Warzone typically refers to Call of Duty: Warzone, which is a popular free-to-play battle royale video game. It was developed and published by Activision as part of the Call of Duty franchise. Warzone was released on March 10, 2020 and is available on various gaming platforms such as PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.
In Call of Duty: Warzone, players participate in online multiplayer battles where they fight against other players in a large-scale map. The objective is to be the last player or team standing by eliminating opponents. The game features a variety of weapons, equipment, vehicles, and strategies to enhance gameplay. Warzone also incorporates elements of the broader Call of Duty universe, allowing players to utilize characters and weapons from other Call of Duty games.

Why Is Warzone So popular?

There are several reasons why Call of Duty: Warzone has gained significant popularity:

1. Established Franchise: Warzone benefits from being part of the long-running and highly successful Call of Duty franchise. The series has a dedicated fan base that eagerly embraces new releases and experiences.
2. Free-to-Play Model: Warzone is available as a free-to-play game, which means anyone can download and play it without having to purchase the base game. This accessibility has contributed to its popularity, as it allows a wide range of players to join in without any financial commitment.
3. Battle Royale Genre: Warzone falls into the popular battle royale genre, where a large number of players compete against each other until only one individual or team remains. Battle royale games offer a mix of intense combat, strategic decision-making, and the thrill of being the last one standing. This genre has attracted a massive player base due to its competitive nature and the adrenaline rush it provides.
4. Cross-Platform Support: Warzone supports cross-platform play, allowing players on different gaming platforms (such as PlayStation, Xbox, and PC) to play together. This feature enhances the player pool and makes it easier for friends to team up, regardless of their chosen gaming platform.
5. Regular Updates and Seasons: Warzone receives frequent updates and new seasons, introducing fresh content such as maps, weapons, game modes, and cosmetic items. This regular stream of updates helps keep the game engaging and maintains player interest over time.
6. Integration with Call of Duty: Warzone integrates with other Call of Duty games, allowing players to unlock content and use characters and weapons from the broader franchise. This integration appeals to fans of the series, who enjoy the familiarity and connection to the larger Call of Duty universe.
7. Streaming and eSports: Warzone's popularity has been further amplified through streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube, where many popular streamers and content creators showcase their gameplay. This exposure, combined with the game's potential for high-stakes competitive play, has contributed to its success in the realm of eSports.

I (30f) am 37 weeks pregnant with my husband's and my first child and had a heated discussion with my mom (54f) about the conditions when they come and see baby.
This is a long one so I am sorry in advance.
I must explain it a bit further. My mom calls herself "baby crazy" and openly admitted to me that the baby stage is her favorite stage when it comes to kids. She loves cuddling baby's, taking photos of them (photography is kinda her hobby, which is fine), kissing them and so on. I am one of 6 children and my brother already has two children of his own (5m, 4f) so there were and are plenty of children in her life. But, since she is merely interested in small baby's, she and my dad quickly lose interest in the children from a certain age. Maybe around the time they go to school. My parents then only feed, dress and house the children and deem it enough. No words of endearment or affirmation are ever heard again. Of course, as teenagers, we called them out on that. Exclaiming how they never ask uns how we do, we never talk around dinner table how our day was. Their excuse: they find it bothersome to ask us every day how we are. Which was never our goal (all we wanted was for them to ask us how we are every once in a while) but they always have the same pattern of excuse: drawing the argument completely out of proportion to make it sound ridiculous in their ears. According to my mother, if they didn't take an interest in my siblings from the age of 6, the time we went to school, then she would have given all of us up for adoption. See? Completely out of proportion. We called them out on how they never say "I am proud of you" or "I love you". Their answer: of course we do love you/of course we are proud of you. Yet they never say or show it. We just "have to know". This continued all my life. 8 years studying in university, no "How are you?". 1 year studying abroad as an exchange student, no "How is it going?". Now I live with my husband in a different country (in Europe) for 3 years and they never shown any interest in my life. Or my husband for that matter. Never send him a Happy Birthday text. Last year, even I didn't get a Happy Birthday text. They also never visit. Not ever. Whereas I try to show interest by calling on their birthdays, visiting for Christmas etc. I am used to this general lack of interest by now and don't mind it, as long as it keeps the piece.
Side info: yes they do have a smartphone and the whole family has different group chats on a messenger app. They could easily text (which they often do concerning my niece and nephew), call or even video chat, like I did last week because it was my dad's birthday and I couldn't travel the 300km each way while heavily pregnant.
But what did upset me was that although my parents never bothered to ask how my pregnancy is going or how my baby is doing, suddenly, with the birth coming closer and closer, they are so excited to come and see the baby. Mind you, they never even asked for the baby's name and wouldn't know till today if my sister didn't say it by accident when she visited for a birthday. I did send every ultrasound picture in the family group chat (also for my siblings to see), send them info's about my baby's health or send videos showing how the baby moves inside my belly. These were all met with a simple thumps up or heart emoji. No further questions. Nothing for 9 months. Due to the lack of interest, I stopped at some point. The only information my mother send me during this whole pregnancy was that she bought a number of photo albums for her grandkids. She has some for my niece and nephew already and bought 4 more. One for my baby when it is born and three more so I could give her 3 more grand babies. I was upset by this as I was hoping she would show some general interest in me or my baby, not just her wish to have a full album of photos or a wagon load of grandbabys. This went along with her demand "And I want lots of pictures of the baby when it's born" as if she is entitled to them.
She had other demands during my pregnancy, like letting me know she is gonna do some hand- and footprints of the baby when they visit. And she would do some for me as well since she still has the paint to do it from when my niece and nephew were born. Like I couldn't make some prints myself. Also, she let me know that she is gonna buy lipstick, put it on herself and kiss my newborn all over her face to take a cute picture showing how much her grandma loves her new grand baby. She never wears makeup and has no clue what good brands are. She would buy some cheap lipstick and use it. All of these things (and more) were not questions, they were demands! I usually ignored them since they caused a lot of stress for me, thinking about how she going to do all that to my baby. I admit I should've said something earlier and I fully take responsibility for that.
My parents also never asked us when they could come visit. I am very fortunate that my husband gets to have a full month off of work when the baby comes but we are also in the midst of moving into a bigger apartment so that the baby will have a room of her own. We are expecting end of June although the baby could also decide to come early July. Who knows? Yet the month of July will be our busiest month, taking care of a newborn, growing together as a family and moving. What sparked the heated discussion now was a voice mail from my mom, exclaiming they decided they want to come mid July to see the baby. In her mind, I already would have had 2 to maybe 3 weeks after birth and they would wanna see the baby as long as it is still tiny and cute. I was livid since first of all, they never asked us when they could visit my whole pregnancy, simply stating a fact again and second of all, they only want to see my baby when it's tiny and cute? So it only matters to them when it's fresh out of the womb? I talked to my husband and we decided to calmly let them know that July wouldn't work for us and maybe they could come in August, when the baby is a bit older and the move is done. She went ballistic, sending me a 50 mins (!!) voice mail saying they couldn't come on August since they made other plans (like a doctor's appointment - for real!) and the baby would already be so grown then. My mother said that since babys grow so fast, I would strip them of the moment to see the baby so small. A moment they will never get back. Another strategy she always uses: making us the villains and making us feel bad. She also started to cry and, when the discussion goes nowhere, shuts down and literally runs away. It has always been that way. So that discussion went nowhere.
Since my mother is "baby crazy" I did see a number of times how she always wants to hold and cuddle baby's. And I know she will want to do that with my baby too which in itself is a not a problem for me. But I also know that the baby is the only reason they come. They will focus only on the baby, not bothering with my husband and me. They will come into the apartment, head straight for the crib and take my baby. Doesn't matter if the baby is sleeping or what. Since I know how my mother is, I started to get anxiety early in the pregnancy. A fear she is gonna take away my child. Not giving it back when I say so. Not giving it back when it's time to feed.
I also told her that I don't feel comfortable knowing she is gonna take my baby away from me to cuddle and kiss. In her 50 mins tirade she first said "Of course we come to see and cuddle the baby, that's what we come for in the first place" (thanks mom for wanting to see me btw). Later she went a step back and said she would not take my baby out of the crib when it sleeps. Probably because she feared I would forbid her from seeing the baby all together. But later she again said that they do wanna come and hold the baby and if they couldn't, then they wouldn't come all the way. Only to later again say of course she will give the baby to me when I ask. Also she said that she wouldn't want to come just to see the baby from afar when it sleeps. But then stating that she would be fine to just get a glimpse of it. But then also saying that she is only there for 2-3 days and wants to hold it as long as possible in that short time and "you can have it back when we leave". She literally said that it belongs to me again when they leave. Like what? Like it only belongs to you when you are here?? All these mixed signals made me even more anxious.
All in all my husband and I know that she has difficulties differentiating the baby as not her baby. It is my husband's and my baby but she seems to forget that and believe it to be hers.
She is the type of woman that says "mother knows best" and would argue with me how the baby is so comfortable right now while cuddling her when I tell her to give me my baby back. Also, she openly said that since July is so busy for us, she would take care of my baby while my husband and I can do the heavy lifting when moving or that I "will have time to do chores". I hate people who believe the only way of helping a new mother is by taking the newborn out of the her arms to cuddle while the mother "finally" gets to do the housework. It makes me furious.
So, we did what we had to and directly told them when it would be a good time for us to have them over (last week of July, to make a compromise) and we put our foot down and set the following rules: #1: no baby holding unless asked or given to. #2: no photos taken unasked or even shared on social media. #3: no hand- or footprints done when not asked, no lipstick kissing photos. #4: if they want to take part in my baby's life, they need to come to me and ask for information, photos or videos. Not the other way around.
We thought these rules were not too extreme and would give me a piece of mind, soften my anxiety. Since telling her our rules she only gave us the silent treatment. I know she is mad that she doesn't get it her way. I know she must be crying, which makes my dad livid (from my sister who's still living with my parents I know that my dad supports her in every decision she made about my baby).
I am easy to guilt trip. And now I am wondering if we did something wrong.

Hi there,
I am seeking fellowship with morally rigid Catholics. For example, those who believe that nudity should not be displayed in public art as it is indecent, women should dress modestly (even outside of mass) i.e. long dress, sleeves at least to the elbow, loose fitting clothes, no transparent/revealing attire, collar no more than 2 fingers breadth beneath the pit of the throat (Pius XI approved guidelines,) reject Vatican 2 and it's antipopes.
I have personally found that even among those who call themselves "Traditional Catholics," there are many whose morals and values I simply do not respect as they contradict the principles of modesty, the teachings of the saints, official church rules on women's dress etc.
If you share my spiritual anguish in this regard, please reach out as I would love to get to know you more and see if God wills for our souls to aid each other to Heaven.
Pax in Cristo. I pray that this post finds whomsoever God wills for it to find. 🙏🏼✝️

Hi there,
I am seeking fellowship with morally rigid Catholics. For example, those who believe that nudity should not be displayed in public art as it is indecent, women should dress modestly (even outside of mass) i.e. long dress, sleeves at least to the elbow, loose fitting clothes, no transparent/revealing attire, collar no more than 2 fingers breadth beneath the pit of the throat (Pius XI approved guidelines,) reject Vatican 2 and it's antipopes.
I have personally found that even among those who call themselves "Traditional Catholics," there are many whose morals and values I simply do not respect as they contradict the principles of modesty, the teachings of the saints, official church rules on women's dress etc.
If you share my spiritual anguish in this regard, please reach out as I would love to get to know you more and see if God wills for our souls to aid each other to Heaven.
Pax in Cristo. I pray that this post finds whomsoever God wills for it to find. 🙏🏼✝️

Hi all,
I've been playing Raid long enough to get Visix, and I'm really enjoying it but I feel like I'm kinda 'stuck', so I'm looking for advice. I've been trolling the reddit for a few days now and I've learned a few things... mostly:
Sets are great, but high speed/accuracy etc is much better than a set (?) I should be able to create a level 60 once a week I've been playing this game badly!! :P
So - speed/accuracy being better than sets - just want to confirm that I'm 100% on the right track here? I recently started breaking up the sets and gearing this way on some of my characters and I think I'm seeing improvement (they're certainly quicker, hooray!)
My next 60s are slated to be Apothecary, Frozen Banshee, and Coldheart. It looks like they're going to give me the most bang for my buck, so to speak. (I was focusing on getting all my legendaries to 60 first which I feel like I shouldn't have done). Can you recommend anyone else I should be eyeing off to make 60 ASAP? (Maneater and Toragi appear in a lot of lists as well?)
I don't quite understand how I can get a guaranteed 60 per week honestly, and if someone has a guide or can DM me or even post it here how it's done I'd appreciate it. I saw that it seemed to involve possibly using the sparring pit (which I do use and quite frequently).
In terms of champions I'm working towards, I only just realized this past week that I should've been doing missions and am working towards Arbiter, I'm 90/100 fragments on Archmage Helmut (I ignored the doom tower a long time >.<) and I'm starting to work on getting my fusions done. Like I said, I was playing badly & blind. I don't have an alt account but I'm beginning to wonder - should I?
I'm able to do Brutal CB daily and I've only now been able to do about 8mil in damage and from what I see I should be able to do a LOT more. My FWs are all mostly past the first boss, but my Iron Twins is pathetic, I'm lucky if I can beat 7 (It's gotten a bit better lately but not much). I can't get past spider 13, or Dragon 19 or FIre Knight 13 (but I can beat the minotaur at max so that's gotta be worth something right?) My hydra is pathetic, and I'm stuck at gold 1 in Arena/trying to climb up TTA bit by bit.
Also how much should I be doing Minotaur to build up those masteries?
Honestly I'm kinda stuck, and I'd love some guidance about where I should focus and a gentle poke in the direction of some literature (I really prefer reading to youtube but I'll youtube if I have to) would be welcome. So while I've been trolling and trying to figure stuff out (I've been using DeadwoodJedi and HellHades for a few weeks now) I present to you my current champions list... for what it's worth! (please ignore the random symbols, those are used for me to judge how 'good' they supposedly are - <3 ones are favourites/ones that are 4* and above, III is for 3* and 3.5 star etc... I and sometimes II are considered 'food' but even then I'm getting a bit lost and with all the extra diabolists I've been running for levels/money to feed champs :) (can Epics be food? - or rather SHOULD epics be food?)

Loneliness and cheeseburgers are a dangerous mix
Well hi, I’m back like I never left. After months of trying my best with numerous dating apps and failing miserable, I’m learning to never try. I’m your friendly neighborhood 30 year old. Between working a lot and being introverted. I’m a massive movie guy. Horror is my favorite genre, but I’m slowly branching out. The Simpsons is my feel good show (kudos if you’ve picked up all my references.) But on the rare occasion I’m not watching the show or some new movie. I’m getting outdoors and trying to do hike or ride my bike or do something active. I just bought a camera so I’ve been branching out in that field as well.
Even though I work in a field that everyone seems to hate dealing with, I really find my passion to be helping people. I love the feeling of giving someone a hand at the last possible second when they really need it. I’m also a huge music guy (show me your playlist, and I’ll show you mine).
I’ll attach my picture too. Don’t really care if you send yours or not. Hope to hear from you soon. And remember if you don’t like your job, you don’t strike. You go in everyday and do it really half assed. That’s the American way. https://i.imgur.com/xnDHTfq.jpeg

my hog really likes to dig and my substrate is able to hole up ok but I wasn’t sure if excavator clay would be beneficial to add? I have a mixture of josh’s frogs desert bioactive substrate and lots of sphagnum moss to try to hold the tunnels. what’s your opinions and what has worked for you in the past? thanks!

was created back in Wrath of the Lich King and we need all classes/specs for M+ and normal raiding, however, for heroic/mythic raiding we primarily need DPS and Heals (OTs may be considered but not guaranteed). We do level 13-18+ keys several times a week and our end goal is higher level M+ with focus on Ahead of the Curve for each tier. We are a good mix of chill players who focus progression without stressing or breaking our backs to achieve CE.
LF mature players and raid standards will be implemented once the core raid group is formed to ensure content is pushed and met. Roster changes may be made for the benefit of progression and the team but we're willing to work with players to help them improve and do not tolerate toxic behavior. Our raid days are Fri/Sat evenings but most of us are always online in the evenings pushing keys, doing arenas, or leveling alts. Current progress is 8/8N & 5/8H with aotc achieved easily last phase
Guild Needs:
- Havoc Demon Hunter
- Windwalker Monk
- Shadow Priest
- Arms Warrior
Guild Focus:
- Heroic & Mythic Raiding (AOTC focused, not CE)
- Pushing M+ Keys
- Arenas/BGs on occasion
Raid Nights:
Friday & Saturday: 8:30pm EST - 11pm EST
We also often play other games together and are hoping to create an active community, anyone is welcome to join even if they want to play casually!
If you are interested, please reach out to me or the GM, Impurity, at the contact information below:
Discord: Impurity#1337 or Heliumbamboo#0597
BattleNet: Impurity#11207 or Heliumbamboo#11473
https://guildsofwow.com/mcst

I just need to speak it out somewhere. I'm not sure why my parents had me. They were so unequipped. More specifically, I've been fucked over by my mother's incredibly mentally ill genes. It sucks. I can't clean up after myself and I'm impulsive and I cant interact with people without wanting to tear my hair out. I'm just so tired and it's always been like this. I very heavily think it's autism or sonething of the like, mixed with depression from being consistently burnt out and shit on. I just feel like a piece of shit. I feel like I can't do anything right. I feel like no matter what I do to try and be better it's just never seen and I get in trouble for it. I also feel like I'm just not trying. I've been trying to clean up after myself, more specifically. It's working, I thought. I'm not living in a nasty disgusting room anymore, it's just cluttered now. I don't have moldy food all over, I just have my clothes strewn about a bit. I don't let the dishes sit for over a week anymore. I do them within a couple days, or at least I try to. Then I'm just criticized again. No one offers to help or asks why I'm so lethargic. I almost wonder if I just don't show it. It doesn't seem like anyone cares to hear my inner struggles. I grew up in a disgusting hoarder drug house and I never learned how to clean. I'm really embarrassed to say that my room resembles that house a little, minus the black mold and pest animals. My stuff Is just everywhere. Mostly in boxes but it's everywhere. I just feel hopeless. It's like fighting a Neverending battle with myself. I wish I want born just so I wouldn't have to feel this suffering. Undoubtedly it has to be some nature and some nurture.

Its safe to say CoD is only popular because there is no other game on the market that scratches the itch it does currently. Even in its buggy shitty state it has the right mix of background progression with easy to find action and low stakes for a BR. We will put up with the matchanipulation, crazy SBMM algorithms, 20hz servers and crashes because it's literally all we have even knowing the game has literally zero competitive integrity. They know most of their top 250 cheat and they whitelist a few to keep them in content rich creation matches against all bronze players as they are essentially just advertising the game to mongoloids with wallets.
This will continue as every other game that's tried to capture this magic has failed miserably. And the other BRs and Shooters are also trailing off with issues of their own, and they all suffer from closet hackers. If I have to deal with hackers it may as well be on CoD currently.
The new BF is boring and there's no dopamine hit when you win, there's never a moment in BF2042 where you're adrenaline pumps like in final circles of Warzone and thanks to that, it's really hard to enjoy a night of BF now.
PUBG has sold out to Korean E-girls and almost every other player is cheating to the point you can spend 50% of your matches without even firing your gun before terminator gets you.
Apex is going off the deep end with their hero balance and also has a cheating problem, plus it's just simply not as much fun as it used to be in the first couple seasons when the heroes really felt balanced.
All other BRs are dead from stupid decisions, Z1 is dead, Cuisine became CRSED and it's terrible, and dead. Hunt:Showdown has dudes bunny hopping with single action revolvers and headshotting lol, it's to hacked out to be fun and feels like a walking simulator half the time anyways.
Escape from Tarkov, well we all seen the video on it's hacker issues. Why even bother?
The survival games are busted, DayZ and Rust both have to high of stakes to be enjoyed thanks to hackers removing hours of progress in half a second. Not to mention you have to no life rust anyways to get anything done now. Unless you play on a 5x server that'a dead on day two of wipe.
Games have never been in a more horrible state for the shooter crowd. Until AI anticheat removes the incentive to cheat based off how effective cheats can be before detection, we are in a state of gaming in mud essentially if you're an FPS fan.
So yea CoD kinda sucks, but goddamn it's the only game we got.

Here’s the story: I (F29) woke up at 2 am a couple nights ago and had spontaneous sexy time with my bf (M29). Shortly before he finished, I started feeling some pain and pressure. When we were done, the pain started increasing until I was experiencing severe cramping. And I mean severe. I tried to urinate after sex, but I couldn’t. Only a tiny amount came out. And I know I had more in me. This was not normal for me. So my first thought was, maybe this is a uti. Anyways, back to the pain; It was intense. I was groaning in pain for appx 20-30 min. I’ve never experienced anything like this. I couldn’t go back to sleep because of how intense this pain was. The pain started subsiding after a while but I still felt discomfort, tightness, and pressure for a couple more hours.
When urgent care opened, I went in and they took a sample of my urine and gave me a pelvic exam. They also did a physical exam and there was pain when she applied pressure to my lower stomach area. But everything looked normal. There was only a tiny amount of bacteria in my urine, nothing alarming. but they sent me home with antibiotics just in case. Lab results came back with “Commensal flora present” in urine. No STIs, no yeast. No vaginosis.
Fast forward to now, a couple days later. I feel completely fine. Had sex with no issue. But guys, I’m scared. It was so painful. Something must be wrong. Does anyone have any theories about what that was? I was diagnosed with PCOS years ago (they never saw any cysts but my symptoms and testosterone levels aligned with the diagnosis). So maybe that’s it? She also suggested possible endometriosis? I don’t know. I do recall something similar happening several months ago. Pain and cramping after sex. But it was nowhere near as painful as this. And there were no issues urinating.
I just need some guidance. I’ll follow up with an OB/GYN but if you have any theories, please send them my way.

Hi all,
At 11w2d my scan showed high NT at 3.35mm (FTM, 38, normal BMI). My blood was drawn for NIPT on the same day. No other soft markers were found; the doctor said everything else measured fine.
Last week our results came back inconclusive due to low fetal fraction (2.3%); the lab's threshold was 4%. (This is not Natera, btw, it's a lab in Korea - I'm not in the US). A re-draw was suggested.
We went back to the clinic at 13w6d to re-do the test. This time the scan showed a reduced NT at <1.5mm (but I know this does not cancel out the previously observed results). No other issues were found, the heartbeat was great and the baby was measuring slightly ahead.
However the doctor still sounded very grim due to the initial high NT measurement combined with the low fetal fraction. He said it's likely DS (which does not seem to match anything else I've read, but then again I'm not a doctor), but could not tell me any further information.
Now we're stuck in another two-week limbo and I'm not sure what to think. Is the prognosis really that bad with high NT and low FF? I would like to avoid amnio as much as possible due to prior miscarriages but it looks like that's where we're headed.

Special Delivery (Prologue)
Awakening
I wake up in the living room of a house, disoriented and uneasy. Something feels off, as if the world around me is shifting. I look towards the front window, expecting sunlight to illuminate the room, but instead, I notice flaws developing on the glass. Shadows dance across the walls, and the brightness of the day wavers, creating an eerie atmosphere.
Did it just get really dark in here? No….it’s perfectly lit. Did that happen?
As I try to make sense of my surroundings, I realize that the furniture is arranged in a peculiar manner.
The box, in all its enigmatic simplicity, stood in the center of the room like an ordinary cardboard container. Its unassuming appearance held no grandeur or ornate embellishments, contrasting starkly with the peculiar events unfolding around it. It seemed like an artifact of mundanity, with no indication of the mysteries it concealed within.
The surface of the box was plain and unadorned, a humble facade that betrayed no secrets. It bore no intricate carvings or elegant patterns, just the rough texture of brown cardboard. Its corners were slightly dented, bearing witness to the wear and tear of its journey, adding to the unremarkable nature of its appearance.
On one side of the box, the word "Croatian" was carelessly scrawled in haphazard handwriting, as if an afterthought or a hurried addition. The letters appeared sloppy and uneven, lacking any aesthetic finesse. They stood out in stark contrast against the plainness of the box, their sloppiness serving as a stark reminder of the enigma that surrounded us.
Am I in Croatia? How did I end up here?
I'm not alone. Other people are also in the room, their presence equally bewildering. Tension hangs in the air, and unease grips us all.
Unable to contain my curiosity, I break the silence. "My name is Todd," I introduce myself. "Please, introduce yourselves and give a bit of backstory. Why are you here, and where exactly is 'here'?"
An Introduction
A voice quivers with fear as Steve speaks up. "My name is Steve, and I need to leave!" He rushes towards the front door, desperately searching for an escape route. But as he tries to open the door, he realizes it's locked tight. Panic sets in as he frantically attempts to find a way out.
Driven by determination, Steve retreats to the opposite doorway, preparing for a daring escape. He takes a running start, covering an astonishing distance that seems to extend beyond the limits of the house itself. We watch, filled with suspense, as Steve hurtles towards the door. But to everyone's shock, disaster strikes. He collides with the door and is instantly flattened, his lifeless body pulverized into a momentary gruesome sight as he is consumed by thin air. His disappearance leaves us all stunned and mystified.
“Is anyone else named Steve?”
The girl in the corner lets out a blood-curdling scream, her cries growing louder and more piercing with each passing moment. Suddenly, the corner of the house extends forward, distorting its dimensions and forming a grotesque mouth. In a horrifying turn of events, the corner engulfs the girl, swallowing her whole. There's no trace left, no remnants of her existence. The once-lively room falls silent, engulfed in an eerie calmness. Outside, clouds gather, obscuring the natural daylight. The remaining occupants of the house are paralyzed with terror, their screams silenced by an unknown force.
Transformation
As we stand frozen in fear, the room undergoes a surreal transformation. Ceilings rise, and the space expands, stretching beyond our comprehension. A figure hovers in the far corner, contorted and suspended in mid-air. With astonishing speed, the figure hurtles towards us, defying the laws of physics.
Before I can even process the situation, I wake up abruptly. The room returns to its previous state, unchanged from when I first arrived. However, something is amiss. A figure stands outside in the front yard, peering into the house. Darkness cloaks their features, adding to the enigma surrounding their presence. The house remains unusually illuminated, devoid of light switches or outlets, emanating a piercing brightness that defies reason.
The other three individuals in the room are still unconscious, unaware of the impending transformation that will forever alter their lives. An aura of uncertainty hangs in the air, foreshadowing the profound changes that await us.
What's in the Box?
Morning breaks, and the clock on the wall reads 8 o'clock. The remaining occupants of the house awaken, their faces etched with deep contemplation. Outside, a small crowd has gathered, their murmurs filling the air. Tension permeates the atmosphere as anticipation builds.
Suddenly, a voice booms from the box, answering the question that has plagued us all. "You are, Chad. You are in the box," it says, sending shivers down my spine. Chad, taken aback, rises from his spot, but a dark cloud materializes beneath him, enveloping his body. The cloud ascends, swallowing Chad entirely, leaving no trace behind.
Claire, Chad's sister, rushes to the box, desperate for answers or a glimpse of her brother. Darkness greets her gaze as she peers into the box. The bottom of the box transforms into a swirling void, and before anyone can react, Claire plunges into the abyss, disappearing into nothingness. I stand there, astounded, unable to trust my own eyes.
Admittance
Sharon's voice breaks the silence, revealing a crucial piece of the puzzle. She confesses, "I know why this is happening." Her words hang heavy with guilt and realization. She recounts the events of our ill-fated night, a celebration at the club after Chad passed the BAR exam, and her consumption of a pill for her Fibromyalgia. A strange dizziness had clouded her senses, making it hard to see clearly. Something terrible had occurred, but the details remained hazy in her memory.
Unbeknownst to Sharon, her collision with Elijah, our neighbor's 16-year-old son, had resulted in a tragic accident that claimed his life. The night took an unexpected turn when Chad, mischievous as ever, seized the opportunity and pilfered some of Sharon's pain medication. With a sly grin, he expertly crushed a pill and discreetly added it to her drink, unknowingly setting in motion a series of bizarre events. As the night progressed, Claire laughed, playfully suggesting that the drink needed a proper mix to avoid arousing suspicion. Little did they know the dark consequences that would follow.
Meanwhile, Steve's true identity remains shrouded in mystery, his presence lost amidst the chaos and terror that unfolded around us. Everyone knew each other in that room though, I can feel it. The inside of the house is filled with blinding light.
The crowd outside watches in awe as the house, engulfed in an inferno, burns with an intensity that defies explanation. The flames consume the structure, yet never spread beyond its boundaries, confounding onlookers and amplifying the sense of otherworldly occurrences.
The fact that this fire had been burning at the same rate for five days didn’t reinforce natural explanations.
As I awaken once again, I find myself in an unfamiliar setting—a dimly lit warehouse. The shadows play tricks on my eyes, and a sense of foreboding fills the air.
A box sits in the center of the warehouse.
__________________________________________________________________________

12th: Lauren AKA Scary Girl

Ohh this one might strike a nerve with a few people but I promise I can explain myself.
Okay so anyone who followed this series back in the day remembers as I went through each season my biggest problem with what show as it went on was that it started to lose all semblance of reality. Now yes this show is a cartoon and as such is always going to be ridiculous(I mean the very first challenge was something that no real person could really survive unscathed) but it was still somewhat grounded in a form of reality most importantly with the characters who above all else felt like people you could actually know irl. This season actually does a good job of harkening back to that style instead of making the characters weird pop culture jokes or insane maniacs the reboot focuses on having a relatable and more grounded cast, well with one pretty notable exception.
Lauren(Which is her actual name don’t forget) is introduced to the Island and immediately sets herself apart from the rest of the cast, not only is she dressed in some weird goth doll outfit that looks like Amy from Soul Calibur having a bad day, but she has a crazed slasher smile and a love for pain and violence that’d make even the Joker say to turn it down a notch. She quickly earns the nickname Scary Girl(A name she seems to take in stride) due to the fact that she’s kind of terrifying, given how she never seems to drop her creepy perma smile and takes immense joy in the suffering of others including the members of her own team. On top of that she may be the franchises first supernatural character and that’s beyond the standard iron bodies that every competitor seems to have(Except when they don’t apparently which I will get to down the road). She can turn her head around a complete 360, can apparently mess with the lights and the camera in the confessional without doing anything and has superhuman strength to the point she can punch out a bear like it's nothing(Although this one is something a few other competitors have shown they can do). Because of all this her team mostly tries to keep their distance from her, but in spite of that she proves to be a half decent competitor even clinching victory for the team during the relay race challenge due to her apparent superhuman abilities. Despite this though she proves to be her own undoing, as during the very next challenge she finds a jackhammer and just says screw it, forgets about the challenge and actually just straight up tries to murder people including her own teammate Damien. After losing the challenge the Trout make what is probably the most sensible decision in TD history and vote out Scary Girl, though not before she promises revenge on them for this so let’s see how many of them make it through the next season alive because this girl strikes me as the kind who follows through on threats.
Scary Girl feels like the writers took all that energy and strangeness that went into some of the more outlandish 2nd and 3rd gen characters(Max, Scarlett, Mike, Dawn, Leonard) and instead of spreading out so it infects the whole season ala PI just funneled it all into one character turned up to 11. Scary Girl sticks out majorly among the cast because she’s pretty much the only straight up cartoon character among them if that makes any sense. Every scene she has is completely over the top and insane but unlike the more annoying gimmick characters of old this works better because there's an actual contrast. You have all these mostly average teens with dynamic personalities and here’s this psycho goth girl who speaks in a weird sing-song nursery rhyme voice and just actually wants to kill people with zero ambiguity. She’s pure comic relief naturally with her gags of gleefully fawning over all the pain she sees and even purposely inflicting it on others just cause she can, plus her confessionals which all seem like lost Arkham Asylum patient tapes of her mad ramblings one things for sure this is a character you won’t forget. I personally have never been a fan of the super gimmicky characters like this and Scary Girl is by far the most gimmicky of all(With only Max and Leonard coming anywhere close) so naturally I have mixed emotions. I do think some of her scenes are pretty funny(I remember the hiding a body confessional getting a big laugh out of me due to the absurdity) and she doesn’t really overstay her welcome going out 4th so I can’t complain that she got too stale or outlasted more interesting characters. On the flipside, while I do like some of her scenes I also think the character is a bit too much, she pretty much defaults to a single joke(Creepy girl who likes pain and murder) and that joke can be a bit tiresome after the first few goes. I also think she’s too over the top to the point where it feels like she was transplanted from a completely different show given how heavily she clashes with the season's tone. All her scenes just feel so disconnected from everything else going on and kind of take me out of it whenever she pops in for a random bit. Even Izzy who’s probably the closest to her character wise still had moments of lucidity and reacted like a normal person to somethings, but Scary Girl is always in her default insane mode and doesn’t show any kind of depth or dimensions as a character which is generally what I like in my characters comic relief or otherwise. The character could work better if they toned her down, you know how I know that? Because that’s just the Goths from RR and both of them are great characters who are unique without becoming too over the top to the point where it becomes irritating. Hopefully they take some cues from them for the next season when it comes to Scary Girl because I think it could really help make her more interesting and less one note
Now don’t get me wrong, I do think her character has value especially with how she interacts with other characters.Scary Girl doesn’t get much in the way of interactions due to her relatively short stint on the show but what she does get is good. The main one is her weird “Friendship” with Pryia that happens entirely by accident and out of fear on Pryia’s part. It's fun for what it is and is the one bit of fun mostly from Pryia’s end as she tries to not suffer her wrath(and I’ll talk more about Priya maybe soon or maybe later who knows???). Who knows maybe they’ll revisit this or come up with some fun new interactions next season.
Scary Girl is an anomaly of a character in the season. I won’t deny she is entertaining for the most part and the fact that she’s the only insane gimmick character of the season means she stands out in a more positive way. However I personally found her to be a bit draining and far from the season's funniest character as well as just being a type of character I’m never really all that fond of. She has her place and doesn’t overstay her welcome too much but to me the 11 characters above all have something more that makes me feel they’re better so she sits in a respectable spot here(although admittedly i did go back and forth with the next ranked character but that’s a discussion for next time).
​
\"Give her a baseball bat and I bet she'd make a killer assassin(100 points to anyone who gets this)\"

Rankings

16^th: Caleb
15^th: Nichelle
14^th: Axel
13^th: Ripper
12^th: Scary Girl

Hi to anyone that reads! Came to my fellow adhd women for help :) (sorry if this is word vomit, I have a final exam tomorrow)
Tbh I started writing a whole memoir before I realized y’all probably won’t care lol.
To summarize the ghost memoir, I’ve been friends with someone I’ll call S, for 13 out of 14 years of my life, and they dated one of my new high school friends, K when we were in middle school. They broke up, and i guess there was still awkward tension when we would all hang out at lunch, and now S has a new group of friends they hang out with.
(Little background info if y’all care: I’m black, S is mixed and has recently been trying to tell me why they’re ‘blacker than me’, which is kinda out of the blue for them.)
My bond with K has gotten stronger, and I keep trying to reconnect with S, but the only time they acknowledge me is in 1st period (barely) and during passing periods. I barely even text S (don’t wanna annoy them if that’s what our friendship is now), but K and I are texting, hanging out, etc. as much as S and I used to.
I don’t know what to do, or whether this is just how high school is gonna be. I don’t wanna lose my best friend, who I’ve always looked at as a sibling, but they don’t really feel that close to me anymore.
I’m not a confrontational person when it comes to sadness rather than anger, but even if I am confrontational, I trip up my words when I get heated (not to mention I found out S is slightly autistic, and apparently I knew this already-? Idk). I don’t know any other way to address this without losing my best friend, or weakening our already weakened bond any further.
Any advice? PS: Hope your day is going well, and if not I hope it gets better <3

Ten words that don’t exist, but should – extracted from Richard Glover's The Dag’s Dictionary:
Hobarter (ho’ baa tah) verb. To fantasise about how much money you’d make if you swapped you overpriced house in Sydney or Melbourne or Brisbane for one of the cheap ones in Hobart, as pictured each weekend in the colour magazines.
Guylingual (guy’ lin gwal) adj. Descriptive of an Australian woman who can take part in a conversation about cars, football and chundering.
Wedgetarian (wedj a’ tayr’ ee an) n. A child whose diet consists solely of potato wedges, with occasional side-serves of chips.
Lollycoddle (loh lee’ cod uhl) verb. During a long drive, to mollify children in the back seat of a car by throwing them regular supplies of junk food.
Messpionage (mess’ pee on arj) noun. The examination of a young man’s apartment by a new girlfriend in search of clues as to his character.
Queuecumbered (kew’ kum burd) adj. To be trapped in a queue which slowed down the instant you joined it.
I-Jacking (eye’ ja king). Noun. The practice of following a conversation in order to spot the moment when you can jump in and make it all about yourself.
Famnesia (fam nee’ zee ah) noun. The tendency to mix up the names of family members, calling the boy by the girl’s name, the father by the mother’s, and the baby girl by the dog’s.
Testiculation (tes tik’ yu’ lay’ shun) noun. The male habit of giving one’s testicles a quick squeeze or prod at three-minute intervals throughout the working day, just to check they haven’t suddenly disappeared, or been pecked off by wild birds.
Hope couture (howp ku toor) noun. The item of clothing you keep around for years in the hope that you might fit back into it some day.

Hey so i made a post a while back about my going to my first concert specifically goth concert alone so i’d thought it be nice to update after the experience
Firstly i’d like to thank everyone who commented and gave me advice though i didn’t reply to all comments i did read them and i appreciate everyone’s feedback
So I went to see the sisters of mercy and… they sucked just like everyone said they would lol they had mic problems the whole night i don’t really mind though because i didn’t really have high expectations for them
However the coward there was awesome and made up for the lack luster show it was nice to see other goths there was this one elder goth who was telling stories about all these different shows he’s been to from skinny puppy to the cure. there was the this other guy next to me that i had friendly banter with about the mic problems of the night. so yea the crowd was pretty awesome and friendly and everyone still clapped and cheered despite mic troubles.
I got merch before the show started which was great because the line was long at the end of the night. I was also in the pit which I really didn’t mind despite me being short I was still able to make the most of it. the opening act which was a cloud of ravens was amazing and better than sisters imo. Anyway I had a great time and i’m happy I went just to be able to say i saw the sisters live. My advice for anyone who’s nervous about going to a show is just don’t be an asshole and you should be fine :)
Link to my previous post
https://www.reddit.com/goth/comments/13rsxjw/going_to_my_first_goth_concert_alone_any_advice/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1