Rolling sky cmr file
Contractors 15.7 - Trial Run
2023.06.10 03:42 Alpha-Sierra-Charlie Contractors 15.7 - Trial Run
First, Previous
The tight confines were about to bring us to our breaking point, but then John yelled “Aight boys, let’s go!” over the radio and it was time for step two. Three panel vans flung their doors open and Gallowglasses dressed in a riot of colors and crazy masks jumped out with automatic rifles and charged the Taltha security barracks. It was shift change, and about twenty of the expected fifty personnel were outside in the courtyard area. Most of them went down immediately, a few tried to shoot back and died. A few ran inside and we followed them. Tires squealed behind us as the vans sped away and more whipped in to dump more of our guys. John got to the door just ahead of me and wrenched it open as Johnson’s team finished off the thrashing survivors outside. The poor aelflung trying to lock the door got dragged out with it, and I swatted him aside and to the ground. Tippery double-tapped him in the face and I pounded into the room and hooked left, dropping the guy in my way with a burst before he could line up a shot with his pistol. I shot the only other guy in the room in the back as he was beating on the door leading out of the lobby and into the back. I dumped the rest of my magazine through the wall to each side of the door as John rushed in, followed by Tippery, Thriktikt, Attrull, and Buster. I rocked in a fresh magazine and slapped the bolt closed on my rifle while Buster rolled a grenade through the gap under the bulletproof glass over the entry desk and onto the floor behind it.
There was a short scream before the grenade blew, so Buster rolled another one in to be certain. It blew and John blasted the hinges out of the door with his shotgun and kicked it in savagely. What was left of the hinges tore chunks of cheap plasterboard out of the wall as the thin metal door buckled and flew into the next room, followed by a flashbang. John whipped into the room after it blew, me right behind him. He shot the first enemy in the hip and then through the chest before he could fall, spun the next one around with a shot to the shoulder that nearly tore his arm off, and gave the third one a “canoe” with a shot to the forehead. A fourth enemy darted out of the room deeper into the building and John fired his last two rounds through the wall after him. I finished off One Arm and John slung the shotgun and drew his pistol, darted to the door and finished off the wounded guy he’d shot through the wall. I covered him as he holstered the pistol (the normal one, a priceless blaster would be at odds with our disguise) and stuffed a fresh magazine into his shotgun.
Johnson’s team joined us and we finished clearing the building. Most of the security force inside had run and set up outside with a large group of Paltdorf reinforcements, about forty guys in total. We had two doors and several windows to shoot out of, but we held our fire and stayed out of sight. John radioed for the vans out front to go, and when the security personnel heard them speed off they started walking back to the building. When the first one was fifteen yards from the door Meatball and Wiggles raked them with machine guns from a hidden position down the street. Everyone else who wasn’t driving something or in our building hit them from that same flank, and when the enemy turned to face our guys we charged out into the street.
They didn’t have a chance to react before we were right on top of them. I buried my dirk to the hilt in the first one and took the second’s arm off at the elbow before slashing him across the throat. I glanced to my right and saw John with an aelflung pinned to the ground under his boot. He grabbed a handful of the alien’s hair and snatched, tearing the scalp from the skull with a ripping sound before crushing that skull under his boot. I turned to my next target and lunged, but his shot grazed my forearm and caused my to drop my dirk. My momentum carried me forward and I crashed into him, slamming him into the next guy and all three of us went down in the street. They struggled to get back up, I punched the nearest one in the jaw and rocked him. I grabbed the other one by the legs and dragged him closer. I got his pistol away from him and smashed him across the face with it. The cheap plastic frame broke like his teeth, and I grabbed him by the head and smashed it into the pavement until I felt a CRACK and he started twitching. I spun around to finish of the first one, but he’d recovered quicker than I expected. He lunged drunkenly with a knife of his own.
I caught his knife arm by the wrist and wrenched it away, and let his momentum bring him into range.
I bit him across the face, tearing through the skin of the forehead so the blood would flow into his eyes and blind him. I elbowed him in the eye socket with my free arm and clamped down on the forearm holding the knife. I jerked and shook, feeling his muscles and tendons tear and pop in my mouth. He couldn’t hold the knife any more. I shoved his head head back and went for the throat, crushing the soft tissue until I felt the bones of his neck under my teeth and shook him like a toy, then ripped out everything forward of the spine and spit it out. I grabbed my fallen dirk and scalped him with it, I’d never mastered John’s grab-and-snatch method.
The fighting had moved on. Enemy reinforcements had arrived and were already falling back, on the verge of a rout. John was holding the severed head of the Taltha security chief aloft and fired his shotgun one-handed while belting out wild rebel yells. The rest of our assault force advanced with him, yelling and screaming their own taunts and war cries. I unslung my rifle and howled, joining them in the press.
Gods, it was just like the old days!
John walked through the door before Fancypants could open it and announce us, and I followed on his heels. The conversation stopped as we marched our filthy asses in.
John walked directly up to the table and pulled one of the two bottles out the ice bucket in the middle and dropped the House Taltha security chief’s head in it’s place before filling up a ridiculously delicate looking goblet with wine and handing it to me before filling one up to himself. He filled them all the way to the brim, knowing full well that you’re supposed to leave room.
Ok, full belligerence it is…
John plopped down in a chair and kicked his filthy, blood-encrusted boots up onto the table as he leaned back. I pulled a chair of my own out and pulled up close so I could set my overfilled glass down and lap out of it like it was a puddle. Dried blood and the grime of fighting in the streets flaked off of my violently yellow shirt. Well, it used to be violently yellow.
“So, what’d’ja think?” he asked with a tilt of his glass, before pouring half of it directly down his throat. He looked at it quizzically, “Will that yield the desired results?”
Elissa sat immobile, either in shock at our actions or disgust in our appearance. Or vice versa. Maybe both. Great Lord Jakkris Ganthull sat completely still except for a single finger tapping the tabletop, with an absolutely neutral expression on his face. Chrastoff was wearing a look of utter shock, which changed to fear, which quickly flashed to anger as he stood up.
“W-why did you do those things? That went far beyond engaging the foe, that went beyond even cold-hearted murder! You mutilated the dead! You mutilated the LIVING! You took trophies? You-you…” he trailed off as he gestured at the bodiless chilling in the now-red ice. John had emptied his goblet, and he dropped his feet and leaned forward to take the other bottle out the ice. Red drops splatted on the table as he refilled first his goblet, then mine when I drained it and held it out for him. He took a sip, the streaks where the bloody water had washed away some of the filth on his hand making it even more noticeable.
“Yes. Please explain these… actions,” Old Man Ganthull added.
John locked eyes with Chrastoff “You hired ‘savages’, did you not? Is ‘savage’ not what you wanted when you hired us and called us ‘savages’?”
Chrastoff sat down shakily, at a loss for words.
OMG nodded. “Point taken. Your capabilities are certainly not in doubt and,” he looked over at his son pointedly, “you WILL be afforded the respect you are due. You AND your people. Is that correct, children?”
“Yes, father” they chorused.
“Now, tell me why you chose to do these things."
John looked back at OMG. "The entire goal of this operation is to concentrate House Taltha and House Paltdorf resources here on their home turf, thereby weakening their presence elsewhere in Hepiter's system, correct?"
OMG nodded, and John continued.
"We didn't just create a scene, we created a panic. Vicious alien thugs scalping and beheading and murdering security personnel in the streets, during broad daylight hours! We didn't just threaten their security and authority, we threatened their very legitimacy. They're already unpopular with their lower and middle classes, and a brazen attack like this will not only make that worse, but will embolden criminal and rebellious groups. They aren't going to have a calm, measured, well thought out response to this. They're going to overreact and pull way more resources back than they need to. They're going to rip this place apart looking for a continued threat that no longer exists, and they won't believe they aren't finding it because it's no longer there and they're going to make a whole new slew of problems because of that."
"You think that your spectacle will achieve that?" the old man asked.
John just pointed at the wallscreen, where the news anchor was reporting that Central Habitat Security was withdrawing forces from several other habitats and installations to "ensure the safety of those of us here at home on New Cadenze".
"See, my children? I told you they would meet our needs," Great Lord Ganthull smiled as he stood to leave. "Just make sure that you keep them occupied with our cause. And by the Blessed Sky of Aelvald, make sure you pay them."
submitted by Alpha-Sierra-Charlie to HFY [link] [comments]
Rex
Paltdorf/Taltha jointly-owned habitat
“New Cadenza”, O’Neill Cylinder
The Ganthulls were wanting to break the entire planetary system of the gas planet Hepiter from the control of a shadowy cabal of Grand Houses based in the inner solar system. Step one is breaking the grip of their more loyal vassals operating within Hepiter’s system. Step one of that is sowing chaos and confusion among them, turning them against each other and leaving the cabal with no tools to use. Step one of THAT involves us being jammed into panel vans as tightly as possible disguised as gangers.The tight confines were about to bring us to our breaking point, but then John yelled “Aight boys, let’s go!” over the radio and it was time for step two. Three panel vans flung their doors open and Gallowglasses dressed in a riot of colors and crazy masks jumped out with automatic rifles and charged the Taltha security barracks. It was shift change, and about twenty of the expected fifty personnel were outside in the courtyard area. Most of them went down immediately, a few tried to shoot back and died. A few ran inside and we followed them. Tires squealed behind us as the vans sped away and more whipped in to dump more of our guys. John got to the door just ahead of me and wrenched it open as Johnson’s team finished off the thrashing survivors outside. The poor aelflung trying to lock the door got dragged out with it, and I swatted him aside and to the ground. Tippery double-tapped him in the face and I pounded into the room and hooked left, dropping the guy in my way with a burst before he could line up a shot with his pistol. I shot the only other guy in the room in the back as he was beating on the door leading out of the lobby and into the back. I dumped the rest of my magazine through the wall to each side of the door as John rushed in, followed by Tippery, Thriktikt, Attrull, and Buster. I rocked in a fresh magazine and slapped the bolt closed on my rifle while Buster rolled a grenade through the gap under the bulletproof glass over the entry desk and onto the floor behind it.
There was a short scream before the grenade blew, so Buster rolled another one in to be certain. It blew and John blasted the hinges out of the door with his shotgun and kicked it in savagely. What was left of the hinges tore chunks of cheap plasterboard out of the wall as the thin metal door buckled and flew into the next room, followed by a flashbang. John whipped into the room after it blew, me right behind him. He shot the first enemy in the hip and then through the chest before he could fall, spun the next one around with a shot to the shoulder that nearly tore his arm off, and gave the third one a “canoe” with a shot to the forehead. A fourth enemy darted out of the room deeper into the building and John fired his last two rounds through the wall after him. I finished off One Arm and John slung the shotgun and drew his pistol, darted to the door and finished off the wounded guy he’d shot through the wall. I covered him as he holstered the pistol (the normal one, a priceless blaster would be at odds with our disguise) and stuffed a fresh magazine into his shotgun.
Johnson’s team joined us and we finished clearing the building. Most of the security force inside had run and set up outside with a large group of Paltdorf reinforcements, about forty guys in total. We had two doors and several windows to shoot out of, but we held our fire and stayed out of sight. John radioed for the vans out front to go, and when the security personnel heard them speed off they started walking back to the building. When the first one was fifteen yards from the door Meatball and Wiggles raked them with machine guns from a hidden position down the street. Everyone else who wasn’t driving something or in our building hit them from that same flank, and when the enemy turned to face our guys we charged out into the street.
They didn’t have a chance to react before we were right on top of them. I buried my dirk to the hilt in the first one and took the second’s arm off at the elbow before slashing him across the throat. I glanced to my right and saw John with an aelflung pinned to the ground under his boot. He grabbed a handful of the alien’s hair and snatched, tearing the scalp from the skull with a ripping sound before crushing that skull under his boot. I turned to my next target and lunged, but his shot grazed my forearm and caused my to drop my dirk. My momentum carried me forward and I crashed into him, slamming him into the next guy and all three of us went down in the street. They struggled to get back up, I punched the nearest one in the jaw and rocked him. I grabbed the other one by the legs and dragged him closer. I got his pistol away from him and smashed him across the face with it. The cheap plastic frame broke like his teeth, and I grabbed him by the head and smashed it into the pavement until I felt a CRACK and he started twitching. I spun around to finish of the first one, but he’d recovered quicker than I expected. He lunged drunkenly with a knife of his own.
I caught his knife arm by the wrist and wrenched it away, and let his momentum bring him into range.
I bit him across the face, tearing through the skin of the forehead so the blood would flow into his eyes and blind him. I elbowed him in the eye socket with my free arm and clamped down on the forearm holding the knife. I jerked and shook, feeling his muscles and tendons tear and pop in my mouth. He couldn’t hold the knife any more. I shoved his head head back and went for the throat, crushing the soft tissue until I felt the bones of his neck under my teeth and shook him like a toy, then ripped out everything forward of the spine and spit it out. I grabbed my fallen dirk and scalped him with it, I’d never mastered John’s grab-and-snatch method.
The fighting had moved on. Enemy reinforcements had arrived and were already falling back, on the verge of a rout. John was holding the severed head of the Taltha security chief aloft and fired his shotgun one-handed while belting out wild rebel yells. The rest of our assault force advanced with him, yelling and screaming their own taunts and war cries. I unslung my rifle and howled, joining them in the press.
Gods, it was just like the old days!
SEVERAL HOURS LATER
The Taltha and Paltdorf forces were in complete disarray across the entire station. The civilian population was panicked and the local criminal groups were taking full advantage of the chaos. The intra-planetary trade and finance summit the Ganthulls were officially here for had been postponed and the delegates sent back to their lodgings. They felt the current state of affairs left them feeling that the threat of us reporting to them in person immediately was low, so here we were walking through the front door of a building in a compound much like the one we were billeted in. Elissa’s frilly-necked seneschal met us, visibly recoiled at our appearance, and led us to the small conference room our clients were in. I could hear the news feed inside and the chatter as the occupants discussed it. This was going to be interesting.John walked through the door before Fancypants could open it and announce us, and I followed on his heels. The conversation stopped as we marched our filthy asses in.
John walked directly up to the table and pulled one of the two bottles out the ice bucket in the middle and dropped the House Taltha security chief’s head in it’s place before filling up a ridiculously delicate looking goblet with wine and handing it to me before filling one up to himself. He filled them all the way to the brim, knowing full well that you’re supposed to leave room.
Ok, full belligerence it is…
John plopped down in a chair and kicked his filthy, blood-encrusted boots up onto the table as he leaned back. I pulled a chair of my own out and pulled up close so I could set my overfilled glass down and lap out of it like it was a puddle. Dried blood and the grime of fighting in the streets flaked off of my violently yellow shirt. Well, it used to be violently yellow.
“So, what’d’ja think?” he asked with a tilt of his glass, before pouring half of it directly down his throat. He looked at it quizzically, “Will that yield the desired results?”
Elissa sat immobile, either in shock at our actions or disgust in our appearance. Or vice versa. Maybe both. Great Lord Jakkris Ganthull sat completely still except for a single finger tapping the tabletop, with an absolutely neutral expression on his face. Chrastoff was wearing a look of utter shock, which changed to fear, which quickly flashed to anger as he stood up.
“W-why did you do those things? That went far beyond engaging the foe, that went beyond even cold-hearted murder! You mutilated the dead! You mutilated the LIVING! You took trophies? You-you…” he trailed off as he gestured at the bodiless chilling in the now-red ice. John had emptied his goblet, and he dropped his feet and leaned forward to take the other bottle out the ice. Red drops splatted on the table as he refilled first his goblet, then mine when I drained it and held it out for him. He took a sip, the streaks where the bloody water had washed away some of the filth on his hand making it even more noticeable.
“Yes. Please explain these… actions,” Old Man Ganthull added.
John locked eyes with Chrastoff “You hired ‘savages’, did you not? Is ‘savage’ not what you wanted when you hired us and called us ‘savages’?”
Chrastoff sat down shakily, at a loss for words.
OMG nodded. “Point taken. Your capabilities are certainly not in doubt and,” he looked over at his son pointedly, “you WILL be afforded the respect you are due. You AND your people. Is that correct, children?”
“Yes, father” they chorused.
“Now, tell me why you chose to do these things."
John looked back at OMG. "The entire goal of this operation is to concentrate House Taltha and House Paltdorf resources here on their home turf, thereby weakening their presence elsewhere in Hepiter's system, correct?"
OMG nodded, and John continued.
"We didn't just create a scene, we created a panic. Vicious alien thugs scalping and beheading and murdering security personnel in the streets, during broad daylight hours! We didn't just threaten their security and authority, we threatened their very legitimacy. They're already unpopular with their lower and middle classes, and a brazen attack like this will not only make that worse, but will embolden criminal and rebellious groups. They aren't going to have a calm, measured, well thought out response to this. They're going to overreact and pull way more resources back than they need to. They're going to rip this place apart looking for a continued threat that no longer exists, and they won't believe they aren't finding it because it's no longer there and they're going to make a whole new slew of problems because of that."
"You think that your spectacle will achieve that?" the old man asked.
John just pointed at the wallscreen, where the news anchor was reporting that Central Habitat Security was withdrawing forces from several other habitats and installations to "ensure the safety of those of us here at home on New Cadenze".
"See, my children? I told you they would meet our needs," Great Lord Ganthull smiled as he stood to leave. "Just make sure that you keep them occupied with our cause. And by the Blessed Sky of Aelvald, make sure you pay them."
2023.06.10 03:35 babyxxpigeon17 A Niagara vacation
It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark, when out of the blue, my wife called me at work. "We're going to Niagara Falls for the weekend. I got us an awesome deal!"
We had both been working at our first "full-fledged" jobs for a year and had reached that moment after graduation when you suddenly realize you can't make that impact on the world your student enthusiasm once promised. At first, I just sighed. It was the dead of January, and I had already expended all my energy on a week of inconsequential stress. I just wanted to collapse on the couch for two days. Sarah felt a similar weary exhaustion. I could tell. Her tone was more hopeful than excited, but she had dreaded the routine we were sinking into and was trying her best to pull us free.
I looked to the ceiling and adjusted my telephone headset. At that time I was working at Stats Canada on the tele-query desk. I took a deep breath and, as convincingly as possible, said, "Sounds good." I don't think she bought it, but we went nonetheless.
This was Niagara Falls before the casinos when there was a very distinct off-season. When we got to the hotel, we were given the details of our "lovers' special". One dinner to be used either Friday or Saturday, two breakfasts, a roll of tokens for the arcade, 10% off some "4D" movie ride experience, and a 2-for-1 coupon to Max Tussaud's. I guessed it was Madame's nephew? We also got a bottle of sparkling wine in our room and chocolate treats on our pillows. I was impressed. It sounded good.
When we got into our room and saw the "bottle" of wine - basically an aeroplane-sized glass and half - and the chocolates - "fun wrapped" Oh Henry's left over from Halloween - we both started to laugh. The tone for two wonderful days had been set. We decided to cash in on our dinner coupon right away.
The restaurant off the lobby had hopes of being better. There were huge panoramic windows that promised a view of the gorge. Unfortunately, they had some winter moisture problems that day, and it felt like we were defrosting amid the dripping streaks and foggy patches. The decor was your standard booths and tables though the "romantic" lighting was unique. Dollar store battery-powered tea lights were lodged inside thick tumbler glasses and shed a muted pleasantness in a "what a great idea for a craft" sort of way. I had a feeling they were created by our waitress since she was the one who always seemed to be fussing with them. Only one other couple was in the dining room, so she attended to us immediately.
"Can I get you something to start?"
"Sure." "Thank you, that would be nice." We both responded simultaneously.
"And what would the lady like this evening?"
Sarah smiled at the flattery. "I think I'll have a glass of white wine." She glanced over at me to see my reaction. This was a subtle cue of the mood to follow. Diet Coke was usually the beverage of choice. She didn't normally drink alcohol. One glass numbed her nose and made her giggle far too easily. When she did drink, however, it meant she was comfortable with my company and open to anything to follow. I raised my eyebrows in a debonair way.
"And for the gentleman?"
"Do you have Foster's on tap?"
"Yes we do."
"I'll have a pint please."
Sarah smiled at the happy memories I invoked. At university, Foster's was my signature beer. It was at a time when Crocodile Dundee was a known name, and Australia was inexplicably cool. 15 cent buffalo wings and a pitcher of Foster's was the Tuesday night special at the London Arms pub. There the Classics Club would meet and, as a group, circle the wagons and drink ourselves into extroverts.
As soon as the waitress left, Sarah smiled at me. She reached out and held my hand across the table. With my gaze on hers, she slipped her foot from her shoe and slowly began sliding it up my pant leg.
"I got a pedicure this morning." She announced seductively.
I nodded and pretended I didn't notice her invitation. "What colour?" I asked.
"I'm not telling." She teased. "You'll just have to find out later." Her devious little smile was gorgeous.
"Mmmm. I can't wait."
When the waitress returned with our drinks, we immediately retreated to our personal spaces as if we had been discovered by the chaperone. Sarah opened the menu and began to salivate at the variety.
"Can we add an appetizer to the package dinner?" Her question seemed innocent enough.
"You're on the package?" Our friendly waitress disappeared, and we were no longer a lady or a gentleman. She ripped the menu out of Sarah's hand and took mine before I had even opened it. She then scurried to her podium and brought back a tattered, grease-stained, photocopied page that we had to share. We both burst out laughing.
The waitress was flustered that we were not as bothered as she was. "The drinks are NOT included!"
"What choices do we have?" I asked, expecting the usual chicken or fish. I had been on many packages before with my parents.
"Coffee or tea." The waitress snapped.
Sarah and I looked at each other in amused disbelief.
"I'll have coffee please." I didn't even flinch at the ridiculously limited package. I was eager to get my order in early.
"And I'll have the tea!" Sarah followed my lead. "Can I have some milk with that?"
"Yes." The waitress snarled.
"Fantastic!" I enthused.
"Yes, great! I'm glad we got the package, Honey." Sarah joked.
The waitress stormed off and returned sometime later with our lettuce-only salads drowned in Kraft's Italian dressing and our chewy chicken dinners, which she had thoughtfully allowed to cool. She tossed the plates on the table and left us to peacefully devour our deal. We didn't see her again until we requested the bill. For some reason, we found it amusing to leave a generous tip, which of course, defeated the purpose of the package, but we didn't care. It was fun.
The rest of the holiday was marred with similar off-season products and services. The wax museum was only half open, so we couldn't see the pop stars of the seventies. I didn't think it was a problem, but Sarah pouted playfully. She really wanted to see young Bowie. Meanwhile, the arcade was particularly stingy about spitting out coupons. So much so that Mike, the scraggly-haired repair guy, ended up escorting us from game to game and repairing the devices on demand. In no time, he was acting like an old drinking buddy. He joked and laughed, then, out of the blue, revealed that working at the Niagara Falls Fun Centre wasn't his career choice, that his dream was to be part of a travelling carnival. He desperately wanted to see more of the world, he explained and socialize with a greater variety of "wildlife." Mike winked at Sarah to punctuate his meaning, then began advising her on which games to play.
Sarah was partial to Skee ball and clearly had career potential in the sport, but Mike quickly pointed out that the token-to-coupon payout was not the best. In a furtive whisper, he revealed that The Storm Stopper was your best bet, provided the arcade had left it on its original factory settings. He assured us the ones here were "cool." The game had lights that ran around the outside in opposite directions and you had to hit the button at just the right spot to win. It looked impossible, but Mike was right; if you calculated tokens in versus coupons won, it was the best deal. It only took a little practice to win a minor jackpot every 5 or 6 times.
We would cheer each win as if Toronto had won the Stanley Cup. I would give a quick fist pump and a full lung "Yes!" while Sarah would jump up and down screaming, "WhoooHooo!" Of course, in the end, when we cashed in, "Mike's secret" only bumped us up from a key-chain flashlight to a "deluxe" nail beauty set. Mind you, it did come complete with clippers, scissors, a file AND a cuticle scraper. Not only that, it was all neatly packaged in a paisley-patterned pink and green plastic vinyl case. Mike was so pleased to give us our prize and to be honest, we were thrilled to win it if only to see his broad chicletted smile. It was more of a trophy than a grooming set.
That night, I made reservations for us at a fancy Chinese food restaurant - the Bamboo Garden. When we arrived, we had half-expected renovations of some sort. Instead, the place was immaculate. Gentle pools teeming with goldfish highlighted the epic black and red Ming dynasty decor. Real candles flickered on crisp white tablecloths. Again, the restaurant was virtually ours. The reservations on my part were entirely unnecessary. In fact, as soon as we entered, they knew us by name and guided us directly to our table. A live lounge piano caressed the air, its notes danced vaguely around familiar harmonies until finally, as if prompted by our presence, a song emerged immediately accompanied by the velvet voice of oriental karaoke. It was our song remastered
submitted by babyxxpigeon17 to Tik_tok_stories [link] [comments]
We had both been working at our first "full-fledged" jobs for a year and had reached that moment after graduation when you suddenly realize you can't make that impact on the world your student enthusiasm once promised. At first, I just sighed. It was the dead of January, and I had already expended all my energy on a week of inconsequential stress. I just wanted to collapse on the couch for two days. Sarah felt a similar weary exhaustion. I could tell. Her tone was more hopeful than excited, but she had dreaded the routine we were sinking into and was trying her best to pull us free.
I looked to the ceiling and adjusted my telephone headset. At that time I was working at Stats Canada on the tele-query desk. I took a deep breath and, as convincingly as possible, said, "Sounds good." I don't think she bought it, but we went nonetheless.
This was Niagara Falls before the casinos when there was a very distinct off-season. When we got to the hotel, we were given the details of our "lovers' special". One dinner to be used either Friday or Saturday, two breakfasts, a roll of tokens for the arcade, 10% off some "4D" movie ride experience, and a 2-for-1 coupon to Max Tussaud's. I guessed it was Madame's nephew? We also got a bottle of sparkling wine in our room and chocolate treats on our pillows. I was impressed. It sounded good.
When we got into our room and saw the "bottle" of wine - basically an aeroplane-sized glass and half - and the chocolates - "fun wrapped" Oh Henry's left over from Halloween - we both started to laugh. The tone for two wonderful days had been set. We decided to cash in on our dinner coupon right away.
The restaurant off the lobby had hopes of being better. There were huge panoramic windows that promised a view of the gorge. Unfortunately, they had some winter moisture problems that day, and it felt like we were defrosting amid the dripping streaks and foggy patches. The decor was your standard booths and tables though the "romantic" lighting was unique. Dollar store battery-powered tea lights were lodged inside thick tumbler glasses and shed a muted pleasantness in a "what a great idea for a craft" sort of way. I had a feeling they were created by our waitress since she was the one who always seemed to be fussing with them. Only one other couple was in the dining room, so she attended to us immediately.
"Can I get you something to start?"
"Sure." "Thank you, that would be nice." We both responded simultaneously.
"And what would the lady like this evening?"
Sarah smiled at the flattery. "I think I'll have a glass of white wine." She glanced over at me to see my reaction. This was a subtle cue of the mood to follow. Diet Coke was usually the beverage of choice. She didn't normally drink alcohol. One glass numbed her nose and made her giggle far too easily. When she did drink, however, it meant she was comfortable with my company and open to anything to follow. I raised my eyebrows in a debonair way.
"And for the gentleman?"
"Do you have Foster's on tap?"
"Yes we do."
"I'll have a pint please."
Sarah smiled at the happy memories I invoked. At university, Foster's was my signature beer. It was at a time when Crocodile Dundee was a known name, and Australia was inexplicably cool. 15 cent buffalo wings and a pitcher of Foster's was the Tuesday night special at the London Arms pub. There the Classics Club would meet and, as a group, circle the wagons and drink ourselves into extroverts.
As soon as the waitress left, Sarah smiled at me. She reached out and held my hand across the table. With my gaze on hers, she slipped her foot from her shoe and slowly began sliding it up my pant leg.
"I got a pedicure this morning." She announced seductively.
I nodded and pretended I didn't notice her invitation. "What colour?" I asked.
"I'm not telling." She teased. "You'll just have to find out later." Her devious little smile was gorgeous.
"Mmmm. I can't wait."
When the waitress returned with our drinks, we immediately retreated to our personal spaces as if we had been discovered by the chaperone. Sarah opened the menu and began to salivate at the variety.
"Can we add an appetizer to the package dinner?" Her question seemed innocent enough.
"You're on the package?" Our friendly waitress disappeared, and we were no longer a lady or a gentleman. She ripped the menu out of Sarah's hand and took mine before I had even opened it. She then scurried to her podium and brought back a tattered, grease-stained, photocopied page that we had to share. We both burst out laughing.
The waitress was flustered that we were not as bothered as she was. "The drinks are NOT included!"
"What choices do we have?" I asked, expecting the usual chicken or fish. I had been on many packages before with my parents.
"Coffee or tea." The waitress snapped.
Sarah and I looked at each other in amused disbelief.
"I'll have coffee please." I didn't even flinch at the ridiculously limited package. I was eager to get my order in early.
"And I'll have the tea!" Sarah followed my lead. "Can I have some milk with that?"
"Yes." The waitress snarled.
"Fantastic!" I enthused.
"Yes, great! I'm glad we got the package, Honey." Sarah joked.
The waitress stormed off and returned sometime later with our lettuce-only salads drowned in Kraft's Italian dressing and our chewy chicken dinners, which she had thoughtfully allowed to cool. She tossed the plates on the table and left us to peacefully devour our deal. We didn't see her again until we requested the bill. For some reason, we found it amusing to leave a generous tip, which of course, defeated the purpose of the package, but we didn't care. It was fun.
The rest of the holiday was marred with similar off-season products and services. The wax museum was only half open, so we couldn't see the pop stars of the seventies. I didn't think it was a problem, but Sarah pouted playfully. She really wanted to see young Bowie. Meanwhile, the arcade was particularly stingy about spitting out coupons. So much so that Mike, the scraggly-haired repair guy, ended up escorting us from game to game and repairing the devices on demand. In no time, he was acting like an old drinking buddy. He joked and laughed, then, out of the blue, revealed that working at the Niagara Falls Fun Centre wasn't his career choice, that his dream was to be part of a travelling carnival. He desperately wanted to see more of the world, he explained and socialize with a greater variety of "wildlife." Mike winked at Sarah to punctuate his meaning, then began advising her on which games to play.
Sarah was partial to Skee ball and clearly had career potential in the sport, but Mike quickly pointed out that the token-to-coupon payout was not the best. In a furtive whisper, he revealed that The Storm Stopper was your best bet, provided the arcade had left it on its original factory settings. He assured us the ones here were "cool." The game had lights that ran around the outside in opposite directions and you had to hit the button at just the right spot to win. It looked impossible, but Mike was right; if you calculated tokens in versus coupons won, it was the best deal. It only took a little practice to win a minor jackpot every 5 or 6 times.
We would cheer each win as if Toronto had won the Stanley Cup. I would give a quick fist pump and a full lung "Yes!" while Sarah would jump up and down screaming, "WhoooHooo!" Of course, in the end, when we cashed in, "Mike's secret" only bumped us up from a key-chain flashlight to a "deluxe" nail beauty set. Mind you, it did come complete with clippers, scissors, a file AND a cuticle scraper. Not only that, it was all neatly packaged in a paisley-patterned pink and green plastic vinyl case. Mike was so pleased to give us our prize and to be honest, we were thrilled to win it if only to see his broad chicletted smile. It was more of a trophy than a grooming set.
That night, I made reservations for us at a fancy Chinese food restaurant - the Bamboo Garden. When we arrived, we had half-expected renovations of some sort. Instead, the place was immaculate. Gentle pools teeming with goldfish highlighted the epic black and red Ming dynasty decor. Real candles flickered on crisp white tablecloths. Again, the restaurant was virtually ours. The reservations on my part were entirely unnecessary. In fact, as soon as we entered, they knew us by name and guided us directly to our table. A live lounge piano caressed the air, its notes danced vaguely around familiar harmonies until finally, as if prompted by our presence, a song emerged immediately accompanied by the velvet voice of oriental karaoke. It was our song remastered
2023.06.10 02:51 Itchy-Maintenance587 Mario Party Superstars The Sequel- Minigame Soundtrack
Mario Party:
Coins Of The World
Faster Than All
Mario Party 2:
Don’t Look Back
Going For The Coins
Not Gonna Lose
Spinning POlka
That’s All Of It
The Blue Skies Yonder
Walking Underwater
Mario Party 3:
Big Trouble
Come On Chop Chop
Let’s Tread Lightly
Let’s Get A Move On
What Should We Do?
Mario Party 4:
Full Of Vigor
Hurry Hurry
Languid Cold Sweat
Play With Bowser
Slowly Yet Surely
Swaying Gently
Try Hard Folks
Mario Party 5:
Bad Bowser Castle
Bustling Noisily
Danger Abounds
Everybody Party
Exciting Walk
In Calm Water
In Geat Fear
Nervous Tension
Rolling About
Mario Party 6:
Amusing
Blissful
Dueling For Prizes
Doom and Gloom
Fast and Furious
Gaming With Bowser
Gaming With DK
Jazzy
Laid-Back
Night Duel
Relaxed
Time To Duel
Mario Party 7:
Bowser’s Revenge
Cool As A Cucumber
Darkness Rising
DK For All
Don’t Look Down
Face Off
Keep It Up
Lazy Day Lollygag
Look Out
Slow and Steady
Solo DK
What A Mess
Without A Care
Mario Party 8:
Challenge
Chase and Overtake
Everyone’s Runnin
It's A Dead Heat
It's On Now
Friendly Competition
Happy-Go-Lucky
Proceed Without Fear
Mario Party 9:
Be Careful
Can You Do It?
Go Crazy
Hit The Field
Island Activities
Pandemonium
Think About It
Mario Party 10:
Did You Get Them All
No Copying
Quick Avoidance
Rolling Balls
To The Right and To The Left
submitted by Itchy-Maintenance587 to MARIOPARTY [link] [comments]
Coins Of The World
Faster Than All
Mario Party 2:
Don’t Look Back
Going For The Coins
Not Gonna Lose
Spinning POlka
That’s All Of It
The Blue Skies Yonder
Walking Underwater
Mario Party 3:
Big Trouble
Come On Chop Chop
Let’s Tread Lightly
Let’s Get A Move On
What Should We Do?
Mario Party 4:
Full Of Vigor
Hurry Hurry
Languid Cold Sweat
Play With Bowser
Slowly Yet Surely
Swaying Gently
Try Hard Folks
Mario Party 5:
Bad Bowser Castle
Bustling Noisily
Danger Abounds
Everybody Party
Exciting Walk
In Calm Water
In Geat Fear
Nervous Tension
Rolling About
Mario Party 6:
Amusing
Blissful
Dueling For Prizes
Doom and Gloom
Fast and Furious
Gaming With Bowser
Gaming With DK
Jazzy
Laid-Back
Night Duel
Relaxed
Time To Duel
Mario Party 7:
Bowser’s Revenge
Cool As A Cucumber
Darkness Rising
DK For All
Don’t Look Down
Face Off
Keep It Up
Lazy Day Lollygag
Look Out
Slow and Steady
Solo DK
What A Mess
Without A Care
Mario Party 8:
Challenge
Chase and Overtake
Everyone’s Runnin
It's A Dead Heat
It's On Now
Friendly Competition
Happy-Go-Lucky
Proceed Without Fear
Mario Party 9:
Be Careful
Can You Do It?
Go Crazy
Hit The Field
Island Activities
Pandemonium
Think About It
Mario Party 10:
Did You Get Them All
No Copying
Quick Avoidance
Rolling Balls
To The Right and To The Left
2023.06.10 01:50 Beneficial-Use-9396 Every damn time
just wait until the canadian red sky pics roll in
submitted by Beneficial-Use-9396 to u/Beneficial-Use-9396 [link] [comments]
2023.06.10 01:47 ChessieSmollett On the subject of Dutch Crunch bread…
Brace said on Fogle Files 1 that Dutch Crunch bread is the best bread and I agree it’s good except when it cuts the roof of my mouth sometimes so sometimes I get French bread instead. I’ve only seen it between Sacramento and Monterey but that’s low-key a good area for bread (sourdough, French, ciabatta)
But, conversely California does not have the second best bread which is Morton’s potato rolls. And funny enough a lot of trendy restaurants in LA are serving burgers on Morton potato rolls now so they must be importing them from the east, same with Philly cheesesteak buns.
These are two examples of how America has failed to homogenize in the bread sector. We need to get more Dutch crunch in the east and more Morton potato rolls in the west. We need a Public Works program that is just fleets of truckers making the trips back and forth
submitted by ChessieSmollett to TrueAnon [link] [comments]
But, conversely California does not have the second best bread which is Morton’s potato rolls. And funny enough a lot of trendy restaurants in LA are serving burgers on Morton potato rolls now so they must be importing them from the east, same with Philly cheesesteak buns.
These are two examples of how America has failed to homogenize in the bread sector. We need to get more Dutch crunch in the east and more Morton potato rolls in the west. We need a Public Works program that is just fleets of truckers making the trips back and forth
2023.06.10 01:40 Itchy_Feedback9275 Anyone else feel like the weather has been "edging" on whether or not it's going to rain the last few days?
For the last like 3 or 4 days in a row, mid to late afternoon the dark clouds start rolling in and the wind picks up, sometimes even the distant roar of thunder and it always looks like it's gonna come down any second, but then... wait, waaaaait.... nope, back to blue skies again. I dunno, maybe it's more noticeable down south here.
submitted by Itchy_Feedback9275 to Calgary [link] [comments]
2023.06.10 01:30 Efficient-Soil6000 Same files keep getting added to file-list, no changes to files made.
I've lodged a ticket almost 2 weeks ago, going back and forth with Backblaze support, and still don't have a solution. So I'm here hoping someone has a suggestion that could help.
I recently updated from 8.5.0.657 to 8.5.0677. Things seemed better, in terms of the UI updating to accurately show what it was processing. Everything seemed fine. Then I randomly see in the file-list that 3.5tb of files from 4 drives have been added. "OK, maybe I didn't have them plugged in" I thought. Plug the drives in, let them re-scan (over a day and a half, 2 of the drives are USB2 so even the de-duplication process takes an age), all looks good, file-lists are clear, web UI shows the same. Drives unplugged, back in the cupboard until I need them.
2 days later, the same 3.5tb from the same 4 drives are back in the list. Without them even being plugged in to detect changes. I try re-scanning them again.
A day later, same issue. So I try jumping to the beta (8.5.0.679), same issue but with memory leaks that crash the Backblaze Control Panel.
Logged ticket, went through all the basics, tried re-installs over the top of the same version, removed bzinfo.xml and bzvolumes.xml, then another reinstall (made things worse, increased the scanning to 10tb, but that was my mistake).
After trying the send logs feature (also broken in the beta), I was given a script to run and got the logs out that way.
I happened to have the older version of Backblaze Control Panel (657) so I rolled back to that, let the files re-scan for the 4th time (back to the same 3.5tb).
After a reboot, the same files are back in my file-list again. Please send help, firetrucks, whatever. I'm getting to the point of checking out other backup providers.
submitted by Efficient-Soil6000 to backblaze [link] [comments]
I recently updated from 8.5.0.657 to 8.5.0677. Things seemed better, in terms of the UI updating to accurately show what it was processing. Everything seemed fine. Then I randomly see in the file-list that 3.5tb of files from 4 drives have been added. "OK, maybe I didn't have them plugged in" I thought. Plug the drives in, let them re-scan (over a day and a half, 2 of the drives are USB2 so even the de-duplication process takes an age), all looks good, file-lists are clear, web UI shows the same. Drives unplugged, back in the cupboard until I need them.
2 days later, the same 3.5tb from the same 4 drives are back in the list. Without them even being plugged in to detect changes. I try re-scanning them again.
A day later, same issue. So I try jumping to the beta (8.5.0.679), same issue but with memory leaks that crash the Backblaze Control Panel.
Logged ticket, went through all the basics, tried re-installs over the top of the same version, removed bzinfo.xml and bzvolumes.xml, then another reinstall (made things worse, increased the scanning to 10tb, but that was my mistake).
After trying the send logs feature (also broken in the beta), I was given a script to run and got the logs out that way.
I happened to have the older version of Backblaze Control Panel (657) so I rolled back to that, let the files re-scan for the 4th time (back to the same 3.5tb).
After a reboot, the same files are back in my file-list again. Please send help, firetrucks, whatever. I'm getting to the point of checking out other backup providers.
2023.06.10 01:22 ThrowAway7s2 Response to "The Importance of Pronouns" from doorcountypulse.com on June 8, 2023
This is a response to https://doorcountypulse.com/the-importance-of-pronouns/, and it also reflects on https://doorcountypulse.com/hello-peninsula-pulse/.
Dear Emma,
Supreme Court cases do not operate the way the Independent article suggests. Small details in a decision, tangential to the issue being decided, do not turn it into a landmark case, or even establish precedent. Rather, it is a decision's holding which determines whether a case is a landmark or not. The Independent is foreign owned and operated, but being a large outlet, they should know better than to put out an article like the one you linked to.
In the court system, pronoun policy is currently split at the appellate level, with the Sixth Circuit and the Seventh Circuit taking opposing sides. The Supreme Court has not weighed in on this yet, but the split makes it more likely they will choose to rule about it.
Besides this, Jonathon Turley writes at https://jonathanturley.org/2023/04/25/seventh-circuit-upholds-termination-of-high-school-teacher-who-objected-to-pronoun-policy/ that a currently pending religious accommodations case, Groff v. DeJoy, could "gut the underlying standard used by the Seventh Circuit in its ruling for the school district".
Links:
Sixth Circuit https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/21a0071p-06.pdf
Seventh Circuit https://adfmedialegalfiles.blob.core.windows.net/files/KlugeSeventhCircuitOpinion.pdf
Oral argument for Groff v. DeJoy https://www.oyez.org/cases/2022/22-174
The results of a 2021 survey imply that the purpose of pronoun requirements are especially in order to get rid of conservative employees and civil servants. https://legermarketing.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Leger-The-Atlantic-Survey-Wokeness.pdf#page=10 found that Biden voters backed woke pronouns by a nearly 3 to 1 ratio over Trump voters. The table on page 4 shows that most people surveyed disagreed with woke pronouns: https://legermarketing.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Leger-The-Atlantic-Survey-Wokeness.pdf#page=4. It follows from this that you should not expect your article to be supported by most readers. If people aren't responding negatively to you, it may indicate that they stay quiet because they don't want to be targeted, rather than that they agree. The 14,202 Door Countyites which voted yes on Wisconsin Referendum 1 not that many years ago didn't just disappear when 5 Supreme Court justices ruled against them between eight and nine years afterwards: https://web.archive.org/web/20081127174554/http://elections.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid=10049&locid=47.
Both Champaign and Indianapolis are large cities, which can draw on outlying areas to get workers, making up for having below-replacement fertility. Door County also relies on importing workers, but because it is not a large city with lots of political power, this is less reliable. In 2020, for example, the supply of foreign J-1 workers was abruptly cut off. Door County manages to get a consider number of immigrants from outside the county, but most who relocate for longer than a season are wealthier than people residing in Door County. They also tend to be older and not looking to start new families.
Instead, as larger-scale governing bodies destabilize Door County and break down its social fabric and economy, they can use former Door Countyites to solve the worker shortages in large metro areas. Support for transgenderism is a shibboleth for the economic interests of large metro areas. This manifests itself locally as a lower quality of life and an economic leakage to outside the county. An example of this is in the letter by Janet Wilmoth about having to drive to Green Bay to see a veterinarian: https://doorcountypulse.com/letter-to-the-editor-emergency-veterinary-service-needed/.
Because it isn't a big city, Door County is especially dependent on its birth rate for its future. Its total fertility rate in 2020 was 1.533 lifetime births, well below replacement of 2.1 lifetime births. At this rate, each generation, without factoring for immigration or emigration, will be 27% smaller than the one before. However, since something like 30% to 40% of young adults leave the county, the effect is even stronger than 27%.
Transgenderism's concomitant drugs and surgeries tend towards sterilization, and towards making its subjects less attractive to the opposite sex. Assisted reproductive technologies are too expensive to be implemented on a broad scale. Transgenderism is a risk to Door County's future, because it could help push that 1.533 figure even lower. In this way, transgenderism is a demographic factor in the overall gentrification, just as unaffordable housing is an economic factor. Just as it is unwise to encourage unaffordable housing, it is unwise to encourage transgenderism.
Or even if you think replacement fertility is unrealistic and unachievable, consider that when the age structure of a population gets too unbalanced, it is harder to take care of the elderly. The struggles at Scandia Village are an example of this: https://doorcountypulse.com/scandia-village-up-for-sale/. Or should elderly people just be relocated far away, or as some think, even euthanized? Every transgender sterilization is a step in the wrong direction.
It follows then, that someone who refuses to use preferred pronouns might not be a horrible bigot who gets perverse satisfaction from it, but rather, someone who loves his or her community and wants it to have a future. Such people may even be willing to personally be on the losing side of a litmus test for the collective good.
The sponsors for Open Door Pride are listed at https://opendoorpride.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/THANK-YOU-TO-OUR-2023-SPONSORS-2-1024x576.jpg.
Some of them, such as the Miller Art Museum, Door County Community Auditorium, Peninsula Music Festival, Northern Sky Theater, have benefited from, and can expect to consider benefiting from, public, tax-funded support. Because taxpayers come from all sorts of political backgrounds, these organizations should have avoided all political activities, aside from lobbying for particular things directly related to their organization.
An example of the political trust vested in the Door County Community Auditorium is described in https://doorcountypulse.com/struggle-for-a-stage-door-community-auditorium/. But like Disney in Florida, they are engaging in partisan activity, betraying that trust. Institutions which benefit from public funding should be non-partisan and impartial. Public money should not be spent on group-think.
Most of the sponsors are local, but Carrie Busse Shorewest Realtors and Napalese are from Green Bay, the Avenue Art & Company is from Appleton, and Marketini Media is from Madison. They get to influence Door County while their cities benefit from Door County's emigrating young-adult population.
I'm not sure if this has been covered in your classes so far, or privately by your boss. If so, bear with me as I restate it. The Pulse has a different political makeup among its advertisers versus its readers. That it is a free paper tends to result in a readership which is inherently less educated than the readership of a subscription newspaper. I used to know a man who had once ran a free paper, but sold it. He was a conservative. It had a lot of general-interest content, nothing political, and especially featured ads for alcohol. Free papers tend to be read by people who read occasionally rather than regularly.
Occasional readers are less educated than regular readers, and the level of education corresponds to the political alignment. This means that natural readership of the Pulse is more conservative than the overall population of Door County. For people with a regular reading habit, the Pulse competes with a number of subscription outlets, while for occasional readers the Pulse has less competition.
Yet the Pulse isn't dominated by gas station and liquor store ads. Unlike many other free papers, its advertisers run more towards the left. This makes sense, because presently Door County has a disproportionately left-wing visitorship. One factor in the loss of right-leaning tourists may be in marketing decisions over recent decades has shifted. Right-wingers from the Chicago metro area are probably drawn more towards state parks in Indiana and other Door County alternatives. Local businesses geared toward tourists, or even seasonal residents, will probably be well-served by advertising in the Pulse.
This leaves the Pulse in the situation where it is to the left of its readership, but still financially sustainable. Its leadership must be aware of this vulnerability, as the Pulse's podcast tends to be to the left of the paper. That it sometimes leaves its readership behind is exemplified how, in the recent midterm election, Ron Johnson did not return any answers to the Pulse's questionnaire, while his Democratic opponent did. Door Countyites voted for him anyway, by a margin of only 75 votes. During the 2022 election it seems that a number of Republicans intentionally spurned media outlets over left-wing bias. To the extent that they did so, and won office anyway, this served to send a message to their base that they were unwilling to be manipulated by left-wing media. It could even be seen as a plea for fair treatment in the future.
Instead of pronouns, there are other topics out there. Recently, a large firm was paid a lot of state money to write a report which claimed that "Potawatomi was chosen in honor of the tribe that had lived in the area before ceding its land to the US government in the 1830’s."
Link: https://widnr.widen.net/view/pdf/infpwyoyy2/GRAEF-Potawatomi-Tower-Concept-Report.pdf#page=9
You could write an article debunking this, and explain what really happened. I think it would be well-received locally, though maybe not by the DNR. Had you written an article about how pronouns should always be biologically honest, that would have hurt your chances of getting a job someday as a journalist in a large metro area, but I don't think debunking Graef would hurt you. With some effort, you should be able to find other topics which are win-win for both your future career and for Door County. Although this is a social relationship, were it a biological relationship instead, this would be "mutualism" rather than "parasitism" or "predation".
submitted by ThrowAway7s2 to DoorCountyALT [link] [comments]
Dear Emma,
Supreme Court cases do not operate the way the Independent article suggests. Small details in a decision, tangential to the issue being decided, do not turn it into a landmark case, or even establish precedent. Rather, it is a decision's holding which determines whether a case is a landmark or not. The Independent is foreign owned and operated, but being a large outlet, they should know better than to put out an article like the one you linked to.
In the court system, pronoun policy is currently split at the appellate level, with the Sixth Circuit and the Seventh Circuit taking opposing sides. The Supreme Court has not weighed in on this yet, but the split makes it more likely they will choose to rule about it.
Besides this, Jonathon Turley writes at https://jonathanturley.org/2023/04/25/seventh-circuit-upholds-termination-of-high-school-teacher-who-objected-to-pronoun-policy/ that a currently pending religious accommodations case, Groff v. DeJoy, could "gut the underlying standard used by the Seventh Circuit in its ruling for the school district".
Links:
Sixth Circuit https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/21a0071p-06.pdf
Seventh Circuit https://adfmedialegalfiles.blob.core.windows.net/files/KlugeSeventhCircuitOpinion.pdf
Oral argument for Groff v. DeJoy https://www.oyez.org/cases/2022/22-174
The results of a 2021 survey imply that the purpose of pronoun requirements are especially in order to get rid of conservative employees and civil servants. https://legermarketing.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Leger-The-Atlantic-Survey-Wokeness.pdf#page=10 found that Biden voters backed woke pronouns by a nearly 3 to 1 ratio over Trump voters. The table on page 4 shows that most people surveyed disagreed with woke pronouns: https://legermarketing.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Leger-The-Atlantic-Survey-Wokeness.pdf#page=4. It follows from this that you should not expect your article to be supported by most readers. If people aren't responding negatively to you, it may indicate that they stay quiet because they don't want to be targeted, rather than that they agree. The 14,202 Door Countyites which voted yes on Wisconsin Referendum 1 not that many years ago didn't just disappear when 5 Supreme Court justices ruled against them between eight and nine years afterwards: https://web.archive.org/web/20081127174554/http://elections.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid=10049&locid=47.
Both Champaign and Indianapolis are large cities, which can draw on outlying areas to get workers, making up for having below-replacement fertility. Door County also relies on importing workers, but because it is not a large city with lots of political power, this is less reliable. In 2020, for example, the supply of foreign J-1 workers was abruptly cut off. Door County manages to get a consider number of immigrants from outside the county, but most who relocate for longer than a season are wealthier than people residing in Door County. They also tend to be older and not looking to start new families.
Instead, as larger-scale governing bodies destabilize Door County and break down its social fabric and economy, they can use former Door Countyites to solve the worker shortages in large metro areas. Support for transgenderism is a shibboleth for the economic interests of large metro areas. This manifests itself locally as a lower quality of life and an economic leakage to outside the county. An example of this is in the letter by Janet Wilmoth about having to drive to Green Bay to see a veterinarian: https://doorcountypulse.com/letter-to-the-editor-emergency-veterinary-service-needed/.
Because it isn't a big city, Door County is especially dependent on its birth rate for its future. Its total fertility rate in 2020 was 1.533 lifetime births, well below replacement of 2.1 lifetime births. At this rate, each generation, without factoring for immigration or emigration, will be 27% smaller than the one before. However, since something like 30% to 40% of young adults leave the county, the effect is even stronger than 27%.
Transgenderism's concomitant drugs and surgeries tend towards sterilization, and towards making its subjects less attractive to the opposite sex. Assisted reproductive technologies are too expensive to be implemented on a broad scale. Transgenderism is a risk to Door County's future, because it could help push that 1.533 figure even lower. In this way, transgenderism is a demographic factor in the overall gentrification, just as unaffordable housing is an economic factor. Just as it is unwise to encourage unaffordable housing, it is unwise to encourage transgenderism.
Or even if you think replacement fertility is unrealistic and unachievable, consider that when the age structure of a population gets too unbalanced, it is harder to take care of the elderly. The struggles at Scandia Village are an example of this: https://doorcountypulse.com/scandia-village-up-for-sale/. Or should elderly people just be relocated far away, or as some think, even euthanized? Every transgender sterilization is a step in the wrong direction.
It follows then, that someone who refuses to use preferred pronouns might not be a horrible bigot who gets perverse satisfaction from it, but rather, someone who loves his or her community and wants it to have a future. Such people may even be willing to personally be on the losing side of a litmus test for the collective good.
The sponsors for Open Door Pride are listed at https://opendoorpride.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/THANK-YOU-TO-OUR-2023-SPONSORS-2-1024x576.jpg.
Some of them, such as the Miller Art Museum, Door County Community Auditorium, Peninsula Music Festival, Northern Sky Theater, have benefited from, and can expect to consider benefiting from, public, tax-funded support. Because taxpayers come from all sorts of political backgrounds, these organizations should have avoided all political activities, aside from lobbying for particular things directly related to their organization.
An example of the political trust vested in the Door County Community Auditorium is described in https://doorcountypulse.com/struggle-for-a-stage-door-community-auditorium/. But like Disney in Florida, they are engaging in partisan activity, betraying that trust. Institutions which benefit from public funding should be non-partisan and impartial. Public money should not be spent on group-think.
Most of the sponsors are local, but Carrie Busse Shorewest Realtors and Napalese are from Green Bay, the Avenue Art & Company is from Appleton, and Marketini Media is from Madison. They get to influence Door County while their cities benefit from Door County's emigrating young-adult population.
I'm not sure if this has been covered in your classes so far, or privately by your boss. If so, bear with me as I restate it. The Pulse has a different political makeup among its advertisers versus its readers. That it is a free paper tends to result in a readership which is inherently less educated than the readership of a subscription newspaper. I used to know a man who had once ran a free paper, but sold it. He was a conservative. It had a lot of general-interest content, nothing political, and especially featured ads for alcohol. Free papers tend to be read by people who read occasionally rather than regularly.
Occasional readers are less educated than regular readers, and the level of education corresponds to the political alignment. This means that natural readership of the Pulse is more conservative than the overall population of Door County. For people with a regular reading habit, the Pulse competes with a number of subscription outlets, while for occasional readers the Pulse has less competition.
Yet the Pulse isn't dominated by gas station and liquor store ads. Unlike many other free papers, its advertisers run more towards the left. This makes sense, because presently Door County has a disproportionately left-wing visitorship. One factor in the loss of right-leaning tourists may be in marketing decisions over recent decades has shifted. Right-wingers from the Chicago metro area are probably drawn more towards state parks in Indiana and other Door County alternatives. Local businesses geared toward tourists, or even seasonal residents, will probably be well-served by advertising in the Pulse.
This leaves the Pulse in the situation where it is to the left of its readership, but still financially sustainable. Its leadership must be aware of this vulnerability, as the Pulse's podcast tends to be to the left of the paper. That it sometimes leaves its readership behind is exemplified how, in the recent midterm election, Ron Johnson did not return any answers to the Pulse's questionnaire, while his Democratic opponent did. Door Countyites voted for him anyway, by a margin of only 75 votes. During the 2022 election it seems that a number of Republicans intentionally spurned media outlets over left-wing bias. To the extent that they did so, and won office anyway, this served to send a message to their base that they were unwilling to be manipulated by left-wing media. It could even be seen as a plea for fair treatment in the future.
Instead of pronouns, there are other topics out there. Recently, a large firm was paid a lot of state money to write a report which claimed that "Potawatomi was chosen in honor of the tribe that had lived in the area before ceding its land to the US government in the 1830’s."
Link: https://widnr.widen.net/view/pdf/infpwyoyy2/GRAEF-Potawatomi-Tower-Concept-Report.pdf#page=9
You could write an article debunking this, and explain what really happened. I think it would be well-received locally, though maybe not by the DNR. Had you written an article about how pronouns should always be biologically honest, that would have hurt your chances of getting a job someday as a journalist in a large metro area, but I don't think debunking Graef would hurt you. With some effort, you should be able to find other topics which are win-win for both your future career and for Door County. Although this is a social relationship, were it a biological relationship instead, this would be "mutualism" rather than "parasitism" or "predation".
2023.06.10 01:22 nasadiya_sukta Is my system backup configured?
I had a bad upgrade on another Linux machine, which made me more aware of system backup on openSUSE. I understand openSUSE has system backup by default. However, I went to https://doc.opensuse.org/documentation/leap/reference/html/book-reference/cha-snapper.html, which told me that
What should I be doing to make sure I'm making system backups? It's a rolling distro after all!
submitted by nasadiya_sukta to openSUSE [link] [comments]
3.1.1 Default settings #
Edit source
Disks larger than 16 GB- Configuration file: /etc/snappeconfigs/root
- USE_SNAPPER=yes
- TIMELINE_CREATE=no
What should I be doing to make sure I'm making system backups? It's a rolling distro after all!
2023.06.10 01:09 lbabinz [Amazon] Weekly Video Game Price Drops (June 2 - 9)
2023.06.10 01:09 angusplays1 Xbox series controller on steam?
It has been 3 years for me now almost and I’ve only owned Apple silicon macs and a series controller and no steam game has ever worked besides feral interactive who gave me a .plist file. Currently struggling with no man’s sky and even after a steam request they said they’d fix it and to go in the steam beta and it’s been 2 years! Starting to lose all hope.
submitted by angusplays1 to macgaming [link] [comments]
2023.06.10 00:43 YouSmellFunky Daily Releases (June 9, 2023)
Windows
| Game | Group | Store | Score (Reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voidigo | TENOKE | Steam | 98% (2k) |
| Mask of the Rose | TENOKE | Steam, GOG | 53% (72) |
| Harmony: The Fall of Reverie | TENOKE | Steam | 100% (7) |
| System of Souls | TENOKE | Steam | 100% (1) |
| James Peris 2: The fountain of eternal drunkenness | TENOKE | Steam | - |
| Vacation Paradise: Florida | RAZOR | Big Fish Games | - |
| Update | Group | Store | Score (Reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| No_Mans_Sky_Singularity | Razor1911 | Steam | 78% (265.6k) |
| Pathfinder.Wrath.of.the.Righteous.Enhanced.Edition.The.Last.Sarkorians.Update.v2.1.4v.906 | I_KnoW | Steam | 85% (27.1k) |
| Warhammer_Underworlds_Shadespire_Edition_Update_v1.8.8 | DINOByTES | Steam, GOG | 62% (1.5k) |
| Lone.Fungus.Update.v1.0.19 | TENOKE | Steam | 91% (429) |
| We.Love.Katamari.REROLL.Royal.Reverie.Update.v20230608 | TENOKE | Steam | 96% (372) |
| Poly.Bridge.3.Update.v1.0.6 | TENOKE | Steam | 95% (259) |
| Floor44.Update.v1.7.36 | TENOKE | Steam | 61% (103) |
| Silent.Nights.Update.v20230317 | TENOKE | Steam | 83% (63) |
| DLC | Group | Store | Score (Reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sands of Salzaar - The Ember Saga | RUNE | Steam | 100% (6) |
| Automobilista 2 - Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya | RUNE | Steam | - |
| I Am Your President - Prove Yourself Scenario | SKIDROW | Steam | 100% (1) |
<< June 8, 2023
Q&A
Q: When will [insert game name here] be cracked?A: STOP! CrackWatch members are not psychic. Games get cracked by completely ANONYMOUS SCENE GROUPS who don't disclose their progress or plans to the general public so NO ONE knows WHEN and IF a certain game will be cracked.
Q: What are all these NFO thingies? Where do I download?
A: NFOs are text files included with game releases which contain information about the releases. CrackWatch only informs which games have been cracked. To download look for the releases on CS.RIN.RU's forum or torrent websites. Useful websites can be found in The Beginners Guide or PiratedGames's Mega Thread.
Q: WTF is Denuvo?
A: Denuvo is a Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology used to protect games from being cracked. Games that have Denuvo are harder to crack and usually take much longer. See Pinned Post for a list of Denuvo games.
Q: An update is out, but it includes the base game as well! Can I only download the update without redownloading the entire game?
A: Yes. CS.RIN.RU is your friend.
2023.06.10 00:08 StringfellowHawkes Her Card
I pulled her card from my lockbox today. I couldn’t bring myself to remove it from its wrapping though. I’ll explain the card in a little while. Even in just that briefest of moments though, the tears became too thick. I so wanted to see her name. Instead I decided to only go back to the memories. They bring enough tears. So I put the card back but need to tell my story of that memory. So thank you for your time in letting me indulge dear Reader. I know your time is precious and I am loquacious of a sort.
The place I used to work at a long, long time ago, Croc’s, was an odd duck. It was a Transformer of sorts. During the day and early evening it was a damn good Mexican restaurant. One of the best in town. Lunch was insane. Dinner was a respite. But on Friday, Saturdays, some Thursdays, and almost every holiday eve, it was… I don’t even have words. Nothing like what went on in those walls had been seen in Denver at the time. We had lines around blocks. The plural is not a mistake. On those nights, Croc’s was THE place to be in Denver. The owners got there before everyone else and had hit a jackpot with the place. The Rockies were starting over at Mile High and moving to LoDo soon. LoDo was booming and we were in the middle of it partying like no tomorrow every night.
But this isn’t about that amazing place, that’s for another day. Nope. This is about her, her son and I. Or rather, about loss and memories. But it all started at Croc’s and you needed to know what a breath of a moment in time we shared there. Not on one of those crazy nights but one lazy Sunday when we were pretty slow.
I mentioned the restaurant was an odd duck. See, it was designed so that from breakfast through dinner and into very early evening, it was a purposeful, full-fledged, extremely popular, and well reviewed dining establishment. But after that, it was designed so we could remove every table, chair, stool and booth. We essentially turned the whole restaurant into a giant dance floor with a bar that spanned half the distance of the long wall topped with massive tequila and booze pyramids. The wells were at either end with a plant potter behind them for storage. It was split level(ish) with a few VIP areas squirreled away. State of the art DJ booth on the south end of the bar. Oh and did I mention we had a 28 foot replica of a Nile croc suspended from the roof named “Hal”.
The owners were a group of friends who had grown up in the business. One of them was from the family that started Senior Frogs and the like down in Mexico. They had all met and worked at some of the hottest places in the state and been to some of the craziest places around the Americas. So when I say no one had seen anything like it, they hadn’t. We had a person that would blow tequila from a custom bong into a partier's mouth from 30 feet away. Our DJ’s were the best in town. We poached the absolute best in talent from every bar in a 4000 mile radius. That movie “Cocktail”? Yeah, that was this place on steroids. Hell, beside myself and 1 or 2 other guys, our security eventually turned into off duty SWAT cops. All these places around Denver and, hell, around the country you see now? Yeah these guys started it right there in LoDo.
It was the paper and crayons we would put on every table though where my memory begins.
There had been other places that had done what we did with the butcher block paper. It went on every table with crayons. It wasn’t the most innovative thing there but it was fun and the patrons enjoyed it. Many great artists out there! And of course the kids loved it. A lot of the folks who lived around there would bring their kids with them for lunch or dinner. I worked a lot of Sunday day shifts because a) everyone was hung over and never wanted to work and b) it was usually a nice bit of quiet after two nights that would make Caligula jealous. Plus the people who did come in were usually pretty cool and just out for a good meal. It was pretty chill after all that joyous chaos.
My section was usually the front lifted area just in front of the potters and a few tables in the middle. I was splitting with the other server that day since it was more dead than usual. A beautiful Colorado day back then. Blue sky with puffy clouds. Perfect temperature with no wind so the front doors to the small little patio were open. You could smell the flowers from across the street. The other server let me know she had sat a couple of people at one of my four tops. Sounded good so I headed out to say hello.
It was customary for us to write our name on the paper when we showed up. It was hokie but everyone loved it. It was our way of saying welcome and have fun! Some servers could do it upside down but I could never get the hang of that.
I headed down the bar toward the front, preoccupied with getting my marker out for the intro. I remember coming around the corner of the potter and just kind of coming to a juddering stop at the top step, tripping and almost falling on my face. Luckily she was a little preoccupied with her son and getting him situated so she missed seeing me make a gobsmacked fool out of myself.
I luckily regained what little balance I could alongside some composure quick enough to walk up and say hi. She said hi and then kind of waited. “Oh yeah dumbass” I said to myself as I told her, or rather flubbed, my name as I wrote it in the corner so they could read it right side up. She giggled a little bit as most people did with my nickname at the time. I hadn’t noticed but her son had been waiting the whole time for that moment. He grabbed his crayon and wrote his name and her name in front of them. “That’s a good name isn’t it?” I asked him. I told him it was the same as mine but the longer version. He was a little surprised by this as I went by “Scooter” back then. It took a second but he quickly realized it was a nickname. He had signed the long version of our name and said that’s what he liked. Right on man, you got it. Damn smart kid. You can tell, ya know?
After that briefest of moments, I shook myself a little and introduced myself for, I think the fourth time now. She tells me her name but it is instantly gone. Not only because of the effect this moment is having on me, but just because I am bad with names on the first go around. I don’t think we heard what either was saying anyway. Our eyes were locked and in that moment, it was all that mattered somehow. I can remember how deeply they shined. Her hair was a little damp and unkempt like someone in a hurry but has that respect for herself. Dark like her eyes but shining from the light outside. A simple blue/light purple and white striped shirt. Slightly damp around the shoulders. Worn jeans. Not the designer type but jeans aged with a good strong life. Blue canvas deck shoes with the white souls if I remember that part right. Maybe black canvas. I saw all this without ever breaking her gaze.
It was as if in the same moment we both realized we were in the same place together but not there alone. A moment later we both found ourselves apologizing for talking over the other. Sheepishly, like teens on their first date. Giggling a bit. Not knowing what was happening but knowing that something most definitely was. I apologized for the awkwardness and I think I cracked a joke or something but neither of us knew what to do. There was a calm panic and, I dare to say, a longing that was unknown?
It was her son who brought us both back to reality. He had asked if we had Coke or Pepsi. I shook myself internally again and told him we had Coke but could find some Pepsi if he really wanted it. Luckily he was not a Pepsi kid. I also told him that, yes, I would be happy to add a cherry to it. This time though when I met his eyes, I looked at myself when I was that age, as I answered that question. I hadn’t noticed it. Like a mirror as they say. Dark brown hair full of cowlicks. Round face with a big smile. Getting that cherry meant the world to him. I remembered that same feeling again through him. It was like looking at a version of myself I only saw in pictures.
At this very second in time I remember being terrified. Not “scared” terrified. It was more like, holy shite is this happening? What is going on? I wanted to turn and run and hide but somehow regained what little composure was left in that split second. I turned back to her and saw that she had just seen what I had seen. I could see wonder, joy, confusion, happiness, peace, thrill, fear and hope that I am sure were being reflected in my own eyes. We both needed a few minutes. We each could see it. It was overwhelming. Again, not a bad overwhelming but one of those moments where you need to put your hands on your knees and take some big, deep breaths.
The whole 3 or 4 minutes were surreal. And I will never forget them. I will fight as hard as I can to hold onto the others I have of both of them.
Somehow I managed to Charlie Chaplin myself away to get their drink order. I believe hers was a Sprite with a lemon. Normally I would go right around the corner of the plant potter and get the sodas from the guns there. Instead I went all the way to the back station. I needed to breathe. It seemed like an hour but I headed back. By this time the son was going to town. He had talent and it showed. It seemed like we had regained ourselves somewhat but the whole meal was kind of like an episode out of a teen comedy. We giggled, laughed, blushed, and did all the other things you would expect to see from two teenagers who discover they like each other. It wasn’t like I was trying to stay with them, or they tried to keep me there. It just kind of happened. I’d start to go away and she would ask me back for something simple. I would bring something I had forgotten in case they needed it. The whole meal went that way.
When they were done and ready to go, I was dreading it. Should I ask her out? She had mentioned she was single. It felt like I should ask her out. Like I said, the whole visit was surreal. There was no ring or even a suntan line of one (Don’t judge me, it was a different time). I wasn’t seeing anyone either. We seemed to get along amazingly, both her and her son. Even my fellow server noticed and was egging me on. It was obvious. Doing something like that with a client back then happened. Not usually in the first 30 seconds but you never know. I made up my mind to walk them out as I had no other tables and see what happened. I took the check to the table. She was packing her bag. I had gotten a refill for his togo cup and handed it to him. He said thank you and said he drew something for me. They had carefully torn it from the paper and he handed it to me. It was the three of us holding hands. How I held the tears then I do not know. I was a different person there at that precise point in time. At this moment those tears are here though.
I bent down to his level and thanked him sincerely. He said he was glad I liked it and he hugged me. I heard her try to stifle her gasp. Thank any or no gods or whoever for him. He let go, grabbed his Mom’s hand and said he was ready to go. As I stood up I could see tears welling in her eyes. He hadn’t done that to another man in, what she said, was a very long time she would tell me in a quiet voice as we started to walk toward the door. That was it. I didn’t know what to do. I hadn’t even noticed that when we got to the big double doors, he had grabbed my hand. It just was there.
By this time I do not think either of us really knew what to do or what was going on. I mean, this was an impromptu outing to a place her son had liked because of the paper. It was a cheap and good lunch and then off to wherever for them and another table for me while I rolled silverware in the back or stocked the empty quicks from the previous night. But it seemed like it had been years together but only moments, if that makes sense? I certainly did not know what to do at this point. I think I mumbled what a delight it was to be able to spend time with them and I hoped they had enjoyed themselves or something like that. I honestly could not tell you. By this time she had regained herself somewhat. That girlishness turned into an elegance, beauty and strength that I had not seen before. But those same feelings exchanged in that momentary glance were still there. As was still a bit of moisture along the bottom of her eyes. We made a bit of small talk till he got a bit antsy and wanted to head off.
As we said our goodbyes that day, almost at the same time, we asked our questions. I asked if she would like to come by again soon with her son. His birthday was coming up I think and I could get the guys in back to make him something special. At least I think that was it. Her’s was if it would be ok if they came back soon. You know because the little guy liked drawing and the food. More childish giggling and laughing. And before she left she gave me her card and said to call if I was going to be working again on a Sunday or just whenever. As they walked together, hand in hand down and around the corner, I just stared at them and then the card over and over.
That very card I put back in a safe place tonight.
She was a designer as it turned out. I didn’t pry into her past as it sounded like it wasn’t all that great at times. She came by the restaurant a few more times after that. I then called once or twice to say hi and how they were doing and to let her know to come by. Eventually she asked me out. We spent some time together and it started to get a little more serious. She was a few years older but not by much. She was driven and forthright. Quick witted and compassionate. And such a good Mom with a massive heart. I was young then, somewhat good looking, fairly well paid and worked at the hottest spot in the state. And I had this woman I couldn’t get out of my head. Even my coworkers knew and could see what was going on whenever we were together. Either just the two of us or all three of us. Walking on clouds was an apt statement. At this point I want to point out that while I am no saint whatsoever, I do consider myself a decent person. At least I was back then and for the most part today. Things have changed as they always do but I digress.
Eventually the moment came. The serious date. She had a small but fantastic apartment downtown and wanted to make me dinner for once. I don’t think she was done asking before I said yes. We set a date for later that week. I remember it was a Saturday because me taking a night off from that place, with all its amazing moments each night to the amount of money you walked out with each night to leaving one of the other bouncers with one of the other guys he wasn’t used to, was a pretty big deal. Had to call in favors but everyone just said go. No one there batted an eye. They all seemed to know what a big deal this was somehow.
We set it for a little later in the evening so I could get things in proper working fashion up front of the house and then head over. Any of you who have worked in a restaurant know that smell you get. Kind of need to have worked in that environment to know I guess. So that night, I didn’t have time to head home then come back. So I had a change of clothes and a vanity bag so I could clean up in the back. Wouldn’t be the first time I got sprayed down by the dishwasher but probably a first for this reason. Cleaned up pretty well, freshly shaved and quaffed, walking so far above Cloud 9 I lost track of which one I was on. Headed out to put the work kit and bag in the truck. On the way out a few who knew what had been going on smiled or waved.
And off I went. I was a little late but she said she had expected it given the night of the week. Back then, downtown Denver was different. Colorado was different. I guess everywhere was different back then. But in this instance, I mean in an architectural way. You didn’t have the towers all around LoDo as you do now. From some rooftops you could still watch a sunset over the mountains. Say what you will, even I have to admit that a purple and orange sunset over the mountains is quite possibly the most beautiful natural thing I have seen. It is immense but oh so fleeting. Just like our lives I guess. You could still hear birds and bugs over cars at times. I wouldn’t say it was peaceful but it was at least calm?
She was lucky as her apartment, though smallish, came with a hidden bonus. Her window allowed her to access the roof on the next building. A part of it anyway. But this little slice of hidden wonder allowed a view down Market Street, across Spear, over Auraria and then the mountain view. It was stunning. Like the apartment, the space was just cozy enough for two to enjoy a little rooftop barbeque and dining. She gave me the quick tour and we poured some wine. She was going through the menu as we “headed outside”. The door was a small little window. I remember scratching my head and thinking I may not fit out there. She handled it with the grace of a ballerina and said I could do it. It took a minute or two but I contorted my clumsy self outside. And she was right. It was spectacular.
Not just the view but what she had done with her little corner of peace. She had talked with the building owner who agreed that she could use this space as he didn't even know about it. It was like something out of a commercial today. A nice little seating couch type niche. Well built trellis with some small Christmas lights for effect. A little brick grilling area with a hibachi going. I can still smell it. The table with candles and dinnerware. Decking. I was taken aback. The way it was situated insulated her from the sounds down below. You could hear them but it was almost like distant white noise. It was just peaceful. I remember remarking about this. She said she discovered it by accident when her son thought it might be a good play area.
Dinner was wonderful. The night went on. There wasn’t a sense of time. Just us there in that little part of the universe that was only hers. To this day I do not think I felt that safe before anywhere nor since. Someone was letting me into one of their most sacred spots. Literally and figuratively. I felt privileged. Almost as though I was treading somewhere I shouldn’t be. I think that thought was my downfall however. Don’t worry dear Reader, you will understand all that very soon. We watched that sunset. It was perfect. The right contrast of colors. Just the right amount of clouds to change those colors ever so slightly. A reminder of how something can change for the simplest of reasons.
As night grew darker it started to get cold. The goosebumps we were feeling on each other's skin holding hands and looking at the stars weren’t just from feelings. It was getting cool so we moved inside. After safely dousing the grill and making sure the coals were in their proper place, we cleaned up. Since it was easier, I stayed outside and handed them into the house to her. We figured it would be safer for the dishes. Giggled some more as we came to realize more and more things about each other at the same time. Finally the outside was clear. I stood outside for another minute to take in what was happening. I think that is then that little bit of fear weeded its way in without my realizing it. This was as close to perfect as I could ever dream I thought.
After squeezing back inside, assisted again but ok with that, we cleaned up the dishes and opened another bottle of wine. The inside was just as cozy. At some point she had lit some more candles and had some soft music going. Light jazz if I remember. Not loud at all. Again, there, just outside the periphery. Sitting on the couch I can feel her sitting next to me. We are close. Two people holding each other wanting to believe but not sure if this is real. There was almost a vibration. The constant goosebumps were not because of the cold anymore. Once we were both comfortable and we just talked. For hours and hours. There were the intimate moments but nothing scandalous. A tenuous kiss from one to the other.
We talked about what two people talk about who truly want to know the other. I believe we asked as many honest questions of ourselves as we did of the other. We really, truly, wholly wanted to know each other. And that is what we did. The more we talked the more comfortable we felt. Each of us had our scars that were not easily revealed. Nor did we reveal all of them that night and guarded them well. But we each wanted to know if the other was someone we could trust with those deepest places that we all hide in the darkest parts of our soul.
We talked a little about her son’s father but not in depth. It was easy to see that was one of the scars. We talked about her son. Why she was so astonished that first day. My heart wrenches this very moment dear Reader upon remembering that. Her hopes for him. His likes and his dislikes. Some of the stories parents tell others to embarrass their children later in life. We talked about what futures there could be not for us but for him and his world. He really was an amazing kid and I am sure has grown up to be someone she can be proud of. Time did not exist that night. Feelings and thoughts were exchanged that did not need to be said. We just knew each other that night.
We never did finish the second bottle if memory serves, we talked, laughed and sat together in peaceful comfort and gave no care about anything else. But tomorrow was coming as it always does and we had to leave each other. I remember the closeness as we held each other. The pressure of two bodies at that singular moment in time. That one instant that feels as though it could last through infinity. When two become one and feel the safety, love, compassion, trust and sameness that is rarely, if ever experienced.
Pardon me dear Reader but must ask a moment to compose myself. We are getting close to the end of my tale so also ask for just a bit more of your time. I know how so very precious it is. Thank you for allowing me to continue.
I do not know how long we held each other. To this day I wish it had been so much longer however. I do remember leaving. Working where I did, I was sadly but actively very familiar with many different levels and types of inebriation. That feeling that morning however was something that surpassed all that I had experienced in my life. I had never felt like this. I knew that the sun was starting to come up as I parked my car. I knew that I got through the door, downstairs and then fell asleep. I wasn’t drunk. It was pure. A pure love, happiness, joy and trust I had never felt from someone else. This feeling was so powerful it had knocked me for a loop that I just was not ready for.
I awoke later that day, thankful I didn’t have to work. It was late in the afternoon and I felt like I had been hit by a bus but didn’t care. I believe that the night before we both had excised many things that we had held inside for so long. I could (and can) still remember the whole night if not the words. I felt like one does after you give everything physically possible to something and have nothing left to give. But it felt right. Regardless of the ending, I do believe that, even though brief, that night, two people who had needed to find each other did. I think they needed to know that there was at least one person who understood, even if they hadn’t needed to actually say anything.
Now dear Reader I must ask you to remember that part about fear. Given my early life and life up to that point and to this day, I do find it very hard to trust. So this was something I had to confront. And so I started to. Instead of seeing what she saw in me, I saw the things I thought were ugly. I got scared that those scars would be peeled away and she would be repulsed. And these thoughts and fears grew. We still saw each other and talked for a while after that night. But my fear took over quickly. Before I knew it I had driven her away. There was no maliciousness about it. The thoughts that had ruled my life for so long before her and then after her, to this day, always got to the same thing. If you let her in, she will leave because of who you are. It was idiotic but it was ingrained at this point. I eventually told her I didn’t think it was going to work out. The truth was that I was scared. Scared to let her in. I hated myself for not being honest with her. She would have understood. Probably more than any other.
After that, I went on with my life as a young person does in that atmosphere. I saw her one time after that final talk. She waved as she and her son sat in a section away from mine. I waved back and remembered going out back and beating the hell out of our cooler there. I was so mad at myself then. While the anger passed as life threw one thing at me after another as it does until I find myself here today writing this, the pain of losing her has never healed. Nor do I want it to. That pain also brings memories that I so rarely experience anymore. I buried it for a long, long, long time but recently I find myself thinking about her and her son more and more. What would have been?
For you see dear Reader, that moment was my perfect chance. Not long ago in my life I was diagnosed with cancer. I eventually beat it but it has long since ruined my life. But that is not why I tell this tale. I ask for no sympathy. My life is where I am supposed to be. I have come to peace with that. To an extent I guess anyway. The reason it was my perfect chance is this. I was also diagnosed with a genetic defect which essentially makes me a cancer producer with no natural way to fight it. My mothers father died of colon and pancreatic cancer. My Mother has beaten 5 different bouts of cancer. I have been tested and confirmed. So if I had had a child, I would more than likely have passed that to them. After listening to what my mother watched her father go through. After watching my own Mother fight this monster 5 times and win each time. After all that I was horrified to learn that I could have passed this monster to someone I would have loved with all my heart.
I never married and never had a child. For most of my life I regretted that most of all to the point of shame. I am the last person in my familial lineage that will ever carry my name. My line dies with me. For the longest time that has been a great burden. However, after the geneticist confirmed me and a great deal of internal contemplation, with the aid of hindsight, part of me is glad that I never had a wife and child who would have to go through the horrors I have heard about, watched and gone through first hand and personally. That at least brings me a modicum of inner peace. Do not be fooled ever though. This monster is evil. It takes everything from all but the luckiest.
And I had my moment of perfect chance. Even though I did not know it at the time, I had an opportunity to spend the rest of my life with two someones who I truly believe to this day, loved me. Even if for so very briefly. I gave up the chance to be able to be a husband and care for someone I believe I loved and loved me. I had a chance to be the father I wanted to be without passing on my monster. To see a child grow into their best self. I get angry at times that I did this. Not necessarily my own selfish needs. I am also mad that this person trusted me and I couldn’t do the same in the end. That I let a child down who for his own reasons let me in when he shut others out. That we could have been the family we could have been. And I ran because I was scared. I can never forgive myself for doing that to them. This may sound selfish and perhaps it is but it is my history.
And now dear Reader we come to the end of my tale. Where it all began.
Her card.
I think you will understand why I put it away instead of taking it out after this. I mentioned that she was a designer. Her card is exquisite. I don’t need to see it to describe it. There is a silver cord ribbon wrapped around a waxed paper tied in a bow. It sparkles silver but is brittle after all the years. I can slide the card out carefully but don’t want to take a chance of damaging it. My hands aren’t the best anymore. The writing on the card is done with a most excellent penmanship in purple over white with black. The backing is white with the black used as border highlighting with purple as the border and main color. There is a bit of sparkle in one of the purples but not a garish amount. Just enough to catch the eye. The back is similar with details of her work at the time as well as some contact information. I don’t know if she did this on all of them, but there was a scent of her perfume that accompanied it for a while. It, like much else, has faded.
We all have a place to keep our most precious items. This one rarely leaves that place for me.
So in the really bad times dear Reader, I try to look at that card. I say try because it is very painful to try to do so. Today was one of those days and I wanted to share it. In the end I couldn’t get past the tears to look at it so returned it to its safety. Not really because of the pain. Believe me, the pain is there in vast amounts. But because of that first moment. I needed to remember what that feeling was like. I needed to remember what it is to look in another's eyes and see the whole universe and all its infinite possibilities. Some regrets, regardless of time, will always follow you. Be honest about that with yourself dear Reader. Today I needed to remember her and him. I needed that acceptance. That peace. That joy, That trust. That love.
This time however I needed to commit this to our history so that perhaps at least one other will read it and maybe it will impact somehow. This is not meant to be a moralistic tale. It is just a tale of love lost. A life that could have been different. I hope, dear Reader, that your life is filled with wonder and love. Do not miss a single chance in your life because of fear. Be cautious but be open. Your world is massive but also miniscule. The chances don’t happen often anymore so grab them and hold onto them when you can. Try to think of all possibilities and look through others' eyes. But most importantly. If you do find your perfect moment, do not let it go dear Reader. It may never come again.
That is the end of my tale. I thank you so much dear Reader. As I have said many times, your time is precious and I have taken enough. Safe journeys to you my friend.
submitted by StringfellowHawkes to lostlove [link] [comments]
The place I used to work at a long, long time ago, Croc’s, was an odd duck. It was a Transformer of sorts. During the day and early evening it was a damn good Mexican restaurant. One of the best in town. Lunch was insane. Dinner was a respite. But on Friday, Saturdays, some Thursdays, and almost every holiday eve, it was… I don’t even have words. Nothing like what went on in those walls had been seen in Denver at the time. We had lines around blocks. The plural is not a mistake. On those nights, Croc’s was THE place to be in Denver. The owners got there before everyone else and had hit a jackpot with the place. The Rockies were starting over at Mile High and moving to LoDo soon. LoDo was booming and we were in the middle of it partying like no tomorrow every night.
But this isn’t about that amazing place, that’s for another day. Nope. This is about her, her son and I. Or rather, about loss and memories. But it all started at Croc’s and you needed to know what a breath of a moment in time we shared there. Not on one of those crazy nights but one lazy Sunday when we were pretty slow.
I mentioned the restaurant was an odd duck. See, it was designed so that from breakfast through dinner and into very early evening, it was a purposeful, full-fledged, extremely popular, and well reviewed dining establishment. But after that, it was designed so we could remove every table, chair, stool and booth. We essentially turned the whole restaurant into a giant dance floor with a bar that spanned half the distance of the long wall topped with massive tequila and booze pyramids. The wells were at either end with a plant potter behind them for storage. It was split level(ish) with a few VIP areas squirreled away. State of the art DJ booth on the south end of the bar. Oh and did I mention we had a 28 foot replica of a Nile croc suspended from the roof named “Hal”.
The owners were a group of friends who had grown up in the business. One of them was from the family that started Senior Frogs and the like down in Mexico. They had all met and worked at some of the hottest places in the state and been to some of the craziest places around the Americas. So when I say no one had seen anything like it, they hadn’t. We had a person that would blow tequila from a custom bong into a partier's mouth from 30 feet away. Our DJ’s were the best in town. We poached the absolute best in talent from every bar in a 4000 mile radius. That movie “Cocktail”? Yeah, that was this place on steroids. Hell, beside myself and 1 or 2 other guys, our security eventually turned into off duty SWAT cops. All these places around Denver and, hell, around the country you see now? Yeah these guys started it right there in LoDo.
It was the paper and crayons we would put on every table though where my memory begins.
There had been other places that had done what we did with the butcher block paper. It went on every table with crayons. It wasn’t the most innovative thing there but it was fun and the patrons enjoyed it. Many great artists out there! And of course the kids loved it. A lot of the folks who lived around there would bring their kids with them for lunch or dinner. I worked a lot of Sunday day shifts because a) everyone was hung over and never wanted to work and b) it was usually a nice bit of quiet after two nights that would make Caligula jealous. Plus the people who did come in were usually pretty cool and just out for a good meal. It was pretty chill after all that joyous chaos.
My section was usually the front lifted area just in front of the potters and a few tables in the middle. I was splitting with the other server that day since it was more dead than usual. A beautiful Colorado day back then. Blue sky with puffy clouds. Perfect temperature with no wind so the front doors to the small little patio were open. You could smell the flowers from across the street. The other server let me know she had sat a couple of people at one of my four tops. Sounded good so I headed out to say hello.
It was customary for us to write our name on the paper when we showed up. It was hokie but everyone loved it. It was our way of saying welcome and have fun! Some servers could do it upside down but I could never get the hang of that.
I headed down the bar toward the front, preoccupied with getting my marker out for the intro. I remember coming around the corner of the potter and just kind of coming to a juddering stop at the top step, tripping and almost falling on my face. Luckily she was a little preoccupied with her son and getting him situated so she missed seeing me make a gobsmacked fool out of myself.
I luckily regained what little balance I could alongside some composure quick enough to walk up and say hi. She said hi and then kind of waited. “Oh yeah dumbass” I said to myself as I told her, or rather flubbed, my name as I wrote it in the corner so they could read it right side up. She giggled a little bit as most people did with my nickname at the time. I hadn’t noticed but her son had been waiting the whole time for that moment. He grabbed his crayon and wrote his name and her name in front of them. “That’s a good name isn’t it?” I asked him. I told him it was the same as mine but the longer version. He was a little surprised by this as I went by “Scooter” back then. It took a second but he quickly realized it was a nickname. He had signed the long version of our name and said that’s what he liked. Right on man, you got it. Damn smart kid. You can tell, ya know?
After that briefest of moments, I shook myself a little and introduced myself for, I think the fourth time now. She tells me her name but it is instantly gone. Not only because of the effect this moment is having on me, but just because I am bad with names on the first go around. I don’t think we heard what either was saying anyway. Our eyes were locked and in that moment, it was all that mattered somehow. I can remember how deeply they shined. Her hair was a little damp and unkempt like someone in a hurry but has that respect for herself. Dark like her eyes but shining from the light outside. A simple blue/light purple and white striped shirt. Slightly damp around the shoulders. Worn jeans. Not the designer type but jeans aged with a good strong life. Blue canvas deck shoes with the white souls if I remember that part right. Maybe black canvas. I saw all this without ever breaking her gaze.
It was as if in the same moment we both realized we were in the same place together but not there alone. A moment later we both found ourselves apologizing for talking over the other. Sheepishly, like teens on their first date. Giggling a bit. Not knowing what was happening but knowing that something most definitely was. I apologized for the awkwardness and I think I cracked a joke or something but neither of us knew what to do. There was a calm panic and, I dare to say, a longing that was unknown?
It was her son who brought us both back to reality. He had asked if we had Coke or Pepsi. I shook myself internally again and told him we had Coke but could find some Pepsi if he really wanted it. Luckily he was not a Pepsi kid. I also told him that, yes, I would be happy to add a cherry to it. This time though when I met his eyes, I looked at myself when I was that age, as I answered that question. I hadn’t noticed it. Like a mirror as they say. Dark brown hair full of cowlicks. Round face with a big smile. Getting that cherry meant the world to him. I remembered that same feeling again through him. It was like looking at a version of myself I only saw in pictures.
At this very second in time I remember being terrified. Not “scared” terrified. It was more like, holy shite is this happening? What is going on? I wanted to turn and run and hide but somehow regained what little composure was left in that split second. I turned back to her and saw that she had just seen what I had seen. I could see wonder, joy, confusion, happiness, peace, thrill, fear and hope that I am sure were being reflected in my own eyes. We both needed a few minutes. We each could see it. It was overwhelming. Again, not a bad overwhelming but one of those moments where you need to put your hands on your knees and take some big, deep breaths.
The whole 3 or 4 minutes were surreal. And I will never forget them. I will fight as hard as I can to hold onto the others I have of both of them.
Somehow I managed to Charlie Chaplin myself away to get their drink order. I believe hers was a Sprite with a lemon. Normally I would go right around the corner of the plant potter and get the sodas from the guns there. Instead I went all the way to the back station. I needed to breathe. It seemed like an hour but I headed back. By this time the son was going to town. He had talent and it showed. It seemed like we had regained ourselves somewhat but the whole meal was kind of like an episode out of a teen comedy. We giggled, laughed, blushed, and did all the other things you would expect to see from two teenagers who discover they like each other. It wasn’t like I was trying to stay with them, or they tried to keep me there. It just kind of happened. I’d start to go away and she would ask me back for something simple. I would bring something I had forgotten in case they needed it. The whole meal went that way.
When they were done and ready to go, I was dreading it. Should I ask her out? She had mentioned she was single. It felt like I should ask her out. Like I said, the whole visit was surreal. There was no ring or even a suntan line of one (Don’t judge me, it was a different time). I wasn’t seeing anyone either. We seemed to get along amazingly, both her and her son. Even my fellow server noticed and was egging me on. It was obvious. Doing something like that with a client back then happened. Not usually in the first 30 seconds but you never know. I made up my mind to walk them out as I had no other tables and see what happened. I took the check to the table. She was packing her bag. I had gotten a refill for his togo cup and handed it to him. He said thank you and said he drew something for me. They had carefully torn it from the paper and he handed it to me. It was the three of us holding hands. How I held the tears then I do not know. I was a different person there at that precise point in time. At this moment those tears are here though.
I bent down to his level and thanked him sincerely. He said he was glad I liked it and he hugged me. I heard her try to stifle her gasp. Thank any or no gods or whoever for him. He let go, grabbed his Mom’s hand and said he was ready to go. As I stood up I could see tears welling in her eyes. He hadn’t done that to another man in, what she said, was a very long time she would tell me in a quiet voice as we started to walk toward the door. That was it. I didn’t know what to do. I hadn’t even noticed that when we got to the big double doors, he had grabbed my hand. It just was there.
By this time I do not think either of us really knew what to do or what was going on. I mean, this was an impromptu outing to a place her son had liked because of the paper. It was a cheap and good lunch and then off to wherever for them and another table for me while I rolled silverware in the back or stocked the empty quicks from the previous night. But it seemed like it had been years together but only moments, if that makes sense? I certainly did not know what to do at this point. I think I mumbled what a delight it was to be able to spend time with them and I hoped they had enjoyed themselves or something like that. I honestly could not tell you. By this time she had regained herself somewhat. That girlishness turned into an elegance, beauty and strength that I had not seen before. But those same feelings exchanged in that momentary glance were still there. As was still a bit of moisture along the bottom of her eyes. We made a bit of small talk till he got a bit antsy and wanted to head off.
As we said our goodbyes that day, almost at the same time, we asked our questions. I asked if she would like to come by again soon with her son. His birthday was coming up I think and I could get the guys in back to make him something special. At least I think that was it. Her’s was if it would be ok if they came back soon. You know because the little guy liked drawing and the food. More childish giggling and laughing. And before she left she gave me her card and said to call if I was going to be working again on a Sunday or just whenever. As they walked together, hand in hand down and around the corner, I just stared at them and then the card over and over.
That very card I put back in a safe place tonight.
She was a designer as it turned out. I didn’t pry into her past as it sounded like it wasn’t all that great at times. She came by the restaurant a few more times after that. I then called once or twice to say hi and how they were doing and to let her know to come by. Eventually she asked me out. We spent some time together and it started to get a little more serious. She was a few years older but not by much. She was driven and forthright. Quick witted and compassionate. And such a good Mom with a massive heart. I was young then, somewhat good looking, fairly well paid and worked at the hottest spot in the state. And I had this woman I couldn’t get out of my head. Even my coworkers knew and could see what was going on whenever we were together. Either just the two of us or all three of us. Walking on clouds was an apt statement. At this point I want to point out that while I am no saint whatsoever, I do consider myself a decent person. At least I was back then and for the most part today. Things have changed as they always do but I digress.
Eventually the moment came. The serious date. She had a small but fantastic apartment downtown and wanted to make me dinner for once. I don’t think she was done asking before I said yes. We set a date for later that week. I remember it was a Saturday because me taking a night off from that place, with all its amazing moments each night to the amount of money you walked out with each night to leaving one of the other bouncers with one of the other guys he wasn’t used to, was a pretty big deal. Had to call in favors but everyone just said go. No one there batted an eye. They all seemed to know what a big deal this was somehow.
We set it for a little later in the evening so I could get things in proper working fashion up front of the house and then head over. Any of you who have worked in a restaurant know that smell you get. Kind of need to have worked in that environment to know I guess. So that night, I didn’t have time to head home then come back. So I had a change of clothes and a vanity bag so I could clean up in the back. Wouldn’t be the first time I got sprayed down by the dishwasher but probably a first for this reason. Cleaned up pretty well, freshly shaved and quaffed, walking so far above Cloud 9 I lost track of which one I was on. Headed out to put the work kit and bag in the truck. On the way out a few who knew what had been going on smiled or waved.
And off I went. I was a little late but she said she had expected it given the night of the week. Back then, downtown Denver was different. Colorado was different. I guess everywhere was different back then. But in this instance, I mean in an architectural way. You didn’t have the towers all around LoDo as you do now. From some rooftops you could still watch a sunset over the mountains. Say what you will, even I have to admit that a purple and orange sunset over the mountains is quite possibly the most beautiful natural thing I have seen. It is immense but oh so fleeting. Just like our lives I guess. You could still hear birds and bugs over cars at times. I wouldn’t say it was peaceful but it was at least calm?
She was lucky as her apartment, though smallish, came with a hidden bonus. Her window allowed her to access the roof on the next building. A part of it anyway. But this little slice of hidden wonder allowed a view down Market Street, across Spear, over Auraria and then the mountain view. It was stunning. Like the apartment, the space was just cozy enough for two to enjoy a little rooftop barbeque and dining. She gave me the quick tour and we poured some wine. She was going through the menu as we “headed outside”. The door was a small little window. I remember scratching my head and thinking I may not fit out there. She handled it with the grace of a ballerina and said I could do it. It took a minute or two but I contorted my clumsy self outside. And she was right. It was spectacular.
Not just the view but what she had done with her little corner of peace. She had talked with the building owner who agreed that she could use this space as he didn't even know about it. It was like something out of a commercial today. A nice little seating couch type niche. Well built trellis with some small Christmas lights for effect. A little brick grilling area with a hibachi going. I can still smell it. The table with candles and dinnerware. Decking. I was taken aback. The way it was situated insulated her from the sounds down below. You could hear them but it was almost like distant white noise. It was just peaceful. I remember remarking about this. She said she discovered it by accident when her son thought it might be a good play area.
Dinner was wonderful. The night went on. There wasn’t a sense of time. Just us there in that little part of the universe that was only hers. To this day I do not think I felt that safe before anywhere nor since. Someone was letting me into one of their most sacred spots. Literally and figuratively. I felt privileged. Almost as though I was treading somewhere I shouldn’t be. I think that thought was my downfall however. Don’t worry dear Reader, you will understand all that very soon. We watched that sunset. It was perfect. The right contrast of colors. Just the right amount of clouds to change those colors ever so slightly. A reminder of how something can change for the simplest of reasons.
As night grew darker it started to get cold. The goosebumps we were feeling on each other's skin holding hands and looking at the stars weren’t just from feelings. It was getting cool so we moved inside. After safely dousing the grill and making sure the coals were in their proper place, we cleaned up. Since it was easier, I stayed outside and handed them into the house to her. We figured it would be safer for the dishes. Giggled some more as we came to realize more and more things about each other at the same time. Finally the outside was clear. I stood outside for another minute to take in what was happening. I think that is then that little bit of fear weeded its way in without my realizing it. This was as close to perfect as I could ever dream I thought.
After squeezing back inside, assisted again but ok with that, we cleaned up the dishes and opened another bottle of wine. The inside was just as cozy. At some point she had lit some more candles and had some soft music going. Light jazz if I remember. Not loud at all. Again, there, just outside the periphery. Sitting on the couch I can feel her sitting next to me. We are close. Two people holding each other wanting to believe but not sure if this is real. There was almost a vibration. The constant goosebumps were not because of the cold anymore. Once we were both comfortable and we just talked. For hours and hours. There were the intimate moments but nothing scandalous. A tenuous kiss from one to the other.
We talked about what two people talk about who truly want to know the other. I believe we asked as many honest questions of ourselves as we did of the other. We really, truly, wholly wanted to know each other. And that is what we did. The more we talked the more comfortable we felt. Each of us had our scars that were not easily revealed. Nor did we reveal all of them that night and guarded them well. But we each wanted to know if the other was someone we could trust with those deepest places that we all hide in the darkest parts of our soul.
We talked a little about her son’s father but not in depth. It was easy to see that was one of the scars. We talked about her son. Why she was so astonished that first day. My heart wrenches this very moment dear Reader upon remembering that. Her hopes for him. His likes and his dislikes. Some of the stories parents tell others to embarrass their children later in life. We talked about what futures there could be not for us but for him and his world. He really was an amazing kid and I am sure has grown up to be someone she can be proud of. Time did not exist that night. Feelings and thoughts were exchanged that did not need to be said. We just knew each other that night.
We never did finish the second bottle if memory serves, we talked, laughed and sat together in peaceful comfort and gave no care about anything else. But tomorrow was coming as it always does and we had to leave each other. I remember the closeness as we held each other. The pressure of two bodies at that singular moment in time. That one instant that feels as though it could last through infinity. When two become one and feel the safety, love, compassion, trust and sameness that is rarely, if ever experienced.
Pardon me dear Reader but must ask a moment to compose myself. We are getting close to the end of my tale so also ask for just a bit more of your time. I know how so very precious it is. Thank you for allowing me to continue.
I do not know how long we held each other. To this day I wish it had been so much longer however. I do remember leaving. Working where I did, I was sadly but actively very familiar with many different levels and types of inebriation. That feeling that morning however was something that surpassed all that I had experienced in my life. I had never felt like this. I knew that the sun was starting to come up as I parked my car. I knew that I got through the door, downstairs and then fell asleep. I wasn’t drunk. It was pure. A pure love, happiness, joy and trust I had never felt from someone else. This feeling was so powerful it had knocked me for a loop that I just was not ready for.
I awoke later that day, thankful I didn’t have to work. It was late in the afternoon and I felt like I had been hit by a bus but didn’t care. I believe that the night before we both had excised many things that we had held inside for so long. I could (and can) still remember the whole night if not the words. I felt like one does after you give everything physically possible to something and have nothing left to give. But it felt right. Regardless of the ending, I do believe that, even though brief, that night, two people who had needed to find each other did. I think they needed to know that there was at least one person who understood, even if they hadn’t needed to actually say anything.
Now dear Reader I must ask you to remember that part about fear. Given my early life and life up to that point and to this day, I do find it very hard to trust. So this was something I had to confront. And so I started to. Instead of seeing what she saw in me, I saw the things I thought were ugly. I got scared that those scars would be peeled away and she would be repulsed. And these thoughts and fears grew. We still saw each other and talked for a while after that night. But my fear took over quickly. Before I knew it I had driven her away. There was no maliciousness about it. The thoughts that had ruled my life for so long before her and then after her, to this day, always got to the same thing. If you let her in, she will leave because of who you are. It was idiotic but it was ingrained at this point. I eventually told her I didn’t think it was going to work out. The truth was that I was scared. Scared to let her in. I hated myself for not being honest with her. She would have understood. Probably more than any other.
After that, I went on with my life as a young person does in that atmosphere. I saw her one time after that final talk. She waved as she and her son sat in a section away from mine. I waved back and remembered going out back and beating the hell out of our cooler there. I was so mad at myself then. While the anger passed as life threw one thing at me after another as it does until I find myself here today writing this, the pain of losing her has never healed. Nor do I want it to. That pain also brings memories that I so rarely experience anymore. I buried it for a long, long, long time but recently I find myself thinking about her and her son more and more. What would have been?
For you see dear Reader, that moment was my perfect chance. Not long ago in my life I was diagnosed with cancer. I eventually beat it but it has long since ruined my life. But that is not why I tell this tale. I ask for no sympathy. My life is where I am supposed to be. I have come to peace with that. To an extent I guess anyway. The reason it was my perfect chance is this. I was also diagnosed with a genetic defect which essentially makes me a cancer producer with no natural way to fight it. My mothers father died of colon and pancreatic cancer. My Mother has beaten 5 different bouts of cancer. I have been tested and confirmed. So if I had had a child, I would more than likely have passed that to them. After listening to what my mother watched her father go through. After watching my own Mother fight this monster 5 times and win each time. After all that I was horrified to learn that I could have passed this monster to someone I would have loved with all my heart.
I never married and never had a child. For most of my life I regretted that most of all to the point of shame. I am the last person in my familial lineage that will ever carry my name. My line dies with me. For the longest time that has been a great burden. However, after the geneticist confirmed me and a great deal of internal contemplation, with the aid of hindsight, part of me is glad that I never had a wife and child who would have to go through the horrors I have heard about, watched and gone through first hand and personally. That at least brings me a modicum of inner peace. Do not be fooled ever though. This monster is evil. It takes everything from all but the luckiest.
And I had my moment of perfect chance. Even though I did not know it at the time, I had an opportunity to spend the rest of my life with two someones who I truly believe to this day, loved me. Even if for so very briefly. I gave up the chance to be able to be a husband and care for someone I believe I loved and loved me. I had a chance to be the father I wanted to be without passing on my monster. To see a child grow into their best self. I get angry at times that I did this. Not necessarily my own selfish needs. I am also mad that this person trusted me and I couldn’t do the same in the end. That I let a child down who for his own reasons let me in when he shut others out. That we could have been the family we could have been. And I ran because I was scared. I can never forgive myself for doing that to them. This may sound selfish and perhaps it is but it is my history.
And now dear Reader we come to the end of my tale. Where it all began.
Her card.
I think you will understand why I put it away instead of taking it out after this. I mentioned that she was a designer. Her card is exquisite. I don’t need to see it to describe it. There is a silver cord ribbon wrapped around a waxed paper tied in a bow. It sparkles silver but is brittle after all the years. I can slide the card out carefully but don’t want to take a chance of damaging it. My hands aren’t the best anymore. The writing on the card is done with a most excellent penmanship in purple over white with black. The backing is white with the black used as border highlighting with purple as the border and main color. There is a bit of sparkle in one of the purples but not a garish amount. Just enough to catch the eye. The back is similar with details of her work at the time as well as some contact information. I don’t know if she did this on all of them, but there was a scent of her perfume that accompanied it for a while. It, like much else, has faded.
We all have a place to keep our most precious items. This one rarely leaves that place for me.
So in the really bad times dear Reader, I try to look at that card. I say try because it is very painful to try to do so. Today was one of those days and I wanted to share it. In the end I couldn’t get past the tears to look at it so returned it to its safety. Not really because of the pain. Believe me, the pain is there in vast amounts. But because of that first moment. I needed to remember what that feeling was like. I needed to remember what it is to look in another's eyes and see the whole universe and all its infinite possibilities. Some regrets, regardless of time, will always follow you. Be honest about that with yourself dear Reader. Today I needed to remember her and him. I needed that acceptance. That peace. That joy, That trust. That love.
This time however I needed to commit this to our history so that perhaps at least one other will read it and maybe it will impact somehow. This is not meant to be a moralistic tale. It is just a tale of love lost. A life that could have been different. I hope, dear Reader, that your life is filled with wonder and love. Do not miss a single chance in your life because of fear. Be cautious but be open. Your world is massive but also miniscule. The chances don’t happen often anymore so grab them and hold onto them when you can. Try to think of all possibilities and look through others' eyes. But most importantly. If you do find your perfect moment, do not let it go dear Reader. It may never come again.
That is the end of my tale. I thank you so much dear Reader. As I have said many times, your time is precious and I have taken enough. Safe journeys to you my friend.
2023.06.10 00:01 dailyreleases Daily Releases (June 9, 2023)
Windows
| Game | Group | Store | Score (Reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voidigo | TENOKE | Steam | 98% (2k) |
| Mask of the Rose | TENOKE | Steam, GOG | 53% (72) |
| Harmony: The Fall of Reverie | TENOKE | Steam | 100% (7) |
| System of Souls | TENOKE | Steam | 100% (1) |
| James Peris 2: The fountain of eternal drunkenness | TENOKE | Steam | - |
| Star Singularity | Razor1911 | Steam | 81% (57) |
| Vacation Paradise Florida | RAZOR | Big Fish Games | - |
| Update | Group | Store | Score (Reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pathfinder.Wrath.of.the.Righteous.Enhanced.Edition.The.Last.Sarkorians.Update.v2.1.4v.906 | I_KnoW | Steam | 85% (27.1k) |
| Warhammer_Underworlds_Shadespire_Edition_Update_v1.8.8 | DINOByTES | Steam, GOG | 62% (1.5k) |
| Lone.Fungus.Update.v1.0.19 | TENOKE | Steam | 91% (429) |
| We.Love.Katamari.REROLL.Royal.Reverie.Update.v20230608 | TENOKE | Steam | 96% (372) |
| Poly.Bridge.3.Update.v1.0.6 | TENOKE | Steam | 95% (259) |
| Floor44.Update.v1.7.36 | TENOKE | Steam | 61% (103) |
| Silent.Nights.Update.v20230317 | TENOKE | Steam | 83% (63) |
| DLC | Group | Store | Score (Reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sands of Salzaar - The Ember Saga | RUNE | Steam | 100% (6) |
| Automobilista 2 - Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya | RUNE | Steam | - |
| I Am Your President - Prove Yourself Scenario | SKIDROW | Steam | 100% (1) |
<< June 8, 2023
Q&A
Q: When will [insert game name here] be cracked?A: STOP! CrackWatch members are not psychic. Games get cracked by completely ANONYMOUS SCENE GROUPS who don't disclose their progress or plans to the general public so NO ONE knows WHEN and IF a certain game will be cracked.
Q: What are all these NFO thingies? Where do I download?
A: NFOs are text files included with game releases which contain information about the releases. CrackWatch only informs which games have been cracked. To download look for the releases on CS.RIN.RU's forum or torrent websites. Useful websites can be found in The Beginners Guide or PiratedGames's Mega Thread.
Q: WTF is Denuvo?
A: Denuvo is a Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology used to protect games from being cracked. Games that have Denuvo are harder to crack and usually take much longer. See Pinned Post for a list of Denuvo games.
Q: An update is out, but it includes the base game as well! Can I only download the update without redownloading the entire game?
A: Yes. CS.RIN.RU is your friend.
2023.06.10 00:01 dailyreleases Daily Releases (June 9, 2023) - Source
# Windows Game Group Store Score (Reviews) :-:-:-:- [Voidigo](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2864975/Voidigo-TENOKE.html) TENOKE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1304680) 98% (2k) [Mask of the Rose](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2864974/Mask-of-the-Rose-TENOKE.html) TENOKE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1769980), [GOG](https://www.gog.com/en/game/mask_of_the_rose) 53% (72) [Harmony: The Fall of Reverie](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2864977/Harmony-The-Fall-of-Reverie-TENOKE.html) TENOKE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1966420) 100% (7) [System of Souls](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2864976/System-of-Souls-TENOKE.html) TENOKE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2210130) 100% (1) [James Peris 2: The fountain of eternal drunkenness](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2864972/James-Peris-2-The-fountain-of-eternal-drunkenness-TENOKE.html) TENOKE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2290450/James_Peris_2_The_fountain_of_eternal_drunkenness/) - [Star Singularity](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2864450/No-Mans-Sky-Singularity-Razor1911.html) Razor1911 [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/808800/Star_Singularity/) 81% (57) [Vacation Paradise Florida](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2865251/Vacation-Paradise-Florida-RAZOR.html) RAZOR [Big Fish Games](https://www.bigfishgames.com/games/18679/vacation-paradise-florida-ce-f18679t1l1/?pc) - Update Group Store Score (Reviews) :-:-:-:- [Pathfinder.Wrath.of.the.Righteous.Enhanced.Edition.The.Last.Sarkorians.Update.v2.1.4v.906](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2864454/Pathfinder-Wrath-of-the-Righteous-Enhanced-Edition-The-Last-Sarkorians-Update-v2-1-4v-906-I-KnoW.html) I_KnoW [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1184370/Pathfinder_Wrath_of_the_Righteous__Enhanced_Edition/) 85% (27.1k) [Warhammer_Underworlds_Shadespire_Edition_Update_v1.8.8](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2864449/Warhammer-Underworlds-Shadespire-Edition-Update-v1-8-8-DINOByTES.html) DINOByTES [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1022310), [GOG](https://www.gog.com/en/game/warhammer_underworlds_online) 62% (1.5k) [Lone.Fungus.Update.v1.0.19](https://predb.de/rls/Lone.Fungus.Update.v1.0.19-TENOKE) TENOKE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1674780) 91% (429) [We.Love.Katamari.REROLL.Royal.Reverie.Update.v20230608](https://predb.de/rls/We.Love.Katamari.REROLL.Royal.Reverie.Update.v20230608-TENOKE) TENOKE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1730700) 96% (372) [Poly.Bridge.3.Update.v1.0.6](https://predb.de/rls/Poly.Bridge.3.Update.v1.0.6-TENOKE) TENOKE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1850160) 95% (259) [Floor44.Update.v1.7.36](https://predb.de/rls/Floor44.Update.v1.7.36-TENOKE) TENOKE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1980770) 61% (103) [Silent.Nights.Update.v20230317](https://predb.de/rls/Silent.Nights.Update.v20230317-TENOKE) TENOKE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2314180) 83% (63) DLC Group Store Score (Reviews) :-:-:-:- [Sands of Salzaar \- The Ember Saga](https://predb.de/rls/Sands.of.Salzaar.The.Ember.Saga-RUNE) RUNE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2406290) 100% (6) [Automobilista 2 \- Circuit de Barcelona\-Catalunya](https://predb.de/rls/Automobilista.2.Circuit.de.Barcelona.Catalunya-RUNE) RUNE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2461740) - [I Am Your President \- Prove Yourself Scenario](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2865303/I-Am-Your-President-Prove-Yourself-SKIDROW.html) SKIDROW [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2395710/I_Am_Your_President__Prove_Yourself_Scenario/) 100% (1) # [<< June 8, 2023](https://www.reddit.com/CrackWatch/comments/1451rkg/daily_releases_june_8_2023/) *** #Q&A **Q:** When will [insert game name here] be cracked? **A:** STOP! CrackWatch members are not psychic. Games get cracked by completely **[ANONYMOUS SCENE GROUPS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warez_scene_)** who don't disclose their progress or plans to the general public so **NO ONE** knows **WHEN** and **IF** a certain game will be cracked. **Q:** What are all these NFO thingies? Where do I download? **A:** NFOs are text files included with game releases which contain information about the releases. CrackWatch only informs which games have been cracked. To download look for the releases on CS.RIN.RU's forum or torrent websites. Useful websites can be found in [The Beginners Guide](/CrackWatch/comments/v60rnq/) or [PiratedGames's Mega Thread](https://rentry.co/pgames-mega-thread). **Q:** WTF is Denuvo? **A:** Denuvo is a Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology used to protect games from being cracked. Games that have Denuvo are harder to crack and usually take much longer. See [Pinned Post](/CrackWatch/comments/p9ak4n/) for a list of Denuvo games. **Q:** An update is out, but it includes the base game as well! Can I only download the update without redownloading the entire game? **A:** Yes. CS.RIN.RU is your friend.
2023.06.09 23:59 AshesThanDust48 MMIP - The Intersection Between Movement and Reality
I’ve just started sharing this openly, so I wanted to post it here. You all have been such a tremendous support for me!
Two years ago, I buried my niece barely 2 months past her 20th birthday. It was the first closed casket funeral I had ever attended and it broke me.
In my culture, one of the most important parts of the grieving process is viewing the body once the soul has left. This piece is so important that we schedule viewing time hours before the funeral, we walk in and move through the chapel clockwise (in the direction of the sun). Life is full circle.
My niece had been missing for a week. She and I had sat together at her grandpa’s funeral a couple weeks prior, and she had been partying since. Her going missing while partying had never happened before.
Rumors swirled- her bf at the time was heard calling her a heroin whore (he also brought his baby momma to her funeral and flirted with her the whole time). The law enforcement coordinator picked her up without cause that night and never filed a report on it (they were later fired when their background check came back). And, finally, that she did it herself. Her obituary was written from this perspective, and it still sits there. A constant reminder of how many of her own people were willing to believe that. (I did not, and was called a crazy lady for it- ostracized for distracting from “council business”)
Last summer, they arrested a council member’s brother. Apparently, he told his lady about some women he “made disappear”, she went to the cops, and a pattern of behavior emerged. They revisited my niece’s file and determined that actually it was a rape and murder. Forgive me, but whoever was responsible for making the decision to call it a “probable suicide” when their was evidence of SA (they gathered DNA!), I hope you rot in hell because that’s nicer than wishing this kind of loss and pain on anyone.
Sometimes, no matter how hard you work, how much you try to be there, get involved, ask the right questions, you realize that the obstacles placed in front of you are designed to prevent change and action. This script was already written.
The man who was arrested has been charged with 2 murders, neither my niece (or the other woman he “made disappear”). Exhuming a body requires full corporation support (I.e. a 100% yes vote), and they don’t have it. The sibling of this man is now president of the council.
So, here I am. A leader in the MMIP movement, struggling to find solace in a place devoid of any kind of justice. Struggling to find my voice again when screaming feels easier. Struggling to find peace, still, when the excuses of law enforcement and the justice system would try to fill my heart with hate. The violence and trauma inflicted upon my tribe is difficult to navigate, treacherous for our children.
People used to ask me why I was so involved, and I would talk about our suicide rate, how often we face police brutality, how law enforcement’s first responsibility should be to protect the tribal people of this land.
Smallpox, decimation of the land and ecosystems with unchecked over-hunting, railway expansion, forced relocation, slavery, boarding schools, government or church funded child trafficking, full-scale genocide. We are the descendants of those who survived despite repeated attempts at erasure. Our birthright is to stand tall, fist to the sky. 17,000 years of warriors on my back every time I do.
You will NOT erase my niece. She is right here, with me always. She is beautiful inside and out.
Now, when people ask about my involvement, I say “I am here because of love”. I smile. Few understand in the moment, other than those impacted. I am there for them as much as they are for me. Sometimes, it is just that simple.
Native woman, snow lioness, you are the rainbow in my retina. Auntie loves you so much, baby girl ❤️
submitted by AshesThanDust48 to cptsd_bipoc [link] [comments]
Two years ago, I buried my niece barely 2 months past her 20th birthday. It was the first closed casket funeral I had ever attended and it broke me.
In my culture, one of the most important parts of the grieving process is viewing the body once the soul has left. This piece is so important that we schedule viewing time hours before the funeral, we walk in and move through the chapel clockwise (in the direction of the sun). Life is full circle.
My niece had been missing for a week. She and I had sat together at her grandpa’s funeral a couple weeks prior, and she had been partying since. Her going missing while partying had never happened before.
Rumors swirled- her bf at the time was heard calling her a heroin whore (he also brought his baby momma to her funeral and flirted with her the whole time). The law enforcement coordinator picked her up without cause that night and never filed a report on it (they were later fired when their background check came back). And, finally, that she did it herself. Her obituary was written from this perspective, and it still sits there. A constant reminder of how many of her own people were willing to believe that. (I did not, and was called a crazy lady for it- ostracized for distracting from “council business”)
Last summer, they arrested a council member’s brother. Apparently, he told his lady about some women he “made disappear”, she went to the cops, and a pattern of behavior emerged. They revisited my niece’s file and determined that actually it was a rape and murder. Forgive me, but whoever was responsible for making the decision to call it a “probable suicide” when their was evidence of SA (they gathered DNA!), I hope you rot in hell because that’s nicer than wishing this kind of loss and pain on anyone.
Sometimes, no matter how hard you work, how much you try to be there, get involved, ask the right questions, you realize that the obstacles placed in front of you are designed to prevent change and action. This script was already written.
The man who was arrested has been charged with 2 murders, neither my niece (or the other woman he “made disappear”). Exhuming a body requires full corporation support (I.e. a 100% yes vote), and they don’t have it. The sibling of this man is now president of the council.
So, here I am. A leader in the MMIP movement, struggling to find solace in a place devoid of any kind of justice. Struggling to find my voice again when screaming feels easier. Struggling to find peace, still, when the excuses of law enforcement and the justice system would try to fill my heart with hate. The violence and trauma inflicted upon my tribe is difficult to navigate, treacherous for our children.
People used to ask me why I was so involved, and I would talk about our suicide rate, how often we face police brutality, how law enforcement’s first responsibility should be to protect the tribal people of this land.
Smallpox, decimation of the land and ecosystems with unchecked over-hunting, railway expansion, forced relocation, slavery, boarding schools, government or church funded child trafficking, full-scale genocide. We are the descendants of those who survived despite repeated attempts at erasure. Our birthright is to stand tall, fist to the sky. 17,000 years of warriors on my back every time I do.
You will NOT erase my niece. She is right here, with me always. She is beautiful inside and out.
Now, when people ask about my involvement, I say “I am here because of love”. I smile. Few understand in the moment, other than those impacted. I am there for them as much as they are for me. Sometimes, it is just that simple.
Native woman, snow lioness, you are the rainbow in my retina. Auntie loves you so much, baby girl ❤️
2023.06.09 23:42 OverLordAlastor Started writing again
Recently decided I wanted to try and get back into writing and looking for critiques/ edits so I can get better. Here is the beginning to a horromystery I started to write out of just wanting to put something down on paper.
Teenage Sebastian Krell finds himself in caught in a powerful blizzard. Winds howling and ripping right through his soul. Frostbite begins to numb his fingertips. Every step he takes is excruciating. But still he marches onward. He doesn't know where he's going but still he trudges along. The trees fade into the mountain as walking turns to climbing. Sebastian never found himself to be the most Athletic, and wonders how he found himself in this predicament. Sebastian always perferred reading to sports. But still he climbed forward. The howl of the winds began to sound sharper, like the cry of a ghost, ready to do harm. The mountain made Sebastian feel uneasy, like the weight of all those who died here weigh him down. All after the same goal but Sebastian was not eager to share in their fates. So sebastian continues onward.
After what seemed like forever Sebastian spied an old cave shafts. An old piece of driftwood barely working as a sign hung above. In crudly carved letters identifying itself as "Bastion-Martin mine". Sebastians goal in sight he took shelter from the harsh cold. He collected the branches and pinecones he gathered from the trail to start a fire. The heat breathed life back into him, but he knew he was not done yet. After a short respite he continued deeper into the mine that had been calling to him. His arms and legs were sore, but the mental fatigue of fighting all the way up here, was really slowing him down. Each step felt like it could be his last. But still he walked onward.
The darkness of the mine encroached into all of his senses. True darkness wasn't just seen. The empty silence of all but his footsteps swallowed him and echoed into his heart. The shadows inked up his body leaving behind a numbing cold. The subtle scents of fresh decay invaded his nostril. Each breath came with a familiar taste of dread, lingering longer than he felt comfortable with. True darkness is experienced. But still Sebastian pressed onward. The mine plunged further and further into the dark abyss. Time was no longer a concept that was known. Further and further he traveled into a mine. Certain out of all who tried before, he had come the furthest.
When his journey came to its conclusion, the mine opened up into a wide expanse. The night sky illuminated the chamber before him. The foreign constellation still seemed to comfort him but his gazed was drawn to this behemoth of a tree overlooking a still pond of glass. The tree towered over the chamber blocking out the majority of the constellations. It's leaves golden, not with pigment but with electricity flowing through its veins. The gleaming call had lead him all this way, refilling him with hope and euphoria. The catharsis of a quests end overpowered his exhaustion. For the first time in forever Sebastian found himself to be at peace.
As Sebastian woke up in not a panic but in inspiration, he found himself unable to lure himself back to sleep. Rolling over to see his clock reading 2:13 a.m. He tossed and turned hunting for the peace he was denied. Stumbling out of bed, wandering to open his window. Greeted by the cool October air sebastian gazed into the town of Bastian sleeping right outside his room. Beyond lied the forest that surrounded everyone. Who knew what would be further beyond. Unsettled, Sebastian fought every logical response because in his heart he knew that he needed to be somewhere else. Quickly getting dressed he climbed out the window and traveled onward.
The phone screamed by the bedside of Shefiff John Harrow. Piercing his skull and pulling himself out of the hard slumber he was in. Struggling to open his eyes and read the clock saying a mere 5:15 a.m. "Fuck is this about." He murmered to himself and picked up the phone. "Go for Harrow." He demanded.
The voice of the women on the other end felt like nails to a chalkboard. "Sorry to wake you Sheriff Harrow."
"Don't worry about it. What's the problem Linda?" Not what he wanted to say but it's probably better he waited to speak his mind.
"There seems to be an incident at the old Martin mine. The shift Foreman a mister... Mike Conners called in a ... situation. He's seems quite shook. Might wanna go take a look."
"Can't someone on night shift see what's going on?"
"Not really... this seems to be over their heads. Mr. Conners is saying their are 4 dead bodies."
Jesus Linda, lead with that next time. John pulled himself outta bed and said "Yea... yea I'll take care of it." Slamming the phone down.
John fast-forwarded his morning, waking up with a crisp shower and a hot mug of coffee as he hoped into his truck and sped off. The Martin mine wasn't far outside of the town of Bastion and the police lights make traffic a non-problem. Driving faster than he should have on the dirt roads, his truck felt every hole. Driving through the woods was never John's idea of a good time. Folk say the new England woods feel haunted. John wasn't much for superstition but he has seen enough go wrong in his time to be weary.
Upon arrival, driving pased the private property fence that blocked off the mine, John saw the flashing red and blue lights of an Ambulance. Seems mister Conners was already being seen by the paramedics. No one else was in the immediate area, just a trailer being used as some kind of office and the opening to the mine. Pulling alongside a half dozen of other cars and beat- up trucks, John walked over to the ambulance. Their he saw who he assumed to be Mr. Conners wrapped in a trauma blanket grasping a cup of coffee with both his hands. He was physically shaking, unable to grasp whatever happened to him. Inspecting him was a paramedic In her early 20's under the name of Hazel Briar. John worked with her before, she was new but knew what she was doing.
Hazel must of saw my approach, she peered off of Conners inspection to talk to me. "He's definitely in shock but other than that. No physical injuries. Whatever he saw damaged his psyche pretty good." She paused to collect her words as if to arrange them just right. "Don't push too hard, OK? Whatever trauma was experienced down their... he doesn't need it shaking him anymore."
John nodded, taking out a pack of cigarettes. After shaking one loose he held it between his lips and offered the pack to Conners. The look of Conners was one of desperation, one that wanted anything to cling to. He took a cigarette and John light them both. After a few drags and the comfort of smoke began to set in John asked, "wanna tell me happened? From the top." Despite John's gruff exterior he can be a nice guy. He never liked playing the bad cop. People knew he cared about the people. Whole reason he became a cop. He only really smoked in times like these too. People could feel the sincerity in his voice. And he had a reputation of going against the departments wishes when he knew it was to help someone.
"Well..." Conners began to stutter. The fear in his voice was palpable, like merely speaking the next words would bring about the Horrors. "Me and the first crew came in for the day....4 a.m. as usual. I had some paperwork to attend... I sent the crew in first... I was to join them later." The more he talked the more afraid he was becoming. Reliving the terror one word at a time. "I heard noises on the radio."
"What kind of noises." John interjected
"I... dunno. It's hard to put into words. But it was nothing natural. Nothing good. Then I heard screaming. Maybe someone got caught in one of the machines I dunno. No one was responding to me... I grabbed the first aid kit and ran inside." Conners shaking became more intense. Each word was a struggle for him to get out.
"Take a breath. Mrs. Briar here is gonna take real good care of you. She's the best. You're lucky you got her shift tonight. Imma go take a look inside the mine. When I come out we can talk some more if your up for it." John's word were calming to Conners.
John walked into the abyss, guided by flashlight. He followed the tunnel deep into the earth. The tunnels rarely seemed to splinter. John was no expert on mines but this seemed to linear. Carved with purpose. A destination in mind. Before he saw anything, the smell would assault him. Unfortunately, the smell of death was not uncommon to Harrow, but this was something more. Their was a weight to the smell. As if to keep anything else alive, out. Illuminating the chamber ahead, John was repulsed by what he found. Gore and viscera strewn across the walls and ceiling. Chunks of meat clumped together. No human could be capable of this level of Carnage, but there was no machine in sight. The ground grew soft as the Sheriff tried to investigate.
The Horrors quickly became too much to handle. John vomited up the contents of his stomach. He wasn't squeamish, but this was simply too much to handle. Leaving the edge of the bloodshed, John took a moment to collect himself. Finding the First Aid Kit Mike must have droped and scattered the contents through out the floor.
After several moments John felt well enough to brave the horrors once more. John began to note this was the only chamber he encountered during his descent and there was no tunnel leading beyond. Someone was looking for something. The chucks of meat had just as much ripping and tearing as it did cutting. Not unlike a bear attack, but on another level entirely. After a bit of hunting, John found a divet in the floor. Easily missed due to it being filled in with chunks of flesh and bone. Oddly enough the bones were dry. Not a drop of blood on them. What's more it seems as if some were even sharpened into points and edges. Some of the bones here didn't even look human or natural, hardened elongated or for a lack of a better word mutated. John was left with more questions then answers and he knew it would be a long day.
submitted by OverLordAlastor to writingcritiques [link] [comments]
Teenage Sebastian Krell finds himself in caught in a powerful blizzard. Winds howling and ripping right through his soul. Frostbite begins to numb his fingertips. Every step he takes is excruciating. But still he marches onward. He doesn't know where he's going but still he trudges along. The trees fade into the mountain as walking turns to climbing. Sebastian never found himself to be the most Athletic, and wonders how he found himself in this predicament. Sebastian always perferred reading to sports. But still he climbed forward. The howl of the winds began to sound sharper, like the cry of a ghost, ready to do harm. The mountain made Sebastian feel uneasy, like the weight of all those who died here weigh him down. All after the same goal but Sebastian was not eager to share in their fates. So sebastian continues onward.
After what seemed like forever Sebastian spied an old cave shafts. An old piece of driftwood barely working as a sign hung above. In crudly carved letters identifying itself as "Bastion-Martin mine". Sebastians goal in sight he took shelter from the harsh cold. He collected the branches and pinecones he gathered from the trail to start a fire. The heat breathed life back into him, but he knew he was not done yet. After a short respite he continued deeper into the mine that had been calling to him. His arms and legs were sore, but the mental fatigue of fighting all the way up here, was really slowing him down. Each step felt like it could be his last. But still he walked onward.
The darkness of the mine encroached into all of his senses. True darkness wasn't just seen. The empty silence of all but his footsteps swallowed him and echoed into his heart. The shadows inked up his body leaving behind a numbing cold. The subtle scents of fresh decay invaded his nostril. Each breath came with a familiar taste of dread, lingering longer than he felt comfortable with. True darkness is experienced. But still Sebastian pressed onward. The mine plunged further and further into the dark abyss. Time was no longer a concept that was known. Further and further he traveled into a mine. Certain out of all who tried before, he had come the furthest.
When his journey came to its conclusion, the mine opened up into a wide expanse. The night sky illuminated the chamber before him. The foreign constellation still seemed to comfort him but his gazed was drawn to this behemoth of a tree overlooking a still pond of glass. The tree towered over the chamber blocking out the majority of the constellations. It's leaves golden, not with pigment but with electricity flowing through its veins. The gleaming call had lead him all this way, refilling him with hope and euphoria. The catharsis of a quests end overpowered his exhaustion. For the first time in forever Sebastian found himself to be at peace.
As Sebastian woke up in not a panic but in inspiration, he found himself unable to lure himself back to sleep. Rolling over to see his clock reading 2:13 a.m. He tossed and turned hunting for the peace he was denied. Stumbling out of bed, wandering to open his window. Greeted by the cool October air sebastian gazed into the town of Bastian sleeping right outside his room. Beyond lied the forest that surrounded everyone. Who knew what would be further beyond. Unsettled, Sebastian fought every logical response because in his heart he knew that he needed to be somewhere else. Quickly getting dressed he climbed out the window and traveled onward.
The phone screamed by the bedside of Shefiff John Harrow. Piercing his skull and pulling himself out of the hard slumber he was in. Struggling to open his eyes and read the clock saying a mere 5:15 a.m. "Fuck is this about." He murmered to himself and picked up the phone. "Go for Harrow." He demanded.
The voice of the women on the other end felt like nails to a chalkboard. "Sorry to wake you Sheriff Harrow."
"Don't worry about it. What's the problem Linda?" Not what he wanted to say but it's probably better he waited to speak his mind.
"There seems to be an incident at the old Martin mine. The shift Foreman a mister... Mike Conners called in a ... situation. He's seems quite shook. Might wanna go take a look."
"Can't someone on night shift see what's going on?"
"Not really... this seems to be over their heads. Mr. Conners is saying their are 4 dead bodies."
Jesus Linda, lead with that next time. John pulled himself outta bed and said "Yea... yea I'll take care of it." Slamming the phone down.
John fast-forwarded his morning, waking up with a crisp shower and a hot mug of coffee as he hoped into his truck and sped off. The Martin mine wasn't far outside of the town of Bastion and the police lights make traffic a non-problem. Driving faster than he should have on the dirt roads, his truck felt every hole. Driving through the woods was never John's idea of a good time. Folk say the new England woods feel haunted. John wasn't much for superstition but he has seen enough go wrong in his time to be weary.
Upon arrival, driving pased the private property fence that blocked off the mine, John saw the flashing red and blue lights of an Ambulance. Seems mister Conners was already being seen by the paramedics. No one else was in the immediate area, just a trailer being used as some kind of office and the opening to the mine. Pulling alongside a half dozen of other cars and beat- up trucks, John walked over to the ambulance. Their he saw who he assumed to be Mr. Conners wrapped in a trauma blanket grasping a cup of coffee with both his hands. He was physically shaking, unable to grasp whatever happened to him. Inspecting him was a paramedic In her early 20's under the name of Hazel Briar. John worked with her before, she was new but knew what she was doing.
Hazel must of saw my approach, she peered off of Conners inspection to talk to me. "He's definitely in shock but other than that. No physical injuries. Whatever he saw damaged his psyche pretty good." She paused to collect her words as if to arrange them just right. "Don't push too hard, OK? Whatever trauma was experienced down their... he doesn't need it shaking him anymore."
John nodded, taking out a pack of cigarettes. After shaking one loose he held it between his lips and offered the pack to Conners. The look of Conners was one of desperation, one that wanted anything to cling to. He took a cigarette and John light them both. After a few drags and the comfort of smoke began to set in John asked, "wanna tell me happened? From the top." Despite John's gruff exterior he can be a nice guy. He never liked playing the bad cop. People knew he cared about the people. Whole reason he became a cop. He only really smoked in times like these too. People could feel the sincerity in his voice. And he had a reputation of going against the departments wishes when he knew it was to help someone.
"Well..." Conners began to stutter. The fear in his voice was palpable, like merely speaking the next words would bring about the Horrors. "Me and the first crew came in for the day....4 a.m. as usual. I had some paperwork to attend... I sent the crew in first... I was to join them later." The more he talked the more afraid he was becoming. Reliving the terror one word at a time. "I heard noises on the radio."
"What kind of noises." John interjected
"I... dunno. It's hard to put into words. But it was nothing natural. Nothing good. Then I heard screaming. Maybe someone got caught in one of the machines I dunno. No one was responding to me... I grabbed the first aid kit and ran inside." Conners shaking became more intense. Each word was a struggle for him to get out.
"Take a breath. Mrs. Briar here is gonna take real good care of you. She's the best. You're lucky you got her shift tonight. Imma go take a look inside the mine. When I come out we can talk some more if your up for it." John's word were calming to Conners.
John walked into the abyss, guided by flashlight. He followed the tunnel deep into the earth. The tunnels rarely seemed to splinter. John was no expert on mines but this seemed to linear. Carved with purpose. A destination in mind. Before he saw anything, the smell would assault him. Unfortunately, the smell of death was not uncommon to Harrow, but this was something more. Their was a weight to the smell. As if to keep anything else alive, out. Illuminating the chamber ahead, John was repulsed by what he found. Gore and viscera strewn across the walls and ceiling. Chunks of meat clumped together. No human could be capable of this level of Carnage, but there was no machine in sight. The ground grew soft as the Sheriff tried to investigate.
The Horrors quickly became too much to handle. John vomited up the contents of his stomach. He wasn't squeamish, but this was simply too much to handle. Leaving the edge of the bloodshed, John took a moment to collect himself. Finding the First Aid Kit Mike must have droped and scattered the contents through out the floor.
After several moments John felt well enough to brave the horrors once more. John began to note this was the only chamber he encountered during his descent and there was no tunnel leading beyond. Someone was looking for something. The chucks of meat had just as much ripping and tearing as it did cutting. Not unlike a bear attack, but on another level entirely. After a bit of hunting, John found a divet in the floor. Easily missed due to it being filled in with chunks of flesh and bone. Oddly enough the bones were dry. Not a drop of blood on them. What's more it seems as if some were even sharpened into points and edges. Some of the bones here didn't even look human or natural, hardened elongated or for a lack of a better word mutated. John was left with more questions then answers and he knew it would be a long day.
2023.06.09 23:34 Vulcann111 [H] 300+ Games [W] Steam Marketable Items (Cases, Gems, Keys, Skins, Trading Cards etc) and Wishlist
I have multiple copies for most of my games, Trades are mostly based on prices from gg.deals. Please notify me if my keys are not for your personal use (i won't take any responsibility if i wasn't notified) and also please clearly state what you have and want in exchange when making an offer, i have no interest in buying games for Keys/Gems etc. and i also have no interest in Alpha, Beta, Curator, Dev and Non-Steam Keys
submitted by Vulcann111 to GameTrade [link] [comments]
Barter.vg Reddit Steam Profile SteamTrades
FUEL (Removed from Steam Store) Magicka: Wizards of the Square Tablet (Removed from Steam Store) Human Resource Machine (Steam Inventory Gift) Magicka+All DLC's except Ninth Element Novel Magicka Shank 2 Operation Flashpoint: Red River (Removed from Steam Store) Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards: Reloaded (Removed from Steam Store) All Zombies Must Die! (Removed from Steam Store) R.I.P.D.: The Game (Removed from Steam Store) ibb & obb (Steam Inventory Gift) Afterfall InSanity Extended Edition (Removed from Steam Store) eXceed - Gun Bullet Children (Removed from Steam Store) eXceed 2nd - Vampire REX (Removed from Steam Store) God Mode (Removed from Steam Store) Gundemonium Recollection (Removed from Steam Store) Hitogata Happa (Removed from Steam Store) Naval War: Arctic Circle (Removed from Steam Store) Red Faction+Red Faction II Red Faction®: Armageddon™+Red Faction Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered+Red Faction Guerrilla Steam Edition Real World Racing (Removed from Steam Store) GundeadliGne (Removed from Steam Store) Beast Boxing Turbo (Removed from Steam Store) BlazeRush eXceed 3rd - Jade Penetrate Black Package (Removed from Steam Store) FortressCraft Evolved! Jagged Alliance - Back in Action King Arthur Collection (March 2012) Mini Motor Racing EVO+Mini Motor Racing X Monday Night Combat Sine Mora+Sine Mora EX Surgeon Simulator The Showdown Effect (Removed from Steam Store) Zeno Clash 2 Angel Express [Tokkyu Tenshi] Cloud Chamber (Removed from Steam Store) Darwinia DEFCON Demigod Droplitz (Removed from Steam Store) eversion ENDLESS™ Space - Definitive Edition (Steam Inventory Gift) Frozen Synapse Prime (Steam Inventory Gift) Galaxy on Fire 2™ Full HD Hack 'n' Slash (Steam Inventory Gift) Hard Reset Extended Edition Hydrophobia: Prophecy MIND: Path to Thalamus Enhanced Edition Multiwinia No Time to Explain+No Time To Explain Remastered On The Path Out There Somewhere (Steam Inventory Gift) Paranormal State: Poison Spring (Removed from Steam Store) Patrician IV Gold Post Apocalyptic Mayhem Primal Carnage Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad with Rising Storm Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood Run Away Sacred Gold Space Rangers (Removed from Steam Store) Spirited Heart Deluxe Splendor Suguri Collection The First Templar - Steam Special Edition The Ironclads Collection The Old City: Leviathan The Ship - 2 Pack Gift (Steam Inventory Gift) Trainz Settle and Carlisle Trainz™ Simulator 12 UFO: Afterlight+UFO: Afterlight - Old Version Uplink Warlock - Master of the Arcane War of the Roses (Removed from Steam Store) World War 1 Centennial Edition (Removed from Steam Store) Jets'n'Guns Gold Anna - Extended Edition BanHammer (Removed from Steam Store) Beat Hazard Complete Betrayer (Removed from Steam Store) Bionic Heart Crazy Machines 2 Crazy Machines Elements Crazy Machines: Golden Gears Defenders of Ardania (Removed from Steam Store) Depths of Fear :: Knossos (Removed from Steam Store) Driftmoon Edna & Harvey: The Breakout Europa Universalis III Complete Fairy Bloom Freesia FlatOut Flower Shop: Summer In Fairbrook Flower Shop: Winter In Fairbrook Gettysburg: Armored Warfare (Removed from Steam Store) Grand Ages: Rome GOLD Hearts of Iron 2 Complete Heileen 1: Sail Away Heileen 2: The Hands Of Fate Heileen 3: New Horizons Interstellar Marines Ion Assault KAMI King's Bounty: Armored Princess Knights of Honor Knock-knock Koi-Koi Japan [Hanafuda playing cards] Lilly Looking Through Little Racers STREET LYNE Megabyte Punch Painkiller Overdose Painkiller: Recurring Evil Painkiller Redemption Patrician IV Praetorians Rebel Galaxy Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45 SATAZIUS Skara - The Blade Remains Sky Mercenaries The Void Toby: The Secret Mine Tropico Reloaded Tropico 4 Unexplored Zombie Driver HD Complete Edition About Love, Hate and the other ones A Game of Dwarves Air Conflicts: Secret Wars A.R.E.S.: Extinction Agenda A Valley Without Wind+A Valley Without Wind 2 BANZAI PECAN: The Last Hope For the Young Century Beat Hazard Blood Knights CAPSULE Chroma Squad Cities in Motion Dangerous Waters Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game Dark Fall: Lost Souls Death to Spies+Death to Spies: Moment of Truth Dementium II HD Deponia Disciples II: Gallean's Return Disciples II: Rise of the Elves Dollar Dash (Removed from Steam Store) Dungeons Dungeons - The Dark Lord Eastside Hockey Manager Finding Teddy Frederic: Evil Strikes Back Ghost Master® Grand Ages: Rome Home Imperial Glory Imperium Romanum Gold Edition Kalaban Knights of Pen and Paper +1 Edition Leviathan: Warships (Removed from Steam Store) Men of War: Assault Squad - Game of the Year Edition Meridian: New World Motorama NecroVision NecroVisioN: Lost Company Not The Robots Nuclear Dawn Oniken: Unstoppable Edition Onikira - Demon Killer Patrician III PixelJunk™ Monsters Ultimate Rooks Keep Solar Flux Solar Shifter EX Summoner Sweet Lily Dreams Switch Galaxy Ultra Sword of the Stars: Complete Collection The Journey Down: Chapter Two The Last Tinker™: City of Colors Tropico 3 Truck Racer Trulon: The Shadow Engine Tulpa Vessel Violett Remastered Viscera Cleanup Detail: Santa's Rampage Zombie Driver HD Alien Hallway Alien Shooter 2: Reloaded A New Beginning - Final Cut Angvik AquaNox AquaNox 2: Revelation Axis Game Factory's AGFPRO + Voxel Sculpt + PREMIUM Bundle Bad Rats: the Rats' Revenge Ballpoint Universe - Infinite Bang Bang Racing Battle Group 2 Bridge Constructor Bridge Constructor Medieval Cargo! The Quest for Gravity Cat on a Diet Ceville Cold War Commander: Conquest of the Americas Commandos 2: Men of Courage Commandos 3: Destination Berlin Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines Crash Time 3 Curse: The Eye of Isis Dark Fear Dead Hungry Diner Deadly 30 Deep Dungeons of Doom Drawful 2 Driftland: The Magic Revival Dynamite Jack East India Company Eidolon El Matador Elven Legacy Empress Of The Deep Eurofighter Typhoon Explodemon Face Noir Faces of War Fantasy Wars Final Slam 2 Fireburst Galactic Civilizations® I: Ultimate Edition GeoVox Gravi Greed: Black Border Greed Corp Grind Zones Grotesque Tactics: Evil Heroes Grotesque Tactics 2 – Dungeons and Donuts Gunman Clive Guns of Icarus Online Hacker Evolution Duality Hacker Evolution Source Code Haegemonia: Legions of Iron Helicopter Simulator 2014: Search and Rescue Hexcells Plus Holy Avatar vs. Maidens of the Dead Idol Hands In Between inMomentum Keebles Konung 2 Konung 3: Ties of the Dynasty Labyrinthine Dreams Last Knight: Rogue Rider Edition Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West Machines At War 3 Majesty 2 Making History: The Calm & the Storm Mata Hari Men of War™ Men of War: Assault Squad Men of War: Red Tide Miner Wars 2081 Miner Wars Arena Mirror Mysteries Mountain M.U.D. TV Musaic Box Overcast - Walden and the Werewolf Paranautical Activity: Deluxe Atonement Edition Perimeter Pixel Heroes: Byte & Magic Plush POPixel Probably Archery Purgatory: War of the Damned Puzzle Kingdoms Quell Quell Memento Quell Reflect Real Horror Stories Ultimate Edition Really Big Sky Reign: Conflict of Nations Rig n Roll Rush Bros. Sacraboar Satellite Repairman Saturday Morning RPG Save the Dodos Shadowgrounds Survivor Shadows: Price For Our Sins Sinless + OST Skilltree Saga SoulCraft Space Empires IV Deluxe Space Empires V Star Ruler Starsphere Star Wolves Star Wolves 3: Civil War Steel Storm: Burning Retribution Syberia II Teddy Floppy Ear - Mountain Adventure (Removed from Steam Store) Teddy Floppy Ear - The Race (Removed from Steam Store) Terrian Saga: KR-17 Theatre of War Theatre of War 2: Africa 1943 Theatre of War 2: Kursk 1943 Theatre of War 3: Korea The God's Chain The Joylancer: Legendary Motor Knight The Kings' Crusade Tobe's Vertical Adventure Trapped Dead Turba Twin Sector Two Brothers (Removed from Steam Store) Two Worlds II HD Type:Rider Vault Cracker Vegas: Make It Big™ Velvet Assassin Warriors' Wrath Who's That Flying?! Windforge XIII Century – Gold Edition Yumsters 2: Around the World Zombie Pirates ZombieRush Zombie Shooter2023.06.09 23:28 Vulcann111 [H] 300+ Games [W] Steam Marketable Items (Cases, Gems, Keys, Skins, Trading Cards etc) and Wishlist
I have multiple copies for most of my games, Trades are mostly based on prices from gg.deals. Please notify me if my keys are not for your personal use (i won't take any responsibility if i wasn't notified) and also please clearly state what you have and want in exchange when making an offer, i have no interest in buying games for Keys/Gems etc. and i also have no interest in Alpha, Beta, Curator, Dev and Non-Steam Keys
submitted by Vulcann111 to indiegameswap [link] [comments]
Barter.vg Reddit Steam Profile SteamTrades
FUEL (Removed from Steam Store) Magicka: Wizards of the Square Tablet (Removed from Steam Store) Human Resource Machine (Steam Inventory Gift) Magicka+All DLC's except Ninth Element Novel Magicka Shank 2 Operation Flashpoint: Red River (Removed from Steam Store) Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards: Reloaded (Removed from Steam Store) All Zombies Must Die! (Removed from Steam Store) R.I.P.D.: The Game (Removed from Steam Store) ibb & obb (Steam Inventory Gift) Afterfall InSanity Extended Edition (Removed from Steam Store) eXceed - Gun Bullet Children (Removed from Steam Store) eXceed 2nd - Vampire REX (Removed from Steam Store) God Mode (Removed from Steam Store) Gundemonium Recollection (Removed from Steam Store) Hitogata Happa (Removed from Steam Store) Naval War: Arctic Circle (Removed from Steam Store) Red Faction+Red Faction II Red Faction®: Armageddon™+Red Faction Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered+Red Faction Guerrilla Steam Edition Real World Racing (Removed from Steam Store) GundeadliGne (Removed from Steam Store) Beast Boxing Turbo (Removed from Steam Store) BlazeRush eXceed 3rd - Jade Penetrate Black Package (Removed from Steam Store) FortressCraft Evolved! Jagged Alliance - Back in Action King Arthur Collection (March 2012) Mini Motor Racing EVO+Mini Motor Racing X Monday Night Combat Sine Mora+Sine Mora EX Surgeon Simulator The Showdown Effect (Removed from Steam Store) Zeno Clash 2 Angel Express [Tokkyu Tenshi] Cloud Chamber (Removed from Steam Store) Darwinia DEFCON Demigod Droplitz (Removed from Steam Store) eversion ENDLESS™ Space - Definitive Edition (Steam Inventory Gift) Frozen Synapse Prime (Steam Inventory Gift) Galaxy on Fire 2™ Full HD Hack 'n' Slash (Steam Inventory Gift) Hard Reset Extended Edition Hydrophobia: Prophecy MIND: Path to Thalamus Enhanced Edition Multiwinia No Time to Explain+No Time To Explain Remastered On The Path Out There Somewhere (Steam Inventory Gift) Paranormal State: Poison Spring (Removed from Steam Store) Patrician IV Gold Post Apocalyptic Mayhem Primal Carnage Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad with Rising Storm Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood Run Away Sacred Gold Space Rangers (Removed from Steam Store) Spirited Heart Deluxe Splendor Suguri Collection The First Templar - Steam Special Edition The Ironclads Collection The Old City: Leviathan The Ship - 2 Pack Gift (Steam Inventory Gift) Trainz Settle and Carlisle Trainz™ Simulator 12 UFO: Afterlight+UFO: Afterlight - Old Version Uplink Warlock - Master of the Arcane War of the Roses (Removed from Steam Store) World War 1 Centennial Edition (Removed from Steam Store) Jets'n'Guns Gold Anna - Extended Edition BanHammer (Removed from Steam Store) Beat Hazard Complete Betrayer (Removed from Steam Store) Bionic Heart Crazy Machines 2 Crazy Machines Elements Crazy Machines: Golden Gears Defenders of Ardania (Removed from Steam Store) Depths of Fear :: Knossos (Removed from Steam Store) Driftmoon Edna & Harvey: The Breakout Europa Universalis III Complete Fairy Bloom Freesia FlatOut Flower Shop: Summer In Fairbrook Flower Shop: Winter In Fairbrook Gettysburg: Armored Warfare (Removed from Steam Store) Grand Ages: Rome GOLD Hearts of Iron 2 Complete Heileen 1: Sail Away Heileen 2: The Hands Of Fate Heileen 3: New Horizons Interstellar Marines Ion Assault KAMI King's Bounty: Armored Princess Knights of Honor Knock-knock Koi-Koi Japan [Hanafuda playing cards] Lilly Looking Through Little Racers STREET LYNE Megabyte Punch Painkiller Overdose Painkiller: Recurring Evil Painkiller Redemption Patrician IV Praetorians Rebel Galaxy Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45 SATAZIUS Skara - The Blade Remains Sky Mercenaries The Void Toby: The Secret Mine Tropico Reloaded Tropico 4 Unexplored Zombie Driver HD Complete Edition About Love, Hate and the other ones A Game of Dwarves Air Conflicts: Secret Wars A.R.E.S.: Extinction Agenda A Valley Without Wind+A Valley Without Wind 2 BANZAI PECAN: The Last Hope For the Young Century Beat Hazard Blood Knights CAPSULE Chroma Squad Cities in Motion Dangerous Waters Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game Dark Fall: Lost Souls Death to Spies+Death to Spies: Moment of Truth Dementium II HD Deponia Disciples II: Gallean's Return Disciples II: Rise of the Elves Dollar Dash (Removed from Steam Store) Dungeons Dungeons - The Dark Lord Eastside Hockey Manager Finding Teddy Frederic: Evil Strikes Back Ghost Master® Grand Ages: Rome Home Imperial Glory Imperium Romanum Gold Edition Kalaban Knights of Pen and Paper +1 Edition Leviathan: Warships (Removed from Steam Store) Men of War: Assault Squad - Game of the Year Edition Meridian: New World Motorama NecroVision NecroVisioN: Lost Company Not The Robots Nuclear Dawn Oniken: Unstoppable Edition Onikira - Demon Killer Patrician III PixelJunk™ Monsters Ultimate Rooks Keep Solar Flux Solar Shifter EX Summoner Sweet Lily Dreams Switch Galaxy Ultra Sword of the Stars: Complete Collection The Journey Down: Chapter Two The Last Tinker™: City of Colors Tropico 3 Truck Racer Trulon: The Shadow Engine Tulpa Vessel Violett Remastered Viscera Cleanup Detail: Santa's Rampage Zombie Driver HD Alien Hallway Alien Shooter 2: Reloaded A New Beginning - Final Cut Angvik AquaNox AquaNox 2: Revelation Axis Game Factory's AGFPRO + Voxel Sculpt + PREMIUM Bundle Bad Rats: the Rats' Revenge Ballpoint Universe - Infinite Bang Bang Racing Battle Group 2 Bridge Constructor Bridge Constructor Medieval Cargo! The Quest for Gravity Cat on a Diet Ceville Cold War Commander: Conquest of the Americas Commandos 2: Men of Courage Commandos 3: Destination Berlin Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines Crash Time 3 Curse: The Eye of Isis Dark Fear Dead Hungry Diner Deadly 30 Deep Dungeons of Doom Drawful 2 Driftland: The Magic Revival Dynamite Jack East India Company Eidolon El Matador Elven Legacy Empress Of The Deep Eurofighter Typhoon Explodemon Face Noir Faces of War Fantasy Wars Final Slam 2 Fireburst Galactic Civilizations® I: Ultimate Edition GeoVox Gravi Greed: Black Border Greed Corp Grind Zones Grotesque Tactics: Evil Heroes Grotesque Tactics 2 – Dungeons and Donuts Gunman Clive Guns of Icarus Online Hacker Evolution Duality Hacker Evolution Source Code Haegemonia: Legions of Iron Helicopter Simulator 2014: Search and Rescue Hexcells Plus Holy Avatar vs. Maidens of the Dead Idol Hands In Between inMomentum Keebles Konung 2 Konung 3: Ties of the Dynasty Labyrinthine Dreams Last Knight: Rogue Rider Edition Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West Machines At War 3 Majesty 2 Making History: The Calm & the Storm Mata Hari Men of War™ Men of War: Assault Squad Men of War: Red Tide Miner Wars 2081 Miner Wars Arena Mirror Mysteries Mountain M.U.D. TV Musaic Box Overcast - Walden and the Werewolf Paranautical Activity: Deluxe Atonement Edition Perimeter Pixel Heroes: Byte & Magic Plush POPixel Probably Archery Purgatory: War of the Damned Puzzle Kingdoms Quell Quell Memento Quell Reflect Real Horror Stories Ultimate Edition Really Big Sky Reign: Conflict of Nations Rig n Roll Rush Bros. Sacraboar Satellite Repairman Saturday Morning RPG Save the Dodos Shadowgrounds Survivor Shadows: Price For Our Sins Sinless + OST Skilltree Saga SoulCraft Space Empires IV Deluxe Space Empires V Star Ruler Starsphere Star Wolves Star Wolves 3: Civil War Steel Storm: Burning Retribution Syberia II Teddy Floppy Ear - Mountain Adventure (Removed from Steam Store) Teddy Floppy Ear - The Race (Removed from Steam Store) Terrian Saga: KR-17 Theatre of War Theatre of War 2: Africa 1943 Theatre of War 2: Kursk 1943 Theatre of War 3: Korea The God's Chain The Joylancer: Legendary Motor Knight The Kings' Crusade Tobe's Vertical Adventure Trapped Dead Turba Twin Sector Two Brothers (Removed from Steam Store) Two Worlds II HD Type:Rider Vault Cracker Vegas: Make It Big™ Velvet Assassin Warriors' Wrath Who's That Flying?! Windforge XIII Century – Gold Edition Yumsters 2: Around the World Zombie Pirates ZombieRush Zombie Shooter2023.06.09 23:23 pandapaxxy S21 Weapon Evaluation
Hello Guardians, my name is u/PandaPaxxy. Today I am here to go over my process for evaluating weapons. From hand cannons to glaives I will go over what I look for in weapons and why. A lot of the time it will fall into “Reload gun and get damage.” But in terms of other stats to look for, why I choose certain perks sometimes and other perks other times. My guides serve to educate Guardians on weapons for the season. I work hard to test and find out what works on weapons so you can dedicate your time to playing with them instead of testing them for yourself.
Ultimately my guides and wishlists are a jumping off point. They serve as a great baseline but are neither gospel, nor all-encompassing. I build them to get you to a point where you can look at perk pools and decide for yourself what you want on your weapons.
Exotic armor builds are always a great place to start, see what exotic you gravitate towards and build your weapons around that. Do you like mowing through enemies? Well then Subsistence might be your best friend. Do you like punching things? Pugilist, Swashbuckler, One-Two Punch, and Trench Barrel just became your best friends. Depending on your build and what you use can drastically change perk recommendations one way or the other. Building into a specific play style with your weapons can not only get you to a point where clearing activities is easier, but it can also create your own identity within Destiny. Two players using the same subclass and exotic can choose very different weapons to pair with it and have very different play styles. My recommendations are purely that. Recommendations.
This guide not only serves as what I recommend on weapons but also a peek behind the curtain into my brain. To set you off right, I LOVE high handling weapons, if I could have Ophidians or Dragon’s Shadow on my Titan, I might never take them off. Any way I can bump up handling on my weapons is always going to be my forefront choice, that’s why a lot of the time I recommend Fluted Barrel, Fastdraw HCS, or QuickDot SAS. The faster the animation the better.
With all that being said, let me get into the meat and potatoes of this breakdown of my breakdowns.
Auto rifles need some stability and a good recoil direction to make them work. Any base recoil direction less than 70 needs Arrowhead Brake, and even above that it might be necessary. It depends also on what magazine perks the auto rifle gets. Ricochet Rounds is the best as it marginally increases range while heavily increasing stability. Steady Rounds almost never gets recommended as it lowers the next best stat being range.
In terms of perks a lot of the time it will either be consistency for PvP or damage + reload perks for PvE. Reload perks come in all forms; Surplus, Threat Detector, Outlaw, and Overflow are easy choices. Ambitious Assassin and even Envious Assassin are also great choices depending on how you use this auto. They pseudo-bypass reload by giving you a bigger base mag each time the perk activates. They fall under Overflow because with Overflow you will never see your reload animation but get all the benefits.
In terms of damage perks all of them work perfectly. Golden Tricorn is the best overall and will be for most weapons as it has the highest damage increase and stacks with surge mods. As long as you keep the same element you will be golden.
For PvP there are few choices. Consistency perks like Tap the Trigger, Dynamic Sway Reduction, Zen Moment, and even Threat Detector are fantastic for keeping bullets on target. Autos need your full dedication to the engagement to kill and keeping your bullets on their head is the only way to succeed. There are “Win More” perks like Kill Clip that allow you to slay past that first engagement, but most autos I recommend will have full consistency unless there isn’t a consistency perk in the stereotypical “damage” column.
Combat Bows:
Bows were a fantastic addition to the game and provide a nice balance between scouts and snipers. Harder hitting than a scout but less damage than a sniper. Primary ammo over a sniper, but less damage per second (or shots per second) than a scout. Very cool choice. Most of the time I will recommend dropping draw time as low as possible and bringing up accuracy after the fact. This will make the damage per second go up a bit as you can fire more shots and keep your “range” and feeling sticky the further away the enemies are.
There aren’t a wide variety of perks to choose from on bows. Crowd control perks and reload perks are the only things. There are a few choice perks for builds specifically. Wellspring, Demolitionist, and Pugilist are great for specific builds or general ability uptime. However, I will, more often than not, recommend Archer’s Tempo or Rapid Hit over them. Bringing up the base reload speed and draw time means you won’t have to invest as heavily into dropping draw time, though the two do help together.
In the final column going with your damage perks or crowd control perks are the best. Headstone, Dragonfly, Explosive Head, or Frenzy. All of them work to clear rooms faster. This comes mostly down to player preference and what build you will ultimately use.
Bows in PvP have two main play styles, swap (blinting) or laning. With either Opening Shot is the best in slot whenever it is available. It allows you to almost always get a crit which will be helpful in either play style. With the swap builds you could also opt for Explosive Head for some added flinch, but you definitely want Quickdraw or Moving Target for added Flexibility. For a more laning approach I would always recommend Rapid Hit for a faster draw time after you get that first crit with Opening Shot.
Hand Cannons:
Well these are certainly my favorite weapons in the game. They really don’t feel good in higher end PvE. Shame. For the most part I look for a decent mix of stability, range, and handling. In that order. If the weapon has decent stats for each of those that aren’t way out of band I usually default to handling. Range does help in PvE but it can be mitigated through Explosive Payload or Timed Payload. You also can pseudo-break range with higher damage. Hand cannons experience a hard damage drop off, so investing into range isn’t a terrible choice either.
For the first column usually a reload perk resides here. Ensemble, Outlaw, Rapid Hit, Surplus, etc. Almost all hand cannons follow in the footsteps of Midnight Coup for PvE. Outlaw and Rampage was a beast in year 1, and while it still works in year 5 it isn’t as versatile. Headstone has replaced most damage perks for me, though there are some good alternatives like Frenzy and Thresh.
In PvP there are only really a few choice perks to look for. Even after the Rangefinder nerf it will still be a very sought after perk. Eye of the Storm is S tier on everything it rolls on, so are Opening Shot and Rapid Hit. Snapshot, Zen Moment, and Moving Target are great supplemental perks. Explosive Payload and Timed Payload might become more sought after if you want to consistently win your 1v1s.
Pulse Rifles:
The most important stat on pulse rifles is the recoil direction. Anything less than 100 should be dismantled immediately. That makes Arrowhead Brake almost a requirement on all pulses. Depending on the pulse and more specifically its archetype will determine what magazine perk is best. If the magazine is less than 30 I would usually go for Appended Mag or Tactical Mag. If the pulse has low reload I will often recommend Flared Magwell as an alternative or best in slot. It also bumps up the stability which definitely helps with a good recoil direction.
Almost all perks within the reload and damage column work here and will be great to maximize your pulses utility. Golden Tricorn is best when applicable. But I have been enjoying Void with Repulsor Brace for a small overshield in the legendary campaign. Being able to keep up a small overshield almost all the time is incredibly helpful in all activities you feel squishy in.
In PvP most of the above applies that recoil direction and stability are important. Range isn’t as important depending on the archetype You might even be able to go for Steady Rounds if you wanted more stability and aren’t utilizing all the range pulses get. I would recommend anything that helps you secure bursts on target, Moving Target, Heating Up, Rapid Hit all come to mind as they each help your burst patterns. Firmly Planted is an incredible shout out too if you slide into engagements or hold lanes instead. Lots of consistency perks. There are a few archetypes that are able to two-burst with a little help from damage, or that damage makes the bursts you need to kill more forgiving. Each of those are great ways to utilize damage perks; not all the time are they necessary in PvP.
Scout Rifles:
Scout rifles are most people’s first weapon type. They help you stay safe and far back while still doing respectable damage. I know I used them, and they still hold up in higher tiered content. High recoil direction is important but not necessary. None of the stats really do a lot on scouts until you get down into the faster firing scouts in which case you’ll want stability to keep shots on target. I always look for consistency perks over damage perks because the rise and fall of damage really shifts gameplay in higher level content. In GMs you’re not always running around with max stacks of damage so something neutral like Explosive Payload will pull way more weight.
In PvP scouts fall into a weird hot and cold. They are either the top of the meta or bottom. Scouts cater to a passive play style so depending on how games go they are either the best thing or you’ll get rolled for being too passive. Damage perks are great for streaks, and consistency perks are plenty. Depending on the archetype I might opt for one damage perk over another to push down the TtK but overall I tend to mix both damage and reliability perks.
Sidearms:
Sidearms are super interesting. Outside of exotic sidearms you don’t see too many people using them aside from niche builds or players looking at a shiny new toy. Range is what makes sidearms even remotely useful in this sandbox as you don’t want to use a sidearm that literally any other weapon could do the same job. Swords could even be better than sidearms sometimes. Pushing out the range as far as it can go, and pumping the sidearm full of damage will give you some great results but will be very hard to take into higher level content. Rat Pack go back in your dens, that is not a sidearm.
In PvP sidearms live and die by their range. Similar to PvE they need to compete outside of melee range. Shotguns will eat them up and fusions will turn them into space air. I find that the best sidearm users make effective use of their space and by manipulating sight lines. If you can control a small space effectively you can use sidearms, otherwise any other primary weapon might be better.
Submachine Guns:
Submachine guns in PvE are great weapons for being aggressive and spraying down enemies. While auto rifles do this job excellently, submachine guns are just smaller and faster versions. They make you feel agile running and gunning while doing great dps but less good sustained damage. They might be great against rank-and-file enemies but won’t scale up with their low magazine, high RPM, and medium damage. In order to make these weapons strong you will want to look for a way to circumvent the reload entirely or speed it up so it feels non-existent. That way you’ll be able to output incredible damage while still being able to weave in and out of cover.
In PvP SMGs will always have a place. They exist as shotgun deterrents and act as breaching tools. They can spray down targets faster than auto rifles while keeping your mobility up. Technically no weapon lowers your native speed, but SMGs with their high RPM allow you to hit your TtK fast in a way that auto rifles cannot. With damage perks they can really reach into auto rifle range, but those few are usually outliers. SMGs exist alongside hand cannons for fast paced, aggressive game play
Fusions in PvE are either hit or miss. The charge time is a weird mechanic to get behind at first, and can cause some frustration compared to other special weapons. I always try to maximize the recoil direction to land all my bolts, and then try to stack damage after the fact. There are few perks I look for in order to really create a PvE fusion. Other things to look for are magazine replenishing perks. Subsistence, or Reconstruction. In terms of magazine I either opt for Accelerated Coils for more damage per second, or a larger mag. Oftentimes the extra damage per bolt from Liquid Coils is beaten by Accelerated Coils shooting a whole other burst.
Fusions in PvP are all about consistency. Sure you can find a few rolls that offer kill chaining potential. The biggest threat that came from the fusion community was the Xur Main Ingredient that offered only consistency perks. Under Pressure adds aim assist and stability. Tap the Trigger works on every burst. Firmly Planted works in a slide and pairs well with Kickstart. Rangefinder bumps out the stability and pushes out the zoom for deep one-bursts.
Glaives:
Glaives are interesting, they take out your charged melee, and offer both protection and a fusion rifle-lite experience. The damage protection and resistance is perfect for higher level content, but pushing out the range means your shot is more likely to connect. Depending on the roll you might want to bump one or the other. Impulse Amplifier is the real kicker so that will help with range and projectile speed, so bringing up their shield duration will keep you alive.
In PvP I don’t feel personally well equipped to speak upon. Every time I try to use them myself I get absolutely bodied. There are some quirky builds like a one-shot glaive or blinting with them, but I cannot use them to save my life and try to remain as neutral as possible when giving roll recommendations. I can see how to use them, my body just doesn’t input the right Konami code to win in PvP.
Grenade Launchers:
Grenade Launchers are great for chip damage and setting up for other weapons. Disruption Break is legendary tier on grenade launchers and I always look for it to boost not only your weapon damage but your teams. Debuffing an enemy so that all kinetic damage deals an additional 50% damage is incredible. I always try to maximize blast radius and velocity at the same time. Reload and handling are also incredibly useful as you will be swapping weapons often or reloading your single shot to become a double shot when applicable.
Grenade Launchers in PvP are as good as the other weapon attached to them. They live and die by how good their pairings are. Fighting Lion is the best as it can pair with anything and make things work. Special grenade launchers have a harder time because of the ammo economy. You’re almost always stuck with a primary ammo weapon and only sometimes is that a good thing. It can set up sweeps and kill chaining, but it can also mean your GL shot bounces thirteen times and blows up in your face and not theirs.
Shotguns:
Shotguns are the leading example of a DPS weapon. They shoot things good dead quick. They do high damage at the cost of range. Even the rapid-fire frames have great damage because they shoot so fast. Anything to boost that damage is worthwhile. Surrounded, Trench Barrel, and my favorite One-Two Punch. You are close enough to melee so throwing one or two in there will enhance your shotgun, or your melee. Kinda cool right? I also love seeing things like Grave Robber and Auto-Loading Holster on shotguns as they are one of the few weapons that reload each bullet one at a time. This can be both great and awful at the same time.
In PvP right now we are at a weird divide. You want to bump up your handling as high as you can, and bump up your range as high as you can. Preferably in that order. Things that enhance your animation speed or your handling are greatly preferred. Surplus is great if you keep your abilities but the gold standard right now is Threat Detector. This applies an animation scalar based on the number of enemies around you. Even at 1x it is incredibly strong and hopefully you won’t find yourself where 2x is active because you might be dead.
Sniper Rifles:
Sniper rifles serve one of two purposes. Add clear or DPS weapon. There is no inbetween. There are a handful of snipers that can bridge both but typically don’t particularly excel at either. A jack of all trades, master of none. DPS snipers are hallmarked by some sort of damage bonus natively like Firing Line, High-Impact Reserves, or Focused Fury. Alongside a magazine enhancing perk like Fourth Time’s the Charm, Triple Tap, Rewind Rounds, or Reconstruction. Anything to limit reloading by shooting. Add clear weapons have perks that are great at AoE such as Incandescent, Firefly, or Voltshot.
Snipers are not as meta in PvP but are the strongest weapon in the game. A one-shot from any range at any time without a charge up. They can be used as a shotgun, a follow up, an opening kill, set up, and many more things. They are great at doing high damage from anywhere, and most Destiny maps are not made to see sniper’s damage drop off they will maintain that high damage throughout the map. Snapshot is a must have for some users, other users like high handling. Opening shot is incredible for adding range and aim assist for some bullet bending capabilities.
Trace Rifles:
Trace rifles are beefed up auto rifles. Anything auto rifles can do, traces do better at the cost of special ammo. Without it, you’ll feel like you’re missing a weapon entirely, but with it you’ll wonder why autos and SMGs exist.
In PvP there is a similar handicap where you live and die by the special ammo you do or don’t have.
Grenade launchers in your heavy slot are primarily used for damaging bosses but have small niches where they can be used for add clear. They don’t have the best damage but they make up for it in continuous damage. Being able to fire repeatedly and quickly for high burst damage makes them good for short damage phases and champions.
In PvP think of a rocket launcher, now cut it in half. That’s what you want in a heavy grenade launcher. A quick firing easy kill that you can run around with.
Linear Fusion Rifles:
Very few times are you using a linear fusion rifle on a red bar enemy, and far less often are you using it to clear rooms. Linear fusion rifles excel in high damage per shot and as such you want to make it easy to hit crits for getting the most per shot. Arrowhead Brake or Fluted Barrel will make it easier to swap to this weapon when it is time for damage, while specifically the former will be best for lining up shot after shot. I prefer faster firing fusions too so Accelerated Coils and a charge time MW would be best DPS. You do lose some impact but you will be able to make up for that loss in impact in more shots fired.
In terms of first trait you’ll want either Field Prep or Triple Tap / Fourth Time’s the Charm. While the latter doesn’t roll on any linear fusion, yet, it will still be a great perk to look out for.
Linear fusions in PvP should have the fastest charge you can obtain while giving you the highest range possible. The idea is to have less of a fusion rifle and more of a sniper with a charge time.
Machine Guns:
Machine guns are the kings at clearing rooms. Either through AoE perks like Dragonfly or Incandescent or through pure damage like Rampage, or Killing Tally. I like perks that either keep the ammo in the magazine or make it so I never have to reload my machine gun. Auto-Loading Holster is perfect, but Subsistence and Reconstruction are fantastic too. Mag boosting perks like Appended Mag and Extended Mag also keep my shooting going.
In PvP Machine Guns are pretty niche. They used to be incredibly strong and they still are but the time to kill has gone down with more grenade launchers and it's been getting harder to hit enemies with abilities that cause them to zoom around the map or change directions on a dime. Consistency perks are the name of the game as I don’t think kill chaining will be as strong anymore.
Rocket Launchers:
Rockets are both the Gold Standard for damage as well as the bar. If you can beat rockets in terms of DPS either for an encounter or boss, you’re on a good track. These weapons do insane single shot damage only lessened by the fact they cannot do precision damage. If a special weapon beats out a rocket for damage, we are in for a wild meta. Rockets need two things in order to succeed. A damage boosting perk and a reload perk. Which feels like I am saying this often. The downfall of rocket launchers is the fact you cannot shoot more than three at a time and even that is under specific use cases. Rockets would be incredibly strong if you could still stack multiple rockets into one tube to keep firing.
In PvP Rockets will obliterate almost anything so your goal is to get splash kills either via Chain Reaction or Cluster Bomb for multikills, they are often fire-and-forget weapons that don’t need a lot to succeed. Just fire in the general direction of an enemy and hope it kills.
Swords:
For the most part these weapons are the easiest to choose, you will want high Impact, decent guard depending on what the weapon tries to enforce. A shorter Charge Rate is better for damage, and a better Guard Resistance is better for add clearing or general use. If you have a zoom sword with Valiant Charge you will want decent Guard Resistance to stop damage from coming through. On a different zoom sword with Eager Edge you will want high ammo capacity for as many zooms as possible.
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Ultimately my guides and wishlists are a jumping off point. They serve as a great baseline but are neither gospel, nor all-encompassing. I build them to get you to a point where you can look at perk pools and decide for yourself what you want on your weapons.
Exotic armor builds are always a great place to start, see what exotic you gravitate towards and build your weapons around that. Do you like mowing through enemies? Well then Subsistence might be your best friend. Do you like punching things? Pugilist, Swashbuckler, One-Two Punch, and Trench Barrel just became your best friends. Depending on your build and what you use can drastically change perk recommendations one way or the other. Building into a specific play style with your weapons can not only get you to a point where clearing activities is easier, but it can also create your own identity within Destiny. Two players using the same subclass and exotic can choose very different weapons to pair with it and have very different play styles. My recommendations are purely that. Recommendations.
This guide not only serves as what I recommend on weapons but also a peek behind the curtain into my brain. To set you off right, I LOVE high handling weapons, if I could have Ophidians or Dragon’s Shadow on my Titan, I might never take them off. Any way I can bump up handling on my weapons is always going to be my forefront choice, that’s why a lot of the time I recommend Fluted Barrel, Fastdraw HCS, or QuickDot SAS. The faster the animation the better.
With all that being said, let me get into the meat and potatoes of this breakdown of my breakdowns.
Primary Ammo
Auto Rifles:Auto rifles need some stability and a good recoil direction to make them work. Any base recoil direction less than 70 needs Arrowhead Brake, and even above that it might be necessary. It depends also on what magazine perks the auto rifle gets. Ricochet Rounds is the best as it marginally increases range while heavily increasing stability. Steady Rounds almost never gets recommended as it lowers the next best stat being range.
In terms of perks a lot of the time it will either be consistency for PvP or damage + reload perks for PvE. Reload perks come in all forms; Surplus, Threat Detector, Outlaw, and Overflow are easy choices. Ambitious Assassin and even Envious Assassin are also great choices depending on how you use this auto. They pseudo-bypass reload by giving you a bigger base mag each time the perk activates. They fall under Overflow because with Overflow you will never see your reload animation but get all the benefits.
In terms of damage perks all of them work perfectly. Golden Tricorn is the best overall and will be for most weapons as it has the highest damage increase and stacks with surge mods. As long as you keep the same element you will be golden.
For PvP there are few choices. Consistency perks like Tap the Trigger, Dynamic Sway Reduction, Zen Moment, and even Threat Detector are fantastic for keeping bullets on target. Autos need your full dedication to the engagement to kill and keeping your bullets on their head is the only way to succeed. There are “Win More” perks like Kill Clip that allow you to slay past that first engagement, but most autos I recommend will have full consistency unless there isn’t a consistency perk in the stereotypical “damage” column.
Bows were a fantastic addition to the game and provide a nice balance between scouts and snipers. Harder hitting than a scout but less damage than a sniper. Primary ammo over a sniper, but less damage per second (or shots per second) than a scout. Very cool choice. Most of the time I will recommend dropping draw time as low as possible and bringing up accuracy after the fact. This will make the damage per second go up a bit as you can fire more shots and keep your “range” and feeling sticky the further away the enemies are.
There aren’t a wide variety of perks to choose from on bows. Crowd control perks and reload perks are the only things. There are a few choice perks for builds specifically. Wellspring, Demolitionist, and Pugilist are great for specific builds or general ability uptime. However, I will, more often than not, recommend Archer’s Tempo or Rapid Hit over them. Bringing up the base reload speed and draw time means you won’t have to invest as heavily into dropping draw time, though the two do help together.
In the final column going with your damage perks or crowd control perks are the best. Headstone, Dragonfly, Explosive Head, or Frenzy. All of them work to clear rooms faster. This comes mostly down to player preference and what build you will ultimately use.
Bows in PvP have two main play styles, swap (blinting) or laning. With either Opening Shot is the best in slot whenever it is available. It allows you to almost always get a crit which will be helpful in either play style. With the swap builds you could also opt for Explosive Head for some added flinch, but you definitely want Quickdraw or Moving Target for added Flexibility. For a more laning approach I would always recommend Rapid Hit for a faster draw time after you get that first crit with Opening Shot.
Well these are certainly my favorite weapons in the game. They really don’t feel good in higher end PvE. Shame. For the most part I look for a decent mix of stability, range, and handling. In that order. If the weapon has decent stats for each of those that aren’t way out of band I usually default to handling. Range does help in PvE but it can be mitigated through Explosive Payload or Timed Payload. You also can pseudo-break range with higher damage. Hand cannons experience a hard damage drop off, so investing into range isn’t a terrible choice either.
For the first column usually a reload perk resides here. Ensemble, Outlaw, Rapid Hit, Surplus, etc. Almost all hand cannons follow in the footsteps of Midnight Coup for PvE. Outlaw and Rampage was a beast in year 1, and while it still works in year 5 it isn’t as versatile. Headstone has replaced most damage perks for me, though there are some good alternatives like Frenzy and Thresh.
In PvP there are only really a few choice perks to look for. Even after the Rangefinder nerf it will still be a very sought after perk. Eye of the Storm is S tier on everything it rolls on, so are Opening Shot and Rapid Hit. Snapshot, Zen Moment, and Moving Target are great supplemental perks. Explosive Payload and Timed Payload might become more sought after if you want to consistently win your 1v1s.
The most important stat on pulse rifles is the recoil direction. Anything less than 100 should be dismantled immediately. That makes Arrowhead Brake almost a requirement on all pulses. Depending on the pulse and more specifically its archetype will determine what magazine perk is best. If the magazine is less than 30 I would usually go for Appended Mag or Tactical Mag. If the pulse has low reload I will often recommend Flared Magwell as an alternative or best in slot. It also bumps up the stability which definitely helps with a good recoil direction.
Almost all perks within the reload and damage column work here and will be great to maximize your pulses utility. Golden Tricorn is best when applicable. But I have been enjoying Void with Repulsor Brace for a small overshield in the legendary campaign. Being able to keep up a small overshield almost all the time is incredibly helpful in all activities you feel squishy in.
In PvP most of the above applies that recoil direction and stability are important. Range isn’t as important depending on the archetype You might even be able to go for Steady Rounds if you wanted more stability and aren’t utilizing all the range pulses get. I would recommend anything that helps you secure bursts on target, Moving Target, Heating Up, Rapid Hit all come to mind as they each help your burst patterns. Firmly Planted is an incredible shout out too if you slide into engagements or hold lanes instead. Lots of consistency perks. There are a few archetypes that are able to two-burst with a little help from damage, or that damage makes the bursts you need to kill more forgiving. Each of those are great ways to utilize damage perks; not all the time are they necessary in PvP.
Scout rifles are most people’s first weapon type. They help you stay safe and far back while still doing respectable damage. I know I used them, and they still hold up in higher tiered content. High recoil direction is important but not necessary. None of the stats really do a lot on scouts until you get down into the faster firing scouts in which case you’ll want stability to keep shots on target. I always look for consistency perks over damage perks because the rise and fall of damage really shifts gameplay in higher level content. In GMs you’re not always running around with max stacks of damage so something neutral like Explosive Payload will pull way more weight.
In PvP scouts fall into a weird hot and cold. They are either the top of the meta or bottom. Scouts cater to a passive play style so depending on how games go they are either the best thing or you’ll get rolled for being too passive. Damage perks are great for streaks, and consistency perks are plenty. Depending on the archetype I might opt for one damage perk over another to push down the TtK but overall I tend to mix both damage and reliability perks.
Sidearms are super interesting. Outside of exotic sidearms you don’t see too many people using them aside from niche builds or players looking at a shiny new toy. Range is what makes sidearms even remotely useful in this sandbox as you don’t want to use a sidearm that literally any other weapon could do the same job. Swords could even be better than sidearms sometimes. Pushing out the range as far as it can go, and pumping the sidearm full of damage will give you some great results but will be very hard to take into higher level content. Rat Pack go back in your dens, that is not a sidearm.
In PvP sidearms live and die by their range. Similar to PvE they need to compete outside of melee range. Shotguns will eat them up and fusions will turn them into space air. I find that the best sidearm users make effective use of their space and by manipulating sight lines. If you can control a small space effectively you can use sidearms, otherwise any other primary weapon might be better.
Submachine guns in PvE are great weapons for being aggressive and spraying down enemies. While auto rifles do this job excellently, submachine guns are just smaller and faster versions. They make you feel agile running and gunning while doing great dps but less good sustained damage. They might be great against rank-and-file enemies but won’t scale up with their low magazine, high RPM, and medium damage. In order to make these weapons strong you will want to look for a way to circumvent the reload entirely or speed it up so it feels non-existent. That way you’ll be able to output incredible damage while still being able to weave in and out of cover.
In PvP SMGs will always have a place. They exist as shotgun deterrents and act as breaching tools. They can spray down targets faster than auto rifles while keeping your mobility up. Technically no weapon lowers your native speed, but SMGs with their high RPM allow you to hit your TtK fast in a way that auto rifles cannot. With damage perks they can really reach into auto rifle range, but those few are usually outliers. SMGs exist alongside hand cannons for fast paced, aggressive game play
Special Ammo
Fusion Rifles:Fusions in PvE are either hit or miss. The charge time is a weird mechanic to get behind at first, and can cause some frustration compared to other special weapons. I always try to maximize the recoil direction to land all my bolts, and then try to stack damage after the fact. There are few perks I look for in order to really create a PvE fusion. Other things to look for are magazine replenishing perks. Subsistence, or Reconstruction. In terms of magazine I either opt for Accelerated Coils for more damage per second, or a larger mag. Oftentimes the extra damage per bolt from Liquid Coils is beaten by Accelerated Coils shooting a whole other burst.
Fusions in PvP are all about consistency. Sure you can find a few rolls that offer kill chaining potential. The biggest threat that came from the fusion community was the Xur Main Ingredient that offered only consistency perks. Under Pressure adds aim assist and stability. Tap the Trigger works on every burst. Firmly Planted works in a slide and pairs well with Kickstart. Rangefinder bumps out the stability and pushes out the zoom for deep one-bursts.
Glaives are interesting, they take out your charged melee, and offer both protection and a fusion rifle-lite experience. The damage protection and resistance is perfect for higher level content, but pushing out the range means your shot is more likely to connect. Depending on the roll you might want to bump one or the other. Impulse Amplifier is the real kicker so that will help with range and projectile speed, so bringing up their shield duration will keep you alive.
In PvP I don’t feel personally well equipped to speak upon. Every time I try to use them myself I get absolutely bodied. There are some quirky builds like a one-shot glaive or blinting with them, but I cannot use them to save my life and try to remain as neutral as possible when giving roll recommendations. I can see how to use them, my body just doesn’t input the right Konami code to win in PvP.
Grenade Launchers are great for chip damage and setting up for other weapons. Disruption Break is legendary tier on grenade launchers and I always look for it to boost not only your weapon damage but your teams. Debuffing an enemy so that all kinetic damage deals an additional 50% damage is incredible. I always try to maximize blast radius and velocity at the same time. Reload and handling are also incredibly useful as you will be swapping weapons often or reloading your single shot to become a double shot when applicable.
Grenade Launchers in PvP are as good as the other weapon attached to them. They live and die by how good their pairings are. Fighting Lion is the best as it can pair with anything and make things work. Special grenade launchers have a harder time because of the ammo economy. You’re almost always stuck with a primary ammo weapon and only sometimes is that a good thing. It can set up sweeps and kill chaining, but it can also mean your GL shot bounces thirteen times and blows up in your face and not theirs.
Shotguns are the leading example of a DPS weapon. They shoot things good dead quick. They do high damage at the cost of range. Even the rapid-fire frames have great damage because they shoot so fast. Anything to boost that damage is worthwhile. Surrounded, Trench Barrel, and my favorite One-Two Punch. You are close enough to melee so throwing one or two in there will enhance your shotgun, or your melee. Kinda cool right? I also love seeing things like Grave Robber and Auto-Loading Holster on shotguns as they are one of the few weapons that reload each bullet one at a time. This can be both great and awful at the same time.
In PvP right now we are at a weird divide. You want to bump up your handling as high as you can, and bump up your range as high as you can. Preferably in that order. Things that enhance your animation speed or your handling are greatly preferred. Surplus is great if you keep your abilities but the gold standard right now is Threat Detector. This applies an animation scalar based on the number of enemies around you. Even at 1x it is incredibly strong and hopefully you won’t find yourself where 2x is active because you might be dead.
Sniper rifles serve one of two purposes. Add clear or DPS weapon. There is no inbetween. There are a handful of snipers that can bridge both but typically don’t particularly excel at either. A jack of all trades, master of none. DPS snipers are hallmarked by some sort of damage bonus natively like Firing Line, High-Impact Reserves, or Focused Fury. Alongside a magazine enhancing perk like Fourth Time’s the Charm, Triple Tap, Rewind Rounds, or Reconstruction. Anything to limit reloading by shooting. Add clear weapons have perks that are great at AoE such as Incandescent, Firefly, or Voltshot.
Snipers are not as meta in PvP but are the strongest weapon in the game. A one-shot from any range at any time without a charge up. They can be used as a shotgun, a follow up, an opening kill, set up, and many more things. They are great at doing high damage from anywhere, and most Destiny maps are not made to see sniper’s damage drop off they will maintain that high damage throughout the map. Snapshot is a must have for some users, other users like high handling. Opening shot is incredible for adding range and aim assist for some bullet bending capabilities.
Trace rifles are beefed up auto rifles. Anything auto rifles can do, traces do better at the cost of special ammo. Without it, you’ll feel like you’re missing a weapon entirely, but with it you’ll wonder why autos and SMGs exist.
In PvP there is a similar handicap where you live and die by the special ammo you do or don’t have.
Heavy Ammo
Grenade Launchers:Grenade launchers in your heavy slot are primarily used for damaging bosses but have small niches where they can be used for add clear. They don’t have the best damage but they make up for it in continuous damage. Being able to fire repeatedly and quickly for high burst damage makes them good for short damage phases and champions.
In PvP think of a rocket launcher, now cut it in half. That’s what you want in a heavy grenade launcher. A quick firing easy kill that you can run around with.
Very few times are you using a linear fusion rifle on a red bar enemy, and far less often are you using it to clear rooms. Linear fusion rifles excel in high damage per shot and as such you want to make it easy to hit crits for getting the most per shot. Arrowhead Brake or Fluted Barrel will make it easier to swap to this weapon when it is time for damage, while specifically the former will be best for lining up shot after shot. I prefer faster firing fusions too so Accelerated Coils and a charge time MW would be best DPS. You do lose some impact but you will be able to make up for that loss in impact in more shots fired.
In terms of first trait you’ll want either Field Prep or Triple Tap / Fourth Time’s the Charm. While the latter doesn’t roll on any linear fusion, yet, it will still be a great perk to look out for.
Linear fusions in PvP should have the fastest charge you can obtain while giving you the highest range possible. The idea is to have less of a fusion rifle and more of a sniper with a charge time.
Machine guns are the kings at clearing rooms. Either through AoE perks like Dragonfly or Incandescent or through pure damage like Rampage, or Killing Tally. I like perks that either keep the ammo in the magazine or make it so I never have to reload my machine gun. Auto-Loading Holster is perfect, but Subsistence and Reconstruction are fantastic too. Mag boosting perks like Appended Mag and Extended Mag also keep my shooting going.
In PvP Machine Guns are pretty niche. They used to be incredibly strong and they still are but the time to kill has gone down with more grenade launchers and it's been getting harder to hit enemies with abilities that cause them to zoom around the map or change directions on a dime. Consistency perks are the name of the game as I don’t think kill chaining will be as strong anymore.
Rockets are both the Gold Standard for damage as well as the bar. If you can beat rockets in terms of DPS either for an encounter or boss, you’re on a good track. These weapons do insane single shot damage only lessened by the fact they cannot do precision damage. If a special weapon beats out a rocket for damage, we are in for a wild meta. Rockets need two things in order to succeed. A damage boosting perk and a reload perk. Which feels like I am saying this often. The downfall of rocket launchers is the fact you cannot shoot more than three at a time and even that is under specific use cases. Rockets would be incredibly strong if you could still stack multiple rockets into one tube to keep firing.
In PvP Rockets will obliterate almost anything so your goal is to get splash kills either via Chain Reaction or Cluster Bomb for multikills, they are often fire-and-forget weapons that don’t need a lot to succeed. Just fire in the general direction of an enemy and hope it kills.
For the most part these weapons are the easiest to choose, you will want high Impact, decent guard depending on what the weapon tries to enforce. A shorter Charge Rate is better for damage, and a better Guard Resistance is better for add clearing or general use. If you have a zoom sword with Valiant Charge you will want decent Guard Resistance to stop damage from coming through. On a different zoom sword with Eager Edge you will want high ammo capacity for as many zooms as possible.
2023.06.09 23:06 magic-theater Update on Literature Review: Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome as a Synucleinopathy
This is a revised addition of the literature review (preprint). I am trying to get this peer-reviewed and published. It has not been a easy process. Most people are not willing to enter into a discussion on the subject in open forums and that is a mistake. The result is a general lack of awareness of the risk associated with COVID-19 infection. That lack of awareness extends into the scientific community. Research that could've been completed has been needlessly delayed. We need to understand what causes long COVID in order to develop effective diagnostics and therapeutics. Hopefully, this literature review can get the ball rolling.
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Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome as a Synucleinopathy
Full Article: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vVfIBSwdDhDyz3VgDTfPFf3FPVx2sVEo/view?usp=sharing
Abstract
Discussion
submitted by magic-theater to CholinergicHypothesis [link] [comments]
You can help by sharing this article.
Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome as a Synucleinopathy
Full Article: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vVfIBSwdDhDyz3VgDTfPFf3FPVx2sVEo/view?usp=sharing
Abstract
Following the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals began presenting with chronic sequelae of infection encompassing a range of unexplained symptoms. These chronic sequelae have been referred to as post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS), or long COVID. The nature of the underlying pathology has yet to be properly characterized in terms of a biomolecular mechanism. Herein a new etiological theory of PACS is discussed that proposes that the neurological subtype of PACS stems from a form of amyloidosis triggered by COVID-19 infection. Amyloidosis can persist following acute infection and in the absence of actively replicating virus. Impairment of synaptic function by the intracellular aggregation of misfolded proteins may provide an explanation for the neurological impairments associated with PACS. The list of candidate amyloid-forming peptides include $\alpha$-synuclein ($\alpha$Syn). More often associated with synucleinopathies such as Parkinson's disease (PD), $\alpha$Syn amyloid deposits can affect the peripheral nervous system as well. Early manifestations of synucleinopathy can present decades before motor deficits emerge. Prodromal PD consists of a host of nonspecific symptoms overlapping those experienced by PACS sufferers. Synucleinopathy should therefore be considered as a potential explanation for PACS and a subject of future investigations. If this hypothesis is born out, it will have dire implications for public health in both the short-term and long-term. In the meantime, we should plan for this contingency.
Discussion
If the proposed causal link between synucleinopathies and PACS is substantiated, the implications would be manifold. In spite of current uncertainty, it is essential to plan for this contingency. People need to be informed of the risks of COVID-19 exposure associated with acute infection and lasting complications. At the same time, it is critical to establish a frank discourse regarding the uncertainty inherent in ongoing research. Public health officials can mediate a community-wide discussion, serve as advocates for harm mitigation and prompt the implementation of enforceable policies when appropriate. Access to accurate and unbiased information attained from up-to-date research is critical to public health and will help to restore confidence in public health institutions. As our understanding of COVID-19 evolves and the etiology of PACS is clarified, public health policy can be adapted to reflect the current state of knowledge.
In light of this hypothesis, COVID-19 surveillance networks which track emerging variants of concern can incorporate additional viral features into their models. Amyloidogenic peptides can be predicted on the basis of amino acid sequence using existing approaches. These viral features can impact transmissibility and pathogenicity in addition to their putative impact on the chronic sequelae of infection. The protein sequences can be screened for mutations which might exacerbate their amyloidogenic potential. Any concerning mutants can then be characterized in vitro and in vivo to verify the results of the computational model. New COVID-19 variants may increase the risk of developing PACS and this should factor into the classification of variants of concern.
If the synucleinopathy hypothesis is born out, it will require the rapid development and deployment of diagnostics and treatments. Objective biomarkers can be leveraged to diagnose the disease, to monitor disease progression and assess the efficacy of proposed treatments in clinical trials. Aggregation-prone $\alpha$Syn can be identified using immunohistochemical methods or amyloid seed amplification assays \cite{Kuzkina2023-fe}. Immunohistochemical methods leverage antibodies to visualize P-$\alpha$Syn deposits in tissue samples retrieved from the olfactory epithelium and skin \cite{Miglis2022-px}. Seed amplification assays such as real-time quaking induced conversion (RT-QuIC) can directly detect minute quantities of amyloid fibrils excreted in olfactory mucous, cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) and stool \cite{Stefani2021-wh}. Quantifying total $\alpha$Syn is not a reliable method of detection and premature CSF biopsies may not reveal the pathology \cite{Mollenhauer2019-vt}\cite{Blanco-Palmero2021-vb}\cite{Russo2022-lt}. Early synucleinopathies manifest with a high degree of heterogeneity and diagnosis at this stage in the disease progression has been a challenge. RT-QuIC has however shown promise in diagnosing synucleinopathy associated with RBD \cite{Stefani2021-wh}. Taking that approach, a clinical trial is being conducted by the Medical University Innsbruck in Austria to examine the link between COVID-19 and synucleinopathies \cite{Heim_undated-yd}. The trial is set to finish by the end of 2023. Complementary studies will be required to understand the full scope of the disease \cite{Miglis2022-px}. Considering the gravity of the situation, it is imperative that these concerns are met with prompt action.
2023.06.09 22:57 Obnoxsious-Grape Anyone know how to fix this issue?
 | For the last 6 months, windows has been messing with my AMD graphics drivers for my Radeon RX 570. submitted by Obnoxsious-Grape to pcmasterrace [link] [comments] Ive had to reinstall the driver everyday I’ve done everything google has told me. Roll back updates, uninstall reinstall, turning windows updates off, even resetting my pc twice. This morning, after a complete reset and file wipe yesterday, I had a successful start. My pc randomly restarted itself and went back to static like nothing ever happened. Nothing has worked and I’m at my wits end. |