking to this comic in last week’s discussion!).
Many of the staff have families that they don’t see very often. One of the men gets a phonecall from his wife’s phone, which he answers thinking it’s an emergency as she never calls during the day; it turns out to be his young son, who is calling to see when he’s coming home next.
Brian asks Kate if she heard about the ducks (TITLE DROP!!); three hundred of them got stuck in a tailings pond at another oil sands site [read runner note – two years later, Syncrude was actually found guilty of the death of 1,600 ducks]. The site begins installing anti-waterfowl devices, and the staff are reminded that they have to wear PPE at all times. They’re also told about the death Gerald Snopes, another worker; some of the men talking amongst themselves, and Ryan tells them to have some respect. He had a heart attack while operating a crane, and threw himself out of the cab so that he wouldn’t land on the controls and cause an accident.
Kate hears about a road accident involving some men from Cape Breton. She asks Davy about it to see if she knows them, but neither of them do. Kate finds the news articles and feels annoyed that they were misidentified as Calgary men.
Kate notices some welts on her back; Lindsay has them too but doesn’t know what it is. Kate mentions all the dust they have to wipe off everything, and how there’s so much crap in the air. Lindsay wonders what kind of cancer they’ll have in 20 years.
Kate finds Doug building a scarecrow for the tailings pond, which is meant to scare off the ducks. Probably another arse-covering exercise.
Activists from Greenpeace try to block an oil sands pipeline, and 11 people are arrested. One of the workers gets angry about it, asking who will put their life on the line to unclog the pipe Greenpeace has blocked, and that it sure as hell won’t be the president of Shell. Kate hears about another death – a contractor was in his trucks, and one of the heavy haulers drove over it, crushing him.
Lindsay writes an article for a grassroots paper, giving the inside perspective on working at the oil sands. Kate considers doing a comic about it for them. Lindsay later wonders if she made a mistake writing her article, as many of the comments are critical, including many from women which Lindsay did not expect.
Kate sees a video on YouTube of Celina Harpe, an elder in the Cree community of Fort McKay, talking about the effect of the oil sands on the First Nation. Kate had not realised when she arrived there that Fort McKay was a First Nation, nor that it was so close to Syncrude. She thinks about how she’s not the president of Shell, but she’s still working there, and she can’t extract herself from having come.
At another safety meeting, the staff are down the safety pyramid, which has different levels: at the base it has at-risk behaviours, then near misses, then minor incidents, and it all leads to a major incident or a fatality.
Kate receives a phone call from a reporter at the Globe and Mail who had seen her comics about the oil sands. She asks several leading questions about her experience as a woman at the remote sites and the harassment, but Kate feels uncomfortable giving her examples. She later tells Lindsay that she couldn’t talk to the reporter as she felt like she just wanted gossip, and that the story was already written before she called.
The leering of one of the other workers bothers Kate in the lunchroom, and she tells Lindsay about her assaults. Lindsay is horrified that Mike and Brian laughed at her when she told them about it. Lindsay tells her that it happened to her in university as well.
Kate calls her parents to tell them that she’s finally paid off her student loan, but she needs to keep working at the site because now she has no money. She’s going to try making it as a cartoonist, and her parents are unimpressed.
Kate notices that Ryan is acting strangely, being absent a lot and not doing his work, and it can’t fully be explained by his recent divorce. She hears about other workers who are taking cocaine and behaving strangely too. She asks Ryan if he’s ok and he brushes it off. Kate contemplates the safety pyramid again. She finds a piece of paper on Ryan’s desk with an appointment for the employee assistance program. Emily later tells her that Ryan has left suddenly, and that they need to figure things out until a replacement is found.
Kate wonders why there are so many safety meetings but none have ever talked about drugs or alcohol. Her coworkers say that everyone knows why there is so much of both, and that the company can’t have safety meetings about illegal activities anyway.
Kate finally gets to leave the oil sands and go home. Her colleague Norman gives her prints of some of his photos of the northern lights as a leaving present, including one of a rainbow. Before she leaves, the company organises a staff photograph with all the workers on the site. Kate sees the man who assaulted her the second time, and he recognises her but can’t remember her name or who she is, and asks her how it’s going.
Kate trains her replacement, and finds out that she’s earning more than her despite not having any experience in tools. She complains to John about it, and finally rants about all her shitty treatment in the oil sands. She goes to see Gary in the head office, and demands her full bonus, which was going to be docked because she was leaving. Gary tells her it’s company policy. She tells him about the harassment, and he claims she could have come to them about it, but she fires back that he knows she couldn’t have. Gary agrees to give her the bonus. Her colleagues organise a going-away barbecue, and even Mike attends.
Back in Nova Scotia, Kate is reunited with her family. While out enjoying the seaside air, she chats to a farmer who tells her he’s keeping a field for his son who is working out west in case he ever comes back and wants to build a house. A man called Lauchie visits the house before moving west himself, and tells them there’s something for everyone out there and that the young people have everything they want. Out in Halifax with friends, she and Becky see a man from one of the camps, who tells Becky that they had a bet on who would sleep with her first. Their friends who haven’t worked in the oil sands can’t believe they’d let a man talk to them like that.
In the book’s afterword, Kate talks about how the book chronicles her specific experience at a specific time. She is wary of sensationalism of her story, especially because sexual assault is so common that it’s not actually sensational. She notes that neither of the men who raped her probably consider it to have been rape. She is also critical of the treatment of Indigenous people, and says the YouTube video of Celina Harpe was a “sword that cut through my ignorance”. We also find out that Becky died of cancer, and that her former coworkers pooled money together to send to her.
Bookclub Bingo 2023 categories: Non-Fiction, Graphic Novel (grey), Mod Pick (grey)
Other links:
submitted by Liath-Luachra to bookclub [link] [comments]
Welcome to the second and final discussion of Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton. This autobiographical comic was Canada Reads (an annual "battle of the books") winner for 2023. You can read the first discussion here.
Summary
The story picks up one month after that horrible party. Kate sleeps with Mike. She continues to get weird sexual comments from the men she works with, but she has started to laugh the comments off. Many of the men seem to have problems with her giving them orders, and her superiors get pissy with her for minor things or for wanting ‘special treatment’. Joe, a fellow Nova Scotian, overhears her swearing in frustration and tells her that everyone at the mine is just yelling at the guy next to them for work they’re not doing themselves, but that people tend to be friendlier to people from their own region of Canada. Kate wonders aloud to Doug whether the oil sands make people better or worse.
The men at the mine have heard that Kate’s ‘little friends’ (her sister Becky and friend Lindsay) are going to be joining them, and she warns them to leave them alone. When Becky and Lindsay arrive, they are wearing skirts and they quickly notice the staring and weird behaviour from the men on site. Kate apologises for it, and they wonder why she is saying sorry.
Kate tells Becky and Lindsay that the other men have been leaving her alone since most people know about her and Mike, and they tell her it’s because in their eyes she’s ‘claimed’.
They take a trip to Gregoire Beach, but Kate doesn’t wear a swimsuit or go swimming. Becky asks her what’s up with her, as she’s noticed something is wrong. Kate talks about how everything at the beach seems so normal, but that she isn’t. However, she doesn’t explain further.
Kate looks for other jobs online, and sees a post for a job at the Maritime Museum of British Columbia in Victoria, the capital of British Columbia.
Not long afterwards, she sees the man who forced himself on her at that party. He and the group of men he’s with see her and they start laughing.
Kate hears a man playing Peter’s Dream on his guitar, and joins in singing the song.
She goes to Becky’s room and tells her that she needs to leave the oil sands for a while, even though she and Lindsay have just arrived. She asks her to promise that she and Lindsay will look out for each other, and finally tells her about the assaults. Becky tells her that it wasn’t her fault, and wishes she had been there sooner to protect her as that’s her job as the big sister. She tells Kate that it happened to her too, at her university dorm. She tells Kate she should go.
We leave the oil sands, for a year in Victoria. Kate gets the museum job but it’s no more than 21 hours per week, so she gets a second job. In a coffee shop, she hears the song An Innis Aigh playing, and tells a woman who was wondering aloud about the language that it’s Gaelic.
Victoria seems like a nicer place than the oil sands, but it isn’t perfect – the city big problems with homelessness and mental health, but none of the old, rich people living there care [read runner note – according to Victoria’s Wikipedia page, the city is known for its disproportionately large retiree population. Some 23.4% of the population of Victoria and its surrounding area are over 65 years of age, which is higher than the overall Canadian distribution of over 65 year-olds in the population (19%). A historically popular cliché refers to Victoria as the home of "the newly wed and nearly dead"]. Kate is fired from her job for not taking American money and not wanting to sell the merchandise badly enough. One of her colleagues (I think?) sees her drawing a comic, and suggests that she should make a website.
Kate tells her parents that on her days off she works at a grocery store, and her father wonders what her degree was for. Shortly afterwards, she is fired from the grocery store for yawning and ‘being surly’. She goes on a date, but panics when the guy tries to kiss her at the end.
Kate can’t get a reprieve from her student loan payments, even though she paid half of it off the previous year with her oil sands earnings. She decides to go back to the oil sands to pay the rest off, and says goodbye to the museum.
After that brief reprieve, we’re back in the oil sands, this time at Shell Albian Sands. Kate has taken a job in the warehouse office, and her living quarters are a bit fancier than at the previous sites. The site also has a Tim Hortons, Wi-Fi and a gym, even yoga classes. Lindsay tells her that a lot of the warehouse crew from Long Lake have moved up there too. One of her new colleagues is Hatim, who is creepy in a new way, plaguing her with messages despite having a wife and children.
The team get a congratulations message with a gif for achieving three million man hours without a lost time incident (LTI). Kate’s boss, Ryan, tells her that they don’t have LTIs at the site because they look bad for the company, I guess implying that they cover them up.
She sees Doug again, who seems to feel that she’s all high and mighty now with her office job, and struggles with her ‘bossing him’ since she’s younger than him (and presumably because she’s female). When she has to cover a warehouse shift, Doug laughs about how she’s down from on high and has gone soft. He tells her that he sang with The Men of the Deeps and even sang for the queen, which she doubts because he has a terrible voice. She sings a bit of Coal Town Road (which I’m kind of disappointed doesn’t sound like Old Town Road) and asks if she could be in the choir too, but he seems annoyed about her singing a mining song when she’s not a miner.
Kate’s sister Becky is still working at Long Lake, but lives in Fort McMurray, and Kate goes to meet her there; she says it’s much better than living in the camp. She tells Kate, that one time a guy jumped out of the closet in her room, but she was able to kick him out. She always locked her door, but often heard the handle jiggling at night. She even had a stalker, who managed to get into her room with a bottle of alcohol and suggested doing body shots – she didn’t report it, but when he got fired everyone thought she had.
Kate struggles to read some of the order sheets because many of the workers are bad spellers or have unclear handwriting; many of the older men at the mine left school in grade six. Lindsay tells her about one of the lead hands from Newfoundland, who can’t read, and was humiliated by the other workers when they tried to make him read the safety memo aloud so they could laugh at him. Lindsay says she’s never seen a grown man ashamed like that, and they discuss how he’s one of the nicest guys there.
A group from the Calgary office visits the mine site, and Kate has to find the nice hard hats and safety vests for the visitors, the ones the actual workers can’t have because they’re too fancy. Basically, they have to put on a show for the head office people – everyone has to look sharp, make things tidier than normal etc. One of the visitors takes a photo of Kate. After they leave, Damian asks if he can have one of the fancy new vests, but they were taken back to Calgary even though they don’t need them at head office.
Kate continues doing her comics, and her colleagues occasionally read them. Ryan finds some of them in the scanner, which she had used to upload them to her website, and tells her not to leave her stuff lying around at work.
Becky and Kate discuss what it would have been like if their father had gone out to the oil sands to work when they were children, as many people did. They wonder if he would have been like the other men they work with, and how they must all be normal at home. Kate says she tries to remember that there are a lot of men who don’t bother her, but she doesn’t remember them because they’re not the ones in her face.
Their safety lectures tell them basic information about how ice is slippery and is all over the ground, which presumably every Canadian already knows. One of the men remarks that it’s not about safety, but an arse-covering exercise so that a worker can’t sue them if they fall. Kate doodles a pony in her notebook (thank you u/Amanda39 for linking to this comic in last week’s discussion!).
Many of the staff have families that they don’t see very often. One of the men gets a phonecall from his wife’s phone, which he answers thinking it’s an emergency as she never calls during the day; it turns out to be his young son, who is calling to see when he’s coming home next.
Brian asks Kate if she heard about the ducks (TITLE DROP!!); three hundred of them got stuck in a tailings pond at another oil sands site [read runner note – two years later, Syncrude was actually found guilty of the death of 1,600 ducks]. The site begins installing anti-waterfowl devices, and the staff are reminded that they have to wear PPE at all times. They’re also told about the death Gerald Snopes, another worker; some of the men talking amongst themselves, and Ryan tells them to have some respect. He had a heart attack while operating a crane, and threw himself out of the cab so that he wouldn’t land on the controls and cause an accident.
Kate hears about a road accident involving some men from Cape Breton. She asks Davy about it to see if she knows them, but neither of them do. Kate finds the news articles and feels annoyed that they were misidentified as Calgary men.
Kate notices some welts on her back; Lindsay has them too but doesn’t know what it is. Kate mentions all the dust they have to wipe off everything, and how there’s so much crap in the air. Lindsay wonders what kind of cancer they’ll have in 20 years.
Kate finds Doug building a scarecrow for the tailings pond, which is meant to scare off the ducks. Probably another arse-covering exercise.
Activists from Greenpeace try to block an oil sands pipeline, and 11 people are arrested. One of the workers gets angry about it, asking who will put their life on the line to unclog the pipe Greenpeace has blocked, and that it sure as hell won’t be the president of Shell. Kate hears about another death – a contractor was in his trucks, and one of the heavy haulers drove over it, crushing him.
Lindsay writes an article for a grassroots paper, giving the inside perspective on working at the oil sands. Kate considers doing a comic about it for them. Lindsay later wonders if she made a mistake writing her article, as many of the comments are critical, including many from women which Lindsay did not expect.
Kate sees a video on YouTube of Celina Harpe, an elder in the Cree community of Fort McKay, talking about the effect of the oil sands on the First Nation. Kate had not realised when she arrived there that Fort McKay was a First Nation, nor that it was so close to Syncrude. She thinks about how she’s not the president of Shell, but she’s still working there, and she can’t extract herself from having come.
At another safety meeting, the staff are down the safety pyramid, which has different levels: at the base it has at-risk behaviours, then near misses, then minor incidents, and it all leads to a major incident or a fatality.
Kate receives a phone call from a reporter at the Globe and Mail who had seen her comics about the oil sands. She asks several leading questions about her experience as a woman at the remote sites and the harassment, but Kate feels uncomfortable giving her examples. She later tells Lindsay that she couldn’t talk to the reporter as she felt like she just wanted gossip, and that the story was already written before she called.
The leering of one of the other workers bothers Kate in the lunchroom, and she tells Lindsay about her assaults. Lindsay is horrified that Mike and Brian laughed at her when she told them about it. Lindsay tells her that it happened to her in university as well.
Kate calls her parents to tell them that she’s finally paid off her student loan, but she needs to keep working at the site because now she has no money. She’s going to try making it as a cartoonist, and her parents are unimpressed.
Kate notices that Ryan is acting strangely, being absent a lot and not doing his work, and it can’t fully be explained by his recent divorce. She hears about other workers who are taking cocaine and behaving strangely too. She asks Ryan if he’s ok and he brushes it off. Kate contemplates the safety pyramid again. She finds a piece of paper on Ryan’s desk with an appointment for the employee assistance program. Emily later tells her that Ryan has left suddenly, and that they need to figure things out until a replacement is found.
Kate wonders why there are so many safety meetings but none have ever talked about drugs or alcohol. Her coworkers say that everyone knows why there is so much of both, and that the company can’t have safety meetings about illegal activities anyway.
Kate finally gets to leave the oil sands and go home. Her colleague Norman gives her prints of some of his photos of the northern lights as a leaving present, including one of a rainbow. Before she leaves, the company organises a staff photograph with all the workers on the site. Kate sees the man who assaulted her the second time, and he recognises her but can’t remember her name or who she is, and asks her how it’s going.
Kate trains her replacement, and finds out that she’s earning more than her despite not having any experience in tools. She complains to John about it, and finally rants about all her shitty treatment in the oil sands. She goes to see Gary in the head office, and demands her full bonus, which was going to be docked because she was leaving. Gary tells her it’s company policy. She tells him about the harassment, and he claims she could have come to them about it, but she fires back that he knows she couldn’t have. Gary agrees to give her the bonus. Her colleagues organise a going-away barbecue, and even Mike attends.
Back in Nova Scotia, Kate is reunited with her family. While out enjoying the seaside air, she chats to a farmer who tells her he’s keeping a field for his son who is working out west in case he ever comes back and wants to build a house. A man called Lauchie visits the house before moving west himself, and tells them there’s something for everyone out there and that the young people have everything they want. Out in Halifax with friends, she and Becky see a man from one of the camps, who tells Becky that they had a bet on who would sleep with her first. Their friends who haven’t worked in the oil sands can’t believe they’d let a man talk to them like that.
In the book’s afterword, Kate talks about how the book chronicles her specific experience at a specific time. She is wary of sensationalism of her story, especially because sexual assault is so common that it’s not actually sensational. She notes that neither of the men who raped her probably consider it to have been rape. She is also critical of the treatment of Indigenous people, and says the YouTube video of Celina Harpe was a “sword that cut through my ignorance”. We also find out that Becky died of cancer, and that her former coworkers pooled money together to send to her.
Bookclub Bingo 2023 categories: Non-Fiction, Graphic Novel (grey), Mod Pick (grey)
Other links:
- The first discussion
- Canada Reads page about Ducks [I hadn’t realised that Station Eleven, another recent bookclub read, was the runner up]
- Kate Beaton on Wikipedia
- Hark! A Vagrant, the archive of Kate Beaton’s comics website
- The original Hark! A Vagrant sketch comic about the oil sands (links to all five parts; I’ve posted the parts individually below this in case that’s easier)
- Original Ducks Part 1
- Original Ducks Part 2
- Original Ducks Part 3
- Original Ducks Part 4
- Original Ducks Part 5
- Lindsay Bird was one of the people in the book whose name wasn’t changed, and in 2019 she published a poetry collection about working in the oil sands called Boom Time. There’s a CBC article about the book here.
2023.06.02 07:17 TheShadowspawn Chapter Forty-Five - Brothers
Captain sits in a somewhat small room on board Commander Beckett's ship.
Commander Beckett sits across from him, setting up his holo-display to record the interaction.
Alien Captain: "Is this interrogation truly necessary, Commander Beckett?"
Commander Beckett: "This is not an interrogation, Captain. This is merely us asking you a few questions about the entity you encountered."
AC: "Which one? The Voidborn, or the Stellar Dragon?"
CB: "The dragon, but I would be interested in learning about the Voidborn as well. That is, if you wouldn't mind."
AC: "I would not, but I am confused as to why you would need such information from me. Was he not a human? Does his current form of existence not have something to do with the Terran High Command?"
CB: "Actually, it doesn't. As far as Terran High Command was concerned, he failed in his attempt to become what he is. The genetic modifications didn't hold up, and, as far as we were made aware, he died in the attempt at conversion into his current form. So, imagine our surprise when we have an existence claiming to have formerly been a human, that we were unaware still existed, quite literally flying through space, saving folk from some kind of nightmare creature we were also unaware existed."
AC: "... you do realise that the Data-net is accessible to all, yes?"
CB: "... I am, but Terran High Command doesn't believe anything it doesn't have actual living proof of. Which is unfortunate because we're living in some very interesting times, and if they continue to cling to only believing what their eyes see, then we're screwed."
AC: "Very well. I will answer what I can, but I do not know very much of anything about the Stellar Dragon."
CB: "That's fine. Honestly, what you know is more than we actually know about him."
...
Human Dave exits a room and sees Captain leaning against a wall just outside waiting for him.
Human Dave: "So, Captain, how was your interrogation?"
AC: "Remarkably civil, all things considered. I have been accused of much in my life, simply as a member of my species, but to be only asked questions on what I saw was a refreshing change of pace."
HD: "Yeah, I've seen first-hand the kind of reception Cradelians get out there."
AC: "Did they ask you about Drakonis as well?"
HD: "Yes, along with taking my recordings of the Voidborn. How is it that Terran High Command didn't know about something like that?"
AC: "Commander Beckett informed me that they did know of it, but chose not to believe that it existed."
HD: "... yeah, that sounds about right. Terran High Command doesn't bother with such useless things like common sense or the Data-net for truthful information."
AC: "That particular belief struck me as odd, Human Dave. Why would they willingly refuse to believe such information?"
HD: "Fear, mostly, I suppose. Can you imagine if your people were living on your cradle-world for hundreds and thousands of years, and suddenly, one day, an apex predator simply appeared? No indication during those hundreds of thousands of years that it even existed, then it just up and wipes out a city. And apparently, it's always been there, but your people have just been unbelievably lucky never to have seen one before."
AC: "... your argument is sound, Human Dave. I am struck with Apex Fear with only the mere thought of this hypothetical scenario."
HD: "And that's probably why they didn't want to believe that it was real."
Human Dave and Captain walk through the hallways, getting lost several times, and having to ask for directions many times; both engrossed in their conversation.
After far longer than they should have taken, they finally emerge into the docking bay, and start towards the familiar form of Captain's ship, before hearing a voice.
Unknown voice: "Yo, dumbass!"
Human Dave goes still, and turns his head to regard the one who spoke.
HD: "I'd recognise that damn voice anywhere!"
Human Dave turns his whole body, and charges at the one who spoke; who, in turn, starts charging at Human Dave.
The two collide with a THUMP, and Human Dave is the one to fall back after their chests collide.
HD: "Damn it, Barry. Would you stop being so fucking tall, you arsehole?"
Human Barry: "Make me, little brother."
Human Barry extends his arm to Human Dave, and pulls him to his feet.
HD: "The Hell are you doing all the way out here? I thought you were getting that pirate ship you stole retrofitted."
HB: "Okay, firstly, it was acquired by us. We took it through completely legal means. And we even got it registered, so stop saying we stole it."
HD: "You killed the pirates who were trying to rob you, and robbed them of their ship."
HB: "See? Completely legal. And they weren't going to use it after that."
HD: "Yeah, about as legal as that time you took Dad's speeder out and--"
Human Barry quickly covers Human Dave's mouth with his hand, and fixes a glare at him.
HB: "We made a promise not to speak of that again, baby brother."
Human Dave pulls Barry's hand off his mouth.
HD: "That was under the prerequisite that you never call me 'baby brother' ever again."
Human Barry's eyes widen in shock.
HD: "And you just broke it, so there's nothing to stop me from snitching now!"
Human Dave runs from Human Barry, and activates his holo-display.
HB: "OH NO, YOU FUCKING DON'T!"
Human Barry chases after his brother, who is starting to yell into his holo-display as he runs from his brother.
Captain watches on with amusement.
...
Both Human Dave and Human Barry sit in the Mess Hall of Captain's ship.
Human Dave is nursing a black eye, while Human Barry is hunched over, clutching his side.
The brothers glare at each other, before bursting out laughing.
Human Barry winces at the movement, and clutches his side tighter.
HB: "Aw, fuck! Don't make me laugh, you idiot!"
HD: "You're the one who got me in the eye, you arse!"
HB: "Yeah, but you got me in the rib. How am I meant to do anything with this?"
HD: "You never did say what you were doing out here."
HB: "Beckett sent us a message that you got involved in some kind of situation. Mum was setting up your kids with a home of their own at the time. The family home is pretty big, but even it can't contain 15 people at once."
HD: "I've been meaning to visit again, but we had some trouble getting any cargo hauls heading back this way for a while now. I think we found out why, though."
HB: "Yeah, I heard. You got attacked by some kind of space squid?"
HD: "Oh, is that what they called it? Hold up; I'll show you."
Human Dave sends a file through his holo-display to Human Barry.
Human Barry opens the file, and watches it, still hunched over in pain.
Which quickly fades as he realises exactly what he just watched.
HB: "I assume you didn't mean to show the message you made for us?"
HD: "... ah, shit. I sent you the unedited one."
HB, grinning: "It's good, Dave. You're finally getting in touch with your feminine side."
HD: "Oh, go fuck yourself, you absolute arse!"
HB: "No, but really, are you okay? That can't have been easy to go through."
HD: "I'm fine, Barry. Not the first time I've had to deal with PTSD, remember?"
HB: "I do. And I do remember you drank yourself almost to death before Mum got through to you."
HD: "..."
HB: "Is it so hard to think we might be worried about you?"
HD: "... no. I know you guys looked out for me at my lowest, and I haven't relapsed in a long time."
An Aflarrian waddles its way into the room, and climbs onto Human Dave's lap.
HB: "Being out here with Captain has been good for you. And these little guys as well."
Human Barry leans over, and gives the Aflarrian a little pat on its head, as it lounges on Human Dave's lap.
Human Dave starts stroking its back, and it purrs in happiness.
HD: "Yeah. They'll keep me from being too reckless, and Doctor does know about my history, so she's been keeping an eye on me as well."
HB: "Is she still obsessed with Donnie Yen?"
HD, witheringly: "Unfortunately, yes. Wait. How do you know about that?"
HB: "You asked for the movies you've been watching. Who do you think has been sending them to you?"
HD: "Wait a second. You've been sending me stuff from your personal collection? You swore that you'd never do that again after I accidentally corrupted one."
HB: "I did. I also acknowledged that it's been almost two decades since that happened, and I let go of that grudge a long time ago."
HD: "..."
HB: "Besides, I know you won't let them get damaged now, since you're on a ship filled with people obsessed with them. And I'm pretty sure that Doctor will never forgive you if she can't see Donnie shirtless ever again."
HD: "... God forbid that ever happen. I'm pretty sure that she'll smother me in my sleep if it does."
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submitted by TheShadowspawn to u/TheShadowspawn [link] [comments]
Commander Beckett sits across from him, setting up his holo-display to record the interaction.
Alien Captain: "Is this interrogation truly necessary, Commander Beckett?"
Commander Beckett: "This is not an interrogation, Captain. This is merely us asking you a few questions about the entity you encountered."
AC: "Which one? The Voidborn, or the Stellar Dragon?"
CB: "The dragon, but I would be interested in learning about the Voidborn as well. That is, if you wouldn't mind."
AC: "I would not, but I am confused as to why you would need such information from me. Was he not a human? Does his current form of existence not have something to do with the Terran High Command?"
CB: "Actually, it doesn't. As far as Terran High Command was concerned, he failed in his attempt to become what he is. The genetic modifications didn't hold up, and, as far as we were made aware, he died in the attempt at conversion into his current form. So, imagine our surprise when we have an existence claiming to have formerly been a human, that we were unaware still existed, quite literally flying through space, saving folk from some kind of nightmare creature we were also unaware existed."
AC: "... you do realise that the Data-net is accessible to all, yes?"
CB: "... I am, but Terran High Command doesn't believe anything it doesn't have actual living proof of. Which is unfortunate because we're living in some very interesting times, and if they continue to cling to only believing what their eyes see, then we're screwed."
AC: "Very well. I will answer what I can, but I do not know very much of anything about the Stellar Dragon."
CB: "That's fine. Honestly, what you know is more than we actually know about him."
...
Human Dave exits a room and sees Captain leaning against a wall just outside waiting for him.
Human Dave: "So, Captain, how was your interrogation?"
AC: "Remarkably civil, all things considered. I have been accused of much in my life, simply as a member of my species, but to be only asked questions on what I saw was a refreshing change of pace."
HD: "Yeah, I've seen first-hand the kind of reception Cradelians get out there."
AC: "Did they ask you about Drakonis as well?"
HD: "Yes, along with taking my recordings of the Voidborn. How is it that Terran High Command didn't know about something like that?"
AC: "Commander Beckett informed me that they did know of it, but chose not to believe that it existed."
HD: "... yeah, that sounds about right. Terran High Command doesn't bother with such useless things like common sense or the Data-net for truthful information."
AC: "That particular belief struck me as odd, Human Dave. Why would they willingly refuse to believe such information?"
HD: "Fear, mostly, I suppose. Can you imagine if your people were living on your cradle-world for hundreds and thousands of years, and suddenly, one day, an apex predator simply appeared? No indication during those hundreds of thousands of years that it even existed, then it just up and wipes out a city. And apparently, it's always been there, but your people have just been unbelievably lucky never to have seen one before."
AC: "... your argument is sound, Human Dave. I am struck with Apex Fear with only the mere thought of this hypothetical scenario."
HD: "And that's probably why they didn't want to believe that it was real."
Human Dave and Captain walk through the hallways, getting lost several times, and having to ask for directions many times; both engrossed in their conversation.
After far longer than they should have taken, they finally emerge into the docking bay, and start towards the familiar form of Captain's ship, before hearing a voice.
Unknown voice: "Yo, dumbass!"
Human Dave goes still, and turns his head to regard the one who spoke.
HD: "I'd recognise that damn voice anywhere!"
Human Dave turns his whole body, and charges at the one who spoke; who, in turn, starts charging at Human Dave.
The two collide with a THUMP, and Human Dave is the one to fall back after their chests collide.
HD: "Damn it, Barry. Would you stop being so fucking tall, you arsehole?"
Human Barry: "Make me, little brother."
Human Barry extends his arm to Human Dave, and pulls him to his feet.
HD: "The Hell are you doing all the way out here? I thought you were getting that pirate ship you stole retrofitted."
HB: "Okay, firstly, it was acquired by us. We took it through completely legal means. And we even got it registered, so stop saying we stole it."
HD: "You killed the pirates who were trying to rob you, and robbed them of their ship."
HB: "See? Completely legal. And they weren't going to use it after that."
HD: "Yeah, about as legal as that time you took Dad's speeder out and--"
Human Barry quickly covers Human Dave's mouth with his hand, and fixes a glare at him.
HB: "We made a promise not to speak of that again, baby brother."
Human Dave pulls Barry's hand off his mouth.
HD: "That was under the prerequisite that you never call me 'baby brother' ever again."
Human Barry's eyes widen in shock.
HD: "And you just broke it, so there's nothing to stop me from snitching now!"
Human Dave runs from Human Barry, and activates his holo-display.
HB: "OH NO, YOU FUCKING DON'T!"
Human Barry chases after his brother, who is starting to yell into his holo-display as he runs from his brother.
Captain watches on with amusement.
...
Both Human Dave and Human Barry sit in the Mess Hall of Captain's ship.
Human Dave is nursing a black eye, while Human Barry is hunched over, clutching his side.
The brothers glare at each other, before bursting out laughing.
Human Barry winces at the movement, and clutches his side tighter.
HB: "Aw, fuck! Don't make me laugh, you idiot!"
HD: "You're the one who got me in the eye, you arse!"
HB: "Yeah, but you got me in the rib. How am I meant to do anything with this?"
HD: "You never did say what you were doing out here."
HB: "Beckett sent us a message that you got involved in some kind of situation. Mum was setting up your kids with a home of their own at the time. The family home is pretty big, but even it can't contain 15 people at once."
HD: "I've been meaning to visit again, but we had some trouble getting any cargo hauls heading back this way for a while now. I think we found out why, though."
HB: "Yeah, I heard. You got attacked by some kind of space squid?"
HD: "Oh, is that what they called it? Hold up; I'll show you."
Human Dave sends a file through his holo-display to Human Barry.
Human Barry opens the file, and watches it, still hunched over in pain.
Which quickly fades as he realises exactly what he just watched.
HB: "I assume you didn't mean to show the message you made for us?"
HD: "... ah, shit. I sent you the unedited one."
HB, grinning: "It's good, Dave. You're finally getting in touch with your feminine side."
HD: "Oh, go fuck yourself, you absolute arse!"
HB: "No, but really, are you okay? That can't have been easy to go through."
HD: "I'm fine, Barry. Not the first time I've had to deal with PTSD, remember?"
HB: "I do. And I do remember you drank yourself almost to death before Mum got through to you."
HD: "..."
HB: "Is it so hard to think we might be worried about you?"
HD: "... no. I know you guys looked out for me at my lowest, and I haven't relapsed in a long time."
An Aflarrian waddles its way into the room, and climbs onto Human Dave's lap.
HB: "Being out here with Captain has been good for you. And these little guys as well."
Human Barry leans over, and gives the Aflarrian a little pat on its head, as it lounges on Human Dave's lap.
Human Dave starts stroking its back, and it purrs in happiness.
HD: "Yeah. They'll keep me from being too reckless, and Doctor does know about my history, so she's been keeping an eye on me as well."
HB: "Is she still obsessed with Donnie Yen?"
HD, witheringly: "Unfortunately, yes. Wait. How do you know about that?"
HB: "You asked for the movies you've been watching. Who do you think has been sending them to you?"
HD: "Wait a second. You've been sending me stuff from your personal collection? You swore that you'd never do that again after I accidentally corrupted one."
HB: "I did. I also acknowledged that it's been almost two decades since that happened, and I let go of that grudge a long time ago."
HD: "..."
HB: "Besides, I know you won't let them get damaged now, since you're on a ship filled with people obsessed with them. And I'm pretty sure that Doctor will never forgive you if she can't see Donnie shirtless ever again."
HD: "... God forbid that ever happen. I'm pretty sure that she'll smother me in my sleep if it does."
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2023.06.02 07:10 HawaiianShirtsOR My wife doesn't understand why an air conditioner set higher than the current room temperature is a waste of electricity.
We do not have central air conditioning in our house. We have a window-mounted air conditioner in the living room and another in the upstairs hall, plus a ceiling fan in the living room. Other than that, during hot weather, we use standing fans and make sure to open the windows at night.
Note: This is about my wife, but I'm not asking for advice. I just need to vent about a situation because maybe if I can express it in writing, I'll feel less confused.
The other day, I went downstairs in the middle of the afternoon and found my wife resting on the couch after having gone for a walk. She had turned the window air conditioner on. This confused me because the air conditioner is set to cool the room to 72 degrees (Fahrenheit), and it didn't feel like 72 to me. I looked at the thermostat on the wall and saw a room temperature of 68 degrees.
I asked my wife why she had the air conditioner on if the room was already cooler than the device’s setting. She said she had turned it on because she felt hot. I guess that’s not unreasonable.
I pointed out that it was just being an expensive fan. It's not going to try to cool the room to a temperature warmer than what the room currently is, but it's going to stay on anyway just to blow the air around. I asked whether I could switch it off and turn on the ceiling fan instead, which would serve the same purpose and use less power.
She said she didn’t understand.
I tried to explain why it’s pointless to have the air conditioner on 72 when the room was 68 because it wasn’t actually making a difference in temperature.
She said she still didn’t understand.
I tried explaining with metaphors (like pouring water into a glass that is already filled to the brim), I tried alternate explanations (like how the furnace won't try to warm the room up to 70 degrees if the temperature is already 80), and I tried physical demonstrations (like how I can't touch the ceiling by reaching down to the floor, or how if I need to pick something up from the floor I'm not going to stand on a stepladder to do it). She continued to claim that she didn’t understand what I was trying to tell her, complaining about “all these numbers” I was “throwing around.”
I told her I needed her to understand because the air conditioner uses a lot of electricity and that having it on in this situation was a waste. Wasting electricity equals wasting money, and I don't like the idea of her throwing away the money I work hard to bring home to support our household. And I tried yet again to explain.
She interrupted to tell me that she was trying to get our youngest child registered for school next year (she did have her computer on), and that was taking up her attention, so I shouldn't expect her to listen to my "complicated scientific rant."
I left without switching off the air conditioner because I know if I did I would have been in trouble for insulting her intelligence or of unnecessarily taking control or something. I'm still utterly baffled by the thought that a college-educated woman couldn’t comprehend the purpose of an air conditioner!
It almost felt like she was deliberately preventing herself from understanding because she didn’t want to change her behavior or didn’t want to allow me to be right about something.
I presented the same concept to my teenage son later just to make sure I wasn't crazy, and he understood right away, even rolling his eyes in a "that's obvious" kind of way.
submitted by HawaiianShirtsOR to TrueOffMyChest [link] [comments]
Note: This is about my wife, but I'm not asking for advice. I just need to vent about a situation because maybe if I can express it in writing, I'll feel less confused.
The other day, I went downstairs in the middle of the afternoon and found my wife resting on the couch after having gone for a walk. She had turned the window air conditioner on. This confused me because the air conditioner is set to cool the room to 72 degrees (Fahrenheit), and it didn't feel like 72 to me. I looked at the thermostat on the wall and saw a room temperature of 68 degrees.
I asked my wife why she had the air conditioner on if the room was already cooler than the device’s setting. She said she had turned it on because she felt hot. I guess that’s not unreasonable.
I pointed out that it was just being an expensive fan. It's not going to try to cool the room to a temperature warmer than what the room currently is, but it's going to stay on anyway just to blow the air around. I asked whether I could switch it off and turn on the ceiling fan instead, which would serve the same purpose and use less power.
She said she didn’t understand.
I tried to explain why it’s pointless to have the air conditioner on 72 when the room was 68 because it wasn’t actually making a difference in temperature.
She said she still didn’t understand.
I tried explaining with metaphors (like pouring water into a glass that is already filled to the brim), I tried alternate explanations (like how the furnace won't try to warm the room up to 70 degrees if the temperature is already 80), and I tried physical demonstrations (like how I can't touch the ceiling by reaching down to the floor, or how if I need to pick something up from the floor I'm not going to stand on a stepladder to do it). She continued to claim that she didn’t understand what I was trying to tell her, complaining about “all these numbers” I was “throwing around.”
I told her I needed her to understand because the air conditioner uses a lot of electricity and that having it on in this situation was a waste. Wasting electricity equals wasting money, and I don't like the idea of her throwing away the money I work hard to bring home to support our household. And I tried yet again to explain.
She interrupted to tell me that she was trying to get our youngest child registered for school next year (she did have her computer on), and that was taking up her attention, so I shouldn't expect her to listen to my "complicated scientific rant."
I left without switching off the air conditioner because I know if I did I would have been in trouble for insulting her intelligence or of unnecessarily taking control or something. I'm still utterly baffled by the thought that a college-educated woman couldn’t comprehend the purpose of an air conditioner!
It almost felt like she was deliberately preventing herself from understanding because she didn’t want to change her behavior or didn’t want to allow me to be right about something.
I presented the same concept to my teenage son later just to make sure I wasn't crazy, and he understood right away, even rolling his eyes in a "that's obvious" kind of way.
2023.06.02 07:06 throwawayacct9983 [UPDATE] My wife is changing and I don't know what it means for our marriage
URL of the original post: https://www.reddit.com/marriageadvice/comments/13xxd2y/my_wife_is_changing_and_i_dont_know_what_it_means/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
I first want to start off by thanking everyone for their comments and/or personal DMs. It means a lot that you spent effort providing advice. As an aside, it was great to also get female perspectives on the matter just to better understand how my wife felt as well. Before I jump into the conversation, I also want to say a few things: 1) My wife isn't a gold digger and her parents raised her well, 2) I'm not going to divorce her because of a bad argument or behavior that stems from work, and 3) I don't believe she's cheating on me for a myriad reasons, including transparency with her phone and generally being communicative about where she is at all times
Either way, to the update. She came home to dinner last night teary eyed and handed me a piece of paper and I got a little teary eyed and said please don't divorce me. She laughed and said read it. It was a shoddily written up agreement where she basically said I won't take your money if anything does happen. Love is crazy. I was livid, depressed, and nervous 5 minutes ago and now I ripped up the paper and just hugged her. And it felt really good to have her back.
She spent the night at a friend's house that I actually know, not one from work. She's been friends with this person (a woman) for a long time and I've always found both her and her husband to be very fair, level-headed people. My wife's friend's husband was away on a trip, so it seems they had a long talk. My wife was exhausted and is sleeping now, so I'll try and bullet point the convo in chronological order so I can keep it somewhat logical since it was a very emotional, loopy conversation:
At some point, the conversations shifted from our dining room to the sofas and it was definitely very emotional. But for the first time in about a year I saw real honesty and vulnerability from the woman I fell in love with. After the conversation, I don't think either of us had energy to just chit-chat and she snuggled up on me and watched some food network. I honestly have no clue what I even watched, but it just felt good being next to her. She fell asleep on the couch and I don't want her to have bad sleep posture, so I lifted her up, brought her to the bedroom, and tucked her in. She's been asleep for about an hour now and I think I'm going to crash pretty soon as well. There's some weird combination of adrenaline, anxiety, and happiness keeping me awake right now, but I know I should get some sleep. Thankfully I don't have an early morning tomorrow, though I do want to make breakfast before she heads out to work.
There's a lot of work still to be done, but if we're both as sincere as we were tonight, I believe we can get through it. Hopefully the next update I have is even better. Thank you all again and good night.
Edit: I just wanted to reiterate that I am NOT divorcing my wife. I know a lot of people told me to end the relationship, but I indescribably love this woman, especially the person she was tonight.
tl;dr: things are hopefully trending in the right direction, but it depends a lot on how we both respond to this adversity. I'll hopefully have an update in a couple weeks/months :)
submitted by throwawayacct9983 to marriageadvice [link] [comments]
I first want to start off by thanking everyone for their comments and/or personal DMs. It means a lot that you spent effort providing advice. As an aside, it was great to also get female perspectives on the matter just to better understand how my wife felt as well. Before I jump into the conversation, I also want to say a few things: 1) My wife isn't a gold digger and her parents raised her well, 2) I'm not going to divorce her because of a bad argument or behavior that stems from work, and 3) I don't believe she's cheating on me for a myriad reasons, including transparency with her phone and generally being communicative about where she is at all times
Either way, to the update. She came home to dinner last night teary eyed and handed me a piece of paper and I got a little teary eyed and said please don't divorce me. She laughed and said read it. It was a shoddily written up agreement where she basically said I won't take your money if anything does happen. Love is crazy. I was livid, depressed, and nervous 5 minutes ago and now I ripped up the paper and just hugged her. And it felt really good to have her back.
She spent the night at a friend's house that I actually know, not one from work. She's been friends with this person (a woman) for a long time and I've always found both her and her husband to be very fair, level-headed people. My wife's friend's husband was away on a trip, so it seems they had a long talk. My wife was exhausted and is sleeping now, so I'll try and bullet point the convo in chronological order so I can keep it somewhat logical since it was a very emotional, loopy conversation:
- She first thanked me for making dinner and started off by apologizing. I guess her friend told her she had become more distant and different than the person she knew and wasn't surprised we had an argument. She apologized for not defending me and wanting me to be someone different. She also specifically apologized for her comment about not cheating on me and hopes I know she would never, ever consider infidelity and would break it off with me before anything untoward happened (but she does not want that and never has).
- She then explained that while talking to her friend she realized her career motivations stem from feeling "less than" others; she's a very bright person, but did not get the recognition she felt she deserved earlier in life and didn't want that to be taken away for not fitting in. She didn't want the others to think I was a loser in life or worse than their husbands. She also said that it wasn't an excuse to demand me to change who I am and that she's proud of the work I do. Part of the reason she married me was because I had a sense of purpose for the things I want to accomplish and she values that. She just didn't realize I had "won" my monetary race and was now focusing on the philanthropic race. I don't think it's unreasonable for her to want a partner who does well and shares her ambitions.
- She also said that she was sorry for making our relationship about money and just because she thought she was earning more doesn't mean she should have brought it up.
- I also owed her an apology for not being fully transparent with the money I earned. Obviously the subject of wealth has come up during our relationship and she knew I sold a company. I told her my financial future would be secure and had alluded to figures in the past, but taking advice from people in the comments, not giving her an exact amount was probably a shitty thing to do. I never wanted anyone to be with me for money, but I also know that when we got together she had no idea of what I've done and I avoided the topic of wealth until we had been together for a while. So again, she's not a gold digger and I want the comments to know that.
- She felt blindsided by the disclosure of money I earned and walked out in part because she felt ashamed for talking about her wealth when I made more, upset that in comparison her accomplishments seemed meager, and in part because she felt I didn't trust her. I can't really justify not telling her my wealth, if I were in her shoes, I would probably also feel a little betrayed.
- I also apologized for telling her that she earns "pennies I wouldn't even piss on." It was a demeaning statement and invalidated her hard-earned accomplishments. She really is an incredibly smart and driven woman and I love her for that. I never did the things I did for money, but rather because having the accomplishment is all I ever cared about. I realized in the conversation that money was just the by-product. For me, being rich and not spending it on things I consider frivolous was what I thought of as "impressive." She worked to get the recognition and part of that recognition comes from having nice things and I understand that. Everyone has different motivations behind what drives them and I'm just glad I understand my wife's motivations better now.
- In terms of our monetary situation and what our plans are going forward, we agreed that we should probably wait a little for kids so that we can work our situation out first. Time isn't going to wait for us forever, but the more honest we are about working through this together, the sooner the situation will resolve. We have more to discuss about our financial future, but I made it clear I wasn't interested in living an extravagant life. She seemed fine with that, but said she enjoys buying some nice clothes, jewelry, and things like that. We haven't exactly sorted out the finances behind that, but I think it'd be unfair to tell her not to buy things she likes. For the time being, she can afford her purchases. I think I'd only have an issue with it if she starts spending more than she can afford to and uses the money I earned pre-marriage as a safety net. As someone in the comments said, my money is her money, but I view fiscal irresponsibleness as fundamentally opposed to my values.
- Most importantly, with regard to her work friends, she told me it was made clear that they weren't a good influence. My understanding of how she realized that came from talking to her friend. The group of girls at work are scandalous to say the least and infidelity has happened. I think her friend told her the marriage very well could end and that served as a wake-up call. She showed me a text she sent those girls basically saying she doesn't appreciate them talking poorly about me and that if they can't respect our marriage, she can't be friends with them. She was very forthcoming and honest and said I could look at her phone, but I declined. If there was proof of cheating, she could have deleted it, but I also more fundamentally believe that if I need to do that, then the marriage is already dead.
- We agreed that we should probably see a marriage counselor, someone we both agree on. I'll start looking into that in the morning and source a list of options. At the very least, there are some underlying issues that could be resolved and it can't hurt (I hope this isn't Ted Lasso).
At some point, the conversations shifted from our dining room to the sofas and it was definitely very emotional. But for the first time in about a year I saw real honesty and vulnerability from the woman I fell in love with. After the conversation, I don't think either of us had energy to just chit-chat and she snuggled up on me and watched some food network. I honestly have no clue what I even watched, but it just felt good being next to her. She fell asleep on the couch and I don't want her to have bad sleep posture, so I lifted her up, brought her to the bedroom, and tucked her in. She's been asleep for about an hour now and I think I'm going to crash pretty soon as well. There's some weird combination of adrenaline, anxiety, and happiness keeping me awake right now, but I know I should get some sleep. Thankfully I don't have an early morning tomorrow, though I do want to make breakfast before she heads out to work.
There's a lot of work still to be done, but if we're both as sincere as we were tonight, I believe we can get through it. Hopefully the next update I have is even better. Thank you all again and good night.
Edit: I just wanted to reiterate that I am NOT divorcing my wife. I know a lot of people told me to end the relationship, but I indescribably love this woman, especially the person she was tonight.
tl;dr: things are hopefully trending in the right direction, but it depends a lot on how we both respond to this adversity. I'll hopefully have an update in a couple weeks/months :)
2023.06.02 07:05 Knives_Lunatic06 Loneliness
I'm currently in my sophomore year of highschool and outside of school I have no friends. I know I'm young and just started life in general, but it already feels like a waste. My grades are average I live in a average home with good parents. I'm glad to have a roof and shit over my head. But everything feels dull, school is the only time I have to socialize and even that isn't fun considering I feel like im invisible to others. In the end jm alone with my room and my imagination being my own world. I have slight hope that my life will become less boring and empty but that hope is dwindling every year as I get close to my graduation year.
Any thoughts?
submitted by Knives_Lunatic06 to doomer [link] [comments]
Any thoughts?
2023.06.02 07:02 PistachioEnjoyer Lol did I forget to mention the part she hit me still hurts sometimes & is a bit caved in 😂 If she did that to an adult she would be in big trouble but fuck kids amirite?
 | submitted by PistachioEnjoyer to TrollCoping [link] [comments] |
2023.06.02 07:01 SnoBun420 Finished Skyward Sword yesterday. I liked it.
Finished Skyward Sword yesterday. I liked it. Wii version btw.
Controls Guess the first thing to mention is the controls. You kind of have to since, motion controls are like half the identity of Skyward Sword. Well, first is to mention the non-motion controls. They’re fine. No problem there, as you would expect.
Anyway, I was okay with the motion controls. Well, I thought I was. For the most part the motion controls really just made certain things a bit more or a lot more cumbersome. So that was okay, I thought. Like, makes throwing bombs kinda annoying and stuff, and also they use motion controls in areas where it has no business being used of course, but even then I dealt with it fine. The only time it really annoyed me was in the stupid harp mingame in the pumpkin bar. Took me seven goddamn tries to beat it! So yeah, I thought it was still fine except that after beating the game I happened to play some Twilight Princess HD. Hadn’t played it in awhile and disc was nearby so why not?
Well, that certainly made Skyward Sword look worse. I thought I was generally okay with the motion controls but then playing TP it’s like, oh my god this is so much better. I can do exactly what I want when I want and not have to be overly careful with certain actions because of motion stuff. So yeah. I was kind of okay with the controls but it’s not something that made the game better for the most part
Other gameplay stuff
So yeah, Fi pops up way too much. Everyone knows this but yeah like you’ll enter a room in a dungeon there is this thing that could take a little time to notice or figure out but Fi jumps out and spoils the damn thing lol.
Dowsing is a gimmick. It’s kinda lame but not the worse thing ever.
The items you get, I think that they are not that strong. The three new items are the gust bellow, Whip, and beetle. None of these items are truly new items. The gust bellow is a lamer version of the gust jar. Like, in Minish Cap that item could blow things, suck things up, do thing like pull in mushrooms to cross gaps, suck things, shoot them out, etc. The Gust Bellow is just clearing dust and blowing the propellers. Yeah, pretty weak. The whip is like the grappling hook and uh, yeah. It can pull some levers and stuff but come on, that’s not that interesting. Beetle is the hyoi pear in Wind Waker. This time it actually can do more though and has various useful upgrades. It’s a consistently useful thing and it’s cool. Bombs can also be rolled instead of just thrown overhead, so that’s neat even though I avoided using bombs when necessary because I didn’t like the controls for them. But compare this to Twilight Princess. The boomerang is basically the end result of additional features being added to it over the series. Wind Waker added the multi lock-on and Twilight added the wind effect. The Iron Boots had a whole new dimension added with the magnet walking thing. The Clawshots, instead of the upgrade being longer, you get two, which is more interesting for sure. The equivalent of the hammer type weapon is pretty much the ball and chain, and it stands out a lot more compared to the magic/megaton/skull hammer. The Spinner while limited (If you ever wished the Spinner was more useful, try Unsighted btw) was such a unique idea. I don’t think there was anything quite like it before. You get the idea. Oh yeah, the upgrade for the digging gloves was cool (Partially since one too many of the items in Skyward Sword are just the “use the thing on the thing” type) but I got tired of it so very quickly since there’s a cutscene to go underground, you have to use stamina to move faster, attacking is annoying, etc.
Stamina. I think it was handled fine. I will say that I think stamina made more sense in Skyward Sword then it did in BotW/TotK. Although again, playing Twilight Princess right after, I didn’t miss not having stamina one bit.
Combat. It’s what you expect out of 3D Zelda pre-BotW. This time they actually make use of the different directional slashes and stuff. First time you could parry enemy attacks I think. Also the vertical spin attack is really cool.
Silent Realm. I loved these. These were some of the best parts of the entire game.
Boss rush. I consider this to be the single worst implementation of a boss rush I have ever seen in a game. 3D Zelda bosses are not the most suited for a boss rush, but it’s worse here. Every time you defeat a boss you have to go through dialogue. EVERY SINGLE TIME. Why? And then the Imprisoned is part of boss rush? My god. Didn’t bother with clearing the whole thing. Just got the Hylian Shield then quit because I didn’t want to risk failing the third Imprisoned fight and losing everything. Really, really bad.
The Imprisoned. I didn’t mind the second refight because there was a good amount of time between the first two fights and there was a new mechanic added. But for the third to happen so soon afterwards? Really?
The sky. So, I heard the sky was empty. And it is. I didn’t mind that much though. Ironically Skyward Sword has the emptiest overworld in addition to the densest overworld among 3D Zeldas.
Environment variety. This is one of the biggest issues with Skyward Sword I feel. You have the three main zones and revisit them repeatedly. But first, was it necessary to have a desert and a volcano zone? I mean, you only have three, so I would think you would want to have them be as distinct as possible. For the desert to be after the volcano, it does feel repetitious. But you revisit the forest later and go to the lake, that’s fine I guess. It’s a new area although you just kinda go through it. The volcano, the other area is more volcano. The desert? Well, more desert. It all looks very samey. There’s even two fire temples, which doesn’t help.
Out of the 3D Zeldas I’ve played I think Skyward Sword feels the most “video-gamey.” The overworld areas being so dense is part of the problem. While I was okay with it in this game, I don’t need to see it return. It has a real negative effect on the way the world feels. It feels the least organic. Like, there’s all these things around and it was/is all for this little platforming challenge or small puzzle or whatever. Like, it obviously feels like “oh yeah, this is this small challenge to get around this or find this thing” and much of the world is like that. Having only one town that is disconnected from the areas contributes to the feeling. The sky world too, since it’s largely empty it feels a bit like a glorified level select hub. Like, compare the Twilight World parts in Twilight Princess and the Silent Realm in Skyward Sword. In Twilight these areas are a part of the story. You are adventuring around trying to find the tears while also listening to people and stuff. The Silent Realm is purely a gameplay challenge. It's specifically for that. It doesn't feel like a part of the world, it's a challenge to overcome.
Padding. Yeah, there’s a lot of it. How much it bothers you depends obviously. I heard of the Tadtones but that didn’t bother me much. Had good music, swimming was enjoyable enough, yeah. The other region equivalents were fine too but yeah it’s undeniable. The biggest issue is that it comes at the cost of the feeling of adventure. Like, going to new areas and stuff. Tough to feel that way when you have only three areas and you go back to them over and over and.
Shield durability, crafting stuff, collectibles. I don’t really know why the shield durability was a thing. It doesn’t add much to the game. My guess is that either they were overcompensating because of how powerful the shield in the previous two 3D Zeldas was and/or they needed to have more stuff for you to use money/materials on. The crafting materials is part of a long-standing problem the Zelda series has had that is still a thing to this very day in the newer games. I mentioned this in my TotK post I think but Zelda games after some point started to feel like they didn’t have enough interesting permanent things to find in the world. Like, it’s mainly rupees, less commonly pieces of heart and even more rarely more unique one of a kind rewards. It wasn’t a problem with the smaller games but the when you increase the scale of the game, you need to also followup with the stuff to find. The issue is very obvious in Skyward Sword because it’s like, gee, we don’t have enough interesting things in the world so let’s have a bunch of random bugs and junk to collect to be used in the mainly pointless durability system and upgrades. If you had the upgrade system in previous Zelda games what would be the cost? Money. Just money. But now you need money and other random stuff. I feel like it was what led to some of the stuff in BotW. There’s actually a handful of things in BotW that came directly from Skyward Sword, ironically enough.
Timeshift Stones were fun. The devs thought so apparently given how much they use the mechanic. Still, it was interesting enough to where it didn’t get old.
Dungeons were fine. I feel like I’ve heard people seriously hype of the SS dungeons and I didn’t really see it. Maybe my expectations were too high but yeah the Sandship did stand out. The sliding puzzle dungeon was also cool although the speed brought it down.
Adventure’s Pouch. This was a cool idea. I would say it’s a shame this didn’t return but BotW was the next one. Although I’m sure they still could’ve had this in some way, like you can choose between more space for weapons or more space for food. Something.
The medals are a neat idea although the actual medals themselves are uninteresting. Charms from Hollow Knight these are not.
Tedium. This is an issue. The repeated visits to areas, Fi popping up then needed, the pauses when you pick up crafting materials, crafting, etc.
Story
So, about the story. Over the years I knew plenty of things about Skyward Sword but I never actually played it until now. One of the things I heard about was that it was more story and/or character driven. Like, it’s pretty apparent at the beginning of the game with the thing between Link, Zelda, and Groose. But that’s the thing. That rivalry/love triangle/whatever is a thing…...at the beginning. Like, what I saw of Zelda at the start made her pretty much my favorite version of the character in the series. And then it basically goes away for 90% of the game. Zelda herself disappears almost entirely. Zelda being out of commission for most of the game is nothing new to Zelda games but it’s worse here because of lively she was at the start. To have all that just for it to vanish is why it sucks so much.
Like, I thought there is this rivalry thing with Groose but after the game starts for real you don’t see him until like three dungeons later. Wtf?
So yeah, the characters had this promise but it doesn’t pay off when they aren’t present for much of the game. The other stuff like the master sword, well I don’t know if we really needed to know how it came to be. It’s fine, but whatever. Girahim is fine. Just fine. Fi, well nobody cares about this non-character, but I’m not saying anything that hasn’t been said before.
Music
Some nice songs. Some highlights were the bamboo island theme, miniboss theme, and Lake Floria Underwater.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvA1h3P2ddY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ilC01aCgF4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L59rsOOZ1KY
End
Anyway yeah. I enjoyed the game although I think it started to run out of steam in the later part. Not one of my favorite Zeldas but still enjoyable enough. I’ll go through it again someday on the HD version instead but that likely won’t be anytime soon. Lastly, I can see how this led to BotW since certain things started to become predictable in the series.
submitted by SnoBun420 to truezelda [link] [comments]
Controls Guess the first thing to mention is the controls. You kind of have to since, motion controls are like half the identity of Skyward Sword. Well, first is to mention the non-motion controls. They’re fine. No problem there, as you would expect.
Anyway, I was okay with the motion controls. Well, I thought I was. For the most part the motion controls really just made certain things a bit more or a lot more cumbersome. So that was okay, I thought. Like, makes throwing bombs kinda annoying and stuff, and also they use motion controls in areas where it has no business being used of course, but even then I dealt with it fine. The only time it really annoyed me was in the stupid harp mingame in the pumpkin bar. Took me seven goddamn tries to beat it! So yeah, I thought it was still fine except that after beating the game I happened to play some Twilight Princess HD. Hadn’t played it in awhile and disc was nearby so why not?
Well, that certainly made Skyward Sword look worse. I thought I was generally okay with the motion controls but then playing TP it’s like, oh my god this is so much better. I can do exactly what I want when I want and not have to be overly careful with certain actions because of motion stuff. So yeah. I was kind of okay with the controls but it’s not something that made the game better for the most part
Other gameplay stuff
So yeah, Fi pops up way too much. Everyone knows this but yeah like you’ll enter a room in a dungeon there is this thing that could take a little time to notice or figure out but Fi jumps out and spoils the damn thing lol.
Dowsing is a gimmick. It’s kinda lame but not the worse thing ever.
The items you get, I think that they are not that strong. The three new items are the gust bellow, Whip, and beetle. None of these items are truly new items. The gust bellow is a lamer version of the gust jar. Like, in Minish Cap that item could blow things, suck things up, do thing like pull in mushrooms to cross gaps, suck things, shoot them out, etc. The Gust Bellow is just clearing dust and blowing the propellers. Yeah, pretty weak. The whip is like the grappling hook and uh, yeah. It can pull some levers and stuff but come on, that’s not that interesting. Beetle is the hyoi pear in Wind Waker. This time it actually can do more though and has various useful upgrades. It’s a consistently useful thing and it’s cool. Bombs can also be rolled instead of just thrown overhead, so that’s neat even though I avoided using bombs when necessary because I didn’t like the controls for them. But compare this to Twilight Princess. The boomerang is basically the end result of additional features being added to it over the series. Wind Waker added the multi lock-on and Twilight added the wind effect. The Iron Boots had a whole new dimension added with the magnet walking thing. The Clawshots, instead of the upgrade being longer, you get two, which is more interesting for sure. The equivalent of the hammer type weapon is pretty much the ball and chain, and it stands out a lot more compared to the magic/megaton/skull hammer. The Spinner while limited (If you ever wished the Spinner was more useful, try Unsighted btw) was such a unique idea. I don’t think there was anything quite like it before. You get the idea. Oh yeah, the upgrade for the digging gloves was cool (Partially since one too many of the items in Skyward Sword are just the “use the thing on the thing” type) but I got tired of it so very quickly since there’s a cutscene to go underground, you have to use stamina to move faster, attacking is annoying, etc.
Stamina. I think it was handled fine. I will say that I think stamina made more sense in Skyward Sword then it did in BotW/TotK. Although again, playing Twilight Princess right after, I didn’t miss not having stamina one bit.
Combat. It’s what you expect out of 3D Zelda pre-BotW. This time they actually make use of the different directional slashes and stuff. First time you could parry enemy attacks I think. Also the vertical spin attack is really cool.
Silent Realm. I loved these. These were some of the best parts of the entire game.
Boss rush. I consider this to be the single worst implementation of a boss rush I have ever seen in a game. 3D Zelda bosses are not the most suited for a boss rush, but it’s worse here. Every time you defeat a boss you have to go through dialogue. EVERY SINGLE TIME. Why? And then the Imprisoned is part of boss rush? My god. Didn’t bother with clearing the whole thing. Just got the Hylian Shield then quit because I didn’t want to risk failing the third Imprisoned fight and losing everything. Really, really bad.
The Imprisoned. I didn’t mind the second refight because there was a good amount of time between the first two fights and there was a new mechanic added. But for the third to happen so soon afterwards? Really?
The sky. So, I heard the sky was empty. And it is. I didn’t mind that much though. Ironically Skyward Sword has the emptiest overworld in addition to the densest overworld among 3D Zeldas.
Environment variety. This is one of the biggest issues with Skyward Sword I feel. You have the three main zones and revisit them repeatedly. But first, was it necessary to have a desert and a volcano zone? I mean, you only have three, so I would think you would want to have them be as distinct as possible. For the desert to be after the volcano, it does feel repetitious. But you revisit the forest later and go to the lake, that’s fine I guess. It’s a new area although you just kinda go through it. The volcano, the other area is more volcano. The desert? Well, more desert. It all looks very samey. There’s even two fire temples, which doesn’t help.
Out of the 3D Zeldas I’ve played I think Skyward Sword feels the most “video-gamey.” The overworld areas being so dense is part of the problem. While I was okay with it in this game, I don’t need to see it return. It has a real negative effect on the way the world feels. It feels the least organic. Like, there’s all these things around and it was/is all for this little platforming challenge or small puzzle or whatever. Like, it obviously feels like “oh yeah, this is this small challenge to get around this or find this thing” and much of the world is like that. Having only one town that is disconnected from the areas contributes to the feeling. The sky world too, since it’s largely empty it feels a bit like a glorified level select hub. Like, compare the Twilight World parts in Twilight Princess and the Silent Realm in Skyward Sword. In Twilight these areas are a part of the story. You are adventuring around trying to find the tears while also listening to people and stuff. The Silent Realm is purely a gameplay challenge. It's specifically for that. It doesn't feel like a part of the world, it's a challenge to overcome.
Padding. Yeah, there’s a lot of it. How much it bothers you depends obviously. I heard of the Tadtones but that didn’t bother me much. Had good music, swimming was enjoyable enough, yeah. The other region equivalents were fine too but yeah it’s undeniable. The biggest issue is that it comes at the cost of the feeling of adventure. Like, going to new areas and stuff. Tough to feel that way when you have only three areas and you go back to them over and over and.
Shield durability, crafting stuff, collectibles. I don’t really know why the shield durability was a thing. It doesn’t add much to the game. My guess is that either they were overcompensating because of how powerful the shield in the previous two 3D Zeldas was and/or they needed to have more stuff for you to use money/materials on. The crafting materials is part of a long-standing problem the Zelda series has had that is still a thing to this very day in the newer games. I mentioned this in my TotK post I think but Zelda games after some point started to feel like they didn’t have enough interesting permanent things to find in the world. Like, it’s mainly rupees, less commonly pieces of heart and even more rarely more unique one of a kind rewards. It wasn’t a problem with the smaller games but the when you increase the scale of the game, you need to also followup with the stuff to find. The issue is very obvious in Skyward Sword because it’s like, gee, we don’t have enough interesting things in the world so let’s have a bunch of random bugs and junk to collect to be used in the mainly pointless durability system and upgrades. If you had the upgrade system in previous Zelda games what would be the cost? Money. Just money. But now you need money and other random stuff. I feel like it was what led to some of the stuff in BotW. There’s actually a handful of things in BotW that came directly from Skyward Sword, ironically enough.
Timeshift Stones were fun. The devs thought so apparently given how much they use the mechanic. Still, it was interesting enough to where it didn’t get old.
Dungeons were fine. I feel like I’ve heard people seriously hype of the SS dungeons and I didn’t really see it. Maybe my expectations were too high but yeah the Sandship did stand out. The sliding puzzle dungeon was also cool although the speed brought it down.
Adventure’s Pouch. This was a cool idea. I would say it’s a shame this didn’t return but BotW was the next one. Although I’m sure they still could’ve had this in some way, like you can choose between more space for weapons or more space for food. Something.
The medals are a neat idea although the actual medals themselves are uninteresting. Charms from Hollow Knight these are not.
Tedium. This is an issue. The repeated visits to areas, Fi popping up then needed, the pauses when you pick up crafting materials, crafting, etc.
Story
So, about the story. Over the years I knew plenty of things about Skyward Sword but I never actually played it until now. One of the things I heard about was that it was more story and/or character driven. Like, it’s pretty apparent at the beginning of the game with the thing between Link, Zelda, and Groose. But that’s the thing. That rivalry/love triangle/whatever is a thing…...at the beginning. Like, what I saw of Zelda at the start made her pretty much my favorite version of the character in the series. And then it basically goes away for 90% of the game. Zelda herself disappears almost entirely. Zelda being out of commission for most of the game is nothing new to Zelda games but it’s worse here because of lively she was at the start. To have all that just for it to vanish is why it sucks so much.
Like, I thought there is this rivalry thing with Groose but after the game starts for real you don’t see him until like three dungeons later. Wtf?
So yeah, the characters had this promise but it doesn’t pay off when they aren’t present for much of the game. The other stuff like the master sword, well I don’t know if we really needed to know how it came to be. It’s fine, but whatever. Girahim is fine. Just fine. Fi, well nobody cares about this non-character, but I’m not saying anything that hasn’t been said before.
Music
Some nice songs. Some highlights were the bamboo island theme, miniboss theme, and Lake Floria Underwater.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvA1h3P2ddY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ilC01aCgF4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L59rsOOZ1KY
End
Anyway yeah. I enjoyed the game although I think it started to run out of steam in the later part. Not one of my favorite Zeldas but still enjoyable enough. I’ll go through it again someday on the HD version instead but that likely won’t be anytime soon. Lastly, I can see how this led to BotW since certain things started to become predictable in the series.