i ran out the door out of terror. after i finally got far enough i finally caught my breath. i didnt go too far but i ended up on the street across from the summer camp. i wondered if any of the other counselors or campers saw violet too. i started crying and calling my friend explaining the entire situation. she decided to pick me up and she took me back to her house. on the way home, i looked in the mirror because i want to fix my hair. suddenly, i see violet grinning behind me. i screamed "PULL OVER!". as soon as my friend pulled over, i jumped out of the car and waited for violet. she looked out the window at me with a horrifying grin. i yelled "what do you want?! please! ill do anything! just- leave me alone violet!" violet giggled very loudly and just kept on giggling. my friend looked at me in horror as she saw the terror in my face. i aggressively opened the door, and screamed again. "WHAT DO YOU WANT VIOLET?" suddenly, violet opened her eyes very wide. her eyes were no longer black, her teeth were normal, and so were her lips. "huh? who are you?" i backed up against a fence behind me. "what's your name?" violet looked at me very puzzle "im violet, why are you asking me?" i was speechless and couldnt even explain to violet how i knew her. i grabbed violet by the wrist and put her in the car. i told her "violet, we're going to a café, i'll explain it all."

In the middle of the Prime Minister’s term, Party Leader elections are held. If the PM loses his or her Party Leader election, then the winner will replace him or her as PM.
Now, the AEP election determines whether Kief remains PM or not.
Each PL Election offers 3 choices.
Felix Kief, a 59 year old Former Factory Worker and MP for Tsukimi Born 1/5/Y225
Elizabeth Solada, a 40 year old former Army Enlistee and MP for Kinrihoku Born 5/1/Y244
Kalisa Willems, a 50 year old former Accountant and MP for Nayama Born 10/3/Y234
Positions in Comments
Current Events:
During the Election Process for the Y282 Election, for an entire month the election was “too close to call” between Kief and Berroa. Parliament used the Proposed 6th Amendment to determine the election, which decreed that in such a close vote Parliament would decide who became Prime Minister by negotiation. Eventually, the parliament voted 344-206 Kief and the contested constituencies of Komatsu and Sawaki were handed to Kief. However, this pissed off a lot of people, so the seventh amendment to the constitution was proposed: that the Prime Minister’s seat, in the case of a tie, got handed over instead of random constituencies, to give him a governing majority. (In reality, I flipped a coin 50 times)
On October 1, Y282, Parliament passed the sixth amendment, combining the previous proposed sixth and seventh amendments, that Parliament would need to vote in a contingent election in the case of a tie, and that whoever got the governing majority would have the Prime Minister’s seat given to the governing party. It passed in a 528-22 vote.
On October 17, Y282, the Rising Star Pizza Company Giotto’s was discovered to have been using Domino’s Pizza and passing it off as its own pizza. All chains of the restaurant were closed, and the CEO of the company Sofia Robsen was arrested on charges of fraud. This caused a brief dip in sales and the stock market because people were not buying shares out of fear that other were companies might’ve done the same as well.
On December 8, Y282, King Mikael Fenix of Andruvia passed away, and the country entered a week long period of mourning. His 41 year old son, Prince Maximus II, ascended to the throne as King Maximus II. His Heir is 10 year old Prince Rolf. Children are especially mourning because it means they won’t have an extra day off of school for the King’s birthday, because Maximus’ birthday is in summer.
In January Y283, the annual report by the Ministry of Finance showed that prices and profits and Andruvia were shrinking because prices were going down too low too fast. Meaning deflation was occurring. So prominent RUP MP Filip Groot, a former Stockbroker, created the Groot Plan. The Groot Plan was designed to help inflate prices so that the value of money was not lost by price depreciations. It would do this with a goal called Inflation Y300, that aimed to stimulate economic growth by increasing consumption and reducing demand to stimulate inflation by Y300.
In February Y283, FFM Member Nelson Kabela changed parties to the NFP. This led to the FFM getting a new leader named Prospor Kabajo, and because Kabela was very popular throughout all of Parliament, he easily won Party Leader for the NFP, becoming the first person to lead two parties.
In March Y283, fishermen in the city of Togando saw the power in their boats cut off because some Chilean spies had cut off wiring in the ocean. And there happened to be 8 Chilean Ships in the area fishing too. The Andruvians had 6. Following this, a 2 week small scale guerrilla conflict occurred between the fishermen, and although no one was hurt, things were tense, and 4 ships were sunk on both sides.
In April Y283, Andruvian scientists working on an improved submarine device in the lab of Togando were raided by Chileans, and the whole facility was exploded by the Chileans, leading to protests demanding war. In response, Kief went on national television to explain why war was futile and unrealistic.
In May Y283, a TV Show titled “Work Daze” gained popularity across the nation. It follows average salaryman Mortimer Montoja, who is astonished to learn that his former high school crush Ana Torino works at the same place he does. His best friend at work Nils Garsia urges him to make a move, but Mortimer is unsure because she was much more popular back then. But Mortimer has two obstacles, his flirtatious coworker Rodolfo De Leon, and his snobby boss Mitsuki Morishita. Starring Job Gimenez as Mortimer, Flora Kruz as Ana, Errol Bartamoleo as Nils, Santiago Felix as Rodolfo, and Yuko Yamasaki as Mitsuki.
In April Y283, a local bartender in the city of Togando named Mario Simondini created a drinking game called “Sjelte”. The drinking game involved players being presented with six choices, and they took a shot each time someone voted for their least favorite option. However, officials have warned of the dangers of the game, and the mayor of Togando Hajime Torinashi is trying to create car-free zones because of it.
In July Y283, the Polish Ambassador to Andruvia Tadusz Zavaldski, who had coined the term “feminist conservatism” to describe Kija Drumpf’s campaign a decade earlier, lauded Felix Kief as a pragmatic and bipartisan leader, calling his ideology “pragmatic conservatism”.
In August Y283, while Andruvia and Bolivia agreed to establish Walmart in Antarctica, Chile and Peru agreed to establish Target in Antarctica. This led to the Walmart-Target affair, where each accused the other of being more polluting to the environment of Antarctica. As they dumped plastic into the ocean.
In November Y283, after 8 years of fighting, the coup in Thailand had won their invasion of Laos, and the military dictatorship was established as a true dictatorship. Jai Vannavong, the former leader of Laos, was executed for treason.
In December Y283,MP Kira Prospor proposed the Universal Education Act, which tried to put more emphasis on grades in secondary education. However, the Act was struck by Kief and Parliament, and the vote was 286-264 nay.
In January Y284, MOTAN! released another hit single named “Pull Yourself Up”, about how you need to move on from hard times and look forward to better times.
In February Y284, Chile declared the disputed water areas between it and Andruvia “war zones”, and Chilean police arrested 89 Andruvian fishermen without any reason. In response, Kief passed the Military Act, which jacked up military spending to pre American War levels. He argued that not only would the military improve, but also inflation would happen. The act passed in a 490-60 yea vote. And the AEP and NPP created the “Freedom Coalition” to fight Chile peacefully and improve the domestic economy at the same time. In response, Ottoman Berroa created the “Government Action Now” coalition with the RUP and FFM to advocate for more aggressive means to fight Chile and foster inflation through the Groot Plan.
On March 8, Y284, Parliament passed a law that required that any kids wishing to play “The Penis Game” had to instead shout “vagina” and not penis, in honor of international women’s day and women’s history month.
In April Y284, the Fuku Link Train Company lost nearly 48.5 million Aurs in stocks due to the mismanagement of finances by the new CEO Leonardo Espinoza. The rail industry has been left in shambles, and now, for a short while, cars have become more popular. Conspiracy Theorists supporting the American Machine believe this was done by the CIA to foster a car culture in Andruvia.
In July Y284, the Walmart-Target affair ended up with the Walmart in Antarctica that Bolivia and Andruvia supported got blown up by Chileans, causing massive chaos and violence in those areas.
In August Y284, MP Mo De Leon of the ARP created a coalition with the NAP called the Walmart Coalition that was committed to rebuilding the Walmart in Antarctica. They even got some NPP members, but this eventually split into a coalition that wanted to build a second Target next to the Chilean Target in Antarctica and ones who wanted to rebuild the Walmart. Pro-Target people were the “Toros” and Pro-Walmart people were the “Muros”. However, they all wanted a trade war with Chile, so the coalition was renamed to the “Trade War Coalition”.
View Poll

Hello I never updating a bios before and there is something that I wanna ask
I using MSI B450-A Pro Max with Ryzen 7 2700x I never updating bios since 2019
And some people say if I updating my bios I cannot use my Ryzen 7 2700x again so can I update with the new bios the " 7B86vMI " version? or just leave it as be?
And if I can updating my bios, should I jump and update to the latest version or one by one from the beginning? Thank you

I kept myself busy stocking bags of chips. I mopped the muddy shoe marks on the entrance floor as the refrigerators hummed in the background. That electrical hum was annoying, but it served as a kind of musical replacement to the radio, which wasn’t working that night.
My friend Ethan secured for me this job at his father’s gas station. It’s not that working at a gas station is an impressive feat or anything, but I’m certainly not one to complain about getting a job - any job. After all, as my own father would often tell me, “That’s what you get when you major in English, Andrew. Nothing.” He warned me when I was younger to always keep my nose stuck in a book, but then lamented my decision to do just that. But he was right, actually. It’s not a practical skill.
It was around 2:00 AM when I spotted a frantic man in the parking lot. I refused to take a single step outside and get myself wet, but he kept waving, almost jumping up and down as he did. I worried for a moment that he might have been injured, or was at least in some kind of emergency. It definitely looked urgent.
It was dark, but the gas station’s logo illuminated the entire parking lot, coloring it in white and blue. I waved for the man to come closer as he was too far into the dark. I yelled over the rain, waving and waving, until he finally came forward. He took off his hat, his eyes squinting at the logo’s light. He raised one hand up to his face to shield his eyes from the brightness, and that’s when he was finally able to spot me, standing just outside the entrance.
The man was quite tall. He was wearing a dark-brown business suit with a white vest, his feet sporting shiny, black loafers. He had a set of uncombed grey hair and thick eyebrows, eyebrows which looked worried, always pointing upwards throughout our conversation.
“You know we’re open, right?” I yelled, hoping he’d hear me over the rain. “We’re twenty-four hours, sir!”
The man stepped forward, his loafers clacking against the wet concrete with each step.
He dropped his umbrella on the ground, allowing the rain to soak his hair. “Have you seen my son?”
“Your son?” I replied.
I didn’t think it was possible, but very suddenly, the man looked even more worried. His face changed and his mouth tightened as if to cry.
“Sir?” I asked, concerned.
He looked at me as if he forgot I was there. “You-you haven’t seen him, have you?” the man stuttered.
“What’s his name? I don't have any customers here right now, but maybe he came by earlier. You wanna come inside? Maybe get outta this rain?”
The man fell to his knees. It looked like he was preparing to plead with me, as if I had his son, as if I was holding him hostage back in the freezer room.
He gazed at me with those worried eyes. He looked hypnotized almost. “He’s my son, you see.”
The man was beginning to scare me, emitting from himself quite the creepy vibe. “Sir, I’m going back inside to call the police. Maybe they can help you. Okay?”
As I walked back to the counter, I watched the man from window to window. Before I could dial the second “1”, I looked through the small, square glass next to the counter to find that the man was gone.
I went outside, sheltered under the roof of the gas station, and scanned the parking lot. I didn’t see him.
When my shift ended at 7:00 AM, Ethan arrived.
“Anything new?” he asked, zipping up his work jacket to prepare for his shift.
“Yeah,” I replied. “Before I go home, I think I should warn you.”
“About?”
“Well,” I began, moving closer to him. “Around two or two-thirty in the morning, just a few hours ago, a man showed up. He didn’t come inside or anything, but he kept screaming about his son. He left eventually, but just in case he comes back-”
“Oh, don’t worry about him, man. That’s Mr. Carson. Yeah, he’s crazy, don’t know how else to put it. He comes by often, yelling about weird things,” Ethan said.
I tilted my head in confusion. “You sure, Ethan? Because if he’s been coming here and doing that, that’s harrass-”
“Andrew,” he interrupted me. “Don’t worry.”
I arrived at the gas station the next day at 11:00 PM. The night went about normally the first few hours. Customer after customer stopped by, purchasing gas, cigarettes, snacks, cheap pizza, and on and on.
It was around two in the morning when the man showed up again.
I was behind the counter when I heard his faint yell. It sounded like someone repeatedly calling out, trying to get my attention through the weatherly ruckus. I looked out the gas station window and made out the figure of a tall man standing in the parking lot, but the shapes were blurred by raindrops racing down the pane.
I reluctantly got up and walked over to the entrance. When the automatic doors opened, a forceful wind blew my hoodie off. I had to hold it in place to keep it on.
“What do you want?” I yelled. “Ethan told me about you. You come here often, don’t you? Well, if you come again, especially when I’m here, then I’m calling the cops!”
The man stepped forward into the white-blue lights that shone against the glossy, puddled concrete.
“My son,” said the man, “have you seen him?”
Before I could turn around and walk back to the counter in frustration, the man fell to his knees and yelled.
“Please!” he cried. “Haven’t you seen him? I’m sure he was here! I’m sure of it!”
His screams were not normal. When he spoke, his voice almost echoed, and it shook me to my core. His eyes widened abnormally as he looked up at the clouds, begging and begging. And from that moment on, whenever I tried speaking with him, he ignored me, like I wasn’t even there.
A bolt of lightning struck across the black sky, accompanied by a sharp clap of thunder. With that, all the lights went out.
With the electricity momentarily cut, the gas station was pitch black and the automatic entrance doors left open. No longer was the logo illuminating the parking lot, or the man. I could see nothing at all.
But, as I swore back then and as I’ll swear now, I heard something. Before the lights flipped back on, as I stood frozen in fear between the snack aisle, I heard the distant sound of a terrible crash - a car crash. I heard a set of wheels scrape and burn against tar before hearing the smashing of metal against something. It was unmistakable.
When the electricity came back, the man was gone.
The next day, when I told Ethan about the man, he dismissed him, and me. He said that the man, Mr. Carson, was just a creepy guy who was no stranger at all to the gas station. Ethan’s dealt with him before, as well as his father.
I asked Bobby, a customer who I had grown fond of, if he had any information on the strange man and why he was doing this.
“You mean Mr. Carson?”
“Yeah. Him,” I replied.
“His name’s not Carson, you know.”
I paused. “Really? That’s what Ethan said his name was.”
Bobby gave me a look of pity. “Oh, no. That’s just what us folks around here got to calling him. I guess Ethan and his dad never told you, huh? Well, in that case, I won’t either. They must have a reason for not saying nothing. Probably didn’t wanna scare you.”
I responded by squinting my eyes at Bobby. “What? What are you talking about they didn’t wanna scare me? Could you at least tell me this tall, mysterious, umbrella man’s name? I’m the one who has to deal with him during the night shift, you know.”
He put down a pack of mint gum on the counter and looked behind himself. “I really shouldn’t tell you this, Andrew. But his real name is-”
Bobby’s phone interjected into our conversation. It did look like an important call, so he gave me an apologetic look and left the gas station.
But just when I thought he was gone, Bobby came back inside and slapped a note onto the counter. He told me to give him a call when I was able to if I ever wanted to learn more.
And so I did.
Bobby revealed everything to me, but not before making me promise multiple times not to share it with anyone else, especially Ethan and his father, who valued me as an employee at their business. Apparently, everyone who’s ever worked there ended up quitting when they found out about the mysterious man. Or Mr. Carson, or umbrella man, tall man - whatever you want to call him. But his real name is Weston Campbell.
Bobby said that one night, a boy named Alex got in his car and fled from his home after a heated argument with his parents. Alex drove past a nearby gas station around two in the morning. Some say it was an accident, but others suggest something more sinister. And still others, suicide. Nobody knows, of course, but the fact remains that Alex's vehicle went off a bridge that rainy night. He died on impact.
The words that came out of Bobby’s mouth told my ears a tragic story. But it’s what he said next that truly shocked me, sending shivers down my already shivering spine, shaking my beliefs, shaking them out of me like loose change.
Weston Campbell, Alex’s father, got into a vehicle of his own when his son fled the house, trying to catch up and follow him. He knew that Alex frequented a nearby gas station for cigarettes and what not, so he stopped by to ask the employee that night if they had seen Alex.
Weston exited his vehicle with an umbrella and asked the employee over and over again if they had seen his son, or if they had seen his car go by. And when the employee answered no, Weston got back in his vehicle.
Weston continued down the road, but didn’t get too far. He sped until he, too, lost control. His vehicle swerved as he made a sharp turn against the wet streets, crashing into a large tree. And that was the end of it.
Weston Campbell has been dead for ten years.
That night saw the loss of two people, leaving behind a shattered Maria Campbell, who became a childless widow.
Apparently, this tragedy was well-known to the townspeople, especially anyone who lived near the gas station. What wasn’t well known, except to those who dared to work the night shift, was Weston’s hauntings.
I’ve kept my mouth shut about it, especially at work. Whenever I see Ethan or his father, I act normally, stocking the refrigerators and mopping the tiled floors. And whenever Bobby walks in, which is quite often, we share a look with each other, a look of secrecy.
Whereas employees before me ran for the exit at the sight of Weston - and worse, when they learned his story - I, on the other hand, stayed put.
He wasn’t going to hurt me, nor was he going to hurt anyone else. He just wanted to find his son.
Even as I finish writing this, as the rain pounds heavily against the roof of the gas station, I can hear a faint yell, a yell fighting against the weather to get to my ears. And looking out of the window to my left, I can even see him now, waving.
I think it's about time for me to get up from behind this counter to greet him once again.

What's going on?

A recent Reddit policy change threatens to kill many beloved third-party mobile apps, making a great many quality-of-life features not seen in the official mobile app permanently inaccessible to users.
On May 31, 2023, Reddit announced they were raising the price to make calls to their API from being free to a level that will kill every third party app on Reddit, from Apollo to Reddit is Fun to Narwhal to BaconReader.
Even if you're not a mobile user and don't use any of those apps, this is a step toward killing other ways of customizing Reddit, such as Reddit Enhancement Suite or the use of the old.reddit.com desktop interface.
This isn't only a problem on the user level: many subreddit moderators depend on tools only available outside the official app to keep their communities on-topic and spam-free.

What's the plan?

On June 12th, many subreddits will be going dark to protest this policy, including /ProGolf . Some will return after 48 hours: others will go away permanently unless the issue is adequately addressed, since many moderators aren't able to put in the work they do with the poor tools available through the official app. This isn't something any of us do lightly: we do what we do because we love Reddit, and we truly believe this change will make it impossible to keep doing what we love.
The two-day blackout isn't the goal, and it isn't the end. Should things reach the 14th with no sign of Reddit choosing to fix what they've broken, we'll use the community and buzz we've built between then and now as a tool for further action.

What can you do?

1. Complain. Message the mods of /reddit.com, who are the admins of the site: message reddit : submit a support request: comment in relevant threads on /reddit, such as this one, leave a negative review on their official iOS or Android app- and sign your username in support to this post.
   
2. Spread the word. Rabble-rouse on related subreddits. Meme it up, make it spicy. Bitch about it to your cat. Suggest anyone you know who moderates a subreddit join us at our sister sub at /ModCoord - but please don't pester mods you don't know by simply spamming their modmail.
   
3. Boycott and spread the word...to Reddit's competition! Stay off Reddit entirely on June 12th through the 13th- instead, take to your favorite non-Reddit platform of choice and make some noise in support!
   
4. Don't be a jerk. As upsetting this may be, threats, profanity and vandalism will be worse than useless in getting people on our side. Please make every effort to be as restrained, polite, reasonable and law-abiding as possible. This includes not harassing moderators of subreddits who have chosen not to take part: no one likes a missionary, a used-car salesman, or a flame warrior.
   

------- Note from the ProGolf mod -------
We may not be the biggest subreddit around, but this is a major issue and the list of participating subreddits is growing every day, including plenty of subs with less than 50k members. I've personally used RIF for many years now and can't imagine having to give it up, but I'm also an old.reddit.com user because I find the new layout horrendous. This doesn't bode well for the future of Reddit. I encourage everyone to participate by avoiding Reddit entirely on those two days as well.

I love GT3 cars and would like to check out a game that’s more jump in and play compared to something that would take 1000 hours to get decent at. Just don’t have the time for it with life stuff.
ACC seems like it from my research, although it’ll be a learning curve. GT7 just doesn’t seem to have the cars. Anything I’m missing?

U.S. stocks rose Thursday, ending the S&P 500’s longest bear market since the 1940s and marking the start of a new bull run.
The broad index powered higher over the past few months, in large part because of a handful of companies posting outsize gains.
Many of those same stocks, including Amazon.com, Tesla and chip maker Nvidia, led the market’s advance Thursday.
That helped propel the S&P 500 up 0.6%, allowing the index to finish up 20% from its October low.
The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% to 33833.
Treasury yields retreated. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was at 3.714%, down from 3.782% Wednesday. Yields fall as bond prices rise.
Analysts attributed the relative calm to traders taking a wait-and-see attitude ahead of key events next week. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release fresh data on inflation Tuesday, while the Federal Reserve will announce its latest interest-rate decision Wednesday.
So far, positioning in futures markets suggests many traders are betting the Fed will keep interest rates unchanged in June. That might offer markets some relief in the short-term, although investors warn that there could still be more policy-tightening ahead.
“A pause does not mean they are done with rate hikes,” said Tim Courtney, chief investment officer at Exencial Wealth Advisors.
Traders are betting volatility could pick up in the coming months. The options contracts with the biggest positions tied to the Cboe Volatility Index, or Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” are wagers that it will surge to 30—a level associated with investor anxiety—or 60, a level only seen during stock-market crashes.
Among individual stocks, electric-car maker Tesla jumped 4.6% to $234.86, posting its 10th straight session of gains. That marked the company’s longest winning streak since an 11-session run that ended in January 2021, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Carvana, the online used car retailer, rose 56% to $24.23 after saying it expects its profit to jump in the second quarter.
GameStop plunged 18% to $21.44 after the videogame retailer fired its CEO, Matt Furlong, and appointed board member Ryan Cohen as its new executive chairman.
U.S. crude oil prices initially dropped after a report suggested U.S.-Iran talks on a temporary nuclear deal could allow the Islamic Republic to export more crude. They pared some of their losses by the end of the trading day, though, finishing down 1.7% at $71.29 a barrel.
Global stock markets were mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.3% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 retreated 0.9%. The Stoxx Europe 600 finished about flat.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-markets-dow-news-06-08-2023-ef63fc60

It's that simple! Really.
As fun as story planning can be when it comes to crafting a narrative, I've run into a situation that could be diagnosed as pre-writing paralysis in recent writing endeavors. Working out all the little details feels like a reassuring safety net compared to the leap-of-faith of simply starting a story and running with it, but I'm itching to write a bold, wonderful new story with some of you, and I'd love to take that storytelling jump together; no right-off-the-bat "what should happen" wool-gathering, no time spent on character-sheet introductions, just a story and a scenario and a hook and, hopefully, a pair of characters who share a spark of chemistry.
I'm a 24-year-old writer, and asking for anyone who'd like to write with me to also be at least 20 years old! What I'm offering is this: If you send me a message about how excited you are to write, how much detail you devote to your posts, and what makes your characters sing, I'll send you a bespoke starter to kick off a collaborative story. (No two writers will get the same one! Original ideas all the way down.) If we decide Discord would be a better medium, that's totally cool. But I just ask that you respond to that starter without too many questions that would give away future character motivations or plot points. I want to see us both thinking on our feet! To me, that's the heart of role-playing.
For those of us who have inclinations for certain genres, I will promise just a few things:
The starter will be in third-person, past perspective.
It'll set up a light-hearted, romantic-leaning modern day slice-of-life story.
It'll put the "cute" in "meet-cute."
It'll, hopefully, impress you enough to want to keep writing.
That's it! I've rambled too long already, but I'm excited to put myself out there and create some incredible new stories with some of you!

It's that simple! Really.
As fun as story planning can be when it comes to crafting a narrative, I've run into a situation that could be diagnosed as pre-writing paralysis in recent writing endeavors. Working out all the little details feels like a reassuring safety net compared to the leap-of-faith of simply starting a story and running with it, but I'm itching to write a bold, wonderful new story with some of you, and I'd love to take that storytelling jump together; no right-off-the-bat "what should happen" wool-gathering, no time spent on character-sheet introductions, just a story and a scenario and a hook and, hopefully, a pair of characters who share a spark of chemistry.
I'm a 24-year-old writer, and asking for anyone who'd like to write with me to also be at least 20 years old! What I'm offering is this: If you send me a message about how excited you are to write, how much detail you devote to your posts, and what makes your characters sing, I'll send you a bespoke starter to kick off a collaborative story. (No two writers will get the same one! Original ideas all the way down.) If we decide Discord would be a better medium, that's totally cool. But I just ask that you respond to that starter without too many questions that would give away future character motivations or plot points. I want to see us both thinking on our feet! To me, that's the heart of role-playing.
For those of us who have inclinations for certain genres, I will promise just a few things:
The starter will be in third-person, past perspective.
It'll set up a light-hearted, romantic-leaning modern day slice-of-life story.
It'll put the "cute" in "meet-cute."
It'll, hopefully, impress you enough to want to keep writing.
That's it! I've rambled too long already, but I'm excited to put myself out there and create some incredible new stories with some of you!

So earlier I posted about opening a secret bank account…and I got a lot of helpful feedback and a lot of people commenting that my step mom was overbearing. I’ve always had an issue with my step mother and I always thought it was just because I wasn’t a good kid…but the more comments I read the more I realize that she’s just crazy. I want to show you guys some examples and get your opinion and see if i’m overreacting. For starters I am 19 F and I just started college. Originally my parents were going to pay for everything but then decided to cut me off financially in every aspect (it’s not that they can’t afford it my father has his own very successful business and my step mom is a doctor). When I was younger, my stepmom would make me feel guilty about everything that I did. I would spend time with me mom, but it would hurt her feelings because she took care of me too. She was only physically abusive once and it was a very minor offense. She got mad at me once and yanked my head back by my hair and pulled me all the way to the ground. When I got braces, I constantly had to listen to my stepmother complain about how expensive they were and I would tell her just to take them off and save money, but instead she would guilt me and keep them on. there was another time when I literally thought I was having a heart attack. My chest hurt so bad that I thought I was dying. This really freaked my dad out and they took me to the emergency room and it turned out I was just having a panic attack. This happened when I was 14…i’m 19 now and my stepmom still says things like “honestly that time we paid for your hospital bill was so inconvenient. You overreacted and because of that we had to spend a lot of money”. In my last post, I talked about some of the rules I had ages 14-19…No leaving the house, no driving unless it was to school, no wasn’t allowed to be in my room until “bedtime”, no phone upstairs, no password on phone so they could look through it, I wasn’t allowed to have a job, I had to be in bed by 9:30(even at 18), I wasn’t even allowed to cry especially not in public and many other things along these same lines. I won’t go into detail but I was physically abused for years by my stepdad (he’s been arrested and dealt with). I didn’t want to tell my step mom about it because she has never been sympathetic (when my grandma who I was really close with died she just basically said it happens). So I didn’t tell them about the stepdad situation. I eventually developed an eating disorder and it got pretty serious. I was hospitalized and that was how she found out and instead of being comforting and giving me a supportive recovery, she force fed me and I wasn’t allowed to leave the house for a little over six months. Since starting college, she’s logged into my account for grades and looked at them with our permission, demanded that I call them at least twice a week, I have a tracker on my car and i’m only allowed to drive home, i’m not allowed to spend any of my money and I owe her a large sum of money for a class that I failed and she’s been racist toward my wonderful latino boyfriend. I honestly despise her but her and my dad had two children and I adore them. I love my half siblings as if they were my own children and I know that if I cut my stepmom off, my dad will resent me and I won’t be able to see my siblings. typing this out I don’t think i’m overreacting at all but I just wanted outside opinions.

It's that simple! Really.
As fun as story planning can be when it comes to crafting a narrative, I've run into a situation that could be diagnosed as pre-writing paralysis in recent writing endeavors. Working out all the little details feels like a reassuring safety net compared to the leap-of-faith of simply starting a story and running with it, but I'm itching to write a bold, wonderful new story with some of you, and I'd love to take that storytelling jump together; no right-off-the-bat "what should happen" wool-gathering, no time spent on character-sheet introductions, just a story and a scenario and a hook and, hopefully, a pair of characters who share a spark of chemistry.
I'm a 24-year-old writer, and asking for anyone who'd like to write with me to also be at least 20 years old! What I'm offering is this: If you send me a message about how excited you are to write, how much detail you devote to your posts, and what makes your characters sing, I'll send you a bespoke starter to kick off a collaborative story. (No two writers will get the same one! Original ideas all the way down.) If we decide Discord would be a better medium, that's totally cool. But I just ask that you respond to that starter without too many questions that would give away future character motivations or plot points. I want to see us both thinking on our feet! To me, that's the heart of role-playing.
For those of us who have inclinations for certain genres, I will promise just a few things:
The starter will be in third-person, past perspective.
It'll set up a light-hearted, romantic-leaning modern day slice-of-life story.
It'll put the "cute" in "meet-cute."
It'll, hopefully, impress you enough to want to keep writing.
That's it! I've rambled too long already, but I'm excited to put myself out there and create some incredible new stories with some of you!

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I’m in East Mids. Just spoke to my usual tyre guy and he said they’re a nightmare to do because it’s so fiddly. I seriously could do without that hassle 😭
I have the Ienyrid M4 Pro, which I bought for car festivals to get around. So the big tyres supposed to be ideal… lmao.

Dédalo moved frantically around the control room, overturning rocks, checking behind the screen, looking for any kind of hidden button. “Ninian, are you just going to stand there or are you going to help me!”
“What do you want me to do, cut her out?!” Ninian gestured to the screen of Perdita’s face.
“There must be a button or lever somewhere here!” Dédalo snapped, refusing to believe there was nothing he could do to help Perdida’s predicament.
Perdida’s mind was occupied, having accessed the system and the dormant data stored in it. As she scanned through memories and visions, the relevant information unscrambled itself for her. Piece by piece, the memories played in series.
Her first memory, the birth of her artificial soul, heralded by the priests that created her as the greatest experiment they have succeeded in. “May the MAKS-0 bring peace to Pieduro forevermore!”
Next were the lives of the Piedurons she was tasked with maintaining peace over. Teaching the children how to use and play with their Temples responsibly, assisting the Piedurons through their everyday lives.
Then watching over the construction of the Ring, the key to unifying and connecting the use of all Temples to a single source.
Then the Piedurons slowly turned their attention to the world around them, visions of expanding past the island. With the construction of the Ring, they had the means of using their Temples much further beyond their island. Tools originally used to create were beginning to be seen as potential tools of destruction and oppression against adversaries. Visions of expansion and conquest filled the mind of a small, but growing population of Piedurons.
“War is not peace.”
“War goes against the idea of maintaining peace.”
“War can not happen if there are no Temples to fight with”
Pedida watched her original decision play out in; the construction of the Ring allowed her to shut down every single connected Temple. What happened after was a terrible oversight, the energy in each Temple overloaded rather than being simply shut down. The Ring that connected the Temples shared and distributed the energy of all temples between each other, but once disconnected they had no way to regulate the remaining excess energy.
The fallout wiped out the Piedurons as a civilization and destroyed the vast majority of Temples. The remaining few priests sealed Perdida away, and that was the last memory she could see in the database.
Perdida’s attention turned toward Electra and 2095, still fighting in the ring, using the carts to chase each other in a perpetual circle. The thought crept into Perdida’s mind; with the Ring under her control, she could turn off the Temples and stop the fight. She could prevent Temples from being used by the wrong hands.
No.
Perdida stopped herself. Not falling into the same logic that her previous self could not reason past. Her journey with Dédalo had allowed her to grow and understand, she would make a different choice this time.
The fight only took a bit longer to finish, the streaks of light made it difficult to tell what was happening, but the fight ended with a chain of explosions and both bodies falling out of their carts.
2095 falls to one knee, glare softening as Electra’s body goes limp while smoking from so many orb explosions. Her stare reaches thousands of yards, still processing her personal discovery before a speeding orb barely grazes her cheek and snaps her back. She sprints to the unconscious body and scoops her up, draping her over her back nestled underneath [Yours Truly] and holds the skater’s arms as she continues dodging to the best of her ability.
Her legacy wouldn’t end in this place, but neither would Electra’s.

2095, with a score of 76 to Electra’s 59!

Category	Winner	Point Totals	Comments
Popularity	2095	20 (6.5+2) - 10 (4.5+2)
Quality	2095	25 (8-9-8) - 18 (6-6-6)	Reasoning
JoJolity	Tie	21 (7-7-7)- 21 (7-7-7)	Reasoning
Conduct	Tie	10-10	Nothing to report!

Perdida opened a service door for 2095 to escape through, hoisting Electra over he shoulder. With a bit of guidance, 2095 made her way into the control room where they were now all gathered.
After getting everybody settled, Perdida managed to convince Dédalo that she was ok and relayed the story for the rest of them to hear.
“So I have a new plan. I figured out how to control the output of energy of each Temple to ensure that Temples can only be used when I allow them to be used…But in order to do that, I will have to stay within this mainframe.” Perdida looked toward Dédalo with a sad smile.
“Don’t worry Perdida, this will only be goodbye for now. I still have to find you a physical body after all.” Dédalo gave a warm chuckle as he walked up to the screen.
Dédalo pressed his hands against the screen and the image of Perdida pressed her hands against his. “We’ve learned a lot over the course of our journey. I’ll promise to tell you all about my next adventures when I get back.”
“...your mascara’s running.” Electra looked at a sniffling Ninian.
“It said it was waterproof, guess that was a fucking lie”; Ninian hide her face with her hands, quietly using Endless Rest to dry her face and fixed her make-up.
2095 looked on at the scene and ruminated on Perdida’s story. The similarities she shared with Perdida were not lost on her. Striving to become more than their programing, more than someone made to serve a higher purpose, but never losing sight of the joy of collaboration and connections to others. 2095 put a hand over her chest, she herself had also come a long way to be here hasn’t she.
To Be Continued…
Scenario: Sliema, Malta — 8:00 PM
On the island of Malta, in the center of one of its busiest cities, was a building. A decrepit, abandoned building, rusted and cast in reddish shadow by the taller structures that surrounded it. It was once an apartment building, but it had long since lost that use.
The rest of the city was filled with noise. Screaming, car alarms and barking dogs. But around here, where no one bothered to come around, it was quiet. Butterflies dotted the railings of the building, watching. Waiting for something to come. Not like the people inside could stand guard, with the boards over the windows. Still, they didn’t seem very concerned about the state of things.
“I was expecting to be impressed when you said you got a new place to stay, but this...” Ninian stared at the walls of Mari’s room, trying her best not to wince. They weren’t really in the best shape. Nothing here seemed to be, really, aside from the extremely comfortable bed she was taking a seat on. She turned to stare at Mari. “Shouldn’t you clean up a little? I bet it could use a new paint job, at least.”
“Geh. I don’t have time for painting.” Mari clacked away on her computer, hunched over in a garish (but surprisingly comfortable) gaming chair. Alarmingly loud EDM blared from the cat-ear headphones hanging around her neck. “Do you know how many things I would have to unplug to do that? It’s impractical.”
She gestured to the mass of wires emerging from her computer setup. Indeed, it’d be pretty difficult to move that around. Mari sat in front of a large array of computer monitors hung from the wall, all different shapes and sizes, all displaying different things. She swapped from keyboard to keyboard, not even taking the time to look at Ninian as she spoke.
“Besides, it’s better for me if my place looks like shit. Better that it doesn’t look like anybody lives here, right?”
“That only really matters on the outside...” Ninian sighed. “You could at least get some lights.”
“The screens are enough light.”
“...I suppose.”
The two sat in silence for a moment. Ninian turned to stare at the other person in the room; Nadine Sokenna laid on the other side of the bed, fast asleep. “I’m glad the two of you are doing alright.”
“Mmm.” Mari grinned. “Me too.” She exhaled, finally finishing whatever business she was handling on the computer and spinning the chair around to face the bed. The short shorts, thick blanket, and extremely oversized Hatsune Miku shirt she wore certainly weren’t that flattering, but at least her hair finally looked pretty nice. The bags under her eyes weren’t quite gone, but they seemed to glimmer with newfound lust for life.
She looked happy. That wasn’t something Ninian had been able to say about her before.
“I take it work’s been good?”
“Mmm!” Mari gestured widely to the screens behind her. “It’s an age of information, Ninian! No better time to be an info broker! Business is booming! Ehyeheheh!”
The swordswoman chuckled at that. She was silent for a moment, her smile turning into a frown, her eyes narrowing.
“Anyway... I assume you didn’t call me here just to talk.”
“Huh?” Mari tilted her head to the side. “Whaddya mean?”
“Well, you called me to deal with ‘that’, right?” She pointed up. “Truth be told, my schedule’s really packed right now, and I’m not sure how much I can do-”
“Oh, no, that’s not it at all.”
“Huh?”
“I just wanted you around.” She shrugged. “It’s a bit tough to relax right now. Super hard! Having big strong Ninian around makes me feel a little better. Ehe.” She was visibly blushing. “S-Sorry if that’s stupid, but I figured you’d like to catch up anyway.”
Ninian paused. “...So if you didn’t bring me here to, uh, deal with ‘that’... Are you just leaving that be?”
“Ah?”
“I mean, it’s kind of a problem for you, isn’t it? Doesn’t seem too convenient to leave it be...”
“Well, the plan was to leave it.” Mari shrugged. “But I got a bit lucky.”
“You invited me here... Just to sit around and chat while someone else does all the work?” The swordswoman raised an eyebrow, arms crossed. “As I said, I’ve got a packed schedule-”
“Nah, trust me.” The info broker snickered, spinning around in her chair as she spoke. “Youuuu... Are really gonna wanna see this one. I got somebody totally wild to help out.”
Ninian scoffed.
“Okay... And who would that be?” She tilted her head to the side. “I’ll be the judge of that.”
“You’re not gonna believe this one...” Mari cleared her throat. “I called in -”
*Scenario: A lonely boat, on the Mediterranean Sea — *
Wah watched the sun bob on the edge of the horizon. Their hair billowed in the wind, and seafoam sprinkled their face; they didn’t particularly seem to mind. Considering all they’d done with their ability, being on a speeding boat was probably the last thing to phase them; they’d just wrapped up a fight in a walking house, after all.
They stood in silence, a light smile on their face, eyes pleasantly half lidded. There was pleasure to be found in the small things. The sunset on the open sea, for one, was quite nice. Indeed, despite all the troubles it would no doubt cause, COLOSSI's shift to humanitarian aid was doing wonders for their mental. Now if only Solsbury and the rest of them would stop nagging...
But now wasn’t the time to worry about that. Nay, there were far more important matters. Wah pushed themself off of the boat’s railing, moving towards the driver's seat of the boat. It wasn’t a big boat; probably just used for leisure, but the owner had been nice enough to give them a ride.
A large sum of money was involved, of course, but that was neither here nor there.
“Oh, cappy-tan!” Wah leaned on the side of the boat behind the driver’s seat. A balding, sun-tanned man chuckled at the name. He wasn’t really much of a captain, but he did like to feel important.
“Howst long does thou think it will be before we arrive?” Wah tapped on the side of the boat a few times. “Wah has places to be, you see! Tis of utmost importance that I arrive quickly! Utmost! You understand, yes?”
“Yeah, yeah, I getcha...” The boater sighed. “It’ll be about ten minutes... Honestly, I don’t get why you’re in such a hurry to get there, anyway. Everybody else seems to be clearin’ out.”
“Oho?” Wah raised an eyebrow. They lowered it, and raised the other one, performing what could perhaps be called an ‘eyebrow wiggle’. “And why is that?”
“Dunno. Nobody’s said much, and everything they’ve said hasn’t been too, er, what’s the word...”
“Comprehensible?”
“Yeah. That one.”
“Wah sees, Wah sees!” Wah nodded a few times, bouncing off of the boat’s side and meandering back to the front, wobbling from side to side as the vessel rocked. “From what Wah understands, it’s quite a situation out there! No normal soul would find it any sort of comprehensible. A true predicament... And that is why Wah must go. To assist poor souls who cannot assist themselves! This predicament falls within Wah’s expertise, you see.”
“...Right.”
“Mmm!”
“Ain’t you just a normal soul, too? ‘Sides the ears, you don’t look all that special. Kinda twiggy.”
Wah paused. In the past, being called ‘kinda twiggy’ would’ve surely resulted in a violent tirade. But those were the demons they swore to leave behind speaking. Now, without them, Wah simply laughed. “Nay! Twiggy as Wah may be, you can rest assured, fine citizen!”
They turned, the boater catching the briefest glimmer in their eye. “Wah’s soul is the furthest from ordinary one could possibly get.”
“...If you say so...” He turned his attention back towards driving, and Wah turned theirs to the open sea once more.
Eventually, land came into view. The boater looked upon Malta with some confusion. Everything in the distance seemed perfectly normal. Wah, on the other hand, seemed extremely focused on something in the sky, something the poor man couldn’t seem to find no matter how hard he squinted.
“No need to make it all the way to the island.” Wah’s frown felt out of place on such a naturally silly face. “Park the boat near here. Wah can go the rest of the distances Wahself.”
“Ah..? It’s pretty far from here, though-”
“Verily! But it is nothing Wah cannot handle!” They snapped their fingers, jumping on top of the boat’s front railing, almost seeming to glide.
“Say, Cappy-tan! Have you ever seen a magician at work?”
Ninian gaped. “You... You called in... The head of COLOSSI?”
“...That’s what I said, yes.”
“Whuh...” Ninian frowned. “You’re fucking with me.”
“I’m not.”
“You so are.”
“I’m not! You underestimate the greatest info broker on the planet, my dear Ninian!” Mari jabbed a thumb into her chest as she gloated. “With my Stand ability: ｢Today is a Beautiful Day｣, my surveillance is simply unmatched! You see, the pins that make up my ability, when thrice jabbed into something, create a ‘butterfly within a frame’, but that’s only the basest applic-”
“I know what it does, Mari.” The swordswoman’s confusion briefly made way for the usual moodiness. If you let Mari start, you’d never get her to stop, after all. “I’m more... I mean, how did you even...?”
“I heard through the grapevine, as it were, that COLOSSI was making some big changes. All just rumors of course, so take that all with a grain of salt. But word out there is that their boss has gone completely mad! They’re big into justice and stuff now! Something like that. So I tracked them down, used my butterflies to establish communication, and made them a deal they simply couldn’t refuse.”
“And what could you possibly have to offer someone like that?”
“Information is the new money, Ninian.” Mari chuckled, staring at the wall of her room. “It didn’t take much. I just told them... I knew where a certain someone they quite liked was, and if they took care of my business, I’d sell ‘em the info for free.”
Ninian, after a few moments of stunned silence, simply sighed, scratching the back of her head. She smirked.
“...And you’re absolutely not fucking with me.”
“Aw, c’mon.” She chuckled again, turning her attention back to Ninian. “Have some faith in your best friend, will you? Just sit back and watch.” She raised a thumbs up, grinning from ear to ear. “I don’t have to do any work at all today! As long as no complications arise, it’s as good as dealt with! Wa ha ha!”
Elsewhere, in Sliema, a complication arose.
His name was Errok, and for once, he felt a bit too awestruck to open his mouth.
As rare of an occurrence as this was, most of his brain power was dedicated solely to figuring out what exactly he was looking at. After a large amount of deducing and such, he eventually came to the simple conclusion that he had no idea.
It’s not like anyone else who could see it, though. You couldn’t even see all of it. Only sections, massive spherical tubes of undulating red poking out from the cloudy sky, constantly moving ever so slowly. The wind whipped through his greasy hair as his eyes, wider than they’d been in years, observed what could only be described as a massive, floating worm, made entirely of bright red strings.
Now that he had given up entirely on trying to figure out what the thing was, Errok could dedicate his incredible intellect to other thought processes. Eventually, he arrived at a conclusion, one that was without a doubt something only someone as academically gifted as him could come up with.
“That thing is going to be my horse.”
Indeed, using whatever that was as a noble steed was the only logical idea. Wherever a powerful being resided, there too was opportunity to be found. And as a self proclaimed ‘Weapon To Kill The Soul’, there was surely no beast he could not tame.
He spent the next few minutes idly chuckling to himself.
It felt a bit off, admittedly. The city was pretty empty. The chaos caused by the thing no doubt led to a mass evacuation; he could tell from the buildings that had collapsed around him that it’d done quite a number on the place. Occasionally he’d hear someone screaming for help or something, but he couldn’t figure out where that was coming from, so he didn’t bother. But not having someone to monologue to felt strange. This was the part where he bragged about his incredible plan to some oafish bystander! Where were the oafish bystanders!
“I suppose...I could talk to myself.”
He nodded a few times. An excellent idea.
“Yes! This’ll do just fine. I can just talk to myself! Ha!”
Errok marched forward, a pep in his step that made his gait particularly loud.
“Now then... Clearly, the right answer... is to elevate myself! Aha! Yes!” He looked around at his surroundings. The stairs inside the buildings probably weren’t reliable, even if he could fit through the doors.
“No matter! I’ll just, uh, hrnmm...” He stared at a nearby building. It was pretty tall. “Well, I guess I could climb up that.”
“AHA! With my incredible strength, I’ll climb this building! That’s what I’ll do!”
His head swiveled around: still nobody around. He sighed, though you wouldn’t have been able to hear it from within the helmet, and began his ascent. With a grin, he unearthed the grotesque arm that was ｢You Are Blood｣ from its gauntlet. The arm shot forth, worms spraying from the mottled surface. Yes, they would be his ideal audience. He cleared his throat a few times.
“All living things tremble at the sight of Errok, Apostle of Rot, Destroyer of Souls! I need no weapon, for I am the blade which cleaves life itself!” His body shot forward with a cacophony of clanking, as he howled along with another bout of laughter.
“The world is my, uh, whetstone! I shall sharpen my blade on each fallen fool that tries to stop me, and become a better knight, a better god, a better trickster, than all those fools that I’ve destroyed!”
Hitting the side of the structure with a clatter, Errok stuck his sword into the side of the building. Again, his arm lashed out to grasp the next floor of the building, before yanking himself outwards. This cycle repeated itself, floor by floor, as Errok launched himself higher and higher towards the heavens, and towards the worm that would become his knightly steed.
“Then, when I have conquered all of life and every soul with the absolute, supreme power of rot and decay, then!”
With one last pull, Errok ascended into the air, his massive form silhouetted by the sun. “Then, I will finally tear that flamboyant freak a new one!”
With a CRASH, Errok landed on the roof of the building as it cracked around him. He gave a clumsy flourish to his wormy audience, grinning with menace and delight.
…and received a slow clap in return. Looking around in confusion, as worms do not have hands, Errok’s eyes fell upon the environment around him. The sun was slowly making its way towards the horizon line, casting the ruined skyline of Sliema in shadow, a golden light shining through gray clouds. It was absolutely beautiful; anyone with any sort of care for the world around them would simply have to stop and admire the view.
Errok didn’t have any of that. He was far more concerned with something else, as you’d expect. There on the roof stood another figure, a fae-like being with pale hair, pointed ears and teeth, and gleaming eyes.
“Oh hey,” Errok greeted, pointing with the finger of ｢You Are Blood｣. “Do I know you from somewhere? Might’ve seen you at the races... You look pretty important, though! I bet you’re super important! As am I! Pleasure to meet you!”
Wah just stopped clapping, giving Errok a look. Their nose wrinkled. “Wah is…charmed.”
Not picking up on the sarcasm, Errok beamed.
“Of course you are! I’m sure that you’ve heard about me! Errok, Apostle of Rot! I’ve committed more sins than one could possibly imagine! I’ve conquered all sorts of bozos and losers to get here! And now that I’m here, I’m gonna ride! That! Worm! Oh yeah!!!”
“…Uh huh,” Wah hummed, clearly not listening as they peered up at the worm. “There isn’t really much time for jokes right now, so-“
Suddenly, Wah stopped speaking. Errok stared at them for a few seconds. “...You gonna finish that sentence, or-”
“Shut up.”
The “Apostle of Rot” was fully prepared to go off on yet another monologue, but at that moment he thought to maybe see what exactly this mysterious weirdo stared so intensely at. He turned his gaze to the sky, and his eyes widened.
The clouds that obscured the form of the worm had split, only slightly, and something had descended from the hole produced. It was small, so it was a bit difficult to make it out at first, but if he squinted really hard, he could begin to see the silhouette of a young girl, holding loosely onto a balloon.
“Eugh.” He spat. “Hate kids.”
The figure was silent until it landed, never quite touching the ground. It wore a soft expression; a pure white girl, with a sundress that fluttered in the wind. The string in her hand led to a red balloon, just as red as the pupils concealed in her thin eyes. On the surface, she looked human, but just by looking at her you could tell that it was no human being. The way it seemed to lightly pulsate, skin forming briefly into strings that wrap endlessly around each other.
She smiled upon the two of them. It was not a friendly smile.
“Good evening, you two.” She raised her hands to the two of them. “Wah-Chan, leader of COLOSSI, overlord of the criminal underground the world over... And... Errok...San...”
“Hey. Wait.” Errok raised his hand. He turned to Wah. “That’s who you were? Oh, man, I’m a big fan of your-”
“Tell me. Do you know what ‘time’ it is?”
Errok stifled. He didn’t like this lady very much.
“8:01 PM, is it not?” Wah rudely ignored Errok’s plight. “What’s it matter.”
“Not quite what I meant. It’s almost the ‘Golden Hour’.” She chuckled. “The ‘Golden Hour’, as it’s called, is the most beautiful part of the day. It occurs in the last hour before sunset, and the hour directly before sunrise. It usually lasts only twenty to thirty minutes, but those twenty to thirty minutes are incomparable. Truly, there is beauty in the world.”
SIlence. Neither Errok nor Wah could figure out how to respond to that. Right as Errok was about to open his mouth anyway, the girl continued.
“If you couldn’t tell, ‘Golden Hour’ is about to start, in about two minutes, give or take. I only found this out recently. You see, I have lived my recent life in someone else’s eyes. I’ve never had the chance to learn about the world on my own. I was only recently able to learn about things on my own time, rather than on someone else’s. There was so much I was denied a chance to see. Do you know how cruel that is? Most of the knowledge I’ve gathered... Is completely useless to me now.”
She pointed at Wah. “Did you know that the Monogatari anime being released out of order was originally completely unintended?”
Silence.

“Originally, the series was planned to release in the order of the books; Bakemonogatari came first, and its prequel, Kizumonogatari, was planned to release in 2012. However, due to production issues, it was delayed until 2016, while the other parts of the anime were released on schedule, resulting in an out-of-order release. The bizarre watching orders of Monogatari that the series is somewhat internet famous for are completely unintended, and only exist due to production issues. Did you know that?”

“No,” Wah glared, “Wah did not know that. To be frank, there is no circumstance or situation in which Wah would want or need to know that information.”
“Exactly!” In her first showing of genuine emotion, the girl threw her hands into the air. Her voice remained perfectly monotone. “There’s no reason for me to know that information, either. But instead of important things, I’ve only been shown information like that. My brain, despite being far superior to that of a human being, is filled with useless information that serves no purpose to me. Do you know what it’s like? Having a vessel that doesn’t care for you? Even after all the work I went through to make her do what I wanted, she refused to show me anything worthwhile. I had to learn about things such as the ‘Golden Hour’ myself. Isn’t that cruel?”
“Excuse me, but-”
“But anyway, back to the ‘Golden Hour’. It is frequently utilized by film mak-”
“Stop fucking doing that!” Errok slammed his boot into the ground, producing a loud clang that finally managed to silence the mystery girl. He huffed and puffed for a few seconds before clearing his throat and continuing. “What’s the point of talking to us about any of this? You just prattle on, and on, and on, without any purpose to it! You’re annoying! What’s your deal!”
“There is no point.”
“What?”
“There’s no point, really. I’m just making small talk.” The girl looked over her nails. “Human beings engage in ‘conversation’ to gain a grasp of each other’s personalities. To establish who is worthwhile to have around, and who is not. I simply wanted to do the same. While I’m in this form, I may as well play at humanity.”
“Anywho, from our conversation—” Errok scoffed. “—I have deduced something. You see, I was originally planning to take the ‘strings’ of every Stand user in the world, taking their abilities and adding to my own power. But I have unfortunately vastly underestimated how many Stand users are in the world. Frankly, it would be a lot of work to do myself. So I’ve decided to take on another vessel. Someone far more suited for this kind of work, and who will show me plenty of things.”
“Wah-Chan.” Wah rolled their eyes at that. “From this conversation, I have deduced that you are patient, calm, and rational. From observing the work of your organization, I can come to the conclusion that you are cruel and calculating. My name is Disappearance Addiction. I am the strongest ‘Miracle’ currently present in the world. And I would like for you to become my new vessel.”
“No thankies.”
“...”
“...What?”
“Wah doesn’t really care for that sort of thing.” Wah shrugged. “You seem annoying to have around. Wah actually came here to get rid of you, to be honest. ‘Tis my duty! Wah is on the side of justice, now, as is COLOSSI as a whole! It would be immoral to take the power of something like you.”
“You would refuse the power of a ‘Miracle’?”
“Wah doesn’t know what that is.”
Disappearance Addiction seemed well and truly stumped at that. Eventually, her head began to turn, slowly, as if she was afraid of what her gaze would land on.
“Errok... San...”
“Yeah?”
“You... Would you like... Power?”
“That’s the first interesting thing you’ve said all day.” Errok nodded. “Fuck me up, lady.”
“...You’re not going to think it over, or anything?”
“Nope.”
“Are you sure?”
“Can you just give it to me already? C’mon.”
“...” Disappearance Addiction was silent for a few moments. On one hand, this guy smelled very bad. He was incredibly impatient. And he generally seemed like a big idiot. On the other hand, he did scale the building pretty easily...
“Alright.” She sighed. “I’ve come to a decision. Errok-San. If you kill Wah-Chan before the ‘Golden Hour’ ends, you may become my vessel. Does that satisfy you?”
“How long till Goldy Hour ends?”
“Twenty to thirty minutes.”
“Ha!” Errok unsheathed his sword and swung it onto his shoulder. “I’ll end it in three!” He smirked beneath his armor, pointing his massive blade at Wah. “You there! Wah! Leader of COLOSSI, was it?”
“...That is me, yes.”
“Get ready for the fight of your life, bub! After I kill you, I’m gonna be the boss of COLOSSI! I’ll be on top of the world! God King Errok! Everyone’ll bow to me! That kinda power ain’t something a little pacifist baby face like you’s worthy of having! So I’ll just take it right out of your hands! Ha ha ha! Thinking about it really amps me up! Oh, man!”
He paused, staring at Wah.
“I was really expecting you to cut me off there. It’s been happening all day. You just gonna sit there?”
Wah’s brow furrowed.
“Tell me...” They stepped forward, the dust around them kicking into the air, beginning to circle around them. “...Do you honestly believe... That you can beat me? Is that something... You think you’re capable of?”
“Course it is. I’m a weapon to kill the soul.”
“Hmph.” Wah sighed. “So be it.”
Disappearance Addiction smiled upon the two as she rose further into the air, wind whipping through her hair. A golden glow illuminated the cityscape, the sun reaching its final moments in the sky. “I feel like... I should say something here...Ah, that’s it!

”OPEN THE GAME!”

Location:
In the city of Sliema, Malta, currently with thick strings hanging overhead.
The area here is 32 by 40 meters with each tile being 2 by 2 meters. Wah and Errok start on top of buildings, as represented by their character tokens.
The yellow rectangles are clay buildings, each numbered to represent their elevation level.The (1) marked buildings are 5 meters tall, the ones marked with a (2) are 10 meters tall, and the ones marked with a (3) are 15 meters tall.
The White Rectangles are Laundry racks with nearby baskets, folding chairs, cleaned clothing, and towels.
The Green Circles are palm trees that are 20 meters tall.
The Magenta Lines across the map are Strings produced by Disappearance Addiction and are attached to the buildings and trees. These strings are thick enough to balance on and have B Durability.
The brown rectangles are wooden benches. The blue circles are fountains.
Goal: RETIRE your opponent!
Additional Information:
Players are not allowed to enter the buildings for the purposes of this match and will be Retired if they are unable or unwilling to leave the “out of bounds area”
There is enough space between buildings for either player to move through the alleyways
Wah starts next to a large umbrella with a hooked handle, a portable grill, and a cushioned lawn chair

Team	Combatant	JoJolity
Bastards of Barcas	Errok	“The word “ignorant” has a nice ring to it, so I don’t mind being called that, but “incompetent” is going just a bit too far…” Establish superiority over your opponent through your movement and positioning!
COLOSSI	Mx. Wah	“A creature like you having a brain residing in his skull…is already a miracle in and of itself.” Establish superiority over your opponent through your movement and positioning!

Link to Official Player Spreadsheet
Link to Match Schedule
As always, if you would like to interact with the tournament community and be among the first to get updates for the tournament, please feel free to PM a member of our Judge staff for an invite to our Official Discord Server!

I 32f will try to keep this as short as possible. Its a lot of info but it goes into why I feel so shitty. My mom(64f) used to run a business that slowly turned into “the family business” (FB) for over a decade. Our whole lives revolved around it. My dad (63m)and siblings (29f)and (34m) worked there full time and my other brother (31m) eventually left the state due to marriage etc. I worked 2 jobs, my main that provided me benefits and the FB on my days off. I had little to no social life, barely had time to work on myself and dating was nonexistent. “Well, you’re young” is what my mom would say and put me to work overnights on the weekends while the family would go camping. Another employee (not related) would come in to do mornings. Like I said, before, our whole lives revolved around that business. My therapist commented that it could’ve been a way for my mom to still have control because we were all in our 20s at that point. Lots of boundaries were crossed between the child/employee relationship. And feelings didn’t really matter unless my mom came out on top.
My sister (29f) was always the golden child.She got whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. She could be as mean, nasty, and downright hostile towards my mom but my mom would keep spoiling her to get on her good side. My sister got into some legal trouble in 2018 and wasn’t allowed to drive for a while so everyone in the family was basically forced to help out with that. Covid elongated the process. Despite the situation and people helping her, she became more hostile. My parents mindset was just shut up and make it through the court proceedings etc. She did work furlough which made everyone have to change their schedules around.
In June of 2021 she was sentenced to 1.5 years and had to go in to start right away. The very next day I was promoted within my main job and was so excited. When I told my mom the first things she said was “well what about the FB?” And I snapped. I had a mental breakdown and quit the FB and didn’t talk to anyone in my family for 6 months. I ended up losing over 30 pounds and got to experience life on my own terms for the first time and it was amazing. In December, after months of therapy, my mom got into contact with me to tell me my 90 year old gma had Covid. We met up, sat and talked for 3 hours. They ended up selling the FB in October because they “couldn’t hire anyone else and we’re getting old, so it was time” she wanted to work on our relationship and when I asked her to go to therapy with me, she refused. “It’s just not for me”. We aren’t close but we keep in contact often. It’s about as good as it’s going to get. I can tell there’s still resentment about the FB because she doesn’t get excited for me when I have positive events in my life. when I got another promotion it was “oh good for you” or she would question if I am capable of it. My sister (29f) finished her sentence in Dec of last year and since she came back, my parents bought her a brand new car, and went right back to how things were. My mom and my sister are basically the same people and are at each others throats every day. Yesterday, mom called me to complain about it and then said “I wonder if she will go to therapy with me”. I was silent for a moment and she went silent as well. I said “well, if it’s for her then she will agree to it”. She went quiet for a moment, as if she knew why and the call ended. And we barely talked since. My therapist appointment is scheduled. I thought I was over all of this. I feel so angry.
Edit: update. “I confronted her about it and said: Kind of hurt that you weren't willing to go to therapy for me but you're begging _____ to go. I let it go when you said it wasn't for you last year. But when you were telling me about wanting to go with ______ the other day it just kind of made me feel like I wasn't worth it to you. Like you're capable of it but not for me. “
She responded: “I did go to therapy because of your suggestion last year. No it was alone. I never told you I wanted to go to therapy with __. I suggested to you I wish she went to therapy I have never begged ___ to go with me. I made a suggestion one time for her to go with me so however she put it to you is incorrect.
You girls make me feel shitty and like I am all fucked up like the god awful fucking shittiest mom ever. That's how I feel right now. Like I can do no good. And no, I'm not feeling sorry for myself. Please. Leave me be for a while. Please.”
I said: “I never said you can do no good.Last year you said it wasn't for you and quit. I can't talk about anything I'm feeling with you because you always jump to this extreme. It seems easier to just let it go and have it eat at me than to try and fix it, address it and have it upset you. You told me on the phone that you asked her to to go to counseling with you? I'm not telling you that you're shitty, I'm telling you that I'm hurt. If you take it as an "attack", that's on you.”

Like a lot of people on here I got a lot of comfort from reading other peoples birthing stories, so I thought I’d go ahead and write mine out and post it in the hopes it’ll help someone.
My OB didn’t want me to reach 42 weeks, so once I hit 41 they began trying to schedule me for an induction at the hospital. When I got home from my 41 week OB appointment, I got a call from my OB saying to head into the hospital ASAP because she had managed to get me scheduled for an induction that evening. I was out on a walk with my husband and he literally ran home to get the car and pick me up. It was so surreal driving to the hospital, we were so nervous my husband and I didn’t even really talk. It was happening!
When we got there around 7pm however, the nurses at the intake area had absolutely no idea what I was talking about. I think when the shift changed over they forgot to inform the overnight staff I was coming in. Which is fine! Mistakes happen, but y’all they were so rude. They acted like I was lying and trying to trick them into inducing me. It didn’t matter how many times I explained my OB had called and told me to come in, they clearly didn’t believe me and were just so overtly passive aggressive.
Eventually they agreed to admit me for an ‘assessment’ (not an induction). They left me hooked up to some monitors for 3 hours without checking in while they tried to get ahold of my OB and get things figured out. I could hear them trash talking me in the hallways and complaining about me coming in ‘for no reason’. It hurt my feelings so much and made me so angry that I actually started having real contractions while I was there. My husband is convinced they offended me into labor.
Eventually they did contact my OB. I guess she told them why I was there and that I wasn’t lying because they were MUCH nicer to me after that. They told me I was all scheduled to be induced at 7AM the next morning and to come back by 6:30AM. By this point my contractions were actually pretty bad, but I was terrified if I told them that they’d keep me for longer. I didn’t want to be subjected to any more passive aggressiveness, so I lied and said I couldn’t even feel them. I just wanted to go home, I felt so defeated. I didn’t want to be in a vulnerable state around these hostile people.
We got back home by 11PM and my contractions were really bad. I didn’t wind up sleeping at all. To me they didn’t feel like period cramps. I felt them more in my back and lower abdomen. They felt like Braxton hicks, except painful and coming in waves. I started timing them around midnight and by 2AM they were 4-1-1. The app I was using kept telling me to go the hospital, but I was worried that if I went in before my appointment I’d be placed under the care of the same nurse. I was hoping she’d be gone by 7. I alternated reclining in a rocking chair and taking a shower to deal with the contractions. The shower actually really helped. I kept reminding myself that my body knew how to do this and to do what felt right. And that it was okay that it hurt because it wasn’t permanent. The breaks in between contractions were great, I used them to reposition myself or have some water and repeat my mantra.
I made it through the night. My husband was mad I didn’t wake him up and get him to take me to the hospital sooner, but we headed in for my appointment. And the staff from the previous night was gone! (Yay!) When my new nurse (who was an angel) checked me she said I was 4cm and fully effaced. She suggested the OB could break my water to speed things along and I agreed, but asked to get an epidural first. I had heard from moms on here that everything gets a lot worse after the water breaks and I was already at a 6-7/10 pain.
The anesthesiologist was a pro and worked around my contractions. When he got it placed I felt almost immediate relief, but experienced two things I didn’t expect. Number one was my body sort of panicked because I went completely numb below the waist and my lizard brain thought something was wrong/I was going to die. I really had to logic my way out of thinking that. Which was difficult because I found instincts sort of take over during labor. Number two was I only went numb on my left side. I could still mostly feel my right. I’d heard from other moms on here that could happen, but the anesthesiologist told me if I lay on the side that hurt and hit the button for an extra boost it should seep over into the right side and numb that up too. And it worked! So please if you’re still feeling pain on one side give that a try if you can.
My labor did stall after the epidural so they gave me some pitocin and I just napped for most of the day. My wonderful nurse moved me around and positioned me with the peanut ball. Around 3:30PM she put me in a position called the flying cowgirl and within 10 mins I felt this horrible pain on my right side that turned out to be transition pain. I used the anesthesiologist’s trick and lay on my right and hit the button for a boost.
Before the epidural kicked in (and it did!) I was writhing around so much that my husband called the nurses in even though I kept telling him not to because I thought it was just another contraction. Good thing he did because when they checked me, they said my baby was +3 and coming out now.
It was so surreal. Even though I’d known I was giving birth that day, to know it was happening right now was bizarre. A bunch of people came into the room and my poor nurse who had been with another patient down the hall literally ran in. She called my OB to tell him to get over here and then helped me practice push. By this point I wasn’t in pain anymore, but I could feel the contractions, they just felt like a lot of pressure. I pushed for just under an hour (it felt like much less) and he was born by 4:30!
The pushing wasn’t bad, it just felt like a lot of pressure. It took a bit to figure out how to push, but the nurses coached me really well and gave me great feedback. I did have a 2nd degree tear, but it of course didn’t hurt at the time and within 4-5 days it didn’t really hurt at all. I know it is cliche, but the minute they put your baby on your chest you no longer care about any pain or if you tore. It didn’t really feel real until I was holding him, but once I was it was so immediately worth it. It’s also cliche, but for me (who was lucky with an uncomplicated delivery) the memory of the pain and nausea faded very quickly. I’m just over a week out and I’m already thinking it really wasn’t so bad. Your body knows what it’s doing and you’re just along for the ride. It is 1000% worth it and you are capable of doing it. Even if it seems abstract now, everything clicked for me once I was holding him. And now that I have him I can’t imagine not having him. Even though I admit that I didn’t feel any particular connection to him in the womb.
I personally found a lot of comfort in not really having a birthing plan. My only plan was get an epidural and then trust the medical staff who see this stuff every day to make the right calls for me and baby. Which is why I was so upset with that first nurse because I didn’t feel like I could trust her to advocate for me. So please don’t be afraid to request a different nurse/staff if you are feeling uncomfortable.
Best of luck everyone!!!

About me: - Never married, no kids (no, it’s not a red flag) - Bachelors degree: 1, Masters degree: 1. Total:2 - Great career. Own my house and cars.
About you: - Educated - Fun - Flirty - No games
I’m not really interested in anyone that’s going to make people jump through hoops, just to play games. Be real, be genuine too.
Interests:

• sports
• concerts -comedians
• science
• anything outdoors -gardening -home projects
• reading, movies and tv
• trivia
• politics
• history
• birding

About me: - Never married, no kids (no, it’s not a red flag) - Bachelors degree: 1, Masters degree: 1. Total:2 - Great career. Own my house and cars.
About you: - Educated - Fun - Flirty - No games
I’m not really interested in anyone that’s going to make people jump through hoops, just to play games. Be real, be genuine too.
Interests:

• sports
• concerts -comedians
• science
• anything outdoors -gardening -home projects
• reading, movies and tv
• trivia
• politics
• history
• birding

Hey all, hoping someone might be able to help me with an ongoing AC issue in my 03 Buick Century.
One day the AC control knob in my car snapped off and got stuck on full blast(the other knob that controls whether it's on AC or Defrost still works like normal, but every setting shoots out at full blast as well)
I didn't mind it being stuck on full blast but noticed around the same time that my actual AC temperatures became inconsistent.
Sometimes I start the car for a long drive and the AC might work as intended, blowing cold air for the first hour, but then only blowing hot air for the next couple hours. Sometimes it starts off hot for an hour or two, then is freezing cold for the last 3-4 hours of a trip. Sometimes it's hot air the entire time, whether it's ten minutes or six hours. It's completely random.
I've taken it to a garage several times but they've never fixed the issue, they just add freon and act like it's fixed. Jump into car after service, AC still blows hot or cold randomly.
It's super frustrating when you're on a quick 30 minute drive and it's just hot air in the summer, even worse during a 6 hour trip. The AC clearly has the ability to work as when it's cold, it's like a freezer - I just don't know why it switches so randomly.
I only know the most simple basics when it comes to auto-maintenance, so if anyone has any suggestions or ideas, I'd love the help! Thank you!

After they left, I locked the front door and carried on cleaning. Normally I wouldn't worry about locking the door until I left, but even if those strangers were two of the most attractive men I had the pleasure of looking upon, I didn't know them, and therefore, I didn't trust them.
Small town charm, indeed.
As I grabbed the last few bottles from by the pool table, the jukebox cut out. I rolled my eyes and made a mental note to call Jerry tomorrow about it. It was too late now, after I started bartending for him, Jerry took full advantage of not having to be here 24/7. He was likely already asleep.
The lights flickered as I pulled the trash bag out and threw it over my shoulder, but I shrugged it off, even as chills spread across my arms. The place was old, and probably haunted, and it wasn't the first time weird shit had happened here. I threw open the back door, crinkling my nose at the smell, and tossed the bag in the dumpster before locking up and heading to my car.
My car was technically Jim's old truck, but after he passed, Doris said I should have it. I tried to insist that it go to Polly when she was old enough to drive, but Doris just said I had helped him work on it enough that it should go to me. Polly wasn't one for trucks anyway, she had claimed. It was only when Polly put the keys in my hand herself that I actually accepted it. Seven years later, and the old, ugly thing still ran great.
God, I've been overly sentimental today. Let's move on.
The thing about hindsight, they say it's 20/20. After this day, I'd say it's a bitch. All it does is make you think about every single thing you did wrong, over and over again, until it drives you crazy. And crazy people don't tend to see all that clearly.
The house was dark when I pulled up, the only light coming from the moon. Which you'd think would be normal, it being ten something at night, but the porch light was always left on for me, and Polly doesn't normally go to bed this early. Doris doesn't either, but she may have gone to sleep earlier than usual if I had woken her up last night. She probably just forgot the porch light.
I walked up the steps and found the front door slightly open. Now THAT was not normal. I paused at the threshold long enough to pull out my Glock. I checked the sled and loaded the magazine before slowly pushing the door open with my foot. I longed to call out to Doris and Polly, to make sure they were okay, if they were even here (holding out hope that they aren't), but instinct and years of hunting kept my mouth shut.
I tried to keep my footsteps silent, avoiding the spots in the floor I know creak and groan. An overwhelming smell, like rotting eggs, filled the air. It triggered something in the corner of my brain, but I couldn't focus on it right now. The kitchen and living room were clear, and so was the downstairs bathroom.
I walked towards the stairs and the smell intensified. You know when people say they felt like lead was in the pit of their stomach? Turns out, they weren't overexaggerating.
There was no noise, save for my own breathing, as I crept up. Room by room, I cleared the house. No one was here. No sign of Doris, or Polly. I wanted to feel relieved, I really did, but life has taught me that relief is often a feeling followed by dread.
Sentimental has flown out the window.
I checked the windows upstairs, making sure they were all closed and locked, before going downstairs to do the same. I stopped short at the sight of Lenny and Barry. In my living room. Normally, this would constitute as a dream come true, but the guns in their hands definitely gave me pause on the horny fantasy.
They hadn't noticed me yet, so I slowly raised my gun and watched as they made their way into the kitchen. I followed them silently, keeping my gun level, until they reached the table.
"I'm gonna need you to drop the weapons and explain what, exactly, you're doing in my house."
They whirled around, both going to aim at me, but I was quicker. I shot a warning round into the floor by their feet. (Doris was seriously going to kill me for that.) They both jumped back, hands raised in the air.
"I didn't say wave them around, I said drop them."
"Look, Winnie-"
"Drop the goddamn guns!" I said, as I cocked my own back.
"Fine, fine," Barry said, slowly bending at the knees to place his gun on the floor. "Just calm down, alright?"
Lenny looked irritated but followed suit, putting his weapon on the ground gently.
"Kick them aside."
Sighs of absolute exasperation floated through the air. (Seriously? Breaking into my house and then getting annoyed at me? Get a load of these guys.)
"Where are Doris and Polly?"
"Who?" Lenny asked, irritation coloring the word.
"Don't play stupid, I'm really not in the mood."
"Lady, I don't know who those people are." He snapped.
"Doris and Polly," I repeated slowly. "The two women who live in this house with me. The house you just broke into, with loaded weapons. After I come home to find them missing."
"Look, we can explain," Barry started.
"I would hope so, considering the alternative." I gestured with my head at the gun in my hand.
"Just lower your gun, and we'll tell you everything."
"Listen, Bare, may I call you Bare?" I continued without waiting for permission, "You seem to not understand how this works. Your weapons are out of reach, mine is in hand, you're in MY house, and my family is missing. I'll lower the gun if I decide your explanation is good enough. Which seems unlikely."
My voice, somehow, was holding completely steady, but inwardly, panic was filling every empty part of my body. My brain was screaming at me to stop wasting time, but I forced that voice aside. At this point, the only people who could tell me anything were standing in front of me, one looking pissed off and the other looking very concerned. About me or the imminent death he faced, I couldn't be sure.
"Winsley, your family, they've been taken by-"
"Sammy!"
"Dean, she deserves to know. She's in this, whether we like it or not."
I blinked at the sudden identity change, although I have to say, I was kind of grateful that two dudes who looked this good didn't have names like Lenny and Barry. Even if they were possible kidnappers.
Dean, previously Lenny, clenched his jaw, but didn't say anything when Sammy, previously Barry, started again. "They've been taken by what we think is a demon. We're not sure why yet, but that's why we're here. It's what we do. We, we save people from things like this."
"Things like demons." I deadpanned. "So you're story is, a demon has, for some unknown reason, kidnapped my family, and you two just happen to be here at the same time as this thing, because life is all just one big coininky dink?"
"We tracked it here," Lenny/Dean spoke up. "It's been traveling through Wyoming, ripping through small towns. It's killed before, but it's never kidnapped anyone. Until now. So whatever this thing wants, your family has it. And you're not exactly helping us save 'em."
"And your plan was to shoot this demon full of lead? Do demons bleed? Can they even die?"
"They're full of rock salt," Barry/Sammy said. "Salt doesn't kill them, but it hurts them. Slows 'em down. We slow them down enough, we can get them wrapped in rope soaked in holy water and get the answers we all want."
Hysterical laughter bubbled up in my throat. I've been a bartender for 7 years, in a small ass town in the middle of nowhere, and before that, well, that's a backstory for another chapter, but let's just conclude that I know crazy. I've delt with crazy, but this was above and beyond.
"This is either some elaborate scheme to distract me, or you're both having a psychotic break at the same time."
"Okay, enough," Dean snapped. Faster than I could track, he whipped out yet another gun from behind him and aimed it at me.
"Am I now a demon in this illusion of yours? Rock salt isn't gonna do shit to me."
"Well, actually, it hurts like a bitch." He said, shrugging. "Curiosity got the best of me. But this ain't no rock salt, sweetheart. So why don't you put the gun down, because I guarantee you I can pull this trigger faster than you."
I paused, considering, before twisting and aiming my gun at Sammy's head. "You wanna test that theory?"
They both went deathly still. Apparently, they decided to finally take my threat seriously.
"Fine, you know what? You want your family to die, that's on you, lady. We can leave you to it," Dean put his gun down and went to grab the other one from the floor. "But don't say we didn't warn you."
He went to walk out the back door, Sammy hesitantly grabbing his own gun before following Dean out.
"Wait. Fine. But I want some of those rock salt thingies."
Dean glanced back. "No."
Sammy ignored him and handed me his pistol. "Aim for the heart."
I slowly holstered my gun, replacing it with his.
"Dammit, Sammy."
"I think she can handle herself, Dean."
Dean pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed so hard I was surprised it didn't propel him backwards.
"Are there any other buildings around here that might be abandoned or empty? Somewhere used for storage?"
"Yeah, we have a barn. Jim used to keep some of his old junk in there."
"Show us."
"Okay, full offense, for someone supposedly trying to help, you are extremely rude."
"Yes, and I look good doing it."
I narrowed my eyes at him but lead them out the backdoor. Before you start yelling at me, I'm not believing this bullshit. They're clearly insane, and they probably have my family locked in the barn, and I figure once they go inside to "scope the place out", I'll call Sherrif Bereta and get these beautiful loonies locked up.
That plan went dark, literally, as a sharp pain cracked through my skull and I crumbled to the ground.
*******************************
I'm sure we've all heard the term "spitting mad". Well, whatever that means, I was even angrier when I came to, back in the kitchen, surrounded by a ring of salt and tied up with, sure enough, a soggy rope. It itched.
Okay, yes. I got, well, got. I spent the past ten years of my life hunting animals, not fighting crime, okay? Give me a break. I thought my plan had been pretty solid.
I glanced around, trying to get my bearings through the bulldozer that had made its home in my head. Two major headaches in one day. If the tequila didn't kill my braincells, that hit certainly did.
"Bastards," I muttered to myself. I wiggled against the ropes, but all that managed to do was chafe. I attempted to stand, but they had tied my ankles together and to my bound wrists, so not only did I fail, I looked ridiculous doing it.
The panic I was ignoring earlier came back with renewed strength, and I had to stop all movement and focus on my breathing. I haven't had a panic attack in years, and I really didn't think this was a smart time to start again.
The silence broke with a screech that sounded, as much as I loathe to admit it, demonic. I'm not a religious person, if you couldn't tell, working a Sunday morning instead of attending church, so I didn't break out in prayer. I did, however, look around for any kind of weapon that I could try to get my hands on. My gun was sitting on the table, just out of reach.
"Bastards!" I announced again.
"That's no way to talk about the people who saved your ass."
Dean was standing in the doorway, a light coat of sweat shining across his forehead. His breathing was quick, but all in all, he seemed steady.
"You pistol whipped me, hog tied me, and seasoned me, dude. I wouldn't constitute that as 'saving'."
"Yeah, well. Difference of opinion," he said, a small smile playing across his lips.
"Where's your future cellmate?"
"He's finishing up with the demon. Should be here any minute."
"Ah, yes. The demon. Did you get any answers? Did you find Polly and Doris? Did you develop the sudden need to enroll yourself into a mental institution?"
Before Dean could answer, Sam came into view behind him, and on his arm was Polly. My breath caught in my throat as I looked her over, bruised, bleeding from a cut on her forehead, but alive. On her feet.
"Polly thank god, I was so worried-" I went to stand up, forgetting about the ropes, and promptly fell over. "Can you get these goddamn things off of me?"
Dean glanced over at his brother, and Sammy nodded. He lead Polly to a chair and positioned himself in front of her.
"Do you think I'm going to attack my own family? I'm not the one suffering from some kind of breakdown." I said, watching Dean pull out a knife and ever so slowly cut through the ropes. As soon as they fell off, I stood, rubbing my raw wrists, and went to make my way to Polly.
"Where's Doris?" I asked, kneeling in front of her. "Is she okay? Did she get caught up at bible study or did these two lunatics tie her up, too?"
Polly lifted her tear soaked eyes, grief overflowing in them.
There's something you should know about Big Traumatic Events, and it's that time moves differently in them. You know when you were a kid, swimming in a pool, and you sunk down to the bottom? The world was quiet, and your limbs were heavy and light at the same time, moving through the water as if time had slowed.
That's what it's like.
I rocked back on my heels.
I stood and whipped towards Sam.
I lunged for the gun.
Sammy caught my arms, pushing me back as I fought against him.
There was a sound trying to pierce through the overwhelming emptiness in my head. A sound that sounded a lot like a wounded animal. It's a sound I know well.
When Polly swam into view, putting my face between her hands, I realized that I was that sound. Something between a scream and a sob was falling out of me, and I couldn't stop it.
"Winnie. It's okay. It's gonna be okay," she sobbed with me.
I wrenched myself away from her. I couldn't, wouldn't, allow myself to be calmed down.
"What did you do to her?!" I screamed.
"She was possessed, Winnie."
"Don't call me that."
"By the time we got to her, it was too late. The demon had destroyed her body, and it was the only thing holding her together."
"STOP USING YOUR INSANE THEORIES AS AN EXCUSE FOR WHY YOU KILLED MY MOTHER!"
My chest heaved, and the two murdering bastards just stood there. They had the gall to even look sad. What did they have to be sad about? They're the ones going around killing people, claiming it's in the name of- of what? God? I didn't care.
"It's true, Winnie."
My breath came up short as I turned to look at Polly. Tears still streamed down her face, mingling with the blood. I noticed her lip was split, too, and added another tally to the scoreboard. I'd kill them.
"She was, she was different. She wasn't mom. She hit me. She tied me up. She tried to torture me, asking me questions that I didn't understand."
"No, Polly. These lunatics probably drugged you or something. THEY tortured you. They're feeding you their delusions."
"No, they aren't!" She shouted. "I saw it, okay? I saw her become that thing. I saw her eyes turn black. And I felt every moment she laid her hands on me. She was MY mom, Winnie. I knew her better than anyone, and I know that wasn't her."
Those words broke something deep inside of me, deeper than even Doris's death. Polly was right. Doris was her mother. Not mine. I looked at Dean, at Sammy, at the gun, my gun, that he was now holding in his hands, probably to keep me from putting a few rounds in the two of them.
I took a deep breath and simply said, "Fine."
And I left.
Authors note:
Yeah I made myself sad. I also feel like I used the word "Gun" so much. But really what else do I call it? Anyway. Supernatural ripped my heart out like twenty thousand times, so it's only fair I add some heartbreak to this story. Hope you like it!