AITA for telling my husband to get over the fact that my parents call our daughter by a nickname?
My husband and I have an 8 month old daughter named Karina. We loved the name Karina from the get-go and decided on it before she was even conceived. Important context -- my husband is white and I'm Punjabi. I'm the only one of my siblings & cousins to have married a white person. My family is fine with it but it's definitely a noteworthy thing because I'm the only one ("This cousin is tall, this cousin loves to go hiking, this cousin married a white guy lol"). My parents fawn over my husband and my sister's husband because in Punjabi culture it's normal to flatter your daughter's husband (I guess in the olden days it was to make sure she didn't get "returned" to original owner? lol) so my husband's always had a really positive relationship with my parents. When our daughter was born, immediately my family noted that Karina sounds close to the Punjabi name 'Kiran' so they jokingly called her Kiran and it stuck right away. It's not a joke anymore, they say it so naturally that it's legit her name to them. I never thought anything of it. All of my nieces/nephews have Punjabi names that we say with a Punjabi accent even when we're speaking in English. Everyone on my side calls her Kiran exclusively. My husband noted a few months ago that he doesn't like it, but I told him I don't think it's a biggie. He said "we named her Karina" and I said okay, that's what 90% of the people in her life will call her. It's not like it's gonna cause some identity crisis. Yesterday when my mom was visiting my husband randomly says "I'm tired of you calling her by another name. She is our child, not yours. You need to respect that if you want to see her." If any of you are Punjabi or from another family-oriented ethnicity you know that speaking to a parent figure like this is...oh my god no. Like wtf. Stunned silence. My mom left immediately. She told my dad and he was PISSED, he told my brothers and they were damn near seeing red. Again, for Punjabis someone speaking like that to your mom is the epitome of fighting words. I told my husband two things - (1) He needs to get over the nickname. It's not that deep. It's not gonna cause an identity crisis and there's no damn control to fight over, my parents see our daughter maybe twice a week and just to play and spoil her. Aka normal grandparent shit. (2) He can never, ever, ever speak to my parents like that. Any issue with them needs to go through me. I think we can salvage things from here but if he EVER said something like this again and it got back to my siblings, shit would go south real quick. He's mad that I'm not defending him or taking his side. I've listened as he's explained "her birth name is Karina, that is her identity, we can't let other people change her name" and I legit don't see a valid point. Our daughter is lucky enough to have a huge family that want to spoil her, why mess with that?
Tell me to drop the class if I don’t like your rules? Okay, then you’ll lose 5 students and your job.
This happened years ago but a post on here reminded me of it. So when I was a freshman in college I registered for a basic ass English 102 course that doubled as a humanities credit. I thought “great, two birds one stone” despite the Rate My Professor for this class being abysmal at best. A few things to note, I have ADHD and dyslexia (bs ds ps and gs) so I have a hard time reading most times but especially handwritten stuff. Even my own. It’s also important to note that I had an ADA allowance on file (meaning I get some permissions to allow me to take classes and function as normally as possible). These permissions included use of my tablet during class to write notes and about an hour longer on tests. Well first day of class, the professor strolls in with the arrogance and snobbitude of someone who thinks they’re getting tenured this year. He starts talking, going over the syllabus and says “there will be no phones, laptops or technology of any kind in my class. You will write all your notes by hand” which isn’t going to work for me, so I raise my hand and ask him if I can talk to him privately about the rule. That went over about as well as a lead ballon and he starts getting snippy and says “anything you need to talk with me about can be found in the syllabus”. But again I said that I needed to talk to him and that it was pretty important. Finally he just says to say it to the class, he doesn’t have time to take out to deal with whining of any kind. Like ok dude. So I say that I’m dyslexic and need my tablet to do the notes and read the assignments, and that my ADA permissions are on file and emailed to all my professors before class. He says “yeah I saw the email but I don’t care. You can do the work just like everyone else, you’re not special even if you were in special ed” The class goes deadly quiet at that. Im absolutely shocked at his bold and completely hilarious lack of awareness and care for his job. Im staring at him open mouthed and he thinks he’s won. He’s got this smug little face like I’ve just been told and they’re no other options nor is there any way he’ll regret his behavior. One of the girls in class finally finds her voice and calls hun out in his ableism and lack of decorum but he cuts her off saying “if you don’t like my rules, you can drop the class” so she says “okay” and pulled out her laptop and dropped the class right in front of him, and taking the cue from her 3 other students and I do the same and we leave class together. (At the same time) I’ve never met this girl before but she then asks me if I want to go to the dean because honestly I’m really shaken so I said yes and we go straight there telling the dean of students what happened as well as the ADA counselor. They took the girls statement and mine, and discovered that this Professor had pulled this shit for years but nobody wanted to get involved. Six months later I hear that not only had the Professor not gotten tenured, but he was fired and blacklisted from teaching at the collegiate level. EDIT: WOW this blew up oh my goodness! Thank you guys so much fir the awards and I’m trying to reply to everyone but it’s a lot. I really appreciate the awards but please don’t spend real money on me! Give it to a women’s shelter or ADA foundation.
Bigoted Dude gets Arrested Because He Thinks a WOMAN can't Fix Computers
Long time reader, first time poster. I don't even know if it goes here, so please correct me if I'm wrong. Back in 2006, I worked for one of those big box stores that had an IT desk (formally known as "Nerd Herd" LOL) where people could bring devices in to get serviced if there was a problem. We were located in Columbus GA, which is right over a bridge from Phoenix City, AL. This is important because, where our store was placed, we would normally get a lot of servicemen and women coming up from Fort Benning who were generally pretty cool. But we would also get folks, mostly from Alabama, who were... let's just say, slightly unfavourable to folks of a certain skin colour or gender. (no offence to those who live in AL who are totally awesome. You know who you are. <3) Now, I'm a 5'1" girl who (at the time) weighed a total of 120lbs soaking wet. I was practically a hobbit. I was also one of the lead technicians in the department. I was the one the new hires went to if they were confused or couldn't troubleshoot certain problems. The team I worked with was AMAZING. The general manager of the store was great and the supervisor of my department was THE MAN. I would regularly go out for drinks with these people. One of the best places I've ever worked, even though it was retail. One day, I'm working the counter to check customers in and do evaluations and diagnostics to give an estimate of what the repair price would be. In comes... let's call him Joe. He's wore a cut-off t-shirt, worn denim jeans, and a baseball cap with a confederate flag on it that just barely covered his business in the front, party in the back hair cut. I am not one to judge on looks. I've had plenty of people come in looking exactly the same way tis guy did who have been an absolute delight to work with. Never judge a book by its cover, kids. But I still have my defenses up, just in case. I really hoped it wasn't going to go the not-so-friendly route. I was unfortunately wrong about dear Joe. Joe walks up to the counter with his PC tower and practically slams the unit on the desk. Joe: I need this fixed. It's broken. Me: Okay, sir. Let me have a look and I'll see if I ca– Joe cuts me off and stares at me with a disgusted look on his face. Joe: Excuse me? Me: If you give me a moment, sir, I'll be able to take a look at your computer and– Joe: Aw HELL NO! It was at this point that I realised where this was inevitably going to go wrong. Me: Unfortunately, sir, I won't be able to give you an estimate if you don't let me diagnose your computer. Joe: There is no way in HELL a woman knows about computers. I'm not letting you touch my computer. Get me the manager. Oh, yes. I thought. This is going to be fucking awesome! I'm sure he wanted to talk to the general manager of the store, but I couldn't resist. Cue malicious compliance. I could have pulled the "I'm the manager" thing, because I was one of the senior staff, but my direct boss was actually out back working on repair projects and I couldn't help but get excited about how this was going to go down. Me: (as lovely as sweet tea) Of course, sir. Right away, sir. Mike, my superviser, the guy who ran our department (and NOT the general manager of the store,) was elbow deep in a motherboard replacement when I walked in and gave him the biggest, shit-eating grin. Me: Hey, Mike. There's a guy out there asking for the manager. He looks at me confused because he was just supervisor, but I then proceeded to tell him exactly what was waiting for him out front. His face split into the brightest smile. He then proceeded to walk out to the front. Have I mentioned that Mike is a 6'3, 280lb black man who looked like he could eat a mack truck for lunch? He was such a big, loveable, teddy bear. We all adored him. The moment Mike stepped out, the customer freaked. Mike: Hello, sir. I hear there's a problem? Joe LOST IT! It start with a "fuck no" before devolving into a racist tirade that I have never witnessed in my life. (I'm from Massachusetts, so this was awful, yet amazing to watch. Like a car crash. I just couldn't look away. Not that we have no racism in the north east, but DAMN.) Joe kept screaming, using the nastiest slur (you know the one) over and over again while staff and customers alike watched in blatant horror. Security ended up having to come over to try to calm the man down. Our entire security team was black as well so, naturally, Joe went even MORE crazy. Eventually, the police had to be called because the man was threatening me, calling me a cunt and a bitch, and threatening security and my boss, using that word that is not okay. My general manager got called out of his office and immediately called the police to have the man removed. God bless whichever dispatcher who received the call was, because they dispatched two black officers to the scene. Me and my general manager were literally the only white people involved in this train-wreck (aside from bigoted Joe) and I watched with unbridled glee as Joe was cuffed and taken away by the police. Watching Joe foam at the mouth as he was dragged away made my whole week. Thank you for the entertainment, Bigoted Joe. EDIT: Thanks to all of you telling me about CHUCK. Now I’m up at 5AM binging this show. LOL
Lance Archer Vs. Eddie Kingston II: Lumberjack Match
Lance Archer
No
Pac / Fenix / Mox Vs. Omega / Gallows / Anderson
Omega / Gallows / Anderson
Yes
Future Announced Matches 2/10/21
TNT Championship Match Darby Allin Vs. Joey Janela
MJF/Jericho Vs. The Acclaimed
Cody/Lee Johnson Vs. Pretty Peter Avalon & Cezar Bononi (why)
3/3/21
Cody/Red Velvet Vs. Jade/Shaq
Sometime In February
Womens Eliminator Tournament
Will be in February, exact date not announced. 16 women, one bracket in the US the other in Japan, winner faces Shida for AEW Women's Title.
Japanese side will feature: Aja Kong, Yuka Sukazaki, Veny, Emi Sakura, Ryo Mizunami, Mei Suruga, Rin Kadokura, Maki Itoh (if I fucked up the spelling of any of these, sorry, was typing fast)
US side will feature Serena Deeb, Riho, Britt Baker, Tay Conti, Nyla Rose, Anna Jey, Leyla Hersch
Revolution
Cage/Starks Vs Darby/Sting ("Streetfight")
AEW Tag Team Title Match: Young Bucks Vs. MJF/Jericho
Chaos Project lost so skip Dark this week. But still, obviously, throw 'em up. 👉🤪👉🤪👉🤪👉🤪👉🤪👉🤪👉🤪👉🤪
Ricky Starks is on The Waiting Room, which is, thank God, back on Dark . I guess the thing with Sting being on the show has just been forgotten. Ricky compliments Britts' drip, she asks him whats up. He does a promo for the Street Fight at Revolution. Britt says AEW lacked star power before Ricky-- Ricky says the future is much clearer now that he's staring at her. Ricky compliments Britts attire again and she strips off the lab coat. Tony Schiavone interrupts and makes her put her lab coat back on. Tony says the segment is over and tries to separate the burgeoning...uh..."romantic" tension between Britt and Ricky, who in one segment have had more development, chemistry, and dialogue than Kipp and Penelope have had during this entire never-ending wedding angle.
The Acclaimed released another music video promo/diss track called "Throw 'Em Out" which you can see here.
On IMPACT this Tuesday:
Welcome back to the Impact Zone.
The Good Brothers are talking about how good it feels to be the Impact champs. They promo Beach Break a little, and can't wait to beat up Moxley. They're talking about screwing Private Party before the Battle Royal tomorrow and beating them tonight. Sabin and Storm come in start a little something. They call Good Brothers the Ball-less Wonders, and decide to have a match next week.
Private Party is yelling at Matt because he doesn't seem to have their situation under control. Matt says they don't need to worry about any of this shit, Big Money Matt, the Kingmaker, always has a plan. He says they're going to beat the Bucks and the Good Brothers, and that it's definitely not a bounty on the titles, it's a bonus, it's NOT A BOUNTY, it's JUST A BONUS. Matt just needs them to show up.
Tony Khan is continuing to lose his shit in these promos. He calls Impact his personal fantasy league, and says this whole thing is causing him to make self-admittedly stupid emotional decisions like letting Moxley go to Japan. This is truly Man Vs. Himself. Tony Schiavone is wearing a great shark hat.
At Dynamite
Tony Schiavone is in the ring. He brings out Darby and Sting. Tony wants to talk about the street fight-- but next week Darby is defending the TNT belt against Joey. Taz cuts in on a video. He says they're not allowed in the building because of the merch booth incident. Taz says they'll be there watching very closely. Ricky says if he was allowed in the building he would look Sting in the eye and tell him he's not what he used to be. Sting is gonna get hurt doing this. To Darby, he says good luck. You'll need it. Sting responds. Okay Team Taz, you say you'll be here next week for the title match? I'll be here too making sure it's 1v1. To Ricky, he says, maybe you need to look closer. He drops the mic and he and Darby head out of the ring.
Tony is with Adam and Matt after the show last week. Matt is in Adams dressing room. Matt says he's a good person and Adam is his friend, they've known each other for a long time. Adam says, no dude, I'm in here to dress. I'm not signing a contract, we're not teaming, that's it. Matt says it sucks when Chaos project ruined -1's birthday... what if we teamed up one time just to kick their asses? Maybe it would make things between you and Dark Order better? Adam Page agrees.
Marvez is with MJF/Jericho who are now num. 1 contenders. MJF pushes Marvez back and they enter the Inner Circle room where everyone is pissed. Jericho says I thought we were all in this together, you guys losing is collateral damage. Sammy says everyone else is ALWAYS collateral damage and bails. Jericho leaves and MJF says it's time for us to talk to the remaining members. Wardlow kicks out the cameraman and the segment ends.
Tony is with Kip Miro and.... "Charles". Kip says Tony is so lucky to be here. Miro says everyone here is married except Chuck whose never had a girlfriend. Vickie gets Kip and the wedding is on. The officiate is James Mitchell. JR says everyone should have AT LEAST one great marriage. Penelope is walked in by Jerry Lynn. Mitchell leads the ceremony. Kip says from the moment he first saw her wearing her one piece with knee high boots and his eyes meeting her chest, it was meant to be. He says she's beautiful on the inside and hot on the out. Penelope says she loves Kip so much, and and he has the biggest-- and then Kip interrupts. Very bold move by the groom. Chuck gives them the rings. As Mitchell begins the "If there's anyone with any objections" section, Miro interrupts and says fuck off skip it, this is a wrestling wedding. Miro leads us in a toast. We hear that the alleged bachelor party was a rager TOO BAD WE DIDN'T SEE IT. Miro says he had a couple weddings a few months ago. But it's all about love. He may have fucked up the bachelor party, the present-- but really HE'S Kips present. Speaking of gifts, what's that over there he says pointing to a suspiciously large box. Miro says he's been at many weddings, he knows better. He tackles the box expecting an intruder to be within, but it's empty. The crowd begins chanting "What is love" by Haddaway and Miro joins in. Oh no! Miro finds himself shackled to the bottom rope, Penelope goes into the cake, Kip accidentally hits Miro then Kip and Penelope jump Chuck. OC emerges from the cake table and Miro is stuck being cuffed to the ropes so he's unable to stop the onslaught that comes. They knock out Kip and that's that! The wedding is ruined despite all of Miros' best efforts. Penelope is very sad and Kip is very dead. The feud goes on :(
We're with Shaq on Inside the NBA. Shaq says he's gonna wrestle Cody and beat him like he beat Charles Barkley. Shaq trash talks a little. Shaq says his special move is the Black Tornado. That's what he's gonna do to Cupcake Cody. March 3rd.
We get a video from FTR who was banned tonight due to their bullshit last week. FTR is pissed that Jurassic Express went and whined and got them banned. Tully is sick of it. All he wants is a SINGLE championship match. We're not bad men, the one with hair says, but sometimes we think... what would bad men do? And we see Marko chained up to chair.
Joey is here, he says me and you Darby, we have a long history of mangling our bodies and each other. But next week, the stakes have never been higher!! Guess what, he says, Joey is back! And the TNT Champion is gonna be a bad bad boy.
Lance Archer comes out after the match to end the streak of no post match brawls we had all night. It was so close. Mox comes to Kenny BUT THEN KENTA ARRIVES AND DROPS A GO TO SLEEP ON MOX. Kenny and Kenta share a glance as Kenny strands triumphant over Mox. Don Callis, who is on commentary, says "Isn't it funny how these things always happen when I'm here? He laughs. The show ends.
For Fucks Sake Someone Too Sweet Me
Post-Show Poll Results
1/20 Results
Overall Rating: 2.95
Best Match: Adam Page & Dark Order Vs. TH2 & Chaos Project (38.1%)
Worst Match: Cody Vs. PPA (39.5%)
Wrestler of the Week: 1st: Adam Page (28.5%), 2nd: Sammy Guevara (20.6%) 3rd: Jon Moxley (5.9%)
The Adam Page Vs. Ziggler from Wish match was winning throughout the night for worst of 1/27, but Shanna and the good doctor swooped in to save the cowboy by the morning of the 28th.
Jungle Boy won WOTW more decisively than anyone else so far.
See the full archive of post-show polls here Hacksaw Jim Duggan Buries All Elite Wrestling With a wrestling career that's lasted more than 40 years, Jim Duggan's power level is beyond comprehension. If he hasn't beaten an AEW wrestler directly, he's beaten them through a few degrees of separation. Could Hacksaw Jim Duggan defeat Orange Cassidy?
8/24/18 - Jim Duggan & Keith Youngblood defeat Anthony Battle & Brian Anthony
9/14/18 - Anthony Battle & Brian Anthony defeat David Arquette & Hurricane Helms
AITA for directly calling out a woman’s snobbish behavior, causing several people to leave our knitting group?
So one thing I can’t stand is snobby people who act like the only way to do things is their way. It’s a huge thing in crafting groups. People act high and mighty because of how they learned, the yarn they use, knitting being better than crocheting, etc etc. I hated the energy in a lot of existing groups, so I started my own. We switched to virtual stuff since Covid started, and I have rules that you have to agree to follow before you can join. One of the rules is to be kind to others, and absolutely NO “snob” behavior. Everything has been going great, except this pre-existing group of friends joined, and they really push the boundaries of the aforementioned rule. They started dipping their toe with comments about acrylic yarn and how they would NEVER use it, with dramatic “icky!” faces. Well, they did this again when a new girl joined the group. She was using an acrylic yarn in her project, one of the women asked her what she was using, and then the little clique acted like they weren’t directly remarking while obviously doing it? (This is kind of hard to explain but if you’ve EVER had to deal with mean girls, you know what I’m talking about) It was like “I just don’t understand how people are STILL using acrylic yarn these days, I mean there are SO many other options… unless you’re still shopping at big box stores instead of indies.” In the middle of that rant I was just like ‘Hey guys, let’s remember that we’re not here to judge anyone for what they’re using or how they’re using it, okay?” Well this pissed off the group, because they started arguing with me about how “Nobody was judging anyone” and “Oh so I can’t even have an opinion now?” and “Why are you trying to censor us? We’re having a conversation. If someone doesn’t like it, they can leave.” I muted everyone and said something like “The rules for this group are very clear, and you have to acknowledge them before you join the call. If there’s an issue, we can talk about it after.” The women all ended up leaving the group, and I got a bunch of nasty emails and tags on a few social media posts “calling me out” for being “pro-censorship” and “a tyrant” and saying how I shouldn’t be in charge of anything because of how “obviously biased” I am. I don’t think I’m in the wrong for this. My rules exist to make things welcoming for others. Sitting around putting down other people does NOT feel like it’s very welcoming, especially for snobby crap like they were doing. AITA?
My original post: https://www.reddit.com/MarvelStudiosSpoilers/comments/lhj5xy/wandavision_episode_6_possible_script_leak/ Here's the archive link http://web.archive.org/web/20210211121433/https://pastebin.com/TYzjEXVA There you go! The OP also shared a screenshot with me as proof he is legit. It has been verified by the mods! WANDA: {\i1}Previously on {\i}WandaVision... You made no effort\Nto conceal your abilities. -Well, I'm tired of hiding, Vis.\N-What aren't you telling me? You have to stop her. Just make her stop! You can't control me the way you do them. Can't I? DARCY: {\i1}She has the world's{\i}\N{\i1}only vibranium synthezoid{\i} {\i1}playing Father-Knows-Best-In-Suburbia.{\i} What happens when he learns the truth? You've taken an entire town hostage. Well, I'm not the one\Nwith the guns, Director. -(GUNS COCKING)\N-Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! I had a brother. His name was Pietro. GERALDINE: {\i1}He was killed by Ultron.{\i} Long lost bro get to squeeze\Nhis stinkin' sister to death or what? She recast Pietro? (OPENING THEME SONG PLAYING) {\i1}Wanda{\i}\N{\i1}Wanda Vision{\i} {\i1}Don't try to fight the chaos{\i}\N{\i1}Don't question what you've done{\i} {\i1}The game can try to play us{\i} {\i1}Don't let it stop the fun{\i} {\i1}Some days it's all confusion{\i} {\i1}Easy come and easy go{\i}\N{\i1}But if it's all illusion{\i} {\i1}Sit back, enjoy the show{\i} {\i1}Let's keep it going{\i} {\i1}Let's keep it going{\i} {\i1}Through each distorted day{\i} {\i1}Let's keep it going{\i} {\i1}Though there may be no way of knowing{\i} {\i1}Who's coming by to play{\i} Halloween's a magical holiday. All about family, friends, and the thrill\Nof getting to be someone else for a day. Wrong! Halloween's about candy. And scaring people, but mostly candy. Where's your costume, Tommy? This is my costume. I'm the cool twin. -What does that make me?\N-Hmm... (GAME MUSIC PLAYING) -Whoa!\N-(LAUGHS) A dorksaurus rex. -Not a real dinosaur.\N-(CHUCKLES) (SNORING) Man He even snores cool. -I'm gonna go wake him up.\N-(WHISPERS) Don't! You scared? He's our uncle. Why would I be scared? 'Cause it's four o'clock in the afternoon. You're secretly afraid he's a vampire. -No, I'm not.\N-Yes, you are. No, I'm not. -Blood is thicker than water! I show you!\N-(BILLY AND TOMMY SCREAMING) -(ROARING)\N-(SCREAMING) Oh! Somebody better be\Nbleeding, broken, or on fire. -Whoa, Mom. Are you old Red Riding Hood?\N-(PIETRO SNORTS) I'm a Sokovian fortune teller. Wow. That is so... -(CHUCKLING) Rad.\N-...lame. "Lame." Worse than the costumes mom\Nmade us the year we got typhus. (BOTH SPEAKING SOKOVIAN) (EXCLAIMS) (SPEAKS SOKOVIAN) (IN ENGLISH) That's not\Nexactly how I remember it. You probably\Nsuppressed a lot of the trauma. Mom has been weird\Nsince Uncle Pietro got here. I think it's because\Nshe hasn't seen him in a long time. And he's what you call, "a man child." -(SIGHS WEARILY)\N-Whoa! Sweet costume bro-ham-in-law. Let me guess. Uh, traffic light. -(SIGHS)\N-Half-shucked corn. A booger! -Yes.\N-Yes! Well, thank you for humoring me\Nand wearing this ridiculous get-up, honey. Well, there were no other\Nclothes in my closet, so... -You are incorrigible, darling.\N-(CHUCKLES) I know you have a secret\Nthing for Mexican wrestlers. {\i1}Mi gusta mucho.{\i} {\i1}Chili con carne.{\i} Ooh! (GIGGLES) What do you say, boys? Who's ready for that first hit\Nof high fructose corn syrup? -Yes! Headlock!\N-Get out of here, get out of here. Never told me much about your brother. I had no idea he'd be so... Go! -Great with kids.\N-(ALL BURPING) Yeah. He's just full of surprises. Well, you have fun tonight, darling. What? What do you mean?\NYou're all dressed and ready to go. I'm undercover. Halloween is a bacchanal\Nfor adolescent trouble-makers and the neighborhood watch\Nis the only thing that stands between the trees and the toilet paper. -No, that's not what you're supposed to--\N-What? Well... (SIGHS) You didn't tell me you had plans. Well, I am telling you now. Mom and Dad have been,\Nnot fighting, just, like, different. It's their first Halloween.\NYou have to be there. Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's the big dealio? Big guy has a conflict,\Ntwins need a father figure for the night. Don't sweat it, sis.\NI got the old XY chromosome. -(CHUCKLES)\N-Uncle P to the rescue, huh? There you go. Problem solved. You have a spooky time tonight, kids. -Goodnight, Dad!\N-Bye, Dad. (VIDEO GAME BEEPING) Wanda? Be good. I smell crime. (SCREAMS) Don't do that! Where do you keep your water balloons? What? We don't have water balloons. Where are we gonna\Nput all this shaving cream? Oh. -It was Billy's idea.\N-I'm Tommy. And don't you forget it! You don't even have a costume. (SCOFFS) Okay, but... (SIGHS) Just remember\Nthat this is a respectable family. If I see any funny business, I am going to magic\Nyou into a pickled herring. (INDISTINCT SHOUTING) (ELECTRICAL BUZZING) I wanna see a full work-up\Ninside the hour. -SOLDIER: Yes, sir.\N-Hayward. Hayward! You cut us off at the knees,\Nsending in that missile. Now we know who we're dealing with. Hey, there he is. The guy who almost\Ngot murdered by his own murder squad. You work for me? -I actually don't know.\N-She's with me. I see. And which one\Nof you is the sassy best friend? There is no time for you\Nto diminish your colleagues when you're about\Nto start a war you can't win. Maximoff was never\Ngonna negotiate with us. We take her out,\Nthis whole nightmare ends. MONICA: We don't know that. We actually have no idea what will happen in there\Nor out here if Wanda dies. So, what? We just surrender to that? Not happening. We can't outgun her. And clearly antagonizing her\Nis only making things worse. If Wanda is the problem,\Nshe has to be our solution. Captain Rambeau, you have become\Nan impediment to this mission. (SIGHS) Constantly advocating\Non behalf of super-powered individuals. Yes, I know\Nyour history with Carol Danvers. You know, you people who left, still have the luxury of optimism. You have no idea what it was like. What it took to keep the lights on. Don't use the last five years\Nas an excuse to be a coward. Maybe it's a good thing\Nyou weren't here when your mother died. Because clearly\Nyou don't have the stomach for this job. Get her off my base. Now. All of 'em. SOLDIER: All right. Come on. Let's go. Hayward is way overstepping\Nhis provisional authority. He was looking\Nfor a reason to sideline us. He's up to something. SOLDIER: Let's go. Everybody in! (GRUNTS) -(MONICA YELLS)\N-(SOLDIER GROANS) (PANTING) Why didn't anyone tell me the plan? -You okay?\N-Yeah. Let's move. This is it. Game time. It's not a competition, Tommy. -It is if you're a winner.\N-Tommy. (SHOUTS) Unleash hell, demon spawn. (CHUCKLES SOFTLY) Do you remember when we were\Nat the orphanage after mom and dad died? What was the name of that kid\Nwho was always trying to steal your boots? You know, he was the one...\NHe had the... He had the skin thing. You're testing me. No, I'm not. Hey, it's cool. I know I look different. Why do you... look different? You tell me.\NI mean, if I found Shangri-La, I wouldn't wanna be\Nreminded of the past either. (LAUGHS) Next house, Mom. Junior entrepreneur, over here. How about you let Uncle P help you\Nmaximize your candy acquisition, huh? (CHUCKLING) Yeah. Kick-ass! "I feel the need..." -"For speed."\N-(BOTH YELP) Kick-ass. (INDISTINCT CHATTER OVER RADIO) -Oh, hey, Herb.\N-Oh, hey! How's patrol going? Eh, quiet, so far. Hold up, will you? -(MAN TALKING OVER RADIO)\N-Say again. -(MAN TALKING OVER RADIO)\N-All the candy has disappeared? What? Who took my candy? And now all\Nthe jack-o'-lanterns have been smashed. (PIETRO, BILLY AND TOMMY CHEERING) And now everyone's\Ncovered in silly string? PIETRO: Whoo! Sorry, Wanda, I gotta bounce. Well, maybe Vision\Ncan help you out. (CHUCKLES) Vision? Oh, he's not on duty. Oh! I... I thought he... Is there something\NI can do for you, Wanda? Do you want something changed? (CHUCKLING) No. It's fine. Never mind. (CHUCKLES) All right. Peace. WOMAN: Hey! How's it going? Happy Halloween. (INDISTINCT CHATTER) I'm so hungry, I'd eat anything. Hungry? I remember hungry. I used to be like that all the time. What did you do? Snacked on Yo-Magic, bro. Now I have time to hang fin. Can I have some? Here you go, little dude. (GRUNTS) (GASPS WEAKLY) SHARK: {\i1}Yo-Magic! The snack for survivors!{\i} This is so lame. I can't believe\Nyou're making them return all the candy. I can't believe\Nwhat a bad influence you are. Who beefed in your borscht? I'm just trying to do my part, okay? Come to town unexpectedly,\Ncreate tension with the brother-in-law, stir up trouble with the rugrats,\Nand ultimately give you grief. I mean, that's what you wanted, isn't it? What happened to your accent? What happened to yours? Details are fuzzy, man. I got shot like a chump\Non the street for no reason at all and the next thing I know,\NI heard you calling me. I knew you needed me. Uncle P, guess what?\N(CHUCKLES) They've got full-size candy bars\Na few blocks up. Mom, can we go? Next stop, Cavity Town. Right on, little dude. Chip off the old Maximoff block. You've got super speed! -I do?\N-Yeah! WANDA: It's okay, baby. You can take it slow, and you can-- (CHEERING) If you're gonna break the sound barrier,\Nplease just take your brother with you. -Really?\N-Really? Really. Yeah.\NAnd please just remember to-- BOTH: Don't go past Ellis Avenue. We know, Mom. We know. Hey! Be careful. PIETRO: {\i1}I'm just trying{\i}\N{\i1}to do my part, okay?{\i} {\i1}Come to town unexpectedly,{\i}\N{\i1}create tension with the brother-in-law...{\i} MONICA: Who is that? Wanda's brother came to town. He brought the wrong face. AGENT WOO: Over here. {\i1}-What happened to your accent?{\i}\N{\i1}-What happened to yours?{\i} (DARCY SIGHS) MONICA: We shouldn't\Nhang out here too long. DARCY: Uh, give me two seconds. I just need to hack into\Nthe secure network on the base. Donezo. Now, should be able to access\Nthe data on Hayward's devices. Oh. That's interesting. Guys, Hayward figured out\Na way to look through the boundary. And he didn't share it with the group. AGENT WOO: Is this Wanda, right here? No. The program is tracking\Nthe decay signature of vibranium. Vision. Wait. Why is Hayward tracking Vision? I don't know.\NThis is all I can access so far. These other dots,\Nthose are Westview residents? The ones in Vision's\Nimmediate vicinity, yeah. Hayward must have\Nan accurate headcount by now. MONICA: Hmm. AGENT WOO: And some sense\Nof their well-being. Huh... These people,\Nnear the edge of town... They're barely moving. Are they alive? (MONITOR BEEPING) (DOG BARKING IN DISTANCE) VISION: Say, excuse me. Ma'am? Are those your children? Are you waiting for something? (INDISTINCT CHATTER) WOMAN: Happy Halloween! Trick-or-treat? Agnes? What are you doing here? Town Square Scare. Where is it? Oh, well, the Town Square.\N(CHUCKLES SOFTLY) I expect. (CHUCKLES EMOTIONLESSLY) Took a wrong turn. Got lost. In the town you grew up in? (GASPS) -It's all right.\N-(GASPS) (SOFTLY) You... You're one of the Avengers. You're Vision. Are you here to help us? I am Vision. I do want to help. But what's an Avenger? What? Why don't you know? (BREATH TREMBLING) Am I dead? No, no. Why would you think that? Because you are. 'Cause I'm what? Dead. Dead. (SHOUTS) Dead! Dead! Agnes, it is my intention\Nto reach those outside of Westview and make sense of our situation. (SOFTLY) How? No one leaves. Wanda won't even let us think about it. (CHUCKLING) All is lost. -Agnes...\N-(LAUGHING MANIACALLY) Agnes, please calm down. -Agnes! Please...\N-(CONTINUES LAUGHING MANIACALLY) (LAUGHING STOPS) I will fix this, Agnes. I promise. Okey-dokey, neighbor. (TIRES SCREECH) Happy Halloweenie! {\an8}(CELL PHONE RINGING) That's it. My way back into the Hex\Nwill be here in an hour. Just gotta meet my guy over the ridge. Let's roll. You can't do that. Sure we can.\NI'm a whiz at hot-wiring cars. You can't go back into the Hex. Worst case scenario, Wanda removes my free will\Nand puts me in ultra-low-rise jeans. Hayward has your blood work. You've gone through\Nthe boundary twice already, Monica. The energy inside has re-written\Nyour cells on a molecular level twice. It's changing you. Seen enough lab results\Nto last me a lifetime. Cells metastasizing, cells in remission. I know what Wanda's feeling\Nand I won't stop until I help her. Okay. Okay. But I'm staying here. -Wait, you can't stay here. It's not safe.\N-What? Darcy, what are you talkin' about? I haven't made it through\NHayward's last firewall. There's something big here.\NSomething that can help us. I know it. Fine. Fine. I'll drop you the location,\Nyou meet us out there as soon as you can. (INDISTINCT CHATTER) -PIETRO: Holy shmacaroni.\N-(WANDA CHUCKLES) PIETRO: Wow!\NWANDA: Isn't it great? PIETRO: Damn it, if Westview, New Jersey\Nisn't charming as hell. Now, I know that you think\Nthat I've have gone full soccer mom. -Yeah.\N-But it really is nice, right? Yeah. (SIGHS HEAVILY) I think Mom and Dad would've loved it. Yeah. I think they would have. (CHILDREN LAUGHING) Where were you hiding\Nthese kids up till now? -What?\N-I assume they were sleeping\Npeacefully in their beds. No need to traumatize beyond the\Noccasional holiday episode cameo, right? -No...\N-You were always the empathetic twin. -I don't... I didn't...\N-Don't get me wrong. You've handled the ethical considerations\Nof this scenario as best you could. Families and couples stay together, most personalities aren't far off from\Nwhat's underneath, people got better jobs, better haircuts, for sure. -You don't think it's wrong?\N-What, are you kidding? I'm impressed! Seriously. It's a big leap\Nfrom giving people nightmares and shooting red wiggly-woos\Nout of your hands. How'd you even do all this? Hey, I'm not some stranger\Nand I'm not your husband. You can talk to me. I don't know how I did it. I... I only remember\Nfeeling completely alone. Empty. I just... Endless nothingness. (SNIFFLES) (GASPS) Are you okay? I'm fine. Uh-huh. (ELECTRONIC BEEPING) Hayward, you sneaky bastard. Move out. Vision. What's he doing? (VISION GRUNTING) He really does want out, doesn't he? (GRUNTING) (GRUNTS) Oh, no. Why aren't you helping him? -Stop! He's coming apart!\N-Hey! (GRUNTING LOUDLY) HAYWARD: {\i1}He really does want out{\i}\N{\i1}doesn't he?{\i} -Whoa, Billy!\N-Shh! Are you okay? (VISION SCREAMING) Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! What? What is it, Billy? (PANTING) I hear Dad in my head.\NHe's in trouble. (GRUNTING) DARCY: Let me go! What are you doing? Help him! Let me go! Help! (SHUDDERS) The people need help.\N(GRUNTS) (GASPS) (WHIMPERS) (GROANS) I don't understand.\NWhat's happening to me? Where is he? Where's your dad? Hey, don't sweat it, sis. It's not like\Nyour dead husband can die twice. -(GRUNTS)\N-(YELPS) Billy, I need you to focus. (SHUDDERING) I can't tell. I see these... -(GRUNTS)\N-...soldiers. (SCREAMING) They think he's dying. (CHATTER STOPS) Jimmy. Jimmy, do you see that?\NSomething's happening! It's moving! Go, go! (RUMBLING) Go, go, go! Move, move, move! Are you serious right now? SOLDIER: Hey! Stop! (GRUNTS) Oh, fudge. (SOLDIERS SCREAMING) (CLOWNS CHUCKLING) (ALL SCREAMING) (INDISTINCT CHATTER) Push it! Faster! (ENGINE ROARING) (TIRES SCREECHING) Come in. Anyone read me? Anyone hear my voice? Does anyone read me? Anyone read me? Over.
Had to message a woman letting her know her BF was messaging me inappropriately and I’m filled with anxiety waiting for her to see it.
I went on a handful of dates with this guy like 18 months ago, we lived too far away and it didn’t work out. Ended on friendly terms, we followed each other on IG but other that occasionally reacting to each other’s stories we didn’t really talk. He posts very infrequently and It’s only pics from nature hikes. His last post was 3 almost 4 months ago. Cut to a few days ago, out of the blue, he messages me late at night and we catch up/chat. He mentions he thinks of me often, wishes he could see me (quote “the only person I want to see is you, I hope we can do that soon” and “you’re the strongest and smartest person I’ve ever talked to. I miss talking to you more” and more like that), I don’t really engage too much with it because it’s late and he’s obviously a lil tipsy. He started implying for wanting nudes, talking about my body in a pic i had posted a few months back, he reminisces about old hook ups we had implying he wants to do more and I “accidentally” fall asleep mid convo. Next morning he messages me about how he was turned on the night before and will be masturbating to me (it’s 10am, way too early for that fuckery) I ignore him, intended fo block but I was on a run and legitimately forgot. Cut to today.... I open IG and the first post is him and another woman. I commented on it and then immediately messaging him saying she was cute and asked if it was new Him “it’s not so new” Me “oh so not newer when you hit me up the other night” Him “no, I know that’s bad” Me “question is... does she know?” Him “no and I’d like to keep it that way” I tell him how nasty he is, that it’s disgusting he’s not telling her then he proceeded to change his story 3 different times from “no she doesn’t and I want to keep it that way” to “well I told her about other transgressions but not this one” to “well okay I told her about you but not that it’s you or the details; just that I was seeking attention” to “I did tell her” Then he tried to guilt trip me into staying silent saying “it’s a crucial period of time in us progressing” like if I say something it’s my fault I’m blowing it up. He kept whining that he was ashamed and that it was so horrible having to relive it when I sent him contradicting screen shots of his own words and how gross he was. I reminded him that he doesn’t matter rn it’s about her. He kept pushing for me not to say anything, and wants to talk this out with me. Thing is I already messaged her. He had her tagged in the pic, and I wrote to her expressing I knew him, how, and a run down of what happened. I sent her screen recordings of the full convo (including showing me open the IG app and going to his profile and then to the messages so he can’t claim anything) Her profile is private which means it’s in her message requests and while I know I did the right thing telling her I’m legit sick to my stomach about this. ): I feel so so so bad he’s doing this and I’m even tangentially involved against my will. I just needed to vomit this all out. ): ughhhhhhh this sucks so bad.
that one time we tripped acid and played hide and seek with a crackhead
tl;dr at the bottom so me n the homies live in the middle of got damn nowhere we ain’t got neighbors, stores, paved roads, love, or affection what we do have is cornfields, cows that moo back on occasion, and the most important substances homie hits my line he’s like yo i’m like yo he’s all like we gonna have a group trip in one of the local cities (local meaning 3 hours away) i’m like ok bet so we’ve got me, trees, dr corn, jellyboy, cowman, kelgen, and horsemeat (not their real names) our favorite thing to do during the summer was get far away from the cornfields as possible as to prevent ourselves from literally going fuckin mad so everyone but horsemeat (our DD) popped a tab and we were on our way tab kicks in after about 45 minutes and by time we get to the city we’re completely off our ass we park at one of the empty lots and we all grab our longboards we’re zoomin down these hills, and skating on roads without potholes and random obstructions was an experience not many of us were used too, safe to say we’re havin a blast we find this massive hill and we’re all standing on top of it looking down in awe deciding if this is really a good idea it’s pretty dark out at this point and we can’t see where the end of the hill leads, and i’m all for doing crazy shit but none of us had helmets and i didn’t want this to become a nightmare i look over to the group and just as i’m about to tell them to find another hill, cowman puts his board down fuck cowmans flying down this hill and we’re all watching in awe cowman doesn’t know how to power slide cowman can’t slow down cowman is going too fast for his own good and next thing we hear is him yelling FUCKFUCKFUCKFU- and he slams into the curb at the end of the hill oh, damn we decide we’re not skating down the hill after him so we start making our way down on foot hoping little cowman isn’t dead we get to the bottom of the hill and he’s still conscious, thankfully, he just claims his leg was in a lot of pain all good, cowman is alive we’re all sitting there acknowledging what just happened when we hear a voice from behind took quite a fall there bud who the fuck was that i thought and upon looking back i saw the man tall, extremely skinny, ripped clothes, scabs all over, track marks, missing teeth and speech that slowed down and sped up being in a small town, these kinds of drug users weren’t anything new to us, but seeing as though we didn’t have anything on us, there was nothing to be worried about cowman was a little confused so i decided to speak up what’s up oh, not much, said mr crack, was watching you guys skeet around here and just came to see if your ol buddy was okay yeah man he’s all good, appreciate that and then we kinda stare at eachother awkwardly for a few seconds when he drops the line you guys wanna hangout? i mean, yeah fuck it why not so now we’re walking around talkin to this guy about how he lost his job and fell into the slippery slope of addiction seeing as though we’re all drug users we don’t hoist any judgement toward mr crack it was then he stops in his tracks we all abruptly stop as well, waiting to hear mr cracks next words of wisdom you guys wanna play hide and go seek? we all looked at eachother and then cowman started giggling, which was the spark to a wildfire of laughter amongst all of us hell yeah dude let’s play okay kiddos here’s the rules, no going past that building, he said pointing with his finger, and no going past that lake, pointing the other direction fucking bet we decide that since mr crack came up with the idea, he would choose the seeker he chose himself ok i guess so we’re getting ready to go hide when he says stop we all look in admiration toward our new crack jesus it’s hide and seek tag, and if i tag you, you’re on my team, if one man prevails, he is not claimed as the victor unless he has been standing for more than 20 minutes dope now initially i was going to hide with jellyboy, but seeing as though he could just as easily become my enemy, i decide i’m a lone wolf i set a timer on my phone for 20 minutes, let everyone else know i had the timer ready, and it was time to hide my years of hide and seek as a young fetus boy are about to pay off as i pull off my signature trick when he begins to count, i start running, fast running, as to give off the impression that i will be nearing the border of our little play area nearing the border i was not hooked a left behind this building and stopped running, this was perfect i saw a ladder going to this little matinence balcony thing but it was too high to reach mr crack jesus’ voice was piercing through the air as i heard 12 11 10 9 i was running out of time, i had to find a way up scanning the area, i found myself looking at a dumpster a dumpster with wheels fucking jackpot, and right as i got this dumpster to the bottom of the ladder, the final words of mr crack ring in my ears ready or not, im fuckin comin oh but i am ready mr crack and to finish my thought, i see dr corn run around the same building that i had found the dumpster, he’s desperate for a spot to hide finding nothing, he turns back, still not seeing me, and right as he gets to the edge of the building, mr crack appears i hold my breath dr corn tries to pull a sneak move but it is to no avail, as he becomes the first member tagged dr corn down jellyboy, trees, cowman, kelgen, horsemeat and me are still in it for the W seeing as though they hadn’t laid their eyes upon me, i make the decision to stay on this ladder a few minutes go by and i can hear yelling, just barely in ear shot got your ass now boy! FUCK it’s cowmans voice cowman has been claimed an instant later i see trees come across my building, he sees me praying to god that he isn’t tagged, i look him back he puts a finger up to his mouth as to say “don’t say a got damn word” and he’s running away i need a new spot i get down off the ladder and i see trees turn another corner, followed by him yelling OH SHIT WAIT trees has been claimed trees, cowman, and dr corn are predators jellyboy, horsemeat, kelgen and me are the prey and i don’t intend to lose i come across a main road, and going against my instinct of caution i decide to cross it i step onto the main road and on the other side, i see dr corn fuck just as i’m about to turn running, i see kelgen run out on the same road, in between me and dr corn perfect using the moment for my escape, i dip into one of the alleys, wondering if kelgen was going to follow follow he did not kelgen was not fast enough, and now he is down i decide to go down toward the lake and see if i can find any survivors i see horsemeat the only one of us who wasn’t tripping balls behind him i see jellyboy come around a corner and start making his way toward horsemeat the gangs all here, i think, but based on jellyboys face i realize what’s happening he’s going after horsemeat just as horsemeat turns around he is tagged, i use this as my escape i’m running through alleys, trying to survive as long as possible i hear yelling, footsteps, the occasional “go look that way” and it’s all to my advantage i am silent as a mouse i’ve ran through the left side of the main road, and they have been searching through the buildings on the right side they would come left soon it was time for me to cross the main road i decide to count to 3 and make a break for it 3.. 2.. 1.. and i’m off i get two steps into the main road and that’s when i hear his voice THERE, LOOK when i turn my head im met with a sight that is engraved into my memory jellyboy and dr corn in the back, kelgen and trees infront of them, horsemeat and cowman next up, and in the front is crack jesus they are in a pyramid formation, all pointing at me they are running after me screaming war cries and for a moment i felt as though i was a cowboy on the american frontier, being chased down by indians that are beyond pissed off that i just stole their native land i’m paralyzed in fear i decide it’s time to come up with a plan, a plan which requires me to think, something i was not much good at i realize i can kick in wizard mode wizard mode is malfunctioning and my brain is still as dysfunctional as it was 4 seconds ago fuck, they’re getting closer just as i’m about to give up and accept my fate i realize something im wearing my brooks running shoes it was as though i was blessed by u/joeeposts the shoe salesman and just like that i was running faster than i’ve ever run before the predators notice that i’m wearing brooks running shoes and now they realize their mistake i will outrun them they split up, some going to the buildings on the left side, some the right, and now the only person left on the main road was mr crack he was still screaming war cries now that i’ve been blessed by my brooks running shoes and the holy words of u/joeeposts the shoe salesman i decide i am not afraid of mr crack i embrace his advances (in a cool way not sexually) i run toward him as well, reciprocating his war cries we get up to eachother and i put a foot forward on the left, mr crack tries matching my movements to catch me, just as i planned in an instant i withdrawal my foot advancement and use the momentum to spin my body around mr cracks outreached hand, metaphorically destroying his ankles mr crack falls to the ground a small price to pay for salvation dr corn and jellyboy were witness to this magic event and now they’re coming at me from either side the power of the brooks running shoes is still coursing through every vein in my body and i decide to turn around and run back toward mr crack, who is still on the ground, probably wishing he was wearing brooks running shoes i get to him and leap over his outstretched body, the minute i hit the ground i pivot my right foot and just like that i’m full sprinting down the alley i see the ladder i was on previously, dumpster still conveniently under it i get to the top of the ladder and just as i get to the matinence balcony i see horsemeat i hold my breath he looks left he looks right and then his eyes met mine, he was ready “OVER HERE, HES ON THE BALCONY” my time was nearing before i knew it i was above all of them, they’re all looking up at me and for a moment i feel like i’m Glenn from the walking dead RICK GRIMES PLEASE COME SAVE ME i yell aloud, which had them in a fit of laughter which bought me just enough time mr crack was climbing the ladder rapidly and just as i was about to accept my fate beep beep beep beep beep the timer went off the fucking timer, i had forgotten all about it the looks on their faces were all the same defeat i had won i was the victor the story ends with all of us sitting around the lake, laughing, joking around, talking about life as our acid trips were coming to an end and mr crack ends things off with words that stuck with me for a long time “kid, you’ve got two things in life. your health, and your peace of mind. eat healthy, excercise, live your life, and most importantly, never forget how to have fun.” this one doesn’t end with a funny closer, just want to take the moment to tell you all to be good to one another. life is short, no reason to diminish someone’s peace of mind, live and let live. tl:dr - took acid, friend had a skating accident, met a homeless crackhead, made friends with him, played the ultimate game of hide and seek tag, learned a valuable life lesson
My uncle left me a shifty little bar in his will. The employees here sleep in the backroom.
My uncle was an odd, lonely man. That one guy you try to avoid at family reunions, the one nobody knows too well but loves to talk about nonetheless. I think he liked me best because I never really enjoyed badmouthing him. I wouldn't say we were close, but we tolerated one another. At least that's how it was when I was little, we never bothered to stay in contact. I forgot about him by the time I left home. That's why the news of his death caught me completely by surprise. Uncle Mack was alone in his apartment when he had a heart attack causing cardiac arrest. He fell unconscious and died within minutes. Then there was me at the time. I had just flunked out of college and the only thing I was actually good at was playing video games. When I was contacted by Mack's lawyer, I was even more shocked. Mack had left me three things: a box of sorted letters addressed to me, all the money he used to own, which to me was a lot, and his bar–the one he had inherited from his father and had worked at all his life. I'll be frank, I had no idea what to do with the bar but I knew from the very start I'd take it over. I felt kind of honored–this had basically been Uncle Mack's entire life and he was giving it to me of all people. Sure, from what I knew there hadn't been many friends or loved ones in his life to choose from, but it was still flattering to me. Once I read the first letter, I was even more convinced. "Hi Giulia, If you're reading this, my bad eating habits have probably caught up to me. Or maybe someone killed me, who knows. As of me writing this, you're fifteen years old. You were the only one to talk to me at the family reunion today. Not for long, but more than just an awkward hello. I notice these things and I appreciate it. That's why I'm trusting you with the most important task anyone in this family is ever going to offer you. You are going to take over my bar. Besides, knowing you, you're not gonna have much of a career anyways, so you might as well. Once you're done reading this, please go to the bar at your earliest convenience. Take the box of letters with you and stash it away somewhere there. It has some valuable advice you're gonna need down the line. In fact, you will need to read the second letter right after your arrival. You'll find my employees are a bit special. Anyways, I hope you're doing alright, however this letter finds you. You're a good kid, Lia. Always have been. Besides, the only person you could possibly disappoint by screwing this up is dead so there's no pressure to impress. Sincerely, Your Uncle Mack." I wiped my eyes. They had actually gotten a bit watery while I was reading the letter. I folded the letter and tucked it back into the box before grabbing my coat and bag. Mack's bar was a train ride and a thirty-minute walk away from my parents' place, which is where I was residing at the moment. I figured I would probably have to look for a place close to the bar if I really would start working there full time. When I finally arrived at the establishment, it looked almost exactly the way I had expected. It was just another wall in the row of buildings on the street off to the side from the inner city's market square. A large, bright red double door with a neon sign reading "The New Saloon" above it. It would probably glow if I'd find out how to switch it on. At least I hoped it would glow. It felt weird, unlocking the door and opening it for the first time, all on my own. Entering and looking around inside felt even weirder. The New Saloon was your typical old-style dive bar. Even completely empty it looked overcrowded. The fabric of the cushion seats was stained and frayed, the walls behind and in front of the counter were plastered with neon beer signs and large framed photos of people I didn't know, some were even in black and white. The floors were dirty and my heels stuck to them when I walked further in. This place was small, shabby and smelly and I loved it. It was so strange but I suddenly just felt like this bar was mine, and that I needed to take care of it and protect it. Remembering what Mack had told me in his first letter, I pulled the second one out from the box and unfolded it. "Hi Giulia, If you're reading this, you're probably at the bar for the very first time! How do you like it? Let me guess, it's ugly and gross but it instantly started growing on you? Don't worry, it's about to get a lot weirder. You'll find the entrance to the backroom behind the counter. The lightswitch is on the inside of the wall, make sure to turn it on before you head inside because there's stairs leading down right behind the door. It's a death trap. Once you're in there, stand in the middle of the room. Stay away from the walls. You may then say out loud the following words: Spirits of this house, by the power of the spell that has bound you I command you to serve. You'll see what happens next. Whatever happens, keep in mind you can order them around. When all the work is done, simply tell them to go back into their room. You've got this. Sincerely, Your Uncle Mack." I frowned. That was odd. Was this the prelude to some kind of joke? I walked over to the door behind the counter and pressed down the handle. It swung open with a loud creaking noise and I began to grope around for the lightswitch. A single light bulb down in the backroom came flickering on and I proceeded down the rickety wooden stairs. No bannisters. Risky, especially with the shoes I was wearing. By the time I had reached the middle of the room, my heart was already beating faster than it should. Still, if this was a prank, Mack had been planning it for over five years, and I was not about to ruin it. Besides, no one was watching anyways. I cleared my throat. "Spirits of this house…" I began, a giggle swinging along in my voice. "By the power of the spell that has bound you I command you to serve." Nothing. Not a single sound for five whole seconds. I looked around the room. It was completely empty, except for a single door in the wall across from me. Maybe I had been supposed to say it in whatever room was behind that one? Just as I was about to walk over to it, a loud noise came from one of the walls to the side. I spun around to find that it had cracked open. Bits of it were beginning to crumble to the floor as the tear widened. I stared at it with my mouth agape, frozen in place and incapable of comprehending what I was seeing there. From the crack, a set of long, bony pale fingers reached out into the room, gripping the inside of the wall. My throat was too dry to produce a proper scream, but I couldn't contain a gasp as I staggered backwards until my back met with the other wall behind me. It was then that I felt cold palms rubbing against my neck and hands closing around my shoulders from behind. This time, I shrieked. I whirled around again only to see that there was a hole there too, long, skinny arms slowly moving forward from it, grabbing at me, searching for me. I glanced around the room frantically. Holes had opened in basically every spare spot. I counted four sets of arms pulling themselves out into the light, followed by similarly slender upper bodies. By the time I finally thought to run back up the stairs and save myself, the people from inside the walls were standing in the backroom, fully emerged from their dark hideouts. I didn't risk another look at them. When I finally reached the top stair, I dashed back into the bar and slammed the door shut behind me. I pressed myself up against it just to keep standing. My knees had grown weak beneath me and I was panting heavily, my mind racing. Then I heard them; slow, light footsteps making their way up the staircase and stop on top of it. I heard calm, steady breathing coming from the other side of the door. I tensed up and shifted my weight on my feet, leaning up against it to keep whomever was in there from getting out. I was sure this person would start to try pushing it open, but to my surprise, nothing happened. Instead, a voice rang out from inside. "Excuse me, who are you exactly?" It was a man's voice. I had expected something like a growl, or a hiss, or the groans of some decomposing zombie, but this was distinctly more articulate. It sounded almost polite. I didn't know what to do other than respond. "Giulia," I stammered. "Giulia?" The man sounded surprised. "What about Mack? Wait, if you're here…" He sounded quite sad now. "Mack's dead, isn't he?" "Yes," I replied quietly. "His heart stopped." "That's… good God." He fell silent and I heard him utter a shaky sigh, almost like a sob. "I'm sorry, would you give me a moment? I need to tell the others." "Go ahead," I murmured. "Nevermind, they heard us. So, will you let us out now or…?" "Who are you? Why were you in there?" "We work here, actually. My name is Andrik… I do most of the organizing here. I take care of the accounting, our profits, our spendings; I place the orders on most of what we need. Back here with me, I've got Bo, who is our bouncer, and Danika and May, both waitresses." "You work here?" I repeated. "And you live in the walls? After your shift is over, do you just go down there and melt into the room or what?" I couldn't help but let out a nervous chuckle at the mental image. This was just too absurd. At least I was breathing normally now. "Pretty much, yes." I shook my head. "What are you?" "Well, to explain that you would have to go exactly a hundred and twenty-two years back so it's a long story," Andrik replied. "All you need to know for now is that if you let us out, we'll get the bar up and running right away. We've been working under Mack ever since he took over this place though, so you'll have to excuse us if we're a bit gloomy." "No, that's fine," I muttered, slowly turning away from the door and carefully pulling it open. The man in front of me was of normal height, slender and looked to be in his thirties. Despite being dressed in jeans and a simple black t-shirt with the bar's name printed on it in white, swirly letters, he had a very official look to him. Maybe it was the way he stood, straight as a rod with a friendly yet matter-of-fact smile on his face. "Thank you," he said. Turning back to the room, he raised his voice. "You heard it everyone, Mack might be gone and while that's a downer, our work isn't over; so get yourselves up here and let's get this going again!" His tone carried the flat motivation the coach of a youth sports team might have. Three more people emerged from the backroom, all dressed exactly like Andrik, all of them that same content little grin on their lips. They walked by me offering polite greetings; the first one, a large, bulky guy giving me a curt nod and the two women that followed smiling brightly. The girls were a little younger than Andrik, maybe in their late twenties. Both had blond hair hanging down their shoulders in wavy pigtails. That first night the bar was open, I merely watched the backroom people work, following them around while they ignored me. It was eerie. They looked almost like automated mannequins, going about their routine by sticking to preplanned paths; like there were set directions painted somewhere I couldn't see. I soon began to notice other distinctive attributes about them. None of the people from the walls had fingernails. I saw it on the waitresses when they reached for the cups handed to them, on Andrik when he scribbled down notes. However that was not the only thing off about them. All those little details in their faces, the kind of thing you'd normally never pay attention to–they didn't add up. For example, their eyes didn't lign up. One was always slightly lower than the other, just enough for someone to notice. Their nostrils would differ in width and one of the girls' pinky fingers was the same length as her ring finger. Had I not known that they had just crawled out from the backroom walls, I would have chalked these harmless little oddities up to simple, inconspicuous deformities, but knowing what I knew, it made my skin crawl with uncomfort. I soon found out that Andrik did most of the talking for them. Bo rarely ever said a word, and all the waitresses did was whisper amongst themselves, giggle and chat with the patrons. Eventually, Andrik waved me over to him behind the counter. "Alright, to give you a rundown of the place, we have a cash-only system. We rely on our local clientele, but once in a while someone new comes by and then we try and keep them around, obviously. Here's some of our regulars." He pointed at a lady sitting in a corner, weeping over an empty glass of whiskey. "That's Shauna. Comes here whenever she can, only ever orders whiskey. Will not stop crying." His finger wandered over to an old, short man with an almost disproportionately large head and short white hair. He was sitting at one of the tables as well, talking to two younger women who seemed very much out of place. "That's Tommy. He's likely to start fights but he drinks a lot and tips very generously. Bo throws him out a lot but he's very easy on him, so don't worry." He finally nodded towards a tall glass of wine standing lonely on the counter right in front of us. "And this is Irene. She can't pay but she's always welcome. She's very nice and she's been here ever since Mack's family started this business." "Andrik, there's nothing there." The pale man threw me a confused glance. "What do you mean, she's right… oh! Of course. Don't worry, you'll start seeing her with time. Either way, for now there's actually not much for you to do except read up on barkeeping once you get the chance. However you should start getting acquainted with the regulars. After all, the owner of The New Saloon will always be part of the reason why people come here." He paused as his mouth started to twitch into an almost guileful grin. "I have a feeling they're going to love you." I retreated into the ladies' room for a quick break. I sat down on one of the toilets and buried my face in my palms. I had no idea what was going on or what I was supposed to do. Andrik had made himself pretty clear when it came to the instructions he'd given me, but all of this was so surreal I seriously considered the possibility of me having suffered some kind of blow to the head and dreaming it. I spent the rest of the night standing behind the counter and observing their every move. Andrik kept to my side mostly, looking at me with the kind of suspicion I probably had in my eyes as well. I couldn't figure him out. I accidentally-on-purpose walked by the waitresses who were talking to each other in hushed voices, picking up on small bits of their conversation. "Her blood is weaker than his. Do you think she's–?" "We shouldn't take any chances. Remember what Mack did when we tried to test him?" "I do, but this could be our chance to have some fun." Her words sent chills down my spine. Remembering Mack's letter however, I decided this was not the time to show I was frightened. "You're going to do no such thing," I chimed in from behind them. "I don't care what you are but I promise I'll find a way to make this whole thing very uncomfortable for you guys if you try to pull any kind of weird crap on me." The looks they gave me were worth my initial doubt. They seemed shocked that I had listened in on them at all, let alone spoken up. I glared at them, holding their gaze and ignoring the trembling of my legs. Their heads lowered, they marched off. When the bar began to clear out and we got ready to close down for the night, I told the four of them to clean up. Of course I helped, but I made sure never to lose sight of a single one of them. I felt like they were wild, hungry animals, waiting for their chance to pounce on me. Whenever I looked up from the rag I was wiping the countertop with, I would find one of them staring at me. By the time we were done, the place really did look a lot more welcoming. It certainly was cleaner, despite the four workers' angry faces spoiling the mood. We carried the cleaning supplies back into the small storage chamber next to the employee restroom before I went to open the backroom door for them. "Okay everyone, good job today! Thanks a lot, now back inside!" I called out, almost enjoying the feeling of authority as they came trodding towards me and made their way down into the dimly lit basement single-file. Andrik was the last one to cross the threshold. Right before descending the staircase, he turned to face me once more. "You were keeping a close eye on us," he said quietly. "That's clever. But you're going to need to keep it up and… let's see how long you'll last. Who knows what might happen." He gave me a sly wink with the one eye that was a little lower on his face before following his co-workers. I watched from the top of the stairs as they leaned up against the walls. It was almost as I had expected; their bodies seemed to melt into the holes they had come from, sealing them shut and not leaving so much as a thin crack. Lacking a better option, I stayed at a nearby inn that night. As bizarre and frightening as all of this had been, I got out of it unscathed. The bar workers and I would end up coming to blows in the future though, more than once. And I wouldn't always be that lucky. X Part 2: one of the regulars had a doppelgänger Part 3: My bouncer and I got beaten up by a little girl. Part 4: The regular who never stops crying. Part 5: Appreciate good employees.
"If you don't like the job you can just quit" OKAY!
A bit of context here: I'm originally from Syria and I spent around 7-8 months in Sudan, Africa and that country being a third world country and super poor didn't have any good jobs but at the same time prices were so cheap you can live with only around 100USD a month (rent, bills, food and water) BUT Gasoline was expensive to the point you might need around 50~100USD just for commuting to work (so it comes to around 200 per month if you're going to work by any kind of transportation). As for jobs, the best you can do without prior experience is either work in a restaurant or a factory for at most 100USD which meant you had to be close to the job or get them to cover transportation. So, around 5 months ago, I got in contact with a restaurant owner and talked with him about a job offer I saw. The job we talked about was being a warehouse manager for the restaurant, my shift starts at 8am and ends at 6pm, 7 days a week with only 1 vacation day per month, and I get 1 Sandwich per day as lunch and 1 meal per week to take home, I asked about the salary and he said we will discuss it later, I asked how I will organize the warehouse and he said he will provide me with a Laptop to work on later, I agreed to work a trial period of a week and then we will discuss the salary and see if it works out. First day on the job he hands me the keys of their warehouse and when I open it I find a GLORIOUS MESS, I ask my co-workers about it and they said "no one has worked as a Warehouse manager for the past few months". I go in and start looking at what we have in the Warehouse and taking notes then I started a new Google account on my phone and made a new Excel Sheet on it and sorted everything there, by the end of day one I had went through most of the things in the Warehouse and I only have two words to describe what I saw there "HOLY SHIT" it was such a mess the workers didn't even know what they have in that warehouse, i.e. they need Mustard and they don't find it the moment they look at the shelves? They buy a new box. And I can say for sure the Warehouse was left like this for more than a year, Because I found meat in the freezer that was EXPIRED SINCE MORE THAN 2 YEARS AGO. (I'm never gonna eat anything with meat in it from that restaurant) 2nd day on the job, I started Actually doing my job by ordering new supplies, sorting the list I made on my phone by type so we can find items in it quickly, putting away the expired products, etc. During my second day and out of nowhere the boss comes to the Warehouse and gives me a list of everyone in the restaurant and tells me to take their attendance because the guy responsible for this is busy with other things in the kitchen, I tell him I still don't know anyone in the restaurant but he insists that I can just "learn their names while doing my job", Okay whatever, I'm trying to impress him the first few days so I will do it. By the end of day 2, I had finished inputting everything into my phone, throwing away all expired ingredients and even taking attendance, all that's left is physically sorting out the warehouse to make it look better and I will have done a great job and was hoping for a good answer from the boss. I go to discuss things with him at the end of my shift, I show him how I sorted everything on my phone and tell him that once he bring over a Laptop we can just move the file there and it's easy for anyone to check the inventory since it's on Google and all that stuff, then I explained to him the state of the Warehouse when I came and how much I worked to make it better, and he was really impressed and praised me for a job well done, then I asked how much my salary will be. Him: your salary will start at 60USD and then as you work I will improve it and maybe in a few months you will reach 120USD. Me: What? I can't afford to even stay alive until then, transportation between here and my house alone are 50USD, are you telling me to not eat or pay rent during this month? At least- Him: cuts me off with an angry voice if you don't like it then you can just leave. I figured that he wasn't someone to be reasoned with so I immediately answered "Okay" and left.(Bullet successfully dodged) The next day one of the co-workers there calls me asking where I keep the list of their inventory because he didn't find it and I answered that there is no list, he was surprised and asked about the list I showed the boss and I said "oh that, it was actually on my phone" and he asked me to send it to him to which I reply with "I'm sorry but since I quit I just removed the file from my phone, have fun sorting through that mess" and I hang up. It wasn't that big of a victory but at least I didn't give them the results of my efforts for free (because it happened like that my 2 days of work there were unpaid). EDIT: 1-Some people are showing concern for me in the comment section and I'm very thankful to you guys, don't worry though, about a month ago I moved from Sudan to Erbil in Iraq and a week ago I found a good job which gets me a good enough salary to cover my expenses here and have some money left. 2-some people in the comment section are getting angry I called Sudan a 3rd world country, now let me be clear about this, me being from Syria, I NEVER thought my country was better than Sudan, I consider Syria to be hell on earth (if you can beat being wanted by the military and having to sneak away from them whenever you see them, having an AK47 pointed at your head, waking up to the sounds of Air Raids from your own military on your city, and a Mortar Shell landing less than 30meters away from you then I will admit your country is worse than mine). When I say a 3rd world country, I mean a "Shithole" like what most people in 3rd world countries mean when they call their countries as such. So stop being so butthurt about something that doesn't concern you, I can call my country whatever I want and I know Sudani people who call their country as 3rd world too (consider it the same as the N-Word, me being a 3rd world resident get to call all similar countries as 3rd world countries).
DM Tries to Humiliate Me For My Character's Sexuality
So, this is a story that happened years ago, and I didn't feel like sharing it until I read a similar story on here. Needless to say it hit a little to close to home, and got me riled up about this BS all over again. For starters, I'm a bisexual guy. I've known since I was a teenager, and while not being "in the closet," I don't really bother telling anybody if it's not their business. To this day the only people who know are my exes, my current SO, and the people in this story. Just as a peface, I'm sorry if I go off into random details sometimes, I'm just trying to paint a full picture as I remember it. On to the story, I was playing WH40k Dark Heresy with a close friend, and two of his friends from college who were twin brothers. My close friend, who was DMing, had gotten me really interested in Dark Heresy and 40k because I've always had lots of love for both sci-fi and horror. The twins (who I'll later be referring to by their IC names,) seemed like alright dudes, and I was genuinely excited to play. Now, my DM friend had always been someone who was a little too into the weird side of the internet, if you catch my meaning. I never let it bother me though, because usually if I'd let him know he was making me uncomfortable with the things he was showing me/telling me about, he'd back off, but in this situation I think it was the other people sharing his interests that egged him on. So, we made our characters. The twins rolled a guardian and arbitrator combo. Max Napalm (I thought that was a hilarious name) was a barbarian-like Guardian, and Alex Murphy was the arbitrator. The player for Alex had some kind of backstory for how as a kid Alex was raised with 80s action films and Robocop was his favorite, blah blah blah. It was an excuse to just straight up have Robocop in the game, and even though it didn't really fit the lore we were all fine with it. As I was making my character, a psyker, I noticed the DM had created his own character sheets instead of using the ones that came with the game. It didn't matter to me much until I noticed he added an entirely new section for "sexual information." It was all things like sexuality, what genitalia they have, the size of said genitalia. I immediately told the DM I wasn't comfortable with ERP, and he said "Oh, we're not doing anything like that, this is a sheet I have from an old campaign." I asked him if I could just strike through it then, and he said "Well, Max and Alex already filled out those parts on their sheets, and it'd be kind of unfair for them to do that and you get a free pass." I realize now that this should've been the point where I got up and walked away, but I was 18 at the time, and significantly more awkward and insecure, so I just brushed it off. I just filled out my character's info like normal, and when I got to the sexual information spot I just used average stuff for the """"stats,"""" and I marked his sexuality as Asexual, because it felt fitting for him. When I gave my sheet to the DM, he raised an eyebrow, and then proceeded to whisper to the other two players about it while laughing. Being the awkward dude that I was, I just kinda endured it for a few before asking "Is something wrong with it?" The DM laughing, hands it back to me, and proceeds to talk about how I wrote Asexual because I just can't get laid, and the other players erupted into laughter. I tried to defend it, because obviously, it's a real thing, but it was pointless, they just kept rephrasing the same joke. Eventually it got to a point where they were accusing me of being "asexual" for the same reason, and as much as I waited for them to let up, they didn't, and I just got more and more fed up. Eventually, the jokes died down, and we finally just got on to playing the game. To be honest, the setting wasn't terrible. Our characters were all on a massive starship, and the three of us had all unwittingly stumbled onto a conspiracy of some sort. The investigation lead us into the lower decks where we confronted with some Lovecraftian horrors. Just a warning, it gets a little bit graphic here, and I'm doing my best to censor it while still getting the story across. After a few turns of combat, the DM tells me a tentacle monster of some sort has grabbed my character from behind. I ask him if I can make a check to get out of it and he tells me, "Uh, no. Since it grabbed you from behind there's no way you could've evaded it." Cool. I notice at this point the other two players are snickering and looking at eachother, and I ask whose turn it is, and the DM says the encounter is over. He then says "Let's find out if you're really asexual, though," and begins graphically describing my character being raped by said tentacle monster. Obviously, I got pretty uncomfortable and kept asking him to stop, before I eventually shouted at him, and the smug bastard says something to the effect of, "It's just a game, and at least you're getting laid, dude." At this point I've had it, and I start gathering my things to leave. The DM tries to stop me and says how we can "keep playing with your virgin fantasy intact," which just pisses me off more. He then tells me it's my fault for saying I'm asexual to begin with, and it's okay to have a hard time getting laid. I eventually just got annoyed with all of this and go into a full rant about how I was just trying to play the game, and it seemed like they started to feel for me, but then I made the mistake of ending it by coming out as Bi, and saying how I'm just not super comfortable with sex-related stuff in a game like this. But just when I thought I was being taken seriously, the jokes started up again. This time, though, it was just shit about how being bisexual isn't real, and how if you ever want to sleep with a guy you're gay, period. Soooo, I just left. None of them ever contacted me again. Not even the DM, who prior to this had been a close friend of mine for years. Can't really say I miss him, though. If all it took to set his sights on humiliating me was having his college buddies around, I can't say I'm too eager to ever be around him again. Edit: Just fixed some redundancies. Edit 2: Jeez! Woke up to find myself at 3k upvotes. Thank you all for the support! :D
Does Covid make guests stupider? Or do guests think FDA's are dumb?
Good Morning folks. I have been working in hotels for 11 years and I just want to say this is where I've learned to lie, have a thick skin and not care what people think. Okay so down where I am we have strict regulations on how many guests we can have in a hotel room, very difficult to monitor especially in Fridays and Saturdays, we do have a security guard checking keys at the door when guests come back to go to there rooms. This hotel would be fined if we have over the capacity amount if the cops were to be called. ok back to the story, so I had this one young guest check into a suite, I already knew it was going to be a party up on the floor, he checks in and then I see a group of people come in behind him about 5, in a suite, we can only have 6, so I let him know, "sir you are at your capacity amount for this room" he said yeah no problem. about 30 min later I see him come down and he try's to sneak past me when a girl, I said sir you can not have her go up there unless you have one of your guests come down and leave. "oh" he was a very nice guy actually until i saw him do this. There was a group of people sitting in the lobby eating, and he and this girl were sitting off to there selves coming up with a plan, Guy: its my birthday, cant you just have her come up with me" Me: I'm really can't I am so sorry, (due to covid safety guidelines) He goes back to sit down. this is what really pissed me off, he goes to this group of people in the lobby and asks them if she can go up with them and stay with them. Guy: Ok, so my friend is going to go up with some of my friends to her room.. me: No, she's not going up there because she's not going to go to there room. Guy: But how do you know that. Me: Because you came down for her and you tried to sneak her in, and you went up to those people who did not know you and asked them to sneak her in for you. the guy walks away. About 1 hour and 30 min later they gave up and she leaves. Sorry dude I was just doing my job. Did I feel bad? I did up until he tried to pull that crap with sneaking her in with other guests. My job here is done and I feel great about it. :)
Banned from the corner shop and threatened with a kicking.
Happened this morning. I still find the speed at which this escalated to be pretty incredulous. I sell stuff on eBay as a side hustle. Been doing it for four years and I've got a profitable wee side business on the go. Ship about 30 packages a week. To save on printing cost, I use a courier service called Hermes. Hermes have printing stations in corner shops and post offices up and down the UK, and allow you to print your postage label (for free) on site before handing the parcel in at the counter for collection. Today began the same as usual: I brought my parcels to the shop, printed off the labels, and brought them to the counter to be scanned. Now, when you peel the adhesive label from the printed ticket, you are left with a piece of paper to be thrown away. Most people just fling these bits of paper on the floor at their feet, but I'm not a fucking reprobate - so I did what I have been doing for four years: I scrunch them up in to a tight ball, bring it to the counter with my parcels, and say "ten parcels cheers mate, and can you chuck the paper bits in the bin please." No response from the guy. He moves the paper ball off the parcels, scans them, and puts them away in silence. I thought to myself - okay, he's obviously got other things on his mind. Job done. And go to walk out the door. But as I turn he shouts at me: "Take your fucking rubbish with you ya wee arsehole!" I turned back and said back up mate, just who do you think you're speaking to like that. Here's a rough account of the exchange that followed: (G)uy: "Take your fucking rubbish with you!" (M)e: You not got a bin, no? G: "Aye I've got a bin but it's rude to just leave things at your arse." M: ??? I said "can you please put these in the bin for me". Said the same thing three times a week for the last four years when I've been in posting. Why is it a problem now? G: "Well I never heard you obviously. And I don't want to touch it because there's a virus going on. So take it with you." M: A virus??? If you're that worried about a virus you'd be wearing a mask. I've never seen anyone working here wearing a mask this whole year. Literally am the only customer in here wearing one. Sounds like you're worried about the virus when it suits you. G: "That's it, you're barred. If I ever catch you in here again I'll get my sons to kick your cunt in." Then he started to call his sons through from the back, so at that point I thought oh fuck, better boost out of here sharpish. They're actually nice boys, but they are both 6ft and 20-odd stone so I've no doubt they would throw me about like an empty Tesco carrier bag if it came to it. The thing is, if he hadn't been so aggressive at first contact I'd have done anything he asked. Anyone from the UK can tell you that the clientele of these wee corner shops are at least 50% alcoholics and drug users, so I reckon the guy's had a shit day getting torrents of abuse from scumbags, heard someone hit out with the pleases and thankyous, and thought "I can probably take my anger out on this person without repercussions". It's a pisser because this means I'll have to use the next-nearest parcel point, which is a fair jaunt away. Ah well, c'est la vie.
AITA for defending my boyfriend when my friends called him 'creepy'
So I (28f) got into a little fight with my friends during a video call and I just want some outside perspectives. pretext, I've been with my boyfriend (25m) for a little over 2 years now and i'm perfectly happy in our relationship. I was on a video call with a few of my friends (ranging from 28-31f) and one of my friends (31f) was complaining about her husbands (35m) attitude towards menstrual products. apparently, the dude absolutely refuses to get her pads or tampons and they got into a fight the other day when she left a used tampon in the bin. we were all trying to support her in her issues since that has to suck being in a relationship with someone like that. I was the only other person in a relationship so she asked me if my boyfriend is like this, and if it's just a man thing. so I told them my boyfriend is completely fine with all that, he grew up being the only male (father bailed, so 3 sisters, his mom, and him) and even buys me more when he notices I'm running low. well, they all started attacking him, saying they thought he was being creepy for paying enough attention to buy me more products when he notices I'm running low. things like "oh wow, I thought he was an okay guy, but now he just sounds creepy" and "wow major creep vibes, I barely pay enough attention and often times need to run and get more myself" to say the least, I was pretty confused. so I shot back "so it's creepy to have an attentive SO? he's the one who mainly does the shopping (i don't have a license) and I personally appreciate that he does, since I also forget sometimes, y'all wildin, maybe you just need to find better men in your lives" We kept arguing for about another 30 minutes, them still thinking my boyfriends a creep, and it's one thing if I asked him to buy me more products, but that he goes ahead and just buys me what I need is "creepy" since "why's he paying so much attention anyways??" to answer that question, it's because I keep my products in the same place we keep out toilet paper, so he probably just checks to see if i may need more. I just don't know anymore, is it creepy? I just appreciate it. AITA?
AITA for telling my friends that appearances do matter, personality isn’t everything?
On mobile + ESL! Hey y’all. I did something a couple days back trying to help a friend, and others are saying I’m majorly TA, but I don’t see it. Pls help me out here - do I need to apologize. A group of us get together on zoom. One friend (Anna) has terrible skin. Her parents accidentally screwed it up for her. E.g.: she would get very dry skin in winter when young, and her mom would tell her to put coconut oil, and other heavy creams like foot cream. It would cause breakouts. Then they would buy her very stripping face wash. Causing dryness. Vicious cycle. So my friend has horrible skin, and is very aware of it. She gets a lot of stares on the street, people give unsolicited advice, kids point, people don’t look her in the face while talking, etc. (disclaimer - I love her and don’t think the skin takes away from that, I’m just fixating on it here to explain the story). So on the call, Anna says she’s looking into extensive extreme treatments to fix it - laser, some surgery, fillers, steroid injections, everything. I simply say oh okay, have you worked with your dermatologist to make sure it’s all safe, she says yes, I say oh that’s good, important to be safe! And other friend Suzie starts talking about how it’s a bad decision, she’s being shallow, and that if she can’t see and love herself beyond skin-deep, how can she expect others to, and how this is why people treat her like she’s different - because she is so focused on appearance that she doesn’t ‘invest in her personality’. For about 5 minutes straight, and Anna is nearly crying. I say ‘suzie shut up. We know Anna has a great personality and we love her, but we know over the years how much she has suffered because of her appearance (note - because Anna has told us). That’s how the world works - appearance matters. And Anna is a grown, smart adult, so if this will help her and make her feel better and it’s medically okay, I will support her”. Suzie ended the call (she’s the organizer) and Anna texted me to say thanks but Suzie and a few others are saying that I’m also shallow and they can’t believe they’ve been friends with me if I can’t see beyond appearances. So Aita?? Edit 1: Hi guys, just adding some info based on some trends I am seeing in the comments:
A lot of people are saying that Anna saying thank you means that I am in the clear. To be clear, Anna simply texted me 'Thank you for being on my side'. Which, sure, if hers is the 'correct' side to be on, great! But at the same time, an alcoholic in denial would also thank you if you said he 'doesn't have a problem and should do what he wants', but in that case it's enabling, so her 'thank you' doesn't convince me so much, honestly.(not saying she's in denial but just trying to show that I'm overthinking because in some cases, supporting the person could make me TA)
One person brought up an awesome point - is Anna exaggerating the issues she faces so that I (and others) will side with her? I would be concerned about this too, if it was a new friend. Our whole group grew up in the same neighborhood, so we've known each other since childhood. The examples I gave are actual examples I have seen her face when we were in school together - a nasty student told her basically 'just wash your face, freak', and a teacher at one point even said 'wow I can't even look at you, your skin issues are so bad'. Acne is just one of the issues she has, and even that is very severe - big white pus-bubbles, and they would burst in class sometimes, so Anna would carry cotton to school. So I know that the issues aren't exaggerated, although adults in the workplace are probably more subtle than school bullies.
Someone said it sounds like we're very young - we're not. Anna is 29, Suzie is about the same, and we're all mid-late 20s. Sure, we're not old, but we're not teens or anything.
Suzie isn't a bad friend! She's empathetic and kind, and supportive. That's why I'm taking her comments seriously - if she was often TA, I would've ignored her. She is dating someone with mental illness that used to be untreated, and she used her tough love and support to get them into treatment, and has helped them manage their condition! She's a good friend, so this time I can't tell whether she is wrong or I am.
An old guy hired me to manage his life-sized dollhouse. It's time for my appointment with The Hygienist.
Part 1 | this is part 2 | part 3 | part 4 The Hygienist appeared in the doorway. He was a tall, muscular man clad in dark navy surgical scrubs. A tinted visor mask obscured the top half of his face, leaving only a wide, open-mouthed grin exposed. His teeth were bleached white but crooked, a combination so bizarre I had to do a double-take. Tufts of gray hair poked out from behind the mask, and the skin on his forearms was covered in liver spots. “Hello Louisa,” he said, lingering on the threshold, “How do you like the other girls?” “It’s Lu,” I replied, clenching the swiss army knife in my palm, “And I’d much rather know what the fuck you did to them.” The man threw his head back, hooting with laughter like a drunk at a rodeo bar. I tried to see beyond the visor, but only the deep-set lines around his mouth and nose were visible. His jaw twitched periodically, as though he had a bad craving for a hit only I could supply. “I’m happy to show you,” he said, pulling a metal contraption into view. You know those claw machines kids waste all their money on? The weapon looked a lot like a claw from one of those, only instead of slippery tongs, there were three sharp, steel blades. His right hand was practiced at working the levers, and I noticed the familiar bull creature tattooed on his inner wrist. The blades sliced through the air with sickening ease as the man snapped the device open and shut with just a flick of the finger. I wasted no time in backing up to the furthest part of the room, coming to a halt behind an armchair with a doll I didn’t recognize. I felt quite helpless then. His mask ensured I would do more harm to myself with the pepper spray, and my swiss army knife didn’t stand a chance against his handheld torture device. I glanced at the clock, trying to count how long I had before Ronnie arrived. He had promised forty minutes, an hour tops, but I was sure that no more than twenty minutes had passed since I ended our call. “Something wrong, Lu?” the man mocked. He lunged at me as I dashed to the next armchair, upsetting some bird ornaments on a small, round table to the side of rainbow-doll's seat. Time slowed as we bopped around the room like some demented version of Tom and Jerry, upsetting the delicate balance of the parlor room's interior. He had the door covered at all times, and I was losing stamina as the chase progressed. I was running toward the armchair that held the most familiar doll, Cynthia, when I tripped over a rug and face planted with a nasty crack of the neck. I rolled over on my back just in time to see the man grab my left foot and lift my lower body off the floor. He snapped the metal monstrosity inches away from my ankle. “Want me to trim your legs, Lu?” he wheezed with laughter, “Don’t you want to leave your stump on the world?” I watched in horror as he teased my left ankle with the blades, inching them close enough to nick the skin. Droplets of blood fell on my face, running down into my eyes as I wriggled like an upside-down trout in a fisherman’s grasp. I wiped the blood away and tried to kick the guy in the balls with my other leg, but he only sunk the tool deeper into my ankle as punishment. I felt it then, the pain of a thousand beatings compressed into one, impossible sensation spreading through my leg. I screamed in anguish, jerking my body violently, kicking and snarling like a vicious animal. Funny how all pretense of sophistication melts away in a situation like that. How we turn to our latent savage selves for just a shot at postponed mortality. Was this my fate? Was Vanderley going to become my final resting place? Cynthia and the rest of the girls suggested so, staring me down with those vacant, knowing expressions. Panic raced through my body as my screams grew louder than the man’s laughter. Louder than the sound of blades striking bone. I was about to succumb to full-blown hysteria when a slight movement flickered at the edge of my vision. I turned my head, desperately hoping to see Ronnie, and felt my despair double as Mrs. Claymore entered the room instead. I wanted to turn my attention back to the man who was busy mauling my foot off, but something stopped me. It was like someone had turned down the volume on reality. Like a blur filter had been applied to the room, dulling my surroundings. The man’s howls grew distant, soft even, and I felt a warm pull drawing my gaze to Mrs. Claymore’s face, her eyes. Their deep chestnut tones flickered in yellow hues. “Find your darkness, child,” her voice rang through my mind loud as early morning church bells, “Out of darkness comes light. Out of bad comes good.” My mind screamed, willing her presence out of my head, but she wasn’t finished. “Dig deep into the hollows that nurtured you through infancy, the vacancy of tenderness, the depravity of your surroundings. You bathed in darkness for power. Use it now or fall into the abyss of a lesser being’s fate.” The room snapped back to normal. Rather, it snapped back to the reality where the man known as The Hygienist was digging his fingers into my half amputated foot, licking his lips in preparation for a feast I didn’t want to imagine. I should have fainted then. From pain, horror, or both. Instead, something clicked into place and I withdrew. Not physically, not right away. I did what I’ve been doing all my life. I closed my eyes, falling deep inside myself. It didn’t take long for me to sink into the void, into that space that harbored all my worst memories. I ran through them like a stack of flashcards. Uncle Benji flinging me at a wall. Age five. The social worker stubbing out a cigarette on my shoulder. Age seven. My cousin Alice sticking me with a used needle. Age nine. So on, so forth. I added The Hygienist to the pile of garbage my circumstances had produced. A black swirl of collected darkness, a cackling-chaos that swelled inside my chest. For once, I didn’t soothe or coddle it into submission. I didn’t ‘breathe and count to ten’. I let it stretch in and around me until it grew into an entity of its own, a power that could not, would not be contained. It was time. When I opened my eyes, I was no longer hanging upside down. I stood firmly on both feet, my chin raised to the tall ceiling of Vanderley. Above my head, the hygienist screamed bloody murder as invisible forces rotated him in the air like a rotisserie bird. I began with his eyes. One for my ankle, the second for that stupid joke about stumps. I focused on the tiny vessels and the optic nerve, heating them from the inside like a microwave. I still couldn’t see beyond the mask, but I felt them growing, swelling from the heat. The man started begging for mercy, squirming as both eyeballs exploded in his skull, splattering the inside of the visor mask with a sickening squelch. “No, please,” he wailed in agony, “Please!” Next, I started pulling teeth. Eleven total, one for every girl he touched within the confines of this house. The dolls’ lifeless eyes begged me to make him suffer. I dragged each tooth from the depths of his gums, using it to claw at the skin on his neck and chest as I watched his blood shower down from above. I ended it by unhinging the fucker’s jaw. By shoving a knot of eleven teeth into the depths of his throat, choking out his livelihood with a thick, molar dick of my own creation. His gagging came in violent spurts as he groped at the raw muscle tissue on his neck. It didn’t take long for his body to go limp and sink to the floor at my feet. The Hygienist was dead. I had killed him. Mrs. Claymore appeared at my side as I struggled to steady my breathing. My body was in a state of exhilaration, of mind-numbing ecstasy. My breath came in uneven gasps, a fervent thrill racing through my limbs, pulsating in my fingertips. My whole life, I had made myself small to stay out of people’s way, but now I was larger than all my abusers. I was larger than life itself. “Give me the knife, child,” Mrs. Claymore reached for my right hand. I was surprised to see that I had wedged the swiss army knife all the way through my palm. The wound looked worse than a butcher’s experiment, but I felt only a tickle where pain should be. Mrs. Claymore pulled out the knife in one swift motion. “Come sit with me, I will take care of your wounds before the numbing wears off,” she said, walking to the other side of the room and removing two dolls from a pair of armchairs. I watched as she laid them out on the floor side by side like two corpses in a twin coffin. “Wait,” I hesitated, my mind slowly adjusting to reality. I couldn’t explain what I had just done in any rational sense of the word. And though it felt like Mrs. Claymore had come to my rescue, it didn’t explain why she had led me around Vanderley under false pretenses. “My dear, if I had wished to harm you, I would have done so already,” she responded to my thoughts, “Now come sit, we don’t have much time before my husband and his friends arrive. You don’t want to meet them.” I looked at her again. She looked like an impatient disciplinarian wishing to do away with a tedious child. Perhaps I should have feared her then, but the euphoria was already leaving my body as spikes of pain started going off in odd places. I didn’t have much choice. Besides, for some inexplicable reason, I trusted her. I hobbled over to the empty armchair at Mrs. Claymore’s side. She went straight to work, lifting my half-amputated foot and setting it comfortably in her lap. She didn’t have any bandages or ointments, and I felt embarrassed for bleeding on her skirt. Unbothered, she closed her eyes, holding out her right hand inches above my injury. I watched in silence as she drained the blood from my chopped up ankle, sucking it into the palm of her hand. She left only pale, damaged flesh that started to glaze over, the flaps of my skin coming together under a layer of something rubbery and wax-like. Replacing my foot on the ground, Mrs. Claymore repeated the process on my hand. I wanted to say something, but could only stare as she wiped clean the canvas of gore, leaving behind a drought of flesh, lifeless and clear. The rubbery substance began to spread, as though growing from inside my hand. When she was done, I ran the fingers of my other hand over the faux patch of skin in my damaged palm. It felt oddly familiar. “Oh,” I said, a horrible realization dawning on me as I took in the room again, “Real dolls.” Mrs. Claymore was about to reply when someone entered the house, banging the front door as they rushed in. I caught a flash of fear on her face as she threw a glance at the doorway. It was gone a second later when we heard my cousin’s voice calling out. “Lu?” he cried, his bulky footsteps sliding rapidly across the downstairs floor, “Lu!” “I’m up here,” I called back, my voice sounding croaky and foreign. Mrs. Claymore got up from her armchair and walked over to a nearby bookshelf. Though her movements were poised, I noticed there was a briskness about her that was absent before. She pulled a book off one of the shelves and a narrow part of the parlor wall slid open to reveal more bare concrete, just like the space behind the closet mirror wall. The Mistress of Vanderley House stepped inside, turning to close the hidden door behind her. “Don’t come back here,” she said, before I could stop her, “The Bull Men will know about you after today.” She was gone seconds before my cousin Ronnie ran into the room. He stopped mid-stride, surveying the macabre display before him. While he appeared strangely calm as he told me to get up and follow him out of the house, I knew him well enough to see he was bubbling below the surface. We made an odd pair, walking out of that house. Me, drenched in blood and Ronnie, with his stone-faced deliberation. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from the pretty white tulips on the ground and the charming cobblestone path. How many other sickening truths lay behind this polished exterior? I turned to look at Vanderley before getting in the car. It just stood there, flawless as ever, as though nothing had ever happened. There was a heavy silence in the car as we drove away from the house. I was still buried in myself, trying to make sense of everything, and Ronnie was probably trying to figure out what the hell he had just walked in on. This wasn’t the first time he’d pulled me out of a dangerous situation, but it was the first instance where he didn’t have to step in to protect me. The girl in the seat next to him was different from the cousin he grew up with, and he could feel it. Ronnie didn’t speak to me until after he parked the car in a lot not far from my dorm room. “What the hell happened, Lu?” he finally asked, keeping his hands on the wheel, staring blankly ahead as though still driving. “I don’t know,” I told him truthfully. “Did I not just walk in on you in a room with a dead body in it?” “You did,” I agreed. “And the blood?” “The dead man's,” I admitted. “Did you kill him?” he spoke through grinding teeth. “I did, Ronnie. If I hadn’t, he would have killed me,” I put a hand on his shoulder, a gesture I knew would eventually melt the ice. We were only cousins, but he had always been more like a parent to me. The only true guardian I’d ever known. “So what now, do you need me as an alibi? A character witness?” he asked, his voice strangled with emotion. “I don’t think so,” I replied, unsure of how to explain that there wasn’t a chance in hell that any of this would be handled through the traditional justice system. “Will you tell me what happened?” he turned to look at me, concern aging his eyes by decades. “I will once I sort it all out in my head,” I promised, “For now I have to get cleaned up. I have classes later today.” “Okay,” he hesitated, “Do you want to meet up tomorrow morning to talk?” “I can’t, I have more classes,” I said, opening the car door. We parted then. I’m sure he would have liked to stick around for a while, to make sure I was okay, but I needed space to process the events of the day. Ronnie didn’t like me keeping secrets, but he also knew I rarely did so without good reason. I would probably try to tell him eventually, the parts that made sense anyway. But first I had to learn the truth myself. What was I? How did I do those things to The Hygienist? How did Mrs. Claymore read minds and heal wounds? Who was her husband? Who were the Bull Men? Most importantly, was there even a slight chance that some of the dolls could be alive, buried in wax but sustained through some magic I wasn’t aware of? Was there a way I could get them out of that house? I stared at the patch of silicone in my palm. I had no choice. I had to go back. After all, no one had actually fired me from my 9 o’clock shift at Vanderley. READ PART 3 HERE Part 1| this is part 2 |part 3|part 4
A Little Girl Went Missing in my Town, and Nobody Seems to Remember, What do I do?
Okay, i'm using a throwaway because this whole thing is really starting to freak me out. I live in a small town in Florida. It's pretty small, and because of that i'm close to a small handful of my neighbors. Down the road there is this family that lives there, a mom and two daughters. I went over there the other day to see how they were doing, since it had been a couple days and I was feeling a little bored. The mother, Mary, was there, but I didn't see the girls. I asked where they were and she just looked kind of confused. She said Alex was in her room, as she was being really moody lately. But when I asked about her younger daughter, Sandy, she just looked confused, and maybe worried? She said she only had the one. I haven't gotten a good chance to talk to her eldest daughter, so I don't know if it's just the mom, but I asked a few of my other neighbors, and they just looked really confused, like I was spouting nonsense. It's really starting to freak me out. I can't find anything online about this kind of thing happening, I don't think. Her name is Sandy Beckett. What should I do? I know i'm certain she exists, i've talked to her so many times. She was a really sweet kid, and everyone just forgot her and she's nowhere to be found. Edit/Update: Woah, I didn't expect this to get as much attention as it did. Thank you to everyone who is concerned about my mental state, but unless I see anything else that might be a sign of some kind of illness or break such as schizophrenia, i'm going to hold off on going to a psychiatrist. I don't want to be committed against my will if i'm not crazy, and something is actually happening here. I'm getting alot of the same questions so I thought i'd clear a few things up, and give some more details about the situation. First of all, I'm absolutely sure that Sandy and Alex are two different people. Alot of you are saying that they're both short for Alexandra, and I might just be remembering wrong. I've seen them in the same room together, and interacting. (I think Sandy is short for Sandra anyway.) I'm also certain they're sisters, not cousins or friends or anything of that nature. When I first met the family, Mary introduced them as her daughters, and everything i've seen points to them being sisters. A few of you have questioned if I've seen Sandy age over the years, and I have. She's gotten older. She even got a haircut once, when she grew tired of her long hair. I should also probably give some more specifics about all of us. I'm 17, have lived here for quite some time, and don't really know much of a history of mental illness in my family. I don't know most of my family, so there might be, but beyond a bit of depression on my Dad's side, nothing big that I know of. As for drugs, beyond a little weed I took in the freshmen year of highschool, I'm not on anything like that. I don't know exact ages for the girls, but Alex is maybe 6 or 7, while Sandy was around 4. As for how often I see them, it varies. With the pandemic, I've seen them significantly less, but before all this I saw them roughly once a week. Sometimes I'd go a while without seeing them, and other times i'd see them just about every day. It evens out. Some other things I've seen in the comments include the carbon monoxide levels in my house. I'm not sure about how to check that but i'll definitely look into getting that checked out. If anyone has any other questions please feel free to ask me. I wanted to make this a follow up post, but i'm not exactly tech savvy, so this will have to do. Later today, i'm going to head over to their house again. I'm just gonna hang out with Mary, like i've done in the past, and at some point i'll say I need to use the bathroom, and then I'll check the hall for Sandy's bedroom. I'll let you know how that goes later today. Until then, thanks so much for all your concern, but for now I just need to figure out what's going on. Edit/Update 2: Okay, So as promised I went over to their house today. I didn't bring up Sandy again, and Mary seemed to either pretend the previous conversation didn't happen, or doesn't remember it. She didn't seem concerned for me or my mental health at all, which is good. After a while of general talking about stuff; some shows we like, covid, etc, I got up to use the bathroom. Mary didn't think anything of it, so I slipped down the hall. Before going to the bathroom, I looked down the hall. The kids bedrooms are still there. I tried to open Sandy's room, but it was locked. I didn't want to be caught snooping, so I quickly went to the bathroom and after a few minutes came back out. I still haven't seen Alex. I asked Mary where she was, and she said she went down to see a few of the kids a few streets over. I didn't say anything, but that's a really weird answer, for a couple reasons. It's a small town, but the boys she was talking about are a good 20 minute walk. I honestly cant imagine Alex walking down there by herself, and her bike was still on their front lawn. Any photos on their walls that I remember having the family are now gone. Not edited or anything, fully removed. A few were replaced with photos of Alex, and one was replaced with a painting of a cat, seemingly done by Alex. I'm really starting to get worried here, as any good explanation is gone, and even though Alex still seemingly exists, I haven't seen her in a while. Also, I tried to call the school district to get any information about a Sandy Beckett, but they wouldn't give me anything, since I wasn't a parent/guardian and wasn't on any lists of contacts. Not sure what to do now besides be vigilant and try and talk to Alex. Thanks for all your support, guys, it's really helping out. I'll try to respond to more comments, and hopefully give you guys a better picture of what's going on. Mini Update/Edit: I'm seeing alot of comments asking about my parents. Without going into too much of my problems, my mother is dead and my father is god knows where. I live with my grandparents. And as much as I want to say that they'll be able to help me out, I honestly have never known more checked-out people in my life. I could tell them I'm doing meth (im not lol) and they'd just be like "have fun". They don't care much for anything around them. They don't talk to the neighbors, and I know for a fact that they don't talk to the Becketts. update?: someones outside. i've never seen em before theyre just standing in the middle of the road im freaking out. nobody new comes down here especially not at 11 at night. i cant go out i dont want em to see me. I havent seen anybody new down here since that new old guy moved in down the road why is someone here. i dont know this person theyre new im freaking out i cant confront them. im going to the bedroom and baracading myself in this isnt the thing thats takin me out. no ma'am. oh god illl up date when I get a chance and i know its safe fuck uppdate: people are confrsed about my last uodate. callled mary snd she said it was an okd friend whi wasv loiterin cuz she eas lookin for thr rigbt addresss, soeey noo opicture of persodn i panicced, jf she comees bacj ill tfy and remember to grt a picruee . csnt updsate more im si rired. Update: I'm sorry for my sudden disapearance, after the shit I posted, no less. I'm going to be completely honest here, I don't really remember writing the last update, or the post I made to Drugs. I'm not sure what all has happened these past few days here, but I do know that at some point I ended up getting sick. Something is wrong with my stomach, and I haven't been in the best physical or mental state. I realized I should probably update, so people don't get worried. In all honesty, i'm just really tired and want all of this to stop. I'm scared about Sandy, and I don't know what all is happening anymore. I havent seen Mary or Alex since the last time I went over there. This isn't exactly a satisfying update, but i'm really tired and hurting all the time, and am frankly getting really tired with being worried about Sandy. Unless i find something I think is proof of something one way or another, whether im losing a few screws, or something did happen to Sandy. I just want to stop and go back to how things used to be. I'm sorry, guys. If anything interesting happens i'll be sure to update. when I get better, i'm going to make an effort to go find Alex, but until then, I need to focus on shaking whatever bug I managed to pick up. Mini Update (not just health, I actually do have something relevant): I'm mostly better now, still a little iffy, but with a bit more time, i'll probably be good as new and ready to keep lookin into this. As for Sandy, I took some of you guys's advice and went on socials to see if I could find anything about Sandy. I'm not going to give out socials (obviously) because I don't want them getting harrassed, especially if all this shit is just in my head. Honestly, I didn't look too hard, but I plan to. So far, theres been nothing of interest. Mary hasn't posted too much on her Facebook as of late, though with the pandemic, its not like theres much to talk about besides politics. I found a picture of Alex up from a few weeks ago, and it looks new, so I'm confident she's okay. Nothing of Sandy. I'm gonna keep looking, as this seems like a good angle. Only problem is theres a lot of posts to sift through to try and find anything about Sandy. I'm nervous though about if I find a picture of her. Should I post it? I feel kinda weird combing through her Facebook looking for pictures of a kid, even more so posting it to reddit. Idk I'm just really tired and need to figure this whole thing out. I'm gonna try to respond to some more people on here, but there's alot of comments, some saying the same thing, so I can't get them all. Thanks for all the support guys. Update/confession: People found a blog. I don't know what else I expected from Reddit, but they found it, and I need to come clean. Not in the way you think, but I have been somewhat lying. OP does not exist. There was no neighbor. No grandparents, nothing. The reason things seem sketchy, is because I tried to do something sketchy. I've seen those compilation videos of "mysteries solved by the internet" and similar titles. I thought if I tried to go about this like it was a current thing, maybe I could finally get some damn closure. I'm not a 17 year old concerned neighbor. My name is Alex Beckett. In 2014 my younger sister Sandy Beckett went missing. I lived in Bronson, Florida. I tried to contact the police, but they didn't care about what some random kid had to say, especially considering I had been driven by my older cousin Jr. He has been arrested at least three times, once for hunting on private property, some bullshit charge about being a public nuisance or something (he was kinda being a prick, but thats what you get from a conspiracy nut) and for something related to the possession of crack, even though I know for a fact he couldn't have had any. So the police weren't exactly inclined to care about me telling them Sandy went missing when I showed up in a beaten up Ford truck with the local conspiracy nut who's known for crack despite only doin weed. They basically told me the equivalent of "Go home, honey, and leave the mysteries for your little games." My mother wouldn't be much help either. She's not exactly what society, or any sober person for that matter, would call a good mother. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if she fucking killed Sandy and panicked and somehow got it to stay quiet. I think what worked against me back then was my age, my family, and the fact that my mom never wanted us kids to go out much. Not many people really knew us, despite being pretty tight knit. So as for why I did this, I just wanted some answers. I thought maybe the internet could help me. And before anybody asks why I lied about who I am, would you really have believed me if I had some crazy conspiracy that happened when I was so young? I know it wouldv'e been chalked up to some false memory bullshit. Thats not what happened. You don't forget a sister. I've forgotten alot of things, but damnit I'm not gonna forget Sandy. So I made this more episodic, I guess. Trying to get people interested, so they'd maybe look into this, and help me find answers. only problem is that this is the internet, and nobody takes these kinds of things as real. I've gotten a million comments that this isn't real. Well, bingo, you're half right. I just wanted people to see this, and maybe find some of those crazy internet sleuths to finally find Sandy. I don't even know if she's alive, but I hope she is. Please. I know I haven't been truthful, and i'm sorry. I just wanted to find my sister. I did some dumb things, but I need some closure. All in all, I'm sorry for any upset I may cause, and I'm sorry I lied. I hope that some people will still try and help me. I'll give any information I can to help.
Village Farms (Aka $VFF aka $🍅) DD; One of the best Cannabis 2021 plays available.
TLDR poem; 🚀's are red 🍅's are red 🚀🍅🚀 🍅's 🌈🐻's soon to be 💀 (Real TLDR's at bottom) ”Why the !@&? would I want that 🍅 growing stock?" Yo, brother, calm down that anger. I'm not providing investment advice so stop right here if you like. We're just having a casual conversation about a bunch of things on a stock I'm personally YOLOing 65k on. (Aka my positions, no ban!) If you're unaware though, this 30 year produce (🍅) growing company has been utilizing their decades of experience to grow Cannabis with stellar results so far and with 2021 looking to be really good for them. Specifically, this will be on show these first two quarters of the year. An important side note is that as of November 2nd, they now privately own the full 100% of Pure Sunfarms, their Cannabis subsidiary. "Oh I should get in NOW, huh? I see that $🍅 ran recently, why would it keep running?" Great question brother! Of course, that's up to you! But... $🍅 actually has multiple aspects as to why this has a very likely chance to run, then stay at a price that is probably higher than you would think "reasonable," and then still have more runs throughout the year. First way to try and back this up, is pointing out that this low float stock of only 77,820,000 shares has a CEO that owns 12% of the stock himself, and a total of 13.6% owned by the Management and Board. On top of that, another +12% of the float is held by institutional holders for an immediate 25% of this already low float stock off the table. More on the float in a moment, but with that quick knowledge we next just need to take a quick peek at how $🍅's main competition's Share Price (SP), Share Count and Market Caps (MC) compare. AFTER EACH COMPANIES MARKET CAP (MC) IS HOW MUCH EACH COMPANIES SHARE PRICE (SP) CAN GROW PER MARKET CAP GAIN OF $1 BILLION. As of close on February 5th: Canopy Growth: SP - $42.93 - 373,730,000 Shares
$16,044,228,000 Market Cap with SP growth of $2.68 per $1B MC
Cronos Group: SP - $12.01 - 356,190.000 Shares
$4,277,842,000 Market Cap with SP growth of $2.81 per $1B MC
Aphria: SP - $16.67 - 312,570,000 Shares
$5,210,542,000 Market Cap with SP growth of $3.20 per $1B MC
Tilray: SP - $25.72 - 148,260,000 Shares
$4,070,447,000 Market Cap with SP growth of $6.32 per $1B MC
Aurora: SP - $12.88 - "183,660,000 Shares"
$2,365,541,000 Market Cap with SP growth of $5.44 per $1B MC
$🍅/Village Farms: SP - $15.09 - 77,820,000
$1,174,304,000 Market Cap with SP growth of $12.85 per $1B MC
So, not only are they way behind in Market Cap, even to Aurora, but the amount that $🍅 can gain in Share Price to get there is unmatched. I'm not saying the other companies should go down... I'm just sayin... look at this... VFF - $2,000,000,000 Market Cap? $🍅 - $25.70 VFF - $3,000,000,000 Market Cap? $🍅 - $38.55 VFF - $4,000,000,000 Market Cap? $🍅 - $51.40 VFF - $16,000,000,000 Market Cap? $🍅 - $205.60 ”So what? They are THAT much behind the competition." Hey, I get it brother, we've only talked only about superficial stock related info so far. Just setting the base in understanding it's growth potential based on their industry competitiors. We're getting there, I promise! Just one more thing about $🍅's current positioning though, which factors in a bit of a short squeeze. Now, don't get it twisted, this is not a post about some one-time short squeeze, just a brief mention. Just, in this moment, it so happens the timing could cause a little extra pop for this incoming next fundamental and technical run that will establish $🍅's new base level. Check it out, from 1/22 - 2/2 an average of 50% of the daily volume was short. Averaging about 25% of volume going short daily on either side of it as well. This heavy shorting came at the heals of a recent company action that caused quick downward pressure on the Share Price and in turn gave greedy 🍅🌈🐻's ability to try and push it down unreasonably. Did you notice the most recent closing price is $15.09 on Feb 5th? You might not have noticed though, that on January 14th, $🍅 had a mini run and peaked at $15.05. The next day, on January 15th, $🍅 dropped for a close of $12.65. Closing above that previous mile stone means every short since the raise is now underwater. Just sayin'. ”What happened that caused that drop?" Good things happened, brother. Good things. And... they got shorted for it...? $🍅 announced a direct share offering that injected US$135Million cash to the bank @ $12.60, giving shorters a bit of strength over the last two weeks of January. This semi large difference between the offering and Share Price at the time is indicative of something very important about this raise. This was a planned raise that had nothing to do with the run $🍅 was going on IMO. IMO, don't mistake this raise, that closed on U.S. Inauguration Day, as anything other than preparation for growth and expansion. They are already executing profitably, they in no way needed this for normal functions. You have to understand, our ol' 🍅 is extremely diligent and resourceful in their approach to Cannabis so far, and will continue to going forward. Their lack of splash is probably why you likely haven't heard or considered them yet, but the precise and profitable execution is why you should do DD on them. Oh, by the way... $🍅 has some of the best positioning and assets for the now inevitable U.S. legalization of Cannabis. ”How is this Canadian LP, $🍅 , any better set for the U.S. market than their competition?" Again, stellar question's brother. And, again, multiple factors to this. Our first factor is a direct shout out to that $135M raise. Quoting the 🍅 CEO from their most recent earnings report conference call and in reference to potential U.S. strategies, "...we're prepared to look at, if we have to do acquisitions or strategic partnerships and other locations..." That $135M putting them +$200M in bank is taking a certain type of vision, to me. ”What, I'm suppose to believe your opinion that they have U.S. potential from a quote and your speculation?" Naw brother, you're suppose to understand that fact because they already have 5.7 Million SqFt of "Hemp" grow space ready to go in Texas. Speculation and understanding how this company functions is part of my YOLO call strikes though. A heads up, Cannabis uses the same growing system and could "be rapidly converted to cannabis production" the moment ready. - 🍅 CEO Even beside the U.S. Blue Wave that will have some type of effect on Cannabis, Texas has put forth multiple pieces of legislation up for up for debate on it's own. With, or without my personal speculation on their raise, their Texas assets are shaping up to be extremely valuable for them in the likely near-term future. Icing on the cake of it all is simply that they are in no rush at all for when it happens. They're currently profitable, and growing from their Canadian and other international positions as well, so U.S. legalization is simply a massive bonus whenever it happens, not a necessity. Like for some unnamed others... ”Yeah, so what? That still doesn't say WHY $🍅 would keep running outside of hype." Hey, absolutely that's fact. So far. Now that we understand their comparative surroundings and asset ready U.S potential, let's bring in some internal 🍅 Cannabis biz facts. Here are a couple of the most recent earnings, Q3's, Cannabis specific highlights: 75% increase in Net Sales 81% increase in Gross Profits Impressive as that is, it's important to understand this is not some one-off fluke, but the first point in the provable continuation of their launching point for growth, which was Q3's the prior quarter, Quarter 2 2020. I say launching point because of the execution of strategy over the last year and they have a lot of factors on why they will continue to see growth in their numbers. The key to understanding the earnings and $🍅 share price growth potential is in the timeline details of their release approach for new strains, products, product segments, and accessibility. ”What, a few random new products is you're point?" Well, it's a part of the main reason on timing of the moments before earnings, yes. Because brother, it's not just any new products, but specific new segments of products that are brand new pies of profitability to eat from for extra growth potential generally... ...and also how they set up their earnings reports for "surprise" growth effects with a specific style of WHEN they release their new products. This upcoming Quarter 4 Year End 2020 report with be the first quarter to have their 2.0 products available for a FULL quarter. Our feature earnings growth products for Q4 are Vapes and Oils. Being released mid-September, the very end of Q3, that Q3 report got a nice C$1Million boost in Net Sales from the roll out and because of the timing of release Q4 will see an exponential effect of growth from that segment due to that timeline of release. Similarly, Quarter 1 2021, aka right now, will have TWO additional new segment effects! On December 21st, just before the end of Q4, they started offering their products for Medical for the first time through a deal with Shoppers Drug Mart. An important key to this Medical deal is this is their first entry into Quebec, the last 30% of Canada they need. 🍅's brand was also the first brand to offer anything in the Ounce size for the Shoppers consumers. Seeing the ~1 week effect medical might be interesting!... to me.... Our other brand new segment that is now fully rolled out is edibles! Earlier in January, 🍅 announced a deal with White Rabbit, an edible company with a vegan, gluten-free craft gummy company with a manufacturing process call EAT ME. With this, 🍅 has started offering White Rabbit products as of about mid January. By establishing this parternship, 🍅 now has access to that process and as of February 5th now released their own branded edibles as well. Pretty forward thinking and sustainable to ensure to grab a good tasting vegan and gluten-free craft gummy. This win-win situation means no messing with growing pains, straight to the bottom line move. Love it. ”Again, so what? Wha.." Don't mean to be rude, but I wasn't done yet... Both the upcoming Q4 and Q1 have additional bonus growth factors! For Quarter 4, first week of October, aka first week of Quarter 4, saw the release of their newest higher THC and higher priced Pink Kush and D.Bubba strains were release in their large 14g and 28g formats. When these strains released for the 7g and less formats on a similar timeline fashion, the small format sizes saw an increase of 33% on Net Sales over the Volume sold. Like I said, simply bonus growth factors from the decades old 🍅 company that understands the importance of showing growth Quarter over Quarter in a flooded industry with such tremendous potential. For Quarter 1, early January also saw the release of their High THC vapes in addition to their current offerings. **”Bro, are you done yet?"* Okay okay jeez, I get it. There's still just like one-ish more things though... On a very quick view of some Marco-level elements, many provinces had extra legal red tape on providing licenses with Ontario being one of them. Ontario also just so happens to be 🍅's biggest customer, and had also been known for being a province with the least amount of stores for the amount of population they have. In August 2020, they upped the number of store licenses they were issuing from 20 to 40 per month, just in time for Q4... In December 2020, they doubled it again to 80 licenses a month, just in time for Q1... To put a little perspective on that, by the end of the most recently reported quarter, Q3 2020, about 190 licenses were issued. By Q3 2021, approximately 1,070 licenses will have been issued. Generally, about ~90% of the licensees have their stores up and running each time Ontario reports its updates. That's a lot more stores brother. This matters because we also know the 🍅's brand is increasing in popularity for Ontario as well. After being +13% of the OCS's volume from October 2019 to October 2020, October 2020 specificallywas 15% of the dried flower volume going 🍅 brand. Aka increasing in popularity. On top of that, we were also told their brand new segment, vapes, was about top ~3 ish for Quarter 4 in the OCS as of November. ”This still doesn't really explain why they will grow... does it?" Look brother, it's a Reddit post that's already too long but I believe I've shown a lot of 🍅 positive factors to add on top of what was already going to see growth by itself. The Cannabis industry is hot right now you guys. Beyond retail, their Wholesale segment experienced a +140% surge in volume and sales in Q3 as well, with indicators that Q4 will continue steady growth in that cornerstone of additional revenue. Being the cheapest producer in the game will continue to have it's benefits. If you think it's Aphria, you are incorrect. Aphria is solid, but the 🍅 beats them out pretty easily. Aphria Market Cap is also $5B to 🍅's $1B... When it comes down to it, this Quarter 4 earnings report needs to speak for itself. I have my own personal opinion on what it might look like. Do your own research for your own opinion, brother. Finally, just so you're in-the-know, my last notes are some recent analyst price targets for $🍅 Global Alliance - $20 Roth Capital - $22 Raymond James - $26 Beacon 1-year target - $35 Some supposedly big German Stock magazine - $30 Random people on Twitter - $+20 Well, fun conversation brother! Don't forget, this was in zero ways financial advice, but if you wanted more not intended to be the basis of any investment decision $🍅 related information, or wanted to try and argue some point you think I jumped to,I wrote a very deep dive VFF analysis with Q4 predictionpotentially worth checking out first (+40% Gross Sales and +60% Gross Profit conservatively predicted). TLDR; 1 ) Comparatively, Village Farms (🍅)'s Market Cap is 1/16 of Canopy, 1/4 of Cronos, 1/5 of Aphria, 1/4 of Tilray, and 1/2 of Auroras. 2 ) Being a low float stock with 25% institutional holders and massive recent shorting that is now underwater will likely cause an extra short squeeze on top of the incoming technical/fundamental run. 3 ) 5.7 Million Sq Ft of grow space in Texas ready for quick and immediate Hemp to Cannabis conversation at the drop of any U.S. Legislation. Also, $🍅 cashed up for acquisition potential. 4 ) Release time line for Vapes, Oils, High THC Large Format Offerings, Medical (with Quebec), High THC Vapes, 3rd Party Gummies and 1st Party Gummies will all have debut showings on these upcoming Quarter 4 2020, Quarter 1 2021 and Quarter 2 2021 earnings reports. 5 ) Massively increasing store number from 🍅's best consumer, continued best-in-industry grow process for continued Wholesale strength, increasing quality and popularity of their products show positive trends of growth from their current segments as well as all the new ones. 6 ) Scroll up a smidge to check some analyst price targets. Still TLDR; $VFF = $🍅 = a stock that I like = 🚀🍅🚀 = opinion = 🌙 PS: In case you didn't check my positions link near the top, I have 3k shares and 85 call contracts. I'm likely near to never going to sell my 3k shares @ $6.21, but I will be flipping my Feb and March calls at the end of this next run. Doubt I'll touch my June or 2022 calls.
I know it could mean alot of different things, but my guy friend has been doing this lately. Like I made a joke about a movie he was watching and he just replied with "Oh" and one time where I was kinda angry we were texting but then I said "Maybe some girls will find that kind of behavior cute and funny, but i'm not like other girls" and he replied 5 hours later saying "Oh" and that's all he ... Okay Guy is a sullen-looking rage comic character who is typically accompanied by the caption "okay." The face is often used in the final panel of comics meant to convey a feeling of hopeless resignation. Origin. The illustration is rumored to have originated on the imageboard 4chan, but no archived thread has been found. The earliest known instance of the face was posted on the Russian ... Oh yes, the big kahuna of words. The four letter bombshell. The biggest, yet shortest spelled, word there is when it comes to relationships. The ‘L’ word itself. Love. When a guy says this word, it seems like your whole world can go up in flames. Usually this is a great thing. Something that we […] what does it mean when someone says oh okay to your question? - Other Question If a guy says he doesn’t want to date you because he doesn’t want to ruin the friendship, then he’s just being polite. This is the nicest way he knows to tell you that he’s not interested in you romantically. What he says: We should hang out sometime. What he means: I’m too chicken to really ask you out. When a guy suggests hanging out, he’s actually trying to gauge your interest ... “Oh okay” can be expressed by a person to suggest that a change in plans has annoyed them. If John wants to go to the cinema to watch his favourite film and wants his friends to come but Alice suggests that they go out to play bowling instead John can use “oh okay” which expresses that he would have preferred to do something else but is okay to do the activity. Okay, maybe not that last part, but it does feel like that a lot of the time. When a guy says "I really like you" he might as well be screaming at the top of his lungs that he's falling totally in love with you and he can't even believe how great it is. There's something about adding the "really" that proves that he feels super strongly about you. Sure, you wish that he would just say that he ... Sign #4: He Says Your Name A Lot. Most people don’t call you by your name a lot when they talk to you, especially if you guys are already familiar with each other. So, if a guy makes a comment ... I absolutely AM! Mom knows what the carrier thing is like as Admiral was so difficult she had to call a Vet tech to come and get her and put her in the carrier. We will be back to see what the vet says. Yes, it’s okay to cry and don’t feel ashamed of it. You’ll always feel better afterwards at least a wee bit. Try to make crying make you happy. It really does feel nice. Also, it doesn’t weather you’re a 13 year old or guru. Crying is always okay. It’s not like plastic surgery or any of that bs. Yeah you get the point, sorry that happened. But, stay away from that. (Your “dad ...
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