Knudtsen chevrolet post falls idaho

Due to the overwhelming success of the previous contest, we're going to continue the Monthly Moderator Challenges by eliminating tags and having authors post links to their entries to the comment section of this post. It's much easier for me to find submissions rather than using Reddit's crappy search feature. I think readers might also have read more of the stories this time around as they didn't have the option to avoid the tag. It also could have been the story length of 100 words being easier to swallow for causal readers. Either way, we're continue with the switch the new format as stated below.
PLEASE READ THE BELOW SO YOU UNDERSTAND THE DIRECTIONS

1. Write your story according to the prompt
   
2. Submit to /ShortScaryStories
   
3. Leave a link to the submission in the comment section below.
   

If you've got multiple entries, you can either edit your comment to add additional links or you can post a brand new comment. As long as it is in the comment section, it'll be submitted for consideration. If the story link is not added into the comment section, IT WILL NOT COUNT.
June 2023 Prompt - Dealing with the Devil in 5 Words
As much as I enjoyed reading 100 word stories, I want a little more meat on the bones of the next challenge. So I'm going to give you back at least 395 words to play with again. Hold on...100 + 395 = 495. What happened to those five words, dude? Well, I've reserved them for this challenge. Don't worry, I'll be telling you about them in a moment.
For now, let's stick to the meat and potatoes of the prompt. I want to read stories about characters making deals. Of course, these deals must go sideways in some shape or form for it to be horrifying. Or perhaps not. Maybe getting exactly what you want may be a bad idea? Who knows? You tell me! It doesn't have to be a deal with the Devil. It can be a genie, a mysterious stranger with a suitcase, or whatever your heart desires. The key to this contest is...there must be a deal made!
But what about those 5 words? Well, that's part of the deal in this prompt.
To participate in this challenge, we're going to make a deal. You're going to pay me in 5 words of my choosing:

• fruit
• cathedral
• argument
• eliminate
• occupy

The above five listed words MUST appear in your story. If you are missing any of these words, the entry WILL NOT COUNT
So we've got a DOUBLE prompt:

1. Stories must be about a deal
2. Use the 5 words listed above in the story. _______________________________________________

Please remember, all subreddit rules apply. Stories falling outside of the subreddit rules will not count.
We're going to decide the winners in two ways.

1. The person with the most upvotes will be considered a winner.
   
2. Since this is a Moderator's Challenge, I will be going through ALL the stories and picking out the one or ones which I enjoyed the most. As I've seen with previous challenges, the best stories don't necessarily get the most amount of upvotes. There can be multiple winners in this category so don't fret if you don't get the most upvotes. You're still in the running for a flair!
   

All winners will receive the following:

• A customized flair declaring them the winner of the challenge

This Challenge will run until the end of June, so there is no rush to get these posted right away.

I'm not sure if this is the correct place to post this. Obligatory on mobile, forgive formatting.
I feel so ridiculous posting and asking this. I (42f) am newly single with 2 young children, their father is not in the picture anymore. I have a multitude of MH issues, with severe social anxiety, I cannot even go in a shop alone unless one of the children are with me, but I am getting better since I have no one to fall back on -needs must and all that! My children have never been abroad, and I have just recieved a small inheritance, so I would like to take them on holiday in the next month, they have had an awful year and I'd like to surprise them. I feel confident enough to book this today, but my anxiety is getting the better of me! I have not been abroad for 20 years and I cannot remember what happens at the airport! Could someone please talk me through it? I have booked a private transfer at the other end to help make my anxiety a bit, how does that work also? Do I have to go and find them? How do I find them? Could ask for special assistance at the airport? My daughter has autism but I feel I would be taking advantage of her diagnosis to help ME...
I feel such such a Brussels sprout asking, but I want to be better and give my children this experience.

and they basically need me for their parasite and I am falling for the same trap or creating a new trap for me buhahhaha
buhahahahahhaha
facts don't care about your feelings bro. They will torture me otherwise fuck you because they own this place. They are just paying me money to pay for my funeral or the houses I will own so that they can recycle me buhahaha because they now have the means to.
They injected this virus because curing people is not profitable it doesn't interest them why would they? They brought me here and had me so that it benefits them and not me...
Thanks mom and daddy for bringing me to aucschwitz and that I am my own worst enemy buhahaha the goal was to silence me so that they can take note and treat me as their pet.
Because I believe that i am special fucker I am their pet dog and they need me for their dirty work and they are torturing me from all angles. Whoever made this matrix did it to fuck with me and they will torture me because of my name otherwise turn me into AI or kill me off...
They deleted me and even stole my money buhahahhahaha buhahahhahaha so it make them feel good. They'll just steal money or make it worthless.
They are stronger than me anyway...the goal was to kill my sex drive because facts don't care about your feelings bro and feelings don't care about facts
I am falling for the same trap or a similar trap and this will come back to haunt me in one shape or form. A slave to a higher power that is stronger than me. Forever slaves to science and god.
Otherwise die...Only women and girls will get the utopia they are after and they just need me to die or kill my sex drive and continue to torture me like this....
buhahhahahahahahahah ahahahhahahaha Women were given more and my stupidity costs me my free will because I am a dumbass.. IF not then other men will get in the way...
I am already getting sloppy and lazy as it is...to limit my freedom because they own this place...They purposely injected this virus so that they can change me at the biological level and play bio warfare and music does the same thing...
They can de-evolve me and torture me from behind but he loves me bullshit the goal of torturing me was to fund their organization so that I can't get beauty sleep and get addicted to a drug of hope.
I won't know the long term damage of the comments i post here or the music I listen to either because this bullshit matrix.
Even if you did create it they'll just steal it or shove us back into the dark ages. The goal of this matrix is that they want me to self destruct or continue to torture me and control my life and my destiny buhahahhaa otherwise send the crazies after me because she has done it all and seen it all and rightfully so women and girls and gay men are stronger as are my parents. The goal is that you are the slave to your parents and society buhahahhaha
ahahahahhahahaha
They will kill me and silence me otherwise you wil obey by our rules and laws buhahhahahahaha
this so that the jews and nazis and other sciences and religion can recycle me otherwise take privileges away and they will because they own and rule this place. Even if I make something someone else will steal it away...or copy it or corrupt it.

Me (21F) and my roommate (18F) are looking for a 3rd girl to move into a house with us for the fall semester! We do have dogs. I tried to post in the Lawrence Facebook groups but my posts aren’t being approved for some reason!

my best friend and i (22F) recently became roommates. i’ve been talking about wanting to go out to our favorite bar together for weeks, now that we live in walking distance, and they’ve also expressed interest in going together. i just got back from a weeklong trip, and they fully knew about the date of my return. on that day, after i’d gotten home and was watching tv in my room, i thought i heard them come home and leave right away. turns out, they did come home to drop off their stuff and a post on their story revealed that they were at our favorite bar. we didn’t get into any falling out before my trip, so i’m puzzled as to why they went without me when they knew that i was home. (my keys, shoes, and bag were all in their usual spot. they usually poke their head in to say hi when they get home.) i left a ‘nice invite’ comment on the story to which they gave an ‘I don’t care if you come’ response.
i recognize that we’re both adults and they’re allowed to do what they want. it’s important for each of us to do things on our own. however, this instance did hurt my feelings. i’d like to get another perspective as to whether those feelings are warranted. it was the combination of my enthusiasm for going to the place with them, my weeklong absence (and i was looking forward to seeing them when i returned), and their halfhearted pity invite. what are everyone else’s thoughts? should i address this or let it go?

This is going to be a post that I both express my emotions which I kept to myself for a long time and ask for advice, so it may be a long one.
In March 2022, I (23F) started dating with a guy (20M) who is very amazing in many aspects and have a great personality. When I first met him online, I didn't like him at all. There was no specific reason but I hated him, told him that I don't trust him. One day, while we were chatting, he told me that he was in town and brought the chocolate from Germany I had asked many months ago. I was very surprised that he remembered that small detail because I didn't even remember it at first. He asked to see me in person and I couldn't say no. I didn't want to meet him until the night before, but our last conversation before the date was so good that we both stayed up all night and talked. In the morning, we went to a naval museum and he told me that he forgot to bring the chocolate but brought something I've asked as a joke (a whistle and a figure). At that moment I knew that guy is different. We had an amazing day and at the end of the day we both knew that there was something between us. However, there was a catch. He was leaving for school in another country in 2 weeks but we wanted to keep it long-distance from time to time. It was the best 2 weeks of my life. Missing each other was hard but it was worth it.
He told me about his dp in June. He isn't diagnosed and he didn't use the word dp but all the things he said and all the actions he's done is related to dp. He assured me that his opinions and feelings on me weren't affected by this. At fall, when he was in Germany, things went worse. His symptoms were worsened and he needed to leave school and come back early. I wanted him to come back because he was suffering there and I wanted him to stay here until he's got better.
In January, 2 weeks after he came back, he told me that he didn't love me anymore and it was nothing to do with me, his feelings towards everyone was the same. It was devastating for me but there was nothing to do. I cried my eyes out but he couldn't show anything. It was the worst time of my life. I wanted to be respectful and understanding but couldn't hold myself and texted him every couple days. A week later, we talked on the phone, and he said he realised that he doesn't need to overcome this alone. I wanted him to be okay. So we met on 14th February, in the very first place we've seen each other. Visited the places we went to in our first date. He held his chest and said "Now I feel it". I thought the worst part has ended. We agreed to see each other twice a week. One time he said "I would love to see you 3 times but I don't really have the energy" and I was okay. Missing him sucked but it was better than being seperated.
In the last week of April, we had good day. We spent time cuddling each other, petting his cat, eating some traditional food I haven't tried before. I was upset that he didn't go cycling with me, so I rented a bicycle and went cycling together. I was getting tired quickly but he was understanding. He told me that we wouldn't talk at the weekend because he had a plan with his close friends and I said okay but text me so I can know that you are alive. I also have anxiety and abandonment fears, so him texting me every 4-5 eases my anxiety. I am aware that it's not a healthy coping mechanism but I was trying to get better and doing my best. He was avoiding saying I love you lately because he wanted to feel it when he says it. On that day, he said it and added "Normally the feeling bar is at 0% but now it's at 20%".
Then he's just stopped texting. Didn't reply my calls. 4 days later, he texted me and told me that he wants to end our relationship because he doesn't want to think or care about me. I asked all the good times we've spent together but he said he didn't enjoy it as much as I did. I was angry at him, so I wasn't devastated as I was in January. After a couple days, my anger faded and left its place to sadness. I tried to reach him. After some time he texted and said that he doesn't see me as an enemy but it's harmful for him to talk to me even as a friend and he doesn't know if we're going to talk again or not. Later he blocked me.
It's been a month. I talked to his friends, none of them knows nothing about our relationship. I called him yesterday to ask how he's been feeling and to see if his elderly cats are fine, but he declined it. People say there are plenty fish in the sea but I had dated other people, he was different. Today, I find myself beautiful because he made me realise it. He was kind and funny. He made me laugh even when I am upset. He supported me in every way he could. We rarely had fights because I missed him and it wasn't toxic in my opinion. I don't think I can get over him easily. I wish there was a way to know if he's going to change his mind. I don't know what to do.
TL;DR: Amazing bf with dp told me he doesn't want to think about me broke up with me suddenly. He doesn't know if we're going to stay this way forever. It's been more than a month, but I still love him.

23yo F, 5’4”, 140lbs. PMHX - Graves’ disease Reg meds - Carbimazole, Norimin 1, prophylactic aspirin Non smoker
Fall from approx 3m height 2/52 ago - sustained a minimally displaced (2mm) tibial pilon # to L leg. For non op recovery w/ CAMboot, minimum 6 weeks strict NWB.
Post initial injury NV intact, PCRT on the slower side, some slightly altered sensation - slight numbness and tingling. Since then, when dependent, the affected leg becomes quickly poorly perfused, gradually worsening, cap refill slowing, PCRT this morning was 20 seconds. The limb quickly returns to natural colour with elevation - around 1 minute. Just looking for some advice on if I need this reviewed soon or just something to mention at my # clinic v in a few weeks. The video attached was taken after I had been standing / sitting without leg elevated for approx 20mins after waking up.
Thankyou in advance!
https://imgur.com/a/HoFOCRo

That’s it. That’s the post. Asking for Fall 2023 but if anyone knows last year’s date, that works too.

This NECA Twitter post said they had already finalized 8 figures “with more to come” but I think it’s weird that it’s been 8 months since the most recent figure, Casey, was revealed. Why the long wait for the 8th and final figure?
https://twitter.com/NECA_TOYS/status/1454135954617274371?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1454135954617274371%7Ctwgr%5E3e788fb8575f910d991d41cc0a9a5e96b634d8e9%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftoynewsi.com%2F139-40634
We all presume it’s Shredder as Dracula. We needs it, precious. Like, at this rate if they reveal tomorrow we still won’t get it until this fall. Come on, already!

And then they wonder why more and more people FORCEFULLY reject anything American (or just Anglo Saxon in general). And also more and more people perceive people who fall for the propaganda and are "Americanized" or claiming the USA is still "such a model" as circus clowns. Like dude, scary country where ab0rtion is illegal no matter what, where even contraception is becoming illegal. 😳
The new L eee afy, the crazy stuff he's saying and all the crazy stuff they're pushing and talking about, tf ? Why are they trying to impose their culture on us ??? NOT OUR CULTURE, BYE !
Our fandom posted stuff like "Yep, don't date an American guy 😨😳😳" before, of course, some of those deranged people like whoever plays L eee afy now are going to play victim and claim we're "anti American". 🤷 Whatever they say. It's like, dude, there's a WHOLE OCEAN between our countries, don't swim and come at us. Just swim South if anything. 🤡
The ultimate fact is that we shouldn't have to be obliged to reject it at all, as they're trying to impose it on us. We shouldn't even have to be subjected to it at all ! PERIOD ! Like, American big entertainment stuff are not as big as before anymore, merely any big tv shows nowadays, but they're still trying to push their mentality and culture on us anyway.
We shouldn't even have to acknowledge them, but they metaphorically and LITERALLY are all over the place (with their stuff and their clowns.....................).
American people (like L eee afy) are not our problem. Their hatred of women is not our problem. They're already hating on us for being "unamerican" as the Microsoft people say, so... They should stop trying to sell us pills that are only legal in their country, or push the an0rexic [email protected] so that we buy their new pills that are not legal in our country....
Also, Melina's stuff are literally geo restricted and NOT available in the USA, but they're always the ones with something to say... That's super annoying.
Also, KEEP YOUR CLOWNS TO YOURSELVES !!!! TF ???!!!
However, everybody will forever keep on asking the question that is being asked on his subreddit.......
That is all.

Damn, I missed posting on day 777. Wanted to make some fun and call it "777, kick out porn and go to heaven", or something like that. Because I often think of porn, and just think how good it is to be freed from it. It's literally heaven in comparison, so it wouldn't have been an overstatement, even...
TL;DR: found an old porn disk, just to celebrate destroying it, another trace from a regretable past: gone! Feels good...
​
I remembered posting, because I found some trace from the past cleaning up old stuff. Among other old data disks, a disk with porn movies on. I must have made it going somewhere where I'd have no internet. Just had labeled it "P1" in trying to conceal what's on it.
Today I had to look what's inside, even though I vaguely knew what I could expect. I've seen the thumbnails showing nothing explicit, so I even opened one or two. Immediately closed them down once I could see the women. It felt very strange, like a lot of shame I should've had years ago.
I had a very strange feeling for the women I'd see in lingerie in the first seconds of the vids. Like now I could see that those were poor persons, in a pretty poor situation, probably hoping it'd be over soon. Almost hurt recognizing how blind I used to be.
Closing down the second video, I had enough, ejected the disk, destroyed it and put it into the trash. I like keeping things with memories from the past. But not this thing. Gone it is.
Even this shit sticks on you for a long time. It can be a hard time to get away from it. I remembered as there were tiny particles from the destroyed disk everywhere on the floor and I had to clean it all up tediously. I deserved to do this, for spoiling myself and others with watching the crap. Now it's all gone and I feel much better.
​
Hope you'll also feel better about yourself and life, and not let the porn drag you down. It's easy to fall into, but hard to get away from. Stuff just keeps sticking on you. Keep shaking it off, and it will eventually leave you! Don't be discouraged when it can be hard and you need many attempts. Being set free from it is so much better. It's totally worth it, now I've done it for more than 2 years already, I hope you can work it out, too!

Hello dear reader,
I have already explained some of my predicaments once in a comment but as I continue to write my own problems and childhood experiences from different perspectives, I would like to explore a new one that: life accidentally taught me the wrong things.
First the basics: I have a minor spastic diplegia called by a hole in my brain and it was very well treated when I was 10. Before that I walked a bit strangely in a way that would make me fall quite frequently. It linked going on a walk and coming home with boody knees as a statistical certainty. It wouldn't happen all the time but often enough to avoid risks by avoiding needless walks... I did walk to school every day, but I wouldn't walk "for fun" because it was potentially not fun.
I got a revolutionary surgery at 10. I was told later that my recovery was so good that I replaced the before/after video (at least for a while). So far so good uh? Well already at that age my oldest brother was a bit of a bully. We did fun things together but he could turn a bit violent at times especially towards my other brother. He recently explained to me that he add trouble asserting himself among his friends and expressed his desire for strength on us instead.
My mother is a narcissist up to a certain degree. She never allowed us to make choices at an early age. She could ask the question if I want more potatoes but they would be on the plate before being able to answer yes or no. She also may have learned this narcissistic behaviour from my grandmother who was still trying to rule over her even after her marriage. Important thing she wanted to take care of things at home. She say that she was overwhelmed by the responsabilties but failed to make us help her, in a sense she taught us the opposite.
As for my father he had frequent business travels and preferred to raise his voice a bit and then go back to his journal. He never really liked to take care of little kids and now he is at least realising the damage his lack of presence in the household as a counterpoint to mom has done to all of us.
So at age 10 I got the surgery, spent a summer in hospital and reeducation went to a hospital school for a while to avoid stairs (a fall could have been problematic) and then when I came back to school I stayed in class during some pauses once again to avoid children running around and playing football (soccer). When I was told to finally come back to the courtyard, during the spring of my last primary school year something strange happened. I extracted a year ago a forgotten memory from that time but once extracted it came back as a very vivid memory. A girl asking me "did you see the pussy of [best early childhood friend name]" (it works in my mothertongue too). I was still prepubescent and had a vague idea that it was partially "forbidden" even if I didn't know what it was. But loving double entendres, I responded jokingly: of course she had black hairs, green eyes and her name is [name of that cat]. Sadly they didn't seem to get the hint of irony Telling this story to somebody else I was told that it sounded very innocent for a women who was in my modern point of view as cuntish as hers was bleeding. Why? Because for the first time the group laughed at me rather than with me. And connecting the dots, I managed to understand why. I was quite close with my childhood friends, we met in preschool so at that stage we knew each other for basically all our lives. But there is more, I had the habit of holding hands of people I held dear for the very obvious reason explained above: walking was a statistical risk of coming home with bleedy knees and the post surgery times made it pretty clear that falls had to be avoided. Therefore you can imagine what went through the mind of girls whose brained was rewired by hormones at the sight of two boys holding hands. Last year I managed to tell the situation for what it was: homophobia even if I am not homosexual. The problem is that in that context I lost a friend and in a way a link with the rest of my classmates.
Arriving in secondary school I finished to lose my childhood friend (it was gradual, he changed I didn't). During that year I continued to miss days of school to check the evolution and more importantly: twice during the year a part from the class blocked me the entrance to the classroom from the inside: showing me clearly that I was one in the crowd. The second time they got spotted by an adult and got shouted at a little bit, the message was clear though. Recently when my oldest brother learned about these and asked why I didn't asked him to protect me, I reminded him that he liked to play the exact same kind of games at home when he wanted to annoy me... despite him being 5 years older. So from my point of view it was normal, expected to be annoyed and not expecting a strong response.
Later that year I bonded with a boy who became my best friend. He was bullied in the other class, we had gym together. This person is the only person ever who truly managed to make a gym course bearable if not enjoyable. He would run by my side giving my advices instead of running ahead and letting me be dead last (which was expected considering the handicap from birth). I am not sure why but I never noticed that he was bullied by his classmates. Maybe because I was not in that classroom and also because it got reduced after we bonded near the end of the academic year. Of course his mother was furious at the situation and asked the school to do something. He could have drowned once during a swimming lesson. But that would have meant kicking out multiple students, that's not good. One kid leaving, that's normal.
As for the situation at home I recently realised through discussions that our mother was obsessed with good grades and didn't care about anything else while our father was not present enough. More importantly he liked to watch documentaries in the evening and would encourage me to watch documentaries and other cultural programs. There, there was positive reinforcement.
So regarding lessons: you can voice your opinons but it doesn't matter. Other people will annoy you and it will have barely any consequence for them. You have different interests than most of the hostile crowd. Taking initiatives is a risk of breaking things.
Quite logically I went to school attended courses and went home, (almost) never taking times to socialize with people who were, for all intents and purposes, strangers. I took refuge in legos, TV, video games, comic reading those kind of things. In the years following the surgery (we are in 2001-3) I had a lot of kinesitherapy, almost every day of the week.
One day I snapped. I couldn't take it anymore. I resisted going to the kinesitherapy and told crying to my mother: "I don't want to go, I want to die". A sentence that should have ringed all the alarms. But in a move that will not necessarily suprise you at this stage, she just pushed me towards the car and probably told me to stop crying. And then it was not really mentioned ever again. I now consider this moment a key point: it sealed my emotions for 18-20 years. The lesson learned: compaining is useless, showing emotions is useless.
From all of that I got what I am pretty sure is a massive rejection trauma, it looks like depression but the duration, the probable causes and all of that fit almost 100% with Dr. K. episode on trauma.
Ah a key point I forgot to mention is that I was good enough in school, just good enough to not necessary learn to work hard. On the contrary to learned to focus on what I liked, especially as I was always last in gym and you can see bad grades as a kind of rejection.
I learned to not take initiative, not complain, focus on the things I liked and not care about my surrounding which was kinda potentially hostile. The result once you finish university is that you don't want anything. You don't really have ambitions because you almost failed your memoir as trauma crippled your ability to start things (if the lack of abilities to make choices didn't do that already). You check some job offers they all demand multiple years of experience so rejection is expected. It's the same as at school. You expect rejection so why bother. You may get help, but you don't seek help unless you are directly told that you may get help by somebody already in charge of that, otherwise you are not seeking it. Again because rejection is expected.
The ultimate consequence are years spent doing things on my own. Things that have impressed quite a few people over the internet. It almost gave me a career. But even then for other reasons outside of my control I experienced rejection. Projects got planned but failed to materialize for stupid reasons outside of my control. Other opportunities were not taken thanks to trauma. It's only when I went back to the "maybe let's consider suicide" that my best friend noticed and urged me to get a psychologist and opened the vault of emotions.
I have 26 days left to find a new place to move in. I have retraining plans for this summer but I need a place to sleep to get things done. I also want to get rid of that stupid emotional burden, while I should embrace it and move forward.
This is not a fully satisfying conclusion but I am done with writing this thing for now. I have to unlearn the toxic lessons of my childhood and finally become the smart adult I was supposed to become. Instead I am still a wounded child who specialize in knowing things the job market doesn't want.
This letter is dedicated to all those people who made relevant remarks but were unable to notice the large size of the problem, just like blind people touching an elephant.
Thank you for reading.

He had expected this sooner rather than later, and it hurt to see.
He knew it wasn't going to work.
The Galactic Assembly was full of aliens, not humans. The things that got humanity's attention were the same sort of things that tended to scare the GA.
But of course, the average human couldn't have known that, and with their tendency to change creatures around them to become more human, the aliens with which they worked didn't see it either.
They were doing the right thing, but going about it the wrong way.
Still, that didn't stop his feelings of sadness and empathy for their plight.
Walking with Sunny, standing on the buddy pegs attached to her back, and examining the protest encampment around him, he couldn't help but be impressed by their bravery.
He knew for a fact that if he was in their shoes, he would be way more likely to hide, lie to everyone around him, and even himself.
But here they were out in the open, a shining beacon of defiance against the GA.
It was a difficult situation, of course he supported the GA wholeheartedly, and he always would, and with that support came an understanding.
But that didn't mean that he had to agree with them.
They were scared.
And people tend to lash out at things that scare them.
As it turns out, that seemed to be a common factor across the galaxy.
He reached down, hand caressing the tear gas canisters at his belt and the accompanying gas mask. He prayed, just PRAYED that he wouldn't have to use them, but how was he to know what would happen. When people got righteously angry about something they tended to act up, and when thrown into a group of like-minded people, the pack mentality was overwhelming.
He wanted everything to go well, he wanted them to make their point, to prove that they were the moral superiors, demonstrate to the GA that they weren't militant, and all they wanted was peace.
That was the sort of thing that would get across to the GA.
But with humans involved... He didn't really have much hope.
He glanced around at the assembled tents, looking for any sign of trouble.
He didn't see much, just the limp white flags, with the LFIL logo printed proudly on their front.
Still keeping an eye on his surroundings, he leaned against one of Sunny's shoulders.
"So, what do you think about this whole thing?"
Sunny turned her head to look at him, gold eyes and blue carapace glittering with the yellow sheen of the Rundi sky.
She shrugged, setting him a little off balance. She grabbed his feet to steady him as she continued up a small incline.
"It doesn't bother me, and I suppose I understand them."
"Oh?"
"Imagine finding someone you connect with, someone who understands you more than anyone ever has. Imagine a Drev finding the greatest warrior in the galaxy, and then... Just having to suffer knowing you can never be with them. Granted none of the other species ever would have considered it an option without the humans, but now.... It makes sense. You connect with someone well enough, then beyond that there isn't much you can do. And now the GA has prohibited that."
"I agree with you completely, but let me play devil's advocate for a moment. They aren't even the same species, without the same genetics. It wouldn't be physically possible to produce a viable offspring wouldn’t it?”
She turned her head to look at him.
"And how does it work for your brother David and his husband Jordan?"
He laughed,
"Ok, ok, poor question."
"Adoption is a relevant option. Plus, this is coming from the guy who lent his DNA to some alien."
"Arguably she stole it, but I get your point."
They turned another corner scanning the crowd,
"Hear me out though. Humans are... Well, you know how humans are. They need... uhhm uhhh you know…”
Adam got a little red,
”…Affection and intimacy... How does that even... Work?"
"Oh, I am sure some human has found a way, besides, humans and Drev aren't so different in that regard..."
He tilted his head to look at her,
"How the hell do you know that?”
"Got into a discussion with Krill. He thinks it's possible, though he would never tell you humans. He already thinks you do a ton of stupid stuff anyway."
”Oh really what is he expecting? I don’t think anyone from our crew would jump at the opportunity to do it with a Drev be it man or woman… Besides with all these tall as hell Drev males, human women wouldn’t have much fun either would they?”
”Considering males who would be interested, aren’t you good friends with Ramirez? Why don’t you ask him, maybe he knows someone?”
”Okay damn fair point… but the female argument still stays.”
”Krill did some research, I swear I never saw him so… done with humans. He looked like he would drink away his sorrow to forget everything… if his body could tolerate alcohol.”
”So what did he find out about this time?”
”After another particularly massive aggressive rant about how and I quote “shitting freaking goddamn incredibly punk-ass weird” you humans are, he said some weird words in a context I didn’t understand. So, do you know what a dragon is and can you tell me why it is so bad?”
”Hmm what… wait a second…”
”…”
”Oh shit…”
”So?”
"So uhmmm uhhh, let’s stop with humans and talk about Drev again okay? Don't you Drev guys also have a mating season?”*
"We did, but it was actually based on the magnetic fluctuation of our planet in time with the seasons. Now that we don't have that anymore, things are out of whack."
"Huh, I didn't know that."
"You never asked."
"Because that is a totally normal thing to ask someone. Hello, my name is Adam, and I am actually very curious about how... That stuff... works on your planet."
"That stuff, huh?"
He rolled his eyes,
"I was sheltered ok, give me a break."
They came to a stop at a crossroads, and Adam stepped down from her back and onto the dirt, tilting his head to listen, trying to detect any signs of a disturbance.
As of yet there was nothing.
He turned to the left, down another line of tents, passing into a more populated area of the protest encampment.
People wearing specially made clothing, with the LFIL logo, shirts, scarves, bandannas, jackets, hats etc. etc. walked about, openly with their alien companions, a few even brave enough to show overt affection towards each other.
A human hugging a Tesraki, while another stood on a box to kiss the cheek of their Drev partner.
"Now that, is something I couldn't do."
He said to Sunny, as they walked past.
"Kiss someone?"
"No, Kiss someone three to four feet taller than me. Way too much work."
"How do you know, maybe climbing up three feet would be worth it?”
Eyes followed them nervously as they walked past, their riot gear marking them as “the enemy”.
"I would rather not be in danger of twisting my ankle every time I wanted to show someone affection, thanks."
"You twist your ankle all the time anyway."
"That's my point. If I twist my ankle now, imagine what would happen if I had to do acrobatics on a regular basis."
They came to a halt as a group of protesters paraded in front of them holding up picket signs.
One of the protesters turned to glare at him,
"We aren't doing anything illegal!”
Adam held up his hands,
"I know. I'm just security to make sure no one gets hurt.”
The other human didn't seem convinced, angrily grabbing their alien companion around the waist before marching off.
The Tesraki looked uncomfortable, looking back at them apologetically.
Though Tesraki were generally cutthroat businessmen, they tended towards extreme submissiveness in relationships with humans.
Adam stepped through the gap left by the protesters and continued walking.
As they did, they early ran into a group of kids selling little white flags and bandannas.
They pulled to a halt, eyes widening in surprise and shock.
A young Tesraki pulled to a halt with them looking as if he was about to panic and run off.
However, the kid at the front's eyes widened and a big smile crossed his face,
“Holy shit! You, I know you!"
Adam smiled,
"You do now?"
"Yeah , yeah you're in that movie. You, you command the UNSC fleet."
For some reason, that exclamation calmed the other kids, and they squealed, shouting and asking for a picture. Of course, he was happy to oblige, posing with them for their pictures. Sunny stood to the side, happy to watch though she was dragged in for the next set of pictures once they realized who she was.
"What are you doing here?"
One of them asked, glancing down at his clothing. When she saw what he was wearing her smile was falling,
"You... aren't here to stop us, are you?"
Adam shook his head,
"No, of course not, protesting isn't illegal."
He motioned to Sunny with his other hand,
"Sunny and I are just here to make sure that you guys stay safe, and that no one gets hurt.”
Sunny nodded. One of the more skeptical looking teens looked up at him,
"How do we know you aren't here to stop us. You work for the GA after all."
Adam shrugged,
"I don't have much else to prove, other than my word."
The skeptic looked at them, a wicked smile appearing on her face,
"I know."
She reached into her cart and pulled out one of the bandannas,
"Wear this!”
It was clear she expected him to balk at the idea, but to her surprise, he smiled,
"Alright, sounds reasonable."
He held out his arm, and watched, still smiling as she tied it around his upper arm still glowering at him skeptically,
"Think you can spare one for my big friend?"
He patted Sunny on the arm.
That broke her skepticism, and she smiled openly, handing a second one over to him, which he tied around one of Sunny's upper arms.
He waved a goodbye to them, and stepped back up onto Sunny's back, walking away with her.
"That was nice of you."
He shrugged,
”Not really. I honestly agree with them. The GA has no right to tell them who they can and cannot be with. I know they have some reasons, but I feel like there is a better way of dealing with it."
Sunny hummed deep in her throat,
"Uh-huh, or you really just want a really tall girlfriend."
He sighed,
"Honestly I'd settle for any size girlfriend if I could just talk to her like a normal person without sticking my foot in my mouth. No Maverick and Dr. Katie do not count…"
"Your incompetence with women is acrobatic."
"I'm glad you're impressed.”
Together, they continued their slow circle around the encampment, drawing suspicious and confused eyes as they went. Sometimes they were recognized, and occasionally people would ask to take pictures with them, other times, they just wanted to talk.
The variety of people was... astounding.
A barely five foot human with a nine foot Drev.
A group of humans and a group of Tesraki.
A lawyer and a Finnari.
Two couples both as business partners with a Tesraki half.
They were young and old male-female, in all different pairings.
Old soldiers, and young students.
It was honestly quite stunning.
At one point they stopped off for water and ran into a massive bodybuilder with his Drev girlfriend, whose carapace at any other time would have marked her as ugly for a Drev.
At first Sunny felt bad for her, with her muddy brown carapace, mat without any shine.
The man turned and handed Adam some water.
”Here better stay hydrated brother!”
Adam raised the bottle,
"Thanks."
The man looked him over, eyeing the bandanna around his arm.
"Interesting accessories for a GA affiliate."
"You can work for someone and disagree with them."
The man laughed,
"I suppose that's true."
He greeted Sunny as well, who was trying not to stare at the other female Drev for too long, lest it seem like she was staring.
He motioned to the arm band,
"Supporter, or-"
His eyes flicked between Adam and Sunny.
"We're just here to make sure everyone stays safe."
Off to the side the mat Drev looked at Sunny,
"I'm sorry."
Sunny glanced over at her nervously,
"Sorry for what?"
"You must have been treated very poorly on Anum."
Sunny shuffled her feet awkwardly,
"I was alright I guess..."
"Regardless. I hope things work out for you. The Drev beauty standards are unfair, and things need to change."
Sunny wasn't entirely sure how she was supposed to feel about that.
"They aren't so bad."
She ventured defensively.
"Then I am sure you are getting combat offers left and right with your coloring.”
Sunny went quiet again. She would have said this was passive aggressive, but the Drev didn't do passive aggressive, so was this just an open statement about how ugly she was? If that was the case, it kind of hurt.
"I have, because I am an experienced warrior."
Her voice was cold.
"Oh, so where is your partner?"
"I turned them down."
That seemed to surprise the female Drev.
Sunny felt her fists clench, but Adam placed a hand on her arm. She was quiet,
The two humans exchanged a look, the way that only humans can, speaking without actually saying anything.
”C’mon babe, lets look a little bit around and let these two be… It was nice meeting you brother! Also… good luck man…”
The human bodybuilder turned around, taking the Drev by one of her hands to lead her away.
Adam took Sunny by the arm and raised his water at the man,
"Uhm what? Huh anyway, good luck to you too?"
Before turning to walk away, the other Drev cut in at the last second.
"I hope you find a worthy battle partner."
Adam Squeezed Sunny's arm tighter, but she turned her head anyway snapping,
"I already have."
Before marching off without another word.
Adam was forced to scamper after her, his legs much shorter.
"Wow, wow, hold your horses!”
She finally slowed to a stop, still fuming.
"Who the hell does she think she is!?”
"Sunny-."
"Calling me ugly to my face!"
"Sunny-"
"I should have challenged her to a duel right then and there!"
"Sunny!?”*
She turned to look at him,
"What!?"
He climbed back up on her back, patting her shoulder,
"She was obviously just insecure and jealous. I mean come on, look at you, blue is the rarest color in the galaxy and most attractive for a Drev, and we all know that height is the least important attribute of Drev beauty standards. The better you can fight, the more you make up for it, besides it's not her fault that she can't accept someone as being valid unless they are in a pair."
Sunny grunted. He frowned,
"Speaking of which, coming from her it seems like a double standard. You fight with me, and I'm fucking awesome, so by default you have to be too."
"Wow Adam, you really know how to make a person feel better."
"I know."
[…]
They were crossing back to the other side of the encampment, when they ran into some familiar faces.
Ramirez and Maverick appeared from the crowd, waving the two of them down with greeting hands.
They pulled to a stop, and the commander motioned to the white bandanna on Ramirez's arm,
"Nice accessories."
"I like yours too."
"I didn't know you were a supporter?”
Ramirez laughed,
"Man I am a supporter of whatever the hell people want to do with themselves."
Off to his side Maverick had tied one of the white bandannas to her belt.
"And you?”
"Personally, I don't give a shit. I don't even think it should be an issue, but by banning it, the GA created a problem for themselves and took away the freedom of choice for these people. Even if I did disagree with what they are doing, I would still support their ability to make that choice for themselves."
She tugged on the bandanna,
"But hey, would I be wearing this otherwise?”
The commander nodded his head, surprised and pleased at his men for being so open minded, though he supposed it should make sense. They worked with aliens every day. Where others might have fostered a sense of fear based on unfamiliarity, they had experience.
"Let’s just hope this all goes over well tomorrow. I don't want to have to use any of this."
He motioned down to his gear.
The commander sighed.
"Isn't that like the catch 22 thing?”
Loyal to one side.
Sympathetic to the other.
Empathetic to both.
He would be relieved when it was finally fixed.
Though how he could help was beyond him.
[...]
"Please everyone, calm yourselves. The Galactic Assembly is addressing the issue as we speak."
The crowd roiled and churned like the bubbles in a pot of boiling water. Flags waved and voices rose high into the air.
The chanting increased in fervor.
"Please!"
The Rundi struggled to raise his voice high enough to be heard over the crowd, who only grew with strength and intensity.
Commander Vir keyed his mic,
"Delta units to the GA side of the crowd, some of these protesters are looking extremely agitated. Let's make sure they don't do anything we're all going to regret.”
He stood with his back to the GA chambers, its wide arching courtyard devoid of life, except for those unfortunate Rundi ordered to carry messages from one side of the compound to the other, otherwise they tried to keep their distance from the front facade of the building and the churning mass of protesters.
White flags waved and fluttered.
Commander Vir held the energy shield with one arm, pressing it back firmly against the crowd, so they could not pass the dedicated marking point.
"Commander, the crowd over here is getting violent."
He grimaced and reached a hand down to open the line,
"Stun them and let them calm down, do NOT catch anyone else in the crossfire. We do not want this escalating."
"Yes sir."
Something pushed against his shield and he grunted, pushing back.
The white bandanna on his arm was pressed against the clear blue force field and helped to at least confuse the crowd before them.
And luckily, they would be kept too confused to get violent.
The aliens among the human protesters helped as well.
If this was on earth, things would have broken out into a riot by now, but the Drev the Tesraki and the Finnari tended to be more levelheaded when it came to these kinds of things, and they managed to reign in their humans from doing something stupid.
He closed his eyes tight for a second, praying that the GA would rethink their position.
It hurt him to watch these people struggle like this.
It just felt so strange that anyone should be here in the first place.
Beside him, Sunny had taken control of two young humans who were getting a bit more than rowdy,
"Let’s keep this a protest, and not a riot."
She growled, giving them a look that would have made anyone quell in their boots. It sort of made him half smile, Sunny was such a badass, he wanted to be more like her when he eventually grew up.
His thoughts were cut off, as the crowd churned a bit, pressing into his shield.
He keyed his mic again, prepared to go over the loudspeaker and tell them that if they didn't calm down he was going to turn this protest into a mass nap time.
He had the power to do that if things got out of hand, though he honestly didn't want to.
The GA needed to see this.
He was so preoccupied with the crowd, that he barely noticed as the Rundi ran up from the inside of the compound, flying forward on its long spindly legs.
It stopped by the first Rundi to say something, and the conversation that passed between them didn't look particularly encouraging.
HIs heart sank into his stomach.
He felt... Surprisingly disappointed, very sad for all those people who were going to get their day ruined.
The Rundi waffled around at the front of the crowd for a bit before turning and looking over to where he stood.
Oh great.
The Rundi walked over, and he backed off from the crowd, allowing Sunny to take a step in his place with her shield at the ready.
The people looked as if they were about to start something, but seeing her expression, they decided not to.
He dropped his shield and lowered his head to hear the Rundi over the roaring of the crowd.
"The GA is not budging."
The Rundi whispered,
"They are asking the protesters to leave."
Adam growled in frustration.
Behind him someone in the crowd pointed at him,
"They're saying no aren't they!?”
Others took up the call, and soon enough the rest of the crowd had been alerted. Adam was forced to run back to support Sunny, as everything suddenly grew more intense.
Fights were breaking out on the left and the right.
People were hitting the ground as the guards were forced to stun them.
That only agitated the rest of the crowd who also began to buck and fight.
Adam keyed the mic for real this time, filling the intervening space with his booming voice,
”ALL OF YOU KNOCK IT OFF RIGHT NOW OR I WILL STUN YOU ALL."
The aggression in the crowd died down, though the anger remained sizzling at the surface.
Overhead clouds passed over the sun, before him the crowd roared like a wave, and behind him the GA council chambers were as silent as a ghost town.
"LISTEN, QUIET DOWN ALL OF YOU."
It sort of felt as if he was floating.
The world around him hardly seemed real though that was not the best way to explain it.
The crowd died down a bit,
"You may not understand this! And I have said it before, but these are not humans. Protests don't work on them. When they see a group of angry humans, they get scared and when they get scared, they double down even further. I know it does not make any sense to you NOT to protest for what you believe in, but if you are going to do this, you MUST remain civil. Even now the GA is frightened by you. They don't believe you are rational, and they are not going to listen to you if this keeps up."
The crowd had quieted down to a milling sort of confusion.
"Then what should we do!"*
The shouting came from somewhere and in anger, though he couldn't pinpoint the source.
In frustration he nudged Sunny, and she allowed him to climb on her back as he had before.
The crowd could see him now, and he could see them for the most part.
He waved them down trying to cut off the others who had taken up the chant.
"I understand what you are trying to do, and I support your efforts, but you are only hurting ourselves. The GA can only be won by rational discussion."
"The GA won't see any of our representatives. They are debating only on their own facts and opinions."
One of the crowd's people snarled. The call was echoed and Adam stared at them in shock,
"Wait what!? Are you serious?”
There was a muttering throughout the crowd.
"For fuck's sake."
He muttered under his breath,
"The Rudi think none of us are high ranking enough to be allowed into the council chambers, and none of the representatives will take up our cause. The human ambassador thinks we are disgusting, so she won't do anything and says she won’t represent our minority."
The muttering through the crowd grew louder.
Adam looked around, head turning to see all the angry faces, blushed with red, or streaked with tears.
These people were frustrated, and hurt, and he understood why.
This wasn't right!
He closed his eyes again and took another deep breath.
What was he thinking!?
He stepped down from Sunny's back and walked over to one of the protestors in the front row, pointing to his large flag on a pole that was about eight feet tall.
"May I borrow your flag?"
The protester stared on at him in confusion,
"What, why?"
"Because, I am going to give you the representative you need."
[…]
Commander Vir and Sunny walked alone down the length of the GA outer courtyard.
A billowing white flag streamed lazily over his head, suspended there by way of the pole which rested heavily on his shoulder. The white of the fabric had been marred now by many colors as hundreds of rushed signatures had been scrawled on its face.
He was armed with the backing of a thousand protesters, a hundred signatures, and more than a few dozen stories.
Sunny turned her head to look at him, and he fancied that maybe he saw an expression of pride in her eyes, though she didn't say much except,
"Pretty brave."
He didn't feel very brave, and as they walked through the front doors of the GA atrium, his hand was shaking against the cold metal of the flagpole.
He was stopped by a pair of Rundi guards on his way into the chamber, but was let in after they recognized who he was.
He could hear voices up ahead, and the sounds of the protest going on outside had all but died away,
"They have proven that they cannot be civil, and based on the humanizing effect, we can assume they will do similar things to any non-human lifeform that they encounter."
"I may not agree with their decision counselor, but that sounds like your prejudice against humans is seeping through."
There was an uproar in the council chamber.
He paused for a moment, staying with Sunny just out of line of sight and took a deep breath.
She lay a hand on his shoulder.
"Here goes nothing."
He muttered, before stepping his way out onto the GA floor.
At first no one noticed his presence as he made his slow way into the center of the circle, but his large, white flag soon changed that.
The council chambers went silent.
The chairwoman stood,
"Commander, what are you doing here. Shouldn't you be taking care of the protesters?”
His lips drew into a thing line,
"With all due respect councilwoman, I am."
He rammed the flagpole against the stone, sending a loud cracking sound out and around the wide atrium silencing the council,
"I have been made aware that you refuse to see their representatives based on a ranking issue, well I assume my rank is high enough."
The Human rep leaned forward,
"Commander, this is not your place!”
He shot her a look,
"Then whose place is it counselor? I heard a certain democratic counselor refuses to speak for them because they are and I quote “a too small and insignificant minority”…”
He turned his head in a wide arc at the watching crowd,
"Counselors, you have known me, longer than you have known any human currently in this galaxy. You understand that I know your rules and your customs. You understand that I have only ever striven to protect and uphold the GA and the planet's it encompasses. I have thwarted wars, signed treaties, and broken my own body for your best interests."
There was silence about the room.
"Will you let me speak now, with the understanding that my loyalty has never wavered from you, and never will?”
The silence continued.
Aliens understood the power of human loyalty.
Or at least they should…
The chairwoman took a seat,
"Very well, commander."
He lifted his head, feeling his heart slow as he took a few deep breaths. There was a muscle in his face that had begun to twitch, like it always did if he was extremely angry or nervous, but he held it down,
"I understand you are frightened, and I understand that you are confused, but I want you to know first of all that those people outside are good average people. They don't mean you any harm. They are hurting, and they are afraid for themselves, and they are trying to get your attention. Historically, humanity has used protests to right the injustices of government to combat prejudices brought on by one's sex or the color of their skin. You must understand that they see this as an impingement on their happiness and a decision made out of line."
There was a murmur around the room.
"So, I ask you now, that I may, perhaps, answer your questions and ease your worries. Why are you so against them?"
"It's unnatural."
It was the Bran representative that had spoken, and he did it quite emphatically.
"Why?"
The commander asked,
"Because they aren't even the same species."
"So?"
The Bran seemed caught off guard,
"They... It's not natural. They can't reproduce, so it isn't... A thing that should be done."
The commander shrugged,
"So if one can't reproduce then they aren't natural? I see a couple issues in that logic relating to prejudices against people with infertility."
There was a murmur around the room.
"So, they can't reproduce, so what? You know who we can reproduce with though... Adaptids."
There was a sort of hushed exclamation form around the room.
The commander shrugged,
"They can't have kids.... Hardly a good enough argument to bring to the floor of a government discussion."
"What he is trying to say is that this practice equates itself to bestiality. It is utterly disguting!"
It was the human representative this time, and she stared at him with her eyes narrowed in anger.
He kept his cool, though he very much did not like her.
"That is absolutely disgusting and wildly insulting of you because that implies that one or both parties are no better than animals, beasts as you will."
The room was silent,
"So which one is it, are humans animals, counselor, are the Finnari or the Rundi animals?"
He turned to the Drev counselor,
"Are the Drev just dumb animals that have no understanding, and no decision making abilities?”
The Drev representative stood, angrily cracking his spear against the stone,
"We are most certainly not!"
The commander held up his hands,
"Then what is so bestial about it? Bestiality is absolutely disgusting because you are taking advantages of a creature that can neither understand nor protect itself from what you are doing. It cannot say yes, and it cannot say no. It has no greater understanding than that of a child, and so cannot make its own decisions."
He looked towards the Finnari representative,
"Tell me counselor, is your species a species of children, with no greater concept of their own decision making?”
"Of course not. Why would you even imply such a thing!?”
"I imply nothing, counselor. This is what YOU imply with your decision. So far we have established that all parties are intelligent consenting creatures, and none of you have managed to give me an actually good reason for banning the practice."
The floor was growing more agitated.
"They will be a poor example for the rest of the galaxy. If we make it legal others will surely follow."
Adam turned his eyes on the speaker, an Iotin,
"You're worried that they are going to turn the rest of the galaxy extrial?"
He laughed,
"That is a poor argument which is not only selfish, but foolish. People should be allowed to make their own decisions. And assuming you are right, what then? Oh no... There are a few more extrials... And it does... What exactly?"
He turned in a wide circle,
"If you are worried about population growth or in this case population falloff due to this issue then you should be reminded that extrials comprise a percentage of the human population so small that I could fit the greater majority of them on my ship comfortably. This occurrence is not common, and even if the numbers were to rise, it would not be of enough significance to cause issues."
His heart was hammering hard inside his chest. He felt like he was doing alright, but that might mean nothing.
"In any event, these relationships do not affect the vast majority of the galaxy. Humans cannot be with the Bran or the Rundi due to the water we shed from our skin. The Gromm and the Iotins are out for similar reasons. Vrul and Gibb are incapable of having feelings for humans in that way as far as we know, and both the Tvek and the Celzex are too different from humans for either party to be interested."
He walked around in a circle, allowing the flag to trail behind him,
"Furthermore, the humanization phenomenon happens with or without romantic intent, and as it is, its mention is more a mark of prejudice on humans than it is an argument against the two groups being together."
He left the floor open for a little while, as the council muttered with each other.
Finally, the Drev representative stood,
"My species culture and our way of life has been upturned by the GA. I fear relationships with humans will result in the loss of our culture. We have already strayed far from what we originally were. We are hardly recognizable as Drev anymore."
The commander let his voice soften,
"I understand that the Drev have lost a lot in joining this..."
Sunny held up a hand, and in surprise he was cut off.
She took the floor,
"Your Glory…"
She said bowing her head,
"If you would have truly upheld those ideals, you would not be sitting on this council."
The Drev pulled back in surprise at her words,
"Yes, we lost a lot in joining the GA, and after the war, but I would argue that some of that was for good. Before the GA people like me, with perceived imperfection were cast into the fire and perceived as no better than animals. This practice still takes place on our planet, where these traditions are still alive and well."
Her words made the room shift nervously,
"However, culture changes and adapts, and it must to survive. We changed in order to live among the GA. We found other alternatives to fighting that still maintain our honor and our prowess in war, and this includes the sports that the humans have brought to us. Furthermore, the vast majority of the Drev I see who are with humans are those of us who would not be accepted by our own kind, perceived as ugly or malformed. If this is the case then your traditions remain sound, and those like me are removed from the mating population."
The counselor almost looked ashamed at her words, turning his head away so as not to look her in the eyes.
"As far as a change of culture goes, it was bound to happen, and it seems you are more worried about change than you actually are about relationships."
She went quiet, and Adam nodded to her taking the floor again.
A Finnari counselor stood,
"I am simply worried about our birth rate. The Finnari were farmed by the Gnarlak for many years, and we are only now replenishing our population."
"I don't think you need to worry. The amount of relationships is so small that it will not affect the Finnari population in any significant manner."
The chairwoman stood,
"Your arguments have been heard commander, but, what the others do not mention is the issue of disease. We have seen a great increase of human transmitted illnesses."
"I hate to cut you off chairwoman, but that is NOT related to interspecies relationships, it has another explanation: human tourism."
"Explain."
"You all know that humans are not allowed to leave their planet, unless tested for all communicable non-treatable diseases. This means that those of us that you see here cannot physically pass our diseases off onto other people. In this case these issues did not stem from relationships at all, but poor vaccination, the poor regulation of tourism, and allowing aliens to travel onto earth where infected humans are located, not testing them as they leave. You see? You don't even have problems with them, but you are using them as a real scapegoat for the actual issues. In fact you are causing more problems by banning this! The more you push, the harder they will push back, eventually someone is going to get hurt. Also since they are not allowed to be together legally, they do it illegally, and because they do it illegally, they end up in dangerous places exposed to greater rates of crime. They get hurt, and they get involved in things they would otherwise not have gotten involved in if you had not banned it. Just look at Noctoplis. It has the highest rate of extrials living there and the lowest policing force and the most corrupted system. There are no legitimate jobs there, so we see an influx of crime by desperate people who won't be accepted anywhere else. Not to mention that it increased the depression rates, which increases suicide rates. Your laws have ostracized them, forced them to become criminals, and turned many of them to killing themselves, rather than living in a world where they are seen as disgusting."
He had to take a deep breath,
"Earth has seen all of this before, and one way or another, eventually someone will see what I am trying to say."
He rested the flag on the floor beside him, feet planted at shoulder width.
"I hope that this rational conversation will allow a more open mind on the council. I encourage you to talk to their representatives. They are more rational and educated than I am, and they can give you hard facts and statistics. But please, they don't want to cause trouble, if you allow them to do as they will, you might find these problems going away for you."
The human representative clearly did not seem convinced, but he didn't expect to convince her, he expected to convince the others who were more afraid than they were prejudiced.
"It seems as if we have some other potential policies to discuss, commander."
The chairwoman said, tapping her fingers on the table before her.
"I have a suggestion, ma'am."
"And that is?"
"A temporary revocation on the ban, that way you can SEE what the universe will be like without it, and you can judge for yourself whether The ban does any good. You don't have to overturn the law just yet, but temporarily suspend it, that way you can re institute at any time. Then you will have concrete proof. You can do testing, and polls and whatever else, then you would know for sure."
His suggestion turned into a discussion, that dragged on for many minutes before the chairwoman raised her hand,
"It has been decided, all in favor of this temporary proposal please indicate."
The voting lights flashed above them.
[…]
He walked from the venue, hours after he had entered.
The flag felt heavy in his hands, his boots thudded with exhaustion on the white marble below him.
Outside, the protest field was surprisingly silent, though he could still see their flags.
As he walked closer, he could see that the crowd was sitting down.
Their voices reached him from a distance at first, until he realized they were calmly singing with each other.
Waiting...
Suddenly the first people from the crowd noticed the two silhouettes coming from the chambers towards them.
A lone man and Drev, walking from the building.
The man was wearing riot gear, a full helmet, a shield, and carrying their flag, resting against his right shoulder.
The group of them began to stand, rising to their feet and yelling.
They quieted as he got closer.
"What did they say!? What did they say!?”
He passed the flag to the original protester who looked on at him with such an expression of pleading that he felt his eyes tingle a bit with rising emotion.
He had to look away, boosting himself onto Sunny's back, keying his mic.
The crowd was silent.
"I spoke to the GA. After a long debate, and a slim majority the GA have decided to temporarily revoke the ban on inter-species relationships until a-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence, drowned out by a powerful wave of noise and joy so overwhelming that he was nearly knocked backwards off his feet.
The crowd surged forward and Sunny staggered as the group surrounded them.
Adam found himself on the ground on his feet, enclosed by hundreds of pairs of arms, as every person tried their best to get one hand on him.
He was deafened by cheering and an outpouring of gratitude so profound he had simply never experienced such emotion.
He looked up at Sunny, pressed in with him by the enthusiastic crowd, she nodded her head in approval.
He grinned, he had to admit this felt pretty good.
Though, whether it was all over was a question for another time.
Previous First [Next](link)
Here is the link to the master-post.
OC-whole collection
Patreon of the author

Not the funnest conversation to start my day with, but it wasn’t a surprise. Last night I got so drunk that my husband had to call my sister to come over and help get me up the stairs into bed. I don’t remember anything else but my husband had a story with all the details for me this morning and it was very hard to listen to.
I threw up all over the rug, I threw up all over the bed, I threw up all over the bathroom. I fell out of bed three times. I was so drunk I couldn’t stand or get up once I was down.
Why? Why did I drink that much? I never drink that much. I wish I could understand it. I still smell like vomit… I haven’t had a chance to shower yet because my husband went upstairs to sleep while I watch the kids. He was up all night checking on me.
It’s not fun anymore. It hasn’t been for some time. It started out as like two or three glasses of wine at night to unwind once the baby was down… probably at around 8:30pm? Eventually it turned into a bottle, and that was sufficient. I’d drink one maybe two or three days a week. Then it was five days. Then it was 7:00pm. Then 6:30pm… then 5:00pm. Seven days a week. One bottle is no longer enough. It’ll need to be closer to 6 or 7 glasses… maybe more. I stopped buying bottles because it didn’t economically make sense anymore. A box would do. So, I no longer know how much I was drinking.
If this story sounds familiar, it’s because I posted a similar post here back in April. I thought I’d hit my low point, and that it was enough to stop. I did stop, for a little bit. Maybe a week? Then I convinced myself that I could drink on my days off only. That was my compromise to myself, because I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to it yet. Because I’m stupid.
I don’t remember when it turned back into an every day thing. Probably about a month ago. I don’t remember when it turned into 8 glasses instead of 4 or 5. I don’t know when I first noticed having the shakes during the day. I don’t know how much I drank last night, and I don’t know why.
I could barely look my husband in this face this morning. He slept on the couch with the baby because I couldn’t care for my own child. When I got up, he rushed up the stairs… he was worried I might still be drunk, and that I might try to bring our toddler down the stairs and fall or drop him. I am so unbelievably disgusted with myself.
I feel so lonely, and I feel so depressed, and I can’t fathom how I could ever feel anything even resembling something like joy ever again. And to be honest, I don’t really want to. I just want to sit here and marinate in the vomit smells from my hair. Because I feel like such a fucking loser. A deadbeat mom who can’t put down the motherfucking chardonnay for one motherfucking night.
Now I’m just pissed off at how insufferable this all sounds. Just a bunch of self-pity bullshit. My hands are shaking still, because they almost always do now which is scary and I keep trying to rationalize my way out of everything but I can’t. And it’s 9:15 in the morning and I have to go to work in three hours. Somehow I still have a job.
I actually manage a team of people. At a hotel. Luxury hotel. Fucking sucks. I hate it. I don’t want to go. I don’t want to do anything. I just want to curl into a dark hole somewhere and never come out. And I feel pathetic for feeling this way because I don’t have really any reason to be this mopey and pitiful. I have two beautiful children, an almost 3 year old and a barely 1 year old. I had two under two and they have my whole heart… yet I have to remind myself to smile at them. I feel utterly joyless, pretty much at all times. I started antidepressants, Cymbalta, two months ago. I feel like maybe it was helping at one point but it’s pretty much a waste of money as long as I continue to drink. It also killed my sex life so that’s been fun. Not that I can imagine I’ve been particularly desirable lately anyway.
Anybody else watch Succession? I waited two years for the final season. Watched it every Sunday. I don’t remember fucking any of it. Why do anything?
Have you ever changed a messy diaper with shaky ass hands? I feel like my hands barely work sometimes. I feel like I’m vibrating… just slightly, but it’s there. My breath smells like dog shit.
I don’t know anymore.
Edit: yeah that 55 days is a goddamn lie. Time to reset the flair. At least now I know how long it’s been since my last “low point.” I wish I could go back to that low point… suddenly doesn’t seem so low.

I met this girl named Maddy Cerny (@cindayy_36) on Omegle and went to Snapchat and she came off very nice to me at first. We’re both content creators and we were looking for helping each other out. She said she had a legit “paypig” that pays A TON of money for stupid stuff over video call and I normally dont fall for this shit but we legit formed a bond/friendship. She then shared this said “paypig” with me named Stephen Thompson (@sthompson8954) and he added me back immediately and we got to talking. He even sent me proof of other girls saying “Stephan is real” so I was like bet I’m boutta make my rent money today. He said he didn’t pay upfront for the first video call, but paid up front on the next ones and that i would get taken care of. Maddy confirmed and I trusted her, she seemed super genuine and friendly. so fast forward, i ignore my gut feeling telling me to not do it, he gets foot content out of me and a sex clip. then he just disappears. maddy sent me screenshots of her calling and messaging him like why tf woul he do that where is my payment, etc. then he appears 4 hours later, said he was doing some stuff with his roommates, and that if i did another session he’d pay double the amount first asked. i said no a thousand times but maddy manipulated me into doing it for the money so i did. he ghosted me afterwards. took screenshots of the videocall, saved my sex clip, and just disappeared for 5 hours. then i wake up to this mf blackmailing me saying that i need to do whatever he says or he’s gonna post me all over social media. so here i go again, do another fucking video call with this mf. maddy has ghosted me btw. and the mf never pays, not even $5 fucking dollars. then i met another girl who had been scammed by the same dude, same situation, literally did the same thing to her. and we started questioning this maddy “girl” well, it turns out, maddy is stephan. maddy is pretending to be a content creator and a girl in order to scam girls into giving out content. i’ll be posting maddy’s screenshot’s and confession (he confessed to the other girl he scammed) in the comments. PLEASE help me report these motherfuckers and reassure they don’t have a chance at snapchat ever fucking again. I want them to get fucked up.

So I have a chance to possibly do an exchange semesteyear abroad and my two main choices would be either the USA or South Korea. To add some context I’m myself from Scandinavia and both societies would be quite different from my own. I’d also be around 20/21 yr old female while there. On top of that I’m also gay which wouldn’t otherwise have to be mentioned since I could always keep quiet about it but unfortunately my style tends to be rather masculine and at least in western countries people read me as queer.
The reason why I want to go to the states is to learn about the politics there. The country really interests me from an academic point of view since I study social science and political science. Moreover, If I’d choose this option I’d be going there during the fall of 2024 so during the elections. However, while I’m absolutely desperate to learn about the usa I’m also concerned cause I’ve got quite a few people saying it’s too unstable/dangerous place to go to especially cause I’m a young female. Another reason for rethinking my plans to go there is simply that it is expensive/the process is more difficult (visa/language tests etc).
Now to Korea. I’ve been interested in Korean culture since I was 14 and it’d definitely be an interesting place to go to. However, I have only studied a little bit of the language before (pretty much only know how to introduce myself). That said, I’d have a chance to go there for an year which would give me more time to learn the language. Also I’ve heard great experiences from other Scandinavians from that country. It seems that it is also much safer for me to travel alone there as a young female. (Although prob less safe than here).
Some of my concerns are that I’m “visibly gay” and vegan. With the vegan thing I’d personally be open to flexibility and possibly switch for a vegetarian/even pescetarian diet but I’d assume it’s still quite hard to find food.
The ”visibly gay” thing concerns me not only bc of possible homophobia (which I may experience in the states as well so..) but also bc I’d like to make local friends and Idk how well they respond to a person who is not only a foreigner but also someone who does not even try to follow the beauty standards (although I’m white and skinny which probably helps me). (I wear mens clothes, dont save, dont wear makeup etc….). I also do not really drink alcohol. I know it’s hard to make local friends there in any case and that’s also why I, at first, leaned towards the usa. So basically my concern is if I’m “too different” to be able to enjoy my exchange there.
Also I’m scared the year I’d spend in Korea would be ”a waste of time” since idk how much it or knowing korean would help me with my studies/or my career. Maybe I’ve made this up but I feel like the exchange in the states would be more appreciated. However, it’d an amazing and lonce in a life time” experience to live a year in another country regardless.
If anyone has personal experience on either of these places I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions about my concerns🙏🏻 (and I apologize for any grammaspelling mistakes on this post)

Not even sure which subreddit to post it to. If it gets too long, I’ll post in-short story here and the rest on my profile. What started as a normal conversation quickly spiralled out of control when I thought they sounded upset because I wasn’t being serious enough and wanted to explain the situation and remind them that I’d informed them I was busy the week, which is why I wasn’t on top of things. Things I’d tried to forget about started happening again. This friend had a habit of misunderstanding me and then blowing things out of proportion when I’d try to explain. I was stuck in an abusive cycle where in the end, I’d always apologise despite them insulting me and going way overboard over the tiniest thing. We had a falling out but recently patched things up and things were great. We’d both matured and were navigating much better. And then this happened. I’m having flashbacks of those times and don’t know if it’s worth reaching out. Before the last 2 messages, I was even typing out a complete explanation, wanting to clear things up, but then I didn’t send it. I don’t think there’s a point anyway especially since they can’t differentiate between my ‘offended but wanting to diffuse’ and their belief of me going on the offensive. It may seem childish, but the stress has been killing me.

Yeah I probably know in what range i fall but just to be sure im going to ask experts here, im mostly just curious about my fluid reasoning (im non-native) :
​

• TRI-52: 732, 135, 125 +/- 5, 129 - depending on the norms
• Old SAT: Math - 128
• CAIT PRI: 1st 108, 2nd 127 (I usually dont take this score in an account because of lack of sleep but do what you want to do with it)
• CAIT CPI: WMI was like around 120 on the second or third try, i couldnt focus so i did it again but i did not remember the numbers (highest score in the last part where you had to organize numbers, lowest in the first lol), PSI was 140
• BRGHT: lowest: 118 highest: 139 average of 6 tests: 130
• Ravens 2: 136
• ICAR16: 15/16
• ICAR60: 59/60
• Mensa norway (first test ever, couple of years ago): 122 or 125
• Mensa denmark: somewhat closer to 130 if i recall correctly
• D-48/70: according to the norms on the post with the test(i saw someone saying that those norms are scuffed and the official ones are better) - 118

​
I had more tests but i dont remember the actual scores, i did RAPM with 130+ score, some polish leaked iq (matrices) test that have been leaked here and i scored 130+ on it too.

Here is today's reading for the Fire Signs. The Fire Signs are Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius!
Welcome to Elemental Star Reads, your enlightened source of astrological guidance by way of Daily Horoscopes. Follow us for your daily readings on all 12 signs and direction from the stars.
Daily Horoscope for Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius - June 3rd!
Each reading entails insights into your personal life, love life, travel, money, career, and health matters. Take in what resonates with you and follow the wisdom of the stars. All things rise and fall, the pendulum swing manifests in Everything.
You can find these daily readings on the two channels pinned at the top of this subreddit every morning! Thank you and let me know of anything that you would like to see! The support that you all have provided means the world to me! I hope to grow and make this into something even bigger!
Take a look at dailyastro and my other posts to find your sign! Each element has its own flair so they can be found easily!